Revisiting the need for formal education in visualization.

Defining visualization education is still a work in progress. Visualization education is not just a subject within computer science. Computer scientists are not always the appropriate choice to teach visualization courses on their own. Visualization is not just mastering a set of concepts but acquiring skills. Student should learn by doing, either using one tool or a variety of tools, depending on the course's focus.     

Using indices to differentiate dimensions of knowledge regarding modes of HIV transmission in the U.S. population, 1987-1989

Spores of Bacillus subtilis NCTC 8236 were treated with glutaraldehyde, Lugol's iodine, polyvinylpyrrolidone-iodine (PVP-I), sodium hypochlorite or sodium dichloroisocyanurate (NaDCC). After exposure survivors were enumerated on nutrient agar containing potential revival agents (subtilisin, lysozyme, calcium dipicolinate, calcium lactate). Of these, only calcium lactate had any significant enhancing effect and then only with iodine-treated spores. Calcium lactate (9 mmol l-1) in nutrient broth enhanced the rate and extent of germination of iodine-treated spores but not of spores previously subjected to glutaraldehyde, hypochlorite or NaDCC.     

Maintaining global coherence during reading.

Previous research demonstrated a contradiction effect: Although text currently being processed was locally coherent, readers were aware of inconsistencies between a protagonist's actions and characteristics of the protagonists that were described earlier in the text and subsequently backgrounded. In the present experiments, not only the critical characteristics but also the protagonist were backgrounded. When the protagonist was reintroduced into the narrative in the context of carrying out an inconsistent action, the contradiction effect again occurred. In Exps 1–3, we examined the effects of several variables on the onset of the effect. In Exp 4, we presented probes at various points in the passage with results that supported the conclusion that the critical characteristics had been backgrounded before the sentence that contradicted them. Results are discussed in terms of several recent models in which currently active representational elements serve as retrieval cues for other inactive, but highly related, elements. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relative sedimentation of hematopoietic progenitors in human cord blood, peripheral blood, and bone marrow as determined by counterflow centrifugal elutriation

OBJECTIVE: Although there have been many studies of the outcome of anorexia nervosa, methodological weaknesses limit their interpretation. The authors used a case-control design to try to improve knowledge about the outcome of anorexia nervosa. METHOD: All new female patients referred to an eating disorders service between Jan. 1, 1981, and Dec. 31, 1984, who had probable or definite anorexia nervosa were eligible for inclusion. Of these women, 86.4% (N = 70) were located and agreed to participate. The comparison group (N = 98) was a random community sample. All subjects were interviewed with a structured diagnostic instrument. RESULTS: A minority of the patients (10%) continued to meet the criteria for anorexia nervosa a mean of 12 years after initial referral. Even among those who no longer met these criteria, relatively low body weight and cognitive features characteristic of anorexia nervosa (perfectionism and cognitive restraint) persisted. The rates of lifetime comorbid major depression, alcohol dependence, and a number of anxiety disorders were very high. CONCLUSIONS: In the managed care/brief treatment era, therapeutic approaches with an excessive focus on weight gain that neglect the detection and treatment of associated psychological features and comorbidity may be inappropriate. Anorexia nervosa is a serious psychiatric disorder with substantial morbidity.     

Adverse environmental conditions in the respiratory and medical ICU settings

Sleep deprivation and fragmentation occurring in the hospital setting may have a negative impact on the respiratory system by decreasing respiratory muscle function and ventilatory response to CO2. Sleep deprivation in a patient with respiratory failure may, therefore, impair recovery and weaning from mechanical ventilation. We postulate that light, sound, and interruption levels in a weaning unit are major factors resulting in sleep disorders and possibly circadian rhythm disruption. As an initial test of this hypothesis, we sampled interruption levels and continuously monitored light and sound levels for a minimum of seven consecutive days in a medical ICU, a multiple bed respiratory care unit (RCU) room, a single-bed RCU room, and a private room. Light levels in all areas maintained a day-night rhythm, with peak levels dependent on window orientation and shading. Peak sound levels were extremely high in all areas representing values significantly higher than those recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency as acceptable for a hospital environment. The number of sound peaks greater than 80 decibels, which may result in sleep arousals, was especially high in the intensive and respiratory care areas, but did show a day-night rhythm in all settings. Patient interruptions tended to be erratic, leaving little time for condensed sleep. We conclude that the potential for environmentally induced sleep disruption is high in all areas, but especially high in the intensive and respiratory care areas where the negative consequences may be the most severe.     

电力市场环境下的稳定、安全与控制

电力市场化是全球电力工业都在热烈讨论和积极探索的热点课题 ,在中国电力市场化改革的今天 ,尤其具有重要的理论和实践意义。 2 0 0 2年 5月 1 3日至 1 8日 ,由清华港大深圳电力系统研究所主办的“电力市场新进展高级研讨会”在深圳清华大学研究院举行。在研讨会上 ,与会专家分别就电力市场研究和实践中的若干问题发表了演讲。本刊将主要内容摘录、汇编成文 ,奉献给大家 ,以便广大读者对电力市场的研究动态有比较全面的了解。在此 ,衷心感谢参加“电力市场新进展研讨会”的各位专家给予的大力支持和帮助 ,特别感谢香港大学 /浙江大学文福拴博士、香港大学严正博士在本文的摘编过程中提供的技术指导和具体帮助。     

Trade-offs between gaze and working memory use.

Eye movements during natural tasks suggest that observers do not use working memory to capacity but instead use eye movements to acquire relevant information immediately before needed. Results here however, show that this strategy is sensitive to memory load and to observers' expectations about what information will be relevant. Depending upon the predictability of what object features would be needed in a brick sorting task, subjects spontaneously modulated the order in which they sampled and stored visual information using working memory more when the task was predictable and reverting to a just-in-time strategy when the task was unpredictable and the memory load was higher. This self organization was evidenced by subjects' sequence of eye movements and also their sorting decisions following missed feature changes. These results reveal that attentional selection, fixations, and use of working memory reflect a dynamic optimization with respect to a set of constraints, such as task predictablity and memory load. They also reveal that change blindness depends critically on the local task context, by virtue of its influence on the information selected for storage in working memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)