In vivo results with a new device for ultrasonic monitoring of pig skin cryosurgery: the echographic cryoprobe

One of the main difficulties encountered in cryosurgery is the uncertainty in the extent and depth of the tissue effectively treated during the freezing process. The objective of this study was to evaluate in vivo ultrasonic control of skin cryosurgery using a new echographic cryoprobe. An echographic cryoprobe, developed specifically for dermatology applications, combines a high-frequency (20 MHz) miniature ultrasonic transducer and a N2O-driven closed cryoprobe. Knowledge of the ultrasound velocity of frozen skin is a prerequisite for monitoring the iceball formation kinetics. Therefore, in a first study, we estimated the ultrasound velocity of frozen skin specimens. In a second step, the operation of the echographic cryoprobe was assessed, under in vivo conditions similar to those used in human therapeutics, on normal skin of three female "Large-White" pigs under anesthesia. The mean value of ultrasound velocity of frozen skin obtained by pooling the data from all the skin specimens included in this study was 2865 +/- 170 m per s. The average rates of growth (10(-2) mm per s) of the iceballs were found to be 12.2 +/- 1.0 (pig 1), 9.0 +/- 1.0 (pig 2), and 8.4 +/- 0.9 (pig 3). The echographic cryoprobe had a built-in high-frequency ultrasonic transducer that served two functions. It enabled in vivo real-time monitoring of depth penetration of the iceball and it gave important feedback to the operator or to the console relating to the rate of growth of the iceball. Automatic (i.e., operator-independent) detection of the echo signal from the freezing front and calculation of the depth penetration of the iceball was possible.     

Schema training in analogical reasoning.

In 3 experiments, college students learned how to solve 20 verbal analogy problems and took transfer and memory tests. Ss learned from worked-out examples that emphasized relational terms such as "part-to-whole" or under 3 other instructional conditions that required responding to examples or that excluded mention of relational terms. The former Ss were more accurate and faster then other Ss on solving new problems involving the same relations but less accurate in recognizing words from previous problems. This pattern is inconsistent with active responding theory, which predicts students learn best by generating answers and receiving feedback to problems, and is consistent with active learning theory, which predicts that students learn best by inducing schemas for particular problem types. Results indicate that schema induction is maximized when the schemas are made salient and the cognitive system is not overloaded. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral consistency when parents drive their children to preschool

How drivers signal, park, escort their children across a street to a preschool, and depart was videotaped unobtrusively for 39 days, to test for consistency of driver behavior and children's crossing behavior. Data were analyzed for 17 pairs of drivers and children, observed more than ten times under identical conditions. Frequency of identical actions was analyzed on the basis of category systems, whereby a sequence of behavior was broken down into several items. A variety of individual differences and inter-behavioral differences in consistency were detected, and in general drivers were more consistent than children. Drivers' signals and accompanying of children were somewhat inconsistent, while some of their choice behaviors were very stable. Inconsistent behavior was discussed in terms of the lack of or insufficient specification of drivers' and children's schemas. Repeated naturalistic observation can not only identify behavioral consistency and reveal the structure of relevant schemas in daily life but also can predict behavior.     

When one cause casts doubt on another: A normative analysis of discounting in causal attribution.

The question of whether lay attributors are biased in their discounting of 1 cause given an alternative cause has not been resolved by decades of research, largely due to the lack of a clear standard for the rational amount of discounting. The authors propose a normative model in which the attributor's causal schemas and discounting inferences are represented in terms of subjective probability. The analysis examines Kelley's (1972b) proposed causal schemas and then other schemas for multiple causes (varying in assumptions about prior probability, sufficiency, correlation, and number of causes) to determine when discounting is rational. It reveals that discounting is implied from most, but not all, possible causal schemas, albeit at varying amounts. Hence, certain patterns of discounting previously interpreted as biases may, in fact, reflect coherent inferences from causal schemas. Results of 2 studies, which measured causal assumptions and inferences, support this interpretation (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Varieties of dissociative experiences: A multiple code account and a discussion of Bromberg's case of "William".

Adaptive functioning depends on integration of subsymbolic with symbolic functions within emotion schemas, as defined by multiple code theory. Psychological disorders result from dissociations within and between emotion schemas; logical dissociation is implicated in varying ways in all emotional disorders. Therapeutic work, as seen in P. M. Bromberg's (2003) clinical material, requires activation of subsymbolic bodily and sensory experience in the session; associated with ongoing events in the therapeutic relationship; triggering memories of the past. Reconnection of dissociated components of the emotion schemas occurs through their being activated and held in working memory. The effectiveness of interventions to facilitate such connection depends on gradual development of the therapeutic relationship, the converse of the etiology of a dissociated schema. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A methodology for optimally designing console panels for use by a single operator

A seven-step methodology is presented to determine a dimensionally correct optimal layout of a console panel for a single operator. This methodology integrates the steps in the layout design process and uses a mathematical optimization model from facility design to obtain the optimal panel layout. A major difference in this methodology from previous work is that the mathematical optimization model incorporates factors that are only partially included in previous mathematical models. In addition, it includes the areas of the panel components as a new factor. This methodology is illustrated by the design of a nuclear power plant console panel.     

Face processing using one spike per neurone

The speed with which neurones in the monkey temporal lobe can respond selectively to the presence of a face implies that processing may be possible using only one spike per neurone, a finding that is problematic for conventional rate coding models that need at least two spikes to estimate interspike interval. One way of avoiding this problem uses the fact that integrate-and-fire neurones will tend to fire at different times, with the most strongly activated neurones firing first (Thorpe, 1990, Parallel Processing in Neural Systems). Under such conditions, processing can be performed by using the order in which cells in a particular layer fire as a code. To test this idea, we have explored a range of architectures using SpikeNET (Thorpe and Gautrais, 1997, Neural Information Processing Systems, 9), a simulator designed for modelling large populations of integrate-and-fire neurones. One such network used a simple four-layer feed-forward architecture to detect and localise the presence of human faces in natural images. Performance of the model was tested with a large range of grey-scale images of faces and other objects and was found to be remarkably good by comparison with more classic image processing techniques. The most remarkable feature of these results is that they were obtained using a purely feed-forward neural network in which none of the neurones fired more than one spike (thus ruling out conventional rate coding mechanisms). It thus appears that the combination of asynchronous spike propagation and rank order coding may provide an important key to understanding how the nervous system can achieve such a huge amount of processing in so little time.     

Age differences in stages of attributional processing.

This study introduces an attributional processing approach to study age differences in dispositional attributions. Dispositional attributions made in the context of relationship vignettes were examined among younger and older adults in 2 conditions (immediate and delayed rating conditions). By using a direct assessment of a 2-step process for making dispositional attributions, it was inferred that a spontaneous adjustment stage occurred following an initial characterization stage as a function of age group and content of vignettes. Older adults made lower dispositional ratings if they were given more time to think about the situations than if asked to make an immediate judgment. By contrast, younger adults made higher dispositional ratings if they were given more time to make the judgments. Qualitative analyses of schemas elicited by a subsample of participants for each vignette suggested a relationship between dispositional attributional ratings and content-evoked schemas. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recollections of things schematic: Room schemas revisited.

In 2 experiments, the authors examined the effects of schemas on the subjective experience of remembering. Participants entered a room that was set up to look like a graduate student's office under intentional or incidental learning conditions. They later took a recognition memory test that included making remember-know judgments. In Experiment 1, they were tested during the same session; in Experiment 2 they were tested either during the same session or after a 48-hr delay. Consistent with the authors' predictions, memory for atypical objects was especially likely to be experienced in the remember sense. In addition, false remember judgments rose dramatically after the 48-hr delay, especially for participants in the incidental learning condition. Results are discussed in terms of schema theory, fuzzy-trace theory, and the distinctiveness heuristic. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Response Prediction of RC Beams Externally Bonded with Steel-Reinforced Polymers

This paper deals with an innovative technique for strengthening reinforced concrete (RC) structures using steel-reinforced polymer (SRP) materials. The results of an experimental campaign using RC beams strengthened in flexure with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer or SRP laminates are summarized, and the experimental outcomes are compared to the predictions provided by analytical models and code formulations in terms of flexural strength, curvature of the cross section, deflections, and crack widths. Under ultimate conditions, the ACI 440.2R-02 approach provided conservative flexural strength, and a modified expression for the bond coefficient km was proposed. Under serviceability conditions, good agreement was obtained between experimental results and a theoretical model developed by the writers. Comparisons of code models in terms of both crack width and deflections highlighted the need for a calibration of code formulas to account for effects due to externally bonded reinforcement.     

The up–right/down–left advantage for vertically oriented stimuli and horizontally oriented responses: A dual-strategy hypothesis.

C. Umiltà's (1991) proposal that the up–right/down–left advantage for up and down stimuli mapped to left and right responses is due to verbal coding was evaluated. Two approaches were used in separating spatial from verbal codes. The 1st approach used a reaction time distribution bin analysis to examine the effect of response speed on the up–right/down–left advantage. The 2nd approach attempted to create task conditions that would promote either a verbal or visual strategy. Results show that the up–right/down–left advantage increased as response speed slowed down. This finding was interpreted in terms of the dual-strategy hypothesis, which asserts that participants may use the visual or the verbal stimulus code and that, depending on the task constraints, a visual or verbal strategy may prevail. With a visual strategy, no compatibility effect arises. With a verbal strategy, the up–right/down–left advantage emerges. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Verbal coding and display coding in the acquisition and retention of tracking skill.

120 Ss were trained on a pursuit tracking task with an irregular step-function input. Cues for coding the task were introduced via pretraining and rehearsal of a numerical code and by display overlays in a 2 X 2 X 3 design. 3 levels of specificity of cues were provided by the overlays with the most specific condition providing a numerical code like that of pretraining. The results showed that both pretraining and display coding facilitated early reduction of tracking error, but that neither these nor rehearsal of the numerical code affected retention performance after 1 wk. Taken together, these findings suggested that the verbal and display cues were used in the early coding of the task, but were less important later in practice and at retention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Metaphor-based schemas and text representations: Making connections through conceptual metaphors.

Four experiments were conducted to examine the role of metaphor-based schemas in text comprehension and representation. In Experiment 1, schemas facilitated recognition judgments for schema-related sentences that had been presented in a text. Similar facilitation was found for the recognition of individual words in Experiments 2, 3, and 4. The results are interpreted as evidence for the use of metaphor-based schemas to link elements within a text representation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reduction coding in responding to signal sequences.

"Using a 5 X 5 matrix of lights and a similar panel of push buttons, five Ss were required to respond to sequences of 60 signals presented in subsequences of two, three, or four signals per group with intervals of .37, .52, .68, or 1.02 sec. between items. Performances… were compared with a self-paced condition… ." All 12 experimental conditions were inferior to self-pacing speed and accuracy, except the 2-signal .37-sec. interval condition, which was faster in terms of total transmission time and rate of information transmitted. "It was concluded that… coding by groups can, under limited conditions, result in performance… superior to… self-pacing… ." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Induction of alternative splicing of HLA-B27 by bacterial invasion

This study introduces an attributional processing approach to study age differences in dispositional attributions. Dispositional attributions made in the context of relationship vignettes were examined among younger and older adults in 2 conditions (immediate and delayed rating conditions). By using a direct assessment of a 2-step process for making dispositional attributions, it was inferred that a spontaneous adjustment stage occurred following an initial characterization stage as a function of age group and content of vignettes. Older adults made lower dispositional ratings if they were given more time to think about the situations than if asked to make an immediate judgment. By contrast, younger adults made higher dispositional ratings if they were given more time to make the judgments. Qualitative analyses of schemas elicited by a subsample of participants for each vignette suggested a relationship between dispositional attributional ratings and content-evoked schemas.     

An extension to the constructivist coding hypothesis as a learning model for selective feedback when the base rate is high.

Elwin, Juslin, Olsson, and Enkvist (2007) and Henriksson, Elwin, and Juslin (2010) offered the constructivist coding hypothesis to describe how people code the outcomes of their decisions when availability of feedback is conditional on the decision. They provided empirical evidence only for the .5 base rate condition. This commentary argues that the constructivist coding hypothesis imposes an ever-declining selection rate and overestimates base rate bias for high base rate conditions. We provide support based on a simulation model of learning under selective feedback with different base rates. Then we discuss possible extensions to constructivist coding that can help overcome the problem. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Employment battery performance of Hispanic applicants as a function of English or Spanish test instructions.

Identified 1,300 Hispanic applicants for operator/clerical jobs in northeastern, southern, and southwestern US regions, and determined their language preference. Ss who indicated a preference for receiving the employment test battery with Spanish instructions were allocated to 2 groups; the 1st group was administered the battery with Spanish instructions, and the 2nd group received the same test battery with English instructions. The battery included arithmetic, word meaning, filing, coding, and marking subtests. Comparisons of test performance under the 2 conditions suggest that Spanish instructions resulted in small but significant gains in scores, especially on the marking subtest. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)