Proactive adjustments of response strategies in the stop-signal paradigm.

In the stop-signal paradigm, fast responses are harder to inhibit than slow responses, so subjects must balance speed in the go task with successful stopping in the stop task. In theory, subjects achieve this balance by adjusting response thresholds for the go task, making proactive adjustments in response to instructions that indicate that relevant stop signals are likely to occur. The 5 experiments reported here tested this theoretical claim, presenting cues that indicated whether or not stop signals were relevant for the next few trials. Subjects made proactive response-strategy adjustments in each experiment: Diffusion-model fits showed that response threshold increased when participants expected stop signals to occur, slowing go responses and increasing accuracy. Furthermore, the results show that subjects can make proactive response-strategy adjustments on a trial-by-trial basis, suggesting a flexible cognitive system that can proactively adjust itself in changing environments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The science of sex appeal: An evolutionary perspective.

Growing evidence shows that features we find attractive in members of the opposite sex signal important underlying dimensions of health and reproductive viability. It has been discovered that men with attractive faces have higher quality sperm, women with attractive bodies are more fertile, men and women with attractive voices lose their virginity sooner, men who spend more money than they earn have more sex partners, and lap dancers make more tips when they are in the fertile phase of their menstrual cycle. This paper highlights recent evidence showing that the way we perceive other people has been shaped by our evolutionary history. An evolutionary approach provides a powerful tool for understanding the consistency and diversity of mating preferences and behaviors across individuals and cultures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Response to Al-Khanji, Budesheim, and Soucar's letter.

F. A. DiBlasio responds to K. Al-Khanji's comments (see record 2000-00240-005) on decision-based forgiveness treatment in cases of marital infidelity. The original author states that the primary concern of making therapy culturally sensitive is an important issue and a worthy endeavor of all clinicians. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bacterial contamination of cucumber fruit through adhesion

In this study, the adhesion of bacteria to fresh cucumber surfaces in aqueous suspension was shown to be dependent on time of incubation, inoculum species and concentration, and temperature. The adhesion of bacteria to the fruit in wash water was less extensive at lower temperatures and shorter exposure times. Various species of bacteria were adsorbed to cucumber surfaces in the following relative order: Salmonella Typhimurium > Staphylococcus aureus > Lactobacillus plantarum > Listeria monocytogenes. Cells were adsorbed at all temperatures tested (5, 15, 25, and 35 degrees C) at levels that depended on incubation time, but the numbers of cells adsorbed were larger at higher incubation temperatures. Levels of adhesion of bacteria to dewaxed fruit were higher for L. monocytogenes and lower for Salmonella Typhimurium, L. plantarum, and S. aureus than were levels of adhesion to waxed fruit.     

Design of angle-tolerant multivariate optical elements for chemical imaging

Multivariate optical elements (MOEs) are multilayer optical interference coatings with arbitrary spectral profiles that are used in multivariate pattern recognition to perform the task of projecting magnitudes of special basis functions (regression vectors) out of optical spectra. Because MOEs depend on optical interference effects, their performance is sensitive to the angle of incidence of incident light. This angle dependence complicates their use in imaging applications. We report a method for the design of angle-insensitive MOEs based on modification of a previously described nonlinear optimization algorithm. This algorithm operates when the effects of deviant angles of incidence are simulated prior to optimization, which treats the angular deviation as an interferent in the measurement. To demonstrate the algorithm, a 13-layer imaging MOE (IMOE, with alternating layers of high-index Nb2O5 and low-index SiO2) for the determination of Bismarck Brown dye in mixtures of Bismarck Brown and Crystal Violet, was designed and its performance simulated. For angles of incidence that range from 42 degrees to 48 degrees, the IMOE has an average standard error of prediction (SEP) of 0.55 microM for Bismarck Brown. This compares with a SEP of 2.8 microM for a MOE designed by a fixed-angle algorithm.     

Atomic-precision multilayer coating of the first set of optics for an extreme-ultraviolet lithography prototype system

We present our results of coating a first set of optical elements for an extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) lithography system. The optics were coated with Mo-Si multilayer mirrors by dc magnetron sputtering and characterized by synchrotron radiation. Near-normal incidence reflectances above 65% were achieved at 13.35 nm. The run-to-run reproducibility of the reflectance peak wavelength was maintained to within 0.4%, and the thickness uniformity (or gradient) was controlled to within +/-0.05% peak to valley, exceeding the prescribed specification. The deposition technique used for this study is an enabling technology for EUV lithography, making it possible to fabricate multilayer-coated optics to accuracies commensurate with atomic dimensions.     

Ante- and perinatal factors and child characteristics predicting parenting experience among formerly infertile couples during the child's first year: A controlled study.

In this prospective controlled study, the authors examined (a) parenting experiences among couples with successful assisted reproduction treatment (ART; n = 367) and fertile spontaneously conceiving controls (n = 371) and (b) the impact of ante- and perinatal factors and child characteristics on parenting experiences. The results show that positive mothering experiences increased more during the 1st year of parenting and were generally higher among ART mothers than control mothers. No differences were found between ART fathers and controls in their fathering experience. Unpleasant birth experiences, low birth weight, and difficulty soothing the child were associated with high levels of parental stress in the control group, but this was not so among the ART parents. Psychosocial interventions in maternal care should take into account the various meanings that couples give to the history of infertility and conception and ante- and perinatal experiences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

用于AMLCD微显示的新型驱动

新型交流耦合结构使低功耗近眼微显示器使用3.3V供电的CMOS电路成为可能。     

Predicting Addiction Severity Index (ASI) interviewer severity ratings for a computer-administered ASI.

The Addiction Severity Index (ASI) is a reliable and valid measure of problem severity among addicted patients. Concerns have been raised about the reliability of the Interviewer Severity Rating (ISR), a summary score for each of 7 domains. As part of an effort to build a computer-administered ASI, regression equations were developed to predict the ISR. Repeated resampling of a large dataset, consisting of 1,124 ASIs conducted by trained interviewers, permitted derivation of stable regression equations predicting the ISR for each ASI domain from patients' answers to preselected interview items. The resulting 7 Predicted Severity Ratings (PSRs) were tested on 8, standardized vignettes, with "gold standard," expert-generated ISRs. Reliabilities compared well with those of intensively trained interviewers. The PSRs could provide an alternative to potentially unreliable interviewer ratings, enhancing the ASI's role in treatment planning and treatment matching and make possible a computer-administered version of the ASI. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)