Film music influences how viewers relate to movie characters.

Film music has powerful aesthetic effects on the perception and understanding of screen content, but does it also influence viewers' sense of connection with movie characters thereby creating antecedents for an experience of empathy? Participants viewed clips showing characters' neutral or ambiguous reaction to an event, person, or object. Viewers rated character likability and their certainty about characters' thoughts in three conditions: thriller music, melodrama music, and no music. The effect of music conditions differed significantly from the no music condition. Compared to melodramatic music, thriller music significantly lowered likability and certainty about characters' thoughts. During subsequent cued recall of screen content, thriller music increased anger attributions and lowered sadness attributions, while melodramatic music increased love attributions and lowered fear attributions. The study provides evidence that film music can influence character likability and the certainty of knowing the character's thoughts, which are antecedents of empathetic concern and emphatic accuracy. Thus film music may be regarded as modulating antecedents of empathic concern and empathic accuracy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's ideas about the environmental impact of cars: a cross age study

The ideas of children about the environmental impact of vehicle emissions have been explored using a precoded questionnaire. The children were from British National Curriculum Years 7 (age 11/12 years), 9 (age 13/14) and 11 (age 15/16). Even in the oldest group only about half of the children appreciated the advantages of smaller, well‐maintained cars; this could have practical implication if not corrected in the adult population. Children seemed well aware of the environmental problems, smog, Acid Rain and Global Warming, to which vehicle emissions contribute, but these are part of an over‐generalised model which children employ in which cars are envisaged as contributing to other problems such as Ozone Layer depletion. We suggest that the use of the generic term ‘pollution’ to describe a wide range of environmental insults and the use of the word ‘environment’ in a non‐defined way might hinder children's differentiation of the different causes of separate environmental problems. The gaps in children's knowledge of the different components of vehicle emissions may reflect and exacerbate this difficulty. Ironically, children have a regard for the environmental and an interest in cars, and a combination of these enthusiasms may provide an opportunity for environmental education and curriculum science teaching.     

Correction to Dittmar, Halliwell, and Ive (2006).

Reports an error in "Does Barbie make girls want to be thin? The effect of experimental exposure to images of dolls on the body image of 5- to 8-year-old girls" by Helga Dittmar, Emma Halliwell and Suzanne Ive (Developmental Psychology, 2006 Mar, Vol 42[2], 283-292). A substantive error occurs in the Body shape dissatisfaction section on page 287. The sentence describing the calculation of body shape dissatisfaction scores from girls' responses to the Child Figure Rating Scale should instead read as follows: "A body shape dissatisfaction score was computed by subtracting the girl's actual from her ideal body size." (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2006-03514-007.) The ubiquitous Barbie doll was examined in the present study as a possible cause for young girls' body dissatisfaction. A total of 162 girls, from age 5 to age 8, were exposed to images of either Barbie dolls, Emme dolls (U.S. size 16), or no dolls (baseline control) and then completed assessments of body image. Girls exposed to Barbie reported lower body esteem and greater desire for a thinner body shape than girls in the other exposure conditions. However, this immediate negative impact of Barbie doll was no longer evident in the oldest girls. These findings imply that, even if dolls cease to function as aspirational role models for older girls, early exposure to dolls epitomizing an unrealistically thin body ideal may damage girls' body image, which would contribute to an increased risk of disordered eating and weight cycling. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Diagnosability of star graphs under the comparison diagnosis model

In this paper, the diagnosability of n-dimensional star graph Sn under the comparison diagnosis model has been studied. It is proved that Sn is (n−1)-diagnosable under the comparison diagnosis model when n?4.     

Pacing strategies during a cycling time trial with simulated headwinds and tailwinds

The aims of this study were to examine the effects of one self-selected and two enforced pacing strategies (constant and variable power output) on cycling performance during a time trial in which variable wind conditions were simulated. Seven male cyclists rode their own bicycles on a Computrainer cycle ergometer, which was programmed to simulate a 16.1 km time trial on a flat course with a 8.05 km h(-1) headwind in the first half of the race and a 8.05 km h(-1) tailwind in the second half of the race. Subjects rode an initial time trial (ITT) at a self-selected pace to the best of their ability. The mean power output from this trial was then used to calculate the pacing strategies in the subsequent two trials: Constant (C)--riders rode the whole time trial at this mean power output; and Variable (V)--riders rode the first headwind section at a power output 5% higher than the mean and then reduced the power output in the last 8.05 km so that the mean power output was the same as in the initial time trial and in trial C. Power output, heart rate and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were recorded every 1.61 km. Finish times, 8.05 km split times and blood lactate levels, pre- and post-exercise (to calculate delta lactate), were also recorded in each trial. In the ITT, riders chose a mean +/- SD power output of 267 +/- 56 W in the first 1.61 km which was 14% higher than the overall race mean +/- SD of 235 +/- 41 W. Power outputs then dropped to below the race mean after the first few kilometres. Mean +/- SD finish times in the C and V time trials were 1661 +/- 130 and 1659 +/- 135 s, respectively. These were significantly faster than the 1671 +/- 131 s recorded in the initial time trial (p = 0.009), even though overall mean power outputs were similar (234 - 235 W) between all trials (p = 0.26). Overall mean RPE and delta lactate were lowest in trial V (p < 0.05). Perceived exertion showed a pacing strategy by race split interaction (p < 0.0001), but it was not increased significantly during the first 8.05 km of the V condition when power outputs were 5% higher than in condition C. Heart rate showed no main effect of pacing strategy (p = 0.80) and the interaction between strategy and race split did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.07). These results suggest that in a 16.1 km time trial with equal 8.05 km headwind and tailwind sections, riders habitually set off too fast in the first few kilometres and will benefit (10 s improvement) from a constant pacing strategy and, to a slightly greater degree (12 s improvement), from a variable (5% +/- mean) pacing strategy in line with the variations in wind direction during the race. Riders should choose a constant power when external conditions are constant, but when there are hilly or variable wind sections in the race, a variable power strategy should be planned. This strategy would be best monitored with 'power-measuring devices' rather than heart rate or subjective feelings as the sensitivity of these variables to small but meaningful changes in power during a race is low.     

Toward a conceptual model of organizational regression.

This article presents an elaborated model of organizational regression suggesting that, within the framework of general systems and catastrophe theory, organizational units and whole enterprises can be viewed as struggling to attain a state of super-resilience that enables them to cope effectively with a large number of regressive forces. The model comprises 6 phases of organizational regression that occur either in a 10-stage process or in a chaotically unpredictable but behaviorally understandable and orderly sequence. Internal and external regressive forces that constantly pressure an organization toward less effective performance and more primitive behavior are identified. Organizational barriers and balancing forces that counter the regressive pressures are also described, along with the consequences of regression for individuals and enterprises. Several brief case illustrations (e.g., Montgomery Ward, Apple Computer, and General Electric Corporation) are provided to highlight aspects of this conceptual approach. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A mathematical model for the transmission of Salmonella Typhimurium within a grower-finisher pig herd in Great Britain

In a study of pigs slaughtered at British abattoirs, approximately 23% carried Salmonella in their cecal (large intestine) contents. The most frequent serotype was Salmonella Typhimurium (STM), which was the second most common cause of human salmonellosis in Great Britain. A pig industry-monitoring program was developed to reduce Salmonella infection on British farms. The control of STM infection on the farm requires an understanding of STM transmission dynamics within the herd, and a mathematical model has been developed for an infected grower-finisher farm. The model estimates the probability of a random pig being infected with STM. There are three broad categories of STM infection in pigs: pigs that are infected but unable to transmit the infection (latent); pigs that are infectious, i.e., able to transmit the infection (shedders); and pigs that have stopped shedding but harbor STM in their internal organs (carriers). The model estimates that 21.0% (5th and 95th percentiles, 0.05 to 77.5%) of slaughter-age pigs on an infected farm are likely to be shedding STM. Although this range is wide, it is biologically plausible. Sensitivity analysis of the total number of infected pigs revealed that the most significant input parameters are the probability of effective contact between a specific infectious and susceptible pig and the duration of shedding. The model predicted that 11.5% of pigs would be shedding STM at slaughter age. This value is close to the estimate obtained from a British abattoir survey that 11. 1% of pigs carried STM in their ceca, indicating that the model has reasonable validity.     

Isotopic variations of Zn in biological materials

Variations in the isotopic composition of Zn present in various biological materials were determined using high-resolution multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICPMS), following digestion and purification by anion exchange chromatography. To correct for differences in instrumental mass discrimination effects between samples and standards, Cu was employed as an elemental spike. Complementary analyses of Zn separates by sector field ICPMS instruments revealed that the concentrations of the majority of potentially interfering elements were reduced to negligible levels. Residual spectral interferences resulting from (35)Cl(16)O(2)(+), (40)Ar(14)N(2)(+), and (40)Ar(14)N(16)O(+) could be instrumentally resolved from the (67)Zn, (68)Zn, and (70)Zn ion beams, respectively, during measurement by MC-ICPMS. The only other observed interference in the Cu and Zn mass range that could not be effectively eliminated by high-resolution multicollection resulted from (35)Cl(2)(+), necessitating modification of the sample preparation procedure to allow accurate (70)Zn detection. Complete duplication of the entire analytical procedure for human whole blood and hair, as well as bovine liver and muscle, provided an external reproducibility of 0.05-0.12 per thousand (2sigma) for measured delta(66/64)Zn, delta(67/64)Zn, and delta(68/64)Zn values, demonstrating the utility of the method for the precise isotopic analysis of Zn in biological materials. Relative to the selected Zn isotopic standard, delta(66/64)Zn values for biological samples varied from -0.60 per thousand in human hair to +0.56 per thousand in human whole blood, identifying the former material as the isotopically lightest Zn source found in nature to date.     

Unconventional superconductivity and novel quantum order

Superconductors have many unusual properties not observed in normal metals. The superconducting state is attributed to the pairing of electrons. Conventional forms of superconductivity are produced by distortions in the underlying crystal structure of the material. Recently, it has become evident that not all forms of superconductivity can be explained in this way. The way pairing occurs has to be redressed in these materials. Of particular interest is the interplay between magnetism and superconductivity and the consequences this may have on pair formation.