Social acceptance and self-esteem: Tuning the sociometer to interpersonal value.

The authors draw on sociometer theory to propose that self-esteem is attuned to traits that garner others' acceptance, and the traits that garner acceptance depend on one's social role. Attunement of self-esteem refers to the linkage, or connection, between self-esteem and specific traits, which may be observed most clearly in the association between self-esteem and specific self-evaluations. In most roles, appearance and popularity determine acceptance, so self-esteem is most attuned to those traits. At the same time, interdependent social roles emphasize the value of communal qualities, so occupants of those roles have self-esteem that is more attuned to communal qualities than is the general norm. To avoid the biases of people's personal theories, the authors assessed attunement of self-esteem to particular traits indirectly via the correlation between self-esteem and self-ratings, cognitive accessibility measures, and an experiment involving social decision making. As hypothesized, self-esteem was generally more attuned to appearances than to communal qualities, but interdependent social roles predicted heightened attunement of self-esteem to qualities like kindness and understanding. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of hydrophilic additive and PVC polymerization degree on morphology and electrochemical properties of PVC‐based heterogeneous cation‐exchange membrane

Membrane solution composition is one of the important factors that determine properties of ion‐exchange membranes. In this study, PVC‐based heterogeneous cation‐exchange membranes were prepared by the solution casting method. Effects of a hydrophilic additive [poly(ethylene glycol), PEG400] and degree of polymerization of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) on the morphology and electrochemical properties of the cation‐exchange membranes were investigated. The results revealed that the hydrophilic additive can improve membrane properties, including water uptake (Wu), ion‐exchange capacity (IEC), conductivity, and permselectivity. The improvements might be associated with an increase in accessibility of functional sites in the membrane matrix due to a higher hydrophilicity, indicated by a reduction of water contact angle and the greater void fraction shown by scanning electron microscopy. However, the permselectivity slightly decreased when the additive concentration was increased further. Meanwhile, increasing the degree of polymerization and PVC concentration resulted in higher permselectivity and lower conductivity, which might be due to a better resin distribution and a lower void fraction. Overall, the prepared membranes had relatively good conductivities (up to ～2.5 mS/cm) and permselectivities (up to ～0.92). In general the conductivity increased with increasing Wu and IEC, while the permselectivity showed the opposite trends. This could be associated with the efficacy of Donnan exclusion indicated by the IEC/Wu ratio and the Donnan equilibrium constant of the cation (K⁺). © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 46690.     

Thermo-sensitive polymers based on graft polysiloxanes

The synthesis of novel polymers obtained by grafting poly(dimethyl siloxane) with NIPAM, N,N′-dimethyl acrylamide (DMA) and copolymers of NIPAM with DMA and butyl acrylate using SET-LRP technique is presented. The polymers were characterized by ¹H NMR, fluorescence spectroscopy, and DSC. The thermo-sensitivity and the LCST as well as the aggregation phenomena during phase transition are evidenced by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and rheology coupled with small angle light scattering (SALS). Rheological and Rheo-SALS measurements proved to be useful tools to characterize the macroscopic behavior but also to evidence structural changes below and above the LCST for the analyzed systems. Good correlation was found between rheological, rheo-SALS and DLS data.     

Musts with Increased Lignan Content Through Addition of Lignan Extracts

Red and white grape musts were enriched with 7-hydroxymatairesinol (HMR), which is the main lignan contained in spruce knots. Lignan enrichment was achieved by adding a spruce knot ethanol extract. Enriched musts were stored for 12 months and during storage must samples were periodically analyzed for HMR and alpha-conidendrin content, antioxidant activity, total polyphenols, and anti-mutagenicity. The data were statistically evaluated in order to determine the influence of grape type, quantity of added lignan extracts, addition of sugar, method of preservation and storage time on the quantity of lignans added, antioxidant activity, total polyphenols, and anti-mutagenicity. Lignan content was significantly influenced by the addition of lignan extracts. After storage, lignan content had changed only moderately and the added lignans were stable in the stored musts. Total polyphenol content and antioxidant activity of grape musts were significantly increased by the type of must grape and by thermomaceration. Thermomacerated red musts exhibited higher anti-mutagenicity compared to thermomacerated white musts, independent of lignan addition.