A study was conducted to test an expanded Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) in predicting healthy eating intention among adolescent boys and girls in mainland China. Two variables (perceived barriers and self-efficacy) were added in the TPB. A purposive sampling design was adopted to select schools, then students. Altogether 635 adolescents were asked to complete a structured questionnaire about...

NiTi is the most used shape-memory alloy; nonetheless, a lack of understanding remains regarding the associated structures and transitions, including their barriers. Using a generalized solid-state nudged elastic band method implemented via density-functional theory, we detail the structural transformations in NiTi relevant to shape memory: those between a body-centered orthorhombic (bco) groun...

Heterochromatin formation involves the nucleation and spreading of structural and epigenetic features along the chromatin fiber. Chromatin barriers and associated proteins counteract the spreading of heterochromatin, thereby restricting it to specific regions of the genome. We have performed gene expression studies and chromatin immunoprecipitation on strains in which native centromere sequence...

Based on density functional calculations, we have found that axial compression can induce structural transitions between Au(n,n) and Au(2n,n) nanotubes. The corresponding energy barriers increase with n. Although Au(2n,n) nanotubes are energitically more stable, the energy difference between Au(n,n) and Au(2n,n) decreases with n. The structural transitions are believed to be unique in those nan...

In 2003 many organizational problems within NASA were cited by the Columbia Investigation Board (CIB) as contributing to the Columbia disaster. Among the problems cited were barriers to communication, including information technologies, structural integration and databases, ineffective leadership and practical drift. Structural integration is assembling interdependent actions into coherent sequ...