Midline interhemispheric fusion associated with atypical callosal dysgenesis: a mild type of holoprosencephaly

Pubertal male Wistar rats were submitted to bilateral castration and killed 7 or 14 days later; an additional group of castrated rats was submitted to ultrasound stimulation of the ventral region lying above the accessory sex glands, for 20 min a day from the 7th to the 14th day postcastration. Control intact rats were age-matched to the different treated groups. Seminal vesicle growth and secretory activity were investigated on the basis of weight and fructose content, respectively. A progressive fall in seminal vesicle weight was observed over a period of 7 (83% decrease) to 14 (92% decrease) days following castration; ultrasound treatment beginning on the 7th day prevented this additional weight reduction. Castration caused also a marked decrease (50-60%) in the fructose content of the seminal vesicle and the ultrasound energy promoted a partial recovery of the secretory activity of the gland. The results revealed a direct ultrasound stimulation of the seminal vesicle secretory activity in pubertal rats deprived of testicular androgens.     

Bilateral, perisylvian and rolandic cortical dysplasia in trisomy 13 syndrome

A 25-year-old woman presented with left progressive deafness due to an intracranial tumor of the cerebello-pontine angle. Biopsy and subsequent total surgical excision indicated origin from the acoustic nerve. Histologically, the tumor showed typical feature of Schwannoma associated with a population of epithelioid cells. Three years after surgery no local invasion, no relapse, and no metastasis were noted. Immunohistochemistry showed a strong positivity for S100 protein in the cytoplasm of Schwannian and epithelioid tumoral cell components. This positivity in the epithelioid cells correspond to a well differentiated cell population derived from a Schwann cell precursor explaining the benign course of the tumor. In the absence of similar cases of epithelioid Schwannoma of the acoustic nerve in literature, we will discuss the differential diagnosis, potential evolutivity, and origin of the epithelioid cells.     

Photorefractive keratectomy for hyperopia and aphakia with a scanning spot excimer laser

OBJECTIVE: To study the safety, efficacy, predictability, and stability of photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) for hyperopia and aphakia. METHODS: Fifteen eyes of 15 patients (mean age, 33 +/- 5.95 yrs) were enrolled in the study and divided into three groups. The first group was comprised of six eyes that had hyperopia ranging from +1.75 to +4.75 D; the second group had seven hyperopic eyes ranging from +5.00 to +9.75 D; the third group included two eyes of two aphakic patients. All eyes had PRK with a 193 nm argon fluoride excimer laser (Chiron-Technolas, Keracor 116) with a 10 Hz repetition rate and a fluence of 120 mJ/cm2. The total follow-up time in all eyes was 12 months. RESULTS: In the lower hyperopia group, 0% eyes were within +/- 0.50 D and 66% (N = 4) of eyes were within +/- 1.00 D of emmetropia with the other two eyes between +1.00 and +2.00 D at 1 year after PRK. In the higher hyperopia group, all eyes had at least +3.00 D of hyperopia at 1 year. In the aphakic group, both eyes achieved less than 50% of the target correction of +10.00 D at 1 year. Final uncorrected visual acuity ranged from 20/20 to 20/30 in the lower hyperopia group, 20/30 to 20/50 in the higher hyperopia group, and count fingers in the aphakic group. CONCLUSIONS: PRK is a relatively safe, stable, and effective procedure with reasonably good predictability for eyes with less than +5.00 D of baseline hyperopia, and poor predictability for eyes with more than +5.00 D of baseline hyperopia. PRK is ineffective in the correction of aphakia.     

Consequences of individual feedback on behavior in organizations.

The literature on feedback to individuals has previously been reviewed with respect to its effect on the behavior of individuals in performance-oriented organizations. Although contemporary views of individual behavior in organizations stress that feedback is necessary for effective role performance, little attention is given to the psychological processes affected by it. This review focuses on the multidimensional nature of feedback as a stimulus and addresses the process by which feedback influences behavior. Emphasis is placed on those aspects of feedback that influence (a) the way it is perceived, (b) its acceptance by the recipient, and (c) the willingness of the recipient to respond to the feedback. (3 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hybridizing ant colony optimization via genetic algorithm for mixed-model assembly line balancing problem with sequence dependent setup times between tasks

This paper presents a new hybrid algorithm, which executes ant colony optimization in combination with genetic algorithm (ACO-GA), for type I mixed-model assembly line balancing problem (MMALBP-I) with some particular features of real world problems such as parallel workstations, zoning constraints and sequence dependent setup times between tasks. The proposed ACO-GA algorithm aims at enhancing the performance of ant colony optimization by incorporating genetic algorithm as a local search strategy for MMALBP-I with setups. In the proposed hybrid algorithm ACO is conducted to provide diversification, while GA is conducted to provide intensification. The proposed algorithm is tested on 20 representatives MMALBP-I extended by adding low, medium and high variability of setup times. The results are compared with pure ACO pure GA and hGA in terms of solution quality and computational times. Computational results indicate that the proposed ACO-GA algorithm has superior performance.     

Not all trust is created equal: dispositional and history-based trust in human-automation interactions

OBJECTIVE: We provide an empirical demonstration of the importance of attending to human user individual differences in examinations of trust and automation use. BACKGROUND: Past research has generally supported the notions that machine reliability predicts trust in automation, and trust in turn predicts automation use. However, links between user personality and perceptions of the machine with trust in automation have not been empirically established. METHOD: On our X-ray screening task, 255 students rated trust and made automation use decisions while visually searching for weapons in X-ray images of luggage. RESULTS: We demonstrate that individual differences affect perceptions of machine characteristics when actual machine characteristics are constant, that perceptions account for 52% of trust variance above the effects of actual characteristics, and that perceptions mediate the effects of actual characteristics on trust. Importantly, we also demonstrate that when administered at different times, the same six trust items reflect two types of trust (dispositional trust and history-based trust) and that these two trust constructs are differentially related to other variables. Interactions were found among user characteristics, machine characteristics, and automation use. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that increased specificity in the conceptualization and measurement of trust is required, future researchers should assess user perceptions of machine characteristics in addition to actual machine characteristics, and incorporation of user extraversion and propensity to trust machines can increase prediction of automation use decisions. APPLICATION: Potential applications include the design of flexible automation training programs tailored to individuals who differ in systematic ways.     

A hybrid genetic algorithm for mixed model assembly line balancing problem with parallel workstations and zoning constraints

In this paper, we propose a hybrid genetic algorithm to solve mixed model assembly line balancing problem of type I (MMALBP-I). There are three objectives to be achieved: to minimize the number of workstations, maximize the workload smoothness between workstations, and maximize the workload smoothness within workstations. The proposed approach is able to address some particular features of the problem such as parallel workstations and zoning constraints. The genetic algorithm may lack the capability of exploring the solution space effectively. We aim to improve its exploring capability by sequentially hybridizing the three well known heuristics, Kilbridge & Wester Heuristic, Phase-I of Moodie & Young Method, and Ranked Positional Weight Technique, with genetic algorithm. The proposed hybrid genetic algorithm is tested on 20 representatives MMALBP-I and the results are compared with those of other algorithms.     

非稳态蠕变裂纹C（t）积分和J（t）积分的有限元分析

利用有限元法分析恒定载荷和非恒定载荷作用下的非稳态蠕变裂纹问题。数值结果显示,虽然J积分和C积分在非稳态蠕变条件下均是路径相关的,但它们与路径相关的强弱程度大不一样。J积分在短时蠕变和长时间蠕变条件下是路往无关的,而在过渡蠕变时期,其与路径也只是弱相关。C积分在长时间蠕变条件下是路径无关的,而在短时蠕变条件下,其与路径呈现一种强相关。根据J积分和C积分的路径相关程度,提出了确定裂纹尖端J积分和C积分的方法,并给出恒定载荷、线性载荷和指数载荷作用下的有关分析结果。