Resilient, overcontrolled, and undercontrolled boys: three replicable personality types

Three replicable personality types were identified in a sample of 300 adolescent boys and shown to generalize across African Americans and Caucasians. The types had conceptually coherent relations with the Big Five dimensions, ego resiliency, and ego control, and converged with three of the types identified by J. Block (1971). The behavioral implications of the types were explored using several independent data sources. Resilients were intelligent, successful in school, unlikely to be delinquents, and relatively free of psychopathology; Overcontrollers shared some of these characteristics but were also prone to internalizing problems; and Undercontrollers showed a general pattern of academic, behavioral, and emotional problems. This research demonstrates that replicable and generalizable personality types can be identified empirically, and that the unique constellation of traits defining an individual has important consequences for a wide range of outcomes.     

Ovarian stimulation and in vitro fertilization in women with mature cystic teratomas

OBJECTIVE: To report the results of ovulation induction and in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) in patients with ovarian cystic teratomas. METHODS: Six women with ultrasonographically diagnosed ovarian cystic teratomas (mean diameter 2.4 cm) who presented with infertility underwent IVF-ET (n = 4) or ovulation induction (n = 2). Serial ultrasound examinations were used to determine the size of the cystic teratomas during therapy and throughout pregnancy. RESULTS: Ovarian stimulation was successful, as evidenced by the serum estradiol concentration on the day of hCG administration (mean in IVF-ET patients, 3558+/-1319 pg/mL) and the number of oocytes retrieved (10+/-4.24). Three patients having IVF-ET and both patients having ovulation induction conceived, and six healthy infants were born. Cyst sizes remained unchanged throughout treatment and pregnancy. There were no cyst-related complications during ovulation induction or IVF-ET, or during the entire course of pregnancy, labor, and delivery. CONCLUSION: The presence of ovarian cystic teratoma should not be considered a contraindication for therapy in women undergoing ovulation induction and IVF-ET.     

Anisotropic lattice distortions in biogenic aragonite

Composite biogenic materials produced by organisms have a complicated design on a nanometre scale. An outstanding example of organic-inorganic composites is provided by mollusc seashells, whose superior mechanical properties are due to their multi-level crystalline hierarchy and the presence of a small amount (0.1-5 wt%) of organic molecules. The presence of organic molecules, among other characteristics, can influence the coherence length for X-ray scattering in biogenic crystals. Here we show the results of synchrotron high-resolution X-ray powder diffraction measurements in biogenic and non-biogenic (geological) aragonite crystals. On applying the Rietveld refinement procedure to the high-resolution diffraction spectra, we were able to extract the aragonite lattice parameters with an accuracy of 10 p.p.m. As a result, we found anisotropic lattice distortions in biogenic aragonite relative to the geological sample, maximum distortion being 0.1% along the c axis of the orthorhombic unit cell. The organic molecules could be a source of these structural distortions in biogenic crystals. This finding may be important to the general understanding of the biomineralization process and the development of bio-inspired 'smart' materials.     

Aligning Non-Overlapping Sequences

This paper shows how two image sequences that have no spatial overlap between their fields of view can be aligned both in time and in space. Such alignment is possible when the two cameras are attached closely together and are moved jointly in space. The common motion induces similar changes over time within the two sequences. This correlated temporal behavior, is used to recover the spatial and temporal transformations between the two sequences. The requirement of consistent appearance in standard image alignment techniques is therefore replaced by consistent temporal behavior, which is often easier to satisfy.This approach to alignment can be used not only for aligning non-overlapping sequences, but also for handling other cases that are inherently difficult for standard image alignment techniques. We demonstrate applications of this approach to three real-world problems: (i) alignment of non-overlapping sequences for generating wide-screen movies, (ii) alignment of images (sequences) obtained at significantly different zooms, for surveillance applications, and, (iii) multi-sensor image alignment for multi-sensor fusion.     

The design of millimeter-wave control components

The design of broadband high-performance control components covering the 18-40-GHz frequency range utilizing microstrip technology is described. Design considerations and experimental results are presented for high-speed single-pole, single-throw and single-pole, double-throw switches with 80- and 60-dB isolation, respectively. Design equations and experimental results are presented for a 3-dB quadrature microstrip reentrant coupler and for a nonreflective voltage-controlled attenuator with a dynamic range of 50 dB     

Linking person and context in the daily stress process.

Using a sample of 96 women in an urban community, we examined perceived neighborhood quality and major life events as possibly potentiating the effects of stressful daily events, and we viewed social supports as potentially buffering this daily process. Results confirmed that the presence of chronic ecologic stress (neighborhood perceptions) exacerbated the immediate effects of stressful daily events on mood and also increased the likelihood of enduring effects of daily stressors on next day's mood. Contrary to expectations, previous exposure to major life events decreased the impact of stressful daily events. The availability of social supports, although not buffering the impact of stressful daily events on mood, did mitigate the enduring effects of these events on next day's mood. This study also presents a method for analyzing daily time-series data, while correcting for potential problems of autocorrelated error terms. (56 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A "common-language" version of the California Child Q-Set for personality assessment.

The California Q-Set (CCQ), a unique instrument used by professional observers to assess children's personalities, has contributed important information about the nature of personality development. Language-simplifying modifications are introduced to the items in the original CCQ for this assessment procedure to be used with a wide range of nonprofessional observers (e.g., parents with little formal education). Reliability and validity assessments show that the "common-language" version of the CCQ can be used with laypersons to yield reliable, valid, and valuable information about the links between personality functioning and problems in adaptive functioning in diverse populations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A1H NMR anomaly for steroidal alcohols? Reactions of a steroidal γ-ketoacid

The chemical and spectroscopic properties of several reaction products of 17β-hydroxy-1,3-seco-2-nor-5α-estran-1-oic acid and 17β-hydroxy-1,3-seco-2-nor-4-oxo-5α-estran-1-oic acid were examined and found to be atypical. For instance, the methyl ester of the first acid was resistant to basic hydrolysis conditions but partly hydrolyzed with 100% H₂SO₄. Reduction of the ester by LiA1H₄ gave 1,3-seco-2-nor-5α-estrane-1,17β-diol from which diacetate, ditosylate and 17-monotosylate derivatives were prepared. The C-1 methylene protons of each appeared as a singlet in 60, 100 and/or 270 MHz NMR spectra. The methyl ester and the diacetate of the diol were synthesized by alternate methods to verify the assigned structures. A 470-MHz spectrum eventually resolved the C-1 methylene protons of the monotysylate into the AB portion of an ABX pattern, further confirming the assigned structures. Also, 2,3-seco-1-oxo-5α-estran-17β-ol 17-nitrate was synthesized.     

Field quality in Fermilab-built models of high gradient quadrupolemagnets for the LHC interaction regions

Superconducting quadrupole magnets for the interaction regions of the Large Hadron Collider are being developed by the US-LHC Accelerator Project. These 70 mm bore quadrupole magnets are intended to operate in superfluid helium at 1.9 K with a nominal field gradient of 215 T/m. A series of 2 m model magnets are being built and tested at Fermilab to optimize design and construction parameters. Measurements of the field quality of the model magnets tested to date and comparisons with the required field quality are reported in this paper     

The child is father of the man: Personality continuities from childhood to adulthood.

This article presents findings about continuities in personality development that have been uncovered in the Dunedin study, an investigation of a cohort of children studied from age 3 to 21. At age 3, children were classified into temperament groups on the basis of observations of their behavior. In young adulthood, data were collected from study members themselves, from people who knew them well, and from official records. Undercontrolled 3-year-olds grew up to be impulsive, unreliable, and antisocial, and had more conflict with members of their social networks and in their work. Inhibited 3-year-olds were more likely to be unassertive and depressed and had fewer sources of social support. Early appearing temperamental differences have a pervasive influence on life-course development and offer clues about personality structure, interpersonal relations, psychopathology, and crime in adulthood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)