Tinto Versus Odiel: Two A.M.D. Polluted Rivers and an Unresolved Issue. An Artificial Intelligence Approach

The Iberian Pyrite Belt (SW Spain) is a highly relevant source of Acid Mine Drainage contamination on a global scale. Although the Tinto and Odiel Rivers, which cross the Iberian Pyrite Belt, have been widely studied by various authors, an issue is still pending: the study of the metal load distribution undergone by each of these rivers and, hence, the establishment of cause-effect relationships between the transported load in the final sections of both rivers, upstream of the tidal influence limits, and the characteristics of the input in each of the basins. To solve this, a water sampling campaign was conducted on both rivers on a daily basis from mid September 2007 to the end of May 2008, where pH, conductivity, redox potential, As, Cd, Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn and sulfate were analyzed. The results were treated with the PreFurGe tool, which is based on Fuzzy Logic. This showed that the order of abundance for the parameters analyzed for the Odiel River is SO₄>Zn>Mn>Fe>Cu>Cd>As, whereas for the Tinto River it is SO₄>Fe>Cu>Zn>Mn>Cd>As. This last pattern coincides with the order of abundance of elements in Pyrite. In the Tinto River, the metal with the highest rate is Fe, which presents mean values of 361.1 mg/L, whereas in the Odiel River iron mean concentration is 5.34 mg/L. This difference is due to higher precipitation of oxyhydroxysulfates of iron in the Odiel River as a result of the higher intensity of neutralization processes.     

Engaging adolescent drug abusers and their families in treatment: A strategic structural systems approach.

This article presents evidence for the effectiveness of a strategy for engaging adolescent drug users and their families in therapy. The intervention method is based on strategic, structural, and systems concepts. To overcome resistance, the identified pattern of interactions that interferes with entry into treatment is restructured. Subjects were 108 Hispanic families in which an adolescent was suspected of, or was observed, using drugs. Subjects were randomly assigned to a strategic structural-systems engagement (experimental) condition or to an engagement-as-usual (control) condition. Subjects in the experimental condition were engaged at a rate of 93% compared with subjects in the control condition, who were engaged at a rate of 42%. Seventy-seven percent of subjects in the experimental condition completed treatment compared with 25% of subjects in the control condition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Treatment of depression among Cuban American elders: Some validational evidence for a life enhancement counseling approach.

Reports outcome research on a counseling approach developed to provide an age-appropriate and culturally sensitive treatment model for alleviating depression among Cuban-American elders. 66 Ss (average age 67.2 yrs) were administered the Older American Resource Scale Multidimensional Functional Assessment Questionnaire and the Subjective Distress Macroscale of the Psychiatric Status Schedule. Treatment outcome analysis indicated that significant improvement in functioning occurred along all dimensions evaluated. Additional analyses were performed to identify client and treatment variables that were differentially predictive of treatment success. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Efficacy of brief strategic family therapy in modifying Hispanic adolescent behavior problems and substance use.

This study investigated the efficacy of brief strategic family therapy (BSFT) with Hispanic behavior problem and drug using youth, an underrepresented population in the family therapy research literature. One hundred twenty-six Hispanic families with a behavior problem adolescent were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 conditions: BSFT or group treatment control (GC). Results showed that, compared to GC cases, BSFT cases showed significantly greater pre- to post-intervention improvement in parent reports of adolescent conduct problems and delinquency, adolescent reports of marijuana use, and observer ratings and self reports of family functioning. These results extend prior findings on the efficacy of family interventions to a difficult to treat Hispanic adolescent sample. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Integrative Borderline Adolescent Family Therapy: Meeting the Challenges of Treating Adolescents With Borderline Personality Disorder.

With the growing acceptance of the borderline personality disorder diagnosis for adolescents has come a need for specialized treatments for this challenging population. Further, because of the prominence of the family system during early and later adolescence, family treatments are particularly needed. The purpose of this article is to present the integrative borderline adolescent family therapy (I-BAFT) model that emerged from a National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded (Stage 1) treatment development and enhancement effort. I-BAFT integrates (a) key interventions from the family treatment of adolescent drug abuse (D. A. Santisteban et al., 2003; J. Szapocznik & W. Kurtines, 1989), (b) skills training shown effective with adults with borderline personality disorder (M. Linehan, 1993a) and adapted for adolescents, and (c) individual treatment interventions that promote motivation for treatment and enhance the integration of the 3 treatment components. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hydride reorientation in Zr2.5Nb studied by synchrotron X-ray diffraction

The crystallographic texture and stress state of hydride platelets of two different orientations precipitated in Zr2.5Nb pressure tubes were studied by synchrotron X-ray diffraction experiments using an 80 keV photon beam and an area detector in transmission geometry. Circumferential and radial hydrides with platelet normals along the tube radial and circumferential directions, respectively, were precipitated in tube material loaded up to H contents of 130 wt.ppm. This macroscopic hydride orientation was controlled by application of a load along the tube hoop direction during hydride precipitation. The experiments show that both circumferential and radial platelets are composed of δ-hydrides precipitated in α-Zr grains from a wide range of orientations, but with a clear preference for Zr crystals with their c-axes at an angle of ～15–20° from the hoop direction. Some moderate differences between the crystallographic texture of the two hydrides result from application of the load during precipitation. The results are explained in terms of an autocatalytic nucleation process and the Zr2.5Nb microstructure. A careful stress analysis revealed that both hydride types are compressed by the matrix on the plane of the platelet, with the largest stresses always found along the axial direction of the tube. Determination of the stress state of the hydride could be exploited as a diffraction signature of the hydride orientation.     

In situ study of hydride precipitation kinetics and re-orientation in Zircaloy using synchrotron radiation

The orientation and distribution of hydrides formed in zirconium alloy nuclear fuel cladding can strongly influence material behavior and in particular resistance to crack growth. The hydride microstructure and hydride platelet orientation (whether in-plane or radial relative to the cladding tubes) are crucial to determining cladding failure limits during mechanical testing. Hydride formation is normally studied by post-facto metallography, performed at room temperature and in the absence of applied stress. This study uses synchrotron radiation to observe in situ the kinetics of hydride dissolution and precipitation in previously hydrided Zircaloy samples. The experiments allow the direct observation of hydride dissolution, re-precipitation, and re-orientation, during heating and cooling under load. The solubility limits and the hydride-matrix orientation relationship determined from in situ experiments were in good agreement with previous post-facto examinations of bulk materials. The present measurements performed under stress and at temperature showed a characteristic diffraction signature of reoriented hydrides. The results suggest a threshold stress for hydride re-orientation between 75 and 80 MPa for the microstructure/texture studied. These results are discussed in light of existing knowledge.     

Mycoplasma species isolated from bovine milk collected from US dairy herds between 2016 and 2019

Determining the species of mycoplasma isolated from culture-positive milk samples is important for understanding the clinical significance of their detection. Between August 2016 and December 2019, 214,518 milk samples from 2,757 dairy herds were submitted to Quality Milk Production Services (QMPS) at Cornell University for mycoplasma culture. From these samples, 3,728 collected from 204 herds were culture positive. Based on the request of herd managers, owners, or veterinarians, 889 isolates from 98 herds were subjected to molecular identification by PCR and amplicon sequencing. The largest proportion of the identified isolates were from New York State (78.1%), while the others came from the eastern United States (17.8%), Texas (2.0%), and New Mexico (2.1%). As expected, Mycoplasma spp. were the most common (855 isolates, 96.2%) and Acholeplasma spp. accounted for the remainder (34 isolates, 3.8%). Mycoplasma bovis was the most prevalent Mycoplasma species (75.1%), followed by M. bovigenitalium (6.5%), M. canadense (5.9%), M. alkalescens (5%), M. arginini (1.7%), M. californicum (0.1%), and M. primatum (0.1%). A portion of the isolates were confirmed as Mycoplasma spp. other than M. bovis but were not identified at the species level (16 isolates, 1.8%) because further information was not requested by the manager, owner, or veterinarian. Mycoplasma bovis was the only species identified in 59 of the 98 herds. However, more than 1 Mycoplasma sp. was identified in 29 herds, suggesting that herd infection with 2 or more mycoplasmas is not uncommon. Moreover, a Mycoplasma sp. other than M. bovis was the only species identified in 8 herds. From the subset of 889 mycoplasma culture-positive isolates from 98 herds, we determined that over a third of the herds had either more than 1 Mycoplasma sp. or a Mycoplasma sp. other than M. bovis detected in their milk samples. In conclusion, we observed that M. bovis is the most common pathogenic Mycoplasma species found in mastitic milk, but other Mycoplasma species are not uncommon. Our results suggest that it is critical to test milk samples for mycoplasmas using diagnostic tests able to identify both the genus and the species.