Search

Postevent processing (PEP), the engagement in detailed and repetitive self-focused review of one’s performance in social situations, is theorized to maintain pathological social anxiety. However, little is known about interventions that may impact this maintenance factor. The current study examined the impact of brief mindfulness training (BMT) on PEP among socially anxious individuals. There were 77 participants (75.32% female, 63.64% non-Hispanic/Latinx White) with clinically elevated social anxiety who attended one appointment in the laboratory during which they were randomized to receive a brief mindfulness-based training (n = 37) or no training (i.e., thinking as usual control group; n = 40). After the training period, participants underwent a 3-minute social anxiety induction task, after which they were instructed to apply their thinking strategy. Participants were then asked to complete 2 weeks of daily online surveys that included a PEP induction task, instructions to use their thinking strategy following PEP induction, and a measure of state PEP. Individuals in the BMT condition reported a significant reduction in state anxiety posttraining compared to individuals in the control condition. Conditions did not differ on state PEP after the social anxiety induction task. However, compared to those in the control condition, participants in the BMT condition reported significantly greater decreases in state PEP over the 14-day follow-up period. Thus, this brief mindfulness-based strategy may be useful for individuals with clinically elevated social anxiety who engage in PEP, a cognitive vulnerability factor implicated in the maintenance of social anxiety.

Summary: Volatile short-chain fatty acids such as butyric and acetic acid have been supplemented in poultry rations as a feed ingredient and nutritive supplement. A novel Clostridium fermentation solubles broth (MiruTyton), containing short-chain fatty acids, minerals, and amino acids, was supplemented in a standard corn/soybean meal–based ration at a rate of 750, 1,500, 3,000, and 6,000 mg/kg to achieve approximately 277, 554, 1,108, and 2,216 mg/kg of ammonium butyrate in the diet. After 6 wk, supplementation at all levels did not cause significant changes in the blood parameters or any live performance metric of mixed-sex Cobb-500 broilers (N = 1,920). In addition, administering 6,000 mg/kg of MiruTyton caused no significant lesions in any of the tissue examined except for an increase (P

College cannabis users report using more cannabis during the weekend than on weekdays, yet little attention has been paid to the role of weekend and weekday-specific motives for use. The present investigation evaluated the impact of weekend and weekday-specific cannabis motives on cannabis use and related problems among current (past-3 month) cannabis using undergraduates (N = 276). Participants reported more cannabis use motives during the weekend than weekday. Enhancement and social motives were greater than coping, conformity, and expansion motives during weekends. Enhancement and conformity motives were indirectly related to problems via cannabis use frequency for both weekdays and weekends. Yet social, coping, and expansion motives were indirectly related to problems via cannabis use frequency for only weekdays. Findings support the differential impact of weekend and weekday-specific motives on cannabis use and related problems.

Over the past century, industrialization and urban practices have resulted in the contamination of the Great Lakes ecosystem—the world's largest surface freshwater system—that provides drinking water and recreation to more than 40 million residents. In 2010, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative was launched to accelerate efforts to protect and restore the Great Lakes and surrounding areas. Funded by GLRI, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry initiated the Biomonitoring of Great Lakes Populations (BGLP) program. The objective of the program is to assess human exposure to legacy and emerging contaminants in the Great Lakes by measuring the body burden of contaminants in potentially susceptible populations. The BGLP program consists of a series of cross-sectional studies carried out collaboratively with states that are funded through ATSDR. The first BGLP Program (BGLP-I) began in 2010 and was completed in September 2015 through cooperative agreements with state health departments in Michigan, Minnesota, and New York. The three state programs targeted susceptible adult populations living in designated areas of contamination. Contaminants measured in all populations include mercury, lead, mirex, hexachlorobenzene, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, and selected polychlorinated biphenyl congeners. In addition, some chemicals of emerging concern, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, were measured in several populations. The biomonitoring results helped guide public health actions to mitigate chemical exposures in these vulnerable Great Lakes populations. We provide an overview of the BGLP-I program's study populations, designs, and general methods. This overview provides a lead-in for subsequent manuscripts that present human biomonitoring data for legacy and emerging contaminants in culturally diverse susceptible populations—i.e., shoreline anglers, sport anglers, American Indians, and Burmese immigrants—residing in seven areas of concern.

Between 2010 and 2015, the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) conducted a biomonitoring program to gather exposure data on Great Lakes contaminants among licensed anglers and Burmese refugees living in western New York who ate locally caught fish. Four hundred and nine adult licensed anglers and 206 adult Burmese refugees participated in this program. Participants provided blood and urine samples and completed a detailed questionnaire. Herein, we present blood metal levels (cadmium, lead, and total mercury) and serum persistent organic pollutant concentrations [polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), and trans-nonachlor]. Multiple linear regression was applied to investigate the associations between analyte concentrations and indicators of fish consumption (locally caught fish meals, store-bought fish meals, and consuming fish/shellfish in the past week). Licensed anglers consumed a median of 16 locally caught fish meals and 22 store-bought fish meals while Burmese refugees consumed a median of 106 locally caught fish meals and 104 store-bought fish/shellfish meals in the past year. Compared to the general U.S. adult population, licensed anglers had higher blood lead and mercury levels; and Burmese refuges had higher blood cadmium, lead, and mercury, and higher serum DDE levels. Eating more locally caught fish was associated with higher blood lead, blood mercury, and serum ∑PCBs concentrations among licensed anglers. Licensed anglers and Burmese refugees who reported fish/shellfish consumption in the past week had elevated blood mercury levels compared with those who reported no consumption. Among licensed anglers, eating more store-bought fish meals was also associated with higher blood mercury levels. As part of the program, NYSDOH staff provided fish advisory outreach and education to all participants on ways to reduce their exposures, make healthier choices of fish to eat, and waters to fish from. Overall, our findings on exposure levels and fish consumption provide information to support the development and implementation of exposure reduction public health actions.

Background Between 1958 and 1982, NL Industries manufactured components of enriched (EU) and depleted uranium (DU) at a factory in Colonie NY, USA. More than 5 metric tons of DU was deposited as microscopic DU oxide particles on the plant site and surrounding residential community. A prior study involving a small number of individuals (n=23) indicated some residents were exposed to DU and former workers to both DU and EU, most probably through inhalation of aerosol particles. Objectives Our aim was to measure total uranium [U] and the uranium isotope ratios: 234 U/ 238 U; 235 U/ 238 U; and 236 U/ 238 U, in the urine of a cohort of former workers and nearby residents of the NLI factory, to characterize individual exposure to natural uranium (NU), DU, and EU more than 3 decades after production ceased. Methods We conducted a biomonitoring study in a larger cohort of 32 former workers and 99 residents, who may have been exposed during its period of operation, by measuring Total U, NU, DU, and EU in urine using Sector Field Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometry (SF-ICP-MS). Results Among workers, 84% were exposed to DU, 9% to EU and DU, and 6% to natural uranium (NU) only. For those exposed to DU, urinary isotopic and [U] compositions result from binary mixing of NU and the DU plant feedstock. Among residents, 8% show evidence of DU exposure, whereas none shows evidence of EU exposure. For residents, the [U] geometric mean is significantly below the value reported for NHANES. There is no significant difference in [U] between exposed and unexposed residents, suggesting that [U] alone is not a reliable indicator of exposure to DU in this group. Conclusions Ninety four percent of workers tested showed evidence of exposure to DU, EU or both, and were still excreting DU and EU decades after leaving the workforce. The study demonstrates the advantage of measuring multiple isotopic ratios (e.g., 236 U/ 238 U and 235 U/ 238 U) over a single ratio ( 235 U/ 238 U) in determining sources of uranium exposure.

Individuals with clinically elevated social anxiety are especially vulnerable to alcohol-related problems, despite not drinking more than those with less anxiety. It is therefore important to identify contexts in which socially anxious persons drink more to inform intervention efforts. This study tested whether social anxiety was related to greater drinking before, during, or after a social event and whether such drinking was related to the psychosocial factors anticipatory anxiety or post-event processing (PEP; review of the social event). Among past-month drinkers, those with clinically elevated or higher social anxiety (HSA; n = 212) reported more anticipatory anxiety, more pre-event drinking to manage anxiety, and PEP than those with normative or lower social anxiety (LSA; n = 365). There was a significant indirect effect of social anxiety on pre-drinking via anticipatory anxiety. Social anxiety was related to more drinking during the event indirectly via the serial effects of anticipatory anxiety and pre-drinking. Unexpectedly, PEP did not mediate or moderate the relation between social anxiety and post-event drinking. In sum, anticipatory anxiety was related to more drinking before, during, and after a social event and HSA drinkers were especially vulnerable to drinking more to manage this anxiety, which increased drinking before and during the event. This effect was specific to anticipatory anxiety and not evident for another social anxiety-specific risk factor, PEP. Thus, anticipatory anxiety may be an important therapeutic target for drinkers generally and may be especially important among HSA drinkers.

The New York State Department of Health conducted the Healthy Fishing Communities Program in collaboration with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry to assess human exposure to contaminants common to Lake Ontario, Lake Erie and surrounding rivers and waterways among populations in western New York State who eat locally caught fish. The program enrolled licensed anglers and Burmese refugees and immigrants, living near four designated Great Lakes Areas of Concern: Buffalo River, Niagara River, Eighteenmile Creek, and the Rochester Embayment. These target populations were sampled and enrolled independently into the program between February and October of 2013. A core set of contaminants were measured in blood and urine of 409 licensed anglers and 206 Burmese refugees and immigrants which included lead, cadmium, mercury, PCBs, PBDEs, organochlorine pesticides (hexachlorobenzene, mirex, DDT, DDE, and chlordane and its metabolites oxychlordane and trans-Nonachlor), and PFOS and PFOA. Biomonitoring results showed that both groups had higher geometric means for blood lead, total blood mercury, and serum PFOS compared to the 2013–2014 NHANES reference levels. The Burmese refugee group also showed higher geometric means for creatinine-adjusted urine mercury and lipid-adjusted serum DDE compared to national levels. Licensed angler participants reported eating a median of 16 locally caught fish meals in the past year. Burmese participants consumed local fish throughout the year, and most frequently in the summer (median 39 fish meals or 3 times a week). The study results provide valuable information on populations at high risk of exposure to contaminants in the Great Lakes Basin of western New York. The results provide the foundation for developing and implementing public health actions to reduce potential exposures to Great Lakes pollutants.

Greenhouse and laboratory experiments were conducted with the potential bioherbicides Colletotrichum graminicola (Cg) and Gloeocercospora sorghi (Gs) for control of shattercane weed. Single-spray tank mixture applications containing different ratios of the two fungi resulted in additive percent weed biomass losses. Intraspecific (Cg + Cg or Gs + Gs) and interspecific (Cg + Gs or Gs + Cg) sequential applications 1- or 7-days apart indicated antagonistic interactions in percent biomass loss. Application of either fungus with, or 1–3 days prior to, a sub-lethal concentration of glyphosate resulted in an antagonistic percent biomass loss; while application of glyphosate prior to either potential bioherbicide resulted in a synergistic weed disease response. Conidia germination studies conducted both in vitro on agar plates and with leaf impression peels suggest that antagonistic interactions observed in weed disease severity are probably due to the host–pathogen response following infection.

Late in 1985, asbestos contamination was discovered in the public water supply of the Town of Woodstock, Ulster County, New York. Contamination resulted from asbestos-cement pipes installed in the town water system in the mid to late 1950s and the corrosiveness of the local water. The New York State (NYS) Department of Health established the Woodstock Asbestos Exposure Registry (WAER) in 1986 to monitor rates of cancer among individuals who lived on the water supply between 1960 and 1985. Demographic, health, and residential information were collected on 2936 registrants. The follow-up period for observation of cancer was 1980-1998, consistent with the expected lag of 20-30+ years for development of asbestos-related cancers. The NYS Cancer Registry was used to ascertain cancer diagnoses. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) for gastrointestinal, respiratory, and total cancers were all approximately 1.00 or less and all 95% confidence intervals (CIs) included 1.00. For individual types of the gastrointestinal cancers, only the SIR for pancreatic cancer was marginally statistically significant at 2.19 (95% CI=1.00-4.16), based on a total of nine observed cases. The excess in pancreatic cancer occurred primarily among men (SIR=3.08; 95% CI=1.13-6.70) and was only slightly elevated among women (SIR=1.39; 95% CI=0.29-4.06). This association may be related to factors other than asbestos exposure such as occupation and lifestyle or to chance. No cases of mesothelioma were observed among WAER participants. There was no increase in incidence by latency or duration of residence on the water supply, but the ability to detect these trends is limited by small numbers and unknown dates of initial exposure. The general pattern of results did not demonstrate a likely link between exposure to asbestos in drinking water and cancer occurrence among participants in the WAER.

Background Few sun-safety studies have included ethnoracially diverse groups. Comparison across such groups of sun-safety behaviors was the main objective of this analysis. Methods Postal workers (n =2543) self-reported frequency of sunscreen, wide-brim hat, and sunglasses use during the last 5 workdays on 5-point Likert-type scales ranging from “never” to “always.” Responses were dichotomized by “always” versus all other responses. Generalized estimating equations were used to assess the association between ethnicity/race and frequency of each sun safety behavior. The baseline data reported in this paper were collected in the summer of 2001, and the randomized trial was completed in the summer of 2004. Results Ethnicity/race was significantly related to sunscreen and sunglasses use. For both sunscreen and sunglasses, the white group had significantly higher “always” rates than the other four groups (30% vs 14% to 23% and 63% vs 44% to 52%, respectively). Conclusions The results of this study indicated that although non-Latino white employees tended to have higher rates of sun-safety behaviors, the rates of adequate protection of all groups were low.

Background. Few studies assessing sun safety behaviors have used validated survey instruments. Using an observational strategy, this study measured the validity of self-report of occupational sun protection behaviors. Methods. Postal workers ( N = 1,036) self-reported their frequency of protective clothing and sunglasses use during the past 5 workdays on Likert scales ranging from “Never” to “Always”. Responses were dichotomized by Always vs. all other responses. Data collectors observed these same behaviors during mail delivery several days before survey administration. Agreement between the two measures was computed. Results. Self-report for all items was significantly related to observed behaviors, with Kappa values in the good to excellent range (Kappas = 0.51–0.83). Conclusions. For outdoor postal workers, survey items assessing recent occupational use of sun-protective items had high levels of validity.

An efficient synthesis of C-functionalised cyclam macrocycles that employs bisaminal intermediates and allows N-substitution to be controlled is reported.

Modern corporate bankruptcy law has been shaped, and some of it written, by special interests. Even so, the law is rooted in American ideals of renewal, and of viewing failure in the marketplace as a sign of effort and gumption, not moral collapse. It’s a powerful idea - shedding the past to begin anew. But for decades, Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code has also been used strategically - to destroy union contracts, edge out competitors, and limit product liability lawsuits.More recently, some private equity firms have honed Chapter 11 as an efficient financial engineering tool for insider sales - and for dumping pensions. Based on partial data from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., at least 51 companies have abandoned pension plans in bankruptcy at the behest of private equity firms since 2001. They’ve dumped $1.592 billion in pension bills onto a government-backed agency that insures private defined benefit plans. Because pension insurance doesn’t cover all benefits, their actions have left some of the nearly 102,000 workers or retirees with lost benefits amounting to at least $128 million. And they've contributed to the chronic deficits at the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.Other types of businesses, including publicly held companies, have also abandoned pension plans in bankruptcy. But the business model and practices of some private equity firms can make pension-dumping in bankruptcy especially attractive.The legal and regulatory environments in the U.S. combine with those practices to add up to a form of institutional corruption. In this working paper, I explain how Oliver Wendell Holmes’ hypothetical “bad man” can use bankruptcy as a strategy to profit. So, here is a bad man’s guide to ditching pensions in bankruptcy - legally.

3' -O-acetylchloramphenicol, commonly formed from chloramphenicol by resistant bacteria, has been isolated from the antibiotic-producing organism. Biosynthetic experiments suggest that it is a protected intermediate in chloramphenicol biosynthesis, implicating acetylation as a self-resistance mechanism in the producing organism.

Background. Each year, millions of children visit zoological parks, where they are exposed to long bouts of ultraviolet radiation (UVR). We conducted a study in the winter and replicated it in the summer to evaluate an intervention for reducing UVR exposure during the zoo visit. Methods. Each study used a nonequivalent control group design: one zoological site received the intervention and a second received evaluation only. Key outcome measures consisted of observed prevalence of hat use by exiting children ( N = 8,721 and 8,524, respectively, in winter and summer studies) and purchase rates of sunscreen and hats in zoo gift shops. Intervention consisted of tip sheets for parents, children's activities, prompts, and discounts off the price of sunscreen and sun-protective hats. Results. In the summer study, sales of both sunscreen and target hats increased significantly at the intervention site relative to the control site, whereas in the winter study, only sunscreen sales at the intervention site had a significant (relative) increase. Children's hat use increased significantly at the intervention site, but only in the winter study. Conclusions. The multicomponent program was effective in promoting purchases of sun-safe items, but its impact on children's hat use was inconclusive.

Visna virus is the prototypic member of a subfamily of retroviruses responsible for slow infections of animals and humans. As a part of our investigation of the functions of viral gene products in virus replication, we have isolated three infectious molecular clones and determined the complete nucleotide sequences of two of the clones. We have also characterized the progeny of the biologically cloned viral stocks and of the infectious clones and document considerable heterogeneity in plaque size and antigenic phenotype of the former that is reduced to near homogeneity in the progeny of the infectious clones. It thus should now be possible to trace the emergence of antigenic variants of visna virus as well as ascribe defined functions to structural and regulatory genes of the virus in determining neurovirulence and the slow tempo of infection.

The fasting plasma phenylalanine concentration of patients with untreated phenylketonuria was found to be highest in the first few months of life. Dietary studies indicated that this was largely due to the proportionately higher intake of phenylalanine at this age. The fasting plasma tyrosine level was found to be higher than normal in babies with phenylketonuria but the reasons for this were not clear. It is suggested that the rapid mental deterioration which occurs in the young baby with untreated phenylketonuria may be due to the degree of biochemical abnormality developed rather than to a special vulnerability of the growing brain.