Frequency and structure of precautionary behavior in the domains of hazard preparedness, crime prevention, vehicular safety, and health maintenance.

A sample of 831 adults were interviewed by researchers using a 72-item inventory about their precautionary behaviors and attitudes. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses conducted on random halves of the sample provided evidence of consistency and structure in precautionary behavior both within and across domains of concern. Hazard preparedness activities clustered into having basic supplies on hand, advance planning, and hazard alertness. Crime prevention acts organized according to person protection, neighborly cooperation, and professional guidance. Vehicular safety factored into auto care, responsible driving, and seat belt use. Health maintenance activities entailed healthy habits (diet and exercise), risk monitoring, and avoiding tobacco and alcohol. Higher order factor analyses evidenced intra-individual consistency in the use of Disciplined, Vigilant, and Proactive Behaviors across precautionary domains. At all levels, perceptions of the usefulness of precautionary measures were related strongly to the frequency of self-protective acts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neutron Radioscopic Measurement of Water Adsorption Coefficients in Aerogels

In this work, neutron radioscopy was utilized to investigate water vapor uptake by a hydrophilic silica aerogel. Aerogel is an unusual porous material, produced by a sol-gel process that results in a solid material with a unique microstructure composed of nanometer-size particles and pores. Aerogels have an extraordinarily large internal surface area which is accessible via open pores, making them candidates for filters and gas adsorption media. The water vapor deposition was modeled both analytically and computationally, and an estimate for adsorption coefficients for water vapor in aerogel yielded 1.08 \times 10 ^-3 \pm 2.58 \times 10 ^-4 cm ² /s. Initial tests to measure water vapor uptake from moist air were very successful. Dry air was bubbled through water and then flowed past an aerogel. The aerogel was shown to uptake the water vapor readily from moist air. After uptake, the aerogel dried out rapidly in dry air. This phenomenon was repeatable, indicating that the aerogel could be reused with little change in its sorption properties. Neutron radiography was shown to be an effective nondestructive method for evaluating the real-time movement of water vapor in aerogel, as deposition patterns can be analyzed quantitatively as a function of time and penetration distance into the aerogel.     

2005亚洲信息电子展(CeBIT)巡礼

亚洲公司首次占据了以前属于欧洲公司的位置，主导了显示器展厅，而有些欧洲公司缺席了今年的展览。     

Humoral immune response to the Trypanosoma cruzi complement regulatory protein as an indicator of parasitologic clearance in human Chagas' disease

Immunoprecipitation of the purified 160-kDa complement regulatory protein of Trypanosoma cruzi by Chagas' disease patient sera was examined as a possible correlate of the complement-mediated lysis test and as an indicator of parasite clearance. The results presented demonstrate that assessment of the humoral response to this antigen is a useful indicator of parasite clearance and may be particularly helpful in the assessment of some patients for whom other serological tests produce ambiguous results.     

Comparison of aspirin with a thromboxane antagonist for patients with prolonged chest pain and ST segment depression

AIM: To compare a thromboxane antagonist (GR3219) with aspirin in patients with prolonged chest pain and ST segment depression to see if the frequency of attacks of chest pain was reduced. METHODS: The trial was part of a study comparing GR3219 with aspirin, and streptokinase with placebo and comprised the GR3219/aspirin leg. Thirty one patients were randomly assigned to GR3219 80 mg twice daily and 28 to aspirin 300 mg daily. The patients were under the age of 76 and admitted to a coronary care unit within 6 hours of continuous chest pain. The ECG showed at least 1 mm of flat or down-going ST segment. The patients kept diaries of their pain over the subsequent 31 days. RESULTS: Seventy percent of patients developed further chest pain. There was no difference between the pattern of recurrent chest pain according to which drug was used. CONCLUSIONS: The hypothesis that specific thromboxane A blockade with GR3219 would be more efficacious than aspirin was not supported by these results.     

Mechanisms and effects of transepithelial polarization in the isolated semicircular canal

Previous studies have shown that galvanic stimulation of semicircular canal organs can modulate their afferent discharge. However, it has not been resolved whether this modulation derived from direct stimulation of hair cells, afferent nerve fibers, some combination of the two, or some as yet unknown path. This problem is addressed in the present study. Experiments were designed first to determine the gross current path necessary for the DC current to modulate afferent firing. These led to the conclusion that the current path had to flow between endolymph and perilymph across the neuroepithelium. Next, the various components in this established path were considered: the afferents, the hair cells, between the hair cells, or some combination of the three. These experiments led to the conclusion that the current pathway was across the hair cells causing transmitter release and thus affecting afferent activity.     

Stressful situations in caregiving: Relations between caregiver coping and well-being.

We examined ways in which caregivers cope with stressful caregiving situations and the relations between coping strategies and caregivers' psychosocial well-being. Respondents were 58 family caregivers to patients discharged from a rehabilitation hospital. Caregivers identified a recent stressful event in caregiving and indicated strategies used to cope with this event. After controlling for patients' impairment level, analyses indicated that caregivers engaging in more escape–avoidance coping reported greater depression and more conflict in their personal relationships. Those using more positive reappraisal demonstrated greater positive affect. Younger caregivers, many of whom were women, used more avoidance strategies. Results have implications for therapeutic interventions with family caregivers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Activity memory and aging: The role of motor retrieval and strategic processing.

Examined the role of retrieval and encoding mechanisms in the magnitude of age differences in the recall of S-performed tasks (SPTs). 80 older (60–79 yrs old) and 80 younger adults (18–26 yrs old) were tested in 1 of 4 conditions by varying modality at both encoding and retrieval. The role of list organization in reducing age differences in SPT recall was also examined. The results suggested that older adults' SPT recall improves when motor processing is enhanced by list organization. Age differences in recall were reduced for an organized list when motor processing occurred during retrieval or encoding, but age differences in recall of an unorganized list remained under most conditions. Discrepant results in the literature concerning the magnitude of age differences in SPT recall could be due in part to differences in list characteristics, such as organization, that have not been fully explored. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A simplified method for calculating the stress intensity factor at crack arrest

This paper outlines a new, simplified method for approximating K_I at arrest during fast fracture events. The analysis method used in this report was developed as a simplified tool to approximate arrest conditions in a series of experiments performed by Combustion Engineering for EPRI. This simplified analysis method is applied to the CE/EPRI, HSST wide-plate, and ORNL pressurized-thermal-shock crack arrest experiments. The results presented in this paper are the first which use a single analysis technique, and thereby allow a comparison of these diverse experiments. This consistent evaluation places all the data from these experiments on an equal footing and provides a comparison with small specimen test data from the HSST program.