Kent State University

About: Kent State University is a education organization based out in Kent, Ohio, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Liquid crystal & Population. The organization has 10897 authors who have published 24607 publications receiving 720309 citations. The organization is also known as: Kent State & KSU.

Where two roles intersect: spillover between parent care and employment.

Abstract: Spillover between the roles of parent care and employment was assessed in a sample of 105 employed adult daughter caregivers. This research examined how these 2 roles affect one another, both positively and negatively, and how such spillover was related to caregivers' psychological well-being. Path analyses indicated that negative spillover was an important mediating mechanism in the relationship between role stress and depression. In contrast, no evidence was found to suggest that positive spillover mediated the relationship between role satisfaction and positive affect. Findings extend prior research that has documented that caregiving and employment can interfere with one another by demonstrating that such spillover has implications for caregivers' emotional health.

Highly Active Mesoporous Ferrihydrite Supported Pt Catalyst for Formaldehyde Removal at Room Temperature

Abstract: Ferrihydrite (Fh) supported Pt (Pt/Fh) catalyst was first prepared by combining microemulsion and NaBH4 reduction methods and investigated for room-temperature removal of formaldehyde (HCHO). It was found that the order of addition of Pt precursor and ferrihydrite in the preparation process has an important effect on the microstructure and performance of the catalyst. Pt/Fh was shown to be an efficient catalyst for complete oxidation of HCHO at room temperature, featuring higher activity than magnetite supported Pt (Pt/Fe3O4). Pt/Fh and Pt/Fe3O4 exhibited much higher catalytic activity than Pt supported over calcined Fh and TiO2. The abundance of surface hydroxyls, high Pt dispersion and excellent adsorption performance of Fh are responsible for superior catalytic activity and stability of the Pt/Fh catalyst. This work provides some indications into the design and fabrication of the cost-effective and environmentally benign catalysts with excellent adsorption and catalytic oxidation performances for HCHO ...

Dispositional Mindfulness Moderates the Effects of Stress Among Adolescents: Rumination as a Mediator

Abstract: Recent research has demonstrated that higher levels of mindfulness are associated with greater psychological and physical health. However, the majority of this research has been conducted with adults; research is only beginning to examine the effects of mindfulness among adolescents. Further, research into adolescent mindfulness has typically conceptualized mindfulness as a unidimensional phenomenon and has not yet examined multidimensional models of mindfulness that have emerged in the adult literature. Further, the mechanisms through which mindfulness influences these outcomes are presently unclear. The present study examined the effects of three facets of mindfulness among adolescents. Seventy-eight adolescents (61% female, 94% Caucasian, M age = 16) completed a measure of dispositional mindfulness at baseline. Participants then completed measures of daily stress, dysphoric affect, and state rumination over a 7-day period. Multilevel modeling analyses revealed that facets of mindfulness (i.e., nonreact...

Optical characterization of the nematic lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals: light absorption, birefringence, and scalar order parameter.

Abstract: We report on the optical properties of the nematic (N) phase formed by lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals (LCLCs) in well aligned planar samples. LCLCs belong to a broad class of materials formed by one-dimensional molecular self-assembly and are similar to other systems such as "living polymers" and "wormlike micelles." We study three water soluble LCLC forming materials: disodium chromoglycate, a derivative of indanthrone called Blue 27, and a derivative of perylene called Violet 20. The individual molecules have a planklike shape and assemble into rodlike aggregates that form the phase once the concentration exceeds about 0.1 M. The uniform surface alignment of the N phase is achieved by buffed polyimide layers. According to the light absorption anisotropy data, the molecular planes are on average perpendicular to the aggregate axes and thus to the nematic director. We determined the birefringence of these materials in the N and biphasic N-isotropic (I) regions and found it to be negative and significantly lower in the absolute value as compared to the birefringence of typical thermotropic low-molecular-weight nematic materials. In the absorbing materials Blue 27 and Violet 20, the wavelength dependence of birefringence is nonmonotonic because of the effect of anomalous dispersion near the absorption bands. We describe positive and negative tactoids formed as the nuclei of the new phase in the biphasic N-I region (which is wide in all three materials studied). Finally, we determined the scalar order parameter of the phase of Blue 27 and found it to be relatively high, in the range 0.72-0.79, which puts the finding into the domain of general validity of the Onsager model. However, the observed temperature dependence of the scalar order parameter points to the importance of factors not accounted for in the athermal Onsager model, such as interaggregate interactions and the temperature dependence of the aggregate length.

The Effects of Ballot Initiatives on Voter Turnout in the American States

Abstract: With few exceptions, voter turnout continues to decline in the United States. Although normative theorists, journalists, and defenders of participatory democracy frequently suggest that citizen-initiated ballot measures can increase voter turnout, previous research has not supported this claim. Yet, in the past 25 years, usage of direct democracy has exploded in the United States. Using pooled time series data for the 50 states over a 26-year period (1970-1996), we find that the presence and usage of the initiative process is associated with higher voter turnout in both presidential and midterm elections. The disparity in turnout rates between initiative and noninitiative states has been increasing over time, estimated at 7% to 9% higher in midterm and 3% to 4.5% higher in presidential elections in the 1990s. Our analysis suggests that the initiative process can and does play a positive role in increasing electoral participation.