Method for cleaning and passivating a metal surface

A cleaning solvent useful in the cleaning of metal surfaces, e.g. nickle-iron alloys, contains sulfamic acid, citric acid, a solvent for hydrocarbon residues, and a surfactant. Metal surfaces are cleaned by contacting the surface with the cleaning solvent and then passivated by contact with aqueous solutions of citric acid or sodium nitrite or a combination of the two

Salivary Metabolomics:From Diagnostic Biomarker Discovery to Investigating Biological Function

Metabolomic profiling of biofluids, e.g., urine, plasma, has generated vast and ever-increasing amounts of knowledge over the last few decades. Paradoxically, metabolomic analysis of saliva, the most readily-available human biofluid, has lagged. This review explores the history of saliva-based metabolomics and summarizes current knowledge of salivary metabolomics. Current applications of salivary metabolomics have largely focused on diagnostic biomarker discovery and the diagnostic value of the current literature base is explored. There is also a small, albeit promising, literature base concerning the use of salivary metabolomics in monitoring athletic performance. Functional roles of salivary metabolites remain largely unexplored. Areas of emerging knowledge include the role of oral host–microbiome interactions in shaping the salivary metabolite profile and the potential roles of salivary metabolites in oral physiology, e.g., in taste perception. Discussion of future research directions describes the need to begin acquiring a greater knowledge of the function of salivary metabolites, a current research direction in the field of the gut metabolome. The role of saliva as an easily obtainable, information-rich fluid that could complement other gastrointestinal fluids in the exploration of the gut metabolome is emphasized

Malware Avoidance Motivations and Behaviors: A Technology Threat Avoidance Replication

The current study presents a conceptual replication of Liang and Xue’s (2010) test of their proposed Technology Threat Avoidance Theory (TTAT). Whereas the original study investigated individuals’ spyware related threat perceptions, avoidance motivations, and behaviors; we applied the original study’s research questions, hypotheses, and model to the more general context of malware. Results from a sample of 486 computer users revealed that safeguard effectiveness, safeguard cost, and self-efficacy are relatively robust predictors of avoidance motivation across varied settings. Perceived severity is a strong predictor of perceived threat, however the impact of this overall threat perception (along with its perceived susceptibility antecedent) may be less stable in predicting avoidance motivation under changing contextual/environmental circumstances. The results suggest that TTAT is a valid foundational framework for examining user behavior related to malicious software. Future research should investigate additional predictors of avoidance motivation such as risk propensity, distrust, and impulse control to improve the power of the model. Additionally, the current TTAT instrument offers several opportunities for enhanced measurement accuracy through item modifications, scale anchor revisions, and improvements in parsimony

Hospitalization Rates for Coronary Heart Disease in Relation to Residence Near Areas Contaminated with Persistent Organic Pollutants and Other Pollutants

Exposure to environmental pollutants may contribute to the development of coronary heart disease (CHD). We determined the ZIP codes containing or abutting each of the approximately 900 hazardous waste sites in New York and identified the major contaminants in each. Three categories of ZIP codes were then distinguished: those containing or abutting sites contaminated with persistent organic pollutants (POPs), those containing only other types of wastes (“other waste”), and those not containing any identified hazardous waste site (“clean”). Effects of residence in each of these ZIP codes on CHD and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) hospital discharge rates were assessed with a negative binomial model, adjusting for age, sex, race, income, and health insurance coverage. Patients living in ZIP codes contaminated with POPs had a statistically significant 15.0% elevation in CHD hospital discharge rates and a 20.0% elevation in AMI discharge rates compared with clean ZIP codes. In neither of the comparisons were rates in other-waste sites significantly greater than in clean sites. In a subset of POP ZIP codes along the Hudson River, where average income is higher and there is less smoking, better diet, and more exercise, the rate of hospitalization for CHD was 35.8% greater and for AMI 39.1% greater than in clean sites. Although the cross-sectional design of the study prevents definite conclusions on causal inference, the results indirectly support the hypothesis that living near a POP-contaminated site constitutes a risk of exposure and of development of CHD and AMI

IT Career Counseling: Are Occupational Congruence and the Job Characteristics Model Effective at Predicting IT Job Satisfaction?

The IT industry struggles to attract qualified talent despite an exceptional outlook in terms of both job availability and compensation. Similarly, post-secondary academic institutions report difficultiesrecruitingstudents for IT majors. One potential reason for this is that current career counseling practices do not adequately convey relevant job characteristic data to prospective job applicants and academic majors. Accordingly, we report the results of a survey of72 IT professionals regarding their job interests and perceptions of important characteristics of their current job. We use the data to test the efficacy of Holland’s classic occupation congruence model, the basis of current career counseling practices.In addition, we assess an alternate congruence model based on professionals’job perceptions and the Job Characteristics Model of Work Motivation (JCM) to determine which is more effective at predicting desired job outcomes. Results show that a sub-set of JCM constructs including task variety, task identity, and task autonomy is superior to both congruence models in predicting positive job outcomes. This suggeststhat IT career counseling outcomes mightbe improved by emphasizingthe JCMcharacteristics

Refining Technology Threat Avoidance Theory

Understanding individual threat avoidance motivation and behavior is a critical component in designing effective cyber security solutions for both users and organizations. Technology threat avoidance theory (TTAT) asserts that individuals’ perceptions regarding their susceptibility to and the resulting severity of technology threats influence their awareness of the threats, which, in turn, influences their motivation and behavior to avoid them. While TTAT provides cogently and logically explains individuals’ technology threat motivations and behaviors, empirical tests have produced equivocal results particularly in terms of the influence of susceptibility and severity on threat perceptions. Due to these inconsistencies in the threat calculus involving susceptibility, severity, and threat, we need more work to improve and understand individual threat motivations. Additionally, TTAT does not account for individual differences such as risk propensity, distrust propensity, and impulsivity that have been shown to affect cyber security behavior. To address these gaps, we present an empirical assessment of a refined TTAT model, which includes individual differences and models the influence of susceptibility on threat perceptions as partially mediated by severity. Results indicate that, while perceived susceptibility is a significant predictor of threat perceptions, severity perceptions partially mediates its effect. Our results also support the inclusion of risk propensity and distrust propensity in the TTAT model as personal characteristics that significantly affect overall threat perceptions

Measuring Success in Interorganizational Information Systems: A Case Study

We report results of a longitudinal case study in which an emergency medical service replaced a paper-based medical record with an electronic medical record system. The new systems electronically transmitted patient information to various other agencies for reporting, medical quality control, and billing purposes. As expected, the time required for the paramedics to document the medical record increased immediately after system implementation. As a result, operational performance of the paramedics declined. An unexpected consequence of system implementation was that operational performance never reached the level achieved prior to system implementation. However, the benefits attained by all organizations involved outweighed the prolonged decrease in operational performance of the paramedics. Therefore, we advise organizations implementing technology crossing organizational boundaries to consider both the direct and indirect benefits of a system implementation and to evaluate both operational and organizational performance

Pediatric medication use experiences and patient counseling in community pharmacies: Perspectives of children and parents

AbstractObjectivesThis study aimed to explore the perspectives of children and parents regarding: 1) pediatric patients' knowledge and medication use experiences for chronic conditions; 2) how they want to learn about medicines; and 3) perceptions of community pharmacist–provided counseling.DesignQualitative study using semistructured interviews and thematic analyses.SettingThree community pharmacies in 2 eastern states: one in rural western North Carolina, and 2 in an urban region of western Pennsylvania.ParticipantsA total of 39 study participants: 20 children using medications for chronic conditions and 19 parents interviewed July-December 2015.Main outcome measuresChild and parent perspectives regarding pediatric medication use, knowledge, experiences, and pharmacist-provided patient counseling.ResultsChildren and parents had similar perspectives on pediatric medication use and pharmacist counseling experiences. Six themes emerged: 1) child's knowledge, self-management, and medication use experiences; 2) essential medication information and sources; 3) child's frequent absence from the pharmacy; 4) patient counseling needs and recommendations; 5) use of interactive technologies to facilitate learning about medicines; and 6) perceptions of pharmacists. Participants reported that children were independently managing their medications, although they had minimal knowledge about medicines. Children and parents stated that the child's absence during medication pick-up at pharmacies was a barrier to receiving counseling by pharmacists. Children were comfortable and receptive to pharmacists educating them about their medicines, particularly how medications affect the human body, how they were manufactured, and research studies on their medications. Parents and children recommended the use of interactive and educational technologies for pediatric counseling.ConclusionChildren are frequently not present at pharmacies during prescription pick-up; however, children and parents are comfortable with and receptive to pediatric medication counseling by pharmacists. Interactive and educational technologies need to be developed and used by pharmacists to facilitate counseling and educate children about the effective and safe use of medicines

Developing and Standardizing a Protocol for Quantitative Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance ( ¹ H NMR) Spectroscopy of Saliva

Metabolic profiling by ¹H NMR spectroscopy is an underutilized technology in salivary research, although preliminary studies have identified promising results in multiple fields (diagnostics, nutrition, sports physiology). Translation of preliminary findings into validated, clinically approved knowledge is hindered by variability in protocol for the collection, storage, preparation, and analysis of saliva. This study aims to evaluate the effects of differing sample pretreatments on the ¹H NMR metabolic profile of saliva. Protocol considerations are highly varied in the current literature base, including centrifugation, freeze–thaw cycles, and different NMR quantification methods. Our findings suggest that the ¹H NMR metabolite profile of saliva is resilient to any change resulting from freezing, including freezing of saliva prior to centrifuging. However, centrifugation was necessary to remove an unidentified broad peak between 1.24 and 1.3 ppm, the intensity of which correlated strongly with saliva cellular content. This peak obscured the methyl peak from lactate and significantly affected quantification. Metabolite quantification was similar for saliva centrifuged between 750<i>g</i> to 15 000<i>g</i>. Quantification of salivary metabolites was similar whether quantified using internal phosphate-buffered sodium trimethylsilyl-[2,2,3,3-²H₄]-propionate (TSP) or external TSP in a coaxial NMR tube placed inside the NMR tube containing the saliva sample. Our results suggest that the existing literature on salivary ¹H NMR will not have been adversely affected by variations of the common protocol; however, use of TSP as an internal standard without a buffered medium appears to affect metabolite quantification, notably for acetate and methanol. We include protocol recommendations to facilitate future NMR-based studies of saliva