Savoring Versus Dampening: Self-Esteem Differences in Regulating Positive Affect.

Five studies examined the hypotheses that when people experience positive affect, those low in self-esteem are especially likely to dampen that affect, whereas those high in self-esteem are especially likely to savor it. Undergraduate participants' memories for a positive event (Study 1) and their reported reactions to a success (Study 2) supported the dampening prediction. Results also suggest that dampening was associated with worse mood the day after a success (Study 2), that positive and negative affect regulation are distinct, that self-esteem is associated with affect regulation even when Neuroticism and Extraversion are controlled (Studies 3 and 4), and that self-esteem may be especially important for certain types of positive events and positive affect regulation (Study 5). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Novel approaches to developing carbon nanotube based polymer composites: fundamental studies and nanotech applications

The adsorption of several types of conducting polymers on carbon nanotubes is investigated by electrical transport measurements. We report the optoelectronic properties occurring in single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) conjugated polymer, poly(3-octylthiophene), composites. Al/polymer-nanotube composite/indium-tin oxide diodes show photovoltaic behavior proposing that the main reason for this increase is the photoinduced electron transfer at the polymer/nanotube interface. Interesting results were obtained in the case of poly(o-anisidine) (POAS)-multi-walled nanotubes (MWNTs) composites where the increment of monolayers results in a significant improvement of the specific conductivity. POAS-coated MWNTs thin films demonstrated their potentiality as a new class of materials for inorganic vapors detection for environmental applications.     

Mangrove forests as a nature-based solution for coastal flood protection: Biophysical and ecological considerations

Nature-based coastal protection is increasingly recognised as a potentially sustainable and cost-effective solution to reduce coastal flood risk. It uses coastal ecosystems such as mangrove forests to create resilient designs for coastal flood protection. However, to use mangroves effectively as a nature-based measure for flood risk reduction, we must understand the biophysical processes that govern risk reduction capacity through mangrove ecosystem size and structure. In this perspective, we evaluate the current state of knowledge on local physical drivers and ecological processes that determine mangrove functioning as part of a nature-based flood defence. We show that the forest properties that comprise coastal flood protection are well-known, but models cannot yet pinpoint how spatial heterogeneity of the forest structure affects the capacity for wave or surge attenuation. Overall, there is relatively good understanding of the ecological processes that drive forest structure and size, but there is a lack of knowledge on how daily bed-level dynamics link to long-term biogeomorphic forest dynamics, and on the role of combined stressors influencing forest retreat. Integrating simulation models of forest structure under changing physical (e.g. due to sea-level change) and ecological drivers with hydrodynamic attenuation models will allow for better projections of long-term natural coastal protection.     

Evaluation of the salt leaching method for the production of ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber foams

The thermomechanical behavior of ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) foams produced with the salt leaching method has been investigated and compared with the behavior of EPDM foams obtained from conventional blowing agents. Moreover, the salt-leaching process has been optimized to minimize salt residues and the influence of different parameters (such as average particle size and particle size distribution) has been investigated. Scanning electron microscopy and density measurements highlighted that salt-leaching leads to the formation of open-cell porosity with cell dimensions of around 60 to 80 μm, while foams obtained with the two traditional foaming agents lead to closed-cell porosity. Compression set values indicate that the behavior of the foams produced with salt leaching are more similar to the unfoamed rubber, characterized by higher elasticity and low residual deformation. Two theoretical models were successfully applied to the compression curves (Mooney-Rivlin and Exponential-Logarithmic) and they highlighted the effect of foaming on the properties of EPDM rubber and in particular the higher chain extensibility obtained through the salt leaching foaming method.     

Virtual reality for collaborative e-learning

In the past, the term e-learning referred to any method of learning that used electronic delivery methods. With the advent of the Internet however, e-learning has evolved and the term is now most commonly used to refer to online courses. A multitude of systems are now available to manage and deliver learning content online. While these have proved popular, they are often single-user learning environments which provide little in the way of interaction or stimulation for the student. As the concept of lifelong learning now becomes a reality and thus more and more people are partaking in online courses, researchers are constantly exploring innovative techniques to motivate online students and enhance the e-learning experience. This article presents our research in this area and the resulting development of CLEV-R, a Collaborative Learning Environment with Virtual Reality. This web-based system uses Virtual Reality (VR) and multimedia and provides communication tools to support collaboration among students. In this article, we describe the features of CLEV-R, its adaptation for mobile devices and present the findings from an initial evaluation.     

Compact, high-gain pulsed dye amplifier for weak cw sources

A compact two-cuvette dye amplifier capable of pulse amplifying weak cw visible sources by factors in excess of 10(9) has been demonstrated. Seeded with a 300-μW single-frequency He-Ne laser and without the need for a Faraday isolator, the preamplifier yields >40-μJ pulses of 4.5-ns duration and 1.4× transform-limited linewidths around 140 MHz. Subsequent power amplification yields 4-ns FWHM, 2-mJ pulses with excellent pulse-to-pulse stability and linewidths around 170 MHz. Scaling of the operational envelope and extension to pulse amplification of cw single-mode tunable diode lasers is discussed.     

Multimedia ontology population through semantic analysis and hierarchical deep features extraction techniques

Knowledge and Information Systems - The rapid increase of available data in different complex contexts needs automatic tasks to manage and process contents. Semantic Web technologies represent the...