The referents of trait inferences: The impact of trait concepts versus actor–trait links on subsequent judgments.

The authors investigated the hypothesis that when trait inferences refer to abstract behavior labels they act as a general interpretation frame and lead to assimilation in subsequent judgments of an ambiguous target, whereas when they refer to a specific actor–trait link they will be used as a scale anchor and lead to contrast. Similar to G. B. Moskowitz and R. J. Roman's (see record 1992-31124-001) study, participants who were instructed to memorize trait-implying sentences showed assimilation, and participants who were instructed to form an impression of the actors in these sentences showed contrast. However, exposure to trait-implying sentences that described actors with real names and were accompanied with photos of the actors resulted in contrast under both memorization and impression instructions (Experiment 1). Furthermore, contrast ensued when trait-implying sentences were accompanied with information that suggested a person attribution, whereas assimilation ensued when that information suggested a situation attribution, independent of processing goals (Experiment 2). These findings are interpreted as support for referent-based explanations of the consequences of trait inferences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of processing conditions on glucosinolates in cruciferous vegetables

Summary Glucosinolates are found naturally in cruciferous plants, such asbrassica vegetables, which are important in the human diet. Glucosinolates are readily converted into a range of physiologically active compounds by hydrolysis under the influence of an endogenous thioglucosidase, which becomes active when plant cells are disrupted. Cruciferous vegetables are eaten raw, they are also consumed in the processed form. The influence of processing conditions on glucosinolate degradation and on the type and levels of the reaction products formed is reviewed.

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Der Einfluß von Prozeßbedingungen auf Glucosinolate in Cruciferen-Gemüse

Zusammenfassung Glucosinolate kommen naturgemäß in Kreuzblütlern vor, wie z. B. inBrassica-Gemüse, welche einen wesentlichen Bestandteil der Nahrung bilden. Glucosinolate werden leicht umgesetzt in eine Reihe physiologisch aktiver Verbindungen unter Einfluß einer endogenen Thioglucosidase, welche aktiv wird, wenn das pflanzliche Gewebe zerstört wird. Die Cruciferen-Gemüse werden roh, aber auch in verarbeiteter Form, gegessen. Der Einfluß der Verarbeitung auf den Abbau der Glucosinolate, sowie auf Art und Menge der gebildeten Reaktionssprodukte, wird besprochen.

     

The rely-guarantee method for verifying shared variable concurrent programs

Compositional proof systems for shared variable concurrent programs can be devised by including the interference information in the specifications. The formalism falls into a category calledrely-guarantee (orassumption-commitment), in which a specification is explicitly (syntactically) split into two corresponding parts. This paper summarises existing work on the rely-guarantee method and gives a systematic presentation. A proof system for partial correctness is given first, thereafter it is demonstrated how the relevant rules can be adapted to verify deadlock freedom and convergence. Soundness and completeness, of which the completeness proof is new, are studied with respect to an operational model. We observe that the rely-guarantee method is in a sense a reformulation of the classical non-compositional Owicki & Gries method, and we discuss throughout the paper the connection between these two methods.The research was partially supported by Esprit-BRA project 6021 (REACT).     

Fundamental aspects of energy conservation policy

The formulation of a governmental energy conservation policy requires that the issues involved be fundamentally analyzed. Information transfer, more intensive use of data, and good housekeeping can all contribute to reduced energy use. Our major choice, however, is between producing the present mix of materials, commodities, and services more efficiently or decreasing demand for them. The first option is referred to as the “technical fix”, the second one as “change of lifestyle”. If the first option fails, changes in life-style might become mandatory.This paper deals with the technical fix approach. Higher capital investment can lead to a decrease in direct use of energy. Both the cost and the energy involved in these investments are analyzed along a conservation path, and a limited number of constants is used to describe the changes along this path. These constants can also be used to feed technological information into macroeconomic analysis.The time scales involved pose the major problem to achieving conservation by means of a technological fix. An increase in the price of energy will lead to higher capital investments in accordance with the economic lifecycles in the different sectors. For applications with a short life-time, such as in the transport sector, energy conservation will mainly take place through the construction of new equipment. In sectors with long lifetime investments (e.g. buildings), retrofitting will be important.Including the indirect energy requirements in the conservation study leads to some important conclusions. It can be demonstrated that the thermodynamic limit is not the ultimate limit for conservation. An energy minimum is obtained, which corresponds to a use of energy higher than the thermodynamic limit. It is also impossible to reduce or eliminate some components of the present energy supply system and at the same time to introduce a new decentralized supply system.A crucial aspect of the technological fix approach is that within the present rules, capital investments for saving direct energy can only be made after the increase in energy price has taken place or when it can be firmly anticipated on a short term. At this point, however, the time needed for making these capital investments is lacking and adverse economic consequences can be expected.It is therefore the major task of governmental policy to induce conservation before it is economically acceptable or possible. This requires some form of government interaction. The theory developed in this paper provides a method by which to rank the options according to the energy saved per dollar of public funds invested. This measures the difference between the objectives of the private sector and those of society.The longer this policy is postponed, the larger is the risk that conservation will have to be achieved in an emergency program. In that situation the indirect energy necessary for the capital construction might jeopardize the short-term goals.     

Limited-Dose Electron Microscopy Reveals the Crystallinity of Fibrous C–S–H Phases

Using electron diffraction, we demonstrate that the fibrous calcium–silicate–hydrates (C–S–H) of tricalciumsilicate (C₃S) hydration possess a crystalline structure. The crystalline nature was revealed by limiting the electron dose, which is common in electron microscopy of biomacromolecules. Compared with room temperature, the fading of the electron diffraction patterns at −175°C occurs at an electron dose that is about one order of magnitude higher. A combination of low-dose and cryo-protection methods offers the possibility to investigate the structures of water-containing cement phases by high-resolution electron microscopy in a close-to-native state.     

Engineering Technology, and the University

The historically unprecedented interpenetration of the human, societal, and technological spheres has created a theoretical and intellectual challenge for engineering and the university as a whole. A greater interdependence between the social sciences and humanities on the one hand, and the professional, applied science, and engineering on the other, continues to be an urgent problem. Engineering education can make a decisive contribution by developing a complementary science that will relate to the social sciences and humanities the way the applied sciences relate to the natural sciences. A similar approach may be taken by other sectors of the university, permitting them to remain vital in a technological age.     

On the psychology of playing blackjack: Normative and descriptive considerations with implications for decision theory.

Investigated the decision processes of blackjack players by observing 112 players in the natural environment of a casino and by interviewing 149 players. Four questionnaires were administered, 1 each to 11, 28, 33, and 77 Ss. Findings show that the strategies and decisions of players take place at 2 levels: one level, which may be termed rational, is in accordance with normative considerations insofar as normative criteria can be established. The other level contains intuitions, beliefs, and heuristics that are not always adequate and cannot be justified on rational grounds. It is suggested that the decision processes of the observed Ss can best be described by H. Simon's (1957) concept of bounded rationality, but that the irrational or nonrational aspects are also bounded. The final discussion elaborates on some methodological and theoretical issues related to the present study, with particular emphasis on what constitutes appropriate normative considerations. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nutritional evaluation of meat–soya bean protein product blends

The nutritive value of protein of blends consisting of meat and soya bean protein products, which replaced either 20 or 40 % of protein of meat, were determined in rat feeding experiments. Protein efficiency ratio (PER) and net protein utilisation (NPU) were significantly lower (P<0.05) in blends containing either 20% protein from soya isolate or 40% protein from soya concentrate or soya flakes than blends containing sirloin only. However, there were no significant differences in PER and NPU when model meat (consisting of 70 and 30% protein from sirloin and connective tissue, respectively) was replaced by up to 20% protein from soya isolate or up to 40% protein from soya concentrate.     

Supertankers: Simulators for the study of steering.

Reports on the development of simulators for the study of supertankers, one of the largest man-machine systems ever built. Since the law requires that they be steered by hand in critical conditions (e.g., entering a harbor), supertankers offer an opportunity to study various aspects of human performance as controllers of complex systems. Limitations of the simulators and experimental applications are examined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparing endoscopic systems on two simulated tasks

Endoscopes are slender instruments for performing medical procedures through small incisions or natural body orifices. Three experiments examined the performance effects of various endoscope systems when naive participants executed tasks in a bladder-like environment. The systems involved a direct endoscope, requiring the user to look through a lens at the outer part of the endoscope, and a video endoscope that picks up the image via a camera attached to the endoscope and displays it on a video monitor. The results indicate that the participants performed the tasks better with video than with direct endoscopes, and showed more transfer of practice with video endoscopic surgery from a small to a large task environment than vice versa. The optimal position of the monitor with video endoscopic surgery appeared to involve a reasonable angle relative to the operating area (45 degrees was used). Performance was less at a greater angle (90 degrees), but also at a small angle (10 degrees). It did not matter whether the monitor was located left, right or above the operating area. As performance did not fully transfer to differently sized task environments, endoscopists should initially train with task environments of different, and especially small, sizes.