Illicit drugs, a novel group of environmental contaminants

It is now well established that residues from therapeutic drugs consumed by humans can end up, through the sewage system, in the surface water of populated areas. Given that the global production of major illicit drugs is comparable to that of widely used pharmaceuticals, we tested for the presence of drugs of abuse (cocaine, opioids, amphetamines and cannabis derivatives), some related opioid pharmaceuticals (codeine and methadone) and/or their metabolites in Italian and British surface waters. Having identified residues of all major drugs of abuse in raw and treated urban wastewater, we now measured their levels in several rivers and lakes by a selective multi-residue assay based on liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Recoveries in surface water were generally higher than 80%, with overall variability of the method lower than 10%. LODs were generally lower than 0.2 ng/L, and LOQs were lower than 0.6 ng/L, with few exceptions. Many of the tested substances were found in both rivers and lakes, at concentrations ranging from high pg/L to high ng/L, with loads in rivers in the range of tenths to hundreds of grams per day. Our data indicate that residues of drugs of abuse have become widespread surface water contaminants in populated areas. Since most of these residues still have potent pharmacological activities, their presence in the aquatic environment may have potential implications for human health and wildlife.     

Effect of water and oxygen traces on the cathodic stability of N-alkyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide

Although research in the field of ionic liquids for electrochemical applications has led to a deeper knowledge in their electrochemical properties, doubts in the interpretation of the experimental results are still encountered in the literature due to the poor control of the experimental conditions and/or to the limited number of experiments conducted. In this work, the effect of water and oxygen traces on the cathodic stability window of hydrophobic, air-stable ionic liquids composed of N-alkyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium (PYR_1A⁺) cations and bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (TFSI⁻) anion, is reported. The extensive investigation performed by linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) indicates that the TFSI⁻ anion is cathodically stable if the ionic liquid is pure and dry. The N-alkyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide ionic liquids investigated showed featureless cathodic linear sweep voltammetry curves before the massive cation decomposition took place at very low potentials.     

Evaluation of low ash impact sorbent injection technologies for mercury control at a Texas lignite/PRB fired power plant

A sorbent injection test program was carried out at NRG Texas Power LLC's (NRG) Limestone Electric Generating Station (LMS). LMS fires a 30/70 blend of Powder River Basin (PRB) and Texas Lignite, and is equipped with a cold-side electrostatic precipitator (ESP) and wet scrubber. The plant markets its fly ash for beneficial use, so development of a low ash impact mercury control technology is important to the economics of implementing a mercury control system. In addition to standard activated carbon injection, two different low ash impact mercury control technologies were evaluated in parametric tests: low ash impact sorbents and Toxecon™ II. The parametric ACI test program conducted at LMS demonstrated that high (>90%) levels of mercury removal could be achieved with carbon sorbents. The Toxecon™ II design used at LMS did not provide for as high a mercury removal as injection upstream of the ESP, likely due to poor coverage of the cross-sectional area of the ESP. Limited concrete testing was performed with simulated ash/carbon mixtures. As expected, the amount of air-entraining additive required increased with increasing carbon content in the ash. However, it appeared that small amounts of non-passivated carbon may be acceptable in fly ash for concrete use.     

Mesoporous Silica: A Suitable Adsorbent for Amines

Mesoporous silica with KIT-6 structure was investigated as a preconcentrating material in chromatographic systems for ammonia and trimethylamine. Its adsorption capacity was compared to that of existing commercial materials, showing its increased adsorption power. In addition, KIT-6 mesoporous silica efficiently adsorbs both gases, while none of the employed commercial adsorbents did. This means that KIT-6 Mesoporous silica may be a good choice for integrated chromatography/gas sensing micro-devices.     

Making children gesture brings out implicit knowledge and leads to learning.

Speakers routinely gesture with their hands when they talk, and those gestures often convey information not found anywhere in their speech. This information is typically not consciously accessible, yet it provides an early sign that the speaker is ready to learn a particular task (S. Goldin-Meadow, 2003). In this sense, the unwitting gestures that speakers produce reveal their implicit knowledge. But what if a learner was forced to gesture? Would those elicited gestures also reveal implicit knowledge and, in so doing, enhance learning? To address these questions, the authors told children to gesture while explaining their solutions to novel math problems and examined the effect of this manipulation on the expression of implicit knowledge in gesture and on learning. The authors found that, when told to gesture, children who were unable to solve the math problems often added new and correct problem-solving strategies, expressed only in gesture, to their repertoires. The authors also found that when these children were given instruction on the math problems later, they were more likely to succeed on the problems than children told not to gesture. Telling children to gesture thus encourages them to convey previously unexpressed, implicit ideas, which, in turn, makes them receptive to instruction that leads to learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Beyond reciprocity: Gratitude and relationships in everyday life.

The emotion of gratitude is thought to have social effects, but empirical studies of such effects have focused largely on the repaying of kind gestures. The current research focused on the relational antecedents of gratitude and its implications for relationship formation. The authors examined the role of naturally occurring gratitude in college sororities during a week of gift-giving from older members to new members. New members recorded reactions to benefits received during the week. At the end of the week and 1 month later, the new and old members rated their interactions and their relationships. Perceptions of benefactor responsiveness predicted gratitude for benefits, and gratitude during the week predicted future relationship outcomes. Gratitude may function to promote relationship formation and maintenance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parental personality as an inner resource that moderates the impact of ecological adversity on parenting.

Parents' personality was examined as a moderator of the impact of demographic risk on parenting in a longitudinal study (N=102 families). Parents' personality and demographic risk (i.e., education level, age, family income, and family size) were assessed when children were infants, and parents' power assertion, warmth, and positive affect were observed in naturalistic interactions 2.5 years later. Parents' personality moderated the adverse impact of demographic risk on parenting. For parents who had memories of unstable and unhappy childhood experiences and who reported low conventionality, higher risk was linked to more power assertion, but there was no such link for those parents who recalled happy childhood experiences and who embraced conventions. For both parents who lacked a sense of optimism and social trust, and for fathers who reported low conventionality, higher risk was linked to less affectively positive parenting, but there was no such link for parents who were optimistic and trusting or for fathers who were conventional. Higher risk was linked to more power assertion, but only for mothers low in Extraversion and for fathers high in Neuroticism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Progesterone: Review of safety for clinical studies.

Progesterone is a steroid hormone that is important for reproductive function. Progesterone is used in a number of clinical applications and has been investigated as a possible novel approach for treatment of stimulant drug abuse. Extensive clinical studies have been conducted to examine the subjective and physiological effects of exogenous progesterone administration and to evaluate its side effects. This review summarizes the safety and side effects of acute and chronic administration of 3 progesterone formulations (synthetic, natural, and micronized natural), several routes of administration (oral, intramuscular, intravenous, intravaginal, intranasal, transdermal, and rectal), and dosing regimens. Synthetic progestins marketed as Provera, PremPro, and Cycrin are widely used but may produce a number of significant side effects, such as fatigue, fluid retention, lipid level alterations, dysphoria, hypercoagulant states, and increased androgenicity. Natural progesterones are reported to have milder adverse effects, depending on the route of administration. Micronized natural progesterone is available for oral administration, has better bioavailability and fewer side effects than natural progesterone, and is convenient to administer. Therefore, micronized natural progesterone appears to be a safe and effective alternative to synthetic and natural progesterone formulations for variety of clinical and research applications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Professional education and training: How satisfied are we? An exploratory study.

A survey of 497 interns, residents, and psychologists indicated general satisfaction with their career choices and training. A majority of respondents (about 68%) desired more training in career/workplace issues and 44% wanted additional training in the biological bases of behavior. Some believed that the financial and time commitments needed to become a psychologist might outweigh the long-term benefits. Limitations of the study including low sample size were discussed. Results were also discussed in terms of abbreviating the current training curriculum to maintain competitiveness in the workplace, and in terms of the costs versus benefits of becoming psychologists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)