Interactive effects of text-based and task-based importance on learning from text.

Examined, in 3 experiments, the interactive effects of text-based importance (i.e., intrinsically important information such as main ideas) and task-based importance (i.e., information made important by a task) on recall for text. Exp 1 indicated that information relevant to an encoding task was recalled better than was task-irrelevant information. Exp 2 revealed an interaction between text-based and task-based importance. Information that was relevant to a task was recalled well regardless of its text-based importance. Information that was not relevant was recalled better if it was of high text-based rather than of low text-based importance. Exp 3 indicated interactive effects at both encoding and retrieval. Readers used flexible, compensatory strategies that reflected a trade-off between text-based and task-based importance. The use of multiple strategies occurred spontaneously without specific experimenter-based instructions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Optimisation d’un guide d’onde de silicium sur saphir pour l’observation de la bistabilité optique

A silicon on sapphire nonlinear waveguide which can be used for all-optical logic operation is described. A theoretical analysis confirms that the fast switchings experimentally observed using this device result from a competition between electronic and thermal nonlinear effects occurring in silicon. Numerical simulations display the influence of various parameters on the device operation conditions as an optical switch or bistable device.     

Photoelectron microscopy of erythrocyte ghosts; imaging of lectin binding sites with colloidal gold markers

Images of human red cell ghosts have been obtained by photoelectron microscopy (photoemission electron microscopy or PEM) without any staining, metal coating or shadowing. Membrane folding, when it occurs in these collapsed structures, shows up clearly even though the membrane itself is only 5–10 nm in thickness. Using red cell ghosts as a model system, it is shown that colloidal gold can act as a photoemissive marker. Specific lectin binding sites on the cell surface were labeled with a colloidal gold-wheat germ agglutinin complex. The gold particles were readily detectable against the weaker emission from the cell surface.     

La modification therapeutique du comportement: Principes et perspectives.

Attempts to reconcile treatment effects explained on the basis of the stimulus-response type of behavior analysis with concomitant changes resulting from mediational learning. The potential contribution of learning-theory oriented therapies to the prevention of behavior disorders and the solution of manpower problems in the mental health field are discussed. (70 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lattice theory approach to metastatic disease patterns in autopsied human patients: Application to metastatic neuroblastoma

It is recognized that subsets of some morphologically homogeneous tumors may have different metastatic distribution patterns. Lattice theory is a multidimensional generalization of the cube. If each autopsied patient is regarded as a ‘snapshot’ (lattice corner), then each lattice edge represents an event of metastatic spread. A ‘minimum entry’ construction program was applied to the 40 neuroblastoma patients with complete autopsies at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. This lattice has the inductive property that reconnecting a single pathway does not decrease its length. Subset patterns in patients identified by this method may have diagnostic and therapeutic significance.     

An empirical study of users as application developers

A study was conducted in ten organizations of 272 non-DP professionals (“users”) who develop their own administrative computer-based applications. The data are used to create taxonomies of such users and of the applications they develop. Findings concerning the distribution of work time, application development time, relative advantages and disadvantages of user developed applications, and other factors are summarized. Evaluations of user developed applications activity by both users and DP managers are reported, and users' perceptions of importance and satisfaction with 18 different factors related to this activity are analyzed.     

Team task analysis: identifying tasks and jobs that are team based

This paper presents initial information on the development and validation of three team task analysis scales. These scales were designed to quantitatively assess the extent to which a group of tasks or a job is team based. During a 2-week period, 52 male students working in 4-person teams were trained to perform a complex highly interdependent computer-simulated combat mission consisting of both individual- and team-based tasks. Our results indicated that the scales demonstrated high levels of interrater agreement. In addition, the scales differentiated between tasks that were predetermined to be individual versus team based. Finally, the results indicated that job-level ratings of team workflow were more strongly related to team performance than were aggregated task-level ratings of team-relatedness or team workflow. These results suggest that the scales presented here are an effective means of quantifying the extent to which tasks or jobs are team based. A research and practical implication of our findings is that the team task analysis scales could serve as criterion measures in the evaluation of team training interventions or predictors of team performance.     

The role of professional psychologists in promoting equality.

Discusses sex inequalities/biases inherent in many theories of personality, especially the psychoanalytically based ones, and their influences on psychological assessment procedures and interpretations. Studies pointing out some of the inequities in service delivery are examined. It is stressed that psychologists must (a) focus on the concept of androgyny and its implications for therapy, (b) examine their own concepts/prejudices regarding sex roles, and (c) understand the forces that a population/group exerts on an individual. (54 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship of self-reported distress to depressive disorders and other psychopathology.

The relationship between self-reported depression and a clinical diagnosis of depression was investigated. Within 2 wks of completing the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), a stratified sample of 425 primary medical care patients received the structured interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-III-Revised (DSM-III-R). In the weighted data set, the CES-D was significantly related to a diagnosis of depression but also to other Axis I disorders. Most distressed subjects were not depressed, a fifth of the patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) had low distress, and the CES-D performed as well in detecting anxiety as in detecting depression. MDD, other depression diagnoses, and anxiety and substance use disorders were all significant predictors of CES-D score. Differences in demographic variables, treatment history, and impairment highlight the nonequivalence of the self-report scale and diagnosable depression. The use of a self-report in place of an interview-based diagnostic measure in the study of depression, as well as the use of such a report as a screening device, is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The chemistry and physiology of sour taste--a review

ABSTRACT:  Sour taste is the key element in the flavor profile of food acidulants. Understanding the chemistry and physiology of sour taste is critical for efficient control of flavor in the formulation of acid and acidified foods. After a brief introduction to the main applications of food acidulants, several chemical parameters associated with sour taste are discussed. Special emphasis is given to hydrogen ions, protonated (undissociated) acid species, titratable acidity, anions, molar concentration, and physical and chemical properties of organic acids. This article also presents an overview of the physiology of sour taste and proposed theories for the transduction mechanisms for sour taste. The physiology of sour taste perception remains controversial and significant diversity exists among species with regard to cellular schemes used for detection of stimuli. The variety of mechanisms proposed, even within individual species, highlights the complexity of elucidating sour taste transduction. However, recent evidence suggests that at least one specific sour taste receptor protein has been identified.