Tracking the mind during reading: The influence of past, present, and future words on fixation durations.

Reading requires the orchestration of visual, attentional, language-related, and oculomotor processing constraints. This study replicates previous effects of frequency, predictability, and length of fixated words on fixation durations in natural reading and demonstrates new effects of these variables related to 144 sentences. Such evidence for distributed processing of words across fixation durations challenges psycholinguistic immediacy-of-processing and eye-mind assumptions. Most of the time the mind processes several words in parallel at different perceptual and cognitive levels. Eye movements can help to unravel these processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of a supplemental Aspergillus niger phytase on the utilization of plant phosphorus by rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Effects of a supplemental Aspergillus niger-phytase on digestibility and utilization of dietary phosphorus (P) were studied in three experiments with rainbow trout. P concentration in the diets was 4.8 and 5.8 g/kg DM, respectively. The P contained in the diet originated solely from plants, mainly soy-products. Digestibility of P was studied using the stripping method and hydrochloride insoluble ash as marker. Utilization was studied in growth trials by use of the comparative body analysis. At a water temperature of 15 degrees C, both digestibility and utilization of P were increased from 25 to 57% and from 17 to 49%, respectively when 1000 U/kg phytase were supplemented. Feed consumption and gain of trout were significantly increased. At a water temperature of 10 degrees C, utilization of P was also increased from 6 to 25%. However, feed consumption and gain of trout were very low at this water temperature and not influenced by the supplemental phytase.     

Synthesis and Pharmacological In Vitro Investigations of Novel Shikonin Derivatives with a Special Focus on Cyclopropane Bearing Derivatives

Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer and accounts for about three quarters of all skin cancer deaths. Especially at an advanced stage, its treatment is challenging, and survival rates are very low. In previous studies, we showed that the constituents of the roots of Onosma paniculata as well as a synthetic derivative of the most active constituent showed promising results in metastatic melanoma cell lines. In the current study, we address the question whether we can generate further derivatives with optimized activity by synthesis. Therefore, we prepared 31, mainly novel shikonin derivatives and screened them in different melanoma cell lines (WM9, WM164, and MUG-Mel2 cells) using the XTT viability assay. We identified (R)-1-(1,4-dihydro-5,8-dihydroxy-1,4-dioxonaphthalen-2-yl)-4-methylpent-3-enyl 2-cyclopropyl-2-oxoacetate as a novel derivative with even higher activity. Furthermore, pharmacological investigations including the ApoToxGlo^TM Triplex assay, LDH assay, and cell cycle measurements revealed that this compound induced apoptosis and reduced cells in the G1 phase accompanied by an increase of cells in the G2/M phase. Moreover, it showed hardly any effects on the cell membrane integrity. However, it also exhibited cytotoxicity against non-tumorigenic cells. Nevertheless, in summary, we could show that shikonin derivatives might be promising drug leads in the treatment of melanoma.     

Chemical inhibitors when timing is critical: a pharmacological concept for the maturation of T cell contacts

Cellular signal transduction proceeds through a complex network of molecular interactions and enzymatic activities. The timing of these molecular events is critical for the propagation of a signal and the generation of a specific cellular response. To define the timing of signalling events, we introduce the combination of high-resolution confocal microscopy with the application of small-molecule inhibitors at various stages of signal transduction in T cells. Inhibitors of Src-family tyrosine kinases and actin dynamics were employed to dissect the role of the lymphocyte-specific tyrosine kinase Lck in the formation and maintenance of T cell receptor/CD3-dependent contacts. Anti-CD3epsilon-coated coverslips served as a highly defined stimulus. The kinetics of the recruitment of the yellow fluorescent protein-tagged signalling protein ZAP-70 were detected by high-resolution confocal microscopy. The analysis revealed that at 5 min after receptor engagement, Lck activity was required for maintenance of contacts. In contrast, after 20 min of receptor engagement, the contacts were Lck-independent. The relevance of the timing of inhibitor application provides a pharmacological concept for the maturation of T cell-substrate contacts.     

Theory and experiment on the three-dimensional motion of a freely suspended spherical particle at the entrance to a pore at low Reynolds number

This paper examines the three dimensional approach of a neutrally buoyant sphere of any size to a circular hole in a plane wall at very low Reynolds number. The analysis differs from previous studies, largely applied to the multipore filter, in that the authors investigate the three dimensional hydrodynamic interaction of the sphere with the entrance geometry of the pore in the limit of zero inertia. The problem is first exactly formulated as the linear superposition of fundamental Stokes flows for rotation and translation of the sphere and flow past a stationary sphere. Approximate solutions are then obtained for the deviation of sphere trajectories from fluid stream lines and the results compared with laboratory model experiments in a low Reynolds number settling tank. The theory and experiment show that because of the hydrodynamic interaction sphere trajectories and fluid streamlines deviate significantly as the opening is approached, that all spheres eventually enter the pore regardless of their initial position, but that a non-uniform concentration profile develops with large increases in concentration near the walls of the orifice in the vicinity of the opening. The results provide a basic mechanism to explain the onset of Fahraeus phenomenon for red cells entering small blood vessels and glass tubes.     

Protecting and preserving clear barrier layers for flexible packaging materials In‐line thermal evaporation of organic topcoat layer

The end market for transparent flexible barrier films is larger than for metallized films. Presently, the market is still dominated by polymeric barrier layers but the used chemicals may be harmful for the environment. An alternative would be transparent thin layers deposited by vacuum deposition techniques using reactive processes. Ceramic materials like silicon oxide or aluminum oxide are used having a film thickness of just ～10 nm, a coating uniformity of +/?5% across and along the film at a barrier performance below 2.0 sccm/m²d for oxygen transmission rate (OTR) and below 1.0 g/m²d for water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) on PET substrates. In this paper, details will be provided about the deposition processes for these barrier layers using thermal evaporation, plasma‐assisted thermal evaporation as well as deposition by electron beam evaporation. An important factor for these high barrier transparent coatings is also to withstand the downstream processes in the whole packaging stream like slitting, lamination, printing etc. One solution is to protect the barrier layers by a Topcoat. For example, off‐line deposition of lacquers is used in field but the market penetration is low due to high process and material costs. An in‐situ Topcoat deposition is a smart solution to overcome this issue saving time and costs. Such an approach will be also described in the presentation and the impact on the performance of the final package will be discussed.     

Agent decision-making in open mixed networks

Computer systems increasingly carry out tasks in mixed networks, that is in group settings in which they interact both with other computer systems and with people. Participants in these heterogeneous human-computer groups vary in their capabilities, goals, and strategies; they may cooperate, collaborate, or compete. The presence of people in mixed networks raises challenges for the design and the evaluation of decision-making strategies for computer agents. This paper describes several new decision-making models that represent, learn and adapt to various social attributes that influence people's decision-making and presents a novel approach to evaluating such models. It identifies a range of social attributes in an open-network setting that influence people's decision-making and thus affect the performance of computer-agent strategies, and establishes the importance of learning and adaptation to the success of such strategies. The settings vary in the capabilities, goals, and strategies that people bring into their interactions. The studies deploy a configurable system called Colored Trails (CT) that generates a family of games. CT is an abstract, conceptually simple but highly versatile game in which players negotiate and exchange resources to enable them to achieve their individual or group goals. It provides a realistic analogue to multi-agent task domains, while not requiring extensive domain modeling. It is less abstract than payoff matrices, and people exhibit less strategic and more helpful behavior in CT than in the identical payoff matrix decision-making context. By not requiring extensive domain modeling, CT enables agent researchers to focus their attention on strategy design, and it provides an environment in which the influence of social factors can be better isolated and studied.     

Optische und mechanische Eigenschaften von RLVIP HfO2‐Schichten

Optical and mechanical properties of RLVIP HfO₂ films In this paper HfO₂‐films were deposited on unheated fused silica, borosilicate glass, and silicon wafer substrates by reactive low voltage ion plating (RLVIP). Optical film properties, i. e. refractive index and absorption as well as mechanical properties, particularly film stress, were investigated. Their dependence on deposition parameters, i. e. arc current and oxygen partial pressure was studied. The film refractive index was calculated from spectrophotometric measurements. The low absorption was determined by photothermal deflection spectrometry. Stress measurements were performed by bending disc method with uncoated and coated silicon wafer substrates.