The effects of instructional match and content overlap on generalized reading performance

This study examined the effects of instructional match and content overlap on students' ability to generalize from passage reading instruction. Four students with mild disabilities served as participants. Using a multielement design, students were instructed with passages at two levels of text difficulty (instructionally matched vs. instructionally mismatched), and generalization was assessed with passages at two levels of similarity to those instructed (low vs. high content overlap). Results indicated that students' oral reading accuracy and fluency showed the greatest degree of generalization when instructional materials were matched to the students' skill level and assessment materials were similar to those used during instruction. Moreover, these results were maintained at 1-month follow-up. The implications of these findings for classroom reading instruction and the assessment of students' reading skills are discussed.     

Examination of the mediational influences of peer norms, environmental influences, and parent communications on heavy drinking in athletes and nonathletes.

The present study used perspectives from the general literature on college alcohol consumption to examine mediational influences of peer, environmental, and parental variables on heavy drinking for student athlete and nonathlete samples. Eight hundred thirty-five freshmen who differed in organized sports involvement were compared on heavy drinking outcomes, peer norms, environmental influences, and parental communication. College athletes reported significantly more heavy drinking experiences than nonathletes. Peer norms, environmental influences, and parental communication were all significant mediators of the athlete-heavy drinking relationship. Athletes reported a higher perception of peer drinking, peer approval of drinking, higher alcohol availability, and direct drink offers, which, in turn, were related to higher rates of heavy drinking. Parental communication mediated the athlete-heavy drinking relationship differently, depending on the specific topic of conversation. Discussion surrounding the importance of incorporating a variety of interventions aimed at reducing collegiate athlete drinking on the basis of the peer, environmental, and parental influences observed in the present analyses are presented. Limitations and directions for future research are also noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mobility fluctuation1/f noise in silicon p+-n-p transistors

A study of the current dependence of base 1/f noise and of collector 1/f noise in p⁺-n-p transistors shows that the former is most likely of the mobility fluctuation 1/f noise type and that the latter is most probably not of that type. The current dependence of 1/f noise in transistors is a powerful tool in the interpretation of the noise.     

Posttraumatic growth among Norwegian children and adolescents exposed to the 2004 tsunami.

This study examined posttraumatic growth (PTG), positive change experienced as a result of the struggle with trauma, in children and adolescents exposed to a high-impact disaster, after which their experience of secondary adversity was minimal. The study also examined whether reduction in posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) over time related to reports of PTG. There were 105 participants, age 6 to 17 years, who were directly exposed to the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia. They were interviewed 10 and 30 months after the disaster—PTSS was assessed at both time points, and PTG was assessed at 30 months. The individual's subjective reactions to the event and concurrent PTSS (30-months post-tsunami) were independently and positively related to PTG, whereas the decrease in PTSS was not related to growth. Children and youth in this study reported lower absolute levels of PTG than those in other studies. Taken in sum, findings suggest that secondary adversities may influence posttraumatic reactions and ongoing distress, which are hypothesized to play a key role in the development of PTG. In the absence of such secondary stressors, continued distress in the form of PTSS may serve to catalyze the growth process. Implications for clinical practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of exercise in neuromuscular disease

Persons with hereditary neuromuscular diseases generally lead a sedentary lifestyle, placing them at risk for diseases associated with inactivity and causing weakness, which compounds their primary disease. Although research is lacking in this area, evidence to date suggests that this population may benefit from both strengthening and aerobic fitness training programs. Overwork weakness has not been demonstrated in controlled trials of exercise, but clinicians need to be prudent in their recommendations, encouraging alternating periods of physical activity with scheduled rest. Future investigations should focus on the primary symptom of fatigue, and quantify changes in the ability to work and participate in physical activities as outcome measures of an exercise program.     

Riccati equation solution for controllers with continuous delays

We reduce the solution of a Riccati equation for infinite-time linear quadratic controllers with continuous delays and n state variables to the problem of finding scalar parameter values for an integral kernel whose form is completely specified. To simplify the exposition, the reduction is described only for a special case involving 2-dimensional state variables, but the method is entirely general. An abstract formulation of Vinter and Kwong is used throughout.     

Partially imidized,water-soluble polymeric amides. I. Partially imidized polyacrylamide and polymethacrylamide

Five to six million molecular weight polyacrylamide and polymethacrylamides of comparable post-alkaline hydrolysis viscosities were imidized by dissolution and heating in 6N HCl. After alkaline hydrolysis, the imidized polymers demonstrated significantly better retention of viscosity to 2% NaCl than did similar partially hydrolyzed polymers. Viscosities in 0.01% NaCl and resistance to shear were not markedly affected by this modification. It is assumed that this improved performance in brine is the result of chain stiffening due to intrachain imide rings.     

Presence of mobility-fluctuation 1f noise identified in silicon P+NP transistors

The magnitude and location of mobility-fluctuation $\text{1}\text{f}$ noise sources have been identified by means of biasing a PNP transistor in a common emitter configuration with first a high and then a low source resistance. Comparison of the two noise spectra at the same base currents shows the low source resistor bias isolates the collector noise sources, and the high source rsolates base noise sources. The magnitude of the observed collector $\text{1}\text{f}$ noise gives an α ? 2 × 10^?6 from Kleinpenning's mobility-fluctuation theory. The base $\text{1}\text{f}$ noise gives an α ～- 10^?7 due to an impurity mobility reduction factor of about 100.     

Moderators and mediators of the stress-aggression relationship: Executive function and state anger.

The present study examined the effects of executive function (i.e., EF) and anger/hostility on the relationship between stress (across individual stress domains, as well as at the aggregate level) and aggression. Two independent groups of participants—a college sample and a low-income community sample—were administered a battery of self-report measures concerning the subjective experience of stress, aggressive behaviors, and feelings of state anger and hostility in the last month, along with a battery of well-validated neuropsychological tests of EF. Across both samples, the stress domains that demonstrated the strongest associations with aggression were those involving chronic strains of daily living (e.g., job, financial, health) versus interpersonal stressors (e.g., family, romantic). In the community sample, analyses also revealed a significant interaction between perceived stress (aggregated across domains) and EF in predicting aggressive behavior. Specifically, participants with relatively low EF abilities, across different EF processes, showed a stronger relationship between different domains of stress and aggression in the last month. Similar effects were demonstrated in the college sample, although the interaction was not significant. In both samples, experiences of anger and hostility in the last month mediated the relationship between perceived stress (aggregate) and aggressive behavior among those low, but not high, in EF. These findings highlight the importance of higher-order cognitive processes in regulating appropriate affective and behavioral responses across different types of individuals, particularly among those experiencing high levels of stress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)