Soil physicochemical conditions, denitrification rates, and abundance in north Carolina coastal plain restored wetlands.

Over the last century, North Carolina has seen a severe reduction in the percentage of wetlands and a rise in negative environmental impacts related to this loss. To counter these effects, efforts have been enacted to mitigate wetland loss and create new wetland areas. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of hydrological restoration at several sites in the North Carolina coastal plain. Nine sites were selected for study. Hydrologically restored wetlands were compared with natural wetlands and prior converted (PC) croplands (i.e., historic wetlands under agricultural production). Each site was analyzed along a relative wetness gradient, and physicochemical properties, denitrification enzyme activity, and NO reductase gene () abundances using real-time PCR were measured. Physicochemically, restoration resulted in significantly increased levels of total C as compared with PC cropland sites. Restored wetland sites also saw pH, soil moisture, P, and NO+NO approximate levels similar to those of natural wetlands. Denitrification enzyme activity rates varied based on relative wetness within individual sites, generally increasing with increasing soil moisture. However, denitrification tended to be lower in restored wetland sites relative to natural wetlands. Gene abundances of saw statistically significant decreases in restored wetland soils. In conclusion, although analysis of restored wetlands reveals clear changes in several physicochemical characteristics and significant decreases in gene abundances, restoration efforts appear to have not significantly affected the denitrification component of the N cycle.

Dissociation of bimanual responses with the Simon effect: on the nonunitization of bimanual responses.

The authors examined whether responses of the 2 hands were completely unitized when participants (N=36) produced bimanual responses to lateralized targets in a Simon-type paradigm. Their primary aim was to investigate whether lateralized stimuli differentially influence the response dynamics of the 2 hands. Simon effects were obtained in reaction time and force components of the bimanual response by the hand on the same side as the lateralized stimulus were more forceful than were those of the other hand. Also, Simon effects were larger when the lateralized target appeared alone than when it was accompanied by a distractor on the other side of the display. Finally, responses of the 2 hands were correlated most strongly when stimulus displays were symmetrical. The authors conclude that bimanual responses are strongly coupled, but not perfectly so.

Motor processes in simple, go/no-go, and choice reaction time tasks: a psychophysiological analysis.

Psychophysiological measures were used to compare the response preparation and response execution processes of modified versions of F. C. Donders's (1868/1969) classic simple, go/no-go, and choice reaction time tasks. On all measures, differences between tasks were minimal prior to test stimulus onset, supporting the idea of equivalent motor preparation for the 3 tasks. In addition, the psychophysiological measures indicated that the time from the onset of motor processing to the keypress response was also approximately constant across tasks. These results support the assumption that the mean duration of motor processes can be invariant across simple, go/no-go, and choice tasks, at least for the present modified versions of these tasks. The findings emphasize the utility of psychophysiological measures for both examining preparatory processes preceding stimulus onset and for localizing effects on reaction time.

Work role inventory: a guide to job satisfaction.

The Miller-Carey Work Role Expectations model helps the nurse executive understand the dynamics which motivate managerial teams. The application of this model emphasizes the importance of assessing nurse manager's functions and responsibilities and suggests specific ways to enhance work motivation.

Activated Ki-ras proto-oncogene in spontaneously transformed and chemical tumor-derived cell lines related to the mouse lung alveologenic carcinoma.

An in vitro cell model of mouse lung alveologenic carcinoma consisting of preneoplastic nonmalignant cells, spontaneously transformed cells, and urethane-induced malignant cells was analyzed for phenotypic and genotypic changes associated with the transition to neoplasia. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify the cDNA derived from the c-Ki-ras mRNA corresponding to exons 1 and 2 of the proto-oncogene. This approach allowed analysis of the gene transcription product rather than potentially unexpressed DNA. Direct sequencing of the PCR product identified a common single point mutation, alone or together with wild-type mRNA for c-Ki-ras, in all of the malignant clones. An A----G transition in the second base position of codon 61 was common to spontaneously malignant and chemical tumor-derived cell lines and to lines selected for lung metastatic behavior. The absence of the mutation in the nonmalignant cells suggests that the Ki-ras mutation may be a factor in onset or maintenance of the malignant phenotype and, at least in vitro, may be a late event in the transformation process.

Employers' perceptions of dietetic team members' roles.

The emergence of supportive personnel in the dietetic field has introduced a question of the appropriate role of each of the different dietetic team members. Since the dietetic technician works closely with the dietitian, a clear understanding of the role of each is necessary if they are to be complementary. This article presented general information obtained from a study of the roles of dietetic team members and potential for the dietetic technician, as perceived by employers. Data from 30 hospitals and 35 long-term care facilities in the north central district of Georgia indicated that dietetic technicians are currently underutilized in both settings. Representatives in hospitals perceived greater potential for the dietetic technician than did those in long-term care facilities, although employers in both settings lacked perceptions of role differentiation among the three members of the dietetic team. An approach to differentiating the role of the dietetic technician from that of the dietitian was presented. This approach could diminish role conflict between the dietitian and the dietetic technician and allow the dietitian to perform the functions of the professional with expertise in nutrition.

Encoding processes in memory scanning tasks.

Three experiments are presented that deal with the effect of stimulus probability on the encoding of both alphanumeric characters and nonsense figures. Experiment I replicated a previous finding of an interaction between stimulus probability and stimulus quality in a memory scanning task with numbers as stimuli. Experiments II and III investigated the same paradigm with unfamiliar visual forms as stimuli, and no interaction was found. Results were interpreted as showing that probability affects the encoding mechanism only when the encoding process results in a representation of the name of the stimulus. When stimulus materials are visual forms without names, probability does not appear to affect encoding processes.