The estimation of total mercury in water

Methods have been considered for the estimation of total mercury in samples of drinking water, surface water and sewage effluent. Those using chemical oxidation procedures for pre-treatment display limitations. Pretreatment by photolysis of water samples results in improved reliability and efficiency.     

The Glucosinolate Content of Some Fodder Brassicas

The glucosinolate contents of six kales and five cabbages (Brassica oleracea L.), four stubble turnips and six turnips (B. campestris L.), and six swedes and six fodder rapes (B. napus L.) were determined. As fodder brassica breeders wish to reduce the goitrogenicity of these crops, the concentrations of 2-hydroxybut-3-enylglucosinolate (5-vinyloxazolidine-2-thione is the goitrogenic hydrolysis product) and 3-indolylmethylglucosinolate (the thiocyanate ion is the goitrogenic hydrolysis product) were of particular interest. High concentrations (mmol kg^?1 dry matter) of 2-hydroxybut-3-enylglucosinolate were found in stubble turnip leaf (8.12) and bulb (9.20), turnip bulb (9.97), swede bulb (5.66), and rape leaf (8.99) and stem (21.81) but not in kale or cabbage. In contrast, the concentration of 3-indolylmethylglucosinolate was relatively high in cabbage head (6.39) and kale leaf (3.25) but not in the other crops.     

Sensitivity of women to musk odor: No menstrual variation

It has been reported that the sensitivity of women to the musky odor of pentadecalactone exhibits cyclic variation,with a marked peak at about the time of ovulation. This claim was carefully reinvestigated, but was found to be untrue-in the conditions of our experiments. Possible reasons for the discrepancy are discussed.     

Particle Morphology of Amorphous Aluminum Hydroxycarbonate and Its Effect on Tablet Production

The particle morphology of amorphous aluminum hydroxycarbonate was studied by disaggregation induced by phosphate adsorption and direct observation by high resolution transmission electron microscopy. The primary particles are sheet-like and have equivalent diameters of 55A or less. The primary particles are believed to correspond to planar polymers comprised of six-membered rings of aluminum ions joined by double hydroxide bridges. Secondary particles form by attractive interaction of primary particles. The size of the primary particles affects the porosity of the secondary particles. The granulating and tableting properties of two spray dried amorphous aluminum hydroxycarbonates were shown to be related to the size of the primary particles and the porosity of the secondary particles.     

The question of left hemisphere dysfunction in infantile autism.

Examines the hypothesis that dysfunction in the left hemisphere accounts for some of the primary behavioral and cognitive symptoms of autism. A particular variant of this theory is that language deficits, which are assumed to be attributable to left-hemisphere dysfunction, constitute the core deficit of the syndrome. The structure of these arguments and the empirical evidence are critically reviewed. It is concluded that the left-hemisphere hypothesis is inadequate to account for many of the cardinal features of autism, that it is based to some extent on flawed reasoning and weak evidence, and that it overestimates the importance of linguistic dysfunction in autistic children. Some of the questionable assumptions of this hypothesis include the following: (1) Language is always selectively impaired in autism; and (2) language reflects left hemisphere function. Nonlanguage evidence for left-hemisphere dysfunction is reviewed. Several alternative hypotheses are proposed to explain the possible link between left-hemisphere signs and infantile autism. (115 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring the Extent of Prejudicial Pretrial Publicity in Major American Newspapers: A Content Analysis

This study describes a content analysis of 14 American newspapers over an 8-week period, which measured the extent to which potentially prejudicial statements identified in the American Bar Association (ABA, 1983) Model Rules are reported in news stories about crime and criminal defendants. The sources through which such publicity reaches the press were also examined. Results indicated that over one quarter of the suspects described in crime stories are identified in connection with information specifically targeted by the ABA as problematic. Law enforcement officers and prosecutors were most often the sources of potentially prejudicial information about criminal suspects. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for the effects of prejudicial publicity on juror decision-making and for the effectiveness of judicial remedies.     

A blended global snow product using visible,passive microwave and scatterometer satellite data

A joint US Air Force/National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) blended global snow product that uses Earth Observation System Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) and Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT or QSCAT) data has been developed. Existing snow products derived from these sensors have been blended into a single, global, daily, user-friendly product by using a newly developed Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA)/NASA Snow Algorithm (ANSA). This initial blended snow product uses minimal modelling to expeditiously yield improved snow products, which include, or will include, snow-cover extent, fractional snow cover, snow water equivalent (SWE), onset of snowmelt and identification of actively melting snow cover. The blended snow products are currently 25-km resolution. These products are validated with data from the lower Great Lakes region of the USA, from Colorado obtained during the Cold Land Processes Experiment (CLPX), and from Finland. The AMSR-E product is especially useful in detecting snow through clouds; however, passive microwave data miss snow in those regions where the snow cover is thin, along the margins of the continental snowline, and on the lee side of the Rocky Mountains, for instance. In these regions, the MODIS product can map shallow snow cover under cloud-free conditions. The confidence for mapping snow-cover extent is greater with the MODIS product than with the microwave product when cloud-free MODIS observations are available. Therefore, the MODIS product is used as the default for detecting snow cover. The passive microwave product is used as the default only in those areas where MODIS data are not applicable due to the presence of clouds and darkness. The AMSR-E snow product is used in association with the difference between ascending and descending satellite passes or diurnal-amplitude variations (DAV) to detect the onset of melt, and a QSCAT product will be used to map areas of snow that are actively melting.     

An empirical investigation of the relationship of IS strategy with firm performance

Given the important impact that an IS strategy has on the potential value IS brings to an organization, we develop and test a model of IS Strategy and Firm Performance. Our survey-based study provides strong evidence that firms with defined IS strategies (either IS Innovator or IS Conservative) perform better than those without defined IS strategies. Organizations without a clearly defined IS strategy actually experienced a negative relationship with firm performance. These organizations should realize the potentially negative outcomes of such a lack of strategy and work to extricate themselves before a consistent pattern of investing in IS without clear organizational benefit develops. Furthermore, the study suggests that the IS Innovator strategy is, in particular, associated with more superior firm performance than the IS Conservative strategy under conditions of environmental dynamism. Organizational leaders need to consider the external environments under which their organizations are operating and evaluate the influence those environments may have on their IS strategy’s ability to impact performance. Post hoc analysis results also reveal a fourth potential IS strategy, one that strives for ambidexterity. Ambidextrous firms were found to be associated with the most superior performance, leading to a potential extension of the existing IS strategy typology and a call for future research.