Similar–other support for men undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery.

This field experiment examined effects of a support intervention on the physical and mental health of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery patients. Control participants (N?=?90) received usual hospital care; experimental participants (N?=?100) also received visits from a "similar other" while in the hospital. Similar others were Veterans Administration veterans who had CABG surgery previously and were trained in simple supportive techniques. Outcomes were assessed prior to surgery and at 1, 6, and 12 months afterwards. Unexpectedly, the intervention generally had no effects on participants' well-being. Further analysis showed that participants who talked often with fellow cardiac patients in the hospital ("de facto similar others") experienced improvements in their physical and emotional well-being over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Dark Side of E-commerce — Cracking the Code or Passing the Buck?

In what may turn out to be one of the most interesting incidents of early 21st century electronic business, a French company, Canal+ Group and two subsidiaries recently filed a lawsuit in US District Court for Northern California against NDS Group [NASDAQ:NNDS]. The basis for the complaint is that NDS, a UK-based company ‘spent large amounts of money and resources’ to break the security system underlying Canal+’s digital TV smartcard. The suit claims that NDS masterminded ‘a conspiracy to harm Canal+’s competitive position in the digital television market.’ The plaintiffs allege violations of US copyright law and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, as well as the California Unfair Competition statute, all of which carry very serious penalties.     

CuI and H2O2 Inactivate and FeII Inhibits [Fe]‐Hydrogenase at Very Low Concentrations

[Fe]‐Hydrogenase (Hmd) catalyzes reversible hydride transfer from H₂. It harbors an iron‐guanylylpyridinol as a cofactor with an Fe^II that is ligated to one thiolate, two COs, one acyl‐C, one pyridinol‐N, and solvent. Here, we report that Cu^I and H₂O₂ inactivate Hmd (half‐maximal rates at 1 μM Cu^I and 20 μM H₂O₂) and that Fe^II inhibits the enzyme with very high affinity (K_i=40 nM ). Infrared and EPR studies together with competitive inhibition studies with isocyanide indicated that Cu^I exerts its inhibitory effect most probably by binding to the active site iron‐thiolate ligand. Using the same methods, it was found that H₂O₂ binds to the active‐site iron at the solvent‐binding site and oxidizes Fe^II to Fe^III. Also it was shown that Fe^II reversibly binds away from the active site iron, with binding being competitive to the organic hydride acceptor; this inhibition is specific for Fe^II and is reminiscent of that for the [FeFe]‐hydrogenase second iron, which specifically interacts with H₂.     

Synthesis of La0.9Sr0.1Ga0.8Mg0.2O2.85 powder by gel combustion route with two-step doping strategy

A two-step doping strategy was applied to the synthesis of La_0.9Sr_0.1Ga_0.8Mg_0.2O_2.85 (LSGM1020) powder by a gel combustion method. The Mg-doped LaGaO₃ powder was prepared in the first step, and Sr incorporation in the Mg-doped LaGaO₃ powder was done in the second step to obtain the final LSGM1020 powder. The two-step procedure is effective in preparing higher purity powders than the traditional one-step procedure. Rietveld refinement of X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) patterns shows that incorporation of Mg in LaGaO₃ in the first step enlarges the LaGaO₃ lattice: this facilitates the incorporation of Sr in the second doping step and thus high purity powder is obtained. Relatively phase pure LSGM1020 powder with only 3.1% of LaSrGaO₄ was obtained after calcination at 1300 °C for 5 h. Therefore, the two-step doping strategy is an effective procedure for the preparation of LSGM powders with high Sr- and Mg-doping levels.     

Smart Staff Recruiting

"The genius of President Obama is his ability to make smart people work harder." Surely every manager wants to aspire to this ability, but first he must find "smart" staff. The objective of this article is to help readers better prepare to recruit smart people to work for them. An ideal IT staff member should have a computer science background or equivalent education. He or she should possess both technical and people skills. In identifying proper strengths from candidates' application material, we must be mindful of the subtle nuances. Sometimes, what hasn't been said is more important than what has. We need to be mindful that talking to a reference can usually give a more accurate assessment about an applicant than a written recommendation. We also need to be mindful that smart people in general prefer working with a boss who is more collegial than authoritative.