Air bearing design, optimization, stability analysis andverification for sub-25 nm flying

Three sub-25 nm fly height sliders are presented for near contact recording. The designs are geared towards the goal of achieving 10 Gb/in ² areal density. The optimization procedure presented shows promise for facilitating achievement of this goal. The dynamic simulations show the stability of these designs when disturbed from their steady state conditions     

Early and late weight gain following smoking cessation in the Lung Health Study

The authors examine weight gains associated with smoking cessation in the Lung Health Study (1986-1994) over a 5-year follow-up period. A cohort of 5,887 male and female smokers in the United States and Canada, aged 35-60 years, were randomized to either smoking intervention or usual care. Among participants who achieved sustained quitting for 5 years, women gained a mean of 5.2 (standard error, 5.0) kg in year 1 and a mean of 3.4 (standard error, 5.5) kg in years 1-5. Men gained a mean of 4.9 (standard error, 4.9) kg in year 1 and a mean of 2.6 (standard error, 5.8) kg in years 1-5. In regression analyses, smoking-change variables were the most potent predictors of weight change. Participants going from smoking to quit-smoking in a given year had mean weight gains of 2.95 kg/year (3.61%) in men and 3.09 kg/year (4.69%) in women. Over 5 years, 33% of sustained quitters gained > or = 10 kg compared with 6% of continuing smokers. Also among sustained quitters, 7.6% of men and 19.1% of women gained > or = 20% of baseline weight; 60% of the gain occurred in year 1, although significant weight gains continued through year 5. The average gains and the high proportions of sustained and intermittent quitters who gained excessive weight suggest the need for more effective early interventions that address both smoking cessation and weight control.     

Cognitive Ability, Expertise, and Age Differences in Following Air-Traffic Control Instructions.

Differences in cognitive ability and domain-specific expertise may help explain age differences in pilot performance. Pilots heard air-traffic controller messages and then executed them while "flying" in a simulator. Messages varied in length and speech rate. Age was associated with lower accuracy, but the expected Age x Message Difficulty interactions were not obtained. Expertise, as indexed by pilot ratings, was associated with higher accuracy; yet expertise did not reduce age differences in accuracy. The effect of age on communication task accuracy was largely explainable as an age-associated decrease in working memory span, which in turn was explainable as decreases in both speed and interference control. Results are discussed within frameworks of deliberate practice and cognitive mediation of age differences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Color harmonies in packaging

The goal of this research was to determine whether or not there was a difference between consumer preferences for color harmonies for products where external labels and visible product existed simultaneously. Using established color theory, transparent packages containing visible products with colored labels were evaluated. Eye tracking metrics and overall preference testing were used to assess these products. Eye tracking data yielded quantitative data that was statistically analyzed using analysis of variance. A post experiment survey was given to participants to collect demographics and additional data was completed through chi‐squared tests for association. No significant difference was found between color harmonies and preference, nor was there significance for the eye tracking metrics. These results of no significance are ideal for designers because it gives them the freedom to use their judgment when designing packaging labels. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 42, 50–59, 2017     

Controlled prospective study of postpartum mood disorders: Psychological, environmental, and hormonal variables.

Demographic, psychiatric, social, cognitive, and life stress variables were used to determine the etiology of depression in childbearing (CB; n?=?182) and nonchildbearing (NCB; n?=?179) women. Hormonal variables in postpartum depression were also evaluated. In the CB group predictors of depression diagnosis were previous depression, depression during pregnancy, and a Vulnerability (V)?×?Life Stress (LS) interaction; predictors of depressive symptomatology were previous depression, depressive symptoms during pregnancy, life events, and V?×?LS. Only estradiol was associated with postpartum depression diagnosis. In the NCB group V?×?LS was the only predictor of depression diagnosis; depressive symptoms during pregnancy and life events were predictors of depressive symptomatology. Previous findings about depression vulnerability were replicated. The significant V?×?LS interactions support the vulnerability-stress model of postpartum depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

INCLUDING SOFT INFORMATION IN EISs

Although much of executive decision making is based on soft information—opinions, predictions, news, and even rumors—executive information systems (EISs) have only recently begun to augment factual data with such information. A study of current use of soft information in EISs yields 15 propositions designed to help EIS developers determine what kinds of soft information are most valuable and how best to capture and deliver this information.     

Self-Monitoring, Activity Levels, and Mood in the Development and Maintenance of Depression.

The reactive effect on mood of self-monitoring pleasant and unpleasant events was assessed. Forty-five females spent 28 days monitoring in one of four conditions: (a) pleasant events, (b) unpleasant events, (c) both, and (d) no monitoring. Motor activity level (pedometer recordings) and mood were also assessed daily. Class of event monitored was not found to influence mood. Correlations between mood and both pleasant and unpleasant events were found even with activity level partialed out. Implications for self-monitoring assessment in depression therapy programs and for models of depression are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Acute gastrointestinal bleeding

Diagnosis and intervention in pediatric GI bleeding is the shared responsibility of pediatric endoscopists, radiologists, and surgeons. Brisk hemorrhage, though alarming, is most often self-limited; few cases require urgent surgery before diagnostic evaluation is accomplished. The choice between endoscopic and radiographic evaluation varies with the differential diagnoses being considered and with local referral patterns. Many imaging options exist for assessing GI bleeding in children, but these options are generally narrowed by clinical history and age-appropriate differential possibilities.     

Trace element concentrations in the Pacific harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardii) in central and northern California

To determine concentrations of trace elements (THg, MeHg, Se, and Pb) in tissues of the Pacific harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardii), live (n=186) and dead seals (n=53) were sampled throughout central and northern California from March 2003 to January 2005. There were significant differences in THg concentrations in blood and hair based on age (p<0.001). Adult male harbor seals had greater THg concentrations in their hair than adult female harbor seals (p<0.003). THg concentrations in liver increased linearly with age and delta15N (p<0.001); whereas, MeHg concentrations in liver increased exponentially until approximately 5 years of age with an asymptote at 1.3 microg/g wet weight. MeHg expressed as a percentage of THg (%MeHg) was best described by a decay function (r2=0.796, p<0.001), decreasing to a minimum at 4 years of age. Hepatic Se increased with age and was in equimolar ratios with THg in adults; whereas, molar ratio of Se:THg in pups deviated from a 1:1 ratio. Significant differences among study locations in THg concentrations in blood and hair were not detected. Assessing the possible effect of sampling location on Hg concentrations, however, was confounded and limited by lack of equal sample sizes for basic age and sex cohorts, a common dilemma in pinniped research.