Chromophore-functionalised polymides with high-poling stabilities of the nonlinear optical effect at elevated temperature

Functionalised second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) polyimides have been developed. The key challenge in our approach was a one-step synthesis of these polymers, by reaction of di(hydroxyalkyl) chromophores and diimides utilising the Mitsunobu reaction. Glass transition temperatures in the range of 205-224°C were obtained. Thin spincoated films of the polymers were corona-poled and analysed by second-harmonic generation; values for d₃₃ of 30 pm/V were obtained. Poled order stability measurements over periods of 210-500 h resulted in 70-90% of remaining NLO-response at 125°C.     

Self-esteem reactions to social interactions: Evidence for sociometer mechanisms across days, people, and nations.

People have a fundamental need to belong that motivates them to seek out social interactions with close others (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). Leary and Baumeister's (2000) sociometer theory (SMT) poses that people who succeed in satisfying this need have higher self-esteem (SE). This prediction was tested across three hierarchical levels: intraindividual, interindividual, and international. Indicators of social interaction quantity, quality, and the interaction between quality and quantity were collected for relationships with friends, family members, and romantic partners. On the intraindividual level, relationship quality and the interaction between quantity and quality emerged as significant predictors of daily fluctuations in SE. Cross-lagged analyses indicated that this association is at least partly due to the effect of social inclusion on changes in SE. On an interindividual level, people who generally reported higher quality relationships also had higher levels of trait SE. On an international level, countries whose inhabitants regularly interact with friends were characterized by higher nationwide SE levels than countries without such practices, even when happiness, individualism, gross domestic product, and neuroticism were controlled. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparing two measures of depression in spinal cord injury.

Compared 2 measures of depression, the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SRDS) and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and discussed their use with (1) 162 spinal cord injury (SCI) outpatients and (2) 30 SCI inpatients. Sample 2 was used to study the predictor validity of the tests based on clinicians' ratings of Ss' depression status. Results indicate a fair degree of correlation between these tests. Fairly good test reliability was also found. The SRDS was more clearly delineated into distinct conceptual factors than the BSI. An analysis of predictive validities of the 2 tests using test scores and independent clinician ratings suggests that the BSI and the SRDS were the most useful predictors of depression among SCI Ss. However, the SRDS was superior for identifying SCI persons at risk of being depressed during or after rehabilitation hospitalization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stability and performance of a variable gain controller with application to a dvd storage drive

This paper deals with the control design for optical storage drives. A nonlinear design is suggested to overcome the tradeoff between disturbance rejection, in the sense of tracking error reduction during low-frequency shock and vibration, and playability, in the sense of sensor noise tracking during high-frequency disc surface defects. Based on a variable gain control design, it is shown that improvements in disturbance rejection can be obtained without unnecessarily affecting playability. With this design, additional control is applied beyond a pre-defined error level. Accordingly, it is shown that large vibrations induce additional control effort giving improved disturbance rejection while, at the same time, small vibrations hardly induce any additional control effort thus leaving the playability properties unaffected. The variable gain strategy is studied regarding closed-loop stability and regarding performance. Closed-loop stability is derived on the basis of absolute stability theory. Performance is quantified using a measure derived from the linear sensitivity function. Based on the amplitude of the linear sensitivity function, the maximum absolute values of the periodic nonlinear response subjected to harmonic excitation are computed within a frequency range of interest. Experiments are performed on an industrial setup to validate the numerical results, and to illustrate the applicability of the nonlinear control design in a dvd application.     

What one intelligence test measures: A theoretical account of the processing in the Raven Progressive Matrices Test.

The cognitive processes in a widely used, nonverbal test of analytic intelligence, the Progressive Matrices Test, are analyzed in terms of which processes distinguish between higher scoring and lower scoring subjects and which processes are common to all subjects and all items on the test. The analysis is based on detailed performance characteristics, such as verbal protocols, eye-fixation patterns, and errors. The theory is expressed as a pair of computer simulation models that perform like the median or best college students in the sample. The processing characteristic common to all subjects is an incremental, reiterative strategy for encoding and inducing the regularities in each problem. The processes that distinguish among individuals are primarily the ability to induce abstract relations and the ability to dynamically manage a large set of problem-solving goals in working memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Consciousness and the varieties of emotion experience: A theoretical framework.

Data reviewed suggest that previous theories of emotion experience are too narrow in scope and that lack of consensus is due to the fact that emotion experience takes various forms and is heterogenous. The authors treat separately the content of emotion experience, the underlying nonconscious correspondences, and processes producing emotion experience. They classify the nature and content of emotion experience and propose that it depends on 3 aspects of attention: mode (analytic-synthetic; detached-immersed), direction (self-world), and focus (evaluation-action). The account is informed by a 2-level view of consciousness in which phenomenology (1st order) is distinguished from awareness (2nd order). These distinctions enable the authors to differentiate and account for cases of "unconscious" emotion, in which there is an apparent lack of phenomenology or awareness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Application of DfT techniques to a 20 GHz superconductor delta ADC

Advances in the mobile communication industry require very high-speed ADCs for their implementation. In the near future, state-of-the-art semiconductor ADCs cannot fulfill the requirements in frequency and resolution. Superconductor technology is promising for the implementation of this application. The testing of these converters is difficult, as usually extremely high performance instruments are required. In addition, the interfacing between device and signal generation/test equipment is very critical. Following the current trend of test-resource partitioning, our basic approach has been to reduce or omit the interfacing at high speeds and effectively down-rating the required test equipment. We have adapted existing DfT techniques to the superconductor technology. In its ultimate form it could result in built-in-self-test.     

PRANA at the Age of Four: Multiservice Loops Reach Out

Can the French loop plant support voice and multiservice data traffic simultaneously? If so, what techniques are available for practical ISDN operations before 1990, at prices attractive to the domestic subscriber? Four years ago CNET, the French National Center for Telecommunications Research, agreed to back our plan for finding practical answers to those questions. This paper presents our methods and findings. Our program groups capabilities for: voice communications, in either analog or digital form; telematics services, up to 64 kbits/s; and conventional datacomm, at selectable rates up to 9600 bits/s. We call the system PRANA, a French-language acronym for Digital Subscriber Loop System.