Nanoengineered liquid mirrors shaped by thermal fields

We discuss a new type of deformable mirror made from nanoengineered reflective layers deposited onto liquids. The surfaces are shaped by heating with a laser. The response times of the deformed surfaces are slow (> 1 s). Simplicity and low cost appear to be the main advantages of thermally deformable liquid mirrors.     

Involving users in the design and usability evaluation of a clinical decision support system

AIM: To design and evaluate a clinical decision support system (CDSS) to support cardiovascular risk prevention in type 2 diabetes. METHODS: A preliminary requirements specification and three prototype CDSS interface designs were developed. Seven patients and seven clinicians conducted 'usability tests' on five different task scenarios with the CDSS prototypes to test its effectiveness, efficiency and 'user-friendliness'. Structured, qualitative questions explored their preferences for the different designs and overall impressions of clinical usefulness. RESULTS: Patients and clinicians were enthusiastic about the CDSS and used it confidently after a short learning period. Some patients had difficulty interpreting clinical data, but most were keen to see the CDSS used to help them understand their diabetes, provided a clinician explained their results. Clinicians' main concern was that the CDSS would increase consultation times. Changes suggested by users were incorporated into the final interface design. CONCLUSION: We have successfully incorporated patients' and clinicians' views into the design of a CDSS, but it was an arduous process.     

Fewer doubts concerning rats' serial position performance: Reply to Gaffan and Gaffan (1992) and Rawlins, Deacon, Chih-Ta, and Aggleton (1992).

It has been suggested by E. A. Gaffan and D. Gaffan (see record 1992-37974-001) that the data on nonspatial memory in rats reported by P. Reed et al (see record 1991-11847-001) displayed less than expected variability. Reanalysis revealed a greater degree of variance than that highlighted by Gaffan and Gaffan. Variance was, however, low at the central positions of the list, and 2 explanations for this effect are considered. The J. N. Rawlins et al (see record 1992-37990-001) explanation, experiment expectation, is rejected. Instead, poor memorial cues for items in the center of the list may have produced a reversion to a win-shift/lose-stay strategy that would account for the low variance. Although it would be prudent to suspend conclusions until adequate replications have been conducted, the present reanalysis of the data shows that the arguments made by Gaffan and Gaffan and Rawlins et al are far from definitive. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Seasonal and spatial variation of polychlorinated naphthalenes and non-/mono-ortho-substituted polychlorinated biphenyls in arctic air

Archived extracts of weekly air samples collected at remote arctic monitoring stations at Alert and Tagish, Canada, and Dunai Island, Russia, in 1994-1995 were combined into 4-week composites and analyzed for levels and seasonal trends of polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) and non- and mono-ortho-substituted polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Mean annual sigmaPCN concentrations were 0.69, 0.82, and 0.38 pg/m3 at Alert, Dunai, and Tagish, respectively. PCNs exhibited a seasonal trend at Alert and Dunai, with higher levels occurring during winter when air masses originating over Eurasia influence the high arctic and coincide with the haze period. Episodic, trans-Pacific transport impacted PCN concentrations at Tagish. A seasonal trend was not evident for the non-/mono-o-PCBs. The contrary PCN and non-/mono-o-PCB trends indicate that the sources of these two compound classes to arctic air differ, and that atmospheric transport from source regions has a greater influence on PCN levels than for non-/ mono-o-PCBs. PCNs apparently originating from combustion sources contribute to levels in winter, as indicated by the presence of combustion marker congeners, but evaporative emissions from source regions are likely the dominant source. PCNs contributed 71 and 75% of dioxin toxic equivalents (TEQ) relative to the non-/mono-o-PCBs at Alert and Dunai and 30% at Tagish during the winter months, demonstrating the toxicological importance of PCNs as a compound class relative to PCBs.     

2DCOR-GC: an application of the generalized two-dimensional correlation analysis as a route to optimization of continuous flow supercritical fluid reactions

A new approach for optimization and monitoring of continuous reactions has been developed using 2D correlation methods for the analysis of GC data (2DCOR-GC). 2DCOR-GC maps are obtained following perturbation of the system that allow the effect of changing reaction parameters such as time, temperature, pressure, or concentration to be both monitored and sequenced with regard to changes in the raw GC data. In this paper, we describe the application of the 2DCOR-GC technique to monitoring the reverse water-gas shift reaction in scCO(2). 2DCOR-GC is combined with FT-IR data to validate the methodology. We also report the application of 2DCOR-GC to probe the mechanism of the alkylation of m-cresol with isopropyl alcohol in scCO(2) using Nafion SAC-13 as the catalyst. These results identify coeluting peaks that could easily be missed without exhaustive method development.     

Developmental antecedents of partner abuse: A prospective-longitudinal study.

Prospective measures of risk factors for partner abuse were obtained from a large birth cohort in 4 domains: socioeconomic resources, family relations, educational achievements, and problem behaviors. Partner abuse outcomes were measured at age 21. Results showed that antecedents of abuse included risk factors from all 4 domains. Risk factors were similar for men and women. Some age 3 antecedents were significant, but the strongest correlations were from age 15. In multivariate analyses, the most consistent predictor was the presence of early problem behaviors. In a cross-validation test, abuse was moderately predictable by the same antecedents, whether the outcome measure was self-report or reports from partners of sample members. Findings suggest that theories of partner abuse should account for developmental influences from multiple life domains and that primary prevention of partner abuse should begin in adolescence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do partners agree about abuse in their relationship?: A psychometric evaluation of interpartner agreement.

This study tested whether partners can be relied on to provide congruent reports about abuse in their relationship. The authors examined whether interpartner agreement (IA) varies as a function of whether the perpetrator is the man or the woman, and by whether the abusive behavior being reported is physical or psychological. Guided by psychometric test theory, the authors examined whether weak IA about specific behaviors can be improved by aggregating behavior items into scales and by controlling for random measurement error. A representative sample of 360 young couples was studied. IA did not vary with the perpetrator's gender or with the nature of the abusive behaviors, but victims (both men and women) reported somewhat more abuse than did their perpetrators. IA about specific abusive behaviors was only poor to fair, but it became very good when items were aggregated into scales and even better when measurement errors were removed form the reports. The findings suggest that reports of abuse can be aggregated to form internally consistent scales that show strong IA, thereby fulfilling criteria for reliability. Moreover, under research conditions that guarantee confidentiality, either abuser reports or victim reports are suitable methods for use in research on partner abuse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Unraveling girls' delinquency: Biological, dispositional, and contextual contributions to adolescent misbehavior.

Examined processes linking biological and behavioral changes in different contexts during adolescence by studying an unselected cohort of New Zealand girls from childhood through adolescence when they entered either mixed-sex or all-girl secondary schools. The impact of menarcheal timing on female delinquency was moderated by the sex composition of schools; early-maturing girls in mixed-sex settings were at greatest risk for delinquency. Individual differences in delinquency were also significantly more stable among girls in mixed-sex schools than among those in all-girl schools. These contextual variations are interpreted in terms of the differential distribution of reinforcements and opportunities for delinquency. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)