Ethical supervision in teaching, research, practice, and administration.

Supervision is a specialized area of psychological activity that has its own foundation of knowledge, skills, and attitudes, which are enhanced by training. As our discipline develops its standards for competent practice in supervision, there is a need to develop ethical guidelines to assist both supervisors and supervisees in maintaining productive working relationships. Organized around the hierarchy of ethical principles comprising the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists, the Canadian Psychological Association adopted Ethical Guidelines for Supervision in Psychology: Teaching, Research, Practice, and Administration in early 2009. In this article, each of the four ethical principles (Respect for the Dignity of Persons, Responsible Caring, Integrity in Relationships, and Responsibility to Society) is examined in the context of supervision within the areas of teaching, research, practice, and administration. The history of the guidelines, as well as some of their innovative and unique elements, is also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Study of Twin Variant Selection and Twin Growth in Titanium

An in depth analysis on twin variant selection and twin growth character during compression by means of “interrupted in situ” EBSD orientation measurement was carried out. An experimental verification and geometrical analysis of the use of Schmid's law as a criterion for selecting twin variants was performed, and proved to be conclusive. Twin variants having Schmid factors higher than 0.4 have a good chance to be activated. The twin growth exhibits two modes: {11–22} twins show a tendency to multiple variants system (MVS) and {10–12} twins show predominant variant system (PVS). The Schmid factor plays an important role in MVS and PVS.     

Supramolecular Polymers: Rigid Dimers Formed through Strong Interdigitated H‐Bonds Yield Compact 1D Supramolecular Helical Polymers (Small 3/2011)

Hierarchical self‐assembly of small abiotic molecular modules interacting through noncovalent forces is increasingly being used to generate functional structures and materials for electronic, catalytic, and biomedical applications. The greatest control over the geometry in H‐bond supramolecular architectures, especially in H‐bonded supramolecular polymers, can be achieved by using conformationally rigid molecular modules undergoing self‐assembly through strong H‐bonds. Their binding strength depends on the multiplicity of the H‐bonds, the nature of donor/acceptor pairs and their secondary attractive/repulsive interactions. Here a functionalized molecular module is described, which is capable of self‐associating through self‐complementary H‐bonding patterns comprising four strong and two medium‐strength H‐bonds to form dimers. The self‐association of these phenylpyrimidine‐based dimers through directional H‐bonding between two lateral pyridin‐2(1H)‐one units of neighboring molecules allows the formation of highly compact 1D supramolecular polymers by self‐assembly on graphite. A concentration‐dependent study by scanning tunneling microscopy at the solid–liquid interface, corroborated by dispersion‐corrected density functional studies, reveals the controlled generation of either linear supramolecular 2D arrays, or long helical supramolecular polymers with a high shape persistence.     

Rheology of milk foams produced by steam injection

Abstract: Rheology of milk foams generated by steam injection was studied during the transient destabilization process using steady flow and dynamic oscillatory techniques: yield stress (τ_y) values were obtained from a stress ramp (0.2 to 25 Pa) and from strain amplitude sweep (0.001 to 3 at 1 Hz of frequency); elastic (G′) and viscous (G″) moduli were measured by frequency sweep (0.1 to 10 Hz at 0.05 of strain); and the apparent viscosity (η_a) was obtained from the flow curves generated from the stress ramp. The effect of plate roughness and the sweep time on τ_y was also assessed. Yield stress was found to increase with plate roughness whereas it decreased with the sweep time. The values of yield stress and moduli—G′ and G″—increased during foam destabilization as a consequence of the changes in foam properties, especially the gas volume fraction, ?, and bubble size, R₃₂ (Sauter mean bubble radius). Thus, a relationship between τ_y, ?, R₃₂, and σ(surface tension) was established. The changes in the apparent viscosity, η, showed that the foams behaved like a shear thinning fluid beyond the yield point, fitting the modified Cross model with the relaxation time parameter (λ) also depending on the gas volume fraction. Overall, it was concluded that the viscoelastic behavior of the foam below the yield point and liquid‐like behavior thereafter both vary during destabilization due to changes in the foam characteristics. Practical Application: Studying the transient rheology of milk foams during destabilization contributes to our knowledge of the relationships between the changes in foam properties: texture and mouth feel during the consumption of hot foamed beverages.     

Effectiveness of commercial disinfectants for inactivating hepatitis A virus on agri-food surfaces

Six commercial disinfectants were tested for their efficacy in inactivating hepatitis A virus in solution or attached to agri-food surfaces. Disinfectant I contains 10% quaternary ammonium plus 5% glutaraldehyde; disinfectant II contains 12% sodium hypochlorite; disinfectant III contains 2.9% dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid plus 16% phosphoric acid; disinfectant IV contains 10% quaternary ammonium; disinfectant V contains 2% iodide; and disinfectant VI contains 2% stabilized chlorine dioxide. Among these, disinfectants I and II were shown to be the most effective in inactivating hepatitis A virus in solution. The efficacy of these disinfectants was further tested against hepatitis A virus attached to common agri-food surfaces, including polyvinyl chlorine, high-density polyethylene, aluminum, stainless steel, and copper. Disinfectant II was shown to be the most effective, with a maximum inactivation level of about 3 log10. The inactivation efficacy was shown to be affected by the concentration of the active ingredient, the contact time between the disinfectant and the contaminated surfaces, and the incubation temperature. In general, hepatitis A virus was shown to be highly resistant to most disinfectants tested, and high concentrations of active ingredient were needed to achieve acceptable inactivation levels.     

Effect of subthreshold concentrations of limonin,naringin and sweeteners on bitterness perception

A sensory panel of experienced judges was used to determine taste thresholds of mixtures of limonin and naringin and various sweeteners. Data from these experiments showed that within the 95% confidence interval, subthreshold interactions between limonin and naringin were additive, indicating that less than threshold amounts of these compounds contributed to bitterness of a mixture. Mixtures of hesperetin dihydrochalcone glucoside (HDG), neohesperidin dihydrochalcone (NHD), naringin dihydrochalcone (ND), sucrose and naringin were neither additive nor synergistic at subthreshold concentrations. At suprathreshold levels, sucrose, (HDG) and (NHD) were effective in suppressing naringin bitterness, but (ND) was not.     

14C labelling of lignins of normal and bm3 maizes for fermentation studies

[U-¹⁴C] phenylalanine (phe*) and [O¹⁴CH₃] sinapic acid (sin*) were infused into the cut ends of normal and bm3 maizes (anthesis stage) under or above the last node or at mid-internode, with or without the leaf, in light or in darkness. Radioactivity was measured in the organs, and in phenolic constituents of the cell wall and saponified residues of the bases and tops of the apical inter-node. In both maize genotype labelled under the node the radioactivity was distributed more evenly in the organs with sin* than with phe*. Infusion above the node and at mid-internode greatly increased radioactivity in the bases and tops, respectively. Removal of the leaf only slightly increased the radioactivity, mainly in the bases, and no clear-cut effect of darkness was observed. Phe* labelled the phenolic acids and the three lignin units, but the syringyl units of bm3 maize were only slightly labelled. Sin* specifically labelled the syringyl units, which represented the least condensed fraction of lignins. Both the native and labelled lignins were highly alkali soluble. There were differences in lignin biogenesis between the bases and tops, and between normal and bm3 maizes. The newly formed lignins were slightly different from the native lignins but had similar types of heterogeneity, with variations in the internode and between genotypes similar to those in native lignins. Provided due allowance is made for the distinguishing characteristics of newly formed lignins, the [¹⁴C-lignin] cell walls, which are strongly labelled on complementary structures, seem suitable model substrates for fermentation studies.     

Topography of brain sodium accumulation in progressive multiple sclerosis

Object

Sodium accumulation is involved in neuronal injury occurring in multiple sclerosis (MS). We aimed to assess sodium accumulation in progressive MS, known to suffer from severe neuronal injury.

Materials and methods

3D-²³Na-MRI was obtained on a 3T-MR-scanner in 20 progressive MS patients [11 primary-progressive (PPMS) and nine secondary-progressive (SPMS)] and 15 controls. Total sodium concentrations (TSC) within grey matter (GM), normal-appearing white matter (WM) and lesions were extracted. Statistical mapping analyses of TSC abnormalities were also performed.

Results

Progressive MS patients presented higher GM–TSC values (48.8 ± 3.1 mmol/l wet tissue vol, p < 0.001) and T₂lesions-TSC values (50.9 ± 2.2 mmol/l wet tissue vol, p = 0.01) compared to GM and WM of controls. Statistical mapping analysis showed TSC increases in PPMS patients confined to motor and somatosensory cortices, prefrontal cortices, pons and cerebellum. In SPMS, TSC increases were associated with areas involving: primary motor, premotor and somatosensory cortices; prefrontal, cingulate and visual cortices; the corpus callosum, thalami, brainstem and cerebellum. Anterior prefrontal and premotor cortices TSC were correlated with disability.

Conclusion

Sodium accumulation is present in progressive MS patients, more restricted to the motor system in PPMS and more widespread in SPMS. Local brain sodium accumulation appears as a promising marker to monitor patients with progressive MS.     

Development and Characterization of Monoclonal and Polyclonal Antibodies Against Salmonella enterica Typhimurium for Biosensor Detection

ABSTRACT: For the construction of a biosensor to specifically and effectively detect Salmonella enterica Typhimurium, a monoclonal antibody (mAb) 1B4 and a polyclonal antibody (pAb) S48 were developed against purified outer membrane proteins (OMPs) of Salmonella enterica Typhimurium. Gel electrophoresis data indicated that the apparent molecular weight of the main OMP was 55 kD. The mAb 1B4 strongly reacted to Salmonella enterica Typhimurium and Salmonella enterica Paratyphi and had no cross-reaction to other gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria that were tested. The pAb S48 also showed high reactivity to Salmonella enterica Typhimurium, but had cross-reactivity with other tested bacteria. Because of the high specificity and sensitivity of 1B4 against S. enterica Typhimurium, it was immobilized onto a sensor platform to capture bacteria. The captured bacteria were visualized byalight microscope fortheir detection. The detection limit of the biosensorwas 1 × 10² colony forming units/mL in bacterial culture and in a milk sample, and no other bacteria interfered with the binding of targeted cells. Therefore, a biosensor was developed that would rapidly detect Salmonella in the laboratory and in a food processing plant.     

Smoking too few cigarettes to be at risk? Smokers' perceptions of risk and risk denial,a French survey

Background

Past studies on smokers'' risk perception have produced mixed results. We endorsed a new approach to assess smokers'' perceptions of risk by asking them to estimate threshold values for the cancer risk associated with daily consumption of tobacco and number of smoking years. We expected that many smokers would endorse a “risk denial” attitude, with threshold estimates higher than their own smoking consumption and duration.

Methodology

A French national telephone survey (n = 3820; 979 current smokers) included several questions about smoking behaviours and related beliefs.

Results

Among current smokers, 44% considered that smoking can cause cancer only for a daily consumption higher than their own consumption, and an additional 20% considered that the cancer risk becomes high only for a smoking duration higher than their own. Most smokers also agreed with other “risk denial” statements (“smoking is not more dangerous than air pollution,” “some people smoke their whole life but never get sick”). Those who considered they smoked too few cigarettes to be at risk were less likely to report personal fear of smoking related cancer.

Conclusion

Risk denial is quite widespread among smokers and does not simply reflect a lack of information about health risks related to tobacco. Fully informing smokers about their risks may necessitate changing the way they process information to produce beliefs and limiting their capacity to generate self exempting beliefs.