Personality and ability factors in sales performance.

A variety of personality and ability tests were utilized in a study devised to isolate effective predictors of sales success and to study the various factors in sales performance. The Ss were 65 dealer salesmen employed by a mojr petroleum company. Objective criterion measures were developed using sales figures covering a 4-year period. After cross-validation 2 tests emerged as reliable predictors. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Arithmetic subtest yielded correlations with criterion measures in the low .30s. The Tomkins-Horn Picture Arrangement Test yielded correlations in the high .50s. On the latter test measures of dependence, sociophilia, self-confidence, and happiness were found in association with successful sales performances; measures of low aggression, sociophobia, and strong superego were found in association with poor performance. From Psyc Abstracts 36:05:5LD06M. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of Cr,Al, Ti,Mo, W,Ta, and Cb on the cyclic oxidation behavior of cast Ni-base superalloys at 1100 and 1150°C

A series of cast nickel-base y/y′ superalloys as systematically varied at two nonzero levels of Cr, Al, Ti, Mo, Cb, W, and Ta with nominally fixed levels of 10 at. % Co, 0.06 at. % C, 0.05 at. % Zr, and 0.05% B. A 1/4-replicate 2⁷-factorial statistical design supplemented by 18 additional alloys was used to estimate main effects and all two-factor interactions. The cyclic oxidation resistance was determined from specific weight change data as a function time for 1-hr cycles in static air at 1100 and 1150°C. A derived oxidation attack parameter, K_a, was fitted by multiple linear regression over the alloy sample space at each temperature. At the levels tested, Al was the most important alloy addition. The lowest K_a was achieved at the highest (13 at. %) test level of Al and the lowest (10 and 2 at. %, respectively) test levels of Cr and Ti. The results for the refractory metal additions were somewhat ambiguous, but the most oxidation-resistant composition was estimated to be 3 at. % Mo-1 at. % Cb-3 at. % W-3 at. % Ta for the compositions tested. X-ray diffraction analysis of the alloy scales indicated that at the lowest K_a value, most oxidation resistant alloys were associated with alumina-aluminate spinel formation at the high Al levels. Higher boron contents, which were unintentionally varied, were clearly detrimental even for the most resistant compositions. High boron contents apparently trigger nonprotective NiO formation. In addition, tri-rutile type oxides were found on all test alloys, but these were not considered to be harmful to oxidation resistance.     

Techniques for delivery of arachidonic acid to pacific oyster, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Crassostrea gigas</Emphasis>, spat

The present study tested two techniques for dietary supplementation of Crassostrea gigas spat with PUFA, such as arachidonic acid (AA). The first technique consisted of a preliminary enrichment and growth of an algal concentrate (T-ISO, Isochrysis sp.) with AA dissolved in an ethanol solution, the whole culture then being fed to the spat. This enrichment increased the AA weight percentage in T-ISO neutral and polar lipids from 0.6 to 22.4% and from 0.4 to 6.8%, respectively. The second delivery technique was direct addition separately of free AA dissolved in ethanol solution and algal concentrate (T-ISO+AA) to the spat-rearing tank. To test the efficiency of these delivery techniques, oyster spat were supplemented with AA-enriched T-ISO, T-ISO+AA, and T-ISO alone. The possible biological impacts of these dietary treatments were assessed by measuring growth, condition index, and TAG content of oyster spat. Dry weight and condition index of spat fed AA-enriched T-ISO decreased by 24 and 49%, respectively, after 26 d of feeding; basically, TAG content declined 88% after 34 d of conditioning. When AA was added directly to seawater, spat growth and condition index were comparable with those of oysters fed T-ISO alone. AA incorporation in oyster tissues was assessed by analysis of the FA compositions in both neutral and polar lipid fractions. After 34 d, AA content in neutral lipids reached 7 and 11.7% in the spat fed, respectively, AA-enriched T-ISO and T-ISO+AA, as compared with 1.1% in spat fed only T-ISO. AA incorporation was greater in polar lipids than in neutral lipids, reaching 7.8 and 12.5% in spat fed AA-enriched T-ISO and T-ISO+AA, respectively. A direct addition of PUFA along with the food supply represents an effective and promising means to supplement PUFA to oyster spat.     

Role of entrepreneurial task motivation in the growth of technologically innovative firms: Interpretations from follow-up data.

Used follow-up data on the growth of 59 firms contacted over 5 yrs after their entrepreneurs were tested with the Miner Sentence Completion Scale—Form T to test hypotheses derived from task theory. The results lend support for the predictive criterion-related validity of overall task motivation, a desire for personal achievement, a desire to innovate, and a desire to plan and set goals, but not for a desire to avoid risks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of fine porosity on the fatigue behavior of a powder metallurgy superalloy

Hot-isostatically-pressed powder-metallurgy Astroloy was obtained which contained 1.4 pct, fine porosity at the grain boundaries produced by argon entering the powder container during pressing. The pores averaged about 2μ,m diam and 20 μ m spacing. This material was tested at 650 °C in fatigue, creep-fatigue, tension, and stress-rupture and the results compared with previous data on sound Astroloy. The pores influenced fatigue crack initiation and produced a more intergranular mode of propagation. However, fatigue life was not drastically reduced. A large 25 μm pore in one specimen resulting from a hollow particle did reduce life by 60 pct, however. Fatigue behavior of the porous material showed typical correlation with tensile behavior. The plastic strain range-life relation was reduced proportionately with the reduction in tensile ductility, but the elastic strain range-life relation was little changed reflecting the small reduction in strength divided by modulus for the porous material.     

Wild-type alternatively spliced p53: binding to DNA and interaction with the major p53 protein in vitro and in cells

A p53 variant protein (p53as) generated from alternatively spliced p53 RNA is expressed in normal and malignant mouse cells and tissues, and p53as antigen activity is preferentially associated with the G2 phase of the cell cycle, suggesting that p53as and p53 protein may have distinct properties. Using p53as and p53 proteins translated in vitro, we now provide evidence that p53as protein has efficient sequence-specific DNA-binding ability. DNA binding by p53 protein is inefficient in comparison and requires activation. Furthermore, p53as and p53 proteins formed hetero-oligomers when co-translated in vitro, resulting in inactivation of p53as DNA-binding activity. Gel filtration indicated that p53as translated in vitro, like p53, formed tetramers. In support of a functional role of p53as in cells, p53as/p53 hetero-oligomers were coimmunoprecipitated from mouse cells, and both protein forms were detectable in nuclear extracts by electrophoretic mobility shift assays. These results suggest that the biochemical functions of p53 are mediated by interaction between two endogenous protein products of the wild-type p53 gene.     

岭南建筑淡意

山居之要点,自然要落在“居”上。在最感性直接的理解上,一处居所要是能令人的第一感觉很舒服．便肯定是好的。而这个“舒服”看似简单,却实则包含了风水、环境、设计乃至建筑材料的运用等等元素。毫无疑问,山庄旅舍便是这样一处令人舒服的地方,它的大气大关都蕴藏在亲和随意的设计之中。     

Trajectories of externalizing behavior from age 2 to age 9: Relations with gender, temperament, ethnicity, parenting, and rater.

Trajectories of children's externalizing behavior were examined using multilevel growth curve modeling of data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. According to ratings by both mothers and caregivers/teachers when children were 2, 3, 4, 7, and 9 years old, externalizing behavior declined with age. However, mothers rated children as higher in externalizing behavior than did caregivers and teachers. Higher levels of age 9 externalizing behavior were predicted by the following factors: child male gender (for caregiver/teacher reports only), infant difficult temperament (for children with harsh mothers only), harsher maternal attitude toward discipline, higher level of maternal depression (for maternal reports only), and lower level of maternal sensitivity (especially for boys). Caregivers and teachers reported higher levels of externalizing behavior in African American children than in European American children, increasingly so over time; mothers' ratings revealed the reverse. The declining slope of externalizing behavior was predicted by infant difficult temperament for mother reports only. Additional analyses suggested that the association between parenting and externalizing behavior was bidirectional. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Partial activation of naive CD4 T cells and tolerance induction in response to peptide presented by resting B cells

Tolerance is thought to occur when Ag is presented to T cells in the absence of costimulatory interactions from APC accessory molecules. Of the professional APC, the resting B cell may be the main tolerizing cell in vivo. We have analyzed several aspects of activation of naive transgenic CD4 cells stimulated with resting or activated B cells presenting peptide Ag. Similar results were obtained with stimulation from peptide presenting fibroblast APC lacking or expressing B7-1 with intracellular adhesion molecule-1. TCR ligation with little or no accessory molecule coreceptor engagement induced efficient blastogenesis; up-regulation of CD25, CD44, CD69, CD95 and CD71; and down-regulation of CD62L over a 48-h period. Accessory molecule help enhanced the expression of CD25, CD44, CD69, and CD71, but to very modest degrees. Only two molecules, CD40 ligand and IL-2, were found to be extremely dependent on accessory molecule help, with little or no expression evident with peptide presented on resting B cells or class II-positive fibroblasts. T cells induced on resting B cells expanded minimally over 3 days, and this was followed by extensive cell death and hyporesponsiveness of the resulting cells. These studies suggest that under tolerizing conditions, such as Ag presentation by resting B cells, much of the naive CD4 response is induced efficiently. Partial activation, however, may be the overall result due to the lack of CD40 ligand expression, which may regulate costimulatory activity in APC and, in turn, may contribute to limiting the production of IL-2 required for T cell expansion and survival.     

Barriers to voluntary organization membership: an examination of race and cohort differences

OBJECTIVES: This research uses age stratification, isolation, compensatory, and ethnic community perspectives to predict differences by race in the utilization of formal organizations across cohorts. Voluntary organizations are classified into three general types: social service clubs, job-related groups, and neighborhood organizations. We hypothesize that racial differences in organizational participation will be wider for older cohorts than for younger cohorts, as a result of historical racism. Moreover, we expect the racial differences across cohorts to be greater for those organizations (i.e., social service and job-related groups) where racial barriers to membership were strongest. METHODS: We use the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH) and logistic regression analysis to determine the predicted probabilities of membership in organizations by race, age, and type of membership. RESULTS: The results reveal higher levels of participation in organizations for young Blacks (than for young Whites). At the oldest ages, however, the race differential reverses direction for social/service and job-related organizations. For neighborhood organizations, the race differential is more stable across cohorts, consistent with expectations. DISCUSSION: We interpret these race-cohort patterns as evidence of historical discrimination that affected the oldest cohorts to a greater extent--especially for social/service and job-related organizations.