Adult attachment security and young adults’ dating relationships over time: Self-reported, observational, and physiological evidence.

This study examined the developmental significance of adult attachment security—as measured by the Adult Attachment Interview—for romantic relationship functioning concurrently and approximately 1 year later in a sample of heterosexual dating couples between the ages of 18 and 25 (115 dyads at Time 1 [T1] and 57 dyads at T2, 74% White). The authors assessed romantic relationship functioning at T1 and T2 using observers’ ratings of emotional tone during a laboratory conflict resolution task and via participants’ self-reports about their relationships, yielding evidence that adult attachment security prospectively predicted the observed and perceived quality of adults’ romantic relationships even after prior levels of interpersonal functioning were controlled. Measures of autonomic responding were also acquired during the interactions, replicating prior evidence that insecurity is concurrently associated with electrodermal reactivity in attachment-relevant contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conceptual Clarifications in the Study of Resilience.

Comments on George Bonanno's article entitled Loss, trauma, and human resilience: Have we underestimated the human capacity to thrive after extremely aversive events? (see record 2004-10043-003). The authors note that Bonanno's article on loss, trauma, and human resilience serves an important function for the field in drawing attention to the pseudoscientific mythologies that have grown up around brief normative (loss-related) and nonnormative (traumatic) stressors. As the author rightly pointed out, traditional assumptions regarding the absolute necessity of "grief work" in the case of loss and clinical debriefing following exposure to traumatic events may indeed be overdrawn (and overprescribed) in light of emerging evidence. Although there is much to like about Bonanno's analysis, several limitations inherent in the author's conceptualization of resilience are troubling in light of the history of developmental research in this area, much of which is cited in the target article. In essence, Bonanno defined adult resilience as an individual's capacity to resist maladaptation in the face of risky experiences (e.g., "stress resistance"). Although this is one plausible way of conceptualizing resilience, it is by no means an exclusive definition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluation of a functionalized copolymer as adsorbent on direct dyes removal process: Kinetics and equilibrium studies

Functionalized polymeric microbeads were investigated as adsorbent for the removal of three direct dyes from aqueous solutions. The effects of different experimental parameters, such as initial dye concentration, temperature, and solution pH on the adsorption process were investigated. The adsorption process can be conducted with very good result at normal working conditions: neutral pH and normal temperature. The maximum percentage removal obtained was 99.11% for the symmetrical disazo dye, 90.14% for asymmetrical disazo dye, and 98.53% for trisazo dye. The adsorption kinetics followed the pseudo‐second‐order equation for all three investigated dyes in all working conditions. The experimental data were fitted to Langmuir, Freundlich, Sips, and Redlich–Peterson isotherm models, and the best fit was obtained with Sips model. Thermodynamic parameters (ΔH°, ΔS°, and ΔG°) revealed that dye adsorption is an endothermic and spontaneous process. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

UV‐curable nanocomposites containing zirconium vinylphosphonate or zirconia

UV‐cured nanocomposite films were prepared from acrylic monomer and two types of nanomaterial: zirconium vinylphosphonate and zirconia, in the presence of a photoinitiator. The films were characterized by FTIR, SEM, and AFM. FTIR spectra showed the disappearance of band assigned to the CC group both of monomer and zirconium vinylphosphonate by polymerization and the presence of the phosphonate group in polymer. The influence of zirconium vinylphosphonate and zirconia content on thermooxidative degradation of polymeric films was studied by thermogravimetry. SEM and AFM images showed that nanomaterials are dispersed in polymer matrix with no macroscopic phase separation. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Effect of magnesium aluminum silicate glass on the thermal shock resistance of BN matrix composite ceramics

The effects of magnesium aluminum silicate (MAS) glass on the thermal shock resistance and the oxidation behavior of h‐BN matrix composites were systematically investigated at temperature differences from 600°C up to 1400°C. The retained strength rate of the composites rose with the increasing content of MAS showing a maximum value at the 60 wt% MAS. Compared with the original strength, the retained strength of the specimen after thermal shock increased to 77% (ΔT=1000°C). The strengthening effect of MAS and the surface microstructural evolution of composites are responsible for the improved thermal shock resistance. Surface oxidation of the composites during the thermal shock process plays a positive role in enhancing the retained strength by self‐healing cracks and the appearance of the compressive stress. The oxide layer also acted as a thermal barrier to decelerate the actual thermal stress. Furthermore, this dense layer also improved the oxidation resistance of h‐BN matrix composites by prevent diffusion of oxygen. These results indicated that short‐term surface oxidation during thermal shock process is favorable to the enhancement of the thermal shock resistance of BN‐MAS composite ceramics.     

Optimization of synthesis parameters in interfacial polycondensation using design of experiments

The reaction of phenylphosphonic dichloride with 4,4′-cyclohexylidenebisphenol by a gas–liquid interfacial polycondensation was investigated. The design of experiments (DoE) method is used for determination of the best reaction conditions. The correlation of simultaneous influence of the parameters (reaction time, reaction temperature, alkaline medium, reagents molar ratio) on yield and inherent viscosity was studied.     

Sliding mode control of boost and buck‐boost power converters using the dynamic sliding manifold

Non‐minimum phase tracking control is studied for boost and buck‐boost power converters. A sliding mode control algorithm is developed to track directly a causal voltage tracking profile given by an exogenous system. The approximate causal output non‐minimum phase asymptotic tracking in non‐linear boost and buck‐boost power converters is addressed via sliding mode control using a dynamic sliding manifold (DSM). Use of DSM allows the stabilization of the internal dynamics when the output tracking error tends asymptotically to zero in the sliding mode. The sliding mode controller with DSM links features of conventional sliding mode control (insensitivity to matched non‐linearities and disturbances) and a conventional dynamic compensator (accommodation to unmatched disturbances). Numerical examples demonstrate the effectiveness of the sliding mode controller even for a known time‐varying load. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A taxometric study of the Adult Attachment Interview.

This study is the first to examine the latent structure of individual differences reflected in the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; C. George, N. Kaplan, & M. Main, 1985), a commonly used and well-validated measure designed to assess an adult's current state of mind regarding childhood experiences with caregivers. P. E. Meehl's (1995) taxometric methods (i.e., MAXCOV-HITMAX) were applied to data from 504 AAIs. Analyses revealed that the variation underlying secure versus dismissing states of mind was more consistent with a dimensional than a taxonic model. (Taxometric analyses of preoccupation were indeterminate.) In addition, variation in secure adults' (n = 278) reports about their early experiences revealed little evidence for qualitative groups of earned- and continuous-secures. Rather, the inferred life experiences of secure adults appeared to be distributed continuously. Findings are discussed in terms of their theoretical implications regarding the phenomenon of earned-security specifically and variation underlying secure and insecure states of mind more generally. The consequences of these analyses for AAI reliability training and coding are also explored. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in interleukin-1 beta and soluble interleukin-2 receptor levels in CSF and serum of schizophrenic patients

Some evidence points towards a possible autoimmune role in the aetiology of schizophrenia. Experimental findings provide contradictory results regarding abnormalities in cytokine production in this disorder. In the present study we tested the production of cytokines in CSF and serum in 16 schizophrenic patients and 10 healthy controls (tumor necrosis factor alpha - TNF alpha; interleukins IL-1 beta, IL-2, IL-6, soluble IL-2 receptor). Cytokine levels were evaluated by radioactively-labeled antibodies (IL-1 beta, IL-2, IL-6), by enzyme-linked immunoassay (TNF) and by a sandwich enzyme immunoassay (soluble IL-2 receptor). No significant differences were found in either CSF fluid or serum levels of TNF and IL-2 or IL-6. Interleukin-1 beta was significantly decreased in patients' CSF and serum as compared to controls. Soluble interleukin-2 receptor levels were decreased in CSF of patients, but highly increased in their serum in comparison with controls. Changes in various cytokine levels in CSF fluid and serum of schizophrenic patients probably reflect interrelated process of growth, degeneration or neuroimmunological abnormalities, which may all play a role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. The present study supports evidence for change in immune activation, probably of peripheral origin, in schizophrenic patients.     

Cryptochrome magnetoreception: four tryptophans could be better than three

The biophysical mechanism of the magnetic compass sensor in migratory songbirds is thought to involve photo-induced radical pairs formed in cryptochrome (Cry) flavoproteins located in photoreceptor cells in the eyes. In Cry4a—the most likely of the six known avian Crys to have a magnetic sensing function—four radical pair states are formed sequentially by the stepwise transfer of an electron along a chain of four tryptophan residues to the photo-excited flavin. In purified Cry4a from the migratory European robin, the third of these flavin–tryptophan radical pairs is more magnetically sensitive than the fourth, consistent with the smaller separation of the radicals in the former. Here, we explore the idea that these two radical pair states of Cry4a could exist in rapid dynamic equilibrium such that the key magnetic and kinetic properties are weighted averages. Spin dynamics simulations suggest that the third radical pair is largely responsible for magnetic sensing while the fourth may be better placed to initiate magnetic signalling particularly if the terminal tryptophan radical can be reduced by a nearby tyrosine. Such an arrangement could have allowed independent optimization of the essential sensing and signalling functions of the protein. It might also rationalize why avian Cry4a has four tryptophans while Crys from plants have only three.