Generation and perceptual implicit memory: Different generation tasks produce different effects on perceptual priming.

The generation manipulation has been critical in delineating differences between implicit and explicit memory. In contrast to past research, the present experiments indicate that generating from a rhyme cue produces as much perceptual priming as does reading. This is demonstrated for 3 visual priming tasks: perceptual identification, word-fragment completion (WFC), and word-stem completion (WSC). This result occurred regardless of the mode of study response (written or spoken) or whether the generation condition was compared with reading words in or out of context. Rhyme generation did not produce priming on the letter height task (Masson & MacLeod, 2002), implying that the effect was not mediated by covert visualization. Nor was the effect due to the mere presence of the rhyme cue. Semantic generation (from definitions) produced a different pattern, exhibiting a reverse generation effect on WFC and WSC but full (read-level) priming on perceptual identification. The present results were not consistent with accounts based on the standard transfer-appropriate processing view, covert visualization, explicit contamination, or conceptual contributions to nominally perceptual tasks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Efficient CFRP Strap Configurations for the Shear Strengthening of Reinforced Concrete T-Beams

A prestressed carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) strap retrofitting system has been found to significantly enhance the shear capacity of existing reinforced concrete beams. In previous studies, the CFRP straps were supported on metal pads placed on the top and bottom of a beam necessitating top surface access. The goal of the current work was to develop a system where the straps were installed from underneath a slab without compromising the strengthening efficiency. A series of T-beam experiments was conducted where the CFRP straps were inserted through holes that were drilled from below the flange, thereby avoiding the need for access to the top surface. The depth of penetration of the CFRP straps into the compression flange, the concrete strength, the CFRP strap spacing, the presence of holes in the compression flange, and the size of the loading pads were all found to affect the shear performance. Using the most successful installation technique, the resulting CFRP strengthened beam failed at a load that was approximately 50% higher than that of an unretrofitted control beam.     

Cooling curves for the preliminary design of beef chillers

A multilayer two-dimensional model of beef carcass chilling using CFD-generated heat transfer coefficients was used to calculate the parameters of leg and shoulder cooling curves, assuming an exponential cooling model. A central composite experiment was designed to systematically vary air velocity, side weight and fat thickness. Comparison with experimental data suggests that the predicted characteristic time for the leg, and hence the cooling time to a given temperature, should be multiplied by a correction factor 1.07. The effects of airflow direction and of radiation heat transfer have been quantified. A correlation was proposed to estimate leg centre temperature from shoulder temperature. The shortcut formulae and methods presented here will be useful in the design and troubleshooting of industrial beef chillers. They could also be used in Monte Carlo simulations where a large number of samples are considered, to take into account random variations in product characteristics and operating conditions.     

Seat belt misuse among children transported in belt-positioning booster seats

Objective

Observe and report seat belt use among children transported in belt-positioning booster seats.

Design

We conducted a cross-sectional, observational survey of children transported in motor vehicles between 2006 and 2007. While drivers completed a survey reporting the child's age, weight and gender, and the driver's age, gender, race, income, education, and relationship to the child; a child passenger safety technician recorded vehicle seating location, restraint type, and use of the car safety seat harness or seat belt as appropriate for the child.

Setting

Twenty-five fast food restaurants and discount department stores throughout Indiana.

Participants

A convenience sample of drivers transporting children younger than 16 years.

Main exposure

Seat belt use among children transported in belt-positioning booster seats.

Outcome measure

Seat belt misuse.

Results

Overall, 1446 drivers participated, 2287 children were observed with 564 children in belt-positioning booster seats. At least one seat belt misuse was observed for 64.8% of the children transported. Common misuses were the shoulder belt being placed over the booster seat armrest (35.8%); shoulder belt not at mid-shoulder position (28.5%), seat belt was too loose (24.5%), and the shoulder belt was either behind the child's back (9.1%) or under their arm (10.0%).

Conclusion

There is a high frequency of seat belt misuses among children transported in booster seats. Advice to parents on appropriate car seat selection, and encouragement to parents to supervise seat belt use may decrease misuse.     

Memory for serial order: A network model of the phonological loop and its timing.

A connectionist model of human short-term memory is presented that extends the "phonological loop" (A. D. Baddeley, see record 1986-98526-000) to encompass serial order and learning. Psychological and neuropsychological data motivate separate layers of lexical, timing, and input and output phonemic information. Connection weights between layers show Hebbian learning and decay over short and long time scales. At recall, the timing signal is rerun, phonemic information feeds back from output to input, and lexical nodes compete to be selected. The selected node then receives decaying inhibition. The model provides an explanatory mechanism for the phonological loop and for the effects of serial position, presentation modality, lexicality, grouping, and Hebb repetition. It makes new psychological and neuropsychological predictions and is a starting point for understanding the role of the phonological loop in vocabulary acquisition and for interpreting data from functional neuroimaging. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Tales of the unexpected: Executive function and person perception.

The present research investigated the role of executive functioning in person perception. Given the assumption that perceivers' recollective preference for unexpected material relies on the operation of an executive cognitive process (i.e., inconsistency resolution), it was anticipated that only under dual-task conditions in which executive functioning is impaired would one expect inconsistency resolution to be impaired and perceivers' memory bias for unexpected material to be eliminated. When concurrent mental activity impairs the operation of nonexecutive cognitive operations, inconsistency resolution and the related process of individuation were not expected to be impaired. The results of 2 experiments using different memory measures (e.g., free recall and source identification) supported these predictions. The findings are considered in the context of contemporary issues in person perception and executive functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A critique of software defect prediction models

Many organizations want to predict the number of defects (faults) in software systems, before they are deployed, to gauge the likely delivered quality and maintenance effort. To help in this numerous software metrics and statistical models have been developed, with a correspondingly large literature. We provide a critical review of this literature and the state-of-the-art. Most of the wide range of prediction models use size and complexity metrics to predict defects. Others are based on testing data, the “quality” of the development process, or take a multivariate approach. The authors of the models have often made heroic contributions to a subject otherwise bereft of empirical studies. However, there are a number of serious theoretical and practical problems in many studies. The models are weak because of their inability to cope with the, as yet, unknown relationship between defects and failures. There are fundamental statistical and data quality problems that undermine model validity. More significantly many prediction models tend to model only part of the underlying problem and seriously misspecify it. To illustrate these points the Goldilock's Conjecture, that there is an optimum module size, is used to show the considerable problems inherent in current defect prediction approaches. Careful and considered analysis of past and new results shows that the conjecture lacks support and that some models are misleading. We recommend holistic models for software defect prediction, using Bayesian belief networks, as alternative approaches to the single-issue models used at present. We also argue for research into a theory of “software decomposition” in order to test hypotheses about defect introduction and help construct a better science of software engineering     

Nondestructive quantitative characterisation of material phases in metal additive manufacturing using multi-energy synchrotron X-rays microtomography

The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology - Metal additive manufacturing (MAM) has found emerging application in the aerospace, biomedical and defence industries. However, the...     

Boiling peanut Ara h 1 results in the formation of aggregates with reduced allergenicity

Scope : Roasting rather than boiling and Maillard modifications may modulate peanut allergenicity. We investigated how these factors affect the allergenic properties of a major peanut allergen, Ara h 1. Methods and results : Ara h 1 was purified from either raw (N‐Ara h 1) or roasted (R‐Ara h 1) peanuts. Boiling (100°C 15 min; H‐Ara h 1) resulted in a partial loss of Ara h 1 secondary structure and formation of rod‐like branched aggregates with reduced IgE‐binding capacity and impaired ability to induce mediator release. Glycated Ara h 1 (G‐Ara h 1) formed by boiling in the presence of glucose behaved similarly. However, H‐ and G‐Ara h1 retained the T‐cell reactivity of N‐Ara h 1. R‐Ara h 1 was denatured, comprised compact, globular aggregates, and showed no evidence of glycation but retained the IgE‐binding capacity of the native protein. Conclusion : Ara h 1 aggregates formed by boiling were morphologically distinct from those formed by roasting and had lower allergenic activity. Glycation had no additional effect on Ara h 1 allergenicity compared with heating alone. Taken together with published data on the loss of Ara h 2/6 from boiled peanuts, this supports the hypothesis that boiling reduces the allergenicity of peanuts.     

A training course on food hygiene for butchers: measuring its effectiveness through microbiological analysis and the use of an inspection checklist

The effectiveness of food hygiene training for a group of retail butchers was evaluated with the aim of verifying whether the butchers modified their behavior in the light of knowledge gained and whether their acquired knowledge or behavior change was sustained over a period of time. Microbiological analysis (enumeration of mesophilic and coliform bacteria and Escherichia coli) of a raw semiprocessed product (stuffed rolled beef) was conducted, and an inspection checklist was issued before the training course (T0). Initial results were later compared with results obtained 1 month (T1) and 6 months (T6) after the training. The checklist comprised 89 items classified into five categories: A, approved suppliers and product reception; B, storage conditions and temperature control; C, flow process, food handling procedures, and conditions of the window display unit; D, facility design and proper cleaning and sanitizing of equipment, utensils, and work surfaces; and E, pest control system, water supply control, and garbage disposal. The inspection results were recorded as "yes" or "no" for each item. Compliance with food safety procedures was recorded as the percentage of "yes" answers. The bacterial counts were significantly higher at T0. At T6, there was no significant increase in bacterial counts. There was a significant improvement in food safety practices at T1 and T6 compared with T0 for all categories. When comparing T0 and T1, the largest increases in the compliance scores were seen within categories C and D. No significant decrease in scores for compliance with food safety practices was observed at T6. Supervision and refresher activities may be necessary to maintain behavioral changes for a longer period of time.