Context and lexical access: Implications of nonword interference for lexical ambiguity resolution.

To eliminate potential "backward" priming effects, S. Glucksberg et al (see record 1986-29080-001) introduced a variant of the cross-modal lexical priming task in which subjects made lexical decisions to nonword targets that were modeled on a word related to either the contextually biased or unbiased sense of an ambiguous word. Lexical decisions to nonwords were longer than controls only when the nonword was related to the contextually biased sense of the ambiguous word, leading Glucksberg et al to conclude that context does constrain lexical access and that the multiple access pattern observed in previous studies was probably an artifact of backward priming. We did not find nonword interference when the nonword targets used by Glucksberg et al were preceded by semantically related ambiguous or unambiguous word primes. However, we did replicate their sentence context results when the ambiguous words were removed from the sentences. We conclude that the interference obtained by Glucksberg et al is due to postlexical judgments of the congruence of the sentence context and the target, not to context constraining lexical access. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bizarre imagery, interference, and distinctiveness.

Previous studies have shown that bizarre and common images produce equivalent levels of recall in unmixed-list designs. Using unmixed lists, we tested the view that bizarre images would be less susceptible than common images to common sources of interference. In all experiments, subjects imaged a list of either bizarre or common sentences and then performed some kind of interfering task before recalling the initial list of sentences. Experiment 1 showed that bizarre images were better accessed than common images after imaging an intervening list of common sentences. Also, components of common images tended to be better recalled than those of bizarre images after imaging an intervening list of bizarre sentences. Experiments 2a and 2b showed that interfering tasks consisting of studying lists of common concrete nouns did not differentially affect memory for bizarre and common images. In Experiment 3, labeling and imaging an interfering list of common pictures produced higher recall of bizarre images. Generally, bizarre images appeared to be less susceptible than common images to interference from certain types of common encodings. Importantly, the superior recall of bizarre images was always due to greater image (sentence) access, whereas higher recall of common images was associated with greater recovery of the image (sentence) constituents. Explanation of the precise pattern of results requires consideration of the distinctive properties of bizarre images. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relative importance of evaluation criteria for enterprise systems: a conjoint study

Abstract.  While a large body of research exists on the development and implementation of software, organizations are increasingly acquiring enterprise software packages [e.g. enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems] instead of custom developing their own software applications. To be competitive in the marketplace, software package development firms must manage the three-pronged trade-off between cost, quality and functionality. Surprisingly, prior research has made little attempt to investigate the characteristics of packaged software that influence management information system (MIS) managers' likelihood of recommending purchase. As a result, both the criteria by which MIS managers evaluate prospective packaged systems and the attributes that lead to commercially competitive ERP software products are poorly understood. This paper examines this understudied issue through a conjoint study. We focus on ERP systems, which are among the largest and most complex packaged systems that are purchased by organizations. In a conjoint study, 1008 evaluation decisions based on hypothetical ERP software package profiles were completed by managers in 126 organizations. The study represents the first empirical investigation of the relative importance that managers ascribe to various factors that are believed to be important in evaluating packaged software. The results provide important insights for both organizations that acquire such systems and those that develop them. The results show that functionality, reliability, cost, ease of use and ease of customization are judged to be important criteria, while ease of implementation and vendor reputation were not found to be significant. Functionality and reliability were found to be the most heavily weighted factors. We conclude the paper with a detailed discussion of the results and their implications for software acquisition and development practice.     

Determining pheromone content of hairpencils from individual virgin males ofPseudaletia unipuncta (Haw.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Levels of benzaldehyde recovered from virginPseudaletia unipuncta (Haw.) males were not influenced by (1) the time hairpencils remained in the solvent (1-72 hr), (2) anesthetization or agitation of males prior to excision of hairpencils, or (3) the time (photophase or scotophase) that hairpencils were excised. Thus the interindividual variability observed is not a methodological artifact. Most males had similar concentrations in both hairpencils, although in some cases only one hairpencil contained pheromone. In one case, a male with partially extruded hairpencils had no benzaldehyde at all. Neither pupal weight nor hairpencil length proved to be reliable indicators of pheromone content.Contribution No. 373, Département de biologie, Université Laval.     

小封装LC OC-48光纤收发模块的设计

安捷伦HFCT-5942 2.488GB/s LC小封装光纤收发模块是符合SONET和SDH标准,管脚为2×10的短距离单模光纤收发模块。 文中给出了三种不同应用的参考设计。在这些设计中,HFCT.5942光纤收发模块与以下芯片联接     

Relationship of seizure duration to antidepressant efficacy in electroconvulsive therapy

BACKGROUND: Aprotinin and epsilon-aminocaproic acid are routinely used to reduce bleeding during cardiac surgery. The marked difference in average wholesale cost between these two drug therapies (aprotinin, $1,080 vs. epsilon-aminocaproic acid, $11) has generated significant controversy regarding their relative efficacies and costs. METHODS: In a multicenter, randomized, prospective, blinded trial, patients having repeated cardiac surgery received either a high-dose regimen of aprotinin (total dose, 6 x 10(6) kallikrein inactivator units) or epsilon-aminocaproic acid (total dose, 270 mg/kg). RESULTS: Two hundred four patients were studied. Overall (data are median [25th-75th percentiles]), aprotinin-treated patients had less postoperative thoracic drainage (511 ml [383-805 ml] vs. 655 ml [464-1,045 ml]; P = 0.016) and received fewer platelet transfusions (0 [range, 0-1] vs. 1 [range, 0-2]; P = 0.036). The surgical field was more likely to be considered free of bleeding in aprotinin-treated patients (44% vs. 26%; P = 0.012). No differences, however, were seen in allogeneic erythrocyte transfusions or in the time required for chest closure. Overall, direct and indirect bleeding-related costs were greater in aprotinin- than in epsilon-aminocaproic acid-treated patients ($1,813 [$1,476-2,605] vs. $1,088 [range, $511-2,057]; P = 0.0001). This difference in cost per case varied in magnitude among sites but not in direction. CONCLUSIONS: Aprotinin was more effective than epsilon-aminocaproic acid at decreasing bleeding and platelet transfusions. Epsilon-aminocaproic acid, however, was the more cost-effective therapy over a broad range of estimates for bleeding-related costs in patients undergoing repeated cardiac surgery. A cost-benefit analysis using the lower cost of half-dose aprotinin ($540) still resulted in a significant cost advantage using epsilon-aminocaproic therapy (P = 0.022).     

Association between cigarette smoking and lipid peroxidation in a controlled feeding study

BACKGROUND: Cigarette smoke may promote atherogenesis by producing oxygen-derived free radicals that damage lipids. However, evidence in support of this hypothesis is inconsistent because most studies did not control for aspects of diet (antioxidants and lipid substrate) that may confound the association between smoking and measures of lipid peroxidation. METHODS AND RESULTS: The relationships between cigarette smoking and two measures of lipid peroxidation, breath ethane (an in vivo assay) and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS, an in vitro assay), were examined in 123 adults (11% of whom were smokers) participating in a controlled feeding study. After 3 weeks of controlled feeding on a common diet (36% total fat, 14% saturated fats, 6% polyunsaturated fats, and 12% monounsaturated fats), breath and fasting serum samples were collected for measurement of ethane and TBARS, respectively. Baseline characteristics of smokers and nonsmokers were similar, including several indices related to diet and nutritional status (albumin, cholesterol, body mass index, and oxygen radical-absorbing capacity). Cigarette smokers had significantly higher breath ethane (8.88 versus 1.71 pmol/L; P<.0001) and TBARS (24.0 versus 20.7 micromol/mL; P=.008) than nonsmokers. The interval between breath collection and the time the last cigarette was smoked was significantly and inversely correlated with breath ethane. Neither measure of lipid peroxidation was associated with measures of serum cholesterol or albumin, body mass index, or serum oxygen radical-absorbing capacity. CONCLUSIONS: Cigarette smokers have higher rates of in vivo and in vitro lipid peroxidation. These results support the hypothesis that the atherogenic effects of smoking are mediated in part by free radical damage to lipids.     

Effects of design parameters on geared two-link mechanisms

The design of a specialized agricultural harvesting machine required the use of a path generation mechanism that was compact, accurate, inexpensive to manufacture and difficult attempts involved the use of a cam and follower, but they were expensive to manufacture and difficult to operate. This paper discusses an alternative method of using a coupled, open loop, two-link mechanism to generate a polygon-like closed path (pseudo-polygon) with an integer number of curved sides and apexes. A complete development of the path and path curvaturei equations are presented. The influence of the design variables on the coupler shape (flatness of each side) is shown in equation and design chart form. An example of a successful application of this design method applied to a plant cutting mechanism is presented.