Typical intellectual engagement and personality: Reply to Rocklin (1994).

T. Rocklin (see record 1994-29650-001) examined the relations between M. Goff and P. L. Ackerman's (see record 1993-13529-001) measure of typical intellectual engagement (TIE) and a personality test measure of Openness. Rocklin's arguments are examined in the context of 3 themes: philosophical issues, TIE and Openness from a facet perspective, and the bandwidth-fidelity dilemma. Although Rocklin raised important issues about these constructs, it is demonstrated that measures of TIE and Openness, although significantly related, are theoretically and empirically distinguishable. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Characterization of multi-walled carbon nanotube electrodes functionalized by electropolymerized tris(pyrrole-ether bipyridine) ruthenium (II)

We synthesized new electropolymerizable [Ru(bpy)_nL_m](PF₆)₂ (L = 4,4 bis(3-pyrrol-1-ylpropyloxy)bipyridyl) derivatives. The introduction of electron donating ether groups in the bipyridine ligand induced a negative shift of the Ru(III)/(II) redox couple. The electrochemical behavior of complex Ru1 (n = 2, m = 1) and complex Ru2 (n = 0, m = 3) were compared using platinum and Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube (MWCNT) electrode. Higher polymerization yields and surface concentrations were obtained at MWCNT electrodes. Furthermore, MWCNT electrodes increase polymer permeability and decrease the charge trapping phenomenon involved in the oxidation and reduction of the polypyrrolic skeleton of the Ru(II) functionalized polymers.     

Noncatalytic alcoholysis kinetics of soybean oil

Reaction kinetics for the alcoholysis of soybean oil with methanol, ethanol, and isopropanol were evaluated in the absence of catalyst. Metal reactor surfaces catalyzed these reactions, so the reactions were conducted in glass capillary tubes at 120, 150, and 180°C. The reactivity of the alcohols increased with decreasing carbon number. Higher temperatures promoted faster reactions. Higher alcohol stoichiometries did not significantly increase reaction rates; this was attributed to the limited solubility of the alcohol in the soybean oil. At less than 20% conversion, the solubility of the alcohol in the oil phase continuously increased, resulting in increased reaction rates. At approximately 20% conversion, the reaction systems became homogeneous until a glycerine phase was formed at high conversions. In addition to their fundamental value, these data provided a basis on which catalytic reactions can be investigated between 100 and 200°C.     

Effect of calcium chloride addition on ice cream structure and quality

The influence of calcium fortification by the addition of calcium chloride on quality parameters of ice cream based on physical properties was investigated, as was the effect of κ-carrageenan at modifying the effects of this calcium fortification. Four ice cream mixes of conventional composition, with added κ-carrageenan (0 or 0.025%) and added calcium chloride (0 or 4.4 g L⁻¹ = 40 mM of added Ca²⁺), were prepared. Modulated temperature-differential scanning calorimetry was used to investigate the effect of calcium chloride on the nucleation temperature, enthalpy of melting, and freezing point depression. The protein composition of 15.4% (wt/wt) reconstituted skim milk powder solutions with or without 4.4 g L⁻¹ added CaCl₂ and in the supernatant after ultracentrifugation was determined. Fat particle size distributions in ice cream were characterized by light scattering. Ice crystal sizes before and after temperature cycling were determined by cold-stage light microscopy. The results demonstrated that the addition of calcium chloride led to a substantial increase in ice crystal sizes and in fat partial coalescence, which were exacerbated by the addition of κ-carrageenan. These results can be explained by the interaction between Ca²⁺ ions and casein micelles, rather than any effects on freezing point depression. The calcium ions led to a more compact micelle, less serum β-casein, and high fat destabilization, all of which would be expected to reduce macromolecular structure and volume occupancy in the unfrozen phase, which led to increased rates of ice recrystallization.     

Effects of supplemental energy on metabolic and immune measurements in periparturient dairy cows with Johne's disease

The present study was designed to evaluate whether feeding supplemental energy would improve the metabolic profile and alleviate some of the immunosuppression typically noted during the periparturient period in dairy cows with Johne's disease. Twelve dairy cows naturally infected with Mycobacterium paratuberculosis were fitted with rumen cannulas in late gestation and assigned to treatment groups: control, n = 6; or stuffed, n = 6. Cows in the control group were allowed to consume feed ad libitum. Cows assigned to the stuffed treatment group were also fed ad libitum but received additional total mixed rations by manually stuffing their rumens with refused feed to maintain dry matter intake of 2% body weight per day before calving and 2.5% body weight per day after calving. Serum nonesterified fatty acid levels were significantly decreased in stuffed cows compared with control cows, indicating that stuffing to maintain dry matter intake improved the energy balance in the cows. In addition, periparturient serum calcium and magnesium concentrations were significantly higher in stuffed cows. Stuffing modulated cell-mediated immunity by reducing lymphocyte proliferative responses to T-cell mitogens during early lactation. Stuffing resulted in an increase in the secretion of in vitro immunoglobulin by peripheral blood mononuclear cells after parturition when compared to control cows. These data demonstrate that energy balance is improved by providing additional energy in this manner and suggest energy supplementation can improve some aspects of immune function during the periparturient period.     

Conjunctive Management of Large-Scale Pressurized Water Distribution and Groundwater Systems in Semi-Arid Area with Parallel Genetic Algorithm

This study develops a production well management model for the conjunctive management of water resources in semi-arid areas. The management model integrates a large-scale pressurized water distribution system and a three-dimensional groundwater model under an optimization framework. The well pump operations optimization problem is formulated as a Boolean integer nonlinear programming (BINLP) problem to optimize the periodic 24-h pump on/off operations over a 1-week operation horizon. The management model considers multiple objectives and is solved by a parallel genetic algorithm (PGA) to overcome the difficulty of solving the BINLP problem. The PGA significantly reduces computation time for a case study in Chandler, Arizona. The Chandler water distribution model is built based on EPANET, and the Chandler three-dimension groundwater model is developed using MODFLOW. The high performance computing (HPC) of the genetic algorithm makes it possible to obtain 24-h real-time operations in the 7-day forecast model. The tank reliability, resilience, and vulnerability (R-R-V) are evaluated to infer the system reliability. The Pareto curve provides compromise solutions between the two competing objectives of energy reduction and pressure violation reduction.     

Effects of the presence of the mammary gland on expression of neutrophil adhesion molecules and myeloperoxidase activity in periparturient dairy cows

Neutrophil function is reduced in periparturient dairy cows. Possible factors that reduce neutrophil function include endocrine changes associated with parturition and metabolic stresses associated with lactogenesis. In this study, mastectomized and intact cows were studied to specifically examine the effects of lactogenesis on neutrophil function in periparturient cows. Expression of adhesion molecules on neutrophils (L-selectin, mediating capture and rolling adhesion, and beta 2-integrin, mediating tight adhesion vital to egress) and neutrophil myeloperoxidase activity (an index of bactericidal activity) were assessed in mastectomized and intact cows. Expression of L-selectin decreased at parturition followed by rapid recovery to prepartum values in both intact and mastectomized cows. Expression of beta 2-integrins increased in intact cows at parturition but not in mastectomized cows. Expression of beta 2-integrins was greater in intact cows than in mastectomized cows throughout the study. Neutrophil myeloperoxidase activity decreased from baseline prepartum values as parturition approached in both intact and mastectomized cows, which suggests the endocrine changes associated with the act of parturition are predominant factors causing loss of neutrophil function. Myeloperoxidase activity recovered to prepartum values within a week of parturition in mastectomized cows; however, myeloperoxidase activity remained depressed in neutrophils obtained from intact cows throughout the first 20 d of lactation. The presence of the mammary gland and its attendant metabolic stresses slowed recovery of neutrophil function, which suggests that the metabolic stress of lactation exacerbated periparturient immunosuppression.