Unintentional reading: Can phonological computation be controlled?

Examined whether phonological recoding can be controlled, or whether it is computed (1) even when it is completely irrelevant to the task, and (2) can only hurt performance. 42 undergraduates in each of 2 Stroop type experiments used a key press to indicate the print color of an (irrelevant) letter string that sounded like a color word (e.g., BLOO). The sound of the color "word" was always incongruent with the required response. Color identification performance was impaired by the irrelevant letter strings relative to 2 baseline conditions. Results are consistent with the conclusion that a phonological code is computed under a variety of circumstances. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contracting, prompting, and reinforcing substance use disorder continuing care: A randomized clinical trial.

Although continuing care is strongly related to positive treatment outcomes for substance use disorder (SUD), participation rates are low and few effective interventions are available. In a randomized clinical trial with 150 participants (97% men), 75 graduates of a residential Veterans Affairs Medical Center SUD program who received an aftercare contract, attendance prompts, and reinforcers (CPR) were compared to 75 graduates who received standard treatment (STX). Among CPR participants, 55% completed at least 3 months of aftercare, compared to 36% in STX. Similarly, CPR participants remained in treatment longer than those in STX (5.5 vs. 4.4 months). Additionally, CPR participants were more likely to be abstinent compared to STX (57% vs. 37%) after 1 year. The CPR intervention offers a practical means to improve adherence among individuals in SUD treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using technology to explore social networks and mechanisms underlying peer effects in classrooms.

Peer interactions among children have long interested social scientists. Identifying causal peer effects is difficult, and a number of studies have used random assignment to produce evidence that peers affect each other's outcomes. This focus by sociologists and economists on whether peers affect each other has not been matched by direct evidence on how these effects operate. The authors argue that one reason for the small number of studies in sociology and economics on the mechanisms underlying peer effects is the difficulty of collecting data on microinteractions. They argue technology reduces data collection costs relative to direct observation and allows for realistic school activities with randomly assigned peers. The authors describe a novel strategy for collecting data on peer interactions and discuss how this approach might shed light on mechanisms underlying peer influence. The centerpiece of this strategy is the use of handheld computers by middle and high school students as part of interactive math and science lessons called the Discussion Game. The handhelds collect data on interactions between students and track how students' answers evolve as they interact with different peers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adsorption of RDX and HMX in Rapid Small-Scale Column Tests: Implications for Full-Scale Adsorbers

The high explosive (HE) compounds royal demolition explosive or hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazocine (RDX) and high melting explosive or octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX) have been detected as groundwater contaminants at many military facilities. This research evaluated adsorption of RDX and HMX with granular activated carbon (GAC) to provide guidance for the design and operation of GAC adsorbers for treatment of HE-contaminated groundwater. Five GACs were screened using rapid small-scale column tests (RSSCTs), after which additional tests were performed with the two GACs that most effectively treated mixtures of RDX and HMX (Calgon F400 and Northwestern LB-830). GAC service life as a function of empty-bed contact time (EBCT) was determined using RSSCTs for a range of simulated full scale EBCTs with influent concentrations of 2,200 μg RDX/L and 350 μg HMX/L. Increasing the influent concentration of either contaminant significantly reduced the predicted service life, as did preloading GAC with groundwater natural organic matter. In batch isotherm tests, RDX was less adsorbable than HMX under all conditions studied. Concurrent loading of natural organic matter reduced the Freundlich K for RDX, whereas adsorption of HMX was not affected. Of the GACs tested, Calgon F400 most effectively removed RDX and HMX.     

Examining the locus of age effects on complex span tasks.

To investigate the locus of age effects on complex span tasks, the authors evaluated the contributions of working memory functions and processing speed. Age differences were found in measures of storage capacity, language processing speed, and lower level speed. Statistically controlling for each of these in hierarchical regressions substantially reduced, but did not eliminate, the complex span age effect. Accounting for lower level speed and storage, however, removed essentially the entire age effect, suggesting that both functions play important and independent roles. Additional evidence for the role of storage capacity was the absence of complex span age differences with span size calibrated to individual word span performance. Explanations for age differences based on inhibition and concurrent task performance were not supported. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fines Accumulation and Distribution in a Storm-Water Rain Garden Nine Years Postconstruction

Storm water control measures (SCMs), also known as best management practices (BMPs), such as rain gardens, are designed to infiltrate storm-water runoff and reduce pollutant transport to surface waters. The life span of these SCMs may be limited depending on the composition of sediments in runoff water. Settling of fine sediments may clog soil pore spaces, reducing the infiltration capacity of the soil and reducing the potential benefits of this SCM. A study was conducted on a Villanova campus rain garden that accepts runoff from an adjacent parking lot to determine if there was a relationship between the accumulation of fine sediments over time and the infiltration capacity. The soil textural profile within the rain garden was characterized prior to SCM installation (2001), after installation, after five years, and after seven years of receiving storm-water runoff. Infiltration data were collected by the single-ring infiltrometer method in 2006 and 2009. Differences in soil texture were found between locations within the infiltration basin, and accumulation of fines smaller than 0.1 mm was observed at both locations sampled in 2009. Infiltration rates were significantly different between the two locations measured within the rain garden, but infiltration rates did not change significantly over time within those regions. This SCM was designed at a 10:1 watershed to SCM area ratio, which is twice what is recommended by the PA DEP BMP Manual. The data collected over the seven years since installation indicate that while fines have accumulated in the SCM there has been no significant change in infiltration potential.     

Performance of Silica-Titania Carbon Composites for Photocatalytic Degradation of Gray Water

The objective of this research was to develop a photocatalytic reactor that will reduce the total organic carbon (TOC) concentration of a gray water influent. The system used a reactor packed with titanium dioxide (TiO2) supported by silica gel (SiO2) and was optimized with respect to several system parameters. The SiO2–TiO2 composites (STCs) were capable of reducing the TOC concentration from 3,000 ppb to below the targeted concentration of 500 ppb in a recirculating system. An optimum empty bed contact time of 7 min was found based on the fastest destruction rate to reach below 500 ppb of TOC. Also based on destruction rate, a STC having a TiO2 loading of 12 g/100 mL of SiO2 precursor and approximately 120-? pore size was shown to have the best performance among several composites of different TiO2 loadings and pore sizes. The addition of activated carbon to the STC was found to improve the overall performance of the system by increasing the composite’s adsorption capabilities.     

Do neuropsychological tests have the same meaning in Spanish speakers as they do in English speakers?

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine whether neuropsychological tests translated into Spanish measure the same cognitive constructs as the original English versions. Method: Older adult participants (N = 2,664), who did not exhibit dementia from the Washington Heights Inwood Columbia Aging Project (WHICAP), a community-based cohort from northern Manhattan, were evaluated with a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. The study cohort includes both English (n = 1,800) and Spanish speakers (n = 864) evaluated in their language of preference. Invariance analyses were conducted across language groups on a structural equation model comprising four neuropsychological factors (memory, language, visual-spatial ability, and processing speed). Results: The results of the analyses indicated that the four-factor model exhibited partial measurement invariance, demonstrated by invariant factor structure and factor loadings but nonequivalent observed score intercepts. Conclusion: The finding of invariant factor structure and factor loadings provides empirical evidence to support the implicit assumption that scores on neuropsychological tests are measuring equivalent psychological traits across these two language groups. At the structural level, the model exhibited invariant factor variances and covariances. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Should I stay or should I go? Personality Assessment Inventory and Rorschach indices of early withdrawal from psychotherapy.

The Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) and the Rorschach were used to investigate differences between patients who withdrew early from university-based outpatient psychodynamic psychotherapy and those who continued in treatment. The study employs two sets of analyses, one utilizing the complete sample (N = 101) and a second comprised of comparison pairs matched on the specific therapist delivering treatment (n = 36 for Rorschach; n = 38 for PAI). It was hypothesized that early withdrawers would score higher on the PAI Treatment Rejection Scale (RXR) and the PAI Treatment Process Index (TPI) than treatment continuers. It was also hypothesized that early treatment withdrawers will have better overall interpersonal relationships, less need for closeness and intimacy, less available psychological resources and more current stimulus demands, and lower levels of psychological/cognitive disturbance as measured by the Rorschach. In addition, differences between the two groups on PAI treatment and clinical scales and subscales were examined. Results indicated that PAI RXR differentiated between the two groups (p     

Solvent-free oxidation of benzyl alcohol using titania-supported gold–palladium catalysts: Effect of Au–Pd ratio on catalytic performance

The oxidation of benzyl alcohol with molecular oxygen under solvent-free conditions has been investigated using a range of titania-supported Au–Pd alloy catalysts to examine the effect of the Au–Pd ratio on the conversion and selectivity. The catalysts have been compared at high reaction temperature (160 °C) as well as at 100 °C, to determine the effect on selectivity since at lower reaction temperature the range of by-products that are formed are limited. Under these conditions the 2.5 wt.% Au–2.5 wt.% Pd/TiO₂ was found to be the most active catalyst, whereas the Au/TiO₂ catalyst demonstrated the highest selectivity to benzaldehyde. Toluene, formed via either a hydrogen transfer process or an oxygen transfer process, was observed as a major by-product under these forcing conditions.