Synergistic inhibition of Listeria monocytogenes in vitro through the combination of octanoic acid and acidic calcium sulfate

It has been hypothesized that inhibition of foodborne pathogens can be enhanced by using antimicrobials in combination. A broth dilution assay was devised to determine whether inhibition of Listeria monocytogenes exposed to the combination of the fatty acid octanoic acid (OCT) and the organic acid-containing antimicrobial acidic calcium sulfate (ACS) was enhanced compared with the inhibition of the pathogen exposed to either antimicrobial applied singly. MICs for OCT and ACS were 25.00 μg/g and 1.56 ml/liter, respectively, for all strains of the pathogen tested. Fractional inhibitory concentrations (FICs) from the combination exposures were calculated for use in characterizing the antimicrobial interaction as antagonistic, additive indifferent, or synergistic with respect to L. monocytogenes inhibition. Combining OCT and ACS resulted in observed synergistic inhibition of L. monocytogenes; isobolograms for all strains curved toward the origin, and FIC indices (FIC(I)s) were <1.0. Future investigations of the antimicrobial combination should focus on determining the mechanism of action of combined antimicrobials and the levels of antimicrobials required for pathogen inhibition on the surfaces of ready-to-eat meats.     

Efficient stockpiling and shipping policies for humanitarian relief: UNHCR��s inventory challenge

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) establishes and maintains refugee camps to meet the needs of 34.5 million people affected by disaster or war worldwide. Like other international humanitarian organizations, UNHCR maintains central stockpiles which supply these refugee operations. Management at UNHCR seeks to improve the timeliness and quality of its disaster response subject to its budget constraints. We develop an inventory model to analyze the interaction between a stockpile and a downstream refugee camp or relief operation. We consider two inventory decisions: first, how to partition a fixed budget between stockpiling and shipping costs in order to best meet the needs of beneficiaries; and second, given the shipping budget determined by the budget partition, how to ship relief items from the stockpile to a downstream relief operation in an efficient manner. We solve for the shipment policy using dynamic programming, then determine the optimal stockpile size given knowledge of the optimal shipment policy. The optimization balances a key tradeoff: a larger stockpile is costly to procure and maintain, but enhances a humanitarian organization’s ability to respond to relief operation demands. We provide insights into shipment strategies and stockpile size. We also develop a spreadsheet model to help humanitarian organizations in their operational decision-making, leading to improved response to beneficiaries. Humanitarian organizations must use their financial resources wisely to carry out their mandates, and models of this type can help them make the best use of their limited response resources.     

Jurors’ discussions of a defendant’s history of child abuse and alcohol abuse in capital sentencing deliberations.

We tested a novel theoretical model explaining the psychological processes underlying jurors’ discussions about a defendant’s history of child abuse and alcohol abuse in a capital case. We coded the extent to which jurors used child abuse and alcohol abuse as mitigating factors, as aggravating factors, or argued that they should be ignored. Relying on attribution theory, we coded the extent to which jurors rendered controllable or uncontrollable and stable or unstable attributions regarding the defendant’s history of child abuse and alcohol abuse. Jurors were more likely to argue that child abuse and alcohol abuse should not be used as mitigators or to even use them against the defendant as aggravators than they were to use them as mitigators. Jurors made more controllable than uncontrollable attributions regarding child abuse and more stable than unstable attributions regarding both child abuse and alcohol abuse. The more jurors supported the death penalty, the more they argued to discount child abuse and alcohol abuse as mitigators or use them as aggravators and the more controllable and stable attributions they made. Political orientation predicted discussions and attributions about alcohol abuse, but not child abuse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Finite-element analysis of complex axisymmetric radiatingstructures

A finite-element method (FEM) is developed for the analysis of complex axisymmetric radiating structures. The method is based on the electric field formulation with the transverse field expanded in terms of edge-based vector basis functions and the azimuth component expanded using nodal-based scalar basis functions. This mixed representation of the electric field eliminates spurious solutions and permits an easy treatment of boundary conditions on conducting surfaces as well as across material interfaces. The FEM mesh is truncated using a previously developed cylindrical perfectly matched layer (PML). The method has been successfully applied to three radiating structures: a corrugated horn antenna, a spherical Luneburg lens, and a half Maxwell fish eye. Numerical results are presented to show the validity, accuracy, and efficiency of the method     

Norman Garmezy (1918–2009).

Norman Garmezy, a pioneer in research on risk and resilience, died in Nashville, Tennessee, on November 21, 2009, at the age of 91. He was a legendary mentor as well as an eminent scientist in clinical psychology. Norm was born on June 18, 1918, in New York City and grew up in the Bronx in a Jewish neighborhood where educational attainment was highly valued. The scientific study of resilience as conceived by Norman Garmezy, his peers, and students has transformed the science and practice of multiple disciplines, from the molecular level to the global ecosystem, infusing a strength-based and recovery-oriented approach into psychology, education, social work, and psychiatry. Current research on resilience ranges from studies of plasticity in brain development to effective planning for resilience in the context of disaster. Norm’s influential ideas and research earned him international acclaim and many honors for lifetime achievements in science. Throughout his career, Norm held many leadership roles. Throughout his life, Norm spoke with great love about his wife of 63 years, Edie Garmezy (who died just months before him in 2009), and their children. In addition to his work and his family, Norm had three abiding passions—theater, movies, and politics. During the last two decades of his life, Norm and those who loved him endured his long decline from Alzheimer’s, which slowly stole his brilliant mind and hilarious sense of humor. Nonetheless, the incredible spirit and humanity of this giant scholar continued to shine through this terrible disease. To the end of his life, Norm’s face would light up with a smile as he greeted the people he loved, and he would often exclaim, “Wonderful!” Norman Garmezy was a remarkable person and scholar who left an extraordinary legacy of love and work to inspire future generations in their efforts to understand and promote the human capacity for competence and resilience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of alumina contamination from the ball-milling of fused silica on the high temperature properties of injection moulded silica ceramic components

The amount of alumina contamination present in ball-milled silica powders has been shown to increase with increased mill time for materials manufactured during the same time period. This alumina contamination level has also been observed to vary depending on the date, and possibly the state of repair, of the ball mill itself. The associated alumina level has been shown to significantly influence the high temperature properties (at 1475 °C) of the materials, with high contamination levels not only resulting in increased flexural strength and creep resistance, but also increasing the thermal contraction of the materials when dilatometer measurements were performed to 1600 °C.     

Implementation of the IDEA by school psychologists: An exploratory study using the theory of Street-Level Bureaucracy.

Based on the theory of Street-Level Bureaucracy (SLB), this exploratory study examines implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) by school psychologists. Ss were 6 school psychologists and their supervisors from 2 different school districts. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and case presentations. Ss' responses were coded and analyzed to determine patterns and themes present in the interview. The results revealed that when school psychologists experience conflict in their work, they develop coping strategies that interact with their professional behavior and the implementation of IDEA. Coping strategies, such as rationing services, routinizing practices, adjusting expectations of the role of a school psychologist from the ideal to the actual, and changing the law to fit the circumstances were all used. Although many of the predictions of SLB were confirmed, school psychologists were also found to rise above job demands and provide services to children and their parents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)