Spatio-temporal evolution of the deformation around the Rio-Patras fault (Greece) observed by synthetic aperture radar interferometry from 1993 to 2017

We analysed the ground deformation across two blocks defined by the Rio-Patras fault from 1993 to 2017 using multi-temporal Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (InSAR) techniques. Our main objective was to contribute to the assessment of seismic hazard near the large city of Patras. Multiple data-sets were used, each one covering different temporal periods. Descending and ascending acquisitions, providing different viewing geometries contribute to fully determine the ground displacement in 3D. The data-sets used are from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) European Remote Sensing (ERS), Environmental Satellite (ENVISAT) and SENTINEL-1 as well as German Aerospace Center (DLR) ’s TERRASAR-X missions. Considering ESA’s missions covering both acquisition geometries and long periods, the southern block, showing lack of a sufficient number of scatterers does not allow the displacement characterization. In contrary, the northern block is characterized by a high number of scatterers having values of maximum likehood ranging from ?3.5 to ?4.3 mm year^?1 for ascending geometry and from ?1.6 to ?2.7 mm year^?1 for the descending one. The fact that both geometries show negative values of displacements are consistent with downlift movement and at the same time the quantitative differentiation probably indicates an horizontal component as well.     

Reciprocal Relationships Between Collective Efficacy and Team Performance in Women's Ice Hockey.

This study examined reciprocal relationships between collective efficacy and team performance over a season of competition in women's intercollegiate ice hockey within weekends where the opponent was constant for 2 games. Collective efficacy beliefs within 12 teams were assessed prior to both games for at least 7 weekends. Team performance indexes produced an overall measure of performance for each game. The average influence of Saturday collective efficacy on Saturday performance was moderate and positive after controlling for Friday performance. The average influence of Friday performance on Saturday collective efficacy was small and positive after removing the influence of Friday collective efficacy from Friday performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of perspective in the accessibility of goals during reading.

An implicit assumption of several causal reasoning models is that readers adopt the goals of a narrative's protagonist during text comprehension. In apparent violation of this assumption, readers participating in Experiment 1 of the present study drew inferences relevant to a protagonist's goal even when that goal was already satisfied from the perspective of the protagonist. In Experiments 2 and 3, participants were explicitly asked to view the text situation from the point of view of the protagonist. In this case, the goals of the reader and the protagonist should be the same. In these experiments, participants focused on the goals of the protagonist only when those goals had not been satisfied from the perspective of the protagonist. These results are discussed in terms of reader- and character-based perspectives and in terms of text characteristics that cue perspective taking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the formation and stability of dislocation patterns—I: One-dimensional considerations

By distinguishing among mobile and immobile dislocations and operating within the framework of continuum mechanics it is possible to derive a set of partial differential equations of the diffusion-reaction type for the evolution of dislocation species. On examining the competition between gradient dependent terms modelling the motion of dislocations and nonlinear terms modelling their interactions, it is shown that stable solutions are possible. The wavelength turns out to be a material property in agreement with observations. The discussion is limited to one dimension, that is to glide of straight dislocations in the slip direction, and the model corresponds physically to the ladder-like structure of persistent slip bands.     

Abnormal behavioral responses to fenfluramine in patients with affective and personality disorders. Correlation with increased serotonergic responsivity

Serotonergic responsivity was assessed in 20 psychiatric patients by the prolactin response to a fenfluramine challenge test. During the fenfluramine challenge 6 of 20 patients (30%) spontaneously reported psychopathologic reactions that included: increased anxiety/agitation, psychotic symptoms, illusions, mood elevation, and anergia. The time of peak behavioral symptoms (2.5 +/- 0.8 hrs) corresponded closely to the time of peak increase in prolactin levels (3.0 +/- 1.1 hr). Abnormal behavioral responders had statistically significant greater increases in prolactin 1 to 4 hr after fenfluramine when compared to normal responders. Patients who developed an abnormal psychopathologic response to fenfluramine were characterized by higher levels of anxiety and agitation at the time of admission to the hospital but otherwise were not distinguishable on the basis of severity of other psychiatric symptoms. This study suggests that increased serotonergic transmission may trigger anxiety, psychosis, and mood elevation in specific vulnerable individuals, whereas other patients with similar psychiatric illnesses are not affected.     

Transplantation for end stage liver disease related to alpha 1 antitrypsin

Alpha 1 antitrypsin deficiency (AT) is an autosomal recessive disease associated with chronic liver disease in adults and children and emphysema in adults. The disease is one of the most common inherited disorders of the Caucasian population of North Europe and North America and is the most common genetic reason for pediatric orthotopic liver transplantation (OLTx), although it is a rare indication in adults. The natural history of the disease is unpredictable and the pathogenesis of the liver injury unclear. Thirty-five patients with histologically apparent alpha 1 AT accumulation in the liver (22 adults, 13 children) have been transplanted in this center. Clinical features were correlated with the pretransplant phenotype, serum alpha 1 antitrypsin levels and potential precipitating factors. All children were PiZZ homozygotes, most of whom had presented with neonatal hepatitis. The majority of adult patients were heterozygotes presenting with portal hypertension and liver cirrhosis. Current one-year posttransplant survival figures are 73% for adults and 87.5% for children. Replacement of the cirrhotic liver results in acquisition of the donor phenotype, a rise in serum levels of alpha 1 antitrypsin, and apparent prevention of associated disease.     

Maintaining global coherence during reading.

Previous research demonstrated a contradiction effect: Although text currently being processed was locally coherent, readers were aware of inconsistencies between a protagonist's actions and characteristics of the protagonists that were described earlier in the text and subsequently backgrounded. In the present experiments, not only the critical characteristics but also the protagonist were backgrounded. When the protagonist was reintroduced into the narrative in the context of carrying out an inconsistent action, the contradiction effect again occurred. In Exps 1–3, we examined the effects of several variables on the onset of the effect. In Exp 4, we presented probes at various points in the passage with results that supported the conclusion that the critical characteristics had been backgrounded before the sentence that contradicted them. Results are discussed in terms of several recent models in which currently active representational elements serve as retrieval cues for other inactive, but highly related, elements. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Infrared and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopic studies of silica, [(Cp)2ZrCl2] and trimethylaluminum interactions

Infrared and UV–vis studies of metallocene immobilization on silica are reported here. The results have indicated changes in the Zr coordination sphere of metallocene depending on the immobilization route used. The reaction of [(Cp)₂ZrCl₂] with silica formed [(Cp)₂ZrCl]⁺[SiO]⁻ species. The same metallocene, reacting with TMA modified silica, formed monomethylated and dimethylated species by the substitution of chloro for methyl ligands, stabilized on the surface by interaction with “MAO-like” species (methylaluminoxane, MAO). These monomethylated and dimethylated cationic zirconium species are the active centers for the polymerization reaction. Different order of TMA addition in the silica modification step generated surface species of a similar nature, differing in their relative quantities. The highest amount of these active species was obtained when the support was added to the TMA solution rather than adding the TMA solution to the silica support. This was the most significant parameter affecting catalytic activity in ethylene polymerization.     

Constructing a short form of the Smoking Consequences Questionnaire with adolescents and young adults.

The goal of the present studies was to construct and validate a short form of the 50-item Smoking Consequences Questionnaire (SCQ; T. H. Brandon & T. B. Baker, 1991), a measure of smoking outcome expectancies. In Study 1, a 21-item short form (S-SCQ) was derived from a sample of 107 young adults previously treated for substance abuse. In Study 2, the measure was cross-validated on 125 adolescents in treatment for substance abuse. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed good model fit and factorial invariance for the 4 S-SCQ subscales across both samples. Validation analyses on each sample found that subscale scores generally correlated significantly with smoking-related variables. The present studies provide initial evidence for the utility of the S-SCQ when used with young adults and adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)