Depicting communities of Romani studies: on the who,when and where of Roma related scientific publications

Scientometrics - Contemporary research on Roma from diverse disciplines has grown strongly during the last years. This is the first bibliometric study on the field of Romani studies considering the...     

3-component low temperature solvothermal synthesis of colloidal cadmium sulfide quantum dots

We report the solvothermal synthesis of colloidal cadmium sulfide quantum dots via a three-component system affording various particle diameter ranging from 3.368 nm to 8.411 nm. The band gap, and therefore the optical property, of these nanocrystals can be tuned by varying the reaction time and temperature of the system. The results obtained show strong confinement of particles with diameter smaller than the exciton Bohr radius of CdS. The growth kinetics was found to follow a diffusion-controlled process at the initial stage then shifts to a surface-controlled incorporation of reactants to the crystallite after the particle size becomes comparable to the exciton Bohr radius.     

Electrokinetic properties of surface modified PETP fibres

The microporous structure of unmodified poly(ethylene terephthalate) PETP fibres was investigated by small-angle X-ray measurements in order to determine the content, size and shape of micro-voids in the fibres. Because of the compact and highly crystalline morphology of the chemically weakly reactive PETP fibres, the rate of diffusion within the fibres or adsorption on the surface is very low. Therefore a technique for modifying polyester fibre surface to change the dyeability, water sorption properties and electrokinetic characteristics have been suggested and used. It includes the adsorption of some electrolytes on the fibre surface. In order to study the obtained fibre surface changes the zeta-potential ζ was determined by streaming potential measurements as a function of pH. PETP fibres exhibit high negative ζ plateau value, due to their strong hydrophobicity and non-ionic character. The application of the surfactant changes the electrokinetic properties with respect to the adsorption process conditions. Electronic Publication     

Don't hide your happiness! Positive emotion dissociation, social connectedness, and psychological functioning.

It is now clear that positive emotion leads to enhanced psychological functioning. What is less clear, however, is just why this is so. Drawing on a social-functional perspective, we argue that positive emotional behavior that accurately signals to others the individual's internal state will enhance social connectedness. Positive emotional behavior that does not accurately signal a person's experience—such as a smile that is not felt—may impede social connectedness and, in turn, psychological functioning. This perspective suggests that (a) the degree to which experience and behavior are dissociated during positive emotional episodes, over and above level of positive behavior, should predict worse psychological functioning and (b) the effect of dissociation should be mediated by social connectedness. To test these hypotheses, we conducted a short-term prospective longitudinal study, with a baseline assessment of depressive symptoms and well-being at Time 1. Six months later, at Time 2, we used a novel within-individual laboratory paradigm to measure the degree to which positive emotional behavior was dissociated from (vs. coherent with) a participant's positive emotional experience. We also assessed level of positive behavior and experience. Then, another 6 months later, we assessed social connectedness as a mediator and depressive symptoms and well-being as outcomes at Time 3. Even when controlling for baseline functioning and for level of positive emotion behavior and experience, we found that greater positive experience–behavior dissociation at Time 2 predicted higher levels of depressive symptoms and lower levels of well-being at Time 3. As predicted, these associations were mediated by social connectedness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maternal representations of past and current attachment relationships, and emotional experience across the transition to motherhood: A longitudinal study.

Sad and anxious feelings are known to increase in the immediate postpartum period, whereas studies on new mothers' other emotional qualities such as anger are scarce. In laboratory studies, attachment security was found to be associated with effective emotion regulation in challenging situations. This study investigated attachment representations of experiences with parents and of current experiences with the partner as predictors of sad, anxious, and angry feelings across the transition to motherhood. Seventy-seven pregnant women in their third trimester were administered the Adult Attachment Interview and the Current Relationship Interview. The Differential Emotions Scale was given in pregnancy and at the infant's ages of 2 weeks, 2, 4, and 6 months, asking both mothers and fathers about maternal emotional experience. Sadness and anxiety increased 2 weeks postpartum and returned to below baseline over the following months, while anger did not change. Contrary to mothers with an insecure representation of their couple relationship, those with a secure representation reported and displayed increased sadness and anxiety 2 weeks after giving birth, from which they quickly recovered. For mothers secure in their representation of past attachment relationships with parents, an increase of low-level anger emerged 4 months postpartum, which did not occur in insecure participants and receded quickly. It can be concluded that secure representations of current and past attachment relationships help new mothers express and recover from negative emotions. These findings further elucidate the associations between attachment status and emotion regulation while adding a couple perspective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

View Planning for Multi-View Stereo 3D Reconstruction Using an Autonomous Multicopter

Multi-view stereo algorithms are an attractive technique for the digital reconstruction of outdoor sites. Concerning the data acquisition process a vertical take off and landing UAV carrying a digital camera is a suitable platform in terms of mobility and flexibility in viewpoint placement. We introduce an automated UAV based data acquisition and outdoor site reconstruction system. A special focus is set on the problem of model based view planning using a coarse digital surface model (DSM) with minimal data preprocessing. The developed view planning heuristic considers a coverage, a maximum view angle and an overlapping constraint imposed by multi-view stereo reconstruction techniques. The time complexity of the algorithm is linear with respect to the size of the area of interest. We demonstrate the efficiency of the entire system in two scenarios, a building and a hillside.     

Design Structure Matrix Implementation on a Seismic Retrofit

A void exists in development of design theory methodology within the structural engineering community. This void hampers efforts to resolve performance deficiencies including cost over-runs, unplanned rework, and suboptimal design. In manufacturing, product design and production improvements have resulted from implementation of the design structure matrix (DSM) methodology. DSM offers a means to represent, analyze, and decompose complex systems in order to improve their performance. DSM use within the architecture engineering construction (AEC) industry has been sporadic and focused primarily in the U.K. Where applied, DSM has proven effective at helping AEC design teams streamline processes to address nonlinearity (nonsequential information flows) introduced by iteration and complexity in design. When a DSM reveals iteration and highly dependent work, group brainstorming, collocated design sessions, rapid feedback, set-based design, and collaborative design aids can be used to increase overall team effectiveness. This paper examines a case study where DSM-based planning software was used on a seismic retrofit project to drive process improvement in design management. DSM correctly identified iterative activities central to design and provided the following; (1) a common vocabulary to discuss rework in the context of a multidisciplinary design team; (2) a rational method to schedule team collocation and brainstorming efforts to maximize their benefit; and (3) a means to consider iterative activities (and associated hand-offs) in design work structuring.     

Influence of aqueous medium on mechanical properties of conventional and new environmentally friendly regenerated cellulose fibers

Comparative investigations between the new lyocell fibers and the regular viscose and modal types were made in order to explain the reasons for the differences in the mechanical properties of the fibers. The purpose was a systematic analysis of structure characteristics and of influence of aqueous medium on the mechanical properties. The properties determined in the wet state reflect the effect of the aqueous medium on the changes in the supermolecular structure during wet treatments [1, 2]. The new lyocell fibers consist of longer molecules and have a higher degree of crystallinity. Smaller but longer crystallites are oriented in the fiber axis direction and the voids structure is similar to that of viscose fibers [3]. Good mechanical properties are conditioned by the structure of the lyocell fibers, above all by high values of the orientation factor and crystallinity index. Sorption properties place lyocell fibers between the viscose and modal fibers. The water influence on the mechanical properties of lyocell fibers is considerably smaller compared to the viscose and modal fibers. Received: 18 September 2000 / Reviewed and accepted: 20 September 2000     

Progress of the NbAl3 Combustion Synthesis Reaction

Parallelopipedal (60 × 10 × 10-mm) bars obtained by uniaxial compaction of Nb-Al powder mixtures with a stoichiometric NbAl₃ composition (75 a/o Al) were submitted to reaction synthesis using the SHS mode (self-propagating high-temperature synthesis). The experimental procedures used were such as to allow for the reaction ignition, propagation, and extinction at a certain plane along the bar length. The microstructure of the reacted bars was characterized by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and EDS. The various phases present along the bar length evidenced that the local composition was changed due to the presence of a molten aluminum flux during the reaction. All the observed phases are predicted by the Nb-Al equilibrium phase diagram. A possible explanation for the reaction sequence is advanced based on the experimental observations.