Social support and adjustment among Puerto Rican adolescent mothers: The moderating effect of acculturation.

Associations between grandmother and partner involvement and adjustment were examined among 61 Puerto Rican adolescent mothers. Results indicated that associations between grandmother involvement and adjustment were moderated by the adolescents' level of acculturation. Greater support was related to less symptomatology and parenting stress when acculturation scores were low but to more symptomatology and parenting stress when acculturation scores were high. Social support from partners was related to less symptomatology (but not parenting stress). Although coresidence with a partner was related to greater symptomatology, a significant interaction effect revealed that coresidence was associated with greater symptomatology mainly when mothers perceived their partners as providing low levels of support. Results are discussed in light of Latino cultural values and normative developmental issues. Implications for intervention strategies are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Season's greetings: Adults' social contacts at the holiday season.

Close friends and family play an important role in adults' lives, but little is known about the implications of infrequent or peripheral social ties that adults maintain. Eighty-seven adults, ranging in age from 24 to 87 years (M?=?51.25) provided information about their holiday card networks. Participants completed surveys for up to 25 cards that they received during one holiday season (n?=?1,405 surveys completed) and provided the holiday greetings as well, if they were willing (n?=?1,152 cards). Over half of the cards participants received were from individuals whom participants did not consider to be close friends or family members and whom they had not seen in over a year. Adults of all ages described emotional reactions to approximately one third of the cards they received. Younger adults tended to view their holiday greetings as a means of maintaining or building new social ties, whereas older adults were more likely to view their holiday greetings as a link to their personal past. Receiving a greater number of holiday cards and receiving cards from close social contacts were associated with increased feelings of social embeddedness. Similarities and differences between peripheral ties and close social ties are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Effects of optimism, pessimism, and trait anxiety on ambulatory blood pressure and mood during everyday life": Correction to R?ikk?nen et al. (1999).

Reports an error in the original article by K. R?ikk?nen et al (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1999, 76(1), 104–113). Table 4 on page 111 contained an error. The 4 sets of column heads ("Adjusted" and "Unadjusted") were inadvertently transposed. The corrected table is provided. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1999-00166-008): This study tested whether dispositional measures of optimism, pessimism, and anxiety affected ambulatory blood pressure (BP) and mood and whether any cardiovascular effects of dispositions were moderated by mood. Pessimistic and anxious adults had higher BP levels and felt more negative and less positive than did optimists or low anxious adults throughout the monitoring. The few times that optimists did feel negative were associated with levels of BP as high as those observed among pessimists or anxious individuals, regardless of their mood. To the extent that trait anxiety measures neuroticism, these findings suggest that neuroticism is directly related to health indicators rather than simply to illness behavior. Furthermore, the results suggest that pessimism has broad physiological and psychological consequences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contingency contracting with monetary reinforcers for abstinence from multiple drugs in a methadone program.

Positive monetary contingencies for treating opioid dependence complicated by other drug use were examined. Participants (N?=?102) entered 6-month methadone transition treatment (MTT) and were randomized into experimental conditions: 51 entered MTT with contingency contracts using monetary reinforcers and targeting abstinence from illicit drug and alcohol use, and 51 entered MTT without contingency contracts targeting abstinence. Outcomes were evaluated by random urinalysis and breath analysis. After 4 months of treatment, individuals in the contingency condition had longer periods of continuous abstinence (p?     

WIND ENERGY POTENTIAL OF COASTAL ERITREA: AN ANALYSIS OF SPARSE WIND DATA

This paper describes an analysis of historical surface wind data for the small country of Eritrea, in northeastern Africa. Winds in this region are directed by summer and winter monsoons in addition to diurnal land–sea effects. An analysis of national Eritrean and historical Italian wind records indicated marginal wind resources in the central highlands near the Eritrean capital of Asmera. An analysis of wind speed records recorded at two sites in the southern port city of Aseb indicate mean annual 10-m wind speeds of 9.5 m s⁻¹ at the windier site. Surface wind speed records for the Red Sea suggest that similar potential may be found along the lower 200 km of the Eritrean coastline. Based on these findings, wind-generated electricity in this region should be substantially cheaper than the current supply generated from imported diesel.     

Denise Ho Architects

Amid the chaotic frenzy of Hong Kong emerges an architectural voice of calm Karen A Franck encounters the work of Denise Ho, an architect who distinguishes herself through her quest for harmony and her careful consideration of her clients' needs. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The City as Dining Room,Market and Farm

Food has been sold on the street ever since people have lived in town settlements. Encouraging social exchange and interaction, the public consumption of food brings vitality and conviviality to urban life. In recent years, the sale of food in upmarket cafés and speciality shops has intensified, becoming a tool of urban regeneration. Here, Karen A. Franck, the guest-editor of this issue, introduces the themes behind ‘Food + the City’ and suggests why architects and planning professionals should pay attention to ‘the city's multiple functions as dining room, market and farm’.     

Properties of Gas‐Generating Mixtures Related to Different Fuel and Oxidizer Compositions

This work focuses on solid energetic materials designed to produce high‐pressure gas for pressurizing or inflating devices. In small gas generators sodium azide is often used. Unfortunately, this chemical exhibits drawbacks concerning toxicity and yield of gas. Other classical gas‐generating agents are double base propellants. However, they deliver toxic and reactive gases and their combustion temperatures are high. In previous work a series of alternative gas‐generating compositions have been proposed, fuelled with double base propellants, azodicarbonamide, nitroguanidine or guanidine nitrate and oxidized with potassium nitrate or potassium perchlorate. They were theoretically and experimentally evaluated on a series of combustion properties, such as ignition delay, burning rate, vivacity, specific energy, etc. The purpose of this paper is to experimentally examine the gas production of the previously proposed compositions. The yield of gas is determined through static pressure measurements after a closed vessel test, while the composition of the combustion gases is investigated through gas analysis. The addition of an oxidizer causes a significant drop in the yield of gas, but avoids the formation of hazardous gases, such as H₂ and CO, in most of the studied cases. The only exception is the mixture of a double base propellant with potassium nitrate: potassium nitrate does not fully react with the double base propellant and therefore the formation of CO and H₂ is not prevented.     

Silicones as biomaterials

Silicon has the ability to form polymeric chains, commonly linear chains of dimethylsiloxane, although other organic groups can be substituted for methyl. In addition, the properties of the resultant silicone polymers can vary with composition and curing procedure. This leads to a wide range of materials known as the silicones. This group of polymers, which have excellent biocompatibility, have been utilised to develop and manufacture a wide range of biomedical products. These range from simple tubing to complex implants, for example those used to replace diseased finger joints. The versatility of these materials has led to silicone products being employed in almost every medical speciality.