bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Multimodal Effects of Local Context on Target Detection: Evidence from P3b
Authors: Fogelson Noa , Wang Xue , Lewis Jeffrey B. , Kishiyama Mark M. , Ding Mingzhou , Knight Robert T.
Published: August 2008

We used the P300 component to investigate how changes in local context influenced the ability to detect target stimuli. Local context was defined as the occurrence of a short predictive series of stimuli before delivery of a target event. EEG was recorded in 12 subjects during auditory and visual sessions. Stimuli were presented in the center of the auditory and visual field and consisted of 15% targets (1000 Hz tone or downward facing triangle) and 85% of equal amounts of three types of standards (1500, 2000, and 2500 Hz tones or triangles facing left, upward, and right). Recording blocks consisted of targets preceded by either randomized sequences of standards or by sequences including a three-standard predictive sequence signaling the occurrence of a subsequent target event. Subjects pressed a button in response to targets. Peak target P300 (P3b) amplitude and latency were evaluated for targets after predictive and nonpredictive sequences using conventional averaging and a novel single-trial analysis procedure. Reaction times were shorter for predictable targets than for nonpredicted targets. P3b latency was shorter for predicted targets than for nonpredictive targets, and there were no significant P3b amplitude differences between predicted and random targets, as determined by both conventional averaging and single-trial analysis. Comparable effects on amplitude and latency were observed in both the auditory and visual modalities. The results indicate that local context has differential effects on P3b amplitude and latency, and exerts modality-independent effects on cognitive processing.
Neural Correlates of Semantic Competition during Processing of Ambiguous Words
Authors: Bilenko Natalia Y. , Grindrod Christopher M. , Myers Emily B. , Blumstein Sheila E.
Published: August 2008

The current study investigated the neural correlates that underlie the processing of ambiguous words and the potential effects of semantic competition on that processing. Participants performed speeded lexical decisions on semantically related and unrelated prime–target pairs presented in the auditory modality. The primes were either ambiguous words (e.g., ball) or unambiguous words (e.g., athlete), and targets were either semantically related to the dominant (i.e., most frequent) meaning of the ambiguous prime word (e.g., soccer) or to the subordinate (i.e., less frequent) meaning (e.g., dance). Results showed increased activation in the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) for ambiguous-related compared to unambiguous-related stimulus pairs, demonstrating that prefrontal areas are activated even in an implicit task where participants are not required to explicitly analyze the semantic content of the stimuli and to make an overt selection of a particular meaning based on this analysis. Additionally, increased activation was found in the left IFG and the left cingulate gyrus for subordinate meaning compared to dominant meaning conditions, suggesting that additional resources are recruited in order to resolve increased competition demands in accessing the subordinate meaning of an ambiguous word.
Losing your Head: Behavioral and Electrophysiological Effects of Body Inversion
Authors: Minnebusch Denise A. , Suchan Boris , Daum Irene
Published: August 2008

The present study aimed to further explore the mechanisms underlying the perception of human body shapes. Behavioral and electrophysiological inversion effects were studied for human bodies with and without heads and for animal bodies (cats, dogs, and birds). Recognition of human bodies (with heads) was adversely affected by stimulus inversion, and the N170 had longer latencies and higher amplitudes for inverted compared to upright human bodies. Human body shapes presented without heads yielded the opposite result pattern. The data for animal bodies did not yield consistent effects. Taken together, the present findings suggest that human bodies might be processed by specialized cortical mechanisms which are at least partly dissociable from mechanisms involved in object or face processing.
Event-related Potential Evidence that Automatic Recollection Can Be Voluntarily Avoided
Authors: Bergström Zara M. , de Fockert Jan , Richardson-Klavehn Alan
Published: August 2008

Voluntary control processes can be recruited to facilitate recollection in situations where a retrieval cue fails to automatically bring to mind a desired episodic memory. We investigated whether voluntary control processes can also stop recollection of unwanted memories that would otherwise have been automatically recollected. Participants were trained on cue–associate word-pairs, then repeatedly presented with the cue and asked to either recollect or avoid recollecting the associate, while having the event-related potential (ERP) correlate of conscious recollection measured. Halfway through the phase, some cues switched instructions so that participants had to start avoiding recall of associates they had previously repeatedly recalled, and vice versa. ERPs during recollection avoidance showed a significantly reduced positivity in the correlate of conscious recollection, and switching instructions reversed the ERP effect even for items that had been previously repeatedly recalled, suggesting that voluntary control processes can override highly practiced, automatic recollection. Avoiding recollection of particularly prepotent memories was associated with an additional, earlier ERP negativity that was separable from the later voluntary modulation of conscious recollection. The findings have implications for theories of memory retrieval by highlighting the involvement of voluntary attentional processes in controlling conscious recollection.
Hearing Faces: How the Infant Brain Matches the Face It Sees with the Speech It Hears
Authors: Bristow Davina , Dehaene-Lambertz Ghislaine , Mattout Jeremie , Soares Catherine , Gliga Teodora , Baillet Sylvain , Mangin Jean-François
Published: August 2008

Speech is not a purely auditory signal. From around 2 months of age, infants are able to correctly match the vowel they hear with the appropriate articulating face. However, there is no behavioral evidence of integrated audiovisual perception until 4 months of age, at the earliest, when an illusory percept can be created by the fusion of the auditory stimulus and of the facial cues (McGurk effect). To understand how infants initially match the articulatory movements they see with the sounds they hear, we recorded high-density ERPs in response to auditory vowels that followed a congruent or incongruent silently articulating face in 10-week-old infants. In a first experiment, we determined that auditory–visual integration occurs during the early stages of perception as in adults. The mismatch response was similar in timing and in topography whether the preceding vowels were presented visually or aurally. In the second experiment, we studied audiovisual integration in the linguistic (vowel perception) and nonlinguistic (gender perception) domain. We observed a mismatch response for both types of change at similar latencies. Their topographies were significantly different demonstrating that cross-modal integration of these features is computed in parallel by two different networks. Indeed, brain source modeling revealed that phoneme and gender computations were lateralized toward the left and toward the right hemisphere, respectively, suggesting that each hemisphere possesses an early processing bias. We also observed repetition suppression in temporal regions and repetition enhancement in frontal regions. These results underscore how complex and structured is the human cortical organization which sustains communication from the first weeks of life on.
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to the Primary Motor Cortex Interferes with Motor Learning by Observing
Authors: Brown Liana E. , Wilson Elizabeth T. , Gribble Paul L.
Published: August 2008

Neural representations of novel motor skills can be acquired through visual observation. We used repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to test the idea that this “motor learning by observing” is based on engagement of neural processes for learning in the primary motor cortex (M1). Human subjects who observed another person learning to reach in a novel force environment imposed by a robot arm performed better when later tested in the same environment than subjects who observed movements in a different environment. rTMS applied to M1 after observation reduced the beneficial effect of observing congruent forces, and eliminated the detrimental effect of observing incongruent forces. Stimulation of a control site in the frontal cortex had no effect on reaching. Our findings represent the first direct evidence that neural representations of motor skills in M1, a cortical region whose role has been firmly established for active motor learning, also underlie motor learning by observing.
Temporo-parietal Junction Activity in Theory-of-Mind Tasks: Falseness, Beliefs, or Attention
Authors: Aichhorn Markus , Perner Josef , Weiss Benjamin , Kronbichler Martin , Staffen Wolfgang , Ladurner Gunther
Published: August 2008

By combining the false belief (FB) and photo (PH) vignettes to identify theory-of-mind areas with the false sign (FS) vignettes, we re-establish the functional asymmetry between the left and right temporo-parietal junction (TPJ). The right TPJ (TPJ-R) is specially sensitive to processing belief information, whereas the left TPJ (TPJ-L) is equally responsible for FBs as well as FSs. Measuring BOLD at two time points in each vignette, at the time the FB-inducing information (or lack of information) is presented and at the time the test question is processed, made clear that the FB is processed spontaneously as soon as the relevant information is presented and not on demand for answering the question in contrast to extant behavioral data. Finally, a fourth, true belief vignette (TB) required teleological reasoning, that is, prediction of a rational action without any doubts being raised about the adequacy of the actor's information about reality. Activation by this vignette supported claims that the TPJ-R is activated by TBs as well as FBs.
Remembered but Unused: The Accessory Items in Working Memory that Do Not Guide Attention
Authors: Peters Judith C. , Goebel Rainer , Roelfsema Pieter R.
Published: August 2008

If we search for an item, a representation of this item in our working memory guides attention to matching items in the visual scene. We can hold multiple items in working memory. Do all these items guide attention in parallel? We asked participants to detect a target object in a stream of objects while they maintained a second item in memory for a subsequent task. On some trials, we presented this memory item as a distractor in the stream. Subjects did not confuse these memory items with the search target, as the false alarm rate on trials where the memory item was presented in the stream was comparable to that on trials with only regular distractors. However, a comparable performance does not exclude that the memory items are processed differently from normal distractors. We therefore recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) evoked by search targets, memory items, and regular distractors. As expected, ERPs evoked by search targets differed from those evoked by distractors. Search targets elicited an occipital selection negativity and a frontal selection positivity indexing selective attention, whereas the P3b component, which reflects the matching of sensory events to memory representations, was enhanced for targets compared to distractors. Remarkably, the ERPs evoked by memory items were indistinguishable from the ERPs evoked by normal distractors. This implies that the search target has a special status in working memory that is not shared by the other items. These other, “accessory” items do not guide attention and are excluded from the matching process.
Concurrent Cloud-to-Ground Lightning and Precipitation Enhancement in the Atlanta, Georgia (United States), Urban Region
Authors: Rose L. S. , Stallins J. A. , Bentley M. L.
Published: August 2008

This study explores how the Atlanta, Georgia (United States), urban region influences warm-season (May through September) cloud-to-ground lightning flashes and precipitation. Eight years (1995–2003) of flashes from the National Lightning Detection Network and mean accumulated precipitation from the North American Regional Reanalysis model were mapped under seven different wind speed and direction combinations derived from cluster analysis. Overlays of these data affirmed a consistent coupling of lightning and precipitation enhancement around Atlanta. Maxima in precipitation and lightning shifted in response to changes in wind direction. Differences in the patterns of flash metrics (flash counts versus thunderstorm counts), the absence of any strong urban signal in the flashes of individual thunderstorms, and the scales over which flashes and precipitation enhancement developed are discussed in light of their support for land-cover- and aerosol-based mechanisms of urban weather modification. This study verifies Atlanta’s propensity to conjointly enhance cloud-to-ground lightning and precipitation production in the absence of strong synoptic forcing. However, because of variability in aerosol characteristics and the dynamics of land use change, it may be a simplification to assume that this observed enhancement will be persistent across all scales of analysis.
A Case Study of an Outbreak of Twin Tropical Cyclones
Authors: Schreck Carl J. , Molinari John
Published: August 2008

Previous studies have found that twin tropical cyclogenesis typically occurs 2–3 times a year in the Pacific Ocean. During October 1997, however, three sets of twin tropical cyclones developed in the central Pacific within a single month. Tropical cyclone archives indicate that this is the only such outbreak from 1969 to 2006. This case study explores the background and synoptic conditions that led to this unique event. All three twin tropical cyclogenesis events occurred within a broad and long-lasting envelope of warm water, low surface pressure, active convection, and weak or easterly vertical shear. Westerly winds at the equator and trade easterlies farther poleward created strips of cyclonic vorticity through a deep layer. A low-pass filter showed that these favorable conditions shifted eastward with time at 1–2 m s−1. In addition to the gradual eastward movement, the equatorial westerlies and convection were modulated by higher-frequency westward propagation. These anomalies appear to have been associated with convectively coupled n = 1 equatorial Rossby waves. The twin tropical cyclones formed only when the sum of the two modes produced equatorial westerlies in excess of 5 m s−1 and brightness temperature below 270 K. Applications of these results are proposed for the operational prediction of twin tropical cyclogenesis.
On High Winds and Foehn Warming Associated with Mountain-Wave Events in the Western Foothills of the Southern Appalachian Mountains
Authors: Gaffin David M.
Published: August 2008

Extremely high winds of 40–49 m s−1 [90–110 miles per hour (mph)] were reported across the western foothills of the southern Appalachian Mountains on 22–23 December 2004, 17 October 2006, 24–25 February 2007, and 1 March 2007. The high winds in all four of these events were determined to be the result of mountain waves, as strong southeast winds became perpendicular to the mountains with a stable boundary layer present below 750 hPa and a veering wind profile that increased with height. Adiabatic warming of the descending southeasterly winds was also observed at the Knoxville airport during all four events (although of varying intensities), with the 850-hPa air mass immediately upwind of the Smoky Mountains determined to be the source region of these foehn winds. An interesting similarity among these four events was the location of the strongest 850-hPa winds northwest of the region, with a rapidly decreasing speed gradient observed over the mountains. These 850-hPa winds northwest of the mountains were also stronger than the 700-hPa winds in the region. It was hypothesized that strong low-level divergence developed in the foothills, as the stronger 850-hPa winds on the western side accelerated away from the mountains while the mountains prevented a rapid return flow from the eastern side. This low-level divergence likely helped to further strengthen the mountain-wave-induced mesolow and high winds in the western foothills.

A 12-yr climatology of high wind events induced by mountain waves at Cove Mountain was also constructed. This climatology revealed that these events occurred primarily at night between November and March. Composite maps of mountain-wave events that produced warning-level and advisory-level winds revealed that an axis of stronger 850-hPa winds was typically located west of the mountains (away from the foothills). This finding (using reanalysis data instead of model data) further suggested that low-level divergence normally contributed to the intensity of mountain-wave-induced mesolows and winds in the western foothills of the southern Appalachian Mountains.
A Multilevel Analysis of the Relationships among Communal School Organization, Student Bonding, and Delinquency
Authors: Payne Allison Ann
Published: August 2008

Research has identified school-related factors that are predictive of a student's involvement in delinquency: specifically, school-level communal school organization and individual-level student bonding. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine the multilevel relationships among these concepts in a nationally representative sample of 13,597 students in 253 schools. Hypotheses stating that students who attend more communally organized schools are more likely to be bonded to school and less likely to engage in delinquency were upheld, as was the hypothesis that students who are more attached to their school are less likely to engage in delinquency. The final hypothesis, which examined a multilevel interaction between communal school organization and student bonding, was upheld in that student bonding had less of an effect on delinquency in schools that were more communally organized. Implications for delinquency prevention are discussed.
Another History of Violence
Authors: Oslender Ulrich
Published: August 2008

A conceptual framework of “geographies of terror” can serve as a critique of contemporary dominant geopolitical discourses on the “war on terror” and as a methodological tool for studying the impact of terror and its spatial manifestations on local populations on the ground. Applying this framework to the study of violence in Colombia's Pacific coast region allows critical engagement with the discourses on “forced displacement” that have become institutionalized in Colombia to refer to the systematic terror campaign unleashed by armed groups on rural black populations in this region. Beyond the usual focus in displacement debates on humanitarian assistance and resettlement of the displaced population in the cities, this framework stresses the need to empirically engage with and conceptually address the situation in the countryside, where rural dwellers are threatened by armed actors on an everyday basis but also resist the imposition of these regimes of terror.
Teen Court Jurors' Sentencing Decisions
Authors: Greene Edith , Weber Kasey
Published: August 2008

Teen Courts provide a forum in which juvenile offenders are sentenced by their peers. This system, based on principles of restorative justice, serves as an alternative to the traditional juvenile justice system. Sentencing options typically include restitution, community service, jury duty, apologies, attendance at educational workshops, and tours of correctional facilities. Previous research has examined the effectiveness of Teen Courts but little is known about how sentencing decisions are made. The purpose of this study was to assess how adolescent jurors make such decisions in one Teen Court program. The authors observe 32 Teen Court trials and deliberations and question 98 adolescent jurors about their sentencing choices. Results show that the deliberations are fairly cursory and that jurors have poor recollections of what evidence had been presented. Still, they put more weight on evidentiary information than on extralegal factors, and were motivated by a desire to rehabilitate offenders and set them on a socially acceptable path—goals consistent with restorative justice objectives on which Teen Court programs are based.
Success of Drug Court Programs
Authors: Nored Lisa S. , Carlan Philip E.
Published: August 2008

Literature indicates that drug courts produce lower recidivism rates, increased retention rates, and lower costs than traditional criminal justice case processing. As drug courts approach their second decade, there is a void in the literature regarding factors that influence the success of drug court programs. This work aimed to fill that void by equipping policy makers with meaningful information regarding (a) drug court success and (b) factors that facilitate and challenge the implementation of drug court programs. This study measured the perceptions of drug court judges and administrators in five states to examine factors identified by respondents as key to program success. Federal, state, and local factors (agencies and actors) influenced the success of drug court programs, with state and local factors consistently identified as most supportive and influential. Findings also indicated that perceived success was higher for drug court personnel (a) without graduate and professional degrees (law) and (b) with more experience guiding drug courts.
Should Violent Offenders Be Excluded From Drug Court Participation?
Authors: Saum Christine A. , Hiller Matthew L.
Published: August 2008

Policy often stipulates drug court funding cannot be used for offenders with violent criminal histories, although it has been argued that increasing funding to community programs for these individuals represents an important means for controlling crime. Because little research has examined whether a violent offense history is related to recidivism following drug court participation, predrug court criminal history and postdrug court arrest and charge data have been collected for 452 offenders in a postplea drug court program. Bivariate analyses show violent offenders have higher rates of recidivism following drug court discharge. However, multivariate analyses controlling for age, ethnicity, drug of choice, time at risk, and discharge status show the extent of criminal history, not violent history, is significantly related to recidivism. Results suggest that violent offenders should not be systematically excluded from the opportunity to participate in the unique combination of treatment and supervision offered in drug court programs.
Measurement of Teen Dating Violence Attitudes
Authors: Edelen Maria Orlando , McCaffrey Daniel F. , Marshall Grant N. , Jaycox Lisa H.
Published: August 2008

Accurate assessment of attitudes about intimate partner violence is important for evaluation of prevention and early intervention programs. Assessment of attitudes about cross-gender interactions is particularly susceptible to bias because it requires specifying the gender of the perpetrator and the victim. As it is likely that respondents will tend to identify with the same-gender actor, items and scales assessing attitudes about intimate partner violence may not have equivalent measurement properties for male and female respondents. This article examines data from 2,575 high school students who participated in a teen-dating violence intervention study. The majority of participants were Latino (91%), and the sample was nearly evenly split with respect to gender (51% female). Items from two scales (boy-on-girl violence, 4 items; girl-on-boy violence, 5 items) reflecting teens' attitudes about dating violence were calibrated with the graded item response theory (IRT) model and evaluated for differential item functioning (DIF) by gender. A total of three items, two from the girl-on-boy violence scale and one from the boy-on-girl violence scale, were identified as functioning differently for girls and boys. In all cases where DIF was detected, the item's attitudinal statement was easier to accept for the gender group that was portrayed as victim rather than perpetrator. For both scales, accounting for the identified DIF influenced inferences about the magnitude of mean differences in attitudes between boys and girls. These results support the use of IRT scores that account for DIF to minimize measurement error and improve inferences about gender differences in attitudes about dating violence.
Physically Violent Mothers Are a Reason for Young People's Leaving Home
Authors: Mallett Shelley , Rosenthal Doreen
Published: August 2008

In a qualitative study, 302 homeless young people (aged 12 to 20 years) were asked to discuss their reasons for leaving home. Some 103 youth cited physical violence by a parent or stepparent, and of these, 39 cited their mother's or stepmother's violence as the reason for leaving home. Females were more likely than males to report being the target of violence by their mother; however, the converse was true for stepmothers. Several discrete reasons for maternal violence were identified, including maternal personal characteristics and behaviors, issues associated with blended families, or young people's own behavior. In some cases, young people reported violence by both parents. Their attributions of maternal violence centered on a single dimension of the mother/stepmother or her relationship with a partner. They rarely discussed the contribution that they had made to the conflict or acknowledged the social context that may have been a catalyst for violence.
Risk Factors for Violent Offending in Autism Spectrum Disorder
Authors: Långström Niklas , Grann Martin , Ruchkin Vladislav , Sjöstedt Gabrielle , Fazel Seena
Published: August 2008

Little is known about risk factors for violence among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study uses data from Swedish longitudinal registers for all 422 individuals hospitalized with autistic disorder or Asperger syndrome during 1988-2000 and compares those committing violent or sexual offenses with those who did not. Thirty-one individuals with ASD (7%) were convicted of violent nonsexual crimes and two of sexual offenses. Violent individuals with ASD are more often male and diagnosed with Asperger syndrome rather than autistic disorder. Furthermore, comorbid psychotic and substance use disorders are associated with violent offending. We conclude that violent offending in ASD is related to similar co-occurring psychopathology as previously found among violent individuals without ASD. Although this study does not answer whether ASDs are associated with increased risk of violent offending compared with the general population, careful risk assessment and management may be indicated for some individuals with Asperger syndrome.
Working With Tensions
Authors: Meisenbach Rebecca J.
Published: August 2008

The increasing time requirements and perceived value of occupations raises concerns about creating and managing positive occupational identities. The author explains how individuals pursue moments of micro emancipation and empowerment as they negotiate the positive and negative discourses and material realities of occupational identity within the fund-raising occupation. Interviews with higher education fund-raisers reveal six power-laden and discourse-influenced ways of understanding (framing) fund-raising. The findings suggest that the potential for an empowered occupational identity resides in an individual's ability to shift among framings, managing and maintaining material and discursive tensions surrounding the framings rather than eliminating or avoiding these tensions. Implications of these identity negotiations for various occupations and particularly the nonprofit sector are discussed.
A Social Cognitive Perspective on Mobile Communication Technology Use and Adoption
Authors: Peters Oscar
Published: August 2008

This study examined the triadic relationship between expected outcomes, habit strength, and mobile communication technology use and adoption within the model of media attendance (LaRose & Eastin, 2004). Mobile phone users ( N = 644) were divided into two groups using a stratified random sampling method. Respondents from Group 1 ( n = 334) were surveyed for mobile phone use and respondents from Group 2 ( n = 310) were surveyed for the intention to adopt mobile video telephony. On the basis of structural equation analysis for the model of media attendance, the results of this study support the assumptions that (a) mobile phone use is more likely to be explained by habit strength and (b) the intention to adopt mobile video telephony is more likely to be predicted by outcome expectations.
Inertial Stick-Slip Actuator for Active Control of Shape and Vibration
Authors: Darby A. P. , Pellegrino S.
Published: August 2008

A newly proposed actuator concept, that uses an inertial mass driven by a piezoelectric element to cause stick-slip motion of a tube whose movement is resisted by friction, is found to be suitable for use as active struts in truss structures. The actuator is capable of performing shape control to correct for static and quasi-static distortion by changing its length by large amounts. It is also capable of controlling vibration by changing length by small amounts at varying speed. A simple, singledegree-of-freedom analytical model of the actuator is set up as a design tool and compared to the actual behavior of a prototype. Different driving waveforms have been investigated experimentally under various working conditions and it has been found that an asymmetric 2 kHz waveform produces good results over a wide range of different parameters. Finally, the open loop behavior of the prototype actuator has been measured by following triangular and sinusoidal paths at various frequencies. It is found that the actuator compares favorably with the best long stroke actuators available at present, and has two key advantages over them. It is mechanically much simpler, since it requires a single piezoelectric element and no high-precision machining, and its performance does not deteriorate after extensive use.
Control of Bending and Twisting Vibration in the Presence of Thermal Deformation
Authors: Wetherhold Robert C. , Aldraihem Osama J.
Published: August 2008

Vibration control of a beam which experiences a slowly changing through-thickness temperature variation is considered. This temperature variation produces thermal moments and curvatures that are assumed to change slowly with respect to the vibration frequencies. By proposing a Lyapunov controller which relies on a definition of strain energy without thermal expansion terms, stability of vibration control and removal of thermal curvatures are assured. By proposing a Lyapunov controller based on strain energy including thermal expansion terms, stability is assured but the thermal curvatures remain. The effect of temperature on the sensor output is included. A laminated beam with a sensor which fully covers its surface is used to illustrate the method. The continuous system is simulated using a discretized (finite element) approximation, and the successful operation of both controllers is demonstrated. The effects of the host beam stiffness and the ratio of actuator thickness to host beam thickness are determined.
Low-Field and High-Field Fatigue in PZT-Based Rainbow Actuators
Authors: Dausch David E. , Hooker Matthew W.
Published: August 2008

The fatigue characteristics of the electromechanical and ferroelectric properties of high-displacement RAINBOW (Reduced And INternally Biased Oxide Wafer) actuators were investigated. Rainbows were fabricated from three types of lead-zirconate-titanate-based ferroelectric materials: soft ferroelectrics (PZT-SA and PZT-5H), hard ferroelectrics (PZT-4) and slim-loop ferroelectrics (PLZT 9/65/35). The PZT-4,-5A and-SH compositions were piezoelectric, and PLZT 9/65/35 was electrostrictive. Before fatigue testing, the flexural strength and electromechanical displacement versus load properties were measured for these compositions. Fatigue in the electromechanical displacement properties of Rainbows with increasing number of electric field cycles was observed at low field levels (below the coercive field) under various static loading conditions. For all of the compositions evaluated, actuator free displacement (no load) decreased <10% over 107 electric field cycles. Under 300 g of static load, displacements decreased 20-50% over 107 cycles with PZT-5A and PLZT 9/65/35 exhibiting the least fatigue. The decrease in displacement at high electric field levels (above the coercive field) was measured simultaneously with the degradation of ferroelectric polarization with increasing number of cycles for all compositions except PZT-4. High-field displacements decreased only 7% over 108 cycles for electrostrictive PLZT 9/65/35 Rainbows, whereas the displacements of the piezoelectric PZT-5A and PZT-5H compositions decreased 66% and 43%, respectively. The ferroelectric polarization in PZT-5A and PZT-5H Rainbows fatigued more rapidly than in bulk ceramics of these compositions. PLZT 9/65/35 Rainbows and bulk ceramics exhibited similar fatigue behavior and were more fatigue resistant than PZT-5A and PZT-5H at high fields. The effects of post-fatigue heat-treatment and electrical repoling were also observed.
Potential of Piezoelectric Elements in the Monitoring of Composite Manufacturing Process
Authors: Wang Xiaoming , Ye Lin , Mai Yiu-Wing , Ehlers Claus , Kissinger Christian , Neitzel Manfred
Published: August 2008

A piezoelectric wafer is embedded in a glass fibre preform that is placed in a mould for resin transfer moulding. The experiment shows that the resonant characteristics of a transfer function, in terms of the ratio between the electric voltage output from the piezoelectric wafer and the input to an electric circuit cascaded with the wafer, depend on resin injecting and curing process, and indicates the beginning and end of the resin injection as well as the end of the exothermic reaction in composite manufacturing with the resin transfer moulding. The relationships of the resonant response to the resin flow and curing can then provide a basis for a prospective in situ monitoring technique of the composite manufacturing. The paper specifically reveals that the mechanical impedance, contributed by surroundings and the resin flow, curing and exothermic induced temperature change, can be correlated with or extracted from the transfer function amplitude that is experimentally obtained at the anti-resonant frequency of the piezoelectric wafer in air. It also provides information about the flow front position and curing state of the resin.
Aging Characterization of Adhesives and Bonded Joints by Non-Destructive Damping Measurements
Authors: Shiloh K. , Eliahu A. , Rosenberg A. , Zilber R. , Buchman A. , Ungarish M.
Published: August 2008

Long term performance of adhesive joints in various environments is the main concern of bonding technology in both military and civil applications. Joint strength can be greatly degraded by aging. Periodic non-destructive strength evaluation of bonded devices is, thus, a critical necessity for quality assurance. Developing a tool for non-destructive testing of joint strength in bonded devices is the long-term goal of the present study.

The method revealed here is application of vibration analysis, concentrating on the damping behavior of the tested object. Contrary to other non-destructive evaluation methods, which indicate only the presence of defects, this method is sensitive mainly to the material properties, thus can assess material degradation. In this case, the property of interest is the strength.

In stage 1 of this research (Shiloh et al., 1996) it was shown that aging of adhesives and bonded joints can be evaluated non-destructively by vibration analysis, based on the internal friction (damping) effect. Good correlation between the specific damping capacity (SDC) and the shear strength of bonded joints was determined.

In stage 2 (Shiloh et al., 1998), an additional step towards the target application was achieved, by broadening the range of the tested specimen. Additional adhesives and adherends as well as various geometries and sizes of the bonded joints were tested. The effect of the following factors was established: adhesive aging or shear strength, adherends, temperature, sample size [up to diameter of 356 mm (14")] and sample shapes (flats and rings).

The results show that the method is most promising. For more reliable wide-ranging guidelines, theoretical analysis by numerical simulation of vibrational stresses is required.
Electro-Elastic Modeling of Annular Piezoceramic Actuating Disk Transducers
Authors: Chang S. H. , Du B. C. , Lin J. F.
Published: August 2008

The static and dynamic characteristics of the annular piezoceramic actuating disk transducers are theoretically modeled and analyzed. The transducer consists of an annular piezoceramic disk laminated on an unequal radius isotropic elastic disk to form the asymmetric configuration. Piezoceramic actuator excites the transducer in extension and flexure coupled vibrations. An electroelastic theory is developed to analyze the mechanical, electrical and electromechanical behaviors. Resonant and antiresonant frequencies and the electromechanical coupling coefficients are computed and shown sensitive to geometric parameters of the elastic and piezoceramic materials. Numerical results are presented by the easy-to-use figures. Comparisons between experimental measurements of the transducer's resonant and antiresonant frequencies and modeling results exhibit a good agreement.
Active Control of Nonlinear Cylindrical Shell Vibrations under Random Excitation
Authors: Dogan V. , Vaicaitis R.
Published: August 2008

An analytical model is developed for active control of nonlinear flexural vibrations of cylindrical shells under random excitation. A velocity feedback control scheme is integrated into the governing equations of motion using discrete surface-bonded piezoelectric materials as collocated sensors/actuators. Donnell's thin shell theory is used to develop the governing equations of motion. A Monte Carlo simulation of stationary random processes, multi-mode Galerkin like approach, and numerical integration procedures are used to develop nonlinear response solutions of simply-supported cylindrical shells. Numerical results include time domain response histories, root mean square values and histograms of probability density. Parametric studies are performed to investigate the effect of nonlinearity, actuator placement, actuator number and size, and control gains.
Mediastinal Parathyroid Carcinoma With Tumor Implants in a Child: A Unique Occurrence
Authors: Righi Alberto , Dimosthenous Kypros , Mize James
Published: August 2008

A case of mediastinal parathyroid carcinoma is reported in a 10-year-old child. This is the first documented case of this occurrence in the authors' knowledge.
Heavily Pigmented Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Case Report, With Review of the Literature and Differential Diagnosis
Authors: Rossi Giulio , Cadioli Annamaria , Costantini Matteo , Grazia Del Buono Maria , Oleari Giorgio
Published: August 2008

Clear cell carcinoma is the most common histotype among renal cell tumors. The prominent vascular network of sinusoidal vessels lined by delicate endothelial cells may often lead to hemorrhagic areas with secondary deposition of chunky birefringent hemosiderin granules. The finding of pigmentation other than iron, and in particular melanin deposits, in renal tumors is a rare occurrence that should lead to differential diagnosis with other primary and metastatic tumors of the kidney.
Propensity for Intimate Partner Abuse and Workplace Productivity
Authors: Rothman Emily F. , Corso Phaedra S.
Published: August 2008

It has been demonstrated that intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization is costly to employers, but little is known about the economic consequences associated with employing perpetrators. This study investigated propensity for partner abuse as a predictor of missed work time and on-the-job decreases in productivity among a small sample of male employees at a state agency ( N = 61). Results suggest that greater propensity for abusiveness is positively associated with missing work and experiencing worse productivity on the job, controlling for level of education, income, marital status, age, and part-time versus full-time employment status. Additional research could clarify whether IPV perpetration is a predictor of decreased productivity among larger samples and a wider variety of workplace settings. Employers and IPV advocates should consider responding to potential IPV perpetrators through the workplace in addition to developing victim-oriented policies and prevention initiatives.
Consequences of Teen Dating Violence
Authors: Banyard Victoria L. , Cross Charlotte
Published: August 2008

Increasing attention has been given to the problem of teen dating violence with more research needed on mediating and moderating factors in the relationship between victimization and negative consequences. This article explores mental health and educational consequences of physical and sexual abuse by peers in a convenience sample of adolescents. Dating violence was associated with higher levels of depression, suicidal thoughts, and poorer educational outcomes. The use of alcohol and depression complicated the relationship between victimization and outcomes. Sex differences in patterns of perceived social support as a moderator were also examined with more significant effects for girls.
Substance Abuse Issues Among Women in Domestic Violence Programs
Authors: Martin Sandra L. , Moracco Kathryn E. , Chang Judy C. , Council Carol L. , Dulli Lisa S.
Published: August 2008

This article discusses the results of a survey of North Carolina domestic violence programs that found that substance abuse problems are common among program clients, yet only half of the programs had policies concerning substance-abusing clients, and one fourth had memoranda of agreement with substance abuse treatment providers. Most programs with shelters asked clients about substance use; however, one third of the shelters would not admit women if they were noticeably under the influence of substances while seeking shelter residence, instead referring them to substance abuse programs. Approximately one tenth of the domestic violence programs did not have any staff or volunteers with training in substance abuse issues. Implications are discussed.
First Decade of Organizational Research Methods
Authors: Aguinis Herman , Pierce Charles A. , Bosco Frank A. , Muslin Ivan S.
Published: August 2008

The authors conducted a content analysis of the 193 articles published in the first 10 volumes (1998 to 2007) of Organizational Research Methods (ORM). The most popular quantitative topics are surveys, temporal issues, and electronic/Web research (research design); validity, reliability, and level of analysis of the dependent variable (measurement); and multiple regression/correlation, structural equation modeling, and multilevel research (data analysis). The most popular qualitative topics are interpretive, policy capturing, and action research (research design); surveys and reliability (measurement); and interpretive, policy capturing, and content analysis (data analysis). The authors found upward trends in the attention devoted to surveys and electronic/Web research, interpretive, and action research (research design); level of analysis of the dependent variable and validity (measurement); and multilevel research (data analysis). Implications for training doctoral students, retooling researchers, future research on methodology, the advancement of the organizational sciences, and the extent to which ORM is fulfilling its mission are discussed.
Review: UKPDS odyssey — 2001
Authors: Levy Jonathan C
Published: August 2008

The United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study, the most ambitious single study of the treatment and nature of type 2 diabetes to date has two and nature of type 2 diabetes to date has two aspects: (i) as a clinical trial it has established that intensified glucose and blood pressure control significantly reduce the micro- and macrovascular complications of type 2 diabetes; (ii) in addition, because of its size and duration and the density of the data collected, it provides unparalleled information on the nature and natural history of the disease. It has defined the major importance of hyperglycaemia and hypertension as risk factors for complications and with the trial results provides the rationale and the goals for therapy. However, identification of the progressive deterioration of beta-cell function and the relative inefficacy of currently available therapies has posed major challenges to the achievement of these goals. Like all classic studies it raises more questions for further investigation.
Review: Endothelial dysfunction in type 2 diabetes
Authors: Storey Andrew M , Perry Colin J , Petrie John R
Published: August 2008

Dysfunction of the endothelial cell monolayer leads to increased vascular tone and permeability and a prothrombotic environment. Type 2 diabetes is a state of insulin resistance, hyperglycaemia and dyslipidaemia characterised by high cardiovascular risk and accelerated atherosclerosis. Many mechanisms by which hyperglycaemia can result in endothelial dysfunction have now been identified. However, the presence of endothelial dysfunction in normoglycaemic first-degree relatives and insulin resistant subjects is less well understood and less readily explained by `confounding' variables. We suggest that insulin's effects on glucose transport in classical target tissues and nitric oxide production in the endothelium are fundamentally linked at a molecular level. It is expected that greater understanding of these underlying mechanisms will lead to novel approaches to prevention of cardiovascular disease in both diabetic and non-diabetic subjects.
The rising tide of type 2 diabetes
Authors: Day Caroline
Published: August 2008

The number of people with diabetes is now considered to have reached epidemic proportions. Globally more the 150 million people have diabetes, accounting for more than 2% of the world's population and 3—5% of adults in most westernised societies. The incidence rates of type 1 and particularly type 2 diabetes are increasing in all societies and on all continents. Type 2 diabetes accounts for more than 95% of all diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is highly prevalent in the elderly and is now emerging in childhood. In developed countries diabetes and its complications constitute the fourth or fifth leading cause of death, and type 2 diabetes reduces remaining lifespan by 5—10 years. Diabetes (all types) is estimated to affect about 2.4 million people (prevalence of 4%) in the UK, of whom 1.4 million (prevalence of 2.5%) are diagnosed and one million undiagnosed. With the global prevalence of diabetes predicted to exceed 220 million by 2010 and 300 million by 2025 there is a major international challenge for optimal intervention and prevention strategies.