Peer drug associations and emotional restraint: Causes or consequences of adolescents' drug use?

A 3-wave longitudinal design was used to examine the relationships among emotional restraint, peer drug associations, and gateway drug use in a sample of 1,256 middle school students. Structural equation modeling was used to compare 3 models: (1) One model viewed drug use as a consequence of emotional restraint and peer variables; (2) 1 viewed drug use as a cause of restraint and peer variables; and (3) 1 included reciprocal effects. All 3 models fit the data fairly well. However, the reciprocal model fit the data significantly better than either of the others. Within this model, low emotional restraint was significantly related to subsequent increases in gateway drug use among boys. In contrast, peer drug models and peer pressure were not related to subsequent changes in gateway drug use. Changes in peer drug models were, however, predicted by previous levels of gateway drug use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

2-Hydroxy-1, 4-napthoquinone solubilization,thermodynamics and adsorption kinetics with surfactant

2-Hydroxy-1,4-napthoquinone(lawsone) natural red-orange dye was extracted from fresh henna(Lawsonia inermis) leaves in an alkaline media.The lawsone-surfactant solubilization constants(K_(LS))were calculated for the first time by using cationic cetyltrimethylammonium bromide(CTAB) and anionic sodium dodecyl sulphate(SDS).The standard free energy,concentration of solubilized lawsone and number of lawsone molecules solubilized into micelles were calculated and discussed.Surface excess,minimum surface area per molecule,surface pressure,free energy(adsorption and aggregation) and equilibrium constants of different states were determined from tensiometry.Different metal ions(Ag~+,Co~(2+),Cu~(2+),Ni~(2+),Fe~(3+),Zn~(2+) and Al~(3+)) were used to determine the complex forming ability with lawsone.Out of these,Ag~+ ions have strong binding capacity with lawsone.The adsorption of lawsone on the surface of glass with silver ions in presence of CTAB was also observed at pH 9.0.The pseudo-first, secondorder kinetic equation,intraparticles diffusion and Elovich models were used to determine the kinetics of lawsone adsorption onto the surface of glass and a probable mechanism has been discussed.Lawsone adsorption followed second-order kinetic equation(k_2=0.019 g·mg~(-1)·min~(-1)).     

Theoretical calculation simulation studies of ABV nuclear reactor coupled with desalination system

In this paper, research has been conducted on the floating type nuclear power plant named as ABV reactor which is designed for district heating, power, and sea water desalination by OKBM facility at Russia. This reactor was tested under different thermal loads during the designing phase, and three modules have been investigated. Theoretical calculations and simulation studies have been performed on these three modules having specifications as ABV‐6M with 47MW_th, ABV‐6 with 38MW_th, and ABV‐3 with 18MW_th.The results obtained from these modules have been calculated mathematically and verified by simulation. We have compared the originally derived data of ABV desalination system with our theoretical and simulation analysis. The results from two desalination techniques including RO and RO + MED have been calculated and are presented in this paper with details. The results obtained from both analysis show that the efficiency of ABV nuclear reactor desalination system increases with the decrease in corresponding water cost ratio. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Impulse force reductions and their effects on WBV exposures in high impact shovel loading operations

When shovels load the dump trucks with over 100-ton passes under gravity dumping conditions, they will create a large impact force on the dump truck body which generates high frequency shock waves which expose the operators to whole body vibrations(WBV). The main cause of such truck vibrations is the large impact force due to the gravity dumping of large tonnage passes. Therefore a rigorous mathematical model has been developed for the impact force containing all the necessary factors upon which it depends. Latter, a thorough analysis shows that percentage reduction of 7.19%, 9.40%, 13.27%, 14.8%,17.30% and 18.13% can be achieved by reducing the dumping distance to 6.33 m, 6.0 m, 5.5 m, 5.33 m,5.0 m and 4.9 m, respectively, as compared to when the dumping distance was 7.33 m. Even more reduction in the magnitude of impact force can be observed if the shovel pass gets divided into more than two sub-passes. Therefore, these models can be used to figure out the number of sub-passes into which a single ore pass can be divided and/or the extent to which the dumping distance can be reduced which would reduce the impact force significantly enough to obtain safer yet economic operations.     

Multi‐agent‐based sharing power economy for a smart community

In this paper, a multi‐agent‐based locally administrated power distribution hub (PDH) for social welfare is proposed that optimizes energy consumption, allocation, and management of battery energy storage systems (ESSs) for a smart community. Initially, formulation regarding optimum selection of a power storage system for a home (in terms of storage capacity) is presented. Afterwards, the concept of sharing economy is inducted in the community by demonstrating PDH. PDH is composed of multiple small‐scale battery ESSs (each owned by community users), which are connected together to form a unified‐ESS. Proposed PDH offers a localized switching mechanism that takes decision of whether to buy electricity from utility or use unified‐ESS. This decision is based on the price of electricity at ‘time of use’ and ‘state of charge’ of unified‐ESS. In response to power use or share, electricity bills are created for individual smart homes by incrementing or decrementing respective submeters. There is no buying or selling of power from PDH; there is power sharing with the concept of ‘no profit, no loss’. The objective of the proposed PDH is to limit the purchase of electricity on ‘high priced’ hours from the utility. This not only benefits the utility at crucial hours but also provides effective use of power at the demand side. The proposed multi‐agent system depicts the concept of sharing power economy within a community. Finally, the proposed model is analyzed analytically, considering on‐peak, off‐peak, and mid‐level (mid‐peak) prices of a real‐time price signal during 24 h of a day. Results clearly show vital financial benefits of ‘sharing power economy’ for end users and efficient use of power within the smart community. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Viscoelastic and adhesive properties of polystyrene-hydrogenated (3,4-polyisoprene and 1,4-polyisoprene)-polystyrene and polymethyl methacrylate-polybutyl acrylate-polymethyl methacrylate-based HMPSA

In the current study, hot melt pressure sensitive adhesives (HMPSA) were prepared by blending polystyrene-hydrogenated (3,4-polyisoprene and 1,4-polyisoprene)-polystyrene (HYBRAR7311), polymethyl methacrylate-polybutyl acrylate-polymethyl methacrylate (LA2250), tackifier, and other additives in an internal mixer. The compatibility of LA2250, HYBRAR7311, and glycerol rosin ester was investigated on the basis of transparency, differential scanning calorimeter, and scanning electron microscope. The results indicated that glycerol rosin ester was compatible with HYBRAR7311 and LA2250, while HYBRAR7311 was only partly compatible with LA2250. Besides, styrene-ethylene-butene-styrene block copolymers grafted MALEIC ANLYDRIDE was used as compatibilizer added into HMPSA. Although it increased the compatibility and shear strength yet the tack and peel strength were sharply decreased. Simple variable method was used to study the effect of main components on the tack, peel strength, and shear strength of HMPSA. The relationship between adhesive properties and viscoelastic properties of HMPSA was studied via dynamic mechanical analysis. The investigation showed that the smaller storage modulus at low frequency (0.01–0.1?1/s), the larger the tack. Peel strength was found proportional to G′′(f₁)/G′(f₂)(f₁?=?32.03?1/s, f₂?=?0.07?1/s). Similarly, the effect of this blend on damping performance and substrate on peel strength of HMPSA was investigated which was found excellent in this case. The peel strength of polypropylene was larger when HYBRAR7311 content was more than LA2250. However, the peel strength of polycarbonate and polyethylene glycol terephthalate was larger when LA2250 content was more than HYBRAR7311. Furthermore, the mechanical properties of HYBRAR7311/LA2250 HMPSA were found to be superior to the one-polymer HMPSA.     

Evaluating training programs for paraprofessionals and nonprofessionals.

The importance of paraprofessional and nonprofessional human service workers in the current mental health delivery system has resulted in the development of systematic training methods for such personnel. Mental health professionals must begin the complex task of assessing such training. Three major strategies for the comprehensive evaluation of training programs are offered. The 1st strategy concerns the assessment of the differential usefulness of selection vs training of helpers. The 2nd strategy focuses on identifying factors producing effective training, while the 3rd entails an evaluation of the impact of systematically trained helpers on helpees. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Training of policemen in emotional control and awareness.

Describes a new technique designed to increase emotional control and awareness of policemen. The method has grown out of research in stimulated recall. Policemen were confronted with films which encourage them to simulate stressful interactions with demonstrators or rioters. Following the films, a group discussion took place focusing on the Ss' feelings, reactions, and responses to the film actor. The rationale of such a procedure is presented as well as its potential as a tool which can facilitate the training of police through a series of simulated interpersonal situations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)