The meaning(s) of conditionals: Conditional probabilities, mental models, and personal utilities.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 29(6) of Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition (see record 2007-16865-001). On page 684, Table 4, all correlations should have been identified as having a pp then q") as indicating a high conditional probability P(q|p). Participants estimated the probability that a given conditional is true (Experiments 1A, 1B, and 3) or judged whether a conditional was true or false (Experiments 2 and 4) given information about the frequencies of the relevant truth table cases. Judgments were strongly influenced by the ratio of pq to p?q cases, supporting the conditional probability account. In Experiments 1A, 1B, and 3, judgments were also affected by the frequency of pq cases, consistent with a version of mental model theory. Experiments 3 and 4 extended the results to thematic conditionals and showed that the pragmatic utility associated with believing a statement also affected the degree of belief in conditionals but not in logically equivalent quantified statements. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modern Teaching and Training in Metallurgical Engineering

This contribution deals with advanced educational technologies needed to equip customers from higher education institutions, research and industry with efficient tools supporting their work and operating new skills‐training methods. The challenges are reducing the training costs, improving quality and increasing the number of graduates in engineering departments. The concept of a Virtual Lab based on the combination of various teaching methods and tools is presented. Principles of mathematisation in metallurgical education and training are discussed. An example of online course designed in the form of Virtual Lab is demonstrated.     

Treatment of malocclusions in children and adolescents at a public dental service clinic in Sweden: extent and cost

This study was undertaken to investigate the extent and the cost of orthodontic consultation and treatment of malocclusions in 19-year-olds at a Public Dental Service (PDS) clinic. A further aim was to evaluate the group of patients who discontinued their treatment prematurely. A total of 223 patient records were reviewed. The results showed that every second patient (106 of 223) was seen by a specialist for orthodontic evaluation. Of these, 54% (57 of 106) were treated with removable appliance, 29% (31 of 106) benefited from interceptive treatment without appliance and 12% (13 of 106) were referred to a specialist clinic. The costs for specialist consultations comprised 19% of the overall orthodontic treatment cost. Premature interruption of treatment with removable appliance was found in 17% (10 of 57) of the patients. This group consumed 12% of the overall orthodontic treatment cost. Reasons for discontinuing treatment included problems with co-operation and motivation and a lack of parental support. Seventy per cent of those who discontinued their treatment prematurely had been treated with an activator.     

Treatment of Stress Urinary Incontinence with Muscle Stem Cells and Stem Cell Components: Chances,Challenges and Future Prospects

Urinary incontinence (UI) is a major problem in health care and more than 400 million people worldwide suffer from involuntary loss of urine. With an increase in the aging population, UI is likely to become even more prominent over the next decades and the economic burden is substantial. Among the different subtypes of UI, stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is the most prevalent and focus of this review. The main underlying causes for SUI are pregnancy and childbirth, accidents with direct trauma to the pelvis or medical treatments that affect the pelvic floor, such as surgery or irradiation. Conservative approaches for the treatment of SUI are pelvic physiotherapy, behavioral and lifestyle changes, and the use of pessaries. Current surgical treatment options include slings, colposuspensions, bulking agents and artificial urinary sphincters. These treatments have limitations with effectiveness and bear the risk of long-term side effects. Furthermore, surgical options do not treat the underlying pathophysiological causes of SUI. Thus, there is an urgent need for alternative treatments, which are effective, minimally invasive and have only a limited risk for adverse effects. Regenerative medicine is an emerging field, focusing on the repair, replacement or regeneration of human tissues and organs using precursor cells and their components. This article critically reviews recent advances in the therapeutic strategies for the management of SUI and outlines future possibilities and challenges.     

Blends of i‐PP and SBS. I. Influence of the in situ compatibilization on the morphology

This article concerns the in situ compatibilization of immiscible isotactic polypropylene/butadiene‐styrene‐butadiene triblock copolymer blends (i‐PP/SBS) by means of a reactive mixture. For this purpose, maleated PP (PP‐MAH) and SBS (SBS‐MAH) were used as functionalized polymers and 4,4′‐diaminediphenylmethane was used as a coupling agent between maleated polymers, resulting in a graft copolymer. Binary blends i‐PP/SBS, nonreactive ternary blends i‐PP/PP‐MAH/SBS, and reactive ternary blends i‐PP/PP‐MAH/SBS‐MAH with varying diamine and anhydride molar ratios were prepared. Torque measurements suggest a graft copolymerization during the melt blending for ternary reactive blends, but the extension of the grafting does not vary with the diamine and anhydride molar ratio, but with the elastomer concentration. The morphology of the blends was investigated by scanning electron microscopy. The morphology of binary and ternary nonreactive blends is similar, exhibiting elastomer domains disperse in the i‐PP matrix, whose sizes increase with elastomer concentration. On the other hand, the elastomer domain size in the ternary reactive blends is practically independent of the blends composition and of the diamine and anhydride molar ratio. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 85: 847–855, 2002     

Dynamic light scattering studies on random cross-linking of polystyrene in semi-dilute solution

The random cross-linking of appropriately functionalized polystyrene in semi-dilute toluene solution (c = 0.01–0.05 g/mL) was studied by time-dependent measurements of dynamic light scattering. Macroscopic gelation occurred from concentrations as low as 0.02 g/mL. The gelation time, determined from the first appearance of fluctuations of the scattering intensity and the initial amplitude of the intensity correlation function (ICF), decreases markedly from about 100 min to 10 min with an increase of polymer concentration or cross-linker content. After the gel point, the ICFs display a characteristic power-law decay. The power-law exponent, n = 0.75 ± 0.06, does not change with (i) extent of reaction, (ii) polymer concentration, and (iii) cross-linker concentration, within the inspected ranges. This universal behavior is traced back to the fact that gelation took place as a result of random cross-linking of existent macromolecules, whose state of solution does not change markedly during conversion.