Personality similarity in twins reared apart and together.

We administered the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) to 217 monozygotic and 114 dizygotic reared-together adult twin pairs and 44 monozygotic reared-apart adult twin pairs. A four-parameter biometric model (incorporating genetic, additive versus nonadditive, shared family-environment, and unshared environment components) and five reduced models were fitted through maximum-likelihood techniques to data obtained with the 11 primary MPQ scales and its 3 higher order scales. Solely environmental models did not fit any of the scales. Although the other reduced models, including the simple additive model, did fit many of the scales, only the full model provided a satisfactory fit for all scales. Heritabilities estimated by the full model ranged from .39 to .58. Consistent with previous reports, but contrary to widely held beliefs, the overall contribution of a common family-environment component was small and negligible for all but 2 of the 14 personality measures. Evidence of significant nonadditive genetic effects, possibly emergenic (epistatic) in nature, was obtained for 3 of the measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Deconvolution methods for mitigation of transverse blurring in optical coherence tomography.

Imaging resolution in optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a key determinant for acquiring clinically useful optical biopsies of tissues. In contrast to light or confocal microscopy, the axial and transverse resolutions in OCT are independent and each can be analyzed individually. A method for mitigating transverse blurring and the apparent loss of transverse resolution in OCT by means of Gaussian beam deconvolution is presented. Such a method provides better representation of a specimen by using known physical parameters of a lens. To implement this method, deconvolution algorithms based on a focal-dependent kernel are investigated. First, the direct inverse problem is investigated using two types of regularization, truncated singular value decomposition, and Tikhonov. Second, an iterative expectation maximization algorithm, the Richardson-Lucy algorithm, with a beam-width-dependent iteration scheme is developed. A dynamically iterative Richardson-Lucy algorithm can reduce transverse blurring by providing an improvement in the transverse point-spread-function for sparse scattering samples in regions up to two times larger than the confocal region of the lens. These deblurring improvements inside and outside of the confocal region, which are validated experimentally, are possible without introducing new optical imaging hardware or acquiring multiple images of the same specimen. Implementation of this method in sparse scattering specimens, such as engineered tissues, has the potential to improve cellular detection and categorization.     

Immersive electronic books for surgical training

Immersive electronic books (IEBooks) for surgical training will let surgeons explore previous surgical procedures in 3D. The authors describe the techniques and tools for creating a preliminary IEBook, embodying some of the basic concepts.     

Application of fiber optic sensors to fracture mechanics problems

An experimental study is conducted to show the application of fiber optic sensors to fracture mechanics problems. Mode I stress intensity factors are obtained using single mode optical fibers in single edge notched specimens fabricated from aluminium. A Mach–Zehnder interferometric set up is used during the experiments. The experimental results compare well with theoretical predictions.     

The Effect of Ozone Gas-Liquid Contacting Conditions in a Static Mixer on Microorganism Reduction

The effect of gas-liquid contacting conditions in a static mixer on ozone transfer efficiency and reduction of Bacillus subtilis spores was studied in an experimental ozone contactor. An empirical mathematical model was developed that related the transfer efficiency in the experimental system to the superficial liquid velocity in the mixer, the gas-liquid flow rate ratio and the height of the down-stream bubble column. Spore reduction was determined primarily by the dissolved ozone concentration-time (C_avgt_m) product in the reactive flow segment and was independent of the gas-liquid contacting conditions in the static mixer. In an integrated ozone contacting system, the static mixer should be designed to maximize ozone mass transfer while the reactive flow segment should be designed for efficient microorganism reduction.     

Key processing with control vectors

A method is presented for controlling cryptographic key usage based on control vectors. Each cryptographic key has an associated control vector that defines the permitted uses of the key within the cryptographic system. At key generation, the control vector is cryptographically coupled to the key by way of a special encryption process. Each encrypted key and control vector are stored and distributed within the cryptographic system as a single token. Decryption of a key requires respecification of the control vector. As part of the decryption process, the cryptographic hardware verifies that the requested use of the key is authorized by the control vector. This article focuses mainly on the use of control vectors in cryptosystems based on the Data Encryption Algorithm.     

Optical properties of amorphous carbon thin films prepared by plasma deposition in a graphite hollow cathode

Carbon films have been produced using a graphite hollow cathode and an r.f. plasma of hydrogen or hydrogen and argon. No hydrocarbon gas was used. The films were subjected to heat treatments up to 700 °C in air. The optical properties of the films were studied using Fourier transform IR, UV-visible, Raman, ellipsometry and photoluminescence techniques before and after the annealing. Films prepared without argon have a narrower band gap and a different photoluminescence response from films prepared with argon. The index of refraction was seen to have values between 1.7 and 2.2 depending on the preparation conditions. The optical band gap of the films was generally greater than 2 eV and the annealing process both increased the gap and reduced the density of states responsible for the large photoluminescence signal.     

Cellular automata model of gravity-driven granular flows

A cellular automata model is used to simulate a variety of granular chute flows. The model is tested against several case studies: flow down a chute, flow past an obstacle, chute flow in which complex, counter-rotating vortices result in streamwise surface stripes and flow near a boundary. The model successfully reproduces experimental observations in all of these cases. These results lead us to propose that simple, rule-based, models such as this can improve our detailed understanding of dynamics and flow within an opaque granular bed.