Effects of Diphenyl Dichalcogenides on the Radical Polymerization of Diethynyl Disulfide Derivative

Radical reaction of bis(4-prop-2-ynyloxyphenyl) disulfide (1) with 2,2′-azobis(isobutyronitrile) as an initiator provided a polymer with dithioalkene units (2). The ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectra of 2 showed that 2 had mainly E-form dithioalkene structure. The radical reactions of 1 and diphenyl diselenide (3) or diphenyl ditelluride (5) were also carried out. At higher temperature than 70 °C, polymers were obtained with less amount of AIBN than in the case of the homopolymerization of 1. Addition of 3 or 5 in the reaction mixture appeared to promote the radical reaction. Moreover, the obtained structure has high contents of thio-seleno alkene or thio-telluro alkene than expected, which is due to difference of the chalcogen radical reactivity and difference of capture ability of the dichalcogenide.

Development Impact Fees and the Acquisition of Infrastructure

This article considers the impact that the use of impact development fees has on the level of capital investment made by local governments in the United States. Using a sample of 85 cities, we find that the use of fees is associated with lower levels of capital spending. The data also reveal that the debt-to-expenditure ratio for these cities is associated with higher levels of capital spending, leading us to conclude that fees act as a quasi-pricing mechanism regulating the amount of capital investment demanded by developers.     

Assessment of psychosocial stressors and maladjustment among foreign students of the University of the Ryukyus

Hormone replacement therapy: determinants of women's decisions. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the decision-making process used by menopausal women initiating or remaining on hormone replacement therapy (HRT), stopping HRT, or never starting HRT. Eight focus groups, composed of women reflecting these categories, were conducted. Four major themes or spheres of influence emerged as important in the women's decision-making process: the woman's internal influence--the interface between her perceptions and feelings including the symptoms of menopause, the benefits realized by HRT usage, and the experiences of negative side effects; interpersonal relationships, including the patient-physician relationship, family, friends and information networks; external influences, such as ageism and sexism; and consequences resulting from whichever treatment decision was chosen. A new concept was elucidated called "weighted influence" to underscore the dynamic interplay among the spheres. As information about HRT continues to grow and change, an understanding and application of these spheres of influence can assist physicians in engaging in a dialogue with their patients that allows individual evaluation and application of this new information.     

Variable interactions in query-driven visualization

Our ability to generate ever-larger, increasingly-complex data, has established the need for scalable methods that identify, and provide insight into, important variable trends and interactions. Query-driven methods are among the small subset of techniques that are able to address both large and highly complex datasets. This paper presents a new method that increases the utility of query-driven techniques by visually conveying statistical information about the trends that exist between variables in a query. In this method, correlation fields, created between pairs of variables, are used with the cumulative distribution functions of variables expressed in a user's query. This integrated use of cumulative distribution functions and correlation fields visually reveals, with respect to the solution space of the query, statistically important interactions between any three variables, and allows for trends between these variables to be readily identified. We demonstrate our method by analyzing interactions between variables in two flame-front simulations.     

Asymmetries in Global-Local Processing Ability in Elderly People With the Apolipoprotein E-ε4 Allele.

Previous studies have identified cognitive asymmetries in elderly people at increased risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) by comparing standardized neuropsychological tests of verbal and spatial abilities in both preclinical AD and apolipoprotein ε4+ elderly groups. This prospective study investigated cognitive asymmetries within a single test by comparing cognitively intact elderly (with and without the ε4+ allele) on a learning and memory measure that uses global and local visuospatial stimuli. Both groups demonstrated comparable overall learning and recall. But the ε4+ group had a significantly larger discrepancy between their global and local learning scores and had a greater proportion of individuals with more than a one standard deviation difference between their immediate recall of the global and local elements, relative to the ε4- group. These findings build on previous studies identifying subgroups of elderly people at greater risk for AD who often demonstrate increased cognitive asymmetries relative to groups without significant risk factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A hybrid particle swarm optimization for distribution state estimation

This paper proposes a hybrid particle swarm optimization (HPSO) for a practical distribution state estimation. The proposed method considers nonlinear characteristics of the practical equipment and actual limited measurements in distribution systems. The method can estimate load and distributed generation output values at each node by minimizing the difference between measured and calculated voltages and currents. The feasibility of the proposed method is demonstrated and compared with an original particle swarm optimization-based method on practical distribution system models. Effectiveness of the constriction factor approach of particle swarm optimization is also investigated. The results indicate the applicability of the proposed state estimation method to the practical distribution systems.     

Sex Pheromones of Two Melittini Species, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Macroscelesia Japona</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">M. Longipes</Emphasis>: Identification and Field Attraction

Two Melittini species, Macroscelesia japona and M. longipes (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae), are native to Japan, but occupy different localities as their host plants seldom grow together. The contents of the sex pheromone gland of adult females of both species, obtained after rearing larvae collected from the field, were investigated by gas chromatograph-electroantennogram detection (GC-EAD) and gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses. Two GC-EAD-active components were found in a crude extract of M. japona female pheromone gland, and identified as (2E,13Z)-2,13-octadecadien-1-ol (E2,Z13-18:OH) and (2E,13Z)-2,13-octadecadienal (E2,Z13-18:Ald). The average ratio of these two components was about 1:10. In the field, M. japona males were attracted to traps baited with E2,Z13-18:Ald alone, but the strongest attraction was observed with a 1:100 mixture of E2,Z13-18:OH and E2,Z13-18:Ald. The same two components were found in extracts of M. longipes females, but in a markedly different ratio. Male M. longipes were attracted most strongly to lures containing a 20:1 mixture of E2,Z13-18:OH and E2,Z13-18:Ald, although some males were also attracted to lures with E2,Z13-18:OH alone. Although the two species do not generally occur in sympatry, our data indicate that, in the event of overlap, cross attraction of the two species is unlikely.