Sensitive Mother-to-Adolescent Disclosures After Divorce: Is the Experience of Sons Different From That of Daughters?

This study addressed two main questions: (a) Are adolescent sons and daughters exposed to sensitive maternal disclosures after divorce with similar frequency and in similar detail? and (b) Does gender act as a moderator in the association between maternal disclosures and adolescent adjustment difficulties? Forced-choice and open-ended data were collected from 194 adolescents within 2 years after their parents' divorce. Quantitative analyses revealed that although the majority of adolescents experience some level of maternal disclosure, neither frequency nor detail of maternal disclosure differed as a function of adolescent gender. Frequent and detailed maternal disclosures were associated with adolescent adjustment difficulties, primarily psychological distress. Gender did not moderate that significant association. Qualitative analysis shed light on the link between maternal disclosures and adolescent distress, suggested the importance of how disclosures are made, and revealed several gender differences in reactions to maternal disclosures. Implications of the findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Extended donor criteria: use of cardiac allografts after carbon monoxide poisoning

BACKGROUND: An increasing demand for cardiac allografts for the treatment of end-stage cardiac failure has led to a shift in the traditional views about donor criteria. The use of allografts exposed to high concentrations of carbon monoxide is still under discussion. The current literature on this topic is contradictory. We describe our experience with orthotopic cardiac transplantation, using cardiac allografts after carbon monoxide poisoning. METHODS: Between March 13, 1989 and August 1, 1996, 770 orthotopic heart transplantations were performed in our center. Within this period, we accepted five cardiac allografts from brain-dead, carbon monoxide-poisoned donors. Donor history showed carbon monoxide intoxication in all cases. At the time of organ explantation, donor hemodynamic parameters were feeble in all patients. RESULTS: The postoperative course was uneventful in three of the five recipients. The overall 3-year survival rate in this small group is 40%. Induction therapy or rescue therapy with mono/polyclonal antibodies was not necessary. Myocardial right-ventricular biopsies did not show any specific signs of carbon monoxide poisoning. CONCLUSIONS: In our opinion, cardiac allografts from donors exposed to carbon monoxide can be transplanted successfully in infants and adults, if there are no signs of severe hemodynamic dysfunction in the presence of a normal central venous pressure and low-dose support with catecholamines and there are no electrocardiographic changes in combination with elevated transaminase. With extended donor criteria, the hearts of carbon monoxide-poisoned victims could increase the number of suitable organs and lower the death rate of patients on the United Network for Organ Sharing and Eurotransplant International Foundation waiting lists.     

Endometrial polyps: a comparison study of patients receiving tamoxifen with two control groups

OBJECTIVES: To provide a review of the unique features of both Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in pediatric and geriatric patient populations. Treatment approaches and nursing care interventions at the extremes of age will be discussed. DATA SOURCES: Review articles, research studies, and book chapters. CONCLUSIONS: Lymphoma is a highly heterogeneous malignancy whose classification and management have undergone significant evolution. Of particular concern has been lymphoma's prevalence and treatment at the extremes of age. Appropriate treatment by age and subtype remains controversial. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: The nursing care of pediatric and geriatric patients with lymphoma presents numerous challenges in education, symptom management, and supportive care.     

Classifications and salaries of psychologists in state mental hospital systems.

Afour-and-a-half page table summarizes job classifications and salaries of psychologists in the state mental hospital systems of 42 states. The data were acquired by means of a 3-page questionnaire directed to the various mental hospital authorities. "Although functions within state systems vary, indications are that the psychologist continues to find his role in this facet of public service administratively defined as one in which psychodiagnostic skills are primary." Noteworthy, however, "was the extent to which active involvement of the psychologist was also anticipated in the treatment process, research, and teaching of other institutional personnel." 2 states "specified that candidates for their top level positions must possess an ABEPP diploma, and two more expressed the desirability for such… . Twenty-five… states evidenced some enhancement of salary in the form of maintenance or residential perquisites." Major headings in the table refer to: state, job title, educational requirement, professional experience, annual salary, and residential perquisites. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Deformation-morphology correlations in electrically conductive carbon nanotube—thermoplastic polyurethane nanocomposites

Addition of small amounts (0.5-10 vol%) of multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNT) to thermoplastic elastomer Morthane produced polymer nanocomposites with high electrical conductivity (σ∼1-10 S/cm), low electrical percolation (?∼0.005) and enhancement of mechanical properties including increased modulus and yield stress without loss of the ability to stretch the elastomer above 1000% before rupture. In situ X-ray scattering during deformation indicated that these mechanical enhancements arise not only from the CNTs, but also from their impact on soft-segment crystallization. The deformation behavior after yielding of the nanocomposites, irrespective of CNT concentration, is similar to the unfilled elastomer, implying that the mechanistics of large deformation is mainly governed by the matrix. The relative enhancement of the Young's modulus of the nanocomposites is comparable to other elastomeric nanocomposites, implying that to the first order specific chemical details of the elastomeric system is unimportant.     

Current status of the Cincinnati GCL test plots

This paper describes the design, layout, construction and current status on the performance of fourteen full scale test plots targeted at assessing the internal shear strength of GCLs in landfill cover applications. Five different commercially available GCLs from four manufacturers were used in the study. Each test plot is two geosynthetic clay line roll widths wide, with lengths of 29m (95 ft) on the 3(H)-to-1(V) (horizontal-to-vertical) slopes and 20m (67 ft) on the 2(H)-to-1(V) (horizontal-to-vertical) slopes. The plots are being monitored with numerous deformation ‘telltales’ as well as subgrade and GCL moisture gages.

Two slides occurred shortly after construction. Both involved the upper surfaces of the GCLs against the overlying textured geomembranes. The slides were clearly the result of bentonite lubricated interfaces and (although of interest) did not relate to the internal shear strength focus and goals of the project.

Upon inducing internal shear stress in the GCLs by cutting all of the overlying geosynthetics, the deformations have been small except for one plot. This plot involved a unreinforced bentonite GCL, sandwiched between two geomembranes. It was sampled and found to have a large region of unexpected and excessively high moisture content. Subsequently, the test plot slid, the interface being the upper geomembrane against the bentonite of the GCL. The test plot was constructed a second time and the current response is more in keeping with the anticipated behaviour. Other than these slides, however, all of the other GCL plots appear to be stable.

If the internal stability of the GCLs continue, it can be assumed that the 2(H)-to-1(V) slopes have a factor-of-safety of 1.0 or greater. This being the case, the 3(H)-to-1(V) slopes have a factor-of-safety of 1.5 or greater. While this hypothesis is still being substantiated, it speaks well for the internal shear strength of the GCLs used in the study when properly installed. The project is ongoing as of, the writing of this paper.     

Perfluorinated acids in Arctic snow: new evidence for atmospheric formation

Perfluorinated acids (PFAs) are ubiquitously found in water and biota, including remote regions such as the High Arctic. Under environmental conditions, PFAs exist mainly as anions and are not expected to be subject to long-range atmospheric transport in the gas phase. Fluorinated telomer alcohols (FTOHs) are volatile and can be atmospherically oxidized to form perfluorocarboxylic acids. Analogously, fluorosulfamido alcohols can be oxidized to form perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). High Arctic ice caps experience contamination solely from atmospheric sources. By examining concentrations of PFAs in ice cap samples, it is possible to determine atmospheric fluxes to the Arctic. Ice samples were collected from high Arctic ice caps in the spring of 2005 and 2006. Samples were concentrated using solid-phase extraction and analyzed by LC-MS-MS. PFAs were observed in all samples, dating from 1996 to 2005. Concentrations were in the low-mid pg L(-1) range and exhibited seasonality, with maximum concentrations in the spring-summer. The presence of perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) and perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnA) on the ice cap was indicative of atmospheric oxidation as a source. Ratios of PFAs to sodium concentrations were highly variable, signifying PFA concentrations on the ice cap were unrelated to marine chemistry. Fluxes of the PFAs were estimated to the area north of 65 degrees N for the 2005 season, which ranged from 114 to 587 kg year(-1) for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), 73 to 860 kg year(-1) for perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), 16 to 84 kg year(-1) for PFDA, 26 to 62 kg year(-1) for PFUnA, and 18 to 48 kg year(-1) for PFOS. The PFOA and PFNA fluxes agreed with FTOH modeling estimations. A decrease in PFOS concentrations through time was observed, suggesting a fast response to changes in production. These data suggest that atmospheric oxidation of volatile precursors is a primary source of PFAs to the Arctic.     

A rotating disk of gas and dust around a young counterpart to beta Pictoris

beta Pictoris is the best known example of a main-sequence star encircled by a tenuous disk. Optical and infrared images of beta Pic suggest that the disk is composed of dust grains which have been interpreted as the debris generated by the disruption of the asteroid-sized remnants of planet-formation processes. The star itself is relatively old, with an age in excess of 100 Myr. Here we present high-resolution millimetre-wave images of continuum and molecular-line emission from dust and gas surrounding a much younger star, MWC480: the stellar properties of MWC480 are similar to those of beta Pic, but its age is just 6Myr. The morphology of the circumstellar material and a comparison with the predictions of kinematic modelling indicate the presence of a rotating disk, gravitationally bound to the star. Moreover, the mass of the disk is greater than the minimum required to form a planetary system like our own. We therefore suggest that the disk around the young star MWC480 could be a progenitor of debris disks of the type associated with older stars such as beta Pic, and so holds much promise for the study of both the origin of debris disks and the early stages of the formation of planetary systems.     

Measuring the optical properties of astrophysical dust analogues: instrumentation and methods

Dust is found throughout the universe and plays an important role for a wide range of astrophysical phenomena. In recent years, new IR facilities have provided powerful new data for understanding these phenomena. However, interpretation of these data is often complicated by a lack of complementary information about the optical properties of astronomically relevant materials. The Optical Properties of Astronomical Silicates with Infrared Techniques (OPASI-T) program at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center is designed to provide new high-quality laboratory data from which we can derive the optical properties of astrophysical dust analogues. This program makes use of multiple instruments, including new equipment designed and built specifically for this purpose. The suite of instruments allows us to derive optical properties over a wide wavelength range, from the near-IR through the millimeter, also providing the capability for exploring how these properties depend upon the temperature of the sample. In this paper, we discuss the overall structure of the research program, describe the new instruments that have been developed to meet the science goals, and demonstrate the efficacy of these tools.