Factor analysis of the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List: A separation of positive and negative affect.

To examine the factor structure of the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List (MAACL), it was administered to 443 undergraduates. The correlations among the MAACL Anxiety, Depression, and Hostility scales ranged from .72 to .82. Principal-components factor analysis of the MAACL adjectives yielded 2 large unipolar factors. Factor 1 was defined by negative adjectives and Factor 2 by positive adjectives from all 3 MAACL scales. Possible explanations for the emergence of these 2 factors involved both the independence of positive and negative affect and the differential effects of response set on endorsement of positive and negative adjectives. Findings are discussed in terms of the discriminant validity of the MAACL and the appropriateness of its use in current research. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An H-minimax approach to the design of robust control systems, part II: All solutions, all-pass form solutions and the ‘best’ solution

We characterize all solutions to a robustness optimization problem as the solutions of a two-parameter interpolation problem. From this characterization it is easy to show that an all-pass form solution always exists as long as a solution exists. We also study the possibility of using non-all-pass form solutions and by introducing other optimization objectives (motivated by improvements in disturbance rejection and robust stability) we search for the 'best' solution.     

Depression and marital functioning: An examination of specificity and gender differences.

Recent work has emphasized the importance of assessing the marital relationships of depressed persons. The present study was designed to examine the specificity to clinical depression of problematic marital functioning and to assess potential gender differences in the marital relationships and spousal interactions of depressed persons. Depressed psychiatric patients, nondepressed medical patients, and nondepressed community control subjects and their spouses completed measures of marital satisfaction and then participated in a 20-min marital interaction task. Subjects then completed measures assessing their postinteraction mood and perceptions of their spouses, and the interactions were scored with respect to the frequency of occurrence of a number of behaviors. The depressed couples differed from the community controls on virtually every measure of marital functioning. Furthermore, although the medical patients and their spouses also reported marital dissatisfaction and exhibited dysfunctional interactional behavior, only the depressed couples were characterized by negative affect following the interactions and by negative appraisals of their spouses' behaviors. This negative affect was particularly pronounced for the depressed women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Application of UVP within Porous Beds

Standard measurement devices do not normally provide detailed information about flows in porous media because either they are too intrusive (e.g., hot/film wire anemometers) or because the solid phase impedes their physical access to the flow as in the case of laser Doppler anemometers or particle image velocimetry (PIV). In this study, a Metflow ultrasonic velocity profiler (UVP) is used to measure instantaneous velocity fields within porous media composed of plastic balls packed in a cubic pattern. Simple considerations of the ultrasound beam properties and propagation, plus a comparison with measurements performed by a PIV system, demonstrate that UVP devices are suitable for such a purpose.     

Evidence for anatomical but not functional asymmetry in the hemidecorticate rat.

Studied 51 male Long-Evans rats with unilateral ablation of the left or right cerebral neocortex or left or right hippocampus using a battery of tests of spatial orientation, motor coordination, and social behavior, including Morris water task, radial arm maze, feeding, narrow beam traversing, puzzle latches, hoarding, grooming, nest building, running wheel activity, male–male interaction, and shock-induced aggression. Comparison of the brains of operated and control Ss confirmed previous suggestions that the right hemisphere of the rat is bigger and may have different connections than the left hemisphere. Despite the morphological asymmetries, comparison of the behavior of Ss with right and left hemidecortication and right and left hippocampal lesions failed to show a single instance of functional asymmetry in the rat brain. These behavioral results contrast with previous reports of functional asymmetry in the control of activity, orientation, and rotation. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distribution of dynamic loads for multiple cooperating robot manipulators

For the situation of multiple cooperating manipulators handling a single object, a formulation is presented which allows load distribution of the combined system to be made while taking manipulator dynamics into account. First, object dynamics are used to transform the motion task. An integrated procedure for modeling arm dynamics is detailed. Then a method is introduced which transforms the object load to the joint level. At this level, various methods of load distribution that allow subtask performance are proposed. These methods allow desired object motion while selecting loads desirable to alleviate manipulator dynamic loads.     

The Rigorous Development of a System Version Control Program

A rigorous approach to software development is followed in developing a program to control the various components and versions of systems. This particular approach to systematic program development is known as the Vienna Development Method (VDM). This paper documerits the author's early experiences with VDM on a small, yet nontrivial, application. The functional specification of the version control system is presented in detail. Design decisions taken for a prototype implementation are also included. The version control program developed is based upon the Gandalf System Version Control Environment of Carnegie-Mellon University. Both that system and the subject of this case study support the most common forms of component interdependency relations, and methods of system evolution.     

A model of people at high risk to develop chronic stress-related somatic symptoms: Some predictions.

Hypothesizes that there are 5 measurable high-risk factors that predispose people to develop functionally based somatic disorders and that the factors compose a multidimensional model that encompasses variables involved in the predisposition, the precipitation, and the buffering of stress-related symptoms. These high-risk factors are (a) high- or low-hypnotic ability, (b) habitual catastrophizing cognitions and pessimistic belief systems, (c) autonomic lability or neuroticism, (d) multiple major life changes or multiple minor hassles over a short period of time, and (e) a deficit in support systems or coping skills or both. It is suggested that the model can clarify difficult diagnoses, improve prediction of clinical outcome, and provide objectives for diagnostic investigation and clinical intervention. Some predictions derived from the model are presented. (114 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Food wrenching and dodging: A neuroethological test of cortical and dopaminergic contributions to sensorimotor behavior in the rat.

Sensorimotor behavior in unilateral decorticate and unilateral dopamine-depleted rats was studied in a naturally occurring social interaction in which rats compete for food with relatively stereotyped species-typical responses. In the interaction a "robber" attempts to wrest food from a feeding "victim," which in turn protects the food by making rapid contralateral dodges. Hemidecortication abolished dodging to food wrenching attempts made by a rat approaching contralaterally to the lesion, so that the food was stolen, but recovery occurred between 15 and 60 days after surgery. Use of the side contralateral to the lesion to wrest food was moderately impaired, and recovery of food wresting was more rapid than recovery of dodging. Unilateral dopamine depletion produced dodging impairments to food-wresting attempts that were made both ipsilateral and contralateral to the side of the lesion, and the deficits endured over 60 test days. The food was frequently lost to food-wrenching attempts made contralateral to the lesion, whereas the direction of dodges to approaches ipsilateral to the lesion was reversed. Food wresting was also bilaterally impaired. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)