Perceived consensus influences intergroup behavior and stereotype accessibility.

Past research has demonstrated the powerful influence other people have on the thoughts and behaviors of individuals. However, the study of intergroup attitudes has focused primarily on the influence of direct exposure to out-group members as determinants of stereotypes and prejudice. Two experiments tested the hypothesis that learning that others share one's intergroup beliefs influences intergroup attitudes and behavior as well as stereotype representation. Experiment 1 demonstrated that learning that one's beliefs are shared or not shared with others influences attitudes, behavior, and the strength of the attitude–behavior relationship. Experiment 2 demonstrated a potential mechanism for such effects by showing that learning about whether others share one's stereotypes influences the accessibility of those stereotypes and related stereotypes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development and evaluation of a context-based document representation for searching the medical literature

Received: 12 March 1997 / Revised: 26 June 1997 / Accepted: 5 August 1997     

Tunable optical tweezers for wavelength-dependent measurements

Optical trapping forces depend on the difference between the trap wavelength and the extinction resonances of trapped particles. This leads to a wavelength-dependent trapping force, which should allow for the optimization of optical tweezers systems, simply by choosing the best trapping wavelength for a given application. Here we present an optical tweezer system with wavelength tunability, for the study of resonance effects. With this system, the optical trap stiffness is measured for single trapped particles that exhibit either single or multiple extinction resonances. We include discussions of wavelength-dependent effects, such as changes in temperature, and how to measure them.     

Authigenic pyrite: evidence for a microbial origin of tar sand

The formation of tar sand has long been related to two origins: breached deposits and biodegradation. The identification of authigenic pyrite in a complex of interfingering lacustrine, deltaic and fluviatile sediments is evidence to support a microbial origin of the PR Spring tar sand deposit in Utah. Pyrite was formed when migrating petroleum, in association with soluble Fe, was invaded by water carrying microorganisms and underwent biodegradation by specialized groups of chemoorganotrophic sulphate-reducing bacteria. These microorganisms, probably similar to Desulfovibrio and Desulfococcus, perform sulphate reduction, transforming liquid petroleum into tar sand while generating pyrite.     

The Effect of Relevance Instructions on Reading Time and Learning.

The authors examined the effect of prereading relevance instructions on reading time and learning for 2 types of text. Experiment 1 found that relevance instructions increased learning for relevant segments without increasing reading time when reading a scientific text sentence by sentence on a computer. In contrast, the same segments were learned less well and took longer to read when nonrelevant. Experiment 2 replicated the findings when individuals read an informational narrative text. These findings supported the no increased effort hypothesis, which states that relevant information is learned better without additional effort when readers are told what is relevant prior to reading. In contrast, nonrelevant information is learned less well. The authors attribute these effects to the goal-focusing nature of relevance instructions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recycling of glaze waste through hydrocyclone separation

The purpose of this work was to evaluate the applicability of hydrocyclone technology to separate glaze components for reuse in an industrial process. A laboratory size hydrocyclone system was constructed using industrial components. Preliminary work showed that clean separation of the waste into three particle size ranges; < 5, 5-20, and > 20 μm, would allow for each component to be recycled. Hydrocyclones were used to separate particles which have different sedimentation velocities, calculated based on Stokes Law, but could not separate systems with particles that had different sizes and densities but similar sedimentation velocities. Thus, particle behavior in the system correlated to what is predicted by Stokes Law, which is based on laminar flow.The particle size distributions of the separated glaze waste shifted towards the target values of < 5, 5-20, and > 20 μm, but were broad and overlapped slightly. A more efficient system would be required for the waste to be completely reusable. Selective agglomeration of glaze constituents was proposed to increase efficiency of separation by creating narrower, more distinct particle size distributions. Sedimentation and titration tests were used to estimate the isoelectric point of glaze constituents. Hypothetical calculations demonstrated that selective agglomeration could be used to significantly increase the sedimentation velocity of particles.     

Personal, medical, and healthcare utilization among homeless veterans served by metropolitan and nonmetropolitan veteran facilities.

This study assessed differences in personal, medical, and health care utilization characteristics of homeless veterans living in metropolitan versus nonmetropolitan environments. Data were obtained from a Veterans Health Administration (VHA) network sample of homeless veterans. Chi-square tests were used to assess differences in demographics, military history, living situation, medical history, employment status, and health care utilization. Moderator analyses determined whether predictors of health care utilization varied by metropolitan status. Of 3,595 respondents, 60% were residing in metropolitan areas. Age, sex, and marital status were similar between metropolitan and nonmetropolitan homeless. Metropolitan homeless were less likely to receive public financial support or to be employed, to have at least one medical problem, one psychiatric problem, or current alcohol dependency, but more likely to be homeless longer. Of the 52% of the sample who used VHA care in the last 6 months, 53% were metropolitan versus 49% nonmetropolitan (p = .01). Metropolitan status predicted at least one VHA visit within the prior 6 months (OR:1.3, CI:1.1, 1.6). Significant differences occur in the personal, medical, and health care utilization characteristics of homeless veterans in metropolitan versus nonmetropolitan areas. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attention! Cosmopolitans ahead – They may not be as creative as they think!

Research on cosmopolitanism and creativity has received significant attention in recent years; however, the connections between these constructs are still ill‐defined. This study uses the creative cognition model to explore the relationship between cosmopolitanism and creativity using both self‐report and expert ratings of a qualitative task. Quantitative data support the assertion that cosmopolitanism is significantly and positively related to self‐expectations of creativity and creative work involvement. However, creative performance on a productive solutions task coded by creativity experts failed to replicate the self‐reported findings. We describe the practical and theoretical implications of these results for future research into cosmopolitanism and creativity.     

Differences in the chlorine reactivity of four microcystin analogues

The presence of microcystin toxins in drinking water is highly undesirable as they have the potential to adversely affect human health. Consequently, effective removal of these toxins from water is a major goal for water authorities. In this study, four microcystin analogues were chlorinated in two treated waters, and two of the analogues were chlorinated in deionised water. The oxidation of the microcystins was related to the chlorine exposure (CT) of the sample waters with the ease of oxidation following the trend: microcystin-YR > microcystin-RR > microcystin-LR > or = microcystin-LA. This trend was in agreement with published data on model compounds and free amino acids. Values of CT of up to 25 mg min L(-1) were required for oxidation of all microcystin analogues to below the World Health Organization guideline value of 1.0 microg L(-1). Results from this study indicate that for some water resources it is important to determine the speciation of the microcystin analogues to optimise chlorination practices.