Constraint Research Articles

NP-Difficult Tasks: Automatic Proof of Theorems and Turings Machine

It is offered to use for solving NP-complete (difficult) tasks a modification of methods for satisfying the constraint (CS) by including automatic proof of theorems (APT), and programming in constraints — generation of Turing's machine (TM). Currently, CS uses AP in a truncated form (logical programming), and it is suggested using the method of invariant transformations (MIT), which is a full-fledged APT. In addition, it is offered to use CS methods to generate TM solving NP-difficult tasks recorded on the TM tape, which is an extension of programming capabilities in constraints.

Development of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire-55 abbreviated research scales.

The Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) is a normal range inventory for assessing a variety of empirically derived primary traits. These trait scores can be differentially weighted to estimate higher-order broad dimensions such as Positive Emotionality (PEM), Negative Emotionality (NEM), and Constraint (CON). However, broad trait scores are estimated using proprietary regression equations and necessitate near complete administration of the inventory. We aimed to increase measurement efficiency by creating abbreviated item-based approximations of these weighted scores. To parsimoniously delineate and differentiate the broad traits, classical test theory and item response theory approaches were used to identify five items from each primary trait scale approximating the weighted estimates while also maintaining the breadth of MPQ content coverage. Initial scale development relied on the MPQ-276 (standard form) normative sample (n = 1,237), which was followed by cross-validation using two samples of twins and cotwins from the Minnesota Twin Family Study (n = 1,304, n = 1,305). Additional validation was conducted using a third sample of undergraduate students (n = 201).The resulting item-based scales (PEM-20, NEM-15, CON-15) demonstrated strong convergence with the established proprietary broad trait estimates. Furthermore, these abbreviated scales exhibited similar associations with the external measures of personality and psychopathology. Abbreviated item-based scales may have utility for efficient estimation of the same broadband personality dimensions assessed by longer forms of the MPQ. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Personality change during substance use disorder treatment is associated with improvements in abstinence self-efficacy post-treatment among U.S. military veterans

Prior research suggests that personality traits change during substance use disorder (SUD) treatment. However, the extent to which changes in traits during SUD treatment are associated with subsequent improvements in treatment outcomes remains untested. Among U.S. military veterans (n = 200) enrolled in SUD residential treatment, we examined whether changes in the personality factors of positive emotionality (PEM), negative emotionality (NEM), and constraint (CON) during treatment were associated with subsequent changes in abstinence self-efficacy and SUD symptoms. We analyzed data at treatment entry, discharge, and 12-months post-discharge via univariate and bivariate latent change score models. During treatment, PEM, CON, and abstinence self-efficacy increased, while NEM decreased, on average. Changes in NEM and CON were largely sustained, whereas PEM and abstinence self-efficacy significantly decreased post-treatment. SUD symptoms decreased from pre- to post-treatment. In bivariate models, higher levels of NEM at baseline were associated with less improvement in both abstinence self-efficacy during treatment and SUD symptoms pre- to post-treatment. Higher levels of CON at baseline were associated with greater improvement in SUD symptoms pre- to post-treatment, and increases in CON during treatment were associated with greater retention of treatment gains in abstinence self-efficacy post-treatment. Greater improvements in CON during treatment were also associated with greater improvements in SUD symptoms pre- to post-treatment in unadjusted (p = 0.041) but not adjusted models (p = 0.089). Our findings suggest that personality changes marked by improvements in impulse control over the course of SUD treatment may be linked to subsequent improvements in treatment outcomes and may have value as a proximal treatment target among SUD patients during residential care.

Personality traits in substance use disorders and obesity when compared to healthy controls.

Although personality traits are implicated in substance use disorders (SUDs) and obesity, differences and similarities between them have not been assessed. Our main aim was to compare personality traits between people with different SUDs, obese people and healthy controls. This was a secondary analysis of personality scores obtained from participants in neuroimaging studies from Brookhaven National Laboratory and the Laboratory of Neuroimaging, National Institutes of Health. United States. Individuals with obesity (OB) n=41, alcohol use disorder (AUD) n=39, marijuana use disorder (MUD) n=24, cocaine use disorder (CUD) n=100, and healthy controls (HC) n=117 (237 males and 84 females). The Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire, which characterizes positive emotionality (PEM), negative emotionality (NEM) and constraint (CON) traits. Adjusted covariates included cigarette smoking status, age, gender and body mass index (BMI). Multivariate analysis of covariance showed a main group effect (i.e. OB, AUD, MUD, CUD and HC) only on NEM (P<0.0001, η2 =0.17) and CON (P=0.005, η2 =0.12). Specifically, NEM was higher in AUD (P<0.0001, d=10.4), CUD (P<0.0001, d=8.2) and MUD (P=0.001, d=9.2), but not in OB (P>0.05, d=2.8) relative to HC. CUD showed lower CON (P=0.015, d=5.4) and PEM (P=0.018, d=4.8) than HC; however, these differences were not significant in the other groups. NEM and CON were negatively correlated for groups combined (r=-0.26, P<0.0001), and separately for OB (r=-0.49, P=0.001) and CUD (r=-0.22, P=0.03). Cigarette smoking status did not influence group differences in NEM, PEM or CON. Compared with healthy controls, people with substance use disorders appear to show higher negative emotionality, and people with cocaine use disorders appear to show lower positive emotionality and constraint traits. Similar findings were not found among people with obesity.

Personality trait change across late childhood to young adulthood: Evidence for nonlinearity and sex differences in change.

We explored patterns of self-reported personality trait change across late childhood through young adulthood in a sample assessed up to 4 times on the lower-order facets of Positive Emotionality (PEM), Negative Emotionality (NEM), and Constraint (CON). Multilevel modeling analyses were used to describe both group- and individual-level change trajectories across this time span. There was evidence for nonlinear age-related change in most traits, and substantial individual differences in change for all traits. Gender differences were detected in the change trajectories for several facets of NEM and CON. Findings add to the literature on personality development by demonstrating robust nonlinear change in several traits across late childhood to young adulthood, as well as deviations from normative patterns of maturation at the earliest ages.

Normal personality traits, rumination and stress generation among early adolescent girls

This study examined associations between personality and stress generation. Expanding upon prior work, we examined (a) the role of Positive Emotionality (PE), Negative Emotionality (NE), and Constraint (CON), and their lower-order facets, as predictors of acute and chronic interpersonal stress generation; (b) whether personality moderated effects of rumination on stress generation; and (c) whether personality increased exposure to independent (uncontrollable) stress. These questions were examined in a one-year study of 126 adolescent girls (M age=12.39years) using contextual stress interviews. NE predicted increases in acute and chronic interpersonal stress generation, but not independent stress. NE, CON and affiliative PE each moderated the effect of rumination on chronic interpersonal stress generation. These effects were driven by particular lower-order traits.

Bayesian Quickest Change-Point Detection With Sampling Right Constraints

In this paper, Bayesian quickest change detection problems with sampling right constraints are considered. Specifically, there is a sequence of random vari ables whose probability density function will change at an unknown time. The goal is to detect such a change in a way such that a linear combination of the average detection delay and the false alarm probability is minimized. Two types of sampling right constrains are discussed. The first one is a li mited sampling right constraint, in which the observer can take at most N observations from this random sequence. Under this setup, we show that the cost function can be written as a set of iterative fun ctions, which can be solved by Markov optimal stopping theory. The optimal stopping rule is shown to be a threshold rule. An asymptotic upper bound of the average detection delay is developed as the false alarm probability goes to zero. This upper bound indicates that the performance of the limited sampling right problem is close to that of the classic Bayesian quickest detection for several scenar ios of practical interest. The second constraint discussed in this paper is a stochastic sampling right const raint, in which sampling rights are consumed by taking observations and are replenished randomly. The observer cannot take observations if there are no sampling rights left. We characterize the optimal solution, which has a very complex structure. For practical applications, we propose a low complexity algorithm, in which the sampling rule is to take observations as long as the observer has sampling rights left and the detection scheme is a threshold rule. We show that this low complexity scheme is first order as ymptotically optimal as the false alarm probability goes to zero.

Prospective inter-relationships between late adolescent personality and major depressive disorder in early adulthood

A well-established body of literature demonstrates concurrent associations between personality traits and major depressive disorder (MDD), but there have been relatively few investigations of their dynamic interplay over time. Prospective inter-relationships between late-adolescent personality and MDD in early adulthood were examined in a community sample of male and female twins from the Minnesota Twin Family Study (MTFS; n = 1252). Participants were classified into naturally occurring MDD groups based on the timing (adolescent versus adult onset) and course (chronic/recurrent versus remitting) of MDD. MDD diagnoses were assessed at ages 17, 20, 24 and 29 years, and personality traits [negative emotionality (NEM), positive emotionality (PEM) and constraint (CON)] were assessed at ages 17, 24 and 29 years. Multilevel modeling (MLM) analyses indicated that higher age-17 NEM was associated with the subsequent development of MDD, and any MDD, regardless of onset or course, was associated with higher NEM up to age 29. Moreover, the chronic/recurrent MDD groups failed to show the normative decrease in NEM from late adolescence to early adulthood. Lower age-17 PEM was also associated with the subsequent development of MDD but only among the chronic/recurrent MDD groups. Finally, the adolescent-onset MDD groups reported lower age-17 CON relative to the never-depressed and adult-onset MDD groups. Taken together, the results speak to the role of personality traits for conferring risk for the onset of MDD in late adolescence and early adulthood, in addition to the pernicious implications of chronic/recurrent MDD, particularly when it onsets during adolescence, for adaptive personality development.

TEMPORAL ASSOCIATION RULE MINING: A SURVEY IN FUZZY FRAMEWORK

Temporal data mining generate temporal association rule that encapsulate transaction of item with time that’s recorded in temporal data base. Now these days recent research has focused to generate efficient fuzzy temporal as sociation rule and transforming each quantitative value into fuzzy set s using the given membership functions. This paper presents a survey on temporal as sociation rule and fuzzy logic. The Technical const raint of temporal data mining and fuzzy logic are i dentified and presented.

Normal and abnormal personality traits are associated with marital satisfaction for both men and women: An Actor–Partner Interdependence Model analysis

Research has demonstrated associations between relationship satisfaction and personality traits. Using the Actor–Partner Interdependence Model, we explored associations between self-reported relationship satisfaction in couples ( n = 118) and various measures of normal and abnormal personality, including higher-order dimensions of PE/Extraversion, NE/Neuroticism, Constraint (CON), and their lower-order facets. We also examined gender differences and moderators of associations. Consistent with the Vulnerability Stress Adaptation Model, self- and partner-reported NE and PE were related to satisfaction, and their lower-order traits demonstrated differential associations with satisfaction. Further, abnormal personality traits specific to the interpersonal domain and personality disorder symptoms demonstrated effects. Relationship length emerged as a significant moderator, with associations weakening as relationship duration increased.

Coding and Common Reconstruction

This work studies problems of source and joint source-channel coding under the requirement that the encoder can produce an exact copy of the compressed source constructed by the decoder. This requirement, termed here as the common reconstruction constraint (CR), is satisfied automatically in rate-distortion theory for single sources. However, in the common formulation of problems of lossy source coding with side information at the decoder (the Wyner-Ziv problem), distributed source coding, and joint source-channel coding for networks, the destination can exploit the information it receives in a manner that cannot be exactly reproduced at the sender side. Some applications, like the transmission of sensitive medical information, may require that both sides-the sender and the receiver-will share a common version of the compressed data, for the purpose of future discussions or consulting. The purpose of this work is to study the implications of CR constraints on the achievable rates in scenarios of lossy source coding and lossy transmission of sources. Three problems are examined: source coding with side information at the decoder, simultaneous transmission of data and state over state-dependent channels, and joint source-channel coding for the degraded broadcast channel. Single-letter characterizations of the optimal performance are developed for these problems, under corresponding CR constraints. Implications of this constraint on problems of joint source-channel coding in networks are discussed.

Stability and Change in Personality Traits From Late Adolescence to Early Adulthood: A Longitudinal Twin Study

We conducted a longitudinal-biometric study examining stability and change in personality from ages 17 to 24 in a community sample of male and female twins. Using Tellegen's (in press) Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ), facets of Negative Emotionality (NEM) declined substantially at the mean and individual levels, whereas facets of Constraint (CON) increased over time. Furthermore, individuals in late adolescence who were lowest on NEM and highest on CON remained the most stable over time, whereas those exhibiting the inverse profile (higher NEM, lower CON) changed the most in a direction towards growth and maturity. Analyses of gender differences yielded greater mean-level increases over time for women as compared to men on facets of CON and greater mean-level increases for men than women on facets of Agentic Positive Emotionality (PEM). Biometric analyses revealed rank-order stability in personality to be largely genetic, with rank-order change mediated by both the nonshared environment (and error) as well as genes. Findings correspond with prior evidence of a normative trend toward growth and maturity in personality during emerging adulthood.

Predicting individual change in personality disorder features by simultaneous individual change in personality dimensions linked to neurobehavioral systems: The longitudinal study of personality disorders.

Personality disorders (PDs), long thought to be immutable over time, show considerable evidence of individual change and malleability in modern prospective longitudinal studies. The factors responsible for the evident individual change in PDs over time, however, remain essentially unknown. A neurobehavioral model that posits negative emotion (NEM), nonaffective constraint (CON), communal positive emotion (PEM-C), and agentic positive emotion (PEM-A) as important systems underlying PD provides a theoretical basis for investigating predictors of change in PD features over time. Thus, in this study, the authors investigated how individual change in NEM, CON, PEM-C, and PEM-A over time predicted individual change in PD features over time, using longitudinal data on PD assessed by the International Personality Disorders Examination (A. W. Loranger, 1999), as well as data on normal personality features gathered within a 4-year prospective multiwave longitudinal study (N = 250). The authors used the method of latent growth modeling to conduct their analyses. Lower initial levels of PEM-C predicted initial levels of the growth trajectories for those with elevated Cluster A PD features. Elevated NEM, lower CON, and elevated PEM-A initial levels were found to characterize the initial levels of growth trajectories for those with increased Cluster B PD features. Interestingly, subjects with higher initial levels of PEM-A revealed a more rapid rate of change (declining) in Cluster B PD features over time. Elevated NEM and decreased PEM-C initial levels were found to characterize the growth trajectories for subjects with increased Cluster C PD features. The substantive meaning of these results is discussed, and the methodological advantages offered by this statistical approach are also highlighted.

Personality traits and the development of nicotine, alcohol, and illicit drug disorders: Prospective links from adolescence to young adulthood.

The personality traits constraint (CN) and negative emotionality (NE) have been more (CN) or less (NE) consistently associated with alcoholism. The authors examined the association of personality at age 17 with timing of onset and with prospective prediction of nicotine, alcohol, and illicit drug disorders 3 years later in a twin sample (569 females; 432 males). Earlier onset of alcohol and drug disorders (by age 17) was related to significantly lower CN compared with later onsets (by age 20); high NE was related to either onset. NE, as well as CN, uniquely predicted new onsets of all 3 types of substance use disorders by follow-up, with preexisting substance disorders taken into account. Personality traits confer generalized risk for developing any substance disorder, though some traits are more strongly linked with some substance disorders than with others.

Personality correlates of startle habituation

This study investigated the relationship between extraversion and rates of acoustic startle habituation, a potential biological marker for individual differences. Personality was measured using the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), the Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS), and Tellegen's Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ). Higher EPQ Extraversion and higher SSS scores were associated with faster, more rapid startle habituation. Moreover, the relationship between extraversion and faster startle habituation was replicated in a second, follow-up sample. Within the initial study sample, lower scores on the Constraint (CON) factor of the MPQ (reflecting greater impulsiveness, risk-taking, and nonconformity) were also associated with faster startle habituation. Follow-up analyses revealed relationships between EPQ Extraversion, SSS, and low MPQ CON. These results suggest that faster habituation within the CNS may be associated tendencies toward impulsivity and behavioral disinhibition.

FUNDAMENTALISSUES IN THEEVOLUTIONARYPSYCHOLOGY OFMUSIC: Assessing Innateness and Domain Specificity

EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY OFTEN does not sufficiently document the innate constr aint and domain specificity required for strong adaptationist argument. We develop these criteria within the domain of music. First, we advocate combining computational, developmental, cross-cultural, and neuroscience research to address the ways in which a domain is innately constrained. Candidate constraints in music include the importance of the octave and other simple pitch ratios, the categorization of the octave into tones, the importance of melodic contour, tonal hierarchies, and principles of grouping and meter. Second, we advocate combining psychological, neuroscience, and genetic research across cognitive domains to address the domain specificity of such constraints. Currently available evidence suggests that the innate constraints in music are not specific to that domain, making it unclear which domain(s) provided the relevant selection pressures.

A developmental perspective on personality in emerging adulthood: Childhood antecedents and concurrent adaptation.

Personality and competence were examined in a community sample of 205 children ages 8-12 who were followed up 10 years later in emerging adulthood (ages 17-23). Adult Positive Emotionality (PEM), Negative Emotionality (NEM), and Constraint (CON) were presaged by childhood personality. PEM was associated with current success in social and romantic relationships. Low CON was associated with childhood and current antisocial conduct. NEM was broadly linked to childhood and current maladaptation, consistent with the possibility that failure in major developmental tasks increases NEM. Findings highlight the pervasive linkage of NEM to maladaptation and suggest that adult personality may develop from processes embedded in childhood adaptation as well as childhood personality.

Affective Coloring of Personality from Young Adulthood to Midlife

New Adjective Check List (ACL) scales (Gough, Bradley, and Bedeian) to measure Tellegen's dimensions of positive emotionality (PEM), negative emotionality (NEM), and constraint (CNS) were scoredfor a longitudinal sample of women and their male partners over 25 years. For women, data were available to show that convergent and discriminant relations with life data and selected personality traits across time supported the construct validity and usefulness of NEM, PEM, and, to a lesser extent, CNS. Rank order stability coefficients ranged from .51 to .65 and were similar to those obtained for other personality scales. In line with expectations, the women increased in PEM and CNS and decreased in NEM. Analyses of 21 couples studied at two times suggested that both men and women decreased in NEM and that women may have increased more than men in PEM. In these and all other couples, women tended to score higher on NEM than partners in young adulthood and higher on PEM than partners in mature middle age.

The Behavior of a Biped Walking Gait on Irregular Terrain

Biped locomotion on nonlinear ground surfaces was studied using computer simulations of two- and three-dimensional bipeds with hip and knee joints. The dynamic models included all of the nonlinear terms in the equations of motion. The three-dimensional motion consisted of body torsion about the biped vertical axis. A walking gait was defined with a combination of linear and quadratic con straint equations that defined the biped joint motion. The gait was a dynamic walking gait that did not depend on a predefined location for the foot to land. Four gait variations were studied on the differ ent ground surfaces. The ground surfaces were rigid and included sinusoidal, randomized, and chaotic terrain. It was found that the gait had the potential to be used as a basic gait for locomotion over a wide variety of surfaces. There were certain gait features, such as the phasing of the knee constraint and the body torsional mo tion, that could be used to enhance the biped system's stability and efficiency. The importance of correctly defining the ground surface was clearly seen by the biped behavior on the different surfaces.

Personality stability and change in early adulthood: A behavioral genetic analysis.

Seventy-nine monozygotic and 48 same-sex dizygotic twin pairs completed the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire twice, averaging 20 years of age at first and 30 years at second testing. There were significant mean decreases in measures of Negative Emotionality (NE), increases in measures of Constraint (CO), but no significant mean changes for measures of Positive Emotionality (PE). Variance decreased for measures of NE but remained stable for measures of PE and CO. Biometrical analyses revealed that (a) NE variance reduction was due to diminishing genetic influences, (b) personality stability change was due largely to genetic factors, and (c) although some evidence for genetic influence on personality change was observed, change was largely determined by environmental factors