Ethnic pride and self-control related to protective and risk factors: Test of the theoretical model for the strong African American families program.

Objective. To test a theoretical model of how ethnic pride and self-control are related to risk and protective factors. Design. A community sample of 670 African American youth (mean age = 11.2 years) were interviewed in households. Main Outcome Measures. Measures of cigarette smoking, alcohol use, and sexual behavior (lifetime to past month). Results. Structural modeling analyses indicated parenting was related to self-control and self-esteem, and racial socialization was related to ethnic pride. Self-control and self-esteem variables were related to levels of deviance-prone attitudes and to perceptions of engagers in, or abstainers from, substance use and sexual behavior. The proximal factors (behavioral willingness, resistance efficacy, and peer behavior) had substantial relations to the criterion variables. Participant gender and parental education also had several paths in the model. Results were generally similar for the 2 outcome behaviors. Conclusions. In this population, self-esteem and self-control are related to parenting approaches and have pathways to attitudes and social perceptions that are significant factors for predisposing to, or protecting against, early involvement in substance use and sexual behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Disk drive control: The early years

One of the persistently exciting control applications is that of disk drive servos. From the start in the early 1950s to the massive capacity commodity drives of the early 2000s, the problem of accessing data on rotating disk media has provided a wealth of control challenges to be solved. This survey paper traces the early history of disk drive control from the first disk drive in 1956 to the first commercial drive with Magneto-Resistive heads in 1990. Rather than the approach used in (Abramovitch and Franklin, 2002a) in which the histories of the components were outlined first, we will focus on the feedback loop itself in those early days. The paper will survey the different areas of the disk drive control problem and how they evolved.     

Assessment of Concrete in Sulfate Soils

An investigation of concrete exposed to sulfate soils is used to illustrate a methodology for the systematic study of the condition of concrete in service. Condition surveys of the site and tests of engineering properties of the concrete were supplemented by examination of concrete cores using the stereomicroscope, the optical microscope, the electron microscope, analysis by wet chemistry, thermal analysis, and X-ray diffraction. Step-by-step progression from large scale (tens of meters) to submicroscopic scales (tens of nanometers) gave continuity to detailed test methods. It also allowed for the selection of specimens appropriately representing the concrete as a whole, and ensured reliable interpretation of the results. In many cases, more than one test method provided the same or similar information. The writers believe the methodology employed will be of value to other investigators.     

Abiotic transformation of hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine by Fe(II) bound to magnetite

RDX (hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine), a nitramine explosive, is often found as a subsurface contaminant at military installations. Though biological transformations of RDX are often reported, abiotic studies in a defined medium are uncommon. The work reported here was initiated to investigate the transformation of RDX by ferrous iron (Fe(II)) associated with a mineral surface. RDX is transformed by Fe(II) in aqueous suspensions of magnetite (Fe3O4). Negligible transformation of RDX occurred when it was exposed to Fe(II) or magnetite alone. The sequential nitroso reduction products (MNX, DNX, and TNX) were observed as intermediates. NH4+, N2O, and HCHO were stable products of the transformation. Experiments with radiolabeled RDX indicate that 90% of the carbon end products remained in solution and that negligible mineralization occurred. Rates of RDX transformation measured for a range of initial Fe(II) concentrations and solution pH values indicate that greater amounts of adsorbed Fe(II) result in faster transformation rates. As pH increases, more Fe(II) adsorbs and k(obs) increases. The degradation of RDX by Fe(II)-magnetite suspensions indicates a possible remedial option that could be employed in natural and engineered environments where iron oxides are abundant and ferrous iron is present.     

Rational Design of Charge‐Neutral,Near‐Infrared‐Emitting Osmium(II) Complexes and OLED Fabrication

A new series of charge neutral Os(II) isoquinolyl triazolate complexes ( 1 – 4 ) with both trans and cis arrangement of phosphine donors are synthesized, and their structural, electrochemical and photophysical properties are established. In sharp contrast to the cis‐arranged complexes 2 – 4 , the trans derivative 1 , which shows a planar arrangement of chromophoric N‐substituted chelates, offers the most effective extended π‐delocalization and hence the lowest excited state energy gap. These complexes exhibit phosphorescence with peak wavelengths ranging from 692–805 nm in degassed CH₂Cl₂ at room temperature. Near‐infrared (NIR)‐emitting electroluminescent devices employing 6 wt % of 1 (or 4 ) doped in Alq₃ host material are successfully fabricated. The devices incorporating 1 as NIR phosphor exhibit fairly intense emission with a peak wavelength at 814 nm. Forward radiant emittance reaches as high as 65.02 µW cm^?2, and a peak EQE of ～1.5% with devices employing Alq₃, TPBi and/or TAZ as electron‐transporting/exciton‐blocking layers. Upon switching to phosphor 4 , the electroluminescence blue shifts to 718 nm, while the maximum EQE and radiance increase to 2.7% and 93.26 (μW cm^?2) respectively. Their performances are optimized upon using TAZ as the electron transporting and exciton‐blocking material. The OLEDs characterized represent the only NIR‐emitting devices fabricated using charge‐neutral and volatile Os(II) phosphors via thermal vacuum deposition.     

U.S. department of energy support of growth in industrial use of geothermal energy

The National Energy Strategy of the U.S. is designed to expand through federal policies the fuel and technology choices available to industry, utilities, and other energy users. It also promotes policies to encourage balanced integration of energy, economic, and environmental options in the selection of technologies for application in the marketplace. Consideration of each of these factors, separately and together, favors geothermal energy in many industrial applications. It is the policy of the Department of Energy to support growth in all uses of geothermal energy through focused R & D to improve technologies for its economic exploitation.