Gender differences in career decision making: The content and structure of preferences.

To identify possible sources of the observed differences in the career choices of women and men, three facets of career preferences were examined: the relative importance attributed to career-related aspects, the within-aspect preferences (i.e., desirable characteristics of occupations), and the structure of aspects derived from these within-aspect preferences. The career-related preferences of 2,000 young adults who were in the process of making their career decisions were analyzed. These career-related preferences were elicited during their dialogues with a computer-assisted career guidance system. The analyses revealed (a) only small gender differences in the relative importance of the aspects, (b) considerable gender differences in the within-aspect preferences, and (c) certain gender differences in the structure of aspects. The findings and their possible theoretical and practical implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of magnesium content on the ageing behaviour of water-chilled Al-Si-Cu-Mg-Fe-Mn (380) alloy castings

A study of the effect of magnesium concentration on the ageing behaviour as measured by the hardness of 380 alloy was conducted for three levels of magnesium, namely 0.06 (base alloy), 0.33 and 0.5 wt%, for water-chilled castings (dendrite arm spacing ∼ 10–15 μm). Differential scanning calorimetry analysis of as-cast samples was carried out to determine the changes in the reactions of the phases obtained during alloy solidification, employing heating rates of 0.1 and 1.0°Cs⁻¹, up to approximately 700°C. Two heat treatments were applied to the as-cast alloys: T5 comprising ageing at 25 (room temperature), 155, 180, 200 and 220°C, for times up to 200 h, and T6 comprising solution heat treatment at 480 °C or 515°C for 8 h, followed by quenching in warm water at 60°C, followed by immediate artificial ageing at 155 or 180°C for varying times up to 100h. The results show that the higher hardness values obtained with T6 treatment can be explained by the excess precipitation of magnesium-containing phases in the as-solidified alloys. This precipitation could be eliminated under the high cooling-rate conditions prevalent in die-casting operations so that T5 treatment may be used to replace T6 treatment to produce the same hardness values. In addition, solution heat treatment in the low-temperature range (480–515°C) is adequate to produce the required changes in silicon morphology and dissolution of magnesium in the matrix. No significant difference in hardness behaviour was observed when the magnesium content was increased beyond 0.3 wt%.     

Minimal communication cost software construction in the Internet environment

This paper investigates the issue of building software in the Internet environment, where local area network (LAN) based systems are interconnected by links with different bandwidth and do not share file systems. The software is modeled as a directed acyclic graph. Each node in the graph represents a logical step in processing the software while the edges describe the order of execution. The problem is to construct the software at a particular LAN with minimum Internet communication cost. An optimal polynomial algorithm, SOFTCON, with time complexity is presented, where and are the number of nodes and edges in the graph describing the software respectively, is the number of LANs in the Internet environment, and is the time complexity of the network flow algorithm on the flow network with nodes and edges transformed from the directed acyclic graph of the software. Received: 6 December 1995 / 1 May 1996     

Spinal abscess of Haemophilus paraphrophilus. A case report

STUDY DESIGN: A case of paraspinal abscess formation from Haemophilus paraphrophilus is presented. OBJECTIVES: To describe a case of paraspinal abscess formation from H. paraphrophilus, a fastidious commensal organism of the mouth and pharynx. A precise bacteriologic identification can be difficult; techniques for such identification are discussed. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Spinal abscess caused by H. paraphrophilus is unusual and can be very difficult to diagnose. METHODS: The etiology, clinical presentation, technical examinations, and treatment are reviewed. RESULTS: Prolonged antibiotic treatment was curative, although surgery was considered. CONCLUSIONS: Bacteriologic diagnoses in these rare infections are difficult. Antibiotic therapy was curative in the patient described.     

Ovarian steroids and stress produce changes in peripheral benzodiazepine receptor density

Although past research has described changes in the density of the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor in brain and in peripheral organs in response to stressors and steroid hormone exposure, their combined influence had yet to be determined. This study examined the effect of swim-stress as a function of ovarian hormone administration on the binding of an isoquinoline carboxamide derivative, [3H]PK 11195, in brain and peripheral tissues. In olfactory bulb and adrenal gland, stress increased peripheral benzodiazepine receptor density in ovariectomized rats with and without estradiol and progesterone replacement injection, even when compared with unstressed animals treated with hormones, where estradiol + progesterone decreased peripheral benzodiazepine receptor number in olfactory bulb, but estradiol and estradiol + progesterone increased it in adrenal gland. In frontal cortex, stress decreased peripheral benzodiazepine receptor number, an effect that was reversed by estradiol. In hippocampus estradiol decreased peripheral benzodiazepine receptor density in unstressed animals and estradiol + progesterone decreased peripheral benzodiazepine receptor number in unstressed and stressed animals. In cerebellum, stress, estradiol and estradiol + progesterone alone decreased peripheral benzodiazepine receptor density. In uterus of unstressed controls, estradiol + progesterone increased peripheral benzodiazepine receptor density, and stress produced a further increase in steroid-treated females. Stress did not affect peripheral benzodiazepine receptor density in kidney, except in animals that received estradiol + progesterone injections, where swim-stress produced a significant decrease in peripheral benzodiazepine receptor density. Thus, steroid hormones regulate peripheral benzodiazepine receptor density in endocrine organs and brain, and the hormonal state of the organism modifies the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor response to stress in a tissue- and brain region-specific manner, suggesting that the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor may play a pivotal role in an integrated response to stress.     

Effect of alloying elements on the solidification characteristics and microstructure of Al- Si- Cu- Mg- Fe 380 alloy

The effect of varying the major alloying elements within the limits of specification on the solidification behavior, fluidity, and microstructure of a 380 alloy has been studied at two cooling rates. The thermal analysis technique has been used to study the solidification behavior. The alloying elements investigated ranged from 3.22 to 4.09 pct copper, 1.01 to 1.70 pct iron, 0.06 to 0.50 pct magnesium, 1.69 to 3.00 pct zinc, and 0.16 to 0.46 pct manganese. The results show that the solidification behavior of the 380 alloys is complicated, and the cooling curve at 0.4 ‡C/s indicates six reactions taking place during the process of solidification. Cooling curves obtained for each of the alloying element additions, their analysis, and the resultant microstructures are discussed.     

Management of nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal stenosis in children

Nasopharyngeal stenosis and oropharyngeal stenosis are rare and challenging problems in the pediatric population. The most common etiology is currently the surgical trauma associated with adenotonsillectomy. Stenosis can vary from a thin band to a complete obstructing cicatrix. Presenting symptoms range from mild hyponasal speech to severe airway obstruction. We present a series of eight children with varying degrees of stenosis and associated symptoms. Choice of treatment varied with the severity of disease. In our series, successful interventions included triamcinolone acetonide injection, lysis of adhesions, rotational and advancement mucosal flaps, and jejunal free flap. Preoperative evaluation and individualized surgical repair are essential for successful treatment.     

Tracking trajectories of the cart-pendulum system

The problem of tracking a periodic trajectory of the well-known cart-pendulum system is solved. After a change of coordinates and a change of feedback, the equations of this system are nonlinear but feedforward. This property is extensively used to carry out for this system the design of uniformly asymptotically stabilizing time-varying state feedbacks by using the forwarding approach.     

Polymerase chain reaction in the diagnosis of tuberculosis. Comparison of two target sequences for amplification

Amplification of a 340 bp sequence of the 38 kDa protein gene of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by the polymerase chain reaction has been developed. The sensitivity of this PCR was shown to be 10 fg both by agarose gel electrophoresis and Southern blot hybridisation being equivalent to 2-3 organisms and highly specific to M. tuberculosis and excluding even M. tuberculosis H37Ra and Mycobacterium bovis BCG. Sputum samples from patients with pulmonary tuberculosis gave a positivity rate of 45%. PCR was also performed using pt8 and pt9 primers which amplified a 541 bp sequence of IS6110. 41% of the above samples gave positive amplification. Three samples that were positive for 38 kDa sequence were negative for IS6110.     

Validity of psychological assessment: Validation of inferences from persons' responses and performances as scientific inquiry into score meaning.

The traditional conception of validity divides it into three separate and substitutable types: content, criterion, and construct validities. This view is fragmented and incomplete, especially because it fails to take into account both evidence of the value implications of score meaning as a basis for action and the social consequences of score use. The new unified concept of validity interrelates these issues as fundamental aspects of a more comprehensive theory of construct validity that addresses both score meaning and social values in test interpretation and test use. That is, unified validity integrates considerations of content, criteria, and consequences into a construct framework for the empirical testing of rational hypotheses about score meaning and theoretically relevant relationships, including those of an applied and a scientific nature. Six distinguishable aspects of construct validity are highlighted as a means of addressing central issues implicit in the notion of validity as a unified concept. These are content, substantive, structural, generalizability, external, and consequential aspects of construct validity. In effect, these six aspects function as general validity criteria or standards for all educational and psychological measurement, including performance assessments, which are discussed in some detail because of their increasing emphasis in educational and employment settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)