Social comparison and affiliation under threat: Going beyond the affiliate-choice paradigm.

Examined the emotional similarity hypothesis, a derivation from social comparison theory, which predicts that increasing fear should lead to greater affiliation with someone who is awaiting the same threat (and who therefore is of relatively similar emotional status) relative to someone who has already experienced the threat (and who therefore is of relatively dissimilar emotional status). Results failed to support the emotional similarity hypothesis and in so doing challenged the importance of emotional comparison as a determinant of verbal affiliation under threat. Cognitive clarity concerns instead seemed to account better for the observed effects on verbal affiliation. Supplementary analyses of nonverbal affiliation (facial glances) likewise ran counter to an emotional similarity prediction. Effects of affiliation on anxiety were also examined. Previous conclusions regarding the pattern and causes of affiliation under threat that have relied on the affiliate-choice paradigm are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Elements of the Socratic method: III. Universal definitions.

Describes the content, process, and functions of universal definitions as used in psychotherapy. In the Socratic method, systematic questioning and inductive reasoning are used jointly to derive a universal definition. The content of universal definitions focuses on behavior labels (e.g., aggressive), evaluative standards (e.g., success), and abstract qualities (e.g., love). The process of using universal definitions in psychotherapy follows refutation, collection, and division to identify the essence of the concept. The functions of universal definitions include clarifying category membership, identifying potential causes, building new knowledge, broadening the client's perspective, limiting overgeneralizations, and guiding behavior change. Through the Socratic method, clients learn how to explore general emotional and interpersonal issues in an independent manner. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Spatial attention to arrays of multidimensional objects.

Encoding briefly displayed arrays of multidimensional objects appears to require selective attention, but this hypothesis is challenged by M. J. Nissen's (1985) finding that properties of an object are reported independently. Selective attention to some objects but not others should produce positive dependence. Theoretical analysis shows that deviations from independence would have been difficult to observe in Nissen's data because of high guessing rates and small sample sizes. Four new experiments showing strong positive dependence in property reports are described. Deviations from independence were highly significant for most Ss. Quantitative modeling shows that selective attention to subsets of objects would produce about the amount of dependence obtained. Rather than challenging attention theories, the amount of dependence in encoding multidimensional objects is consistent with selective attention to either objects or locations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Discrete Modeling and Suggested Measurement of Heat Transfer in Gas-Solids Flows

This article presents a two-dimensional transient model for gas-solids flow and heat transfer through pipes using the coupled Computational Fluid Dynamics and Discrete Element Method approach. Numerical simulations have been conducted to examine the modification of fluid thermal structure due to the presence of particles in a pneumatic transport pipeline. Modeled results have demonstrated the key role of transversal motion of rebounding particles in the pipe cross section in altering fluid temperature. Further implementation of this modeling technique in air-drying processes is discussed and possible experimental methods for the measurement of in situ particle and fluid motion and temperature profile are cited.     

Breakdown probabilities for thin heterostructure avalanche photodiodes

The recurrence theory for the breakdown probability in avalanche photodiodes (APDs) is generalized to heterostructure APDs that may have multiple multiplication layers. The generalization addresses layer-boundary effects such as the initial energy of injected carriers as well as the layer-dependent profile of the dead space in the multiplication region. Reducing the width of the multiplication layer serves to both downshift and sharpen the breakdown probability curve as a function of the applied reverse-bias voltage. In structures where the injected carriers have an initial energy that is comparable to the ionization threshold energy, the transition from linear mode to Geiger-mode is more abrupt than in structures in which such initial energy is negligible. The theory is applied to two recently fabricated Al/sub 0.6/Ga/sub 0.4/As-GaAs heterostructure APDs and to other homostructure thin GaAs APDs and the predictions of the breakdown-voltage thresholds are verified.     

Is the Promissory Note of Personality as Vulnerability to Depression in Default? Reply to Zuroff, Mongrain, and Santor (2004).

In contrast to D. C. Zuroff, M. Mongrain, and D. A. Santor (2004), the current authors find the promissory note of dependency-sociotropy (DEP-SOC) and self-criticism-autonomy (SC-AUT) as a model of risk for depression to be in default. The authors propose reorganizing what has been cast as unitary effort into 3 distinct endeavors: a psychoanalytic clinical theory, development of a refined empirical model of risk for clinical depression, and research examining the effects of DEP-SOC and SC-AUT on interpersonal relationships in nonclinical samples. The authors identify some issues that need to be accommodated regardless of whether the assessment of Zuroff et al. (2004) or their own is accepted. DEP-SOC and SC-AUT are best construed as correlated, continuous dimensions. Future work also needs to accommodate depression as chronic recurrent condition, advances in developmental psychopathology, and more stringent criteria for positing a risk factor for clinical disorder. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Characterisation of plasticity-induced closure--crack flank contact force versus plastic enclave

This paper presents some results from a totally new and powerful fusion between automated, digital photoelastic techniques and mathematical analysis of a crack experiencing closure. In essence, real-time photoelastic stress field data is acquired and fitted to a Muskhelishvili complex potential model of a loaded crack experiencing closure. The fit entails optimisation of multiple variables via a memetic algorithm, which combines a genetic algorithm and a local search. From observations made in this work, it is proposed that the plastic enclave around a crack tip will shield the crack from the full influence of the applied stress field. Furthermore, the effects of this ‘back stress’ are overcome by the applied tensile load in a way that, often, cannot be readily correlated with crack contact length, wake contact force, or with compliance.     

Two studies of the long-term follow-up of minimal therapist contact treatments of vascular and tension headache.

Tension and vascular headache patients, initially treated with biofeedback and/or relaxation training in either a minimal therapist contact protocol (3 visits) or an intensive individual protocol (10 or 16 visits) were followed-up prospectively for 2 years. In the first study, for the first 6 months of follow-up, half of all patients continued to keep headache diaries and were seen monthly and the other half had only minimal contact. The results at 1-year follow-up, based on 4 weeks of daily headache diaries, revealed equally good maintenance from both treatment protocols and from both follow-up conditions. In Study 2, we found that patients remained improved over pretreatment baseline levels at the 2-year follow-up regardless of initial treatment intensity. Approximately three quarters of vascular patients who were initially improved at posttreatment remained improved at 2 years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)