Rapid smoking: A cautionary note.

Although rapid smoking has proved to be a successful treatment strategy for smokers, its hazard potential has been recently debated. In the present study, 6 Ss (mean age 30.8 yrs) were monitored throughout 8 standard sessions of rapid smoking. Heart rate, blood pressure, and carboxyhemoglobin increases were generally higher than those reported in the few extant physiological studies of rapid smoking, and EKG abnormalities occurred in several Ss during rapid smoking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The psychotherapeutic relationship.

This paper attempts an exhaustive review of the literature on the psychotherapeutic relationship. The nature of the ideal psychotherapeutic relationship is defined and approximations of this ideal are shown to correlate positively with various measures of patient progress in the therapeutic enterprise. Other correlates of good therapeutic relationships are then explored: patient variables, therapist variables, therapist-patient similarity, and technique variables. In all these areas, significant correlations are found, though not as often as one might expect. The research on therapist variables is especially disappointing, while patient variables seem to be quite good predictors of the quality of the ensuring patient-therapist relationship. Methodological issues are considered throughout the paper. (72 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Environmental stress and recovery: the geochemical record of human disturbance in New Bedford Harbor and Apponagansett Bay,Massachusetts (USA)

Sediments record the history of contamination to estuaries. Analysis of the concentrations of toxic organic compounds, contaminant and crustal metals, organic carbon content and isotopic composition in sediment cores from two estuarine systems in Buzzards Bay allowed reconstruction of human impacts over 350 years. Vertical distributions of the contaminants correlate with changes in the nature of watershed/estuarine activities. All contaminants were highly enriched (tens to hundreds times background) in modern New Bedford Harbor sediments. Enrichment began around the turn of the 20th century for all but PCBs, which were first synthesized in the 1930s. An increase in organic carbon content and a shift of carbon isotopes toward a more terrestrial signature illustrates increasing anthropogenic impact in New Bedford as population grew along with the industrial base. Institution of environmental protection measures in the late 20th century was reflected in decreased, although still substantially elevated, concentrations of contaminants. A lack of industrial development in Apponagansett Bay resulted in much lower concentrations of the same indicators, although specific contaminants related to the early whaling industry increased significantly above background as early as the late 18th century. The similarity of indicators in older portions of cores from NBH and unimpacted Apponagansett Bay demonstrates that cores can be used to establish reference conditions as successfully as using separate sites judged a priori to represent the reference state. The historical reconstruction approach provides the basis for establishing relationships between environmental stressors and factors that drive the stressors, as well as a framework for the assessment of ecological response(s) to environmental stressors over a range of time and/or exposure scales.     

Application of the diffusion model to two-choice tasks for adults 75-90 years old.

The effects of aging on simple 2-choice decision making was investigated with the diffusion model (R. Ratcliff, 1978). Data for 75- to 90-year-olds were collected and compared with previous data from 60- to 75-year-olds and college students for 5 tasks: a signal detection-like task, letter and brightness discrimination with masking, recognition memory, and lexical decision. The model fit the data well and therefore allows components of processing to be examined as a function of age. Compared with decision-making processes in college students, decision criteria and nondecision components of processing increased with participants' age. However, the quality of the evidence on which decisions were based decreased with age only for letter and brightness discrimination. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early employer response to workplace injury: What injured workers perceive as fair and why these perceptions matter.

The authors examined whether early employer response to workplace injury affects injured workers' subsequent attitudes and mental health. At 1 month and 6 months postinjury, telephone surveys were conducted with 344 workers from Ontario, Canada, who had experienced a musculoskeletal lost-time workplace injury. One-month reports of initial supervisor reaction to the injury and the use of workplace-based return-to-work strategies (early contact with worker, ergonomic assessment, presence of designated coordinator, accommodation offer) were hypothesized to predict reports of fairness, affective commitment, and depressive symptoms measured at 6 months postinjury. Structural equation modeling supported a model wherein fairness perceptions fully mediated the relationship between early responses and injured workers' attitudes and mental health. Early contact and supervisor reactions were significant predictors of fairness perceptions. The implications for early employer response are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hematological and lipid changes in newborn piglets fed milk-replacer diets containing erucic acid

Canola oil is not presently permitted in infant formulations in the United States because of lack of information concenring the effects of feeding canola oil to the newborn. We have previously reported a transient decrease in platelet counts and an increase in platelet size in newborn piglets fed canola oil for 4 wk, and have confirmed this in the present study. In canola oil-fed piglets, changes in platelet size and number were overcome by adding either long-chain saturated fatty acids from cocoa butter (16:0 and 18:0), or shorter-chain saturates from coconut oil (12:0 and 14:0). Feeding a high erucic acid rapeseed (HEAR) oil, with 20% 22:1n−9, led to an even greater platelet reduction and increased platelet size throughout the 4-wk trial. Bleeding times were longer in piglets fed canola oil or HEAR oil compared to sow-reared and soybean oil-fed piglets. There were no other diet-related changes. Diet-induced platelet changes were not related to platelet lipid class composition, but there were fatty acid changes. The incorporation of 22:1n−9 into platelet phospholipids of piglets fed canola oil was low (0.2–1.2%), and even for the HEAR oil group ranged from only 0.2% in phosphatidylinositol to 2.4% in phosphatidylserine. A much greater change was observed in the concentration of 24:1n−9 and in the 24:1n−9/24:0 ratio in platelet sphingomyelin (SM). The 24:1n−9 increased to 49% in the HEAR oil group compared to about 12% in animals fed the control diets (sow-reared piglets and soybean oil-fed group), while the 24:1n−9/24:0 ratio increased from about 1 to 12. Even feeding canola oil, prepared to contain 2% 22:1n−9, led to a marked increase in 24:1n−9 to 29% and had a 24:1n−9/24:0 ratio of 5. The canola oil/cocoa butter group, which also contained 2% 22:1n−9, showed a lower level of 24:1n−9 (20%) and the 24:1n−9/24:0 ratio (3) compared to the canola oil group. The results suggest that the diet-related platelet changes in newborn piglets may be related to an increase in 24:1n−9 in platelet SM, resulting from chain elongation of 22:1n−9. The inclusion of canola oil as the sole source of fat in the milk-replacer diets of newborn piglets resulted in significant platelet and lipid changes.     

Certification of alcoholism/drug counselors.

Traces the evolution of the certification process for alcohol/drug counselors and explores the issues of time and cost for persons seeking such certification during the 1990s. It is argued that flexibility needs to be built into the certification process and that alternative requirements for obtaining certification should be explored. (0 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

OECD/NEA activities relating to innovative nuclear energy systems

The mission of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) is to assist its member countries in maintaining and further developing, through international co-operation, the scientific, technological and legal bases required for the safe, environmentally friendly and economical use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. In fulfilling that mission, the NEA conducts technical, economic and policy studies in response to the needs and interests of its 28 member countries. In recent years, a number of these studies have addressed various aspects of the next generation of nuclear power plants. This paper will describe some of the major activities recently completed and currently underway that may be of particular interest to the COE-INES program.