Preventing and Reducing Non-Medical Prescription Stimulant Use: An Intervention Study

Numerous studies have shown that nonmedical prescription stimulant use (NMPSU), which refers to the use of drugs like Adderall or Ritalin without a prescription, is quickly becoming one of the most prevalent illicit activities on college campuses. In a recent study on Trinity’s campus, 37% of students endorsed misusing prescription stimulants in the last year. Not all students are at equal risk, however. Risk factors for NMPSU include: being Caucasian, Greek involvement, low GPA (less than 3.5), binge drinking, marijuana use, and low self-efficacy to avoid using. Accordingly, we screened students for these risk factors and engaged students with two or more risk factors, or those who reported a history of NMPSU. Because only one intervention has been reported on in the literature, we utilized motivational interviewing (MI), a strategy that has been used to reduce heavy drinking in college students, in an attempt to reduce NMPSU and to potentially change NMPSU-related attitudes. MI works by “lowering patience resistance, allowing patients to arrive at their own decisions about the severity of their problem and a possible need for change” (Foote et al., 1999). Seventy participants screened in and 56 (80%) of the participants completed the 1-month follow-up survey. The intervention did not have an effect on study self-efficacy, or expectations for cognitive enhancement, feelings of guilt and dependence related to NMPSU, social enhancement expectancies, and concerns about anxiety and arousal from NMPSU. There was a trend towards intervention group participants being more knowledgeable about the side effects of stimulants when misused. Implications for future research are discussed

Electrochemical Evaluation of LaNi_(5–x)Ge_x Metal Hydride Alloys

We report a detailed evaluation of Ge-substituted LaNi_5 for electrochemical application as a negative electrode in alkaline rechargeable cells. Alloys with small substitutions of Ge for Ni show operating pressures, chargeability, cyclic lifetime, and kinetics for hydrogen absorption and desorption all superior to those found in many other substituted LaNi_5 alloys. These improved properties were achieved with a minimal reduction in hydrogen storage capacity

Electrochemical Studies on LaNi5–xSnx Metal Hydride Alloys

Electrochemical studies were performed on LaNi5–xSnx with 0 <= x <= 0.5. We measured the effect of the Sn substituent on the kinetics of charge-transfer and diffusion during hydrogen absorption and desorption, and the cyclic lifetimes of LaNi5–-xSnx electrodes in 250 mAh laboratory test cells. We report beneficial effects of making small substitutions of Sn for Ni in LaNi5 on the performance of the metal hydride alloy anode in terms of cyclic lifetime, capacity, and kinetics. The optimal concentration of Sn in LaNi5–xSnx alloys for negative electrodes in alkaline rechargeable secondary cells was found to lie in the range 0.25 <= x <= 0.3

Electrochemical Properties of LaNi5–xGex Alloys in Ni-MH Batteries

Electrochemical studies were performed on LaNi5–xGex metal hydride alloys with 0 <= x <= 0.5. We carried out single-electrode studies to understand the effects of the Ge substituent on the hydrogen absorption characteristics, the electrochemical capacity, and the electrochemical kinetics of hydrogen absorption and desorption. The electrochemical characteristics of the Ge-substituted alloys are compared to those of the Sn-substituted alloys reported earlier. LaNi5–xGex alloys show compositional trends similar to LaNi5–xSnx alloys, but unlike the Sn-substituted alloys, Ge-substituted alloys continue to exhibit facile kinetics for hydrogen absorption/desorption at high solute concentrations. Cycle lives of LaNi5–xGex electrodes were measured in 300 mAh laboratory test cells and were found to be superior to the Sn-substituted LaNi5 and comparable to a Mm(Ni,Co,Mn,Al)5 alloy. The optimum Ge content for LaNi5–xGex metal hydride alloys in alkaline rechargeable cells is in the range 0.4 <= x <= 0.5

Spatial Effects of the Social Marketing of Insecticide-Treated Nets on Malaria Morbidity.

Randomized controlled trials have shown that insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) have an impact on both malaria morbidity and mortality. Uniformly high coverage of ITNs characterized these trials and this resulted in some protection of nearby non-users of ITNs. We have now assessed the coverage, distribution pattern and resultant spatial effects in one village in Tanzania where ITNs were distributed in a social marketing programme. The prevalence of parasitaemia, mild anaemia (Hb <11 g/dl) and moderate/severe anaemia (Hb <8 g/dl) in children under five was assessed cross-sectionally. Data on ownership of ITNs were collected and inhabitants' houses were mapped. One year after the start of the social marketing programme, 52% of the children were using a net which had been treated at least once. The ITNs were rather homogeneously distributed throughout the village at an average density of about 118 ITNs per thousand population. There was no evidence of a pattern in the distribution of parasitaemia and anaemia cases, but children living in areas of moderately high ITN coverage were about half as likely to have moderate/severe anaemia (OR 0.5, 95% CI: 0.2, 0.9) and had lower prevalence of splenomegaly, irrespective of their net use. No protective effects of coverage were found for prevalence of mild anaemia nor for parasitaemia. The use of untreated nets had neither coverage nor short distance effects. More efforts should be made to ensure high coverage in ITNs programmes to achieve maximum benefit

The Relationship between Biblical Information and Conduct

The question of the influence of Biblical information on conduct has been discussed considerably the last few years. Some think that merely to know the facts of the Bible will solve the many perplexing problems in the conduct of boys and girls. On the basis of this claim they argue that the Bible should be included in the public schools and read to the children without comment or that the children should be required to commit portions to memory and tested for perfect recitations. Others claim that a mere factual knowledge will not solve the problems of conduct. They think that something more fundamental is essential

Teaching Trauma Theory and Practice in Counselor Education: A Multiple Case Study

Teaching about trauma theory and practice is an integral part of counselor preparation. The purpose of this multiple case study was to understand how counselor educators (CEs) designed and facilitated significant learning experiences regarding trauma theory and practice. The researchers aimed to answer two research questions (1.) how do CEs choose which content to address in trauma courses and (2.) which teaching methods do CEs use to facilitate significant learning experiences in trauma courses? The study participants were three CEs teaching trauma courses in multiple formats (face-to-face, online, and hybrid) in CACREP programs. The results indicated that instructors faced unique situational factors that impacted their choice of teaching and learning activities and assessment measures. The themes Instructor Role, Instructor Identity, and Eliciting Fundamental Change in Learners impacted which teaching methods were chosen to facilitate significant learning experiences. The manuscript includes implications for CEs designing and teaching trauma courses

How hummingbirds hum: acoustic holography of hummingbirds during maneuvering flight

Hummingbirds make a characteristic humming sound when they flaptheir wings. The physics and the biological significance of hummingbird aeroacoustics is still poorly understood. We used acoustic holography and high-speed cameras to determine the acoustic field of six hummingbirds while they either hovered stationary in front of a flower or maneuvered to track flower motion. We used a robotic flower that oscillated either laterally or longitudinally with a linear combination of 20 different frequencies between 0.2 and 20 Hz, a range that encompasses natural flower vibration frequencies in wind. We used high-speed marker tracking to dissect the transfer function between the moving flower, the head, and body of the bird. We also positioned four acoustic arrays equipped with 2176 microphones total above, below, and in front of the hummingbird. Acoustic data from the microphones were back-propagated to planes adjacent to the hummingbird to create the first real-time holograms of the pressure field a hummingbird generates in vivo. Integration of all this data offers insight into how hummingbirds modulate the acoustic field during hovering and maneuvering flight