Template control of framework topology and charge in new phosphate- and arsenate-based sodalite analogs

Hydrothermal synthesis and structural characterization of three new sodalite analog structures are reported. By using mixed metal cations to achieve the host-guest charge matching and tetramethylammonium (TMA) and piperazine as structure-directing agents, ternary sodalite analog structures are synthesized in zinc gallophosphate, zinc galloarsenate. and gallium cobalt phosphate systems. The framework charge, composition, and symmetry are controlled by the charge and geometry of organic structure-directing agents. The host-guest charge matching also dictates the preferred framework T-atom sites, for Co²⁺ and Ga³⁺ respectively, and is an important aspect of the synthesis mechanism. The host guest interaction that allows the communication of symmetry information from the guest species to the inorganic framework is C-H…O hydrogen bonds in TMA sodalites and N-H…O and C-H…O hydrogen bonds in the piperazine sodalite. As a result of symmetry-templating, TMA sodalite analog structures are cubic whereas the piperazine-templated structure is body-centered tetragonal.     

A Lack of Evidence for an Ecological Role of the Putative Allelochemical (±)-Catechin in Spotted Knapweed Invasion Success

Allelopathy is a notoriously difficult mechanism to demonstrate. There has been a recent resurgence of interest in allelopathy because of the work done on the invasive weed spotted knapweed and its putative allelochemical, (±)-catechin. In this study we collected and analyzed soil samples taken from three, long-term knapweed infested sites in Montana, USA during the summer and fall of 2005. We only detected catechin in all the soil cores at one time point (August, 2005) at two of the sites. Field levels from these two sites were nearly three orders of magnitude lower than what has previously been reported to cause reduced growth in a sensitive native species. Fourteen percent of the remaining soil cores contained low but detectable levels (<0.11 ppm) of (±)-catechin. Additional experiments indicated that soil moisture appears to play a significant role in whether or not catechin degrades rapidly or remains in the soil. Adding to previous work, this paper sheds doubt on the importance of this chemical in spotted knapweed invasion success.     

Tales of the unexpected: Executive function and person perception.

The present research investigated the role of executive functioning in person perception. Given the assumption that perceivers' recollective preference for unexpected material relies on the operation of an executive cognitive process (i.e., inconsistency resolution), it was anticipated that only under dual-task conditions in which executive functioning is impaired would one expect inconsistency resolution to be impaired and perceivers' memory bias for unexpected material to be eliminated. When concurrent mental activity impairs the operation of nonexecutive cognitive operations, inconsistency resolution and the related process of individuation were not expected to be impaired. The results of 2 experiments using different memory measures (e.g., free recall and source identification) supported these predictions. The findings are considered in the context of contemporary issues in person perception and executive functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perspective taking combats automatic expressions of racial bias.

Five experiments investigated the hypothesis that perspective taking—actively contemplating others' psychological experiences—attenuates automatic expressions of racial bias. Across the first 3 experiments, participants who adopted the perspective of a Black target in an initial context subsequently exhibited more positive automatic interracial evaluations, with changes in automatic evaluations mediating the effect of perspective taking on more deliberate interracial evaluations. Furthermore, unlike other bias-reduction strategies, the interracial positivity resulting from perspective taking was accompanied by increased salience of racial inequalities (Experiment 3). Perspective taking also produced stronger approach-oriented action tendencies toward Blacks (but not Whites; Experiment 4). A final experiment revealed that face-to-face interactions with perspective takers were rated more positively by Black interaction partners than were interactions with nonperspective takers—a relationship that was mediated by perspective takers' increased approach-oriented nonverbal behaviors (as rated by objective, third-party observers). These findings indicate that perspective taking can combat automatic expressions of racial biases without simultaneously decreasing sensitivity to ongoing racial disparities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotional communication in close relationships.

Investigated emotional communication patterns characterizing interactions between partners in close relationships by asking 29 couples who were married or living together to engage in a videotaped discussion of a problem they were having in their relationship. In a later session, partners identified specific communications that they believed had an important influence on the discussion and then rated the communications in terms of the feelings the communicator intended to convey and the recipient's reaction. All Ss attempted to reciprocate both the positive and negative feelings that they perceived their partner to express toward them; however, only negative feelings were actually reciprocated. This was because Ss were sensitive to differences in the negative feelings their partners reported expressing and interpreted those feelings correctly, but they were inaccurate in perceiving their partners' expressions of positive feelings. Men interpreted their partners' failures to express love as an indication of hostility, whereas women interpreted their partners' lack of hostility as an indication of love. Results were conceptualized in terms of a general model of emotional communication. Parameters of the model pertaining to the hostility of partners' communications were often related to women's satisfaction with their relationship and their beliefs about relationships in general. However, they were unrelated to men's satisfaction and general beliefs, suggesting that women are generally more adversely affected by overt expressions of hostility than are men. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)