Contingent reinforcement of marijuana abstinence among individuals with serious mental illness: A feasibility study.

The feasibility of using monetary incentives to promote abstinence from marijuana use among individuals with serious mental illness was examined by using a within-subjects experimental design. Participants were 18 adults with schizophrenia or other serious mental illness who reported regular marijuana use. During 2 baseline conditions, participants received payment for submitting urine specimens independent of urinalysis results. During 3 incentive conditions, participants received varying amounts of money if urinalysis results were negative for recent marijuana use. The number of marijuana-negative specimens obtained was significantly greater during incentive than baseline conditions. These results provide evidence that marijuana use among at least some mentally ill individuals is sensitive to contingent reinforcement and support the potential feasibility of using contingency management interventions to reduce substance abuse among the mentally ill. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Improvements in partner support predict sexual satisfaction among individuals with multiple sclerosis.

Purpose: Sexual dysfunction and low sexual satisfaction are common among individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS); however, little is known about factors that influence sexual satisfaction within this population. As such, the purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which changes in negative and positive partner support predict sexual satisfaction levels over time in individuals with MS. Design: Eighty-one individuals with MS completed measures of sexual dysfunction, sexual satisfaction, partner social support, and depression. Data from baseline and posttreatment follow-up were obtained from a larger randomized clinical trial of telephone-administered psychotherapy for depression in a population with MS. Multiple regression analyses were conducted with change in overall sexual satisfaction from baseline to posttreatment as the outcome variable. Results: After controlling for age, gender, sexual dysfunction, years diagnosed with MS, and depression severity, those with increased positive partner support reported significant improvement in sexual satisfaction over time (β = .50, p     

Polyampholyte acrylic latexes for tablet coating applications

Polyampholyte latexes can exist within a certain pH range as low‐viscosity aqueous dispersions, while upon a pH shift to the vicinity of the isoelectric point they undergo ionic coacervation. Three classes of coacervation latexes were synthesized and evaluated for their suitability for use in tablet coating applications. Pharmaceutical tablet coatings are commonly based on hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, poly(vinyl alcohol), and acrylic polymers. Because of the high viscosity of their aqueous solutions, and to the consequent required low concentrations of the tablet coating polymers in the coating solutions to enable sufficiently low viscosity for effective spray application, the current commercial pharmaceutical tablet coating technology requires the removal of large amounts of water during the manufacturing process. In this work, films prepared from high‐solids, low‐viscosity coacervated acrylic latexes showed good hardness, very low tackiness, an excellent combination of optical properties, and very low water vapor permeability. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40049.     

Putative Steroidal Pheromones in the Round Goby, Neogobius melanostomus: Olfactory and Behavioral Responses

To identify potential hormonal pheromones of the round goby (Neogobius melanostomus), a species recently introduced to the Great Lakes, we used electro-olfactogram (EOG) recording to examine olfactory responsiveness to more than 100 steroids and prostaglandins. Neogobius detected free and conjugated 18-, 19- and 21-carbon steroids, but did not detect prostaglandins. EOG cross-adaptation, used to determine if Neogobius can discriminate the detected compounds at the sensory level, suggested that the detected steroids act on four classes of olfactory receptor mechanisms named (according to the most potent ligand for each): estrone, 17 beta-estradiol-3 beta-glucuronide, etiocholanolone, and dehydroepiandrosterone-3-sulfate. Although none of the detected steroids induced reproductive behaviors, exposure to steroids from three of the four receptor classes (estrone, 17 beta-estradiol-3 beta-glucuronide, or etiocholanolone) increased ventilation rate in males, whereas only etiocholanolone increased ventilation rate in females. Using the ventilation increase as a behavioral bioassay of steroid detection, behavioral cross-adaptation studies in males demonstrated that steroids discriminated at the sensory level are also discriminated behaviorally. These findings suggest the round goby may use steroids as putative pheromones.     

SPIFI: a direct-detection imaging spectrometer for submillimeter wavelengths

The South Pole Imaging Fabry-Perot Interferometer (SPIFI) is the first instrument of its kind-a direct-detection imaging spectrometer for astronomy in the submillimeter band. SPIFI's focal plane is a square array of 25 silicon bolometers cooled to 60 mK; the spectrometer consists of two cryogenic scanning Fabry-Perot interferometers in series with a 60-mK bandpass filter. The instrument operates in the short submillimeter windows (350 and 450 microm) available from the ground, with spectral resolving power selectable between 500 and 10,000. At present, SPIFI's sensitivity is within a factor of 1.5-3 of the photon background limit, comparable with the best heterodyne spectrometers. The instrument's large bandwidth and mapping capability provide substantial advantages for specific astrophysical projects, including deep extragalactic observations. We present the motivation for and design of SPIFI and its operational characteristics on the telescope.     

Magnetic resonance tomographic angiography of the arterial circle (of Willis)

The efficacy of two different types of commercial competitive exclusion (CE) products against Salmonella was studied in three chicken assay trials. Chicks were treated on the day of hatch and challenged one day later either with Salm. infantis (Trials 1 and 2) or a combination of Salm. infantis and Salm. enteritidis (Trial 3). The caeca of the birds were examined for Salmonella five days after challenge. The mean logarithmic counts of Salmonella were from 3.4 to 5.7 in the groups treated with product. A derived from the whole caecal contents of an adult bird, from 0.0 to 1.2 in the groups treated with product B, a highly selected product that does not contain any clostridia, and from 6.3 to 7.6 in the control groups. None of the challenge organisms superseded the other in Trial 3, and neither did the double challenge affect the protective capacity of the treatment materials.     

Effect of low-volatile additives on the structure and strength of cokes

Blends of medium-volatile or high-volatile coals have been carbonized in a 7 kg oven with low-volatile coals (6–16% VM, dmmf). A comparison is made of the strength and structural properties of these cokes with those of the cokes made under corresponding conditions from the medium or high-volatile coals alone. With increasing levels of addition of the low-volatile coals the tensile strength of the blend cokes generally attains a maximum and then decreases. These strength changes are related to changes in porosity, pore-wall thickness and pore dimensions. Coals which display some degree of plasticity and which are weakly caking improve coke quality by altering the pore-structure due to the combined effects of decreasing the pore diameter and slightly increasing the wall thickness. Those additives which are non-caking act primarily as wall thickeners.     

Low-glycemic-load diets: impact on obesity and chronic diseases

Historically, carbohydrates have been thought to play only a minor role in promoting weight gain and in predicting the risk of development of chronic disease. Most of the focus had been on reducing total dietary fat. During the last 20 years, fat intake decreased, while the number of individuals who were overweight or developed a chronic conditions have dramatically increased. Simultaneously, the calories coming from carbohydrate have also increased. Carbohydrates can be classified by their post-prandial glycemic effect, called the glycemic index or glycemic load. Carbohydrates with high glycemic indexes and high glycemic loads produce substantial increases in blood glucose and insulin levels after ingestion. Within a few hours after their consumption, blood sugar levels begin to decline rapidly due to an exaggerated increase in insulin secretion. A profound state of hunger is created. The continued intake of high-glycemic load meals is associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. In this review, the terms glycemic index and glycemic load are defined, coupled with an overview of short- and long-term changes that occur from eating diets of different glycemic indexes and glycemic loads. Finally, practical strategies for how to design low-glycemic-load diets consisting primarily of low-glycemic carbohydrates are provided.     

Determinants and validity of self-estimates of abilities and self-concept measures.

How accurate are self-estimates of cognitive abilities? An investigation of self-estimates of verbal, math, and spatial abilities is reported with a battery of parallel objective tests of abilities. Self-estimates were obtained prior to and after objective ability testing (without test feedback) in order to examine whether self-estimates change after direct objective testing experience. Self-estimates showed small to large effect-size correlations with objective tests--larger for math and smaller for verbal. The construct space of self-estimates of abilities was explored in the context of self-concept, self-esteem, self-efficacy, personality, interests, motivational traits, and trait complexes. Self-efficacy and self-esteem variables showed the highest correlations with self-estimates of abilities. In general, trait complexes showed the highest correlations with verbal ability self-estimates and the lowest correlations with math ability self-estimates. Results are discussed in relation to the principle of aggregation, the influences of self-evaluative judgments, and uses for self-estimates of abilities measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)