Social exchanges and subjective well-being among older Chinese: Does age make a difference?

The authors examined the effects of social support and negative interactions on life satisfaction and depressed affect among older Chinese, and age differences in these associations. The sample consisted of 2,943 Chinese elders who were 60-94 years of age. Structural equation modeling results suggest that both social support and negative interactions have significant contributions to life satisfaction and depressed affect. Social support has stronger effects than negative interactions on life satisfaction; their effects on depressed affect are comparable. Further, depressed affect of old-old (70+ years) Chinese reacts more strongly to both social support and negative interactions than the young-old (60-69 years). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Direct torque control induction motor drives withself-commissioning based on Taguchi methodology

This paper presents the analysis and design of direct torque control (DTC) induction motor drives with self-commissioning. Neither motor parameters nor controller parameters are known a priori. The self-commissioning process consists of the calculation of motor parameters, including stator resistor, inertia and friction coefficient, as well as the design of the controller. The effects of several factors, including test conditions for deriving motor mechanical parameters and natural frequency for controller design, on the performance of speed response are investigated using Taguchi's method which is widely used in quality engineering to significantly reduce the number of experiments. Therefore, the presented drive system cannot only provide self-commissioning but also dramatically improve the performance of speed response, which is evaluated using the performance index of root-mean-squared error (RMSE) of speed. Experimental results derived from a PC-based experimental system are presented to fully support the theoretical development and analysis     

Structural integration of the Affect Balance Scale and the Life Satisfaction Index A: Race, sex, and age differences.

In this research we examined race, sex, and age differences in the factorial structure of Liang's (1985) model of subjective well-being that integrates the Affect Balance Scale and the Life Satisfaction Index A. In particular, we viewed the covariance structure of the items as a function of several parameter matrices. We analyzed the factorial invariance by testing hypotheses involving the equivalence constraints of one or more parameter matrices with regard to the following: White and Black subsamples, men and women, and the young–old and the old–old. Data for the research came from the 1974 Harris National Council on Aging Survey, Myths and Reality of Aging in America. Analysis of covariance structures, or {lisrel}, was used to assess the factorial invariance. Replicated race differences were found in the factorial structure, but sex and age differences were not found. Consistent race differences were found for the second-order factor loadings for negative affect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Structures of free and complexed forms of Escherichia coli xanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase

Structures of free, substrate-bound and product-bound forms of Escherichia coli xanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (XGPRT) have been determined by X-ray crystallography. These are compared with the previously determined structure of magnesium and sulphate-bound XPRT. The structure of free XGPRT at 2.25 A resolution confirms the flexibility of residues in and around a mobile loop identified in other PRTases and shows that the cis-peptide conformation of Arg37 at the active site is maintained in the absence of bound ligands. The structures of XGPRT complexed with the purine base substrates guanine or xanthine in combination with cPRib-PP, an analog of the second substrate PRib-PP, have been solved to 2.0 A resolution. In these two structures the disordered phosphate-binding loop of uncomplexed XGPRT becomes ordered through interactions with the 5'-phosphate group of cPRib-PP. The cyclopentane ring of cPRib-PP has the C3 exo pucker conformation, stabilised by the cPRib-PP-bound Mg2+. The purine base specificity of XGPRT appears to be due to water-mediated interactions between the 2-exocyclic groups of guanine or xanthine and side-chains of Glu136 and Asp140, as well as the main-chain oxygen atom of Ile135. Asp92, together with Lys115, could help stabilise the N7-protonated tautomer of the incoming base and could act as a general base to remove the proton from N7 when the nucleotide product is formed. The 2.6 A resolution structure of XGPRT complexed with product GMP is similar to the substrate-bound complexes. However, the ribose ring of GMP is rotated by approximately 24 degrees compared with the equivalent ring in cPRib-PP. This rotation results in the loss of all interactions between the ribosyl group and the enzyme in the product complex.