Cardiac status and cardiovascular risk factors among Finnish sea pilots

The present study investigated the expressed number of CR1 on erythrocytes (E) in relationship of the CR1 density genotype from 46 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and 47 healthy volunteers. The CR1 genotype was determined by a method based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of the genomic DNA fragment of 1.8 kb separated by HindIII endonuclease digestion and agarose gel electrophoresis. Our data supported the earlier results that the number of binding sites/E for monoclonal anti-CR1 decreased among SLE patients compared with normal individuals having the same alleles for the CR1/E density. At the same time the novelty of our recent results was that the decreased expression of CR1 on E correlated significantly with kidney involvement in patients homozygous for the CR1/E high density allele (HH). These data suggest that the deficiency of the detectable number of CR1 on erythrocytes is acquired in this SLE population.     

Foreperiod and simple reaction time.

Reviews studies of simple visual and auditory reaction processes published since W. H. Teicher (1954), with emphasis on the preparatory phase of these processes, particularly the foreperiod (FP). The 1st section consists of the analysis of actual FP variables; duration, regularity, range, distribution, and preceding FPs. The 2nd section deals with factors affecting the relation between FP and reaction time (RT): (a) the modality, intensity, probability, and duration of the warning signal and reaction stimulus (RS) and (b) the speed–accuracy trade-off. It is suggested that the S's expectancy (momentary probability of the immediate delivery of the RS) is the most important determinant of the preparation to respond to the RS at any moment during a trial and, hence, of RT. Many factors exert their influence on preparation through their effect on expectancy. Other factors have a direct influence on preparation: short-term exhaustion and fatigue, immediate arousal evoked by intense auditory stimuli, the S's stimulus criterion, the speed–accuracy trade-off, and fluctuation in motor preparedness owing to inaccuracies in the control of motor preparation. (4? p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Process conditions in X-ray lithography for the fabrication of devices with sub-micron feature sizes

This article describes the fabrication of polymer structures with lateral dimensions in the sub-micron regime using hard X-rays (λ_c ≈ 0.4 nm) from the electron storage ring ANKA. Spincoated polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) grades have been analyzed with respect to development rates and contrast. The contrast has been determined to be constant over a wide dose regime but rapidly decreases for dose values below 1 kJ/cm³. Films with a thickness from 2 to 11 μm have been patterned using a high resolution X-ray mask consisting of 2 μm thick gold absorbers on a suspended 1 μm thick silicon nitride membrane. The fabrication of sub-micron X-ray lithography structures with feature sizes down to 400 nm is confined by the mechanical parameters of the resist material and the process conditions. Surface tension after development limits the achievable aspect ratio of isolated pillars and walls, depending on the actual resist height. PMMA structures have been successfully used as template for electroplating of 1 μm thick gold to demonstrate the fabrication capability of sub-micron scale metal parts.     

Fabrication of surface reliefs on facets of singlemode optical fibres using nanoimprint lithography

Reported is the fabrication and investigation of surface reliefs on cleaved facets of optical fibres using nanoimprint lithography. The prepared structures are diffractive elements and arrays of holes with sub-wavelength feature sizes. The results obtained indicate that nanoimprint lithography affords opportunity to miniaturise optical devices at low fabrication costs, replacing free-space optical elements     

Pricing based adaptive scheduling method for bandwidth allocation

In this paper we present a packet scheduling method which guarantees bandwidth of the connection and optimizes revenue of the network service provider. A closed form formula for updating the adaptive weights of a packet scheduler is derived from a revenue-based optimization problem. The weight updating procedure is fast and independent on the assumption of the connections’ statistical behavior. The features of the algorithm are simulated and analyzed with and without a call admission control (CAC) mechanism. We also show in context with the CAC procedure a mechanism for guaranteeing a specified mean bandwidth for different service classes.     

Personality traits and knowledge sharing in online communities

Adopting diffusion theory and the concept of social value orientation, the effects of personality traits on knowledge sharing in a virtual open content community are investigated. In addition to the main effects of personality, it was hypothesized that intrinsic motivations would moderate the effects on knowledge sharing. A sample of N = 256 active users of Wikipedia provided measures of personality, motivation, and knowledge sharing. Latent regression analyses support the notion that authorship of Wikipedia is associated with higher levels of trendsetting and a prosocial value orientation. Moreover, moderation analyses demonstrate that the effect of the latter is moderated by individual differences in motivations to write. Differences with regard to opinion leadership could not be confirmed.     

Dyadic drumming across the lifespan reveals a zone of proximal development in children.

Many social interactions require the synchronization—be it automatically or intentionally—of one's own behavior with that of others. Using a dyadic drumming paradigm, the authors delineate lifespan differences in interpersonal action synchronization (IAS). Younger children, older children, younger adults, and older adults in same- and mixed-age dyads were instructed to drum in synchrony with their interaction partner at a constant, self-chosen tempo. Adult-only dyads showed the highest and children-only the lowest levels of IAS accuracy. It is important to note that children improved reliably in IAS accuracy when paired with older partners. The observed age-related differences in IAS accuracy remained reliable after statistically controlling for individual differences in the ability to synchronize to a metronome and for between-dyad differences in tempo. The authors conclude that IAS improves from middle childhood to adulthood and that adult interaction partners may facilitate its development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)