Perceived stress management skill mediates the relationship between optimism and positive mood following radical prostatectomy.

This study evaluated relations among optimism, perceived stress management skills (PSMS), and positive mood in 46 men who had surgical treatment for localized prostate cancer. The authors found that optimism, PSMS, and positive mood scores were positively correlated. Positive mood was unrelated to demographic and disease-related control variables. In a hierarchical regression model controlling for PSMS, the relationship between optimism and positive mood became nonsignificant, whereas PSMS remained a correlate of positive mood. Results suggest that the relationship between optimism and positive mood may be mediated by belief in being able to use stress management techniques effectively. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Symbolic analysis approach to settling time minimization in sc networks

The paper presents a method of settling time minimization in switched capacitor (SC) circuits. This problem has been discussed in recent papers because of high-frequency applications of SC networks. In comparison with the methods elaborated up to now and limited to biquads, the method presented in this paper can be used for an SC circuit containing an arbitrary number of operational amplifiers coupled together in each switching state and modelled as ideal transconductances. the fifth-order ladder bilinear SC filter is considered for illustration of the method and SPICE simulations.     

Scheduling in or-parallel Prolog systems: Survey and open problems

Implementation of or-parallel Prolog systems offers a number of interesting scheduling problems. The main issues are the interaction between memory models and scheduling, ordering of multiple solutions, and scheduling of speculative work. The problems occur partly because of the design choices (e.g. the choice of a memory model), and partly because of the desire to maintain observational equivalence between parallel and sequential implementations of Prolog, while achieving high efficiency. In the first part of this paper a common framework for discussing scheduling in or-parallel systems is introduced, and also a collection of issues that must be addressed in such systems is presented. In the second part of the paper we survey a number of solutions to these problems comparing their efficiency whenever possible. We close the survey with a short discussion of open problems.Current association: Carlstedt Elektronik AB     

Molecular orientation and stress in biaxially deformed polymers. II. Steady potential flow

The development of biaxial segmental orientation and stress in a flexible-chain polymer fluid subjected to steady biaxial extensional flow is analyzed. Closed-formula model based on the Padè approximation of the inverse Langevin function in the non-Gaussian distribution of the chain end-to-end vectors is considered. The approach is free from the limitations related to finite chain extensibility and slow convergence of the series expansion formulations at higher chain deformations.Segmental orientation is characterized by the average orientation tensor, related axial orientation factors and global orientation anisotropy. Orientational behavior and corresponding stresses in the biaxial elongational potential flow are discussed in a wide range of elongation rates. Orientation characteristics calculated for the biaxial flow deformation are much higher than those predicted for the affine biaxial stretch deformation in polymer solids.     

Inhibition of nitrification in the packed bed reactors by selected organic compounds

The effect of methanol, acetone, formalin and glucose on the nitrification process in the packed bed reactors has been investigated. For the utilized compounds the inhibition constant K_i was determined according to Dixon's method. The determined values were as follows: methanol K_i = 116.0 mg l^?1; acetone K_i = 804.2 mg l^?1; formalin K_i = 61.5 mg l^?1. The value of K_i for glucose has not been determined because glucose in applied concentration up to 11,325 mg l^?1 had no effect on the nitrification course.     

AlxGa−xAs/GaAs heterostructure characterization by wet chemical etching

Selective wet chemical etching of the Al_xGa_1−xAs/GaAs system has been applied to heterostructure characterization. Samples of LPE grown AlGaAs/GaAs laser double-heterostructures and separate confinement heterostructures as well as antiresonant reflecting optical waveguides heterostructures were treated with “I2 solution” (I₂:KI:H₂O) and hydrochloric acid. These compounds selectively etch the ternary Al_xGa_1−xAs layers, but with different “threshold composition” x_th values (the x value is that above which the etching rate of a given compound increases sharply). Selectively etched samples have been examined by SEM. The experimental dependence of etching rate on the x value for I2 solution has been derived. From this dependence, the x composition of any ternary layer can be estimated simply. Observations were made of the “microscopic” properties of the heterostructure, such as the smoothness of the interfaces and the uniformity of layers. All imperfections resulting from the growth process, such as interface perturbations or compositional nonuniformity of layers, are clearly seen. An additional advantage of this etching technique is its simplicity. It allows quick examination of grown heterostructure for the selection of wafers for further processing.     

Technical risk involved in long-term operation of steam turbines

The scope of the paper is the assessment of the technical risk involved in long-term operation of power units. Detailed analyses have been conducted for steam turbine components. The sources and consequences of risk have been identified and the probability of turbine components failure calculated. The quantitative assessment of the risk has been made and possibilities of its reduction discussed.     

Influence of the amount of ferromagnetic addition on the rheological properties of spinning solutions,the structure,the strength,and thermal properties of polyacrylonitrile fibres

The rheological properties of spinning solutions of polyacrylonitrile in dimethyl formamide (DMF) containing various amounts of a ferromagnetic nanoaddition were investigated. The porous structure, the strength and thermal properties of fibers obtained from these solutions were assessed, as well as the uniformity of the nanoaddition distribution on the fiber surface was estimated. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008