Thermal stability of hafnium silicate dielectric films deposited by a dual source liquid injection MOCVD

The hafnium and silicon precursors, Hf(NMe₂)₄ and Bu^tMe₂SiOH, have been investigated for the MOCVD of high-κ hafnium silicate, (HfO₂)_1–x –(SiO₂) _x films for gate dielectric applications. Control of the silica concentration in the hafnium silicate can be achieved by varying the relative precursor ratios up to a saturation level of 35–40% SiO₂. The thermal stability of the resulting hafnium silicate films in air has been investigated using medium energy ion scattering. Internal oxidation of the underlying silicon substrate is discernable when the films are annealed in dry air for 15 min over the temperature range 800–1000 °C.     

Prediction of Cognitive Abilities 1 Year Following Traumatic Brain Injury From Inpatient Rehabilitation Cognitive Screening.

Objective: To evaluate the ability of the Cognitive Log (Cog-Log) to predict neuropsychological outcome at 1 year after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Study Design: The Orientation Log (O-Log) and Cog-Log were administered during morning rounds, and a battery of neuropsychological tests was administered at 1 year postinjury. Setting: Acute rehabilitation hospital. Participants: Fifty rehabilitation inpatients. Main Outcome Measures: Composite scores for processing speed, attention, language, memory, executive functioning, and visuospatial abilities. Results: The Cog-Log was found to significantly predict 1-year outcome in attention, executive functioning, and visuospatial abilities. The O-Log contributed significantly to memory outcome. The Disability Rating Scale was not a significant predictor. Conclusions: The Cog-Log has utility as a predictor of neuropsychological outcome, particularly when used with its companion instrument, the O-Log. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How Many Selves in Emotion Experience? Reply to Dalgleish and Power (2004).

T. Dalgleish and M. J. Power (see record 2004-15929-012) suggest that J. A. Lambie and A. J. Marcel's (2002) article implicitly presents a unitary view of self in emotion experience and propose that certain clinical phenomena require multiple selves. This reply summarizes Lambie and Marcel's usages of the term self and examines both Dalgleish and Power's gloss of these and their own usages. This indicates that their own central usage of the term misrepresents Lambie and Marcel and is itself an improper usage. More important, examination of the phenomena claimed to require multiple selves suggests that they do not and that Dalgleish and Power may have misread the relevant clinical literature. Finally, Lambie and Marcel's own conception of dissociative phenomena and multiple selves are outlined, and alternative approaches are sketched. In discussing the usages of the term self and interpretation of cognitive and affective disorders, this reply attempts to clarify certain confusions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Unified user interface development: the software engineering of universally accessible interactions

In the information society, the notion of “computing-platform” encompasses, apart from traditional desktop computers, a wide range of devices, such as public-use terminals, phones, TVs, car consoles, and a variety of home appliances. Today, such computing platforms are mainly delivered with embedded operating systems (such as Windows CE, Embedded/ Personal Java, and Psion Symbian), while their operational capabilities and supplied services are controlled through software. The broad use of such computing platforms in everyday life puts virtually anyone in the position of using interactive software applications in order to carry out a variety of tasks in a variety of contexts of use. Therefore, traditional development processes, targeted towards the elusive “average case”, become clearly inappropriate for the purposes of addressing the new demands for user- and usage-context diversity and for ensuring accessible and high-quality interactions. This paper will introduce the concept of unified user interfaces, which constitutes our theoretical platform for universally accessible interactions, characterized by the capability to self-adapt at run-time, according to the requirements of the individual user and the particular context of use. Then, the unified user interface development process for constructing unified user interfaces will be described, elaborating on the interactive-software engineering strategy to accomplish the run-time self-adaptation behaviour.     

The implementation of generic smart pointers for advanced defensive programming

Smart pointers denote a well‐known technique for collective resource ownership, e.g. sharing dynamic object instances, while usually supporting automatic garbage collection based on reference counting. The original method has been retargeted to serve as a generic defensive programming method for ‘exhaustive tracking’ of erroneous pointer use in C++. Automatic bug tracking is supported in a unified manner both for pointers to heap memory, i.e. free storage, as well as for pointers to stack or global memory, i.e. auto or static storage. Overall, the presented technique (a) offers a simple contract for memory allocation and use; (b) supports type and indirection depth genericity; (c) implements most operators supported for built‐in pointers with embedded bug defense; (d) offers an alternative way of employing a garbage collection facility for memory leak detection; and (e) provides an appropriate collection of utility macros, through which defensive pointers should be used, with an alternative version re‐targeted to normal native pointers. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A single solution method for converting 2D assembly drawings to 3D part drawings

Although solid models play a central role in modern CAD systems, 2D CAD systems are still commonly used for designing products without complex curved faces. Therefore, an important task is to convert 2D drawings to solid models, and this is usually carried out manually even in present CAD systems. Many methods have been proposed to automatically convert orthographic part drawings of solid objects to solid models. Unfortunately, products are usually drawn as 2D assembly drawings, and therefore, these methods cannot be applied. A further problem is the difficult and time-consuming task of decomposing 2D assembly drawings into 2D part drawings. In previous work, the authors proposed a method to automatically decompose 2D assembly drawings into 3D part drawings, from which 2D part drawings can be easily generated. However, one problem with the proposed method was that the number of solutions could easily explode if the 2D assembly drawings became complex. Building on this work, here we describe a new method to automatically convert 2D assembly drawings to 3D part drawings, generating a unique solution for designers regardless of the complexity of the original 2D assembly drawings. The only requirement for the approach is that the assembly drawings consist of standard parts such as bars and plates. In 2D assembly drawings, the dimensions, part numbers and parts lists are usually drawn, and the proposed method utilizes these to obtain a unique solution.     

Temporal discounting of rewards in patients with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

Patients with bipolar disorder (BD) and schizophrenia (SZ) often show decision-making deficits in everyday circumstances. A failure to appropriately weigh immediate versus future consequences of choices may contribute to these deficits. We used the delay discounting task in individuals with BD or SZ to investigate their temporal decision making. Twenty-two individuals with BD, 21 individuals with SZ, and 30 healthy individuals completed the delay discounting task along with neuropsychological measures of working memory and cognitive function. Both BD and SZ groups discounted delayed rewards more steeply than did the healthy group even after controlling for current substance use, age, gender, and employment. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that discounting rate was associated with both diagnostic group and working memory or intelligence scores. In each group, working memory or intelligence scores negatively correlated with discounting rate. The results suggest that (a) both BD and SZ groups value smaller, immediate rewards more than larger, delayed rewards compared with the healthy group and (b) working memory or intelligence is related to temporal decision making in individuals with BD or SZ as well as in healthy individuals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Extreme appraisals of internal states and bipolar symptoms: The Hypomanic Attitudes and Positive Predictions Inventory.

The Hypomanic Attitudes and Positive Predictions Inventory (HAPPI; W. Mansell, 2006) was developed to assess multiple, extreme, self-relevant appraisals of internal states. The present study aimed to validate the HAPPI in a clinical sample. Participants (N = 50) with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder (confirmed by a structured clinical interview) completed a series of questionnaires pertaining to clinical factors, reward motivation, cognitive style, symptoms, and functioning at baseline, in addition to the HAPPI. Over the following 4 weeks, participants were asked to complete self-report measures of symptoms (activation, perceived conflict, depression, and well-being), as well as work and social functioning, twice weekly. The authors hypothesized that the HAPPI would be associated with prospective bipolar symptoms and functioning, when controlling for baseline symptoms and potentially confounding measures. The HAPPI was positively, independently associated with activation and conflict after 4 weeks. Furthermore, individual HAPPI factors were associated with activation, conflict, and depression. The results provided preliminary support for the predictive validity of the HAPPI in a clinical sample. The HAPPI could be used in the future as a tool in cognitive behavioral therapy for bipolar disorder to identify problematic beliefs and guide formulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contingent reinforcement of marijuana abstinence among individuals with serious mental illness: A feasibility study.

The feasibility of using monetary incentives to promote abstinence from marijuana use among individuals with serious mental illness was examined by using a within-subjects experimental design. Participants were 18 adults with schizophrenia or other serious mental illness who reported regular marijuana use. During 2 baseline conditions, participants received payment for submitting urine specimens independent of urinalysis results. During 3 incentive conditions, participants received varying amounts of money if urinalysis results were negative for recent marijuana use. The number of marijuana-negative specimens obtained was significantly greater during incentive than baseline conditions. These results provide evidence that marijuana use among at least some mentally ill individuals is sensitive to contingent reinforcement and support the potential feasibility of using contingency management interventions to reduce substance abuse among the mentally ill. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)