The Impact of Complainant Sexual History Evidence on Jurors' Decisions: Considerations From a Psychological Perspective.

Although Canada's sexual assault laws have undergone considerable modification and revision since the late 1970s and early 1980s, it has only been within the past decade that a "rape shield" protection has applied to the complainant's prior sexual conduct with the defendant. Although the admission of evidence concerning the complainant's prior sexual conduct with the defendant now receives legislative protection, it can still, under some circumstances, be admitted at trial. Specifically, if the trial judge determines that the evidence pertaining to the complainant's prior sexual conduct with the defendant is of significant probative value to a fact at issue (other than the complainant's consent or credibility) and that this value is not outweighed by any potential prejudicial effects, it may be admitted at trial. Drawing on psychological research investigating the role played by complainant/defendant relational history in people's evaluations of sexual assault, the current article critically examines the potential impact that this evidence may have on jurors' decisions in sexual assault trials. This review suggests that significant dangers are associated with its introduction at trial and also includes a discussion of the legal implications of these research findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mathematics of marital conflict: Qualitative dynamic mathematical modeling of marital interaction.

This article presents a new nonstatistical mathematical approach to modeling marital interaction by means of nonlinear difference equations. The application made of this modeling process in this article is to generate theory in order to understand J. M. Gottman and R. W. Levenson's (1992) report of the ability of one variable derived from a balance view of marital interaction to predict marital dissolution in a prospective study. Parameters are introduced that reflect uninfluenced husband and wife set points, emotional inertia, and influence function. These parameters are subjected to various examinations of validity with other data that reflect patterns of marital interaction and the cascade toward marital dissolution. Results suggest the hypothesis that unstable marriages are characterized at Time 1 by a mismatch in husband and wife influence functions. The modeling method makes it possible to fit a couple's equations under one set of conditions, then to simulate the couple's interaction under different conditions, and then to conduct experiments to test the validity of these simulations. The method provides a new approach toward the building of theory in family psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age-related decrease of plasma testosterone in SAMP8 mice: replacement improves age-related impairment of learning and memory

Corticosterone increases with aging but pregnenolone, dehydroepiandrosterone, and testosterone decrease. The marked decrease in hormones that occurs with aging may contribute to the age-related deficit in learning and memory. Administration of these hormones after training was found to improve long-term memory processing in normal young mice. SAMP8 (P8) mice show an age-related loss of learning and memory for a variety of tasks whereas age-matched control mice of the closely related SAMR1 (R1) strain do not. In this study, we found an age-related decrease in serum testosterone levels of 71% between P8 mice 4 and 12 months of age, but only a 26% decrease between R1 mice of the same ages. The difference between the P8 mice was significant (p < 0.01) and the difference between the R1 mice was not. The decrease in testosterone in 12-month-old P8 mice was not accompanied by gross morphological change in the testes. A SC testosterone implant, sufficient to increase plasma testosterone levels to 414 +/- 25 ng/dl, alleviated impaired learning and memory of a foot shock avoidance task in P8 mice. Castration of 4-month-old P8 mice did not produce a deterioration in learning and memory, indicating that low levels of testosterone per se are not responsible for the impairment seen in 12-month-old P8 mice. This suggests that impaired cognitive functioning of the older P8 mice was due to an interaction of aging and reduced testosterone levels.     

Performance of curaua fibers in pullout tests

Natural lignocellulosic fibers are successfully replacing synthetic fibers as the reinforcement phase of composite materials in many engineering applications, including automobile parts. In addition to well-known conventional lignocellulosic fibers, others with promising properties, like that obtained from the leaves of the curaua plant (Ananas erectifolius) found in the Amazon region of Brazil, are now being considered. The present work investigated microstructural aspects associated with the performance of curaua fibers in pullout tests carried out to characterize the fibers interfacial strength with a polyester matrix. The results have shown that the naturally bonded filaments that constitute a curaua fiber present interspatial voids between them. These voids play an important role in providing adherence of the fiber surface to a polyester matrix, resulting in an effective reinforcement for a curaua-strengthened composite.     

Avalanche‐Discharge‐Induced Electrical Forming in Tantalum Oxide‐Based Metal–Insulator–Metal Structures

Oxide‐based metal–insulator–metal structures are of special interest for future resistive random‐access memories. In such cells, redox processes on the nanoscale occur during resistive switching, which are initiated by the reversible movement of native donors, such as oxygen vacancies. The formation of these filaments is mainly attributed to an enhanced oxygen diffusion due to Joule heating in an electric field or due to electrical breakdown. Here, the development of a dendrite‐like structure, which is induced by an avalanche discharge between the top electrode and the Ta₂O_5‐x layer, is presented, which occurs instead of a local breakdown between top and bottom electrode. The dendrite‐like structure evolves primarily at structures with a pronounced interface adsorbate layer. Furthermore, local conductive atomic force microscopy reveals that the entire dendrite region becomes conductive. Via spectromicroscopy it is demonstrated that the subsequent switching is caused by a valence change between Ta⁴⁺ and Ta⁵⁺, which takes place over the entire former Pt/Ta₂O_5‐x interface of the dendrite‐like structure.     

Deposition of lead and cadmium released by cigarette smoke in dental structures and resin composite

Cigarette smoke is a significant source of cadmium, lead, and toxic elements, which are absorbed into the human organism. In this context, the aim of this study was to investigate in vitro the presence of toxic elements, cadmium, and lead deriving from cigarette smoke in the resin composite, dentine, and dental enamel. Eight cylindrical specimens were fabricated from resin composite, bovine enamel, and root dentin fragments that were wet ground and polished with abrasive paper to obtain sections with 6‐mm diameter and 2‐mm thickness. All specimens were exposed to the smoke of 10 cigarettes/day during 8 days. After the simulation of the cigarette smoke, the specimens were examined with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the energy‐dispersive X‐ray analysis. In the photomicrographic analysis in SEM, no morphological alterations were found; however, the microanalysis identified the presence of cadmium, arsenic, and lead in the different specimens. These findings suggest that the deposition of these elements derived from cigarette smoke could be favored by dental structures and resin composite. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Multiresidue determination of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in honey by solid-phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography

An analytical procedure based on solid-phase extraction, using ethyl acetate as the elution solvent, and high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence and diode array detection was developed for the identification and quantification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in honey. The method has been optimized and validated in accordance with Commission Regulation 333/2007 and Commission Decision 2002/657/EC. This method allows the identification of the 15 PAHs that should be monitored in food matrices, as proposed in 2002 by the Scientific Committee on Food and later by the European Union in the Commission Recommendation 2005/108/EC, because of their genotoxic and carcinogenic properties. The results of the validation study were in agreement with quality criteria described in European legislation in terms of sensitivity, accuracy, and ruggedness, and the method was applied to the analysis of 42 honey samples (21 from Spain and 21 from other regions). The honey samples were not contaminated by PAHs at detectable levels and thus could be marketed without health risk.     

Treatment of paper and pulp wastewater and removal of odorous compounds by a Fenton‐like process at the pilot scale

A Fenton‐like process, involving oxidation and coagulation, was evaluated for the removal of odorous compounds and treatment of a pulp and paper wastewater. The main parameters that govern the complex reactive system [pH and Fe(III) and hydrogen peroxide concentrations] were studied. Concentrations of Fe(III) between 100 and 1000 mg L^?1 and of H₂O₂ between 0 and 2000 mg L^?1 were chosen. The main mechanism for color removal was coagulation. The maximum COD, color and aromatic compound removals were 75, 98 and 95%, respectively, under optimal operating conditions ([Fe(III)] = 400 mg L^?1; [H₂O₂] = 500–1000 mg L^?1; pH = 2.5; followed by coagulation at pH 5.0). The biodegradability of the wastewater treated increased from 0.4 to 0.7 under optimal conditions and no residual hydrogen peroxide was found after treatment. However, partially or non‐oxidized compounds present in the treated wastewater presented higher acute toxicity to Artemia salina than the untreated wastewater. Based on the optimum conditions, pilot‐scale experiments were conducted and revealed a high efficiency in relation to the mineralization of organic compounds. Terpenes [(1S)‐α‐pinene, β‐pinene, (1R)‐α‐pinene and limonene] were identified in the wastewater and were completely eliminated by the Fenton‐like treatment. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry     

Modeling the adversary and success in competition.

Competition has been studied as something to be averted, yet rarely has it been asked what processes may be involved in successful competition. The authors tested whether more accurate modeling of an adversary can assist competitive success. Pairs played a zero-sum game with no specific skill component over 40 trials. The authors measured the relative accuracy of the players' second-order model (i.e., what I think about my opponent: R2MA) and third-order model (i.e., what I think my opponent thinks of me: R3MA), using responses to adjectives indicating personality traits. Performance correlated with both R3MA and having a better strategy (i.e., a better distribution of responses), but these variables contributed separately to performance variance. However, R2MA did not correlate with performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)