Some remarks on Gati's theory of career decision-making models.

I. Gati's (see record 1987-05798-001) theory of models of career decision making is discussed in reference to C. Taylor's (1985) theory of evaluation modes. It is suggested that there exist at least 3 basic orientations for making career decisions: optimalizing, questing and instant choice. It is argued that these orientations do not simply represent alternative algorithms for acquiring and processing information related to career decisions, a la Gati, but instead speak to the phenomenologically moral nature of the career decision-making situation in a way that Gati's models do not. Implications for career counseling are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Current status of the Cincinnati GCL test plots

This paper describes the design, layout, construction and current status on the performance of fourteen full scale test plots targeted at assessing the internal shear strength of GCLs in landfill cover applications. Five different commercially available GCLs from four manufacturers were used in the study. Each test plot is two geosynthetic clay line roll widths wide, with lengths of 29m (95 ft) on the 3(H)-to-1(V) (horizontal-to-vertical) slopes and 20m (67 ft) on the 2(H)-to-1(V) (horizontal-to-vertical) slopes. The plots are being monitored with numerous deformation ‘telltales’ as well as subgrade and GCL moisture gages.

Two slides occurred shortly after construction. Both involved the upper surfaces of the GCLs against the overlying textured geomembranes. The slides were clearly the result of bentonite lubricated interfaces and (although of interest) did not relate to the internal shear strength focus and goals of the project.

Upon inducing internal shear stress in the GCLs by cutting all of the overlying geosynthetics, the deformations have been small except for one plot. This plot involved a unreinforced bentonite GCL, sandwiched between two geomembranes. It was sampled and found to have a large region of unexpected and excessively high moisture content. Subsequently, the test plot slid, the interface being the upper geomembrane against the bentonite of the GCL. The test plot was constructed a second time and the current response is more in keeping with the anticipated behaviour. Other than these slides, however, all of the other GCL plots appear to be stable.

If the internal stability of the GCLs continue, it can be assumed that the 2(H)-to-1(V) slopes have a factor-of-safety of 1.0 or greater. This being the case, the 3(H)-to-1(V) slopes have a factor-of-safety of 1.5 or greater. While this hypothesis is still being substantiated, it speaks well for the internal shear strength of the GCLs used in the study when properly installed. The project is ongoing as of, the writing of this paper.     

Identification of peptides within a known protein sequence using COMSEQ analysis of data containing multiple sequences

Modern methods of automated protein sequence analysis can provide high-quality data with which unambiguous amino-acid sequences can be determined, but analyses are more difficult when the sample is not pure. COMSEQ and auxillary programs were written to facilitate reconciliation of multiple amino-acid sequences potentially contained in noisy data with the known amino-acid sequence of the parent protein. The COMSEQ program prints a matrix in which the first vertical column represents the known amino-acid sequence of a selected protein. Each row of the matrix contains the sequencer yield corresponding to the amino acid in the first column, with each column corresponding to the sequencing reaction cycle. A diagonal which contains net increases of amino acids for each amino acid in the known sequence identifies a peptide potentially contained within the data. The number of matches for each diagonal over the entire known sequence are tabulated and presented as an aid to locating comparisons of greatest interest. The RNDSEQ program conducts multiple analyses using randomized versions of the known amino-acid sequence and tabulates the cumulative frequencies of potential sequence matches irrespective of the true known sequence. TRANSEQ is a utility program that translates edited sequence data from common databases into files that can be used by COMSEQ and RNDSEQ. The programs have been used successfully to identify two co-sequenced peptides from bovine serum albumin, an albumin peptide sequence in the presence of hemoglobin, and to identify two sequences of rat alpha-2u-globulin that differ in their amino termini.     

Nanopore-Based Analysis of Chemically Modified DNA and Nucleic Acid Drug Targets

Nucleic acids are central figures in many of life’s key molecular processes, e.g., enzymatic activity, epigenetics/gene regulation, viral replication, aging, cancer, and other diseases. Over the past two decades, nanopores have emerged as a new tool for studying the properties of nucleic acids at the single-molecule level. In this review, we summarize the use of nanopores as sensors of nucleic acid structure, particularly for studying chemically modified and damaged DNA, and for probing the interactions of small-molecule drugs with nucleic acid targets.     

Measurements of the thermal diffusivity of linear-medium-density-polyethylene/aluminium composites using a transient comparative method

Metal-powder/polymer composites are an interesting class of material because their physical properties may, within limits, be selected to match a particular application. It is therefore important to be able to measure and model the physical properties of these composites. The effective diffusivity of linear-medium-density-polyethylene/aluminium composites was measured for a range of volume fractions using a simple, transient comparative method. Effective thermal conductivity data were calculated from the effective thermal diffusivity data. The effective thermal conductivity data were modelled well by the EMT equation.     

Influence of CTAB on the electrochemical behavior of dopamine and on its analytic determination in the presence of ascorbic acid

This research work concerns the electrochemical study of dopamine and ascorbic acid in the presence of the cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide. From this study is possible to note that the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide greatest influence was on the dopamine, because it disfavors both its oxidation and reduction, thereby giving a smaller heterogeneous rate constant, k ⁰, value than in its absence, provoking that the process tends to irreversibility. On the contrary, for the ascorbic acid case, its oxidation was favored; these effects can influence the separation of the dopamine and ascorbic acid voltammetric signals up to 453 mV. Further, the method could be optimized through differential pulse voltammetry to proceed with the analytic determination of dopamine in the presence of ascorbic acid displaying usable analytic parameters, namely: a linearity range of 0–130 μM, a sensitivity of (6.318 ± 0.002) μA mM^?1, a detection limit of (11 ± 0.1) μM, and a quantification limit of (37 ± 0.2) μM, which made it possible to effect the quantification on a commercial pharmaceutical sample.     

Contribution of the Tyr-1 in Plantaricin149a to Disrupt Phospholipid Model Membranes

Plantaricin149a (Pln149a) is a cationic antimicrobial peptide, which was suggested to cause membrane destabilization via the carpet mechanism. The mode of action proposed to this antimicrobial peptide describes the induction of an amphipathic α-helix from Ala7 to Lys20, while the N-terminus residues remain in a coil conformation after binding. To better investigate this assumption, the purpose of this study was to determine the contributions of the Tyr1 in Pln149a in the binding to model membranes to promote its destabilization. The Tyr to Ser substitution increased the dissociation constant (K_D) of the antimicrobial peptide from the liposomes (approximately three-fold higher), and decreased the enthalpy of binding to anionic vesicles from −17.2 kcal/mol to −10.2 kcal/mol. The peptide adsorption/incorporation into the negatively charged lipid vesicles was less effective with the Tyr1 substitution and peptide Pln149a perturbed the liposome integrity more than the analog, Pln149S. Taken together, the peptide-lipid interactions that govern the Pln149a antimicrobial activity are found not only in the amphipathic helix, but also in the N-terminus residues, which take part in enthalpic contributions due to the allocation at a lipid-aqueous interface.     

Initial feasibility of a researcher configurable computerized self-monitoring system

This study sought to evaluate the feasibility of a researcher configurable self-monitoring program. An initial prototype of the program was developed as a Windows-based drag and drop flow chart interface for the researcher to construct the self-monitoring or diary protocol to be scheduled and displayed to the subject on a Pocket PC. The usability of the desktop researcher interface was evaluated in a small sample of medication trial researchers whose ratings of the prototype were generally positive and provided directions for improvement. The subject interface was then evaluated in an “analog” drug trial of 49 smokers using nicotine gum. These subjects were randomly assigned to either paper-based log or Pocket PC self-monitoring for 3 weeks. Pocket PC subjects were significantly more compliant than the log subjects on recording in the second (65% vs. 39%) and third (69% vs. 39%) weeks of the trial but did not differ from the log condition on total recording entries, likely due to the restrictions on retrospective recording in the Pocket PC program. This study provides support for the feasibility of a researcher configurable electronic diary system which should substantially reduce the programming barriers to electronic self-monitoring and increase the use of real-time monitoring in clinical and research venues.     

A new structural model of effective thermal conductivity for heterogeneous materials with co-continuous phases

A new structural model for a heterogeneous material with multiple continuous phases is proposed. The corresponding equation for effective thermal conductivity was derived using three methods. The new model is substantially different from the conventional five fundamental structural models (Series, Parallel, two forms of Maxwell–Eucken, Effective Medium Theory). The model has two applications. First, as a new fundamental structural model to produce composite models using the combinatory rules previously proposed by J.F. Wang, J.K. Carson, M.F. North, D. J. Cleland, A new approach to modelling the effective thermal conductivity of heterogeneous materials, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 49 (17–18) (2006) 3075–3083. Second, to narrow the bounds of the effective thermal conductivity for heterogeneous materials where the physical structure can be characterised into general classes.