A Communicative Interdependence Perspective of Close Relationships: The Connections Between Mediated and Unmediated Interactions Matter

In response to calls to recognize that both face‐to‐face (FtF) interaction and technologically mediated communication (TMC) often occur in the same relationships, we introduce a communicative interdependence perspective with a central tenet that relational closeness is associated with interconnections among modes of communication. We examined this perspective with a focus group study (N = 17) and a more extensive survey (N = 317). Consistent with the communicative interdependence predictions, relational closeness was associated positively with integration between FtF and TMC and negatively to difficulties transitioning between modes. Also, discussing topics only via technologically mediated channels was inversely associated with closeness and satisfaction, whereas discussing topics only in person was positively related to closeness and satisfaction.     

Media Violence and Children's ADHD‐Related Behaviors: A Genetic Susceptibility Perspective

This study examined the relationship between media violence exposure and Attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)‐related behaviors. Using survey (parent‐reported) and genetic data of 1,612 Dutch children (aged 5 to 9 years), we examined genetic disposition as a possible cause of individual differences in children's use of and susceptibility to media violence. The gene variant of interest was the 5‐HTTLPR polymorphism, which has been associated with ADHD‐related behaviors in previous research. Results showed that the “long” variant of the gene polymorphism was related to greater violent media use, which in turn was related to more ADHD‐related behaviors. The 5‐HTTLPR genotype did not moderate the effect of media violence on ADHD‐related behaviors. This study provides insight into the role of genetic factors in media effects.     

Predicting exposure to and uses of television violence

The uses-and-gratifications tradition posits that individual needs for stimulation and for information vary systematically. These needs may affect what media sources and other stimuli are accessed by individuals. In this study we sampled adolescents and college students to examine (a) the relation between sensation seeking and exposure to violent and nonviolent television, and (b) the subsequent role that violent television may play among high sensation-seeking adolescents in their exposure to risky behaviors. Two sensation-seeking dimensions, disinhibition (positively) and experience seeking (negatively), related to adolescents' exposure to violent television. In addition, among sensation seekers, those who exhibit risk-taking behavior were not similar to those who watched violent television, making it unlikely that the two sets of behaviors can compensate for one another. We discuss implications and directions for future research.     

Political Involvement in “Mobilized” Society: The Interactive Relationships Among Mobile Communication,Network Characteristics,and Political Participation

In recent years, mobile communication has emerged as a channel for political discourse among network ties. Although some celebrate new possibilities for political life, others are concerned that it can lead to network insularity and political detachment. This study examined how mobile‐mediated discourse with strong ties interacts with characteristics of those ties to predict levels of political participation. Findings revealed that mobile‐based discourse is positively associated with political participation, but that this relationship is moderated by the size and heterogeneity of one's network. Participation increases with use of the technology in large networks of like‐minded individuals, but declines with use of the technology in homogeneous networks that are small. Implications and future research considerations are offered in the discussion.     

Ultrasmall Water‐Soluble and Biocompatible Magnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles as Positive and Negative Dual Contrast Agents

Monodispersed water‐soluble and biocompatible ultrasmall magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (UMIONs, D = 3.3 ± 0.5 nm) generated from a high‐temperature coprecipitation route are successfully used as efficient positive and negative dual contrast agents of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Their longitudinal relaxivity at 4.7 T (r₁ = 8.3 mM^?1 s^?1) is larger than that of clinically used T₁‐positive agent Gd‐DTPA (r₁ = 4.8 mM^?1 s^?1), and three times that of commercial contrast agent SHU‐555C (r₁ = 2.9 mM^?1 s^?1). The transversal relaxivity (r₂ = 35.1 mM^?1 s^?1) is six times that of Gd‐DTPA (r₂ = 5.3 mM^?1 s^?1), half of SHU‐555C (r₂ = 69 mM^?1 s^?1). The in vivo results show that the liver signal from T₁‐weighted MRI is positively enhanced 26%, and then negatively decreased 20% after injection of the iron oxide nanoparticles, which is stronger than those obtained from Gd‐DTPA (<10%) using the same dosage. The kidney signal is positively enhanced up to 35%, similar to that obtained from Gd‐DTPA. Under T₂‐weighted conditions, the liver signal is negatively enhanced ?70%, which is significantly higher than that from Gd‐DTPA (?6%). These results demonstrate the great potential of the UMIONs in dual contrast agents, especially as an alternative to Gd‐based positive contrast agents, which have risks of inducing side effects in patients.     

Prospect Theory,Discrete Emotions,and Freedom Threats: An Extension of Psychological Reactance Theory

Consistent with earlier research supporting the use of narratives to increase message persuasiveness, this study examined the role of guilt and happiness following exposure to organ donation narratives presented in professionally produced radio ads. As hypothesized, the loss‐frame narrative was significantly associated with heightened guilt, which was related to greater freedom threat perceptions and psychological reactance. Conversely, the loss‐frame narrative was negatively associated (p = .06) with increased happiness. Contrary to what was hypothesized, reactance was not significantly negatively associated with favorable attitudes toward registering as an organ donor. Instead, freedom threat was directly negatively related to favorable attitudes. Our results are discussed with an emphasis on the theoretical and practical implications.     

Relational Communication and Understanding in Conversations About Hurtful Events Between Parents and Adolescents

This article examines how the severity of a hurtful event and discrepancies in perceptions of relational communication affect perceived understanding and empathic accuracy (EA) in parent–adolescent discussions about a hurtful event in their relationship. Results from a dyadic interaction study showed that the severity of the hurtful event was negatively associated with perceived understanding. Furthermore, discrepancies in perceptions of disaffiliation behaviors during a conversation about a child's hurtful event were also negatively associated with perceived understanding. Discrepancy in perceptions of adolescent's dominance corresponded negatively with parents' perceived understanding when discussing the child's hurtful event. There were no significant associations with EA. The implications for work on hurtful events, understanding, and relational framing theory are discussed.     

Associating and Tuning Sodium and Oxygen Mixed‐Ion Conduction in Niobium‐Based Perovskites

Pure ionic conductors as solid‐state electrolytes are of high interest in electrochemical energy storage and conversion devices. They systematically involve only one ion as the charge carrier. The association of two mobile ionic species, one positively and the other negatively charged, in a specific network should strongly influence the total ion conduction. Nb⁵⁺‐ (4d⁰) and Ti⁴⁺‐based (3d⁰) derived‐perovskite frameworks containing Na⁺ and O^2? as mobile species are investigated as mixed ion conductors by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The design of Na⁺ blocking layers via sandwiched pellet sintered by spark plasma sintering at high temperatures leads to quantified transport number of both ionic charge carriers t_Na+ and t_O2?. In the 350–700 °C temperature range, ionic conductivity can be tuned from major Na⁺ contribution (t_Na+ = 88%) for NaNbO₃ to pure O^2? transport in NaNb_0.9Ti_0.1O_2.95 phase. Such a Ti‐substitution is accompanied with a ≈100‐fold increase in the oxygen conductivity, approaching the best values for pure oxygen conductors in this temperature range. Besides the demonstration of tunable mixed ion conduction with quantifiable cationic and anionic contributions in a single solid‐state structure, a strategy is established from structural analysis to develop other architectures with improved mixed ionic conductivity.     

RGD‐Conjugated Nanoscale Coordination Polymers for Targeted T1‐ and T2‐weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Tumors in Vivo

Development of multifunctional nanoscale coordination polymers (NCPs) allowing for T₁‐ and T₂‐weighted targeted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of tumors could significantly improve the diagnosis accuracy. In this study, nanoscale coordination polymers (NCPs) with a diameter of ≈80 nm are obtained with 1,1′‐dicarboxyl ferrocene (Fc) as building blocks and magnetic gadolinium(III) ions as metallic nodes using a nanoprecipitation method, then further aminated through silanization. The amine‐functionalized Fc‐Gd@SiO₂ NCPs enable the covalent conjugation of a fluorescent rhodamine dye (RBITC) and an arginine‐glycine‐aspartic acid (RGD) peptide as a targeting ligand onto their surface. The formed water‐dispersible Fc‐Gd@SiO₂(RBITC)–RGD NCPs exhibit a low cytotoxicity, as confirmed by MTT assay. They have a longitudinal relaxivity (r₁) of 5.1 mM^?1 s^?1 and transversal relaxivity (r₂) of 21.7 mM^?1 s^?1, suggesting their possible use as both T₁‐positive and T₂‐negative contrast agents. In vivo MR imaging experiments show that the signal of tumor over‐expressing high affinity α_vβ₃ integrin from T₁‐weighted MR imaging is positively enhanced 47±5%, and negatively decreased 33±5% from T₂‐weighted MR imaging after intravenous injection of Fc‐Gd@SiO₂(RBITC)–RGD NCPs.     

Expedited forwarding end‐to‐end delay and jitter in DiffServ

The scheduling disciplines and active buffer management represent the main components employed in the differentiated services (DiffServ) data plane, which provide qualitative per‐hop behaviors corresponding to the QoS required by supported traffic classes. In the first part of this paper, we compute the per‐hop delay bound that should be guaranteed by the different multiservice scheduling disciplines, so that the end‐to‐end (e2e) delay required by expedited forwarding (EF) traffic can be guaranteed. Consequently, we derive the e2e delay bound of EF traffic served by priority queuing–weighted fair queuing (PQ–WFQ) at every hop along its routing path. Although real‐time flows are principally offered EF service class, some simulations on DiffServ‐enabled network show that these flows suffer from delay jitter and they are negatively impacted by lower priority traffic. In the second part of this paper, we clarify the passive impact of delay jitter on EF traffic, where EF flows are represented by renewal periodic ON–OFF flows, and the background (BG) flows are characterized by the Poisson process. We analyze through different scenarios the jitter effects of these BG flows on EF flow patterns when they are served by a single class scheduling discipline, such as first‐input first‐output, and a multiclass or multiservice scheduling discipline, such as static priority service discipline. As a result, we have found out that the EF per‐hop behaviors (PHBs) configuration according to RFCs 2598 and 3246 (IETF RFC 2598, June 1999; RFC 3246, IETF, March 2002) cannot stand alone in guaranteeing the delay jitter required by EF flows. Therefore, playout buffers must be added to DiffServ‐enabled networks for handling delay jitter problem that suffers from EF flows. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Online identities and social influence in social media gambling exposure: A four-country study on young people

Social media tends to gather users around social cliques consisting of similar-minded individuals and shared identities. These online group processes can have significant influence on user behavior, which is alarming when considering risky behaviors such as gambling. This study examined how online clique involvement predicts young people’s interest in gambling content and following observed group norms on social media. Survey respondents were 15–25-year-olds from Finland (n = 1200), the United States (n = 1212), South Korea (n = 1192) and Spain (n = 1212). A self-reported measure of online clique involvement and a gambling-related social media vignette experiment were utilized. The results show that online clique involvement was related to higher interest in gambling content. Content liked by a majority gathered more interest, indicating conformity to a group norm. This finding was especially true among participants with past involvement in online cliques, and the association was strongest in South Korea. The tendency to participate in online clique behavior creates a potentially risky setting when encountering online gambling content, because it may accentuate the effect of observed group norms. Interacting with gambling content increases the visibility of such content due to algorithmic filtering technologies, which can fuel gambling-related intentions and behaviors, and normalize gambling.     

A pH‐Responsive Gating Membrane System with Pumping Effects for Improved Controlled Release

In this study, we report on a novel composite membrane system for pH‐responsive controlled release, which is composed of a porous membrane with linear grafted, positively pH‐responsive polymeric gates acting as functional valves, and a crosslinked, negatively pH‐responsive hydrogel inside the reservoir working as a functional pumping element. The proposed system features a large responsive release rate that goes effectively beyond the limit of concentration‐driven diffusion due to the pumping effects of the negatively pH‐responsive hydrogel inside the reservoir. The pH‐responsive gating membranes were prepared by grafting poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) linear chains onto porous polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane substrates using a plasma‐graft pore‐filling polymerization, and the crosslinked poly(N,N‐dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) (PDM) hydrogels were synthesized by free radical polymerization. The volume phase‐transition characteristics of PMAA and PDM were opposite. The proposed system opens new doors for pH‐responsive “smart” or “intelligent” controlled‐release systems, which are highly attractive for drug‐delivery systems, chemical carriers, sensors, and so on.     

To Your Health: Self‐Regulation of Health Behavior Through Selective Exposure to Online Health Messages

Reaching target audiences is of crucial importance for the success of health communication campaigns, but individuals may avoid health messages if they challenge their beliefs or behaviors. A lab study (N = 419) examined effects of messages' consistency with participants' behavior and source credibility on selective exposure for 4 health lifestyle topics. Drawing on self‐regulation theory and dissonance theory, 3 motivations were examined: self‐bolstering, self‐motivating, and self‐defending. Prior behavior predicted selective exposure across topics, reflecting self‐bolstering. Standard‐behavior discrepancies also affected selective exposure, consistent with self‐motivating rather than self‐defending. Selective exposure to high‐credibility sources advocating for organic food, fruits and vegetable consumption, exercise, and limiting coffee all fostered accessibility of related standards, whereas messages from low‐credibility sources showed no such impact.     

Revisiting the Worksite in Worksite Health Campaigns: Evidence From a Multisite Organ Donation Campaign

This article advances the beginnings of a general theory of organizational features to aid in understanding why health campaigns that work well in one organization may be ineffectual in another organization. The physical, social, and information structures of organizations are theorized to create an interaction environment that is distinct to each organization and that influences health campaigns. To test this argument, an organ donation campaign was conducted in 46 organizations. Multilevel modeling yielded mixed findings. Physical structure was negatively associated with signing an organ donor card. Social structure and information structure were positively associated with communication with coworkers about donation and communicative peer influence. Industry type was positively associated with knowledge change.     

Positively K+‐Responsive Membranes with Functional Gates Driven by Host–Guest Molecular Recognition

A novel positively K⁺‐responsive membrane with functional gates driven by host‐guest molecular recognition is prepared by grafting poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide‐co‐acryloylamidobenzo‐15‐crown‐5) (poly(NIPAM‐co‐AAB₁₅C₅)) copolymer chains in the pores of porous nylon‐6 membranes with a two‐step method combining plasma‐induced pore‐filling grafting polymerization and chemical modification. Due to the cooperative interaction of host‐guest complexation and phase transition of the poly(NIPAM‐co‐AAB₁₅C₅), the grafted gates in the membrane pores could spontaneously switch from “closed” state to “open” state by recognizing K⁺ ions in the environment and vice versa; while other ions (e.g., Na⁺, Ca²⁺ or Mg²⁺) can not trigger such an ion‐responsive switching function. The positively K⁺‐responsive gating action of the membrane is rapid, reversible, and reproducible. The proposed K⁺‐responsive gating membrane provide a new mode of behavior for ion‐recognizable “smart” or “intelligent” membrane actuators, which is highly attractive for controlled release, chemical/biomedical separations, tissue engineering, sensors, etc.     

Tailoring Multilevel‐Stable Remanence States in Exchange‐Biased System through Spin‐Orbit Torque

Multilevel remanence states have potential applications in ultra‐high‐density storage and neuromorphic computing. Continuous tailoring of the multilevel remanence states by spin‐orbit torque (SOT) is reported in perpendicularly magnetized Pt/Co/IrMn heterostructures. Double‐biased hysteresis loops with only one remanence state can be tuned from the positively or negatively single‐biased loops by SOT controlled sign of the exchange‐bias field. The remanence states associated with the heights of the sub‐loops are continually changed by tuning the ratio of the positively and negatively oriented ferromagnetic domains. The multilevel storage cells are demonstrated by reading the remanent Hall resistance through changing the sign and/or the magnitude of current pulse. The synaptic plasticity behaviors for neuromorphic computing are also simulated by varying the remanent Hall resistance under the consecutive current pulses. This work demonstrates that SOT is an effective method to tailor the remanence states in the double‐biased heavy metal/ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic system. The multilevel‐stable remanence states driven by SOT show potential applications in future multilevel memories and neuromorphic computing devices.     

Tailoring the Molecular Properties with Isomerism Effect of AIEgens

It is challenging to achieve precise control on the properties of organic π‐functional materials to widen their practical applications. On the other hand, the study of aggregation‐induced emission luminogens (AIEgens) helps achieve such goals because of inherent relationships between their luminescence behaviors and conformational variations that allow for the visual monitoring of the changes in the material properties. Inspired by this, in this work, three AIE isomers are fabricated in structures consisting of tetraphenylpyrazine and triphenylethene units with para‐, meta‐, and ortho‐position linkages, respectively. The isomerism effect brings about significantly decreased luminescence efficiency, subtly blueshifted emission, basically reduced AIE effect but boosted porosity in the aggregate state as the conformation of AIEgens evolves from an extended to a folded one. Based on the distinct properties, their respective use in blue organic light‐emitting diodes, nanofluorescent probes, and molecule‐capturing porous crystals are investigated. This work not only achieves precise property control by using the isomerism effect of AIEgens but also provides useful information on the future design of π‐conjugated materials with advanced functionalities.     

Decreasing social contagion effects in diffusion cascades: Modeling message spreading on social media

Modeling retweeting behaviors is important for understanding and predicting how information spreads on social media platforms. The present study contributes to the literature by examining the decreasing social contagion and increasing homophily effects with the depth of diffusion cascades. To test the hypotheses, the study proposes a matching-on-followers method by combining choice and cascade models. More specifically, the study examines the impacts of interaction frequency, multiple exposures, and interest similarity between parent users and potential retweeters on the likelihood of retweeting. The study also incorporates the depth of diffusion cascades and network structures into the model. By using a random sample of original tweets, their retweets, and potential retweeters (N = 87,139), the study found that cascade depth is negatively associated with social contagion effects (interaction and multiple exposures) and positively associated with the effect of interest similarity on message sharing. These results indicate that influence-based and homophily-driven diffusion operate differently in cascades with different diffusion structures.     

"Have Fun While You Can,""You're Only as Old as You Feel," and "Don't Ever Get Old!": An Examination of Memorable Messages About Aging

Previous research has indicated memorable messages are important because they provide socializing functions by influencing cognitions and behaviors. This study examined the content, context, and structure of memorable messages about aging from the receiver's perspective. Message senders were older than receivers and tended to be female and family members. Senders usually were perceived to have benevolent motives. Messages did not tend to be rule-structured. Message content pertained to topics like the benefits of aging; aging as a natural, inevitable process; the need to enjoy life; and losses associated with aging. Message effects included viewing aging more positively, viewing aging more negatively, resolving to enjoy life or take better physical care of oneself, and changing relationships with others.