Impaired performance on the rapid visual information processing task (RVIP) could be an endophenotype of schizophrenia

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether healthy first-degree relatives of schizophrenia patients show reduced sensitivity performance, higher intra-individual variability (IIV) in reaction time (RT), and a steeper decline in sensitivity over time in a sustained attention task. Healthy first-degree relatives of schizophrenia patients (n=23) and healthy control subjects (n=46) without a family history of schizophrenia performed a demanding version of the Rapid Visual Information Processing task (RVIP). RTs, hits, false alarms, and the sensitivity index A' were assessed. The relatives were significantly less sensitive, tended to have higher IIV in RT, but sustained the impaired level of sensitivity over time. Impaired performance on the RVIP is a possible endophenotype for schizophrenia. Higher IIV in RT, apparently caused by impaired context representations, might result in fluctuations in control and lead to more frequent attentional lapses.

Everything You Have Always Wanted to Know About Academic Advising (Well, Almost...)

Answering the question “what occurs in an academic advising interaction” is not as easy as one might think. Many factors contribute to the academic advising process, and no two advising interactions are the same. This article discusses the different factors involved in an academic advising interaction, emphasizing the need for psychological counselors to become familiar with the specific aspects of the advising processes that occur at their respective institutions.

AAC&U's Integrative Liberal Learning and the CAS Standards: Advising for a 21st Century Liberal Education

The Association of American Colleges and Universities presented and promoted integrative liberal learning as a collaborative goal that all institutions of higher education must strive to achieve. The similarities between the goals of integrative liberal learning and the Standards for Academic Advising by the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education are discussed with emphasis placed on the critical role that academic advising plays in support of an integrative liberal learning education, and in turn, future success for all students.

The controversy in the management of the N0 neck for squamous cell carcinoma of the maxillary sinus

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the maxillary sinus is a relatively rare disease. As the reported incidence of regional metastasis varies widely, controversy exists as to whether or not the N0 classified neck should be treated electively. In this review, the data from published series are analyzed to decide on a recommendation of elective treatment of the neck in maxillary SCC. The published series consist of heterogeneous populations of different subsites of the paranasal sinuses, different histological types, different staging and treatment modalities used and different ways of reporting the results. These factors do not allow for recommendations based on high levels of evidence. Given this fact, the relatively high incidence rate of regional metastasis at presentation or in follow-up in the untreated N0 neck, and the relatively low toxicity of elective neck irradiation, such irradiation in SCC of the maxillary sinus should be considered.

Long-Term and Seasonal Variations in CO2: Linkages to Catchment Alkalinity Generation

As atmospheric emissions of S have declined in the Northern Hemisphere, there has been an expectation of increased pH and alkalinity in streams believed to have been acidified by excess S and N. Many streams and lakes have not recovered. Evidence from East Bear Brook in Maine, USA and modelling with the groundwater acid-base model MAGIC (Cosby et al. 1985a,b) indicate that seasonal and yearly variations in soil PCO2 are adequate to enhance or even reverse acid-base (alkalinity) changes anticipated from modest decreases of SO4 in surface waters. Alkalinity is generated in the soil by exchange of H+ from dissociation of H2CO3, which in turn is derived from the dissolving of soil CO2. The variation in soil PCO2 produces an alkalinity variation of up to 15 mu eq L-1 in stream water. Detecting and relating increases in alkalinity to decreases in stream SO4 are significantly more difficult in the short term because of this effect. For example, modelled alkalinity recovery at Bear Brook due to a decline of 20 mu eq SO4 L-1 in soil solution is compensated by a decline from 0.4 to 0.2% for soil air PCO2. This compensation ability decays over time as base saturation declines. Variable PCO2 has less effect in more acidic soils. Short-term decreases of PCO2 below the long-term average value produce short-term decreases in alkalinity, whereas short-term increases in PCO2 produce shortterm alkalization. Trend analysis for detecting recovery of streams and lakes from acidification after reduced atmospheric emissions will require a longer monitoring period for statistical significance than previously appreciated.

Geological and hydrological histories of the Argyre province, Mars

The geologic history of the multi-ringed Argyre impact basin and surroundings has been reconstructed on the basis of geologic mapping and relative-age dating of rock materials and structures. The impact formed a primary basin, rim materials, and a complex basement structural fabric including faults and valleys that are radial and concentric about the primary basin, as well as structurally-controlled local basins. Since its formation, the basin has been a regional catchment for volatiles and sedimentary materials as well as a dominant influence on the flow of surface ice, debris flows, and groundwater through and over its basement structures. The basin is interpreted to have been occupied by lakes, including a possible Mediterranean-sized sea that formed in the aftermath of the Argyre impact event The hypothesized lakes froze and diminished through time, though liquid water may have remained beneath the ice cover and sedimentation may have continued for some time. At its deepest, the main Argyre lake may have taken more than a hundred thousand years to freeze to the bottom even absent any heat source besides the Sun, but with impact-induced hydrothermal heat, geothermal heat flow due to long-lived radioactivities in early martian history, and concentration of solutes in sub-ice brine, liquid water may have persisted beneath thick ice for many millions of years. Existence of an ice-covered sea perhaps was long enough for life to originate and evolve with gradually colder and more hypersaline conditions. The Argyre rock materials, diverse in origin and emplacement mechanisms, have been modified by impact, magmatic, eolian, fluvial, lacustrine, glacial, periglacial, alluvial, colluvial, and tectonic processes. Post-impact adjustment of part of the impact-generated basement structural fabric such as concentric faults is apparent. Distinct basin-stratigraphic units are interpreted to be linked to large-scale geologic activity far from the basin, including growth of the Tharsis magmatic-tectonic complex and the growth into southern middle latitudes of south polar ice sheets. Along with the migration of surface and sub-surface volatiles towards the central part of the primaiy basin, the substantial difference in elevation with respect to the surrounding highlands and Tharsis and the Thaumasia highlands result in the trapping of atmospheric volatiles within the basin in the form of fog and regional or local precipitation, even today. In addition, the impact event caused long-term (millions of years) hydrothermal activity, as well as deep-seated basement structures that have tapped the internal heat of Mars, as conduits, for far greater time, possibly even today. This possibility is raised by the observation of putative open-system pingos and nearby gullies that occur in linear depressions with accompanying systems of faults and fractures. Long-term water and heat energy enrichment, complemented by the interaction of the nutrient-enriched primordial crustal and mantle materials favorable to life excavated to the surface and near-surface environs through the Argyre impact event, has not only resulted in distinct geomorphology, but also makes the Argyre basin a potential site of exceptional astrobiological significance. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A focused ethnographic study of women in recovery from alcohol abuse

Alcohol abuse and its related problems are among the most pervasive health and social concerns in the United States (U.S.) today. Women are especially vulnerable to the physical and social devastation of alcohol abuse. Yet, although there is extensive research about alcohol drinking patterns, treatment strategies, and early recovery, there is little information about the factors that facilitate successfully sustained abstinence in women. The purpose of this study was to examine and describe the common factors to successful recovery from alcohol abuse among women and to place these factors within both the context of their social networks and the larger social environment. This study draws from the population of New Mexico, where alcohol-related deaths are the highest of any state in the U.S. and the leading cause of death for individuals under the age of 65 years. The study was a focused ethnography of women who had successfully maintained long-term recovery from alcohol abuse. As an ethnographic study, data collection included participant observation, in-depth interviews with 21 women, and the collection of historical and current culturally relevant data. A purposive sampling plan was used to maximize the selection of participants who had used traditional and non-traditional approaches to recovery. As such, the analysis of the success narratives revealed two distinct findings: the first that women used several different trajectories to achieve long-term recovery. Three trajectory typologies were identified from the success narratives and labeled, A.A. as ceremony, A.A. as grounding, and Recovery as self-management. ^ However, within each of these trajectories, variations in successful recovery were seen. The second major finding was that all women articulated an overarching theme of connections as an indispensable aspect of sustained recovery. The success narratives demonstrated the powerful role that connections played in their long-term recovery and the analysis distinguished two unifying concepts of connections—those that focused beyond self (spirituality, social support, and pets) and those that focused toward self (self-nurturance, agency, and identity). This discussion will focus on the implications for clinical practice related to both women who are still actively abusing alcohol and for those who are successfully maintaining long-term recovery. ^

Tensiones en clúster de servicios petroleros del Golfo San Jorge : Avances en la caracterización de conflictos

Las dinámicas que se desarrollan en la cuenca del Golfo San Jorge especialmente en la ciudad de Comodoro Rivadavia, han dado origen a una 'economía de localización' caracterizada por la especialización y concentración geográfica de la actividad vinculada al circuito petrolero, que favorece la innovación, el progreso técnico y el crecimiento, especialmente de los servicios petroleros. La proximidad geográfica permite la realización de actividades de complementación, cooperación, capacitación, organización; y por lo tanto alcanzar mejores niveles de competitividad, también genera dependencias vinculadas a la subcontratación. Parte de estas actividades, desarrolladas al interior del clúster generan tensiones de difícil resolución y que contrastan con las sinergias propias de un clúster cohesionado. El análisis se aborda desde la sociología (Bourdieu, 1993; Robbins, 1994) analizando la fragmentación y los conflictos sociales que son consecuencia de la desigualdad social, en términos generales. No dejando de lado la concepción de stakeholder para interpretar las posiciones y las lógicas de los diferentes actores en conflicto (Weiss, 2003) La metodología está centrada en la instrumentación del conflicto a través de protestas de los grupos vinculados con la actividad petrolera (piquetes, paros), que forman parte de la realidad de la cuenca (tanto en el flanco sur como en el norte), asociándolos con base de información georreferenciada. Los resultados dan cuenta de los principales actores en conflicto: sindicatos versus empresas petroleras o cámaras empresarias, localizaciones, modo de resolverlos y duración, en el último lustro

Tensiones en clúster de servicios petroleros del Golfo San Jorge : Avances en la caracterización de conflictos

Las dinámicas que se desarrollan en la cuenca del Golfo San Jorge especialmente en la ciudad de Comodoro Rivadavia, han dado origen a una 'economía de localización' caracterizada por la especialización y concentración geográfica de la actividad vinculada al circuito petrolero, que favorece la innovación, el progreso técnico y el crecimiento, especialmente de los servicios petroleros. La proximidad geográfica permite la realización de actividades de complementación, cooperación, capacitación, organización; y por lo tanto alcanzar mejores niveles de competitividad, también genera dependencias vinculadas a la subcontratación. Parte de estas actividades, desarrolladas al interior del clúster generan tensiones de difícil resolución y que contrastan con las sinergias propias de un clúster cohesionado. El análisis se aborda desde la sociología (Bourdieu, 1993; Robbins, 1994) analizando la fragmentación y los conflictos sociales que son consecuencia de la desigualdad social, en términos generales. No dejando de lado la concepción de stakeholder para interpretar las posiciones y las lógicas de los diferentes actores en conflicto (Weiss, 2003) La metodología está centrada en la instrumentación del conflicto a través de protestas de los grupos vinculados con la actividad petrolera (piquetes, paros), que forman parte de la realidad de la cuenca (tanto en el flanco sur como en el norte), asociándolos con base de información georreferenciada. Los resultados dan cuenta de los principales actores en conflicto: sindicatos versus empresas petroleras o cámaras empresarias, localizaciones, modo de resolverlos y duración, en el último lustro

Tensiones en clúster de servicios petroleros del Golfo San Jorge : Avances en la caracterización de conflictos

Las dinámicas que se desarrollan en la cuenca del Golfo San Jorge especialmente en la ciudad de Comodoro Rivadavia, han dado origen a una 'economía de localización' caracterizada por la especialización y concentración geográfica de la actividad vinculada al circuito petrolero, que favorece la innovación, el progreso técnico y el crecimiento, especialmente de los servicios petroleros. La proximidad geográfica permite la realización de actividades de complementación, cooperación, capacitación, organización; y por lo tanto alcanzar mejores niveles de competitividad, también genera dependencias vinculadas a la subcontratación. Parte de estas actividades, desarrolladas al interior del clúster generan tensiones de difícil resolución y que contrastan con las sinergias propias de un clúster cohesionado. El análisis se aborda desde la sociología (Bourdieu, 1993; Robbins, 1994) analizando la fragmentación y los conflictos sociales que son consecuencia de la desigualdad social, en términos generales. No dejando de lado la concepción de stakeholder para interpretar las posiciones y las lógicas de los diferentes actores en conflicto (Weiss, 2003) La metodología está centrada en la instrumentación del conflicto a través de protestas de los grupos vinculados con la actividad petrolera (piquetes, paros), que forman parte de la realidad de la cuenca (tanto en el flanco sur como en el norte), asociándolos con base de información georreferenciada. Los resultados dan cuenta de los principales actores en conflicto: sindicatos versus empresas petroleras o cámaras empresarias, localizaciones, modo de resolverlos y duración, en el último lustro

(Table 7) Representative electron microprobe analyses for natroalunite and larger FeOx spheroids of experiment ADSU6

Acid-sulfate alteration of basalt by SO2-bearing volcanic vapors has been proposed as one possible origin for sulfate-rich deposits on Mars. To better define mineralogical signatures of acid-sulfate alteration, laboratory experiments were performed to investigate alteration pathways and geochemical processes during reaction of basalt with sulfuric acid. Pyroclastic cinders composed of phenocrysts including plagioclase, olivine, and augite embedded in glass were reacted with sulfuric acid at 145 °C for up to 137 days at a range of fluid : rock ratios. During the experiments, the phenocrysts reacted rapidly to form secondary products, while the glass was unreactive. Major products included amorphous silica, anhydrite, and Fe-rich natroalunite, along with minor iron oxides/oxyhydroxides (probably hematite) and trace levels of other sulfates. At the lowest fluid : rock ratio, hexahydrite and an unidentified Fe-silicate phase also occurred as major products. Reaction-path models indicated that formation of the products required both slow dissolution of glass and kinetic inhibitions to precipitation of a number of minerals including phyllosilicates and other aluminosilicates as well as Al- and Fe-oxides/oxyhydroxides. Similar models performed for Martian basalt compositions predict that the initial stages of acid-sulfate alteration of pyroclastic deposits on Mars should result in formation of amorphous silica, anhydrite, Fe-bearing natroalunite, and kieserite, along with relict basaltic glass. In addition, analysis of the experimental products indicates that Fe-bearing natroalunite produces a Mössbauer spectrum closely resembling that of jarosite, suggesting that it should be considered an alternative to the component in sulfate-rich bedrocks at Meridiani Planum that has previously been identified as jarosite.