Goal orientations and performance: Differential relationships across levels of analysis and as a function of task demands.

Goal orientation and self-regulation theories were integrated to develop a multilevel framework aimed at addressing controversies regarding the magnitude and direction of goal orientation effects on performance. In Study 1, goal orientations were measured repeatedly whilst individuals performed an air traffic control task. In Study 2, goal orientations and exam performance were measured across 3 time points while undergraduates completed a course. Mastery-approach orientation was positively related to performance at the intraindividual level, but not at the interindividual level, and its effect was not moderated by task demands. Performance-approach positively predicted performance at the interindividual level, and at the intraindividual level, the direction of its effect switched as a function of task demands. Performance-avoid negatively predicted performance at the interindividual level but did not emerge as an intraindividual predictor. Mastery-avoid did not relate to performance at either level of analysis. This consistent pattern across 2 studies suggests that levels of analysis and task demands can determine the magnitude and direction of goal orientation effects on performance and highlights avenues for theory development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Monitoring of a secondary recovery application of leachate injection into a heap

An electrical resistivity monitoring survey was conducted on a mine heap to track fluid movement during high pressure injections. The injections were part of Newmont's patent-pending process called Hydro-Jex, where high pressures and flow rates were used to add significant volumes of fluid within multiple depths or zones. For this experiment, injections occurred in two wells over a seven day period, with a total of about 3000 m³ of leachate added to each well. The resistivity data showed that the flow of leachate can be affected by low permeability zones. The cascading effect of leachate moving along the top of low permeability horizons and finally draining over the edge was directly observed in the resistivity data. Furthermore, it was observed in the resistivity that thin horizons of increasing saturation can travel at least 40 m from the injection well. Lastly, crude approximations to hydrological parameters may be obtained with the data, such as the change in water content, but calibration of the resistivity data with a few moisture sensors would be preferable and likely more reliable.     

Transglutaminase 6 Is Colocalized and Interacts with Mutant Huntingtin in Huntington Disease Rodent Animal Models

Mammalian transglutaminases (TGs) catalyze calcium-dependent irreversible posttranslational modifications of proteins and their enzymatic activities contribute to the pathogenesis of several human neurodegenerative diseases. Although different transglutaminases are found in many different tissues, the TG6 isoform is mostly expressed in the CNS. The present study was embarked on/undertaken to investigate expression, distribution and activity of transglutaminases in Huntington disease transgenic rodent models, with a focus on analyzing the involvement of TG6 in the age- and genotype-specific pathological features relating to disease progression in HD transgenic mice and a tgHD transgenic rat model using biochemical, histological and functional assays. Our results demonstrate the physical interaction between TG6 and (mutant) huntingtin by co-immunoprecipitation analysis and the contribution of its enzymatic activity for the total aggregate load in SH-SY5Y cells. In addition, we identify that TG6 expression and activity are especially abundant in the olfactory tubercle and piriform cortex, the regions displaying the highest amount of mHTT aggregates in transgenic rodent models of HD. Furthermore, mHTT aggregates were colocalized within TG6-positive cells. These findings point towards a role of TG6 in disease pathogenesis via mHTT aggregate formation.     

A three-dimensional mathematical model of active signal processing in axons

Action potentials in neurons are generated on the plasma membrane through depolarization, i.e. exchange of charges through the membrane. Hodgkin and Huxley developed a mathematical model which describes the interaction of ions through an active plasma membrane. In Vossen et al. (Comput Visual Sci 10:107–121, 2007) we developed a passive three-dimensional (3D) model for signal propagation in dendrite. We now combine this model with a generalized Hodgkin-Huxley model to obtain a 3D-model that describes active signal processing on realistic cell morphologies. Time dependent changes of the neuron’s intra- and extracellular potential is regulated by the Ohmic flux of charges. These fluxes are balanced in membrane-near areas by the capacitory and Hodgkin-Huxley flux. The active model we present consists of five non-linear, coupled integro-differential equations which are solved numerically with a finite volume approach, implicit time stepping and Newton’s method for solving the underlying non-linear system of equations with multigrid solver methods. We present numerical results as well as axon behavior in a biological setting. This model can be considered as a three-dimensional expansion of existing state of the art one-dimensional models, with the significant advantage of being able to investigate the morphological influence of neuron cell types on their specific signaling properties.     

Psychological dimensions of goal-oriented interpersonal situations.

200 undergraduates were presented with all possible pairs of 20 cooperative and competitive situations, and Ss' dissimilarity judgments were analyzed using a multidimensional scaling technique. Four group analyses and 2 analyses that made provision for individual differences indicated that 7 distinct and replicable dimensions were used to differentiate among goal-oriented interpersonal situations. These 7 dimensions were interpreted as pleasant–unpleasant, accidentally caused/involved vs intentionally caused/uninvolved, physically vs socially oriented, sensitive–insensitive, nonintimate–intimate, nonintimate/uninvolved vs intimate/involved, and work- vs relaxation-oriented. Only 3 of these dimensions were found to have clear generality across different situational domains. Although significant interindividual variability in perception was found, there was also substantial communality in perception (as evidenced by the finding of 7 common and replicable dimensions of perception). Implications for interactionism, the development of taxonomies of situational perception, and the social psychology of cooperative vs competitive situations are discussed. (51 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Z Approach in Validating ORA-SS Data Models

The rapid growth of the World Wide Web has resulted in more data being accessed over the Internet. In turn there is an increase in the use of semistructured data, which plays a crucial role in many web applications particularly with the introduction of XML and its related technologies. This increase in use makes the design of good semistructured data structures essential. The Object Relationship Attribute model for Semistructured data (ORA-SS) is a graphical notation for designing and representing semistructured data. In this paper, we demonstrate an approach to formally validate the ORA-SS data models in order to enhance the correctness of semistructured data design. A mathematical semantics for the ORA-SS notation is defined using the Z formal language, and further validation processes are carried out to check the correctness of the semistructured data models at both the schema and instance levels.     

Development of salt taste in infancy.

Twelve infants, aged 16–25 weeks and formerly breast-fed, were tested for their preference for the taste of salt in the first food fed to them. Preference was found to decline with infant age. Because preference for salted food is known to relate to dietary experience of salt in 6-month-old infants, this decline suggests that an initial salt preference is modified by exposure to a low-sodium diet, that is, breast milk. Infant feeding behaviors were found to be a reliable indicator of satiety, and they were also found to differ according to taste preference. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Organic contaminants in mountains

The study of organic contaminants at high altitudes is motivated by the potential risk that they pose to humans living in, or depending on resources derived from, mountains and to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in alpine areas. Mountains are also ideal settings to study contaminant transport and behavior along gradients of climate and surface cover. Information on organic contaminants in mountains is compiled from the literature and synthesized, with a focus on atmospheric transport and deposition, contaminant dynamics in alpine lakes and aquatic organisms, and concentration differences with altitude. Diurnal mountain winds, in connection with enhanced deposition at higher elevations caused by low temperatures and high precipitation rates, conspire to make mid-latitude mountains become convergence zones for selected persistent organic chemicals. In particular, the more volatile constituents of contaminant mixtures seem to become enriched, relative to the less volatile constituents at higher altitudes. For selected contaminants, concentration inversions (i.e., concentrations that increase with elevation) have been observed. A notable difference between cold trapping in high latitudes and high altitudes is the likely importance of precipitation. High rates of snow deposition in mid- and high-latitude mountains may lead to a large contaminant release during snowmelt. Regions above the tree line often have little capacity to retain the released contaminants, suggesting the potential for a highly dynamic contaminant fate situation during the snow-free season with significant revolatilization and runoff. The chemical and environmental factors that control the orographic cold trapping of organic contaminants should be examined further by measuring and comparatively interpreting concentration gradients along several mountain slopes with widely different characteristics. Future efforts should further focus on the bioaccumulation and potential effects of contaminants in the upper trophic levels of alpine food chains, on measuring more water-soluble, persistent organic contaminants, and on studying how climate change may affect contaminant dynamics in mountain settings.     

How different is human hair? A critical appraisal of the reported differences in global hair fibre characteristics and properties towards defining a more relevant framework for hair type classification

This review critically appraises the reported differences in human hair fibre within three related domains of research: hair classification approaches, fibre characteristics and properties. The most common hair classification approach is based on geo-racial origin, defining three main groups: African, Asian and Caucasian hair. This classification does not account sufficiently for the worldwide hair diversity and intergroups variability in curl, shape, size and colour. A global classification into eight curl types has been proposed but may be too complex for reproducibility. Beyond that, hair cross-sectional shape and area have been found to have an inverse relation to curl: straighter fibres are circular with larger cross-sectional area, whilst the curlier fibres are elliptical with smaller cross-sectional area. These geometrical differences have been associated with bilateral vs homogenous distribution of cortical cell in curly vs straight hair respectively. However, there is no sufficient data demonstrating significant differences in hair amino composition, but proteomic studies are reporting associations of some proteins with curly hair. Eumelanin’s relative abundance has been reported in all hair colours except for red hair which has a high pheomelanin content. Higher tensile and fatigue strength of straight hair are reported, however, curly hair fragility is attributed to knotting, and crack and flow formations rather than the structural variations. African hair has been found to have the highest level of lipids, whilst the water sorption of Caucasian hair is the highest, and that of Asian hair the lowest. Not all comparative studies clearly report their hair sampling approaches. Therefore, to strengthen the robustness of comparative studies and to facilitate cross-study data comparisons, it is recommended that the following hair defining characteristics are reported in studies: hair cross sectional diameter/area, curl type, hair assembly colour, as well as where possible donor data (age/gender) and sample pooling approach.