Solvent- and glow-discharge-induced surface wetting and morphological changes of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET)

The effects of argon glow discharge and selected organic solvents on the surface wettability of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and on the wettability decay of glow discharged PET films were studied. Glow discharge in argon (30 W/1 min) drastically reduced the initial water contact angle (CA) measurement of PET from 67.0 to 26.2°. The glow-discharge-induced wetting, however, decayed during the first 7 days and stabilized at 33.1°. Treatments in dimethyl sulfoxide, dimethyl formamide, pyrdine, and water at 80°C caused some improvement in surface wettability as shown by decreases of water CAs in the range of 53–56°. When the solvent and glow discharge treatments were applied consecutively on PET, additive effects on improving surface wettability were observed. The stabilized water CAs of the solvent-and-glow-discharged films ranged from 25.0 to 32.1° depending upon the solvent type. The solvent treatments prior to glow discharge either reduced the extent of CA decay or the time taken to reach stabilization on PET films. Scanning electron microscopic evaluation showed no difference between the solventtreated and the untreated PET surfaces, but a finely etched surface was observed on the glow discharged PET at a 40,000 magnification and above. The distinctly different surface of the DMSO-and-glow-discharged PET indicated that morphological changes on PET surface were induced by the solvent.     

Effects of sorbed caprolactam on the crystallinity,morphology, and deformation behavior of polyetheretherketone and poly(phenylene sulfide)

Studies on the high temperature sorption of caprolactam by polymer resins and their composites have been conducted. The systems investigated were glass fiber reinforced (GFR) poly(phenylene sulfide) (PPS), polyetheretherketone (PEEK) neat resin, GFR PEEK and carbon fiber reinforced (CFR) PEEK. To measure changes of caprolactam sorption, melting behavior, mechanical properties, and fracture surface morphology were determined. Absorption of caprolactam by the PEEK composites was 30 to 40 percent less than by the neat resin. This is attributed to the fibers, which acted to constrain the matrix and thus limit its swellability. Reductions in melt temperature, percent crystallinity, ultimate tensile strength, and modulus were observed following exposure to the chemical environment. The loss of strength and stiffness was a consequence of the degradation of the matrix/fiber interface by the sorbed caprolactam.     

Bilingual lexical access in context: Evidence from eye movements during reading.

Current models of bilingualism (e.g., BIA+) posit that lexical access during reading is not language selective. However, much of this research is based on the comprehension of words in isolation. The authors investigated whether nonselective access occurs for words embedded in biased sentence contexts (e.g., A. I. Schwartz & J. F. Kroll, 2006). Eye movements were recorded as French–English bilinguals read English sentences containing cognates (e.g., piano), interlingual homographs (e.g., coin, meaning corner in French), or matched control words. Sentences provided a low or high semantic constraint for target-language meanings. Both early-stage comprehension measures (e.g., first fixation duration, gaze duration, and skipping) and late-stage comprehension measures (e.g., go-past time and total reading time) showed significant cognate facilitation and interlingual homograph interference for low-constraint sentences. For high-constraint sentences, however, only early-stage comprehension measures were consistent with nonselective access. There was no evidence of cognate facilitation or interlingual homograph interference for late-stage comprehension measures. Thus, nonselective bilingual lexical access at early stages of comprehension is rapidly resolved in semantically biased contexts at later stages of comprehension. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Activated carbon for mercury control: Implications for fly ash management

As more utilities begin to use activated carbon injection (ACI) for mercury control, the potential for the presence of elevated concentrations of mercury, other air toxic elements, and activated carbon to impact fly ash management needs to be evaluated. Several Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) projects have allowed the collection of comparative baseline fly ash samples and associated fly ash–activated carbon (AC) samples from full-scale demonstrations of ACI for mercury emission control. These samples were evaluated for mercury and air toxic element content and mobility and for performance criteria to facilitate a better understanding of the impact of these components to specific utilization applications, including use as a mineral admixture in concrete. These data are compared with published data from samples collected at similar large-scale mercury emission control tests.     

What footdrumming signals in kangaroo rats (Dipodomys heermanni).

Footdrumming during social interaction was studied in kangaroo rats (Dipodomys heermanni). Behaviors that elicited and followed footdrumming during mixed-sex encounters between adults were examined. Females spent more time in the burrow and footdrummed. Males showed higher rates of digging and approaching the females' burrow: these acts were reliably followed by female footdrumming. Footdrumming was associated with male retreat. The authors then tested whether this effect reflected a difference in sex or in social status, using each possible dyad in triads (adult male, adult female, juvenile male). Juvenile males drummed to all adults, but females only drummed to adult males; relationships were transitive. Social context and initial approach tendencies account for the occurrence of footdrumming, which communicates unwillingness to interact, particularly from within the burrow. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Incorporating social anxiety into a model of college problem drinking: Replication and extension.

Although research has found an association between social anxiety and alcohol use in noncollege samples, results have been mixed for college samples. College students face many novel social situations in which they may drink to reduce social anxiety. In the current study, the authors tested a model of college problem drinking, incorporating social anxiety and related psychosocial variables among 228 undergraduate volunteers. According to structural equation modeling (SEM) results, social anxiety was unrelated to alcohol use and was negatively related to drinking consequences. Perceived drinking norms mediated the social anxiety-alcohol use relation and was the variable most strongly associated with problem drinking. College students appear to be unique with respect to drinking and social anxiety. Although the notion of social anxiety alone as a risk factor for problem drinking was unsupported, additional research is necessary to determine whether there is a subset of socially anxious students who have high drinking norms and are in need of intervention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dear Collegues

Editorial Introduction

Dear Collegues     

Persistent problems and practices in information systems development: a study of mobile applications development and distribution

The widespread uptake of mobile technologies has witnessed a re‐structuring of the mobile market with major shifts in the predominance of particular firms and the emergence of new business models. These sociotechnical trends are significant in the ways that they are influencing and shaping the working lives of software professionals. Building on prior research investigating the persistent problems and practices of systems development, this paper examines mobile applications development and distribution. A qualitative study of 60 developers based in Sweden, the UK and the USA was analysed around the interrelated problems of diversity, knowledge and structure. The analysis revealed how platform‐based development in an evolving mobile market represents significant changes at the business environment level. These changes ripple through and accentuate ongoing trends and developments, intensifying the persistent problems and challenges facing software developers.     

Infrastructure Management Information System Framework Requirements for Disasters

A three-tiered, enterprise, geographic information system architecture offers a robust, efficient, and secure platform to potentially revolutionize disaster management by enabling support of all of the phases of governmental activity that must occur before, during, and after a disaster. Presently, both publicly and privately initiated, computer-based systems designed for disaster management cannot meet the real-time data access and analysis needs at crucial stages, especially those occurring during an actual disaster. Impediments are reflective of the proprietary, stand alone, and segregated nature of current systems. This paper proposes an integrated, infrastructure management information system as a reliable and effective alternative. Issues related to sharing data, customizing applications, supporting multiple data formats, querying visually, facilitating ubiquitous computing, and upgrading are all addressed. Achieving maximum flexibility and capacity in a disaster management system relies upon recent advances in the following areas: (1) standardized data specifications; (2) middleware services; and (3) Web-enabled, distributed computing. Key resources in designing and implementing such an arrangement are prototyped in a system that was initially designed for addressing disaster management of urban explosions. The critical details of that system are presented herein.