Effects of α-Terthienyl on the midgut detoxification enzymes of the European corn borer,Ostrinia nubilalis

The biochemical basis for the tolerance of the European corn borer,Ostrinia nubilalis, to the phototoxin-terthienyl was investigated by measuring the midgut polysubstrate monooxygenases and glutathioneS-transferase activities.-Terthienyl administered in the diet to the corn borers increased the level of cytochromeb ₅, NADH-cytochromec reductase,O-demethylase, and glutathioneS-transferase activities. The induced detoxification enzyme activities should enable the corn borer to metabolize-terthienyl more efficiently and therefore render the corn borer highly tolerant to-terthienyl.     

First-order syntactic characterizations of minimal entailment,domain-minimal entailment,and Herbrand entailment

This paper investigates a consistent versioncwa _s of Reiter's closed-world assumptioncwa. It provides a syntactic characterization of minimal entailment ? _min : for every ∨-sentence ? and for every ∨-theory Σ, $$\varphi \varepsilon cwa_S \left( \sum \right)iff\sum \vdash _{min} \varphi .$$ A version of this characterization remains valid if not all relations are subject to minimization. These two characterizations do not use the domain-closure axiom nor the unique-names assumptionuna, although they may be easily modified to ones that incorporateuna. A similar result for Herbrand entailment ? _Her , by means of generalized domain-closure axiomdca _s , is provided: for every ∨-sentence ? and every ∨-theory Σ, $$\varphi \varepsilon dca_S \left( \sum \right)iff\sum \vdash _{Her} \varphi .$$ Finally, a syntactic characterization of domain-minimal entailment ? _dom in terms of a versionmda _s of minimal-domain assumption is shown: for every ∨-sentence ? and for every ∨-theory Σ, $$\varphi \varepsilon mda_S \left( \sum \right)iff\sum \vdash _{dom} \varphi .$$ The proving power of these entailments is then evaluated. In particular, it is shown that (1) neither ? _min nor its versions are strong enough to derive positive sentences from Σ unless they are first-order provable from Σ however, a double application of ? _min has enough power to derive such positive sentences; (2) ? _Her has the strength of infinitary rule of inference but cannot derive existential nor quantifier-free sentences from Σ unless they are first-order provable from Σ (3) ? _Her and ? _dom can derive from Σ certain positive facts about = which are otherwise unprovable from Σ and (4) ? _dom cannot derive from Σ sentences without positive occurrences of = unless they are first-order provable from Σ. Moreover, the paper relatescwa _s to Reiter'scwa and to Minker's generalized closed-world assumptionGCWA and its extension.     

Clustering categorical data: an approach based on dynamical systems

We describe a novel approach for clustering collections of sets, and its application to the analysis and mining of categorical data. By “categorical data,” we mean tables with fields that cannot be naturally ordered by a metric – e.g., the names of producers of automobiles, or the names of products offered by a manufacturer. Our approach is based on an iterative method for assigning and propagating weights on the categorical values in a table; this facilitates a type of similarity measure arising from the co-occurrence of values in the dataset. Our techniques can be studied analytically in terms of certain types of non-linear dynamical systems. Received February 15, 1999 / Accepted August 15, 1999     

Combining classifiers under probabilistic models: experimental comparative analysis of methods

This work will present a review of the concept of classifier combination based on the combined discriminant function. We will present a Bayesian approach, in which the discriminant function assumes the role of the posterior probability. We will propose a probabilistic interpretation of expert rules and conditions of knowledge consistency for expert rules and learning sets. We will suggest how to measure the quality of learning materials and we will use the measure mentioned above for an algorithm that eliminates contradictions in the rule set. In this work several recognition algorithms will be described, based on either: (i) pure rules, or; (ii) rules together with learning sets. Furthermore, the original concept of information unification, which enables the formation of rules on the basis of learning set or learning set on the basis of rules will be proposed. The obtained conclusions will serve as a spring‐board for the formulation of new project guidelines for this type of decision‐making system. At the end, experimental results of the proposed algorithms will be presented, both from computer generated data and for a real problem from the medical diagnostics field.     

Crack and flaw identification in elastodynamics using Kalman filter techniques

Filter-driven optimization based on the extended Kalman filter concept is used here for the numerical solution of crack and flaw identification problems in elastodynamics. The mechanical modeling of the studied two-dimensional problem, which includes the effect of unilateral contact along the sides of the crack, is done with the help of the boundary element method. The effect of various dynamical test loads and the applicability of this method for crack and defect identification in disks are investigated. The work has been supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG). Partial support has been provided by a Greek-German Research Cooperation Grant (IKYDA2001). This support is greatfully acknowledged.     

Defect identification in 3-D elastostatics using a genetic algorithm

An inverse problem in engineering mechanics is considered where the position and the geometry of three-dimensional, ellipsoidal defects are identified by using measurements of the mechanical response under static loading on the external surface of the structure. The problem is solved by appropriate combination of genetic optimization (GO) and boundary element method (BEM) and following previously published two-dimensional problems. The three-dimensional case presents some additional difficulties. Furthermore, the function of several genetic operators and the effect of the parameters of genetic optimization on the efficiency of the solution has been numerically examined.     

Maintenance of Response Readiness in Patients With Parkinson's Disease: Evidence From a Simple Reaction Time Task.

The authors explored the effect of Parkinson's disease (PD) on the generation and maintenance of response readiness in a simple reaction time task. They compared performance of idiopathic PD patients without dementia, age-matched controls, and younger controls over short (1-, 3-, and 6-s) and long (12- and 18-s) foreperiod intervals. After each trial, the authors probed memory for visual information that also had to be maintained during the trial interval. Patients and controls did not differ overall in their ability to maintain readiness over long delays. However, within the PD group only, errors in maintaining visual information were correlated with difficulty in maintaining readiness, suggesting that systems impaired in PD may facilitate the maintenance of processing in both motor and cognitive domains. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Critique of Relational Psychoanalysis.

Psychoanalysis today is largely a psychology of consciousness: Post- and neo-Freudians form a marginalized community within North America in comparison to contemporary relational and intersubjective theorists, who emphasize the phenomenology of lived conscious experience, dyadic attachments, affective attunement, social construction, and mutual recognition over the role of insight and interpretation. Despite the rich historical terrain of theoretical variation and advance, many contemporary approaches have displaced the primacy of the unconscious. Notwithstanding the theoretical hairsplitting that historically occurs across the psychoanalytic domain, one is beginning to see with increasing force and clarity what S. Mitchell and L. Aron (1999) referred to as the emergence of a new tradition, namely, relational psychoanalysis. Having its edifice in early object relations theory, the British middle school and American interpersonal traditions, and self psychology, relationality is billed as "a distinctly new tradition" (Mitchell & Aron, 1999, p. x). What is being labeled as the American middle group of psychoanalysis (C. Spezzano, 1997), relational and intersubjective theory have taken center stage. It may be argued, however, that contemporary relational and intersubjective perspectives have failed to be properly critiqued from within their own school of discourse. The scope of this article is largely preoccupied with tracing (a) the philosophical underpinnings of contemporary relational theory, (b) its theoretical relation to traditional psychoanalytic thought, (c) clinical implications for therapeutic practice, and (d) its intersection with points of consilience that emerge from these traditions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Functional Projection: How Fundamental Social Motives Can Bias Interpersonal Perception.

Results from 2 experimental studies suggest that self-protection and mate-search goals lead to the perception of functionally relevant emotional expressions in goal-relevant social targets. Activating a self-protection goal led participants to perceive greater anger in Black male faces (Study 1) and Arab faces (Study 2), both out-groups heuristically associated with physical threat. In Study 2, participants' level of implicit Arab-threat associations moderated this bias. Activating a mate-search goal led male, but not female, participants to perceive more sexual arousal in attractive opposite-sex targets (Study 1). Activating these goals did not influence perceptions of goal-irrelevant targets. Additionally, participants with chronic self-protective and mate-search goals exhibited similar biases. Findings are consistent with a functionalist, motivation-based account of interpersonal perception. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Health Service Use Predictors Among Trauma Survivors: A Critical Review.

This article had 2 aims: (a) to comprehensively review and synthesize the literature on predictors of health service utilization in survivors of traumatic events and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients and (b) to discuss methodological issues in examining service utilization in this population. PsycINFO was searched for relevant articles published through April 2004. Included studies had to primarily sample trauma survivors or PTSD patients and statistically explore health service use determinants. Although some findings conflicted across studies, increased mental health service use was generally related to being female, having a previous trauma history, and having a PTSD diagnosis. Increased medical service use was found among those with a PTSD diagnosis. Methodological recommendations are made for future health service use studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)