Mediators of telephone-based continuing care for alcohol and cocaine dependence.

A previous randomized trial with 224 alcohol and/or cocaine addicts who had completed an initial phase of treatment indicated that 12 weeks of telephone-based continuing care yielded higher abstinence rates over 24 months than did group counseling continuing care. The current study examined mediators of this treatment effect. Results suggested that self-help involvement during treatment and self-efficacy and commitment to abstinence 3 months after treatment mediated subsequent abstinence outcomes. These analyses controlled for substance use prior to the assessment of mediators. Conversely, there was no evidence that self-help beliefs or social support mediated the treatment effect. These results are consistent with a model in which treatment effects are first accounted for by changes in behavior, followed by changes in self-efficacy and in commitment to abstinence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluation of the behavior of selenium in silicate slag

The solubility of Se in silica saturated iron silicate slag was examined at 1458 and 1523 K using a static distribution technique. The procedure involved equilibrating slag with a molten Cu-Se alloy. The final Se content of both the slag and metal phases was determined using hydride generation in conjunction with atomic absorption. The slag specimens were also analyzed for their ferrous and ferric ion content. The results of this investigation indicate that the solubility of selenium in slag increases as the Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺ ratio increases, and that the solubility is constant at lower values of that ratio. These results are consistent with the model proposed by Nagamoriet al. ^1,2 In that study selenium is postulated to exist in both a neutral state and as an Fe-Se complex. In this work a method is presented whereby one can evaluate the nature of Fe-Se complexes. Analysis of the data obtained in this study, and the data obtained by Nagamori and co-workers, suggests that the Fe-Se complex has an Fe/Se ratio of approximately 1∶2. This study also presents a method, for calculating the fraction of neutral selenium present in slag.     

The relationship between postmortem urinary catecholamines, meat ultimate pH, and shear force in bulls and cows

We investigated the relationship between stress responsiveness and meat quality in cattle. The cattle were 16-19-month-old Mixed (n=37, 303 kg) or Non-mixed (n=23, 279 kg) Friesian bulls and Friesian cull cows (1.5-7 years) that were classified Unfinished (n=133, 195 kg) or Finished for 3 months (n=34, 252 kg). A portion of m. longissimus lumborum (LL) muscle was obtained from consecutive animals for a single days slaughter of 227 cattle processed through a hot boning plant. Catecholamines were obtained from bladder urine. Ultimate pH, lactate, glycogen, glycolytic potential and representative sarcomere lengths were determined from 20-h muscle samples. Shear force measurements were from meat aged at 15 °C for 20 and 90 h. Urinary noradrenaline was similar between Mixed (14.86 ng/μmol creatinine) and Non-mixed bulls (14.07 ng/μmol creatinine) and Finished cows (15.24 ng/μmol creatinine) and elevated in the Unfinished cows (22.28 ng/μmol creatinine). Urinary adrenaline was higher in Mixed bulls (9.5 ng/μmol creatinine) than Non-mixed bulls (5.7 ng/μmol creatinine) and higher in both Unfinished cows (16.67 ng/μmol creatinine) and Finished cows (14.19 ng/μmol creatinine). For bulls that are growing well on-farm, with a only short period of fasting prior to slaughter, pH(u) is a good predictor of meat tenderness. In this situation, stressors that lower muscle glycogen pre-slaughter can have a significant effect on meat shear force, and individual animals with elevated urinary adrenaline were the most susceptible. However, in the case of cows, adrenaline responses are not necessarily associated with glycogen depletion and pH(u) is less affected than for bulls. Furthermore, the ability of meat to tenderise fully, related to reduced proteolytic turnover, is reduced in nutritionally compromised animals such as the Unfinished cows.     

Structure and Replication of yDNA: A Novel Genetic Set Widened by Benzo‐Homologation

In a functioning genetic system, the information‐encoding molecule must form a regular self‐complementary complex (for example, the base‐paired double helix of DNA) and it must be able to encode information and pass it on to new generations. Here we study a benzo‐widened DNA‐like molecule (yDNA) as a candidate for an alternative genetic set, and we explicitly test these two structural and functional requirements. The solution structure of a 10 bp yDNA duplex is measured by using 2D‐NMR methods for a simple sequence composed of T–yA/yA–T pairs. The data confirm an antiparallel, right‐handed, hydrogen‐bonded helix resembling B‐DNA but with a wider diameter and enlarged base‐pair size. In addition to this, the abilities of two different polymerase enzymes (Klenow fragment of DNA pol I (Kf) and the repair enzyme Dpo4) to synthesize and extend the yDNA pairs T–yA, A–yT, and G–yC are measured by steady‐state kinetics studies. Not surprisingly, insertion of complementary bases opposite yDNA bases is inefficient due to the larger base‐pair size. We find that correct pairing occurs in several cases by both enzymes, but that common and relatively efficient mispairing involving T–yT and T–yC pairs interferes with fully correct formation and extension of pairs by these polymerases. Interestingly, the data show that extension of the large pairs is considerably more efficient with the flexible repair enzyme (Dpo4) than with the more rigid Kf enzyme. The results shed light on the properties of yDNA as a candidate for an alternative genetic information‐encoding molecule and as a tool for application in basic science and biomedicine.     

Undermining the Corrective Effects of Media‐Based Political Fact Checking? The Role of Contextual Cues and Naïve Theory

Media‐based fact checking contributes to more accurate political knowledge, but its corrective effects are limited. We argue that biographical information included in a corrective message, which is often unrelated to the inaccurate claim itself, can activate misperception‐congruent naïve theories, increasing confidence in a misperception's plausibility and inducing skepticism toward denials. Resistance to corrections occurs regardless of initial belief accuracy, but the effect is strongest among those who find the contextual information objectionable or threatening. We test these claims using an online survey‐embedded experiment (N = 750) conducted in the wake of the controversy over the proposed Islamic cultural center in New York City near the site of the 9/11 attacks, and find support for our predictions. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Opto-Mechanical and Electronic Design of a Tunnel-Trap Si Radiometer

A transmission-type light-trap silicon radiometer has been developed to hold the NIST spectral power and irradiance responsivity scales between 406 nm and 920 nm. The device is built from replaceable input apertures and tightly packed different-size silicon photodiodes. The photodiodes are positioned in a triangular shape tunnel such that beam clipping is entirely eliminated within an 8 field-of-view (FOV). A light trap is attached to the output of the radiometer to collect the transmitted radiation and to minimize the effect of ambient light. The photodiodes, selected for equal shunt resistance, are connected in parallel. The capacitance and the resultant shunt resistance of the device were measured and frequency compensations were applied in the feedback network of the photocurrent-to-voltage converter to optimize signal-, voltage-, and loop-gain characteristics. The trap radiometer can measure either dc or ac optical radiation with high sensitivity. The noise-equivalent-power of the optimized device is 47 fW in dc mode and 5.2 fW at 10 Hz chopping. The relative deviation from the cosine responsivity in irradiance mode was measured to be equal to or less than 0.02 % within 5° FOV and 0.05 % at 8° FOV. The trap-radiometer can transfer irradiance responsivities with uncertainties comparable to those of primary standard radiometers. Illuminance and irradiance meters, holding the SI units (candela, color- and radiance-temperature), will be calibrated directly against the transfer standard trap-radiometer to obtain improved accuracy in the base-units.     

Nine Pitfalls in Implementing Packaged Applications Software

Abstract

Users who have high expectations for a new system too often become disappointed once they discover the system does not live up to their dreams. Some IS managers circumvent this problem by purposely setting expectations too low. However, high expectations do not have to be a guarantee for disappointment and dissatisfaction.     

Coal Strip Mining,Mountaintop Removal,and the Distribution of Environmental Violations across the United States, 2002–2008

This study draws upon concepts in landscape research and environmental justice to examine the association between community poverty and environmental violations that occurred between 2002 and 2008 across 110 coal strip mining operations located within the United States. Multivariate results suggest that residential poverty is greater around facilities that have been identified as violating an environmental law. In addition, the association between poverty and violations is dependent upon regulatory inspections. While an increase in inspections is associated with an increase in the odds that a violation will be discovered, it is also associated with lower levels of community poverty. We conclude that this pattern of associations between poverty, inspections, and violations is consistent with arguments in the environmental justice and landscape literatures.     

Developing a culture of lifelong learning in a library environment

Between 1995 and 1996, the Annette and Irwin Eskind Biomedical Library (EBL) at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) radically revised the model of service it provides to the VUMC community. An in-depth training program was developed for librarians, who began to migrate to clinical settings and establish clinical librarianship and information brokerage services beyond the library's walls. To ensure that excellent service would continue within the library, EBL's training program was adapted for library assistants, providing them with access to information about a wide variety of work roles and processes over a four to eight-month training period. Concurrently, customer service areas were reorganized so that any question--whether reference or circulation--could be answered at any of four service points, eliminating the practice of passing customers from person to person between the reference and circulation desks. To provide an incentive for highly trained library assistants to remain at EBL, management and library assistants worked together to redesign the career pathway based on defined stages of achievement, self-directed participation in library-wide projects, and demonstrated commitment to lifelong learning. Education and training were the fundamental principles at the center of all this activity.