The timing of appraisals.

The appraisal process consists of the subjective evaluation that occurs during an individual's encounter with significant events in the environment, determining the nature of the emotional reaction and experience. Placed in the context of appraisal theories of emotion-elicitation and differentiation, the aim of the present research was to test empirically the hypothesis that the intrinsic pleasantness evaluation occurs before the goal conduciveness evaluation. In two studies, intrinsically pleasant and unpleasant images were used to manipulate pleasantness, and a specific event in a Pacman-type videogame was used to manipulate goal conduciveness. Facial EMG was used to measure facial reactions to each evaluation. As predicted, facial reactions to the intrinsic pleasantness manipulation were faster than facial reactions to the goal conduciveness manipulation. These results provide good empirical support for the sequential nature of the appraisal process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Convoys of social support in childhood and early adolescence: Structure and function.

Little is known about social networks in childhood, and even less is known about the networks of ethnically diverse children. Interviews were conducted with 333 African-American, Anglo/European-American, and Hispanic-American public school children in Grades 1–2, 4–5, and 8–9. The research was based on the social convoy model (R. L. Kahn and T. C. Antonucci, 1980), in which social networks are viewed as dynamic hierarchic structures affording the provision of support across the life span. An adapted convoy mapping procedure evidenced good test–retest reliability at all ages, and convoy support measures were associated with self-concept and teacher-rated sociability and mood. For all ethnic groups, the results reflect the significance of close family relations across age, an increase in involvement with extended family in middle-childhood, and the emergent role of peers as support providers in adolescence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A multiparameter wearable physiologic monitoring system for space and terrestrial applications.

A novel, unobtrusive and wearable, multiparameter ambulatory physiologic monitoring system for space and terrestrial applications, termed LifeGuard, is presented. The core element is a wearable monitor, the crew physiologic observation device (CPOD), that provides the capability to continuously record two standard electrocardiogram leads, respiration rate via impedance plethysmography, heart rate, hemoglobin oxygen saturation, ambient or body temperature, three axes of acceleration, and blood pressure. These parameters can be digitally recorded with high fidelity over a 9-h period with precise time stamps and user-defined event markers. Data can be continuously streamed to a base station using a built-in Bluetooth RF link or stored in 32 MB of on-board flash memory and downloaded to a personal computer using a serial port. The device is powered by two AAA batteries. The design, laboratory, and field testing of the wearable monitors are described.     

Risk in Transport Investments

We discuss how the standard Cost-Benefit Analysis should be modified in order to take risk (and uncertainty) into account. We propose different approaches used in finance (Value at Risk, Conditional Value at Risk, Downside Risk Measures, and Efficiency Ratio) as useful tools to model the impact of risk in project evaluation. After introducing the concepts, we show how they could be used in CBA and provide some simple examples to illustrate how such concepts can be applied to evaluate the desirability of a new project infrastructure.     

Increased Bone Resorption during Lactation in Pycnodysostosis

Pycnodysostosis, a rare autosomal recessive skeletal dysplasia, is caused by a deficiency of cathepsin K. Patients have impaired bone resorption in the presence of normal or increased numbers of multinucleated, but dysfunctional, osteoclasts. Cathepsin K degrades collagen type I and generates N-telopeptide (NTX) and the C-telopeptide (CTX) that can be quantified. Levels of these telopeptides are increased in lactating women and are associated with increased bone resorption. Nothing is known about the consequences of cathepsin K deficiency in lactating women. Here we present for the first time normalized blood and CTX measurements in a patient with pycnodysostosis, exclusively related to the lactation period. In vitro studies using osteoclasts derived from blood monocytes during lactation and after weaning further show consistent bone resorption before and after lactation. Increased expression of cathepsins L and S in osteoclasts derived from the lactating patient suggests that other proteinases could compensate for the lack of cathepsin K during the lactation period of pycnodysostosis patients.     

Analytical and numerical study of the densification of carbon/carbon composites by a film-boiling chemical vapor infiltration process

The film-boiling chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) process is a fast process developed for composite material fabrication, and especially carbon/carbon composites. In order to help define optimal conditions, a local 1D model has been developed to study the densification front which establishes itself during the processing of a carbon/carbon fibrous preform. The model features heat conduction, precursor gas diffusion, densification reactions and structural evolution of the porous medium. The effects of total mass flux, Thiele modulus, porous medium geometry on front behavior parameters such as width, velocity and residual porosity are presented as semi-analytical correlations. An existence criterion is produced, which involves a minimal heat flux. Comparison between process-scale experiments and simulation is then possible by inserting the semi-analytical results achieved in the local study of the front into a light numerical model involving the entire preform. The model has been validated with respect to previous experimental and numerical data.     

Kinetics of the selective catalytic reduction of NO by NH3 on a Cu-faujasite catalyst

The kinetics of the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO by NH₃ in the presence of O₂ has been studied on a 5.5% Cu-faujasite (Cu-FAU) catalyst. Cu-FAU was composed of cationic and oxocationic Cu species. The SCR was studied in a gas phase-flowing reactor operating at atmospheric pressure. The reaction conditions explored were: 458<T_R<513 K, 2503 (ppm) < 4000, 12 (%) < 4. The kinetic orders were 0.8–1 with respect to NO, 0.5–1 with respect to O₂, and essentially 0 with respect to NH₃. Based on these kinetic partial orders of reactions and elementary chemistry, a wide variety of mechanisms were explored, and different rate laws were derived. The best fit between the measured and calculated rates for the SCR of NO by NH₃ was obtained with a rate law derived from a redox Mars and van Krevelen mechanism. The catalytic cycle is described by a sequence of three reactions: (i) Cu^I is oxidized by O₂ to “Cu^II-oxo”, (ii) “Cu^II-oxo” reacts with NO to yield “Cu^II-N_xO_y”, and (iii) finally “Cu^II-N_xO_y” is reduced by NH₃ to give N₂, H₂O, and the regeneration of Cu^I (closing of the catalytic cycle). The rate constants of the three steps have been determined at 458, 483, and 513 K. It is shown that Cu^I or “Cu^II-oxo” species constitute the rate-determining active center.     

Verification of randomized consensus algorithms under round-rigid adversaries

International Journal on Software Tools for Technology Transfer - Randomized fault-tolerant distributed algorithms pose a number of challenges for automated verification: (i) parameterization in...     

Sinusoidal disturbance induced topology identification of Hindmarsh-Rose neural networks正弦扰动诱导复杂网络拓扑识别

Topology identification of complex networks is an important problem. Existing research shows that the synchronization of network nodes is an obstacle in the identification of network topology. Identification of the structure of the network presents an interesting challenge during the synchronization of complex networks. We developed a new method using the sinusoidal disturbance to identify the topology when the complex network achieves synchronization. Compared with the disturbance of all the nodes, the disturbance of the key nodes alone can achieve a very good effect. Finally, numerical simulation data are provided to validate our hypothesis.