Culturally sensitive guided imagery for allocentric Latinos: A pilot study.

The Culturally Competent Relaxation Intervention (CCRI) was developed and assessed with 25 Latino adults. In contrast to traditional psychotherapeutic and relaxation interventions, which are highly influenced by individualistic/idiocentric (the tendency to define oneself in isolation from others) assumptions, the CCRI was designed according to an allocentric self-orientation (the tendency to define oneself in relationship with others), which is prevalent among Latinos. This pilot study found preliminary evidence suggesting that participants who were more allocentric had higher levels of treatment adherence and, contrary to what was expected, idiocentric levels were not inversely related with treatment adherence. In addition, as hypothesized, it was found that higher levels of treatment adherence were related to reductions of anxiety symptoms. These findings are consistent with the predictions of the cultural match theory, which proposes that patients adhere and benefit more from interventions that fit their own cultural characteristics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measurement of transport properties of poly(methylmethacrylate-co-methacrylic acid) ion-containing membranes

Several membranes prepared from poly(methylmethacrylate-co-methacrylic acid) and its Li⁺ and Zn²⁺ ionomers were tested for NaCl, creatinine and urea permeability. The permeabilities of the membranes were explained on the basis of pore contents determined from their scanning electron microscope micrographs. All the membranes showed higher permeabilities during the first 2 hours of experimentation. Introduction of Zn²⁺ ions into the copolymer as crosslinking agent did not have much effect on the membrane properties but the properties of the copolymer were modified.     

Photodegradation of hydrophobic disperse dyes and dye-bath effluents by silicadodecatungstate (SiW12O40(4-/5-)) nanoparticles.

Polyoxometalate (POM) silicadodecatungstic acid has been applied as a photochemical catalyst for the degradation of SETAPERS Black WNSP, a disperse dyestuff preparation widely used to dye polyester and polyamide fabrics. It could be demonstrated that the disperse dyestuff was photo-reduced by SiW12O40(5-), the one-electron reduced form of POM, as evidenced by Heteropolyblue (HPB) formation. For completion of the photochemical redox cycle, isopropanol (IsOH) was required. Acetone (Ac) served solely as an effective solute and photosensitizer; however this effect was suppressed in the presence of POM. Threshold (0.087 mM) and optimum (0.375 mM) POM concentrations existed and decolorization kinetics were inhibited upon the addition of dye auxiliary chemicals. Increasing the dyestuff concentration from 50 mg/L to 150 mg/L did not affect initial decolorization kinetics revealing that not the formation of the excited [POM-Substrate]* complex, but its reduction to HPB was the rate limiting step. POM-mediated, IsOH-assisted UV-photodegradation of disperse dyes and dye-baths is by far more effective than applying other, more well known chemical oxidation methods (O3, H202/UV, Power Ultrasound). Key to the action of POM redox catalysts is the feature that particularly heteropoly tungstates undergo facile re-oxidation to their original state, thus allowing regeneration of the photocatalyst, a feature that may become critical for real-scale application.     

Experimental prediction of total thermal resistance of a closed loop EAHE for greenhouse cooling system

The design of an earth to air heat exchanger (EAHE) requires knowledge of its total thermal resistance (R_Tot) for heating and cooling applications. In this research, a 47 m long horizontal, 56 cm nominal diameter U-bend buried galvanized was studied experimental EAHE used for the determination and evaluation of thermal properties of heat exchanger. This system was designed and installed in the Solar Energy Institute, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey. Based on the experimental results, generalized relationships were developed for predicting of thermal resistance of the heat exchanger. Average total heat exchanger thermal resistance was estimated to be 0.021 K-m/W as a constant value under steady state condition.     

Determining the optimal design of a closed loop earth to air heat exchanger for greenhouse heating by using exergoeconomics

This investigation deals with an exergoeconomic evaluation of the earth to air heat exchanger (EAHE) application for determining the optimal design greenhouse heating in Izmir, Turkey. The exergy destructions in the system are quantified and illustrated using tables for a reference temperature of 6 °C. The results indicate that the exergy destructions in the system occur primarily as a result of blower losses and heat exchanger losses. These average losses account for 85% and 4.5%, respectively. Both COP and exergy efficiency of the overall system was investigated to analyze and improve the systems performance. The average COP and exergetic efficiency were determined to be 10.51 and 89.25%, respectively. The results may provide useful insights into the relations between thermodynamics and economics for the EAHE heating systems.     

An alternative natural dye,almond shell waste: effects of plasma and mordants on dyeing properties

In this study, the effect of the plasma process and the possibility of replacing metallic mordants with plasma treatment were investigated in natural dyeing with almond shell waste as a novel natural colorant. The use of a smaller amount of metallic mordants and plant than most of the current natural dye applications is a major advantage of dyeing with almond shell extract. Plasma‐treated and untreated wool fabrics were dyed without mordant and using a smaller amount (0.2 g/l) of alum, iron(ii ) sulfate and copper(ii ) sulfate. Three mordanting methods, namely premordanting, simultaneous mordanting and post‐mordanting, were applied. Colour measurements and light and wash fastness values were compared. Significant colour differences were observed among the mordanting methods. Simultaneous mordanting resulted in the lightest colours with all the mordants. Generally, post‐mordanting produced duller colours and lower a* and b* values than premordanting. The plasma process generated significant colour value differences and colour yield increases, giving more homogeneous dyeing visually, and also ensured a greater impact of mordanting. However, compared with metallic mordants, plasma itself did not create completely different colour shades and fastness improvement. It was necessary to use mordants in order to achieve increased fastness properties (especially light fastness) and a different colour gamut.     

Bench‐Top Fabrication of Hierarchically Structured High‐Surface‐Area Electrodes

Fabrication of hierarchical materials, with highly optimized features from the millimeter to the nanometer scale, is crucial for applications in diverse areas including biosensing, energy storage, photovoltaics, and tissue engineering. In the past, complex material architectures have been achieved using a combination of top‐down and bottom‐up fabrication approaches. A remaining challenge, however, is the rapid, inexpensive, and simple fabrication of such materials systems using bench‐top prototyping methods. To address this challenge, the properties of hierarchically structured electrodes are developed and investigated by combining three bench‐top techniques: top‐down electrode patterning using vinyl masks created by a computer‐aided design (CAD)‐driven cutter, thin film micro/nanostructuring using a shrinkable polymer substrate, and tunable electrodeposition of conductive materials. By combining these methods, controllable electrode arrays are created with features in three distinct length scales: 40 μm to 1 mm, 50 nm to 10 μm, and 20 nm to 2 μm. The electrical and electrochemical properties of these electrodes are analyzed and it is demonstrated that they are excellent candidates for next generation low‐cost electrochemical and electronic devices.     

Oleogel Fabrication Based on Sodium Caseinate,Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose,and Beeswax: Effect of Concentration,Oleogelation Method,and Their Optimization

In the present study, the oleogel preparation with hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) (0–2 g/100 g), sodium caseinate (CN) (0–4 g/100 g), beeswax (0–5 g/100 g), and oleogelation method (foam and emulsion template) was optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) to attain the desirable oil retaining ability, rheological, and textural characteristics. For all the chosen responses, the quadratic model was the best-fitting model with a determination coefficient of R² > 0.91. Results exhibited that the HPMC and CN concentrations were the most influential tested factors on the oil binding capacity, textural, and rheological characteristics of the oleogels due to the formation of more complex and strong network. There was a significant improvement in oil binding capacity and structure recovery of samples by beeswax addition. To produce oleogel similar to industrial shortening, the optimization method was done based on maximum oil binding capacity and thixotropic recovery and other responses were chosen equal to those of shortening values (ɳ_a = 330 Pa.s, G′ = 276,543 Pa, A value = 164,308 Pa s rad⁻¹, and firmness = 44.99 g). As regards the optimized level of structuring agents and responses (ɳ_a = 317 and 329 Pa.s, G′ = 249,782 and 260,997 Pa, A value = 180,022 and 180,373 Pa s rad⁻¹, and firmness = 44.37 and 36.98 g corresponding to Optimization 1 and Optimization 2, respectively), fabrication of oleogels with at least 90 g/100 g trans-free and low saturated oil and attributes close to industrial shortening is possible.     

A tree‐based approach to matchmaking algorithms for resource discovery

One of the essential operations in a distributed computing is resource discovery. A resource discovery service provides mechanisms to identify the set of resources capable of satisfying the requirements of a job from a large collection of resources. The matchmaking framework provides a reasonable solution to resource management in a distributed environment; it is composed of four important components as classified advertisement (classad), matchmaker protocol, matchmaking algorithm and claiming protocols. Most of the time required to find a resource depends on the performance of the matchmaking algorithms. A distributed environment introduces a large set of heterogeneous resources which is always changing. The matchmaking algorithms should incorporate with this highly changing environment. In this paper we proposed a fast and efficient searching method for matchmaking algorithms which also deals with resource heterogeneity. The proposed approach reduces the searching time to a linear function from a cubic function proposed by R. Raman, M. Livny, and M. Solomon. We discuss briefly the working principles of the method and compare the experimental results of the proposed matchmaking algorithm with those of the existing algorithm. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.