Prejudice, stereotypes, and labeling effects: Sources of bias in person perception.

A preliminary study and 3 experiments compared predictions generated by contrasting models of how group labels bias person perception. An affective model assumed that how much perceivers like different groups mediates bias; a cognition model assumed that perceivers' beliefs regarding different groups mediates bias; and a third model assumed that both affect and cognition are necessary to mediate bias. Perceivers evaluated behavior samples provided by targets who were labeled as either rock music performers or child abusers in the preliminary study and the first 2 experiments; homosexuals or heterosexuals in the third experiment. In all studies, controlling for liking eliminated bias. The preliminary study and Study 3 also showed that controlling for beliefs about the groups eliminated bias. Structural equation modeling provided support for the affect model in Studies 1 and 2, and mixed support for the affect model and the cognition model in Study 3. These studies suggest an important role for affect in judgmental biases. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The bioconversion of tunisian phosphorite usingAspergillus niger

It is well known that the production of phosphoric fertilizers by traditional methods is connected with certain environmental problems, particularly related to use of acids during the decomposition of natural phosphates. A basic problem is also the fact that only 15 – 20% of the phosphorus contained in superphosphates is assimilated by plants.The development of methods to process natural phosphates without acid precipitation has potential advantages and in this respect biotechnological processing of natural phosphates in order to obtain organo-mineral fertilizers is very promising. The possibility of bioconverting the phosphorus of natural phosphates by usingAspergillus niger fungi through their deep incubation has been investigated. The investigations aim to achieve a high degree of P₂O₅ extraction from the phosphates with conversion from a non-utilizable to a utilizable form. The influence of the fungal strain, the kind of nutritive medium and the time of incubation of the process of biological mobilization of the phosphate rock is examined.It was established that the time of incubation, the kind of micro-organisms of theAspergillus niger group, as well as the kind of nutritive medium, influence significantly the process of bioconversion and the conversion of phosphorus from non-utilizable to water-soluble and utilizable for plants form. A maximum degree 90% of phosphorus extraction in the form of water-soluble and citrate-soluble has been reached for 10-day incubation. Physicochemical examinations have been carried out and they have proved that, as a result of the produced organic acids, a process of decomposition of the initial Tunisian phosphorite takes place.     

Alcoholism: independent predictor of survival in patients with head and neck cancer

BACKGROUND: Despite recognition of the high prevalence of alcoholism among patients with head and neck cancer, the prognostic importance of alcoholism has not been evaluated adequately. Previous investigators have speculated that alcoholic patients may have a poorer prognosis than nonalcoholic patients because of more advanced stage of cancer, the immunosuppressive effects of alcohol, and an increased rate of death due to other alcohol-related diseases. PURPOSE: The goal of this population-based study was to identify the features of alcoholism that are associated with survival for patients with head and neck cancer and to develop an alcoholic severity staging system from a composite of the independent features of alcoholism. METHODS: This prospective study included 649 patients who were diagnosed with cancer of the oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx, or larynx during the period from September 1, 1983, through February 28, 1987, in a three-county area of western Washington state that participates in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program of the U.S. National Cancer Institute. Details on lifetime alcohol consumption, treatment for alcoholism, abstinence from alcohol prior to the diagnosis of cancer, and alcohol-related health problems were ascertained through in-person interviews near the time of diagnosis. Patients were classified as either nonalcoholics or alcoholics according to their responses to questions from the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test. The measures of alcohol consumption and abuse that were found to be independently associated with 5-year survival by logistic regression analysis were combined using conjunctive consolidation to create a final composite variable, called an alcoholic severity stage. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was done to estimate the relative risk (R) of death within 5 years due to specific causes of death for each of the alcoholic severity stages. RESULTS: Alcoholism (RR = 2.06; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.43-2.98) and a history of alcohol-related systemic health problems (i.e., liver disease, pancreatitis, delirium tremens, or seizures) (RR = 2.76; 95% CI = 1.69-4.49) were associated with an increased risk of death, whereas abstinence (i.e., the consumption of fewer than one drink per week at 1 year prior to the diagnosis of cancer) (RR = 0.62; 95% CI = 0.39-0.97) was associated with a decreased risk of death. These associations were independent of age, site of cancer, anatomical stage, histopathologic grade, smoking, and type of antineoplastic treatment. Patients in the two worst alcoholic severity stages had an increased risk of dying not only of head and neck cancer but also of cardiovascular disease, pulmonary disease, and other alcohol-related causes. CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol abuse, measured by alcohol consumption, functional impairment, a history of alcohol-related health problems, or abstinence, can provide important prognostic information for patients with head and neck cancer. Our results suggest that sobriety among alcoholic patients can lead to prolonged survival.     

Gelling of alginate fibres

Equipment was developed to measure the time for complete gelling of sodium alginate fibres in calcium chloride solution, taken as the time to achieve maximum tensile strength. The effects of fibre diameter, alginate concentration, alginate composition and calcium chloride concentration on gelling time were investigated. A diffusional model, developed to predict the gelling time, agreed with experimental results except for the effect of calcium ion concentration which was modelled empirically.     

38. Generalversammlung von CENELEC

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Appearance of homogeneous smectic multilamellar microenvironments in biomembranes undergoing superoxide-initiated lipid peroxidation: lipid-dienyl radical accumulation and fluidity management in lipid bilayers

Erythrocyte ghosts were exposed to various levels of oxyradical shock in order to identify the extent of accumulation of peroxidative intermediates. Malondialdehyde reacting end products were the same in all different models. But, the accumulation of dienyl radical species increased with higher intensity of oxyradical shock. These dienyl radicals may rearrange to create a homogeneous smectic multilamellar microenvironment which may be more fluid in terms of the molecular dynamics.     

The relationship between attachment, psychopathology, and childhood disability.

Analyzes the literature on 3 aspects of attachment—neurobiological influences, interpersonal and intrapersonal factors, and societal factors—in the psychological development of chronically disabled children. Evidence suggests that neurochemical substances such as cortisol and brain biogenic amine systems reciprocally interact with psychological and psychosocial factors to influence attachment. Interpersonal and intrapersonal factors such as temperamental characteristics of children, severity and type of disability, and family influences interact in the process of attachment. Social perceptions and prejudices about the disabled individual increase parental stress, and diminish parental involvement and resources, which are necessary for attachment. These 3 processes are powerful and interrelated forces in child development, with potential to modify social competence, neurological development, and psychosocial adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)