Social and Individual Coping With Threats: Outlines of an Interdisciplinary Approach.

Referring to a general conception of coping as an adaptive reaction to a perceived is-ought discrepancy, the authors present an interdisciplinary perspective on coping processes. Based on systems theory, a psychological view is compared with a sociological perspective, focusing structural equivalencies between social and individual adaptational processes. Defensive, proactive, and accommodative reactions are discussed as 3 general modes of coping. It is argued that all of these coping reactions in both individuals and social systems have specific costs and benefits, which are particularly visible if the interaction and "interpenetration" between the coping strategies of individuals and social systems are observed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Solid-State27Al and 29Si Magic-Angle Spinning NMR of Aluminosilicate Gels

The environment of the Al and Si atoms of diphasic and single-phase aluminosilicate gels was determined by solid-state ²⁷Al and ²⁹Si magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MASNMR) spectroscopy, The tetrahedral coordination of Al increased with decreasing Al/Si ratio in single-phase gels but not in diphasic gels. The results showed that ultrahomogeneous mixing on a next-nearest-neighbor level is achieved in single-phase aluminosilicate gels, while in diphasic gels this has successfully been avoided .     

Signaling and induction of enhanced cytoadhesiveness via the hematopoietic progenitor cell surface molecule CD34

The transmembrane glycoprotein CD34 shows a highly restricted expression on a crucial subset of hematopoietic cells. We show here that engagement of particular determinants of CD34 can lead to signal transduction and to enhanced adhesiveness of CD34+ hematopoietic cells. Monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) directed against O-sialoglycoprotease-sensitive epitopes of CD34 (QBEND10, ICH3, BI.3C5, MY10) but not MoAbs against O-sialoglycoprotease-resistant epitopes (9F2, 8G12) induce actin polymerization in KG-1a and KG-1 cells and strongly enhanced cytoadhesiveness. The capacity to induce adhesion requires cellular energy, divalent cations, and intact cytoskeleton but not de novo protein synthesis. The observed cytoadhesion seems at least in part to be caused by a concomitant activation of the beta 2 integrin cytoadhesion pathway. It can be significantly inhibited with lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 and intercelluar adhesion molecule-1 antibodies. Protein kinase inhibition analyses suggest that the pathways initiated by engagement of the CD34 molecule with certain CD34 MoAbs involves protein tyrosine kinases but that protein kinase C is not critically involved.     

Artificial intelligence technologies in surface water quality monitoring

Abstract:

Water quality monitoring networks are designed to detect, evaluate, arid quantify past, present, and emerging water quality problems and trends. A review of strategies to design monitoring networks suggests that a structured and consistent design methodology is for the most part missing. Monitoring network design is a complex task that requires an optimal configuration to ensure the maximum information extraction from the water quality data collected. In order to attain an optimal, and ultimately cost‐effective, network design, complementary design techniques or tools are needed. An overview of potentially applicable artificial intelligence technologies, as well as a literature review of promising research undertaken in the water resources area with respect to artificial intelligence techniques are presented. The artificial intelligence technologies examined include expert systems, artificial neural networks, genetic algorithms, and fuzzy logic systems.     

Enhancing post-classification change detection through morphological post-processing – a sensitivity analysis

Monitoring land-cover change is often done by simple overlay of two classified maps from different dates. However, such analysis tends to overestimate the rate of change. Main error sources are the mis-registration between classified maps and their thematic accuracies. This study proposes a change detection method with morphological post-processing to improve change detection accuracy in comparison with traditional post-classification by taking into account these error sources. The method is developed for binary maps and is based on standard morphological procedures that are generally integrated in common spatial processing or free software. A detailed sensitivity analysis of this method based on simulated data sets of different landscape characteristics and error levels demonstrated the potential improvement. The degree of improvement in change detection accuracy mainly depended on the error type and level and the fragmentation of the landscape. In particular, location error effects on change detection were strongly reduced independent of class proportion. Up to 60% improvement in user's accuracy of change could be achieved for maps with location error and characterized by fragmented landscapes. Coping with classification errors was shown to be more challenging. A user-friendly reference table summarizes the potential improvement through the proposed methods for various landscape characteristics and error sources.     

Multispectral textured image segmentation using a multi-resolution fuzzy Markov random field model on variable scales in the wavelet domain

This article proposes a new multispectral image texture segmentation algorithm using a multi-resolution fuzzy Markov random field model for a variable scale in the wavelet domain. The algorithm considers multi-scalar information in both vertical and lateral directions. The feature field of the scalable wavelet coefficients is modelled, combining with the fuzzy label field describing the spatially constrained correlations between neighbourhood features to achieve a more accurate parameter estimation. The extended scalable label field models the label data from different scales to obtain more homogeneous areas; image segmentation results are finally obtained according to the Bayesian rule from a coarser to a finer scale. Multispectral texture images and remote-sensing images are used to test the effectiveness of the the proposed method. Segmentation results show that the new method simultaneously presents a better performance in achieving the homogeneity of the region and accuracy of detected boundaries compared with existing image segmentation algorithms.     

Characterizing and modeling the non-linear viscoelastic tensile deformation of a glass fiber reinforced polypropylene

On the basis of comprehensive experimental investigations on a long glass fiber reinforced polypropylene (PP-LGF) a novel rheological material model is developed. It features a decomposition of the stress into a time independent quasi-static and a time and strain dependent viscous contribution. Furthermore it allows for plastic deformations starting from the very beginning of straining and is thereby able to reproduce the absence of a purely linear elastic domain going along with the nonexistence of a defined yield point, characteristic for many fiber reinforced thermoplastic polymers. In order to approach the true quasi-static material behavior, various tensile tests were carried out. The viscous material behavior was deduced from a series of stress relaxation experiments and is described by Eyring’s equation with strain dependent viscosity parameters.     

Wafer reuse for repeated growth of III–V solar cells

The epitaxial lift‐off (ELO) technique can be used to separate a III–V solar cell structure from its underlying GaAs or Ge substrate. ELO from 4‐inch Ge wafers is shown and 2‐inch GaAs wafer reuse after lift‐off is demonstrated without degradation in performance of the subsequent thin‐film GaAs solar cells that were retrieved from it. Since a basic wet chemical smoothing etch procedure appeared insufficient to remove all the surface contamination, wafer re‐preparation is done by a chemo‐mechanical polishing procedure. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.