Lowest angle solution versus low-index axis solution for misorientations

A study of misorientation distributions in recrystallised high-strength IF steel has compared both the disorientation (lowest angle) solution and nearest low-index axis solution. It is shown that consideration of the lowest-angle misorientation distribution alone provides an incomplete and ambiguous distribution of nearest low-index misorientation axes.     

Regulation of interleukin-8 binding and function by heparin and alpha2-macroglobulin

The effect of radiation on speech and swallowing function was assessed for 18 patients surgically treated for oral and oropharyngeal cancer. Nine patients received surgical intervention and postoperative radiation therapy, and nine received surgery only. Patients were matched regarding percentage of oral tongue resected, percentage of tongue base resected, locus of resection, and method of reconstruction. Speech and swallowing function was assessed before and at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery following a standardized protocol. Speech tasks included an audio recording of a brief conversation and of a standard articulation test; swallowing function was examined with videofluoroscopy. Statistical testing indicated that overall speech function did not differ between the irradiated and nonirradiated patients. Irradiated patients had significantly reduced oral and pharyngeal swallowing performance, specifically, longer oral transit times on paste boluses, lower oropharyngeal swallow efficiency, increased pharyngeal residue, and reduced cricopharyngeal opening duration. Impaired function may be the result of radiation effects such as edema, fibrosis, and reduced salivary flow. Increased use of tongue range-of-motion exercises during and after radiation treatment may reduce the formation of fibrotic tissue in the oral cavity and may improve pharyngeal clearance by maintaining adequate tongue base-to-pharyngeal wall contact.     

Manitoba's Rural and Northern Community-Based Training Program for Psychology Interns and Residents.

This article describes a unique internship training experience developed by the Department of Clinical Health Psychology of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Manitoba. Interns live in and provide services to remote northern communities for half of the internship year and receive supervision from a psychologist in the community, supplemented by telehealth. The department also offers a full-year, postdoctoral rural residency. Ten interns and 4 residents have been trained so far. The community-based generalist training model and responses to the challenges, for both supervisors and trainees, of working in small underserved communities are described. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Acquisition of word–object associations by 14-month-old infants.

The following experiments were designed to determine the age at which infants can first readily learn word–object pairings with only minimal exposure and without social or contextual support. To address this question, 8- to 14-month-old infants were tested on their ability to form word–object associations in a "switch" design. Infants were habituated to 2 word–object pairings and then tested with 1 trial that maintained a familiar word–object pairing and 1 that involved a familiar word and object in a new combination. Across 6 experiments, only 14-month-old infants formed word–object associations under these controlled testing conditions but appeared to do so only when the objects were moving. Although 8- to 12-month-olds did not form the associations, they appeared to process both the word and the object information. These studies provide strong evidence that 14-month-old infants can rapidly learn arbitrary associations between words and objects, that this ability appears to develop at about 14 months of age, and that the Switch design is a useful method for assessing word–object learning in infancy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rule‐base coverage analysis applied to test case selection

In this paper we discuss ways in which coverage analysis, obtained during execution of test cases over a rule‐base, can be used to highlight problems in both the test suite and the rule‐base, thereby pointing to areas in which we cannot guarantee or predict the system’s performance. In particular, we present a series of heuristics which use coverage information and meta‐knowledge about the larger population to select additional test cases from the population, in the event that the initial test set is incomplete. This forms the basis of an incremental approach to rule‐base testing which allows us to both increase completeness of the test set and improve coverage of the rule‐base, thereby increasing the kinds of cases for which the rule‐base has been executed during testing. We demonstrate this heuristic approach to test data selection using information generated by TRUBAC, a tool which implements the coverage analysis methods, applied to analyze a prototype system for diagnosis of rheumatological diseases.     

The good,the bad,and the algae: Perceiving ecosystem services and disservices generated by zebra and quagga mussels

Dreissenid (zebra and quagga) mussels are widely recognized as having strong, adverse ecological and economic impacts, e.g., biofouling and loss of water column primary production. We assessed perceptions and values associated with two less often considered ecological outcomes of dreissenid mussel influences on coastal ecosystems along Lake Ontario and the western St. Lawrence River in New York State. One, the generation of water clarity through filtration, we define as an ecosystem service; the other, the production of large amounts of nuisance algae (e.g., Cladophora and Microcystis) is defined as an ecosystem disservice. Surveys of business owners and homeowners quantified their preferences and the formation of values regarding these products of zebra mussel influence. Water clarity increased greatly, particularly in the eastern portion of Lake Ontario, and algal problems increased throughout. Businesses attributed increases and decreases in revenues associated with water clarity and algae; homeowners reported analogous changes in property values. Water clarity was positively associated, and algae negatively associated, with changes in revenues and property values. Threshold responses of costs as functions of filamentous algae were evident. Given the likely continued influx of invasive species due to human activities, further development of the ecosystem service concept should consider potential “goods” and “bads” of invasives and their influence on ecosystem and social system resiliency.     

Evidence for chemical defense in tropical green algaCaulerpa ashmeadii (Caulerpaceae: Chlorophyta): Isolation of new bioactive sesquiterpenoids

Results of field feeding preference studies with 12 species of tropical green algae of the genusCaulerpa showed thatC. ashmeadii was preferred least by herbivorous fishes. Chemical investigations ofC. ashmeadii demonstrated the presence of high concentrations of sesquiterpenoid metabolites. The chemical isolation and structural elucidation of five majorC. ashmeadii metabolites, as well as the results of field feeding preference, antimicrobial, and ichthyotoxicity assays demonstrating the biological activities of these metabolites are reported here.