Stages of Change in Treatment-Seeking Pathological Gamblers.

The transtheoretical model has been applied to many addictive disorders. In this study, psychometrics properties of the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA) scale were evaluated in 234 pathological gamblers initiating treatment. Four components were identified--reflective of precontemplation, contemplation, action, and maintenance stages--with internal consistency from .74 to .88. Cluster analyses identified 4 patterns of responding, ranging from ambivalent to active change. The 4 clusters differed with respect to baseline gambling variables and treatment engagement and outcomes assessed 2 months later. A continuous measure of readiness to change was also correlated with gambling severity and predictive of reductions in gambling. This study provides initial support for reliability and validity of the URICA in treatment-seeking gamblers, and it suggests that stage of change may have an impact on outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Characterizing Discourse Among Undergraduate Researchers in an Inquiry‐Based Community of Practice

Engineering education increasingly incorporates pedagogies that promote guided, inquiry‐based, active learning within authentic “communities of practice”. Such pedagogies apply observations made about workplace interaction: that knowledge is distributed across social and physical networks. However, the process through which multiple dimensions of learning occur within a network of distributed cognition—where every person contributes to the learning of every other person—calls for further investigation. The present study, set in an active learning environment, identifies seven speech events that characterize linguistic processes of distributed cognition among undergraduate researchers in the Research Communications Studio (RCS) at the University of South Carolina. Close analysis of a small group session in the RCS revealed that participants enact critique, elicitation of critique, internalization, (direct and indirect) instruction, contextualization, explanation, and collaborative negotiation of knowledge throughout their interactions. Awareness of these speech events, which emerged from the analysis, may better equip engineering educators to optimize interactions in other active group learning environments and to facilitate such activities in more traditional pedagogical settings.     

Business prospects for commercial mm-wave MMICs

MMIC manufacturers are now starting to introduce commercial devices operating at millimeter-wave frequencies, but several challenges must be addressed before these high-frequency MMICs can become a mainstream commercial success. This paper is excerpted from a recent report entitled Commercial Applications for Millimetre-Wave MMICs, by Jeff Powell and Dave Bannister, published by Technology Tracking, a partnership between QinetiQ, Europe's largest science and technology organization, and Institute of Physics Publishing. More information about the complete report is available at http://www.technology-tracking.com. The complete report includes a detailed analysis of the business and technological drivers at work in a range of current and emerging applications for mm-wave MMICs; a summary of efforts to deliver packaged and tested parts that meet the performance, cost and size criteria demanded by commercial end-users; the most-common device architectures and strategies for successful MMIC design; and profiles of organizations actively developing and marketing systems based on mm-wave MMICs.     

GeoQuorums: implementing atomic memory in mobile ad hoc networks

We present a new approach, the GeoQuorums approach, for implementing atomic read/write shared memory in mobile ad hoc networks. Our approach is based on associating abstract atomic objects with certain geographic locations. We assume the existence of focal points, geographic areas that are normally “populated” by mobile nodes. For example, a focal point may be a road junction, a scenic observation point, or a water resource in the desert. Mobile nodes that happen to populate a focal point participate in implementing a shared atomic object, using a replicated state machine approach. These objects, which we call focal point objects, are prone to occasional failures when the corresponding geographic areas are depopulated. The GeoQuorums algorithm uses the fault-prone focal point objects to implement atomic read/write operations on a fault-tolerant virtual shared object. The GeoQuorums algorithm uses a quorum-based strategy in which each quorum consists of a set of focal point objects. The quorums are used to maintain the consistency of the shared memory and to tolerate limited failures of the focal point objects, which may be caused by depopulation of the corresponding geographic areas. We present a mechanism for changing the set of quorums on the fly, thus improving efficiency. Overall, the new GeoQuorums algorithm efficiently implements read and write operations in a highly dynamic, mobile network.     

A note on measuring in P

We revisit the problem of generalising Lutz's resource-bounded measure to small complexity classes, and propose a definition of a random-based on , which we argue as being a good generalisation to of Lutz's . We cannot unconditionally prove the existence of such a measure, but we give sufficient and necessary conditions for its existence. We also revisit μ_τ, an for defined by Strauss [Inform. Comput. 136(1) (1997) 1], and correct an erroneous claim concerning the relations between μ_τ and random sets. A correction to this mistake is then proposed, which is a less powerful but accurate relation between μ_τ and random sets.

In order to obtain these results, we introduce a mathematical structure called a measuring system, which is a general setting that can be used to compare different s on any fixed complexity class through a partial ordering relation.     

Systematic Analysis of Clemastine,a Candidate Apicomplexan Parasite-Selective Tubulin-Targeting Agent

Apicomplexan parasites, such as Toxoplasma gondii, Plasmodium spp., Babesia spp., and Cryptosporidium spp., cause significant morbidity and mortality. Existing treatments are problematic due to toxicity and the emergence of drug-resistant parasites. Because protozoan tubulin can be selectively disrupted by small molecules to inhibit parasite growth, we assembled an in vitro testing cascade to fully delineate effects of candidate tubulin-targeting drugs on Toxoplasma gondii and vertebrate host cells. Using this analysis, we evaluated clemastine, an antihistamine that has been previously shown to inhibit Plasmodium growth by competitively binding to the CCT/TRiC tubulin chaperone as a proof-of-concept. We concurrently analyzed astemizole, a distinct antihistamine that blocks heme detoxification in Plasmodium. Both drugs have EC₅₀ values of ~2 µM and do not demonstrate cytotoxicity or vertebrate microtubule disruption at this concentration. Parasite subpellicular microtubules are shortened by treatment with either clemastine or astemizole but not after treatment with pyrimethamine, indicating that this effect is not a general response to antiparasitic drugs. Immunoblot quantification indicates that the total α-tubulin concentration of 0.02 pg/tachyzoite does not change with clemastine treatment. In conclusion, the testing cascade allows profiling of small-molecule effects on both parasite and vertebrate cell viability and microtubule integrity.     

Effects of Tansy Essential Oil from Tanacetum vulgare on Biology of Oblique-Banded Leafroller, Choristoneura rosaceana

The formulations TSW (tansy essential oil, surfactant, distilled water) and TSWD (tansy essential oil, surfactant, distilled water, dillapiol) increased the feeding rate of oblique-banded leafroller (OBLR) larvae with increasing concentrations of tansy essential oil. When tansy essential oil was continuously present at 0.1% and 1% in the diet, all OBLR larvae from susceptible and resistant populations died. The presence of 0.01% tansy essential oil in the diet affected female pupal weight, but not larval weight gain, larval developmental time and male pupal weight. Our results suggest that the concentration of tansy essential oil that significantly affects the developmental variables should be between 0.01% and 0.1% of tansy essential oil. Residues of the formulation TE (tansy essential oil, ethanol 95%) deterred oviposition of OBLR female.     

Predetermined Helical Chirality in Octahedral Complexes with a Novel Pentadentate C2‐Symmetrical Chiral Bis(oxazoline) Ligand

The first example of the pentadentate bis(oxazolines) has been synthesized using a modular approach that readily provides access to this ligand class. This ligand allows the controlled transfer of carbon‐centered to octahedral, metal‐centered chirality, as demonstrated both in the solid state as well as in solution. The characteristic CD band has been identified for dicationic, octahedral transition metal complexes with the Δ₂‐configuration.     

Fast atom bombardment and tandem mass spectrometry of phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylcholine

Fast atom bombardment (FAB) desorption of phosphatidylserine and various phosphatidylcholines produces a limited number of very informative negative ions. Especially significant is the formation of (M-H)⁻ ions for phosphatidylserine, a compound which does not yield informative high mass ions by other ionization methods. Phosphatidylcholines of not yield (M-H)⁻ ions but instead produce three characteristic high mass ions, (M-CH ₃ ⁺ _⁻, [M-HN(CH₃) ₃ ⁺ ]⁻ and [M-HN(CH_{3 3} ⁺ -C₂H₂]⁻. Both classes of lipids also yield anions attributed to the carboxylate components of these complex lipids. FAB desorption in combination with collisional activation allows for characterization of fragmentation and determination of structural features. Collisional activation of the carboxylate anion fragments from the complex lipids is especially informative. Structural characterization of the fatty acid chain can be achieved as the released saturated carboxylate anions undergo a highly specific 1,4-elimination of H₂, which results in the losses of the elements of CH₄, C₂H₆, C₃H₈...in a fashion entirely consistent with the chemistry of carboxylate anions desorbed from free fatty acids. These C_nH_2n+2 losses begin at the alkyl terminus and progress along the entire alkyl chain. Modified fatty acids undergo a similar fragmentation; however, the modification affects the series of C_nH_2n+2 losses in a manner which permits determining the type of modification and its location on the fatty acid chain.