Research in Brief - Higher Education in an Era of Mass Incarceration: Possibility Under Constraint

In this essay, we explore the purposes of higher education in prison during an era of mass incarceration and contend that the potential of postsecondary educational opportunity in carceral spaces is undermined by a single-minded focus on reducing recidivism. Among the over 2.2 million individuals behind bars in the United States, only 6 percent have access to formal postsecondary educational opportunities, and as a result, most incarcerated students are not on an educational pathway likely to result in academic degree attainment. We must move beyond a recidivist paradigm not because certificate-based and vocational training is not valuable, but because it is simply not enough of what college-in-prison programming can be or do. Drawing upon the experiences of higher education students who are incarcerated, our analysis reveals how even well-intended practices in prison spaces pose obstacles to seeing incarcerated individuals as potential postsecondary students and degree completers

Effects of Ads from a Drug and Alcohol Prevention Campaign on Willingness to Engage in Alcohol-Related Risky Behaviors

Behavioral willingness is conceptualized as a pathway to behavior that is non-deliberative, yet traditional measures require thoughtful deliberation to complete. This study explored non-deliberative measures of alcohol-related willingness to complement recent work on marijuana-related willingness. The study also examined whether ads from a field-tested drug-and-alcohol prevention campaign may have operated by influencing alcohol-related willingness. Participants viewed campaign ads or consumer ads (control). Outcomes were reaction times to make speeded judgments about whether one would engage in risky alcohol-related behaviors. Results showed that campaign ads lowered willingness to play drinking games and (for males) to drive while intoxicated

The Effects of Drug-Prevention Messages on the Accessibility of Identity-Related Constructs

Recent theoretical work has posited that the self-system guides behavior via currently activated self-concepts. We adopt this framework to the study of drug-prevention messages by examining the extent to which messages can alter the accessibility of views of self and of drugs that would support non-use. Participants were exposed to one of three print-ad conditions: autonomy-themed prevention messages (treatment), health-information themed prevention messages (comparison), and informational consumer ads (control). Outcomes were reaction times to make dichotomous judgments. Relative to comparison and control ads, treatment ads were more successful at activating a self-view as a nonuser, a view that marijuana use is inconsistent with autonomy, and unwillingness to use marijuana. Post-hoc analysis revealed that the effect of ad condition on unwillingness was partially mediated by the accessibility of self-view as a nonuser

Repeating adrenal vein sampling when neither aldosterone/cortisol ratio exceeds peripheral yields a high incidence of aldosterone-producing adenoma

Objectives:In primary aldosteronism, adrenal vein sampling (AVS) suggests unilateral aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) when the aldosterone/cortisol (A/F) ratio is less than or equal to peripheral on one side and at least two times peripheral on the other. When A/F ratios are lower bilaterally than peripheral despite adequate samples (adrenal venous cortisol 3 times peripheral), we recommend repeat AVS. This study aimed to determine the frequency of this occurrence and outcomes in such cases.Methods:We performed a retrospective observational study of all cases of primary aldosteronism undergoing initial AVS over a 34-year period.Results:Initial AVS in 1397 patients returned satisfactory and discriminatory results in 1066 (76.3%) but 37 patients (2.6%) had adequate samples but bilateral A/F ratios no higher than peripheral. Of the 22 of these 37 who agreed to repeat AVS, 10 demonstrated unilateral aldosterone production, and eight of these had unilateral adrenalectomy disclosing APAs and resulting in cure (3) or improvement (5) in hypertension. Eight had bilateral aldosterone production. Four studies were inconclusive. Patients with initial unsatisfactory AVS because of bilaterally low A/F ratios had significantly (P=0.023) more unilateral disease [10 of 18 satisfactory repeat studies (55.6%) vs. 326 of 1066 satisfactory initial studies (30.6%)] and a significantly higher (67.6 vs. 49.9%, P=0.034) percentage of males.Conclusion:As the incidence of APAs was high in a subgroup with low A/F bilaterally on initial AVS, these patients should be offered repeat AVS. This might reflect both a greater dependence of aldosterone production on adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) in APAs and the pulsatile nature of ACTH secretion

Temporal lobe white matter asymmetry and language laterality in epilepsy patients.

Recent studies using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) have advanced our knowledge of the organization of white matter subserving language function. It remains unclear, however, how DTI may be used to predict accurately a key feature of language organization: its asymmetric representation in one cerebral hemisphere. In this study of epilepsy patients with unambiguous lateralization on Wada testing (19 left and 4 right lateralized subjects; no bilateral subjects), the predictive value of DTI for classifying the dominant hemisphere for language was assessed relative to the existing standard-the intra-carotid Amytal (Wada) procedure. Our specific hypothesis is that language laterality in both unilateral left- and right-hemisphere language dominant subjects may be predicted by hemispheric asymmetry in the relative density of three white matter pathways terminating in the temporal lobe implicated in different aspects of language function: the arcuate (AF), uncinate (UF), and inferior longitudinal fasciculi (ILF). Laterality indices computed from asymmetry of high anisotropy AF pathways, but not the other pathways, classified the majority (19 of 23) of patients using the Wada results as the standard. A logistic regression model incorporating information from DTI of the AF, fMRI activity in Broca\u27s area, and handedness was able to classify 22 of 23 (95.6%) patients correctly according to their Wada score. We conclude that evaluation of highly anisotropic components of the AF alone has significant predictive power for determining language laterality, and that this markedly asymmetric distribution in the dominant hemisphere may reflect enhanced connectivity between frontal and temporal sites to support fluent language processes. Given the small sample reported in this preliminary study, future research should assess this method on a larger group of patients, including subjects with bi-hemispheric dominance

Self-Potential Signals Generated by the Corrosion of Buried Metallic Objects with Application to Contaminant Plumes

Large-amplitude (\u3e100 mV) negative electric (self)-potential anomalies are often observed in the vicinity of buried metallic objects and ore bodies or over groundwater plumes associated with organic contaminants. To explain the physical and chemical mechanisms that generate such electrical signals, a controlled laboratory experiment was carried out involving two metallic cylinders buried with vertical and horizontal orientations and centered through and in the capillary fringe within a sandbox. The 2D and 3D self-potential (SP) data were collected at several time steps along with collocated pH and redox potential measurements. Large dipolar SP and redox potential anomalies developed in association with the progressive corrosion of the vertical pipe, although no anomalies were observed in the vicinity of the horizontal pipe. This discrepancy was due to the orientation of the pipes with the vertical pipe subjected to a significantly larger EH gradient. Accounting for the electrical conductivity distribution, the SP data were inverted to recover the source current density vector field using a deterministic least-squares 4D (time-lapse) finite-element modeling approach. These results were then used to retrieve the 3D distribution of the redox potential along the vertical metallic cylinder. The results of the inversion were found to be in excellent agreement with the measured distribution of the redox potential. This experiment indicated that passively recorded electrical signals can be used to nonintrusively monitor corrosion processes. In addition, vertical electrical potential profiles measured through a mature hydrocarbon contaminated site were consistent with the sandbox observations, lending support to the geobattery model over organic contaminant plumes

Testing a brief web-based intervention to increase recognition of tobacco constituents

Objective: We examined website formats to increase smokers\u27 recognition of harmful and potentially harmful constituents (HPHCs) in cigarettes. Methods: Adult, daily smokers (N = 279) were randomized to view a brief, single-page study website showing HPHC names and uses. The intervention site was tailored + interactive, labeled by cigarette brand/subbrand showing color imagery and pop-up boxes; the generic + static website (control) was unbranded in greyscale. Eye tracking equipment measured attention (dwell time) to precise website features. Linear regression analyses compared attention to HPHC descriptions and the correct recognition of 15 HPHC chemicals. A randomly selected sub-sample (N = 30) of participants qualitatively rated website usability. Results: Despite spending less dwell time on the HPHC text and entire website, adult smokers who viewed the generic + static website had greater improvement in HPHC recognition compared to the tailored + interactive website (4.6 vs 3.6; p = .02); this finding contrasts with current literature on tailoring and interactivity. Both websites were rated highly on ease-of-use and readability. Conclusions: Basic formats and narrative HPHC Web-based content attracted less visual attention, yet increased recognition of these chemicals in cigarettes, compared to brand-tailored, interactive web-based content