Decomposition of repetition priming processes in word translation.

Translation in fluent bilinguals requires comprehension of a stimulus word and subsequent production, or retrieval and articulation, of the response word. Four repetition-priming experiments with Spanish–English bilinguals (N = 274) decomposed these processes using selective facilitation to evaluate their unique priming contributions and factorial combination to evaluate the degree of process overlap or dependence. In Experiment 1, symmetric priming between semantic classification and translation tasks indicated that bilinguals do not covertly translate words during semantic classification. In Experiments 2 and 3, semantic classification of words and word-cued picture drawing facilitated word-comprehension processes of translation, and picture naming facilitated word-production processes. These effects were independent, consistent with a sequential model and with the conclusion that neither semantic classification nor word-cued picture drawing elicits covert translation. Experiment 4 showed that 2 tasks involving word-retrieval processes—written word translation and picture naming—had subadditive effects on later translation. Incomplete transfer from written translation to spoken translation indicated that preparation for articulation also benefited from repetition in the less-fluent language. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Organizational patterns in problem solving among Mayan fathers and children.

This study examined the social organization of Guatemalan Mayan fathers' engagement with school-age children in a group problem-solving task. Twenty-nine groups of Mayan fathers varying in extent of Western schooling and 3 related school-age children (ages 6-12 years) constructed a puzzle together. Groups with fathers with 0 to 3 grades more often constructed the puzzle through shared multiparty collaboration involving a common agenda, whereas groups with fathers with 12 or more grades more often structured their contributions through a division of labor. Groups involving fathers with 6 to 9 grades demonstrated patterns of coordination that fell between the other two types of schooling groups. Fathers with greater schooling were also found to propose more explicit division-of-labor plans to children than were fathers with no to little schooling. The results indicate that Western schooling may be gradually transforming the collaborative social organization of group problem solving of indigenous Mayan families. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Increasing xylazine dose-enhanced anesthetic properties of telazol-xylazine combination in swine

We evaluated combinations of telazol, ketamine, and xylazine (TKX), telazol and xylazine (TX), telazol, xylazine, and xylazine (T2X), and ketamine and xylazine (KX) for chemical restraint and anesthesia induction in swine. Forty healthy mixed-breed pigs were randomly assigned to the four treatment groups with 10 pigs in each group. For TKX, TX, and T2X combinations, anesthetics were premixed by adding xylazine and ketamine, sterile water and xylazine, or xylazine alone directly into the telazol vial. For KX, anesthetic agents were drawn up separately, then mixed in the same syringe immediately before injection. All anesthetics were given as a single intramuscular injection. All four anesthetic combinations induced a rapid onset of sternal recumbency within 1.55 +/- 0.5 min and lateral recumbency within 2.27 +/- 0.6 min in pigs after intramuscular injection. There was no significant difference among treatments in these regards. The T2X combination induced a significantly longer duration of analgesia than did either TKX, TX, or KX. The T2X combination also induced a significantly longer duration of tolerance for endotracheal intubation and duration of lateral recumbency. Heart and respiratory rates were not significantly different among the four treatment groups. Vomiting was not observed in any of the treated pigs throughout the procedure. Recovery quality and duration from time of drug administration to recovery of pig walking unassisted were similar in three treatment groups but was shorter in KX-treated pigs. We concluded that all four anesthetic combinations were suitable for chemical restraint but that only TKX, TX, and T2X were suitable for anesthesia induction in pigs.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

A high-fat diet induces and red wine counteracts endothelial dysfunction in human volunteers

Endothelial dysfunction is associated with atherogenesis and oxidative stress in humans. In rat and rabbit blood vessels, wine polyphenol antioxidants induce vascular relaxationin vitro through the NO-cGMP pathway. To assess the effect of a regular high-fat diet (HFD) and moderate red wine consumption on endothelial function (EF), a study was performed in healthy male volunteers. EF was measured as flow-mediated dilatation of the brachial artery, employing high-resolution ultrasound after an overnight fast. Other clinical and biochemical parameters related to EF were also measured. Six volunteers received a control diet, rich in fruits and vegetables (27% calories as fat) and five volunteers received an HFD (39.5% calories as fat). Measurements were done twice on each volunteer: after a period of 30 d with diet plus 240 mL of red wine/d, and after a period of 30 d with diet, without wine. In the absence of wine, there is a reduction of EF with HFD when compared to the control diet (P=0.014). This loss of EF is not seen when both diets are supplemented with wine for 30 d (P=0.001). Plasma levels ofn−3 fatty acids (R ²=0.232,P=0.023) and lycopene (R ²=0.223,P=0.020) show a positive correlation with individual EF measurements, but they do not account for the significant differences observed among dietary groups or after wine supplementation. These results help elucidate the deleterious effect of a high-fat diet and the protective role of wine, n−3 fatty acids and dietary antioxidants in cardiovascular disease.     

Initial field trials with the synthetic sex pheromone of the processionary mothThaumetopoea pityocampa (Denis and Schiff.)

Synthetic (Z)-13-hexadecen-11-ynyl acetate has been shown to be highly active in catchingThaumetopoea pityocampa (Denis and Schiff.) males in field trials carried out in different parts of Spain. A variety of formulations containing antioxidants or solid paraffin were tested. Formulations containing 3 and 10% ofE isomer showed a decrease of activity compared with those prepared with pureZ isomer. Dodecyl acetate, also found in the virgin female gland, did not show any synergistic effect when tested in a 9∶1 mixture with the synthetic pheromone. The product exhibited a remarkable persistence of activity under the field conditions even in the absence of stabilizer.     

Plasma zinc and copper in infants with protein-calorie malnutrition

Forty-five marasmic infants were studied for plasma zinc and copper levels. They were selected from those children admitted to a nutritional recovery center. The mean plasma zinc level was 92.4 +/- 24 micrograms/dl (mean +/- SD); 7% of the infants had low zinc values as defined by zinc less than 70 micrograms/dl. Median copper was 90 micrograms/dl (range 27-172) and 49% of the children had copper levels below 90 micrograms/dl (established as our normal limit). Birth weight, breast feeding and prior hospitalization for acute diarrhea with dehydration were studied as antecedents related to low Cu and Zn. Children with prior diagnosis of acute diarrhea and hospitalization had lower copper levels than those sent from primary care centers. Breast feeding was associated with higher Cu levels. No relationship was found between zinc levels and those antecedents, but differences were found in regard to the degree of malnutrition, season of the year and Zn status. In this investigation no Zn deficiency was found in marasmus cases. Hypocupremia, however, is a very significant problem in marasmic infants, especially when associated with early weaning and the presence of previous hospitalization for acute diarrhea.     

Constant-curl Laplacian equation: a new approach for the analysis of flows around bodies

Constant-curl Laplacian equation is a new approach to study the behaviour of flows around bodies that do not present boundary-layer separation. It owns the simplicity and linearity of a potential analysis but also includes the rotational effects induced by a rotational displacement of the body such as turbine blades, manoeuvring aircrafts, etc. It assumes that this rotation is constant so that complex curved trajectories should be treated approximating the original path by a series of circular tracks. The idea is based upon a kinematic scheme that states the nullity of the velocity field Laplacian, imposing simultaneously the conditions of incompressibility and constant curl for velocity. We use 9-nodes isoparametric finite elements interpolating velocities and imposing the constant-curl condition by a modified penalty method and incompressibility by a classical one. The numerical results were compared satisfactorily against experimental data for aerodynamic forces and wake constitution on wind-turbine blades.