Sixth graders’ evaluation strategies when reading Internet search results: an eye-tracking study

Eye-tracking technology was used to examine Internet search result evaluation strategies adopted by sixth-grade students (N?=?36) during ten experimental information search tasks. The relevancy of the search result’s title, URL, and snippet components was manipulated and selection of search results as well as looking into probabilities on the search result components was analysed. The results revealed that during first-pass inspection, students read the search engine page by first looking at the title of a search result. If the title was relevant, the probability of looking at the snippet of the search result increased. During second-pass inspection, there was a high probability of students focusing on the most promising search result by inspecting all of its components before making their selection. A cluster analysis revealed three viewing strategies: half of the students looked mainly at the titles and snippets; one-third with high probability examined all components; and one-sixth mainly focused on titles, leading to more frequent errors in search result selection. The results indicate that students generally made a flexible use of both eliminative and confirmatory evaluation strategies when reading Internet search results, while some seemed to not pay attention to snippet and URL components of the search results.     

Experimental validation of a geographical information systems-based procedure for predicting pesticide exposure in surface water

A GIS-based procedure for predicting pesticide exposure in surface waters has been applied on a pilot river basin characterized by intensive agricultural activity. The predictive approach has been validated through experimental monitoring, performed by collecting manual and automatic water samples during the productive season. Five active ingredients (terbuthylazine, metolachlor, alachlor, linuron, fenitrothion) were selected for analysis to validate the predictive approach. Comparison between predicted and experimental values showed good agreement for terbuthylazine and metolachlor (used in large volumes within the basin), demonstrating the reliability of the approach. However, some anomalous results were obtained for some of the other chemicals, which serve to highlight the difficulties in getting reliable input data, in particular on application patterns (rate and time). Furthermore, the value of mapping pesticide exposure on the medium-large scale is described, and the limitations of the reported predictive approach are discussed.     

Increased expression of CD80, CD86 and CD70 on T cells from HIV-infected individuals upon activation in vitro: regulation by CD4+ T cells

T cells express CD28 and CD27 which transduce co-stimulatory signals after interaction with their ligands on antigen-presenting cells (APC). These ligands, CD80, CD86 and CD70, are also expressed to some extent on activated T cells. Here, we show that in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals, CD28 and CD27 expression is decreased on CD8+ T cells. On the other hand, T cell stimulation in vitro induced high CD80, CD86 and CD70 expression on T cells from HIV-infected individuals. It appeared that an inverted CD4:CD8 T cell ratio could explain this enhanced expression of co-stimulatory ligands. Indeed, high expression levels of CD80, CD86 and CD70 were found on activated CD8+ T cells from HIV- individuals cultured in the absence of CD4+ T cells. Addition of CD4+ T cells prevented this up-regulation. However, in HIV-infected individuals, addition of excess autologous or healthy control CD4+ T cells did not completely counteract up-regulation of co-stimulatory ligand expression on CD8+ T cells. Thus, to some extent, CD8+ T cells in HIV-infected individuals appeared to be refractory to CD4+ T cell-mediated regulation of ligand expression in vitro. Activated T cells from HIV-infected individuals and activated CD8+ T cells from healthy controls were able to act as accessory cells in CD3-induced T cell proliferation, which was dependent on cell-cell contact. Thus, we showed that T cells from HIV-infected individuals express enhanced levels of co-stimulatory ligands upon activation, which provides them with accessory cell properties. Enhanced stimulatory potential of these nonprofessional APC may contribute to persistently high levels of immune activation in HIV infection related to disease progression.     

Sustained attention after severe closed head injury.

Sustained attention was assessed in 20 patients with severe closed head injury (CHI) and 20 normal matched controls. Participants were presented with a visual continuous performance task (CPT) with 3 levels of complexity. Performance was assessed by examining response latencies and error rates. Across all levels of complexity, the CHI patients demonstrated a vigilance decrement, whereas the performance of the matched controls was stable across time. The vigilance decrement was not differentially affected by the manipulation of task complexity in the CHI patients. However, findings suggest that the overall vigilance performance of CHI patients was differentially affected by increasing the complexity of the task. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Studies on the relationship between slurry pH,volatilization processes and the influence of acidifying additives

The mutual influence of slurry pH and volatilization processes on one hand, and the possibility of N conservation by the use of acidifying additives on the other, were investigated in static incubation experiments. The influence of the NH₃ and CO₂ volatilizations on slurry pH was studied by selectively supporting one or both processes. The addition of Ca²⁺ to slurry was compared to that of K⁺ and H⁺. The effects of Cl^–, SO ₄ ^2– and NO ₃ ^– as corresponding anions of Ca²⁺ on slurry pH as well as NH₃ and N₂O emissions were tested. The slurry pH (7.4) increased during incubation. When CO₂ volatilization was suppressed, the pH increase was reduced, and NH₃ volatilization was cut down by 50%. Ca²⁺ additions hardly influenced the initial slurry pH, but reduced the pH increases and NH₃ losses. Proton addition, in contrast, decreased slurry pH but did not decrease the subsequent pH rise. K⁺ had no effect on slurry pH and N losses. As compared to CaCl₂, CaSO₄ showed less effect on slurry pH and N losses. Ca(NO₃)₂ was nearly as effective as CaCl₂ in preventing NH₃ volatilization, but caused denitrification losses and elevated N₂O production. Titration curves of the different slurry treatments were used to interpret the results of the incubation experiments. In a microplot field experiment the NH₃ volatilization and slurry pH after surface application of slurry was measured. The acidifying and N conserving effects of Ca²⁺ and H⁺ additions were confirmed.     

NO adsorption on Cu-ZSM-5: assignment of IR band at 2133 cm−1

The adsorption of nitrogen oxides on Cu-ZSM-5 was studied by infrared spectroscopy to elucidate the species associated with the band at 2133 cm^–1. The band was found for both NO and NO₂ adsorption. Labeling experiments with¹⁵NO revealed that the associated surface species contained nitrogen and, most likely, an N-O bond. Co-adsorption experiments of NO and oxygen produced adsorbed nitronium, NO ₂ ⁺ , as the principal, associated species. Adsorption of nitrogen oxides on dispersed CuO and the HZSM-5 support demonstrated that the 2133 cm^–1 band was not necessarily associated with copper ions. A relatively strong correlation between the bands at 2133 and 3615 cm^–1 indicates that the primary adsorption sites of NO ₂ ⁺ are the strongly protic, bridging Si(OH)Al framework hydroxyls. Once these were filled, other, weaker acid sites began to adsorb NO ₂ ^O .     

The solubility of methane in aqueous solutions of monoethanolamine,diethanolamine and triethanolamine

The solubility of methane in 3 kmol/m³ solutions of monoethanolamine, diethanolamine, and triethanolamine was measured from 25° to 125°C and pressures up to about 13 MPa. Measurements were also made for the solubility of methane in water at 25° to 125°C and pressures up to 18 MPa in order to confirm the accuracy of the experimental technique. It is demonstrated that methane is more soluble (in terms of mole fraction) in the amine solution than in pure water. Furthermore, the solubility is an increasing function of the size of the alkanolamine. The solubility data were modeled using a Henry's-law approach and the results summarized in terms of salting-in coefficients.