Closer Associations Research Articles

The semantics of noun-to-verb zero-derivation in English and Spanish

AbstractThe semantics of zero-derivation/conversion has attracted renewed interest both as a subject of description and as a means towards refined descriptions of the process. This paper takes the latter stance and compares which semantic categories occur in zero-derivation/conversion and in overt affixation in two languages with a different morphological model: English and Spanish. For attestation and distribution of the semantic categories, the paper relies on a stratified sample of denominal verbs collected from two comparable corpora: theBritish National Corpusand theCorpus de Referencia del Español Actual. The sample consists in sets of ca. 50 denominal verb-forming resources, one per affixation process, namely affixation by -ate, -(i)fy, -ize/-ise, -en,en- in English,a-…-ar,en-…-ar, -ear, -ecer, -(i)ficar, -izarin Spanish, and zero-derivation/conversion in both languages. The results are contrasted within and across affixes/processes, within each language and across the two languages for the adequacy of a description as zero-derivation or as conversion. Statistical analysis shows that the process/affixes form a cline with overlaps and closer associations between specific affixes/processes and semantic categories, but no clear divide between zero-derivation/conversion and the rest of processes as far as the semantic categories are concerned.

Central Adiposity Indicators Maintain a Stronger Association With the Risk of Hypertension: A Prospective Cohort Study in Southwest China.

Objectives: Studies have linked obesity to an increased risk of hypertension, but the optimal adiposity indicators to predict hypertension remains controversial. We comprehensively explored the correlation between body mass index, waist circumference (WC), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), long-term weight and WC change, and hypertension in an adult population in Southwest China. Methods: We studied 9,280 participants from 48 townships of 12 districts with a follow-up of 10 years in the Guizhou Population Health Cohort Study. We used Pearson’s correlation coefficients combined with Dunn and Clark’s z test and Zou’s confidence interval test, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses, and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regressions adjusting for demographic characteristics, lifestyle habits, disease history, and lipid information of participants. Results: Baseline central adiposity indicators (WC and WHtR) had closer associations with hypertension than BMI, and long-term WC change was more predictive of hypertension compared with weight change in the studied population. Conclusion: Central adiposity indicators maintain a stronger association with the risk of hypertension, hinting at the importance of WC management in the precaution of hypertension.

The Crackdown on Rights-advocacy NGOs in Xi’s China: Politicizing the Law and Legalizing the Repression

ABSTRACT This article is the first to systematically study and compare the criminal repression of civic NGOs under the rule of Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping. The crackdown is analyzed against the evolution of NGO governance strategy that has bifurcated into co-option and repression. Under Xi’s administration, the mode of repression has escalated from hooligan-style intimidation to law-based systematic crackdown, facilitated by an increasingly authoritarian legality. Underlying this escalation is the paradigm shift of governance strategy from ‘maintaining stability’ to ‘consolidating state security.’ Consequently, NGOs with evident pro-liberal inclination, mass mobilization capacities, and/or closer associations with ‘hostile forces’ are most vulnerable to persecution. This article concludes by gauging the impact of the crackdown on advocacy NGOs and suggesting possible scenarios for future rights activism.

Analysis of Soil Fungal and Bacterial Communities in Tianchi Volcano Crater, Northeast China.

High-altitude volcanoes, typical examples of extreme environments, are considered of particular interest in biology as a possible source of novel and exclusive microorganisms. We analyzed the crater soil microbial diversity of Tianchi Volcano, northeast China, by combining molecular and morphological analyses of culturable microbes, and metabarcoding based on Illumina sequencing, in order to increase our understanding of high-altitude volcanic microbial community structure. One-hundred and seventeen fungal strains belonging to 51 species and 31 genera of Ascomycota, Basidiomycota and Mucoromycota were isolated. Penicillium, Trichoderma, Cladosporium, Didymella, Alternaria and Fusarium dominated the culturable fungal community. A considerable number of isolated microbes, including filamentous fungi, such as Aureobasidium pullulans and Epicoccum nigrum, yeasts (Leucosporidium creatinivorum), and bacteria (Chryseobacterium lactis and Rhodococcus spp.), typical of high-altitude, cold, and geothermal extreme environments, provided new insights in the ecological characterization of the investigated environment, and may represent a precious source for the isolation of new bioactive compounds. A total of 1254 fungal and 2988 bacterial operational taxonomic units were generated from metabarcoding. Data analyses suggested that the fungal community could be more sensitive to environmental and geographical change compared to the bacterial community, whose network was characterized by more complicated and closer associations.

Left and right ventricular strain using fast strain-encoded cardiovascular magnetic resonance for the diagnostic classification of patients with chronic non-ischemic heart failure due to dilated, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or cardiac amyloidosis

AimsTo compare the ability of left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular (RV) strain measured by fast-strain encoded cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) (fast-SENC) with LV- and RV-ejection fraction for the diagnostic classification of patients with different stages of chronic heart failure (stages A-D based on American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines) due to non-ischemic cardiomyopathies.MethodsOur study population consisted of 276 consecutive patients who underwent CMR for clinical reasons, and 19 healthy subjects. Wall motion score index and non-infarct related late gadolinium enhancement (LGE), LV ejection fraction (LVEF) and RV ejection fraction (RVEF) and global LV- and RV-longitudinal (GLS) and circumferential strain (GCS) based on fast-SENC acquisitions, were calculated in all subjects. The percentage of LV and RV myocardial segments with strain ≤ − 17% (%normal LV and RV myocardium) was determined in all subjects.ResultsLVEF and RVEF, LV-GLS, LV-GCS, RV-GLS, RV-GCS and %normal LV- and RV myocardium depressed with increasing heart failure stage (p < 0.001 for all by ANOVA). By multivariable analysis, %normal LV and RV myocardium exhibited closer associations to heart failure stages than LVEF and RVEF (rpartial = 0.79 versus rpartial = 0.21 for %normal LV myocardium versus LVEF and rpartial = 0.64 versus rpartial = 0.20 for %normal RV myocardium versus RVEF, respectively). Furthermore, %normal LV and RV myocardium exhibited incremental value for the identification of patients (i) with subclinical myocardial dysfunction and (ii) with symptomatic heart failure, surpassing that provided by LVEF and RVEF (ΔAUC = 0.22 for LVEF and ΔAUC = 0.19 for RVEF with subclinical dysfunction, and ΔAUC = 0.19 for LVEF and ΔAUC = 0.22 for RVEF with symptomatic heart failure, respectively, p < 0.001 for all). %normal LV myocardium reclassified 11 of 31 (35%) patients judged as having no structural heart disease by clinical and imaging data to stage B, i.e., subclinical LV-dysfunction.ConclusionsIn patients with non-ischemic cardiomyopathy, %normal LV and RV myocardium, by fast-SENC, enables improved identification of asymptomatic patients with subclinical LV-dysfunction. This technique may be useful for the early identification of such presumably healthy subjects at risk for heart failure and for monitoring LV and RV deformation during pharmacologic interventions in future studies.

Teaching environmental sustainability and responsibility in the Anthropocene: Overview of Tourism Studies in Spain

ABSTRACT Tourism studies are showing an increasing interest in the analysis of environmental sustainability and responsibility in the Anthropocene epoch. In the Higher Education (HE) Tourism studies, new concepts and skills are incorporated helping students to develop environmental knowledge and responsible attitudes and behaviours grounded in closer associations between the Earth systems and Humanity. The aim of this study is to examine the extent to which environmental education is incorporated in the curricula of Tourism studies at 55 Spanish universities throughout a syllabus content analysis. The results evidence that HE Tourism studies in Spain has a generalist orientation because of the holistic vision inherent to that courses, whereas matters regarding environmental issues would be necessary to organise in a more coherent way in the form of specialised training tracks devoted to environmental education including both sustainability and responsibility issues.

Outcome measures in a cohort of ambulatory adults with spinal muscular atrophy.

With the advent of disease-altering therapies for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), there is a requirement to better characterize outcome measures, particularly in milder forms of disease. Maximal voluntary isometric contraction testing and 6-minute walk test (6MWT) performed in ambulatory SMA adults as part of the SMA-VALIANT trial were analyzed. Test-retest reliability and correlation with other candidate biomarkers and outcomes were investigated. Maximal voluntary isometric contraction testing and 6MWT showed good test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.98 and 0.85, respectively). Maximal voluntary isometric contraction testing and 6MWT demonstrated very strong correlation (r = 0.83, P <. 0001), and each correlated with the SMA Functional Rating Scale (r = 0.7, P < .0001 and r = 0.65, P = .0001, respectively), lean muscle mass (r = 0.68, P < .0001 and r = 0.56, P = .001, respectively), and ulnar compound muscle action potential (r = 0.57, P = .0008 and r = 0.47, P = .008, respectively). Maximal voluntary isometric contraction testing and 6MWT are suitable outcomes for use in ambulatory adults with SMA. Maximal voluntary isometric contraction testing may be preferable because of superior test-retest reliability and closer associations with other outcomes and biomarkers of neuromuscular function.

Incidence of drug-treated chronic diseases using administrative pharmaceutical data

Background Pharmaceutical data can be used to identify the presence of drug-treated chronic diseases (CD) in individuals using assigned World Health Organization Anatomic Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classifications of medicines prescribed. ATC codes define treatment domains and provides a method to case define CD that has previously been used to estimate CD prevalence within populations.&#x0D; Main Aim We determined selected CD incidence from an administrative pharmaceutical dataset, and compared them with published CD incidence results.&#x0D; Approach An Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) database covering the period 2003-14 was used for this study. The earliest prescriptions exchanged by individuals for an ATC defined CD were identified and the annual count recorded. These values were combined with Australian population census data to calculate the annual incidence of ATC defined CD. Australian PBS derived incidence estimates (PDI) were compared with published Australian and world incidence data.&#x0D; Results The PDI of 16 chronic diseases were compared with incidence estimates using self-report surveys from the literature. Mean percentage differences between PDI estimates varied greatly when compared to survey data (mean 33% (SD ±79%). Diabetes (-29%), gout (4%), glaucoma (69%) and tuberculosis (14%) showed closer associations. In contrast, PDI estimates (n/1000/year) showed particularly high incidence levels as compared with self-report data for dyspepsia (16.9 v 4.5), dyslipidaemia (11.6 v 5.6) and respiratory illness (17.6 v 2.6).&#x0D; Conclusion Incidence estimates of drug treated chronic disease can be obtained using pharmaceutical data and may be a useful source for a number of conditions. Some PDI differ considerably from survey data. The interpretation of PDI requires context on how a particular CD presents. Accuracy and relevance are likely to depend upon how drug treatments relate to the initial management of the chronic disease.

Subjective experiences of highly processed food consumption in individuals with food addiction.

Highly processed foods (e.g., pizza, chocolate) have been more associated with indicators of food addiction than have minimally processed foods (e.g., fruits, vegetables), although findings have been primarily self-reported. The present study utilized behavioral methods from the addiction literature to assess whether (a) foods differ in their associations with subjective experience indicators of abuse liability and (b) individual differences in subjective experiences and eating behavior emerge using the Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 (YFAS 2.0). Women (n = 44) with overweight or obesity, 38.6% with YFAS 2.0 food addiction, rated facets of subjective experience (e.g., craving) during a taste test task and ad libitum consumption period. A hierarchical linear model assessed whether foods were differentially associated with each subjective experience (Level 1) and individual differences by food addiction (Level 2). Associations between subjective experiences and eating behavior were also examined. Highly processed, relative to minimally processed, foods were more associated with indicators of abuse liability, although individuals with food addiction reported decreased enjoyment for and intentions to consume highly processed foods. Subjective experiences were associated with greater consumption of highly processed foods for participants with food addiction. The present work provides further support for the rewarding nature of highly processed foods, evidenced by closer associations with subjective experiences reported for drugs of abuse compared to minimally processed foods. In addition, highly processed food intake was related to elevated subjective experience reports for these foods for those with food addiction, paralleling findings in individuals with a substance-use disorder for the relevant drug. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Blood and urinary metabolomic evidence validating traditional Chinese medicine diagnostic classification of major depressive disorder

BackgroundMajor depressive disorder (MDD) is a highly heterogeneous disease. Further classification may characterize its heterogeneity. The purpose of this study was to examine whether metabolomic variables could differentiate traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) diagnostic subtypes of MDD.MethodsFifty medication-free patients who were experiencing a recurrent depressive episode were classified into Liver Qi Stagnation (LQS, n = 30) and Heart and Spleen Deficiency (HSD, n = 20) subtypes according to TCM diagnosis. Healthy volunteers (n = 28) were included as controls. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) was used to examine serum and urinary metabolomic profiles.ResultsTwenty-eight metabolites were identified for good separations between TCM subtypes and healthy controls in serum samples. Both TCM subtypes had similar profiles in proteinogenic branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) (valine, leucine, and isoleucine) and energy metabolism-related metabolites that were differentiated from healthy controls. The LQS subtype additionally differed from healthy controls in multiple amino acid metabolites that are involved in biosynthesis of monoamine and amino acid neurotransmitters, including phenylalanine, 3-hydroxybutric acid, o-tyrosine, glycine, l-tryptophan, and N-acetyl-l-aspartic acid. Threonic acid, methionine, stearic acid, and isobutyric acid are differentially associated with the two subtypes.ConclusionsWhile both TCM subtypes are associated with aberrant BCAA and energy metabolism, the LQS subtype may represent an MDD subpopulation characterized by abnormalities in the biosynthesis of monoamine and amino acid neurotransmitters and closer associations with stress-related pathophysiology. The metabolites differentially associated with the two subtypes are promising biomarkers for predicting TCM subtype-specific antidepressant response [registered at http://www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02346682) on January 27, 2015].

Assessing psychopathy in forensic schizophrenia spectrum disorders: Validating the Comprehensive Assessment of the Psychopathic Personality-Institutional Rating Scale (CAPP-IRS)

The assessment of psychopathy in (forensic) schizophrenia spectrum disorders is long-standing debate. In the present study, we investigated the psychometric properties of the Comprehensive Assessment of Psychopathic Personality-Institutional Rating Scale (CAPP-IRS) in a sample of 72 male forensic patients with a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. We compared the CAPP-IRS’ psychometric properties to those of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). The CAPP-IRS showed good interrater reliability and internal consistency except for the CAPP-IRS Cognition and Emotional Domains. There appears to be a larger but intelligible overlap between the CAPP-IRS and schizophrenia symptoms than between the PCL-R and schizophrenia symptoms. Inversely, the PCL-R showed overall stronger associations with risk assessment measures. We conclude that, in (forensic) schizophrenia disorder spectrum patients, the CAPP-IRS has closer associations with clinical features, while the PCL-R is better a predicting risk and life-time dimensions.

Hand grip endurance test relates to clinical state and prognosis in COPD patients better than 6-minute walk test distance.

PurposePatients with COPD present peripheral muscle dysfunction and atrophy, expressed as muscle strength and endurance reduction. The goal of this study was direct dynamometric assessment of hand grip endurance and strength in relation to the stage of disease, multidimensional predictors of mortality, and 6-minute walk test (6MWT). To the best of our knowledge, there has been no previous study determining these parameters.Patients and methodsIn this observational study, 58 consecutive outpatients with stable COPD and 25 volunteers without respiratory problems were compared. All COPD subjects underwent a comprehensive examination to determine COPD severity, prognostic scales, and 6MWT. Body composition, basic spirometric parameters, and hand grip strength and endurance were determined in all study participants.ResultsPatients in the COPD group had a 15% decrease in maximum strength (P=0.012) and a 28% decrease in area under the force/time curve (AUC) of the endurance test (P<0.001) compared to the control group. Dynamometric parameters were significantly negatively associated with the stage of disease and values of multivariable prediction indexes, and positively associated with the results of 6MWT. In most cases, closer associations were found with AUC than with 6MWT and in the gender-specific groups.ConclusionBoth hand grip strength and endurance are impaired in COPD patients in comparison with the control group. In particular, AUC could be considered as an attractive option not only to assess exercise capacity but also as a predictive marker with a better prognostic value than 6MWT in COPD patients. This is the first study to observe the dependence of hand grip endurance on combined COPD assessment.

THE ROLE OF TRUST IN RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT

The importance of inter-organizational trust to project success has been increasingly highlighted in the construction industry. This study aims to explore the role of trust between project parties. It adopts a combination of quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Based on the analysis of the responses of a questionnaire survey, trust is demonstrated to have a significant contribution to the development of cooperative or collaborative relationships; fostering trust proves to have a major influence on the improvement of project performance; and some relationship and performance indicators are found to have closer associations with trust than others so that trust is more important to the development of relationship and the improvement of performance in these aspects. The analysis of questionnaire responses also provides significant evidence for the reduction in monitoring and control following the increase of mutual trust. The questionnaire survey is followed by a series of expert interviews, both of which contribute to the establishment of a model that links trust with relationship and performance and distinguishes the new approach that is based on trust from the traditional mechanism that relies on monitoring and control.

Glycated Hemoglobin

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the major cause of morbidity/mortality in diabetes. Type 2 diabetes has an increased prevalence of lipid abnormalities contributing to their high risk of CVD. Individuals with coexisting diabetes and dyslipidemia are often soft targets for CVD and deaths. A timely intervention to normalize circulating lipids has shown to reduce cardiovascular complications and mortality. Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is routinely used as a marker to indicate long-term glycemic control. The atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) [a logarithmic transformation of the ratio of the molar triglyceride (TAG) concentration and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL)], Risk ratio (RR) [Total Cholesterol(TC)/ HDL] & Non HDL-cholesterol (NHC) [TC-HDL] have recently been proposed as a predictive marker for plasma atherogenicity. This study intends to evaluate the diagnostic value of HbA1c in predicting diabetic dyslipidemia and atherogenisity. Methods: A total of 1217 diagnosed type II diabetic patients, who attended Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal between January 2013 and November 2014 were recruited in the study. Fasting venous blood samples were collected. The whole blood and sera were analyzed for HbA1c, fasting blood glucose (FBG) and lipid profile panel test. Diabetes and dyslipidemia were defined as per American diabetes association criteria and National Cholesterol Education Programme (NCEP) Adult Treatment Panel (ATP) III guidelines respectively. RR, NHC and AIP were calculated. The statistical analysis was done by SPSS statistical package version 17.0. Results: HbA1c showed direct correlation with FPG, Triacylglycerol (TAG) & Low density lipoprotein (LDL) while there was inverse correlation with HDL. Statistically significant ’p’ values (<0.05) were obtained for FPG, TAG and LDL. Closer associations were found between HbA1c and NHC and AIP than lipids alone. Conclusion: These findings indicate that HbA1c can provide valuable supplementary information about cardiac risk besides its primary role in monitoring long-term glycemic control.

Distance-dependent association of affect with pacing strategy in cycling time trials.

The psychological construct of affect is proposed to significantly contribute to pacing decisions during exercise. Borg's RPE scale, another important regulator of work rate, is criticized as an inadequate measure of the multiple perceptual responses experienced. This study aimed to examine power output distribution and associated changes in affect, self-efficacy, perceptual cues, HR, and respiratory gases during both 16.1- and 40-km self-paced cycling time trials (TT). Secondly, the differentiation between physical perceptions of exertion and sense of effort in self-paced exercise was investigated. Fifteen trained male cyclists completed 16.1- and 40-km TT using a CompuTrainer cycle ergometer. Time, power output distribution, affect, self-efficacy, physical RPE (P-RPE), task effort and awareness (TEA), HR, and respiratory gases were measured throughout each TT. Linear mixed models explored associations of these variables with power output distribution and the relationship between P-RPE and TEA. Similar pacing strategies were adopted in the 16.1- and 40-km TT (P = 0.31), and the main effects were found for affect (P = 0.001) and RER (P < 0.001). Interactions between affect (P = 0.037) and RER (P = 0.004), with condition, indicated closer associations with power output distribution in 16.1 km than that in 40 km TT. P-RPE was not significantly different from TEA (P = 0.053). A significant association between affect and power output distribution suggests that affective responses are task dependent even in self-paced exercise, and a greater association is demonstrated in higher intensity, 16.1 km TT. Furthermore, physical perceptions of exertion are not clearly differentiated from the sense of effort in self-paced exercise.

A comparison of the compositional differences between humic fractions isolated by the IHSS and exhaustive extraction procedures

Humic substances (HSs), consisting, on the basis of solubilities in aqueous acid and basic media, of humic acids (HAs), fulvic acids (FAs), and humin (Hu), are the major components of soil organic matter (SOM). Most studies of soil/natural organic matter (SOM/NOM) have been carried out on extracts of soils in dilute sodium hydroxide solutions, the solvent used to extract the Standards of the International Humic Substances Society (IHSS). However, Hu, the major component in the classical definition of HSs, is insoluble in aqueous base and is not isolated by the traditional IHSS method. Recently, a sequential exhaustive extraction (SEE) process has been shown to be capable of isolating and separating the major components of the classically defined HSs from the soils of the temperate and tropical regions. The SEE system was used in the present study to isolate the HA/FA and Hu fractions from a subtropical volcanic Taiwanese soil. Chemical and compositional properties of these extracts were then compared with similarly obtained isolates from soils from the different climatic regions. Increases in the aliphatic relative to aromatic carbon contents were observed for both the HA and FA fractions when the pH values of the extraction media were increased. HAs and FAs isolated using the SEE method have spectroscopic profiles similar to those from the IHSS isolate; however, the cumulative extraction efficiency (%) of the SEE method (65 %) for the volcanic soil was much higher than for the traditional IHSS method (33 %). When the residual volcanic soil, following extractions once, three, and eight times with 0.1 M NaOH were then extracted with dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) plus concentrated sulphuric acid (the final solvent in the SEE sequence) it was seen that the content of crystalline polymethylene hydrocarbon (33 ppm (13)C-NMR resonance in the Hu (or DMSO/acid)) extract increased relative to the amorphous methylene (30 ppm). That highlights the difficulty in dissolving the more highly ordered hydrocarbon structures that would be expected to have closer associations with the mineral colloids. Although the SEE procedure isolated all of the HAs and FAs from the Yangmingshan soil, extractability of the Hu from the volcanic soil in the DMSO/acid solvent was low (21 %), and contrasted with the much higher yields from temperate and tropical regions. The decreased Hu extraction may arise from its associations with the extensive iron and aluminium hydroxide mineral colloids in the soil. The Hu from this sub-tropical soil was different from the Hus isolated from other soil types, indicating the need to isolate and characterise these recalcitrant organic material in order to understand the organic carbon components in soils in greater detail. Such results would indicate that more attention should be given to mineral colloids in soils, and to the organo/mineral associations that will have an important role in the stabilities of OM in the soil environment.

Seasonal patterns of leaf photosynthetic and secondary xylem vascular traits in current-year stems of threeSorbusspecies with contrasting growth habits

Seasonal effects of environmental variables on photosynthetic activity and secondary xylem formation provide data to demonstrate how environmental factors together with leaf ageing during the season control tree growth. In this study, we assessed physiological responses in photosynthetic behaviour to seasonal climate changes, and also identified seasonal differences in vascular traits within differentiating secondary xylem tissue from three diploid species of the taxonomically complex genus Sorbus. From sampling day 150, a clear physiological segregation of S. chamaemespilus from S. torminalis and S. aria was evident. The shrubby species S. chamaemespilus could be distinguished by a higher photosynthetic capacity between days 150 and 206. This was reflected in its associations with net CO2 assimilation rate (PN), maximum photochemical efficiency of PSII (F(v)/F(m)), variable-to-initial fluorescence ratio (F(v)/F(0)), potential electron acceptor capacity ('area') in multivariate space, and also its associations with log-transformed vessel area and log-transformed relative conductivity between days 239 and 268. The maximum segregation and differentiation among the examined Sorbus species was on sampling day 206. The largest differences between S. torminalis and S. aria were found on day 115, when the latter species clearly showed closer associations with high values of vessel density and transpiration (E). Sampling day clusters were arranged along an arch-like gradient that reflected the positioning of the entire growing season in multivariate space. This arch-like pattern was most apparent in the case of S. chamaemespilus, but was also observed in S. torminalis and S. aria.

Mother-infant affect synchrony as an antecedent of the emergence of self-control.

This study examined relations between mother-infant affect synchrony and the emergence of children's self-control. Mother-infant face-to-face play and infant difficult temperament were examined at 3 and 9 months. Maternal and infant affective states at play were coded in 0.25-s frames, and synchrony was computed with cross-correlation functions. Self-control, verbal IQ, and maternal warm discipline were assessed at 2 years. Maternal synchrony with infant affect at 3 months (infant-leads-mother-follows relation) and mutual synchrony at 9 months (cross-dependence between maternal and infant affect) were each related to self-control at 2 years when temperament, IQ, and maternal style were partialed. Infant temperament moderated the relations of synchrony and self-control, and closer associations were found between mutual synchrony and self-control for difficult infants. Shorter lags to maternal synchrony at 3 months were independently related to self-control. The mutual regulation of affect in infancy, as moderated by temperament, is proposed as an important contributor to the emergence of self-regulation.

Malta: macropolitical threats

Despite constitutional neutrality and non-alignment, for the last decade Malta has dabbled in Western security circles. By pledging commitment to the European CFSP and forging closer associations with NATO the government consummated allegiances with the hegemonic flank of their region and the only remaining superpower. However, Maltese security in the post-Cold War era is about more than just power fealty. Whilst not overlooking the still highly relevant military threats to security, this paper elucidates three macropolitical threats that are too impetuous for the world's most powerful security organizations to handle. Indeed, future Maltese membership of the WEU or closer ties with NATO may even exacerbate these menaces.

The Use of Multidimensional Scaling for Facilities Layout: An Application to the Design of the Space Station

Before an optimum layout of the facilities for the proposed Space Station can be designed, it is necessary to understand the functions that will be perfomed by the Space Station crew and the relationships among those functions. Five criteria for assessing functional relationships were identified. For each of these criteria, a matrix representing the degree of association of all pairs of functions was developed. The key to making inferences about the layout of the Space Station from these matrices was the use of multidimensional scaling (MDS). Applying MDS to these matrices resulted in spatial configurations of the crew functions in which smaller distances in the MDS configuration reflected closer associations. An MDS analysis of a composite matrix formed by combining the five individual matrices resulted in two dimensions that describe the configuration: a “Private-Public” dimension and a “Group-Individual” dimension. Seven specific recommendations for Space Station layout were derived from analyses of the MDS configurations. Although we have applied these techniques to the design of the Space Station, they can be applied to the design of any facility where people live or work.