Energy dissipation via radiative recombination and vibronic relaxation in σ-delocalized silicon backbone network polymers

The nature of ultrafast energy dissipation in poly(n-hexylsilyne), a prototypical σ-delocalized alkysilicon network polymer, is explored. This disordered silicon backbone material exhibits strong near-UV to visible band-edge absorption and a high quantum yield of visible emission. The time evolution of the emission band is studied over four decades of time using time-resolved luminescence as a probe. The data indicate that while there is an ‘intrinsic’ Stokes shift after photoexcitation due to kinetic energy relaxation (<10ps), thermalization within a dense band of vibronic states via intramolecular phonon-assisted hopping on a nanosecond timescale is the dominant mechanism for excited-state decay. The data can be understood in terms of theoretical predictions for energy relaxation in disordered materials.     

Regression analyses of counts and rates: Poisson, overdispersed Poisson, and negative binomial models.

The regression models appropriate for counted data have seen little use in psychology. This article describes problems that occur when ordinary linear regression is used to analyze count data and presents 3 alternative regression models. The simplest, the Poisson regression model, is likely to be misleading unless restrictive assumptions are met because individual counts are usually more variable ("overdispersed") than is implied by the model. This model can be modified in 2 ways to accommodate this problem. In the overdispersed model, a factor can be estimated that corrects the regression model's inferential statistics. In the second alternative, the negative binomial regression model, a random term reflecting unexplained between-subject differences is included in the regression model. The authors compare the advantages of these approaches. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Converting interpreters into compilers

There is an effective and quite general method of manually deriving compilers from programming-language interpreters without dealing directly with machine language. The method is an implementation of the largely theoretical and under-appreciated concept of partial computation, but can be understood on its own terms. It involves the translation of a source program's intermediate form into the interpreter's implementation language. This paper shows how the method can be used to transform both a sample iterative interpreter and a sample recursive interpreter into compilers. The result can be a large gain in program execution speed. Other advantages of the method, including the ease and practicality of applying it, are discussed.     

The therapeutic relationship as the foundation for treatment with adult survivors of sexual abuse.

Survivors of sexual abuse enter psychotherapy with special needs that challenge some of the traditional therapeutic assumptions. The therapeutic relationship, which is the foundation for treatment with abuse survivors, often must shift in nature and quality to address these needs. The main goal of treatment is the integration of self and affective experience. To facilitate this process the authors discuss the establishment and maintenance of an "affective edge" that allows for direct attention to and intervention with the trauma memories and the accompanying affect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Important features of Iris OSQL

OSQL is the object-oriented database language developed for the Iris object-oriented database management system at Hewlett-Packard Laboratories. Its three fundamental constructs are objects, types, and functions. This paper provides an overview of the underlying concepts and some important features of OSQL.     

Hemispheric priming by meaningful and nonmeaningful symbols in language-trained chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): Further evidence of a left hemisphere advantage.

Hemispheric priming was examined in 3 language-trained chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) using a simple reaction time (RT) paradigm. Ss were required to hold down a response button until the occurrence of a response cue. A warning stimulus was presented to either the left visual field or the right visual field (RVF) before the response cue occurred. No warning stimulus was presented on control trials. The warning stimuli were geometric communicative symbols from 2 semantic categories: food and tools. A 3rd set of warning stimuli were familiar geometric symbols. Dependent measures included RT and the number of false-positive responses. RT data indicated an RVF advantage in priming when the warning stimuli were food or tool symbols. No significant visual half-field differences were found for familiar symbols, but a trend toward an RVF advantage was observed. These effects were enhanced when Ss responded with their left hand. False-positive data also indicated an RVF advantage for the food and tool warning stimuli. The data indicate that hemispheric asymmetries for processing communicative symbols are present in language-trained chimpanzees. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The analysis of solvation in ionic liquids and organic solvents using the Abraham linear free energy relationship

The contentions made in an earlier paper [J Chem Technol Biotechnol 80 : 133–137 (2005)] that the coefficients of the Abraham solvation equation do not provide meaningful information on the molecular properties of ionic liquid solvents is refuted. The objections noted in the earlier paper disappear when the solvation equation model is correctly applied to the experimental data. It is further shown that the coefficients of the Abraham solvation equations can be used to characterize ionic liquids and can be used to select solvents for the solubility of gaseous solutes. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry     

Cardiovascular responses to occupational stress in male medical students: A paradigm for ambulatory monitoring studies.

Examined hemodynamic responses to systematic variations in occupational stress using ambulatory blood pressure monitors. Heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, rate–pressure product, and mood states were measured before, during, and after low-stress (lecture) and high-stress (examination) work in 44 healthy White male medical students. The lecture day was characterized by stable patterns of cardiovascular activity across all 3 periods. Hemodynamic activity and reports of activation and distress were greater on the examination day than on the lecture day. Cardiovascular activity during the pre-examination period was as high as that seen during the examination period itself, indicating an anticipatory stress effect. Pressor activity decreased after the examination, although some residual chronotropic activity was seen. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fathers and children: Predicting the quality and quantity of fathering.

This study looked at the quality and quantity of interactions between fathers and their firstborn 5-year-olds from the perspective of the family as a developmental interdependent system. The goals were to identify predictors of men's parenting from men's own adaptation (direct effects) and from their wives' characteristics (indirect effects), both measured during the expectancy. Twenty-three families from the Boston University Pregnancy and Parenthood Project made up the sample. Measures included self-report scales, observations, and semistructured interviews. Several of men's psychological characteristics, particularly their autonomy and job satisfaction, predicted their play time and the quality of their interactions with their children. Women's autonomy, occupation, and age in the expectancy predicted men's caretaking and weekday time involvement with their 5-year-olds. We suggest that the findings can best be explained by the concepts of complementarity and identification. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)