Size-specific growth and mortality of juvenile yellow perch in southwestern Lake Michigan

Yellow perch have experienced widespread recruitment failure within Lake Michigan since the early 1990s. Efforts to explain annual recruitment variability have primarily focused on the first year of growth, while the juvenile life stage has largely been neglected. Juvenile yellow perch, age-0 through age-2, were collected annually from 2006–2010 in Illinois waters of Lake Michigan to assess temporal variability of size-at-age and size-selective mortality. Age-0 and age-2 total length at capture differed significantly between years with a maximum difference of 4.4 mm and 11.2 mm, respectively. First winter size-selective mortality was not observed for any year-class, however size-specific growth, with larger individuals growing faster than smaller counterparts, occurred during the first winter for all year-classes but 2006. Size-selective mortality was documented between age-1 and age-2 of the 2006 year-class with yellow perch less than 70 mm at age-1 not surviving through age-2. Though population level effects remain unknown, size-specific growth and mortality during the juvenile life stage may influence the size structure and year-class strength of yellow perch in southwestern Lake Michigan. Identification of size-selective mortality occurring beyond the first growing season highlights the significance of rapid growth during early life and the importance of investigating whole life stages to identify factors influencing year-class strength.     

Actinide valences in xenotime and monazite

Tetravalent U, Np and Pu can be substituted by ceramic methods into the rare earth site of xenotime and monazite in air atmospheres using Ca ions as charge compensators, while no evidence of penta- or hexavalent actinide ions was found. Some Pu³⁺ and Np³⁺ can be incorporated in xenotime samples fired in a reducing atmosphere.     

A Comparison of Anticonvulsants in the Treatment of Impulsive Aggression.

This study compared the behavioral effects of 3 anticonvulsants in impulsive aggressive men. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel groups design, participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 6-week treatments: phenytoin (n = 7), carbamazepine (n = 7), valproate (n = 7), or placebo (n = 8). The efficacy measure was the average aggression score, a global severity index from the Overt Aggression Scale (J. M. Silver & S. C. Yudofsky, 1991). Analysis showed a significant reduction in impulsive aggression during all 3 anticonvulsant conditions compared with placebo. However, the treatment effect during carbamazepine administration was slightly delayed compared with phenytoin and valproate. These findings suggest that increased use of anticonvulsants could make a significant impact in the control of impulsive aggression in both mental health and criminal justice settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression in adults with type 2 diabetes: The role of adherence, body mass index, and self-efficacy.

Considerable evidence links depression with the development and worsening of diabetes, but the factors contributing to this link have not been established. The authors examined the role of adherence, body mass index (BMI), and self-efficacy. Adult patients with Type 2 diabetes (N = 56) completed self-report measures of diet and exercise adherence, diet and exercise self-efficacy, and depression. BMI was obtained from medical records. Path and mediation analyses indicated that both adherence and BMI independently contributed to self-efficacy. Self-efficacy mediated both the association between adherence and depression and the association between BMI and depression. These findings are consistent with the proposal that lower self-efficacy in reaction to adherence failure and higher BMI contributes to depression in adults with diabetes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Information technology and supply chain collaboration: moderating effects of existing relationships between partners

Previous studies suggest that information technology (IT) is critical to the development of collaboration between supply chain partners. Our study posits that the effect of IT is not predetermined by its technological capabilities. Rather, its effect on interorganizational collaboration is the emergent properties of the interplay between IT and existing relationships between partners. Based on the literature, we selected four dimensions of supplier-retailer relationship (trust, interdependence, long-term orientation, and information sharing) to investigate the moderating effect of existing relationships on the efficacy of IT. Using case research that involved direct observation and systematic interviews with five pairs of suppliers and retailers, we verified that existing formative contexts between partners both enable and constrain the effect of IT on interorganizational collaboration. In addition, IT reinforces and stabilizes the already existing interorganizational structures and arrangements. Overall, the results suggest that cooperative formative contexts between partners should precede the IT-based interorganizational linkage effort.     

The influence of interactional semantic patterns on the interpretation of noun–noun compounds.

The CARIN theory (C. L. Gagné & E. J. Shoben, 1997) proposes that people use statistical knowledge about the relations with which modifiers are typically used to facilitate the interpretation of modifier–noun combinations. However, research on semantic patterns in compounding has suggested that regularities tend to be associated with pairings of semantic categories, rather than individual concepts (e.g., P. Maguire, E. J. Wisniewski, & G. Storms, in press; B. Warren, 1978). In the present study, the authors investigated whether people are sensitive to interactional semantic patterns in compounding. Experiment 1 demonstrated that the influence of a given modifier on ease of interpretation varies depending on the semantic category of the head. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the relation preference of the head noun influences ease of interpretation when the semantic category of the modifier is compatible with that preference. In light of these findings, the authors suggest that people are sensitive to how different semantic categories tend to be paired in combination and that this information is used to facilitate the interpretation process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exposure testing of fasteners in preservative treated wood: Gravimetric corrosion rates and corrosion product analyses

Research was conducted to determine the corrosion rates of metals in preservative treated wood and also understand the mechanism of metal corrosion in treated wood. Steel and hot-dip galvanized steel fasteners were embedded in wood treated with one of six preservative treatments and exposed to 27 °C at 100% relative humidity for 1 year. The corrosion rate was determined gravimetrically and the corrosion products were analyzed with scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Although the accepted mechanism of corrosion in treated wood involves the reduction of cupric ions from the wood preservative, no reduced copper was found on the corrosion surfaces. The galvanized corrosion products contained sulfates, whereas the steel corrosion products consisted of iron oxides and hydroxides. The possible implications and limitations of this research on fasteners used in building applications are discussed.