Assessment of polysaccharides as ice cream stabilisers

The effect of small quantities of various polysaccharides on some of the physical properties of an ice cream mix and ice cream has been investigated. The behaviour of traditional compounds was compared with the behaviour of a selection of tree exudate gums. The most effective of this group of tree exudate gums was Khaya grandifoliola gum. Although an ice cream mix containing this gum has only a low viscosity Khaya gum produced a wide range of desirable effects.     

Perceptions of group cohesion and mood in sport teams.

Perceptions of group cohesion and mood were investigated among netball, rowing, and rugby teams. Participants (N?=?415) completed the Group Environment Questionnaire and the Profile of Mood States—C. For task cohesion, high attraction to the group predicted low tension and anger and high group integration predicted low depression. For social cohesion, high attraction to the group predicted low tension, low depression, and high vigor, but group integration was not predictive of mood. Type of sport did not moderate cohesion–mood relationships, although significant between-sport differences in cohesion and mood scores were seen. Results are discussed in relation to the R. F. Baumeister and M. R. Leary (1995) proposition that the need to belong is a fundamental human motive. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When visual marking meets the attentional blink: More evidence for top-down, limited-capacity inhibition.

An attentional blink (AB) paradigm was used to investigate the attentional resources necessary for visual marking. The results showed that distractors presented inside the AB cannot easily be ignored despite participants anticipating a future target display. This supports the hypothesis that attentional resources are required for visual marking. In addition, probe dots were better detected on blinked distractors than on successfully ignored distractors, but only when the task required new items to be prioritized. In a final experiment, a stronger negative carry-over effect on search occurred for targets identical to distractors presented outside rather than inside the AB. This suggests that at least part of the inhibitory processes involved in visual marking are nonspatial. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Visual Change With Moving Displays: More Evidence for Color Feature Map Inhibition During Preview Search.

Preview search with moving stimuli was investigated. The stimuli moved in multiple directions, and preview items could change either their color or their shape before onset of the new (search) displays. In Experiments 1 and 2, the authors found that (a) a preview benefit occurred even when more than 5 moving items had to be ignored, and (b) color change, but not shape change, disrupted preview search in moving stimuli. In contrast, shape change, but not color change, disrupted preview search in static stimuli (Experiments 3 and 4). Results suggest that preview search with moving displays is influenced by inhibition of a color map, whereas preview search with static displays is influenced by inhibition of locations of old distractors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Spatiotemporal Segregation in Visual Search: Evidence From Parietal Lesions.

The mechanisms underlying segmentation and selection of visual stimuli over time were investigated in patients with posterior parietal damage. In a modified visual search task, a preview of old objects preceded search of a new set for a target while the old items remained. In Experiment 1, control participants ignored old and prioritized new items, but patients had severe difficulties finding the target (especially on the contralesional side). In Experiment 2, simplified displays yielded analogous results, ruling out search ease as a crucial factor in poor preview search. In Experiment 3, outlines around distractor groups (to aid segmentation) improved conjunction but not preview search, suggesting a specific deficit in spatiotemporal segmentation. Experiment 4 ruled out spatial disengagement problems as a factor. The data emphasize the role of spatiotemporal segmentation cues in preview search and the parietal lobe in the role of these cues to prioritize search of new stimuli. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The use of transparent insulation materials and optical switching layers in window systems

The new class of transparent insulation materials is classified and characterisation methods are summarised. An overview on available materials and a comparison of these new materials with conventional glazing systems is given. The high potential of these materials in collector systems is briefly discussed. In the final section an overview on new optical switching materials is given, which may help to achieve economically interesting system costs.     

Control of solar insolation via thermochromic light-switching gels

The investigated thermochromic gels show a phase separation when a characteristic temperature is surpassed. Particles are formed within a polymer network, which are responsible for a drastically increased light scattering efficiency. Accordingly, a reduction in the directional-hemispherical transmission in the solar spectral range from 81 ± 2 to (10₋₁⁺⁵)% for a 1 mm thick foil-gel-foil system was observed. With the help of differential light scattering measurements and Debye's two-phase media model correlation lengths of a_c = (100 ± 20) nm and a_c = (400 ± 50) nm were derived for the scattering entities in the clouded case. From the optical thickness of the specimens the switching temperatures are derived. Additionally performed multiflux calculations for a purely scattering switching system allow to predict the radiation transport under variation of the optical thickness and the correlation length.     

Visual marking and visual change.

Five experiments investigated the types of changes that disrupt the preview effect--the benefit gained in difficult search tasks from presenting some distractors earlier in time. A shape change with or without an overall luminance change at the location of an old item was found to disrupt the preview effect, whereas an equivalent luminance change alone or an isoluminant color change was not disruptive. Results suggest that (a) relatively low-level visual changes may not be sufficient to abolish the benefit, (b) the benefit most likely occurs through inhibition applied to locations within a location master map, and (c) inhibition need not be applied to surface features of objects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)