People may hold different understandings of race that might affect how they respond to the culture of groups deemed to be racially distinct. The present research tests how this process is moderated by the minority individual's lay theory of race. An essentialist lay theory of race (i.e., that race reflects deep-seated, inalterable essence and is indicative of traits and ability) would orient racial minorities to rigidly adhere to their ethnic culture, whereas a social constructionist lay theory of race (i.e., that race is socially constructed, malleable, and arbitrary) would orient racial minorities to identify and cognitively assimilate toward the majority culture. To test these predictions, the authors conducted 4 studies with Asian American participants. The first 2 studies examine the effect of one's lay theory of race on perceived racial differences and identification with American culture. The last 2 studies tested the moderating effect of lay theory of race on identification and assimilation toward the majority American culture after this culture had been primed. The results generally supported the prediction that the social constructionist theory was associated with more perceived similarity between Asians and Americans and more consistent identification and assimilation toward American culture, compared with the essentialist theory.

No abstract

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) of aluminum oxide on nonwoven polypropylene and woven cotton fabric materials can be used to transform and control fiber surface wetting properties. Infrared analysis shows that ALD can produce a uniform coating throughout the nonwoven polypropylene fiber matrix, and the amount of coating can be controlled by the number of ALD cycles. Upon coating by ALD aluminum oxide, nonwetting hydrophobic polypropylene fibers transition to either a metastable hydrophobic or a fully wetting hydrophilic state, consistent with well-known Cassie-Baxter and Wenzel models of surface wetting of roughened surfaces. The observed nonwetting/wetting transition depends on ALD process variables such as the number of ALD coating cycles and deposition temperature. Cotton fabrics coated with ALD aluminum oxide at moderate temperatures were also observed to transition from a natural wetting state to a metastable hydrophobic state and back to wetting depending on the number of ALD cycles. The transitions on cotton appear to be less sensitive to deposition temperature. The results provide insight into the effect of ALD film growth mechanisms on hydrophobic and hydrophilic polymers and fibrous structures. The ability to adjust and control surface energy, surface reactivity, and wettability of polymer and natural fiber systems using atomic layer deposition may enable a wide range of new applications for functional fiber-based systems.

Nucleation and subsequent growth of aluminum oxide by atomic layer deposition (ALD) on polypropylene fiber substrates is strongly dependent on processing temperature and polymer backbone structure. Deposition on cellulose cotton, which contains ample hydroxyl sites for ALD nucleation and growth on the polymer backbone, readily produces a uniform and conformal coating. However, similar ALD processing on polypropylene, which contains no readily available active sites for growth initiation, results in a graded and intermixed polymer/inorganic interface layer. The structure of the polymer/inorganic layer depends strongly on the process temperature, where lower temperature (60 degrees C) produced a more abrupt transition. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy images of polypropylene fibers coated at higher temperature (90 degrees C) show that non-coalesced particles form in the near-surface region of the polymer, and the particles grow in size and coalesce into a film as the number of ALD cycles increases. Quartz crystal microbalance analysis on polypropylene films confirms enhanced mass uptake at higher processing temperatures, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data also confirm heterogeneous mixing between the aluminum oxide and the polypropylene during deposition at higher temperatures. The strong temperature dependence of film nucleation and subsurface growth is ascribed to a relatively large increase in bulk species diffusivity that occurs upon the temperature-driven free volume expansion of the polypropylene. These results provide helpful insight into mechanisms for controlled organic/inorganic thin film and fiber materials integration.

The preparation of microporous and mesoporous metal oxide materials continues to attract considerable attention, because of their possible use in chemical separations, catalyst support, chemical sensors, optical and electronic devices, energy storage, and solar cells. While many methods are known for the synthesis of porous materials, researchers continue to seek new methods to control pore size distribution and macroscale morphology. In this work, we show that sequential vapor infiltration (SVI) can yield shape-controlled micro/mesoporous materials with tunable pore size, using polyesters as a sacrificial template. The reaction proceeds by exposing polymer fiber templates to a controlled sequence of metal organic and co-reactant vapor exposure cycles in an atomic layer deposition (ALD) reactor. The precursors infuse sequentially and thereby distribute and react uniformly within the polymer, to yield an organic–inorganic hybrid material that retains the physical dimensions of the original polymer template. Subsequent calcination in air results in an inorganic microporous/mesoporous material that again retains the macroscopic physical shape of the starting polymer matrix. The microporous/mesoporous structure is confirmed by microscopy and nitrogen adsorption/desorption analysis, and the resulting pore size is controlled by the size of the starting polymer repeat unit and by the kinetics of the infiltration/annealing process steps. In situ infrared transmission and quartz crystal microbalance results confirm the chemical reaction mechanisms. The chemical transformation that occurs during SVI could be important for a range of applications that utilize well-defined porous nanostructures.

How do consumers react when they believe that a transaction partner will view them through the lens of a stereotype? We predicted and found that being aware of a negative stereotype about a group to which one belongs (e.g., gender) made consumers sensitive to whether service providers were in-group versus out-group members and lowered purchase intentions when the provider was an out-group member. We observed stereotype threat effects across diverse marketplace settings: financial services (experiment 1), automobile repairs (experiment 2), and automobile purchases (experiment 3). Furthermore, we found that reluctance to purchase from out-group (vs. in-group) members was caused by heightened anxiety. The presence of a soothing scent, as a situational factor to alleviate anxiety, mitigated stereotype threat effects on marketplace decisions.

This study isolated a novel erythritol-producing yeast strain, which is capable of growth at high osmolarity. Characteristics of the strain include asexual reproduction by multilateral budding, absence of extracellular starch-like compounds, and a negative Diazonium blue B color reaction. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 26S rDNA sequence and physiological analysis indicated that the strain belongs to the species Pseudozyma tsukubaensis and has been named P. tsukubaensis KN75. When P. tsukubaensis KN75 was cultured aerobically in a fed-batch culture with glucose as a carbon source, it produced 245 g/L of erythritol, corresponding to 2.86 g/L/h productivity and 61% yield, the highest erythritol yield ever reported by an erythritol-producing microorganism. Erythritol production was scaled up from a laboratory scale (7 L fermenter) to pilot (300 L) and plant (50,000 L) scales using the dissolved oxygen as a scale-up parameter. Erythritol production at the pilot and plant scales was similar to that at the laboratory scale, indicating that the production of erythritol by P. tsukubaensis KN75 holds commercial potential.

This report explores reactions that proceed during the first few cycles of inorganic film atomic layer deposition (ALD) on natural cellulose cotton fibers, and how surface reactions can explain the previously observed transitions in surface wetting upon ALD on cotton fibers. Atomic layer deposition of aluminum oxide and zinc oxide onto natural cotton cellulose produces a transition from hydrophilic to hydrophobic, then from hydrophobic back to hydrophilic, and we describe here the main factors that bring about. Interestingly, we show that air exposure and related adventitious carbon adsorption also affects the subsequent reactions and wetting properties obtained after subsequent ALD cycles. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy data indicate Al-(O-C-)3 bonding units form when trimethylaluminum interacts with surface –OH units during the first precursor doses, producing a hydrophobic finish on the cotton that remains for only a few ALD cycles. Also, field-emission scanning electron microscopy results show that some surface roughening may occur in the first few ALD cycles, and the roughening of the hydrophobic-finished surface can also promote an increase in measured hydrophobicity.