Terminal velocity of non-spherical particles falling through a Carreau model liquid

A procedure has been proposed for the estimation of the terminal falling velocity of non-spherical particles moving in a Carreau model fluid in the transition flow region. The procedure is based on a modification of the relationship formerly developed for the fall of spherical particles including the particle dynamic shape factor. The suitability of the proposed procedure has been confirmed by good agreement between experimental and calculated terminal falling velocity data. In the experiments, the terminal falling velocity of short cylinders and rectangular prisms in polymer solutions of different measure of shear thinning and elasticity has been measured.     

Parenting stress among dual-earner mothers and fathers: Are there gender differences?

Stress in the parenting role has been found to be related to family functioning and parenting behavior. However, most research in this area has been conducted with clinical samples and has not compared parenting stress of mothers and fathers. In this study, 589 married couples with young children (12 to 60 months old) completed the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (Abidin, 1990) and measures of child-rearing behaviors and attitudes, social support, and child behavior. The validity of Abidin's measure and theoretical model was tested, and results were mixed. Small effects were found for mothers and fathers, and these were moderated by child age and marital happiness. Stress as a normal consequence of parenting is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Positive psychology principles applied to consulting psychology at the individual and group level.

This article describes the application, at the team and individual level, of findings from the positive psychology research. An overview of this research is presented focusing on several areas generally included in the positive psychology domain: flow, appreciative inquiry, the broaden and build theory, and other strategies for increasing the experience of positive emotions and the identification and deployment of strengths. The authors propose that these applications show promise in consulting psychology engagements and may have merit when utilized by practitioners themselves. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

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)     

A combined queueing network and stochastic Petri-net approach for evaluating the performability of fault-tolerant computer systems

In this paper the performability analysis of fault-tolerant computer systems using a hierarchical decomposition technique is presented. A special class of queueing network (QN) models, the so-called BCMP [4], and generalized stochastic Petri nets (GSPN) [1] which are often used to separately model performance and reliability respectively, have been combined in order to preserve the best modelling features of both.

A conceptual model is decomposed into GSPN and BCMP submodels, which are solved in isolation. Then, the remaining GSPN portion of the model is aggregated with flow-equivalents of BCMP models, in order to compute performability measures. The substitutes of BCMP models are presented by means of simple GSPN constructs, thereby preserving the 1st and 2nd moments of the throughput. A simple example of a data communication system where failed transmissions are corrected, is presented.     

Bulk modification of styrene–butadiene–styrene triblock copolymer with maleic anhydride

The bulk modification of SBS rubber with maleic anhydride in a mixing chamber of a Haake rheomixer was studied. The effect of temperature, maleic anhydride, and benzoyl peroxide concentrations on the grafting efficiency was evaluated. High grafting efficiency was achieved when the ratio of peroxide and maleic anhydride concentration was high. On the other hand, on this condition high insoluble fraction was generated. The addition of a diamine, 4,4′‐diaminediphenylmethane to the reaction mixture minimizes the amount of insoluble polymer. However, the grafted MAH content also decreases. The graft copolymer was characterized by infrared spectroscopy and the grafting extension was determined by titration. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 83: 2953–2960, 2002; DOI 10.1002/app.10355     

Young children's (Homo sapiens) understanding of knowledge formation in themselves and others.

Three- and 4-yr-old children were tested for comprehension of knowledge formation. In Exp 1, 34 Ss watched as a surprise was hidden under 1 of 4 obscured cups. The experimenter then pointed to the cup. All children searched under the correct cup, but no 3-yr-olds (in contrast to most 4-yr-olds) could explain how they knew where to look. Ss then discriminated between simultaneous pointing by 2 adults, one who had hidden a surprise and one who had left the room before the surprise was hidden. Most 4-yr-olds (but no 3-yr-olds) showed clear discrimination between the adults. In Exp 2, 16 Ss were tested with procedures designed to make the source of their own knowledge more obvious, but this had no effect on performance. It is concluded that studies using very similar procedures with chimpanzees and rhesus macaques were measuring an ability (or inability) to understand how knowledge states form. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)