Facial expressions of emotion and the course of conjugal bereavement.

The common assumption that emotional expression mediates the course of bereavement is tested. Competing hypotheses about the direction of mediation were formulated from the grief work and social-functional accounts of emotional expression. Facial expressions of emotion in conjugally bereaved adults were coded at 6 months post-loss as they described their relationship with the deceased; grief and perceived health were measured at 6, 14, and 25 months. Facial expressions of negative emotion, in particular anger, predicted increased grief at 14 months and poorer perceived health through 25 months. Facial expressions of positive emotion predicted decreased grief through 25 months and a positive but nonsignificant relation to perceived health. Predictive relations between negative and positive emotional expression persisted when initial levels of self-reported emotion, grief, and health were statistically controlled, demonstrating the mediating role of facial expressions of emotion in adjustment to conjugal loss. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

NITROGEN COMPOUND DISTRIBUTION AND FUEL INCOMPATIBILITY REACTIONS IN A TAR SAND DERIVED MIDDLE DISTILLATE FUEL

A high paraffin, high nitrogen, low sulfur jet fuel derived from Athabasca tar sands was studied. The organo-nitrogen compounds in the fuel were isolated by mild acid extraction followed by silica-gel adsorption. Three extracts were derived from this fuel: a basic nitrogen compounds extract, BNC, in methylene chloride, a non-basic nitrogen compounds extract, NBNC, in methyl alcohol and an NBNC extract in methylene chloride. The major constituents of each extract were identified and quantitated by combined capillary column GC/MS. Alkyl substituted pyrroles, pyridines, indoles, tetrahydro-quinolines, carbazoles, and quinolines were the prevalent organo-nitrogen compounds present. Incompatibility tests were conducted on this fuel using the oxygen overpressure method with both doped and undoped fuel systems. The dopant of choice was cumene hydroperoxide. Practically no sediment formation was observed for the undoped fuel (0.1 mg/100mL fuel). The doped fuel matrix induced incompatibility behavior in proportion to the quantity of dopant present.     

Group treatment with divorced women using cognitive-behavioral and supportive-insight methods.

Examined the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral and supportive-insight group therapy with 46 women (aged 23–36 yrs) who had been divorced between 8 mo and 1? yrs. 12 clients were assigned to the cognitive-behavioral group; 12 were assigned to a supportive-insight group; and 22 Ss were assigned to 2 control groups. Differences between pre- and posttest, and pretest and follow-up scores on measures of depression (Beck Depression Inventory, Lubin Depression Checklist), self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Inventory), and neuroticism (Eysenck Personality Inventory) were taken. When compared with the control groups on the posttest, both cognitive-behavioral and supportive-insight treatments were more effective on most criteria. At the 4-mo follow-up, cognitive-behavioral counseling continued to be beneficial, whereas the supportive-insight approach was consistently less effective. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Energy Deposition in a Model of Man: Frequency Effects

A computer-controlled scanning system and implantable, nonperturbing electric field probes were used to measure spatial distributions of the electric field in a full scale homogeneous model of a human body. The measurements were performed at three frequencies (160, 350, and 915 MHz) in the far-field and in the near-field of resonant dipoles. The specific absorption rate (SAR) distributions and the averages for body parts and the whole body are analyzed as functions of frequency. In the far-field, the SAR decreases exponentially in the direction of wave propagation in the torso at all frequencies, and large gradients of the SAR are observed along the body main axis, particularly for the E polarization. At 160 and 350 MHz high local SAR's are produced in the neck. It appears that for plane wave exposures the ratio of the peak SAR to the whole-body average SAR does not exceed 20. In the near-field, large SAR gradients are also produced, and the ratios of the peak spatial SAR to the whole-body average SAR vary from about 30 to 250 depending on the frequency and polarization. It is suggested that for near-field exposures the whole-body average SAR is not a proper dosimetric measure, and the SAR averaged over any 0.1 of the tissue volume is recommended instead.     

Perception of self-motion: Psychophysical and computational approaches.

Visually induced perception of self-motion has been studied from 2 perspectives—one concerned with psychophysical relations between the visual stimulus and the perception of self-motion and a 2nd concerned with computational relations between changing 2-dimensional projections and observer motion in a 3-dimensional environment. Results from these 2 perspectives are analyzed in terms of the occurrence of perceived rotation and translation, the perceived direction of self-motion, eye movements, focal/ambient theory, and optic flow. The lack of interaction between the different approaches is noted, and it is argued that further research, integrating these 2 approaches, is needed for a more complete understanding of the distinctions between optical transformations that result in perceived object motion and those that result in perceived self-motion. (75 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How to study the kinetic depth effect experimentally.

G. Sperling et al (see record 1990-06589-001) proposed an objective 3D shape identification task with 2D artifactual cues removed and with full feedback (FB) to the subjects to measure kinetic depth effect (KDE) and to circumvent algorithmically equivalent KDE-alternative computations and artifactual non-KDE processing. (1) The 2D velocity flow-field was necessary and sufficient for true KDE. (2) Only the first-order (Fourier-based) perceptual motion system could solve our task because the second-order (rectifying) system could not simultaneously process more than two locations. (3) To ensure first-order motion processing, KDE tasks must require simultaneous processing at more than two locations. (4) Practice with FB is essential to measure ultimate capacity (aptitude) and, thereby, to enable comparisons with ideal observers. Experiments without FB measure ecological achievement—the ability of subjects to extrapolate their past experience to the current stimuli. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modular verification of Ada generics

This paper develops modular verification rules for Ada generics which are proven to be sound and complete. The generic mechanism in Ada allows modules to be parameterized by types, procedures and functions. The modularity property allows a generic to be verified once, and then exported to other modules which assume that it is correct. This requires the generic to have a specification which is used in verifying other modules, but its implementation cannot be used for this purpose. Thus, modular verification cannot be based on removing generics by macro expansion which requires the use of the generic's implementation. The main difficulty with specifying and verifying a generic is that the specification language may need to be extended with a new theory for specifying and reasoning about properties of objects whose type is a parameter to the generic. Such theories must be part of the specification of the generic, and this raises the possibility that the extended specification language may not be expressive, even if it was before the extension. The use of strings in our specification language prevents this from happening, which is proven in the paper; this is a major step toward establishing the completeness of our rules. Modularity also had a large impact on our semantics for programming constructs which is quite different from the usual semantics in the literature, even though it is still based the denotational semantics of Scott and Strachey. The main reason for this is that we had to modify the standard definition of validity. Modularity requires that validity depend on certain internal assertions in a program, such as the precondition of a procedure invoked in the program.     

Motorcycle riding under the influence of alcohol: Results from the SARTRE-4 survey

Riding a motorcycle under the influence of alcohol is a dangerous activity, especially considering the high vulnerability of motorcyclists. The present research investigates the factors that affect the declared frequency of drink-riding among motorcyclists in Europe and explores regional differences. Data were collected from the SARTRE-4 (Social Attitudes to Road Traffic Risk in Europe) survey, which was conducted in 19 countries. A total sample of 4483 motorcyclists was interviewed by using a face-to-face questionnaire. The data were analyzed by means of multilevel ordered logit models. The results revealed significant regional differences (between Northern, Eastern and Southern European countries) in drink-riding frequencies in Europe. In general, declared drinking and riding were positively associated with gender (males), increased exposure, underestimation of risk, friends’ behaviour, past accidents and alcohol ticket experience. On the other hand, it was negatively associated with underestimation of the amount of alcohol allowed before driving, and support for more severe penalties.     

Latent risk and trend models for the evolution of annual fatality numbers in 30 European countries

In this paper a unified methodology is presented for the modelling of the evolution of road safety in 30 European countries. For each country, annual data of the best available exposure indicator and of the number of fatalities were simultaneously analysed with the bivariate latent risk time series model. This model is based on the assumption that the amount of exposure and the number of fatalities are intrinsically related. It captures the dynamic evolution in the fatalities as the product of the dynamic evolution in two latent trends: the trend in the fatality risk and the trend in the exposure to that risk. Before applying the latent risk model to the different countries it was first investigated and tested whether the exposure indicator at hand and the fatalities in each country were in fact related at all. If they were, the latent risk model was applied to that country; if not, a univariate local linear trend model was applied to the fatalities series only, unless the latent risk time series model was found to yield better forecasts than the univariate local linear trend model. In either case, the temporal structure of the unobserved components of the optimal model was established, and structural breaks in the trends related to external events were identified and captured by adding intervention variables to the appropriate components of the model. As a final step, for each country the optimally modelled developments were projected into the future, thus yielding forecasts for the number of fatalities up to and including 2020.     

Elastic wave fields in a half-plane with free-surface relief,tunnels and multiple buried inclusions

In this work, we study the elastic wave fields that develop in an isotropic half-plane which contains different types of heterogeneities such as free-surface relief, unlined and lined tunnels, as well as multiple buried inclusions. The half-plane is swept by traveling harmonic waves, namely pressure waves, vertically polarized shear waves and Rayleigh waves, as well as by waves emanating from an embedded source. The computational tool used is the direct boundary element method (BEM) with sub-structuring capabilities. Following development and numerical implementation of the BEM, two stages of work are performed, namely a detailed verification study followed by extensive parametric investigations. These last numerical simulations help determine the dependence of the elastic waves that develop along the surface of the half-plane, as well as of the dynamic stress concentration factors in the different types of buried inclusions, to the following key factors: geometry of the free-surface relief, geometry, depth of burial and separation distance of the inclusions, wavelength to inclusion diameter ratio and dynamic interaction phenomena between the multiple heterogeneities. In closing, the potential of the enhanced BEM formulation to treat dynamic soil-structure-interaction problems with the kind of complexity expected in realistic engineering applications is discussed.