Children's temperament: intervention for parents

Using the goodness-of-fit theoretical framework, an intervention study designed to help parents assess and understand the implications of their child's temperament is described. Examples of temperament strategies designed to be consistent with the child's needs are included.     

Prejudice, stereotypes, and labeling effects: Sources of bias in person perception.

A preliminary study and 3 experiments compared predictions generated by contrasting models of how group labels bias person perception. An affective model assumed that how much perceivers like different groups mediates bias; a cognition model assumed that perceivers' beliefs regarding different groups mediates bias; and a third model assumed that both affect and cognition are necessary to mediate bias. Perceivers evaluated behavior samples provided by targets who were labeled as either rock music performers or child abusers in the preliminary study and the first 2 experiments; homosexuals or heterosexuals in the third experiment. In all studies, controlling for liking eliminated bias. The preliminary study and Study 3 also showed that controlling for beliefs about the groups eliminated bias. Structural equation modeling provided support for the affect model in Studies 1 and 2, and mixed support for the affect model and the cognition model in Study 3. These studies suggest an important role for affect in judgmental biases. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Test Generation for Crosstalk-Induced Faults: Framework and Computational Results

Due to technology scaling and increasing clock frequency, problems due to noise effects lead to an increase in design/debugging efforts and a decrease in circuit performance. This paper addresses the problem of efficiently and accurately generating two-vector tests for crosstalk induced effects, such as pulses, signal speedup and slowdown, in digital combinational circuits. These noise effects can propagate through a circuit and create a logic error in a latch or at a primary output. We have developed a mixed-signal test generator, called XGEN, that incorporates classical static values as well as dynamic signals such as transitions and pulses, and timing information such as signal arrival times, rise/fall times, and gate delay. In this paper we first discuss the general framework of the test generation algorithm followed by computational results. Comparison of results with SPICE simulations confirms the accuracy of this approach.     

Kinetic analysis of cellular internalization and expulsion of unstructured D-chirality cell penetrating peptides

Most cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) are unstructured and susceptible to proteolytic degradation. One alternative is to incorporate D-chirality amino acids into unstructured CPPs to allow for enhanced uptake and intracellular stability. This work investigates CPP internalization using a series of time, concentration, temperature, and energy dependent studies, resulting in a three-fold increase in uptake and 50-fold increase in stability of D-chirality peptides over L-chirality counterparts. CPP internalization occurred via a combination of direct penetration and endocytosis, with a percentage of internalized CPP expelling from cells in a time-dependent manner. Mechanistic studies identified that cells exported the intact internalized D-chirality CPPs via an exocytosis independent pathway, analogous to a direct penetration method out of the cells. These findings highlight the potential of a D-chirality CPP as bio-vector in therapeutic and biosensing applications, but also identify a new expulsion method suggesting a relationship between uptake kinetics, intracellular stability, and export kinetics.     

Permanent Magnet Materials

Five major classes of permanent magnet materials are available for engineered devices. The magnetic and other physical properties of appropriate subgrades are listed for applications. Hard ferrite and samarium-cobalt magnets are compared to the newest and, in some ways, best material in production today—neodymium/iron/boron. The magnetic and physical properties, availability and relative costs of appropriate subgrades are presented.     

Nonlinear Robust Tracking Control of a Quadrotor UAV on SE(3)

This paper provides nonlinear tracking control systems for a quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that are robust to bounded uncertainties. A mathematical model of a quadrotor UAV is defined on the special Euclidean group, and nonlinear output‐tracking controllers are developed to follow (i) an attitude command, and (ii) a position command for the vehicle center of mass. The controlled system has the desirable properties that the tracking errors are uniformly ultimately bounded, and the size of the ultimate bound can be reduced arbitrarily by control system parameters. Numerical examples illustrating complex maneuvers are provided.     

TEM characterization of Ge precipitates in an Al-1.6at% Ge alloy

The growth mechanism and morphology of Ge precipitates in an Al-Ge alloy was characterized by a combination of in-situ transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and three-dimensional electron tomography. Anisotropic growth of rod-shaped Ge precipitates was observed by in-situ transmission electron microscopy over different time periods, and faceting of the precipitates was clearly seen using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and three-dimensional electron tomography. This anisotropic growth of rod-shaped Ge precipitates was enhanced by vacancy concentration as proposed previously, but also by surface diffusion as observed during the in-situ experiment. Furthermore, a variety of precipitate morphologies was identified by three-dimensional electron tomography.     

Effect of reduced dietary sodium on blood pressure: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

OBJECTIVE:- To ascertain whether restriction of dietary sodium lowers blood pressure in hypertensive and normotensive individuals. DATA SOURCES:- An English-language computerized literature search, restricted to human studies with Medical Subject Heading terms, "hypertension," "blood pressure," "vascular resistance," "sodium and dietary," "diet and sodium restricted," "sodium chloride," "clinical trial," "randomized controlled trial," and "prospective studies," was conducted. Bibliographies of review articles and personal files were also searched. TRIAL SELECTION:- Trials that had randomized allocation to control and dietary sodium intervention groups, monitored by timed sodium excretion, with outcome measures of both systolic and diastolic blood pressure were selected by blinded review of the methods section. DATA EXTRACTION:- Two observers extracted data independently, using purpose-designed forms, and discrepancies were resolved by discussion. DATA SYNTHESIS:- The 56 trials that met our inclusion criteria showed significant heterogeneity. Publication bias was also evident. The mean reduction (95% confidence interval) in daily urinary sodium excretion, a proxy measure of dietary sodium intake, was 95 mmol/d (71-119 mmol/d) in 28 trials with 1131 hypertensive subjects and 125 mmol/d (95-156 mmol/d) in 28 trials with 2374 normotensive subjects. After adjustment for measurement error of urinary sodium excretion, the decrease in blood pressure for a 100-mmol/d reduction in daily sodium excretion was 3.7 mm Hg (2.35-5.05 mm Hg) for systolic (P<.001) and 0.9 mm Hg (-0.13 to 1.85 mm Hg) for diastolic (P=.09) in the hypertensive trials, and 1.0 mm Hg (0.51-1.56 mm Hg) for systolic (P<.001) and 0.1 mm Hg (-0.32 to 0.51 mm Hg) for diastolic (P=.64) in the normotensive trials. Decreases in blood pressure were larger in trials of older hypertensive individuals and small and nonsignificant in trials of normotensive individuals whose meals were prepared and who lived outside the institutional setting. CONCLUSION:- Dietary sodium restriction for older hypertensive individuals might be considered, but the evidence in the normotensive population does not support current recommendations for universal dietary sodium restriction.     

Fabrication of octacalcium phosphate block through a dissolution-precipitation reaction using a calcium sulphate hemihydrate block as a precursor

Although octacalcium phosphate (OCP) powder and a collagen/gelatin composite demonstrate good potential as bone substitutes, an OCP block has not been fabricated to date. In this study, the feasibility of fabricating an OCP block was evaluated through a dissolution-precipitation reaction using a calcium sulfate hemihydrate (CSH) block as a precursor. When the block was immersed in a phosphate salt solution, its composition changed to that of OCP, while its structure was maintained. The diametral tensile strength (DTS) of the OCP block was 1.0?±?0.2?MPa. The macroporosity and microporosity of the OCP block were 33.4?±?4.5% and, 69.0?±?1.6%, respectively. New bone attached well to the OCP block, and this block was partially replaced by bone 2 weeks after implantation. Four weeks after implantation, the surface of the OCP block was nearly covered with new bone and ~30% of the block was replaced by new bone, while no replacement by bone was observed in the case of a hydroxyapatite (HAp) block used as a control. It is concluded that OCP blocks are potentially suitable for their use as artificial bone substitutes.