Blood-alcohol level feedback: A failure to deter impaired driving.

In an attempt to decrease the incidence of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI), some alcohol-serving establishments have installed blood-alcohol level (BAL) feedback devices. These devices are meant to increase awareness of intoxication and result in the avoidance of DUI. However, studies in the US, Canada, and New Zealand (e.g., J. F. Oates, 1976; J. Calvert-Boyanowsky and E. O. Boyanowsky, 1980; P. M. Hurst and P. G. Wright, 1981) indicate that BAL feedback does not deter intoxicated individuals from DUI. Moreover, there is some evidence that it may increase alcohol consumption. The education of alcohol servers about effective techniques they can use to prevent DUI is suggested as a more effective means of preventing DUI. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fee assessment and outpatient psychotherapy.

To test the widely held belief that fee assessment policy affects the psychotherapeutic process, data were gathered from the records of 434 clients who had received individual outpatient psychotherapy at a mental health center in 1972. The 3 predictor variables were fee (no payment, welfare, insurance, scaled payment, and full payment), diagnosis (psychosis, neurosis, personality disorder, transient situational disturbance, and other), and socioeconomic status (5 levels). A least-squares multivariate analysis of variance found only diagnosis to be significantly related to the outcome, number of appointments, and attendance of individual outpatient psychotherapy. Failure to find significant effects of fee assessment categories on therapeutic process suggests the invalidity of therapeutic purposes as a rationale to charge fees for psychotherapy. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Studies on the degradation of atrazine by bacterial communities enriched from various biotopes

Degradation of 14C-ring labeled atrazine (2-choloro-4-(ethylamino)-6-(isopropylamino)-s-triazine) by bacterial populations from soil, waters and activated sludges was investigated and compared with non-biological decomposition in sterile solutions. Within two weeks, 0.6% Cl-deethyl- and 0.1% Cl-deisopropylatrazine had been formed in sterile 0.02 M phosphate buffer, pH 7.2. In biodegradation studies, bacterial populations were enriched and incubated in media containing atrazine and high or low levels of nutrients. Nutrient supply had a strong effect on the fate of atrazine in bacterial cultures, whereas the origin of bacteria was of minor importance. In 31 of 33 mixed populations investigated, the herbicide was largely converted to unidentified compounds. Incubation with high levels of nutrients resulted in 17% to 57% of these compounds being constant after one and two weeks of incubation. In parallel experiments with low nutrient supply, the compounds were present in amounts of 7% to 57% after one week. The proportions of the unidentified compounds dropped within the second week of incubation, while atrazine reappeared correspondingly. The amounts of dealkylated metabolites generally did not exceed those of sterile solutions. The results indicate that atrazine is not degraded by bacteria but bound, thus simulating biodegradation. Evidence is presented that physicochemical decomposition of the herbicide is more significant than microbial degradation.