Contribution of bottom-up and top-down motion processes to perceived position.

Perceived position depends on many factors, including motion present in a visual scene. Convincing evidence shows that high-level motion perception-which is driven by top-down processes such as attentional tracking or inferred motion-can influence the perceived position of an object. Is high-level motion sufficient to influence perceived position, and is attention to or awareness of motion direction necessary to displace objects' perceived positions? Consistent with previous reports, the first experiment revealed that the perception of motion, even when no physical motion was present, was sufficient to shift perceived position. A second experiment showed that when subjects were unable to identify the direction of a physically present motion stimulus, the apparent locations of other objects were still influenced. Thus, motion influences perceived position by at least two distinct processes. The first involves a passive, preattentive mechanism that does not depend on perceptual awareness; the second, a top-down process that depends on the perceptual awareness of motion direction. Each contributes to perceived position, but independently of the other. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Carving "natural" emotions: "Kindly" from bottom-up but not top-down.

Comment on an article by Peter Zachar (see record 2007-10982-007). To resolve the seemingly perennial battle between naturalistic and cultural approaches to emotions, we should recognize the former works best on primary-process emotions (evolutionarily provided subcortical systems) while the latter better describes how tertiary-processes (socially-constructed, thought-penetrated) emotions arise from higher neocortical brain regions. Emotional learning studies (secondary-process approaches such as classical conditioning) lie somewhere in between. Natural kind semantics may be justified if one works at the cross-species, neuro-evolutionary, naturalistic level, while surely being unsuitable for tertiary-process approaches. For investigators working at rock-bottom neuroscience levels, the conflicts between naturalistic/ethological and constructivist/ componential approaches in human psychology have long seemed sterile and unproductive. An integration of the various levels of analysis should be most productive for lasting knowledge. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Integrating bottom-up and top-down theories of subjective well-being: The case of health.

As a means of integrating bottom-up and top-down theories of subjective well-being (SWB), a framework was proposed that, in part, posits that both objective life circumstances and global personality dimensions indirectly affect SWB through their effects on the interpretation of life circumstances. This proposition was tested both cross-sectionally and longitudinally among a sample of approximately 375 men and women. Personality was operationalized in terms of the dispositional trait negative affectivity (NA), and the life circumstance investigated was health. Strong support was obtained for the hypothesized indirect effects of NA and objective health on SWB. Implications of the integrative framework for the study of SWB are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Integrating top-down and bottom-up structural models of subjective well-being: A longitudinal investigation.

Although there have been many recent advances in the literature on subjective well-being (SWB), the field historically has suffered from 2 shortcomings: little theoretical progress and lack of quasi-experimental or longitudinal design (E. Diener, 1984). Causal influences therefore have been difficult to determine. After collecting data over 4 time periods with 160 Ss, the authors compared how well 2 alternative models of SWB (bottom-up and top-down models) fit the data. Variables of interest in both models were physical health, daily hassles, world assumptions, and constructive thinking. Results showed that both models provided good fit to the data, with neither model providing a closer fit than the other, which suggests that the field would benefit from devoting more time to examining how general dispositions toward happiness color perceptions of life's experiences. Results implicate bidirectional causal models of SWB and its personality and situational influences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Switching between simple cognitive tasks: The interaction of top-down and bottom-up factors.

How do top-down factors (e.g., task expectancy) and bottom-up factors (e.g., task recency) interact to produce an overall level of task readiness? This question was addressed by factorially manipulating task expectancy and task repetition in a task-switching paradigm. The effects of expectancy and repetition on response time tended to interact underadditively, but only because the traditional binary task-repetition variable lumps together all switch trials, ignoring variation in task lag. When the task-recency variable was scaled continuously, all 4 experiments instead showed additivity between expectancy and recency. The results indicated that expectancy and recency influence different stages of mental processing. One specific possibility (the configuration–execution model) is that task expectancy affects the time required to configure upcoming central operations, whereas task recency affects the time required to actually execute those central operations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A clash of bottom-up and top-down processes in visual search: The reversed letter effect revisited.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 37(4) of Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance (see record 2011-12773-001). The authors have requested a number of corrections. The corrections are given in the erratum.] It is harder to find the letter “N” among its mirror reversals than vice versa, an inconvenient finding for bottom-up saliency accounts based on primary visual cortex (V1) mechanisms. However, in line with this account, we found that in dense search arrays, gaze first landed on either target equally fast. Remarkably, after first landing, gaze often strayed away again and target report was delayed. This delay was longer for target “N” We suggest that the delay arose because bottom-up saliency clashed with top-down shape recognition. Thus, although gaze landed accurately and quickly to the distinctive feature in the target shape (the orientation of the diagonal bar in “N” or “И”), the identical zigzag shape of target and distractors was registered, leading to temporary confusion. In sparser search arrays with smaller set sizes, top-down target shape recognition occurs earlier and bottom-up saliency is weaker. The clash in this case causes search asymmetry even before target location at first gaze landing. Our findings rule out previous suggestions that search asymmetry stems from stronger preattentive salience for the reversed target and/or faster rejection of familiar distractors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Deaths at an emergency hospital. Circumstances around the cases as described by physicians and relatives

Cases of death occurring at University Hospital (Akademiska sjukhuset), Uppsala, during a four-month period were studied by means of interviews (n = 258) with the attending physicians and questionnaires answered by relatives (191) of the deceased. In half the cases death was unexpected and the preceding treatment period short. In most cases the family was present at the time of death, one of several signs that family participation has increased. The question of autopsy was raised in 70 per cent of cases, autopsy being performed in 53 per cent. Great importance was attached to relatives' attitudes toward autopsy, which were negative in only about one case in four. Shortcomings remain in the information provided to families, although there was improvement in this respect as compared with findings in earlier studies.     

Criteria used for admission by graduate departments.

Replies from 217 of 289 (75% return) graduate departments of psychology in the US and Canada indicate that undergraduate grade point average (GPA), partial or total Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores, and recommendations were the most important criteria for selection of students. Cutoff range for both sections of the GRE was 860–2,200. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ambulatory visits to hospital emergency departments. Patterns and reasons for use. 24 Hours in the ED Study Group

OBJECTIVES: To characterize the reasons ambulatory patients use hospital emergency departments (EDs) for outpatient care and to determine the proportion of ED patients who initially are assessed as having nonurgent conditions, but subsequently are hospitalized. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey during a single 24-hour period of time. SETTING: Fifty-six hospital EDs nationwide. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS: Consecutive ambulatory patients presenting for care. Patents who arrived by ambulance were excluded. RESULTS: Of 6441 ambulatory patients (79 percent of all ED visits) who were eligible for study, interviews were obtained from 6187 (96 percent). A total of 5323 patients (86 percent) had clinical reasons or preferences for seeking care at an ED, including 2799 (45 percent) who thought they had an emergency or an urgent condition or were too sick to go elsewhere. Nineteen percent (n=1199) reported that they were sent to the ED by a health care professional. Patients with a regular clinician or with insurance cited similar reasons for seeking care at an ED. A total of 3062 patients (50 percent) cited 1 or more nonfinancial barriers to care as an important reason for coming to the ED, and 949 (15 percent) cited financial considerations. A total of 3045 patents (49 percent of ambulatory patients and 37 percent of total ED visits) were assessed at triage as having a nonurgent condition; 166 of them (5.5 percent; 95 percent confidence interval, 4.7 percent-6.3 percent) were admitted to the hospital. CONCLUSIONS: Most ambulatory patients seek care in an ED because of worrisome symptoms or nonfinancial barriers to care. Although many ambulatory patients appear to have nonurgent conditions based on triage classification, a small but disturbing percentage of nonurgent patients are hospitalized.     

Differential roles of neuroticism, extraversion, and event desirability for mood in daily life: An integrative model of top-down and bottom-up influences.

Top-down and bottom-up approaches were combined to assess the relative impact of extraversion, neuroticism, and daily events on daily mood. Ninety-six community-residing men completed diaries for 8 consecutive nights. Extraversion predicted positive mood, whereas neuroticism predicted positive and negative mood. Undesirable events predicted negative mood and, more modestly, positive mood. Desirable events predicted positive mood. Negative dispositional and situational factors play a larger role in daily positive affect than positive factors do in daily negative affect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Training hospital pharmacy technicians: joint effort by departments of education and pharmacy

The cooperative development and initiation of a one-year pharmacy technician training program is described. The hospital's pharmacy and education departments formulated goals and objectives for the didactic and clinical areas of the program and developed methods to evaluate student competency and the program itself. The training for first class of students consisted of three months of didactic instruction, one month of laboratory experience, and eight months of on-the-job training. The program includes an observation of medication administration which is designed to increase the student's awareness of the entire medication process.     

Contingent attentional capture by top-down control settings: Converging evidence from event-related potentials.

Theories of attentional control are divided over whether the capture of spatial attention depends primarily on stimulus salience or is contingent on attentional control settings induced by task demands. The authors addressed this issue using the N2-posterior- contralateral (N2pc) effect, a component of the event-related brain potential thought to reflect attentional allocation. They presented a cue display followed by a target display of 4 letters. Each display contained a green item and a red item. Some participants responded to the red letter and others to the green letter. Converging lines of evidence indicated that attention was captured by the cues with the same color as the target. First, these target-color cues produced a cuing validity effect on behavioral measures. Second, distractors appearing in the cued location produced larger compatibility effects. Third, the target-color cue produced a robust N2pc effect, similar in magnitude to the N2pc effect to the target itself. Furthermore, the target-color cue elicited a similar N2pc effect regardless of whether it competed with a simultaneous abrupt onset. The findings provide converging evidence for attentional capture contingent on top-down control settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effectiveness of nursing care after discharge from hospital

Increasing pressures on health care services point to a growing role for post-discharge nursing care. Yet, the evidence concerning such aftercare services has been questioned. This article discusses a systematic review of research on the effectiveness of nursing care after discharge from hospital. The review shows that such care provides no additional benefits compared with usual care.     

Characteristics of patient visits to nurse practitioners and physician assistants in hospital outpatient departments

Amprolium was successfully used to induce cerebrocortical necrosis (CCN) in dromedary racing camels, only when they were fed on a barley diet. Camels which were fed on hay ad libitum did not suffer form CCN, although their thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP) reached similar levels as in camels fed on barley. The reason for this phenomenon is discussed. Five camels which suffered from CCN had TPP values of 80-115% and were euthanized on humane grounds when they were in lateral recumbency. Pathohistological investigations revealed a polioencephalomalacia of the dorsal cerebral cortex with oedema and status spongiosus. Cerebral autofluorescence was observed under ultraviolet light. The major clinicopathological changes were a slight anemia and a decreased potassium value whereas glucose, muscle enzymes, leucocyte counts and differential counts were elevated. A TPP effect of 12% was found during this study in healthy dromedary racing camels and symptoms were observed when TPP values reached 80-115%. The test is now being widely used during the camel racing season.     

Perspectives of psychology training clinics from training and clinic directors.

139 directors of clinical training (DCTs) and training clinic directors (TCDs) completed a survey concerning their views of the roles of the training center and its director and the relationship between DCTs and TCDs. There was a high degree of consensus concerning the importance of psychology training clinics, their functions, who should be trained and served, and the type of training provided. Ss agreed that student clinical training was more important than research and community service and that students should be provided with training in assessment and prevention as well as treatment. Most stated that the training clinic should operate on the basis of a mental health clinic model rather than as a community psychology model. Although there was also high agreement on the qualifications and responsibilities of the director, differences between the 2 groups emerged with respect to the relative control of the clinic by DCTs and TCDs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

1984-1994: Ten years of skin flaps. Development of transfer techniques. New methods of autoplasty described during this period

Ten years of flaps represent a little and a lot. It is little compared to the 2600 years since the first flap in plastic surgery: the Susruta Indian flap, but it is a lot in view of the phenomenal acceleration of this speciality since the Second World War. In 1994 alone, more than two hundred references are listed under the heading "new flaps". As it is impossible to be exhaustive, the author has chosen to focus on two main aspects: a theoretical review of new transfer techniques, dealing successively with: the principles of reverse flow flaps, venous flaps, neurocutaneous flaps, so-called "extracorporeal" transfers, reverse flow YV technique; and practical aspects based on a review of eighteen autoplasties or donor sites selected for their surgical value, their reproductibility and their innovative nature. The author's objective is not to present a technical treatise, but rather to make the reader aware of several key points or even, in some cases, the very existence of these autoplasties. This paper is designed to be didactic, with extensive references, in order to act as a practical guide. It also demonstrates, as if there were any need, to what extent plastic surgery is able to create new solutions and the essential value of continuing research.