The Role of Coping Resources and Neuroticism in Predicting Female Aggression in Intimate Relationships.

One hundred and eighty six adult heterosexual females enrolled in colleges across the United States were sampled to determine the influence of personality and coping variables on female Intimate Partner Aggression (IPA). The research instruments administered included online versions of: the Revised-Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS-2; Straus, Hamby, Boney-McCoy, & Sugarman, 1996), which explored female Intimate Partner Psychological Aggression and Physical Assaultiveness; the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP; Goldberg, 1999), which measured the personality trait of Neuroticism; and the Coping Resources Inventory for Stress-Short Form (CRIS-SF; Matheny, Curlette, Aycock, Pugh, & Taylor, 2007), which assessed the coping resources of Tension Control and Social Support, and provided an overall Coping resource score called Coping Resource Effectiveness (CRE). The role of Neuroticism was highlighted. Neuroticism, but not CRE or specific coping resources, was predictive of Psychological Aggression in females. Neither CRE nor Neuroticism was a significant predictor of Physical Assaultiveness. Implications for reducing psychological aggression in intimate partner relationships were offered

Shuffling and Unshuffling

We consider various shuffling and unshuffling operations on languages and words, and examine their closure properties. Although the main goal is to provide some good and novel exercises and examples for undergraduate formal language theory classes, we also provide some new results and some open problems

Factorization in Formal Languages

We consider several novel aspects of unique factorization in formal languages. We reprove the familiar fact that the set uf(L) of words having unique factorization into elements of L is regular if L is regular, and from this deduce an quadratic upper and lower bound on the length of the shortest word not in uf(L). We observe that uf(L) need not be context-free if L is context-free. Next, we consider variations on unique factorization. We define a notion of "semi-unique" factorization, where every factorization has the same number of terms, and show that, if L is regular or even finite, the set of words having such a factorization need not be context-free. Finally, we consider additional variations, such as unique factorization "up to permutation" and "up to subset"

Short-term variation in central corneal thick- ness and intraocular pressure using the Tono-Pachymeter NT530P (Tonopachy™)

Measurements of central corneal thickness (CCT) and intra-ocular pressure (IOP) are important for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. The aim of this study was to investigate the short-term variation and intra-subject repeatability of CCT and IOP measurements made with the Tono-Pachymeter NT530P (Tonopachy™). Fifty one consecutive automatic measurements of CCT and IOP were taken for the right eyes of 15 subjects (11 females and 4 males) aged 20 to 57 years (mean = 32.3 ± 13.5 years). The measured values (CCT and IOP) were compared against each other to establish the intra-subject repeatability and bias of each individual measurement with respect to the means, standard deviations and variances. Three different  statistical tests of normality: Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S),Lilliefors and Shapiro-Wilks (SW) tests suggested that most of the data was normally distributed,with a few exceptions. The inter-subject or overall mean values and standard deviations for the CCT and IOP samples were 528.2 ± 27.4 μm and 14.4 ±4.3 mmHg respectively. Although possible outliers increased the variability of the measurements of both parameters (CCT and IOP), the data generally showed good repeatability. The results of this study suggest that over short periods of time, the Tonopachy™ gives precise and repeatable measures of CCT and IOP. (S Afr Optom 2012 71(1) 12-21

The evolution of university-industry linkages-A framework

This qualitative study extends literature on research commercialization by examining the dynamic nature of university-industry linkages (UIL). Thirty in-depth interviews conducted in Australia and Germany/the Netherlands provide evidence of the different phases through which UILs evolve and respective measures of success. Communication, understanding, trust, and people are universal drivers, yet managers must consider the variations in the nature of these factors to ensure successful UILs. This study equips managers involved in technology transfer, innovation, and commercialization with critical insights into developing effective relationships. The proposed conceptual framework also uncovers notable theoretical and managerial implications and offers some key research directions. © 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Carolin Plewa, Nisha Korff, Claire Johnson, Gregory Macpherson, Thomas Baaken, Giselle Camille Rampersa

Fife's Theorem for 7/3-powers

We prove a Fife-like characterization of the infinite binary 7/3-power-free words, by giving a finite automaton of 15 states that encodes all such words. As a consequence, we characterize all such words that are 2-automatic. © 2011 N. Rampersad

Finite Automata for the Sub- and Superword Closure of CFLs: Descriptional and Computational Complexity

We answer two open questions by (Gruber, Holzer, Kutrib, 2009) on the state-complexity of representing sub- or superword closures of context-free grammars (CFGs): (1) We prove a (tight) upper bound of $2^{\mathcal{O}(n)}$ on the size of nondeterministic finite automata (NFAs) representing the subword closure of a CFG of size $n$. (2) We present a family of CFGs for which the minimal deterministic finite automata representing their subword closure matches the upper-bound of $2^{2^{\mathcal{O}(n)}}$ following from (1). Furthermore, we prove that the inequivalence problem for NFAs representing sub- or superword-closed languages is only NP-complete as opposed to PSPACE-complete for general NFAs. Finally, we extend our results into an approximation method to attack inequivalence problems for CFGs

Perceptions and opinions of graduating South African optometry students on the proposed community service

Community service (CS) was introduced inSouth Africa in an attempt to address the shortageand maldistribution of health care professionalswithin the public sector. The Professional Board forOptometry and Dispensing Opticians (PBODO)has approved legislation for the introductionof CS for graduating optometry students. This study examined the perceptions and opinionsof graduating optometry students regarding the proposed CS. A mixed-method design(questionnaires and interviews) was used. Bothapproaches yielded similar results. The quantitativecomponent included 119 participants, aged between 20 and 35 years (mean age and standard deviation;22.8 ± 2.3 years). There were 43.2% Blacks, 28.5%Whites, 19.1% Indians and 9.2% Coloureds. The qualitative part included fourteen participantsfrom the Optometry Department of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The major themes emergingfrom the questions concerning the participants’ perceived advantages and benefits of CS were (i) it would improve the eye care service delivery to disadvantaged communities; (ii) it would improve the technical and clinical skills of the graduating optometrists and (iii) it would enhance their confidence, personal and social skills. Some of the perceived drawbacks cited by the participants about such service included poor remuneration and concerns about personal safety, transport and accommodation. The findings of this study suggest that graduating optometry students acknowledge the importance of CS in improving access of many South Africans to quality eye care. In order to maximise the full benefits of CS, all stakeholders need to address the highlighted concerns of the participants. (S Afr Optom 2013 72(1) 11-18

The effect of tinted spectacle lenses on contrast sensitivity and colour vision

Aim: Spectacle wearers often prefer tintedlenses to clear or non-tinted lenses for their protection against harmful radiation, improved cos- mesis, enhancement of visual performance and effects on colour vision. Among the available tinted lenses on the market blue, brown and grey tinted spectacle lenses are popular with varying grades ranging from A to D. Due to reduced transmission of light through such lenses, the optical system of the eyes and the environmental vision may be temporarily altered. Colour vision (CV) and con- trast sensitivity (CS) are important aspects of this altered visual world. This study investigated the effect of spectacle lenses of varying grades of tint on CS and CV. Method: The study adopted a pre- and postest research design and a sample of 90 participants were selected from the University of KwaZulu-Natal student population using convenience sam- ling. Each participant was screened for patholgy, dyschromatopsia, severe dry eyes (TBUT<5 seconds), and the presence of any more than low metropia. Thereafter each successful participant was tested for CS and CV with their habitual precription and then tested randomly with a white clear) lens (placebo) and tinted (blue, brown, and grey) spectacle lenses made of CR39 material each having grades A, B and C over their habitual state. Light transmission was 85%, 75%, and 50% for grades A, B, and C respectively. The Functional Acuity Contrast Test (FACT) chart and American Optical Hardy, Rand, and Rittler (AO HRR) were used for the assessment of CS and CV respectively. Results: The data was analysed using the Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS) version18. Compared to the habitual state, contrast sensitivity was enhanced with all the tinted lenses The greater enhancement was for low spatial frequencies (LSF) and least for high spatial frequencies (HSF). With all tints Grade C had the least enhancement for very HSF. Many subjects showed no change in CV with any of the lensesused. The grey tint showed greater enhancement of CV as the density increases. Blue and brown tints showed a similar trend with grade B enhancing CV the most while grade C resulted in theleast reduction of CV. Conclusion: Grade A, B, and C of blue, brown and grey tinted spectacle lenses do not alter colour vision significantly but for the selected levels of transmission of the tints used, contrast sensitivity can be improved to some extent