Features of Coping Strategies in Overcoming Extreme Critical Situations: A Study on Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Liquidators and Antiterrorist Participants

The present study investigated and compared coping strategies and self-perception of psychopathological symptoms or disorders and radiation threat at different times in 122 cleanup workers (liquidators) of the consequences of the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in 76 liquidators who were also evacuated from the contaminated area, in 81 participants in antiterrorist operations (ATO), and in 84 individuals who were not liquidators or ATO combatants. The results showed that liquidators used a variety of coping strategies, while ATO participants and control subjects mainly used problem-oriented strategies. In all groups, coping subscale scores showed positive correlations with the radiation hazard factor that in turn increased the self-perception of psychopathological symptoms or disorders. Taken together, these findings would suggest that life-threatening stressors related to IR might increase the vulnerability toward developing psychopathological disorders and symptoms.     

Constructing Legitimacy in Geoengineering Discourse: The Politics of Representation in Science Policy Literature

Geoengineering, the idea of addressing climate change through large-scale technological projects, is a unique example of a contested emerging technology. It stands out in the degree to which both its scope of possibilities and its premise are characterized by global existential risks. Despite controversy due to inherent and perceived risks, this field has been shifting toward mainstream consideration. Geoengineering science policy reports reflect this shift and influence the subsequent trajectory of research and potential deployment. The two most notable geoengineering policy reports are those by the Royal Society in 2009 and the National Research Council (NRC) in 2015. Discursive strategies recurrent in these reports construct notions of legitimacy and normalcy in regard to geoengineering. These strategies include relative legitimation of actors and approaches, differentiating research from deployment, elevating particular geoengineering methods through comparative evaluation, and normalizing novel geoengineering proposals through analogy. These strategies are present in both the benchmark geoengineering policy reports, with a deepening and entrenchment evident in the later NRC report. Together, these discursive strategies promote the legitimization of geoengineering research.     

Dose response effects of cognitive-behavioral therapy in a school mental health program

ABSTRACT

School mental health (SMH) programs have been shown to be effective in providing evidence-based interventions to underserved youth. However, limitations of SMH programs are that they can entail holiday breaks, typically do not operate through summer, and often require pulling students from class to receive therapy. These limitations suggest that treatment must be expeditious and potent. Although researchers have investigated dose response to treatment, no studies were located that addressed dose response to treatment in SMH programs. The present study addressed this gap by evaluating the dose response to SMH treatment in a sample of 133 adolescents. Adolescents were assessed at baseline, post-treatment, and at multiple time points throughout treatment. An average treatment response of a 26.81-point decrease in Youth Outcome Questionnaire (YOQ-30) score was found across 14 sessions of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Further, adolescents exhibited reliable change in YOQ-30 score within an average of 2.91 sessions. Finally, it was found that baseline scores on the Depression and Hyperactivity subscales of the Behavior Assessment System for Children, 2nd Edition, along with YOQ-30 score, predicted treatment response. These findings advance our understanding of dose response to CBT in SMH settings, and create opportunities to better inform effective treatment strategies in similar contexts.     

双源 CT 低剂量 Flash 螺旋模式在全身大血管成像中的应用

评价双源 CT 低剂量 Flash 螺旋模式全身大血管成像的图像质量和辐射剂量,探讨其应用价值。收集我院行双源CT 低剂量 Flash 螺旋扫描全身大血管患者69例（全身大血管 CTA 组）,行相同扫描范围的平扫患者69例（对照 A 组）,行回顾性心电门控螺旋扫描冠状动脉患者69例（对照 B 组）。比较全身大血管 CTA 组与对照 B 组的图像噪声及全身大血管 CTA 组与对照 A 组、B 组的辐射剂量。结果发现,全身大血管 CTA 组颈总动脉、颈内动脉、肾动脉、腹主动脉的图像质量均可满足诊断要求,图像噪声与对照 B 组比较,差异无统计学意义（Z＝-0．42,P＞0．05）。全身大血管 CTA 组有效剂量低于对照 A 组、B 组（Z＝-10．14;Z＝-8．76,P 均＜0．001）。全身大血管 CTA 组平均扫描长度短于对照 A 组（Z＝-8．86,P＜0．001）。故本研究认为,双源 CT 低剂量 Flash 螺旋模式安全、无创、快捷,图像质量高,大范围 CTA 成像的辐射剂量低,是一种适合全身大血管检查的影像技术。     

Characterization of grain-boundary dislocation networks by a combination of large-angle convergent-beam electron diffraction and weak-beam techniques

The Burgers vector of very close intrinsic dislocations in a near-Σ = 11,{311} grain-boundary in nickel is identified using a geometrical method based on local and accurate measurements of the angular deviation from perfect coincidence Σ = 11 by large-angle convergent-beam electron diffraction and of the dislocation spacing from weak-beam images of the grain boundary.     

Cluster-ion bombardment studies to reveal the amorphization mode in strained Si0.8Ge0.2

Radiation damage caused by cluster ions of different sizes is predicted to be distinctly different if materials follow disparate phenomenological models of amorphization, namely overlap and direct amorphization methods. Determination of an amorphization model for a crystalline solid can be accomplished based on its radiation response to cluster sizes of bombarding ions. In the present study, we use this approach and apply it to study radiation damage in Si_0.8Ge_0.2 caused by Ag _n clusters with the number of atoms in a cluster, n, taking values from 1 to 4. The displacements measured by using channeling Rutherford backscattering spectrometry show size-enhanced damage accumulation, which is in good agreement with the atomistic detail obtained by molecular dynamics simulations. Our studies suggest that strained SiGe, a material known to have poor radiation tolerance, follows the overlap model rather than the direct amorphization model.     

On the structural unit model of grain boundary structure

Abstract

A critique of the structural unit model is presented. It is shown that the predictive capacity of the model is severely limited when it is applied to boundaries with relatively-high-index rotation axes. Recent computer simulations suggest that ‘high index’ means 〈221〉 and above. A new approach to grain boundary structure is needed for mixed tilt and twist boundaries.     

Long-range interaction of radiation-generated self-interstitial atoms and adatoms on tungsten surface

ABSTRACT

The morphological modification of the W surface induced by specimen irradiation with 5?keV He atoms was studied at the atomic level using low-temperature ?eld ion microscope techniques. The major impact-induced damage mode on W {110} surface was found to be the formation of adatom sets produced by radiation-generated self-interstitial atoms emerging at the surface. The long-range interaction was revealed by evaluating the experimental probability density of finding two radiation-generated adatoms at a given separation in comparison with the probability density corresponding to a random distribution of adatoms. The statistically significant difference of these distributions consists of the absence or severe reduction of observed adatom pairs with separations in the range 5–11?Å. The experimental distribution was characterised by a relatively open arrangement of adatoms with the closest separation of about 11?Å. Our field ion microscope observations also reveal the self-organisation of radiation-generated W adatoms into atomic chains with the lateral interatomic separation substantially larger than the nearest-neighbor distance. These effects indicate the existence of long-range interactions between radiation-generated adatoms and radiation-generated self-interstitial atoms in the subsurface region.     

The effects of clinical motor variables and medication dosage on working memory in Parkinson’s disease

In this study, we investigate the interrelationship between clinical variables and working memory (WM) in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Specifically, the aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between disease duration, dopaminergic medication dosage, and motor disability (UPDRS score) with WM in individuals with PD. Accordingly, we recruited three groups of subjects: unmedicated PD patients, medicated PD patients, and healthy controls. All subjects were tested on three WM tasks: short-delay WM, long-delay WM, and the n-back task. Further, PD encompasses a spectrum that can be classified either into akinesia/rigidity or resting tremor as the predominant motor presentation of the disease. In addition to studying medication effects, we tested WM performance in tremor-dominant and akinesia-dominant patients. We further correlated WM performance with disease duration and medication dosage. We found no difference between medicated and unmedicated patients in the short-delay WM task, but medicated patients outperformed unmedicated patients in the long-delay WM and n-back tasks. Interestingly, we also found that akinesia-dominant patients were more impaired than tremor-dominant patients at various WM measures, which is in agreement with prior studies of the relationship between akinesia symptom and basal ganglia dysfunction. Moreover, the results show that disease duration inversely correlates with more demanding WM tasks (long-delay WM and n-back tasks), but medication dosage positively correlates with demanding WM performance. In sum, our results show that WM impairment in PD patients depend on cognitive domain (simple vs. demanding WM task), subtype of PD patients (tremor- vs. akinesia-dominant), as well as disease duration and medication dosage. Our results have implications for the interrelationship between motor and cognitive processes in PD, and for understanding the role of cognitive training in treating motor symptoms in PD.