Memory and age differences in spatial manipulation ability.

Young and old adults were asked, in 3 experiments, to make decisions about the identity of line segment patterns after either adding or subtracting line segments from the original pattern. On some of the trials, the line segments from the initial display were presented again in the second display to minimize the necessity of remembering early information during the processing of later information. Although this manipulation presumably reduced the importance of memory in the tasks, it had little effect on the magnitude of the age differences in any of the experiments. Because the 2 groups were equivalent in accuracy of simple recognition judgments, but older adults were less accurate when the same types of decisions were required in the context of an ongoing task, the results suggested that older adults may be impaired in the ability to retain information while simultaneously processing the same or other information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Tracheobronchial ruptures in closed thoracic trauma

Authors refer about their experience on five cases of thoracic trauma. Following a review of international literature, they analyze the clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic aspects of this kind of injuries.     

Sulfur containing polymers

Summary Copolymers containing -S-CO-S-and/or -O-CO-S-groups have been synthesized mainly by interfacial polycondensation.Different chemical structures were obtained by reacting 1,3-benzene dithiol (BDT) respectively with phosgene alone, phosgene and bisphenol-A (BPA), bischloroformate of BPA, BPA polycarbonate oligomers and by reacting phosgene with the products of BPA polycarbonate degraded with BDT. The chemical structures of the copolymers were investigated by IR, ¹H-NMR and ¹³C-NMR; molecular weights were determined by viscometry and vapor pressure osmometry. Although no attempt was made to find the optimum conditions for high molecular weight, some copolymers with fairly high mol. weight were obtained.     

N2O catalytic decomposition over various spinel-type oxides

Various spinel-type catalysts AB₂O₄ (where A = Mg, Ca, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Cr, Fe, Zn and B = Cr, Fe, Co) were prepared and characterized by XRD, BET, TEM and FESEM-EDS. The performance of these catalysts towards the decomposition of N₂O to N₂ and O₂ was evaluated in a temperature programmed reaction (TPR) apparatus in the absence and the presence of oxygen. Spinel-type oxides containing Co at the B site were found to provide the best activity. The half conversion temperature of nitrous oxide over the MgCo₂O₄ catalyst was 440 °C and 470 °C in the absence and presence of oxygen, respectively (GHSV = 80,000 h⁻¹).

On the grounds of temperature programmed oxygen desorption (TPD) analyses as well as of reactive runs, the prevalent activity of the MgCo₂O₄ catalyst could be explained by its higher concentration of suprafacial, weakly chemisorbed oxygen species, whose related vacancies contribute actively to nitrous oxide catalytic decomposition. This indicates the way for the development of new, more active catalysts, possibly capable of delivering at low temperatures amounts of these oxygen species even higher than those characteristic of MgCo₂O₄.     

Exploring the relationship between impulsivity and decision-making on mobile devices

Mobile devices offer a common platform for both leisure and work-related tasks, but this has resulted in a blurred boundary between home and work. In this paper, we explore the security implications of this blurred boundary, both for the worker and the employer. Mobile workers may not always make optimal security-related choices when “on the go” and more impulsive individuals may be particularly affected as they are considered more vulnerable to distraction. In this study, we used a task scenario, in which 104 users were asked to choose a wireless network when responding to work demands while out of the office. Eye-tracking data was obtained from a subsample of 40 of these participants in order to explore the effects of impulsivity on attention. Our results suggest that impulsive people are more frequent users of public devices and networks in their day-to-day interactions and are more likely to access their social networks on a regular basis. However, they are also likely to make risky decisions when working on-the-go, processing fewer features before making those decisions. These results suggest that those with high impulsivity may make more use of the mobile Internet options for both work and private purposes, but they also show attentional behavior patterns that suggest they make less considered security-sensitive decisions. The findings are discussed in terms of designs that might support enhanced deliberation, both in the moment and also in relation to longer term behaviors that would contribute to a better work–life balance.     

Copyright Infringement and Protection in the Internet Age

In this age of increasingly complex, Internet-based technologies, it's very difficult to protect original works of authorship. This article examines the problem of copyright infringement and the copyright law's desire to balance the interests of creators with the interests of the public. The author also offers some insight in how to reduce the problem of copyright infringement.     

A new algorithm for modeling online search behavior and studying ranking reliability variations

We design an information retrieval algorithm that mimics the stochastic behavior of decision-makers (DMs) when evaluating the alternatives displayed by an online search engine. The algorithm consists of a decision tree that incorporates all the 1024 decision nodes that may arise from the information retrieval process of DMs. We calibrate the behavior of the algorithm to the one observed from online users and run several sets of 1,000,000 queries. Each query lets DMs decide which subset of the ten alternatives composing the initial page of results to click, allowing us to evaluate their behavior as ranking reliability is assumed to decrease when DMs decide not to click on an alternative. We compare the click-through rates (CTRs) obtained when modifying the degree of ranking reliability derived from the alternatives displayed on the first page of search results. We illustrate how the stability of the CTR prevails among the top-ranked alternatives within relatively reliable scenarios while it drops when imposing large initial decrements in reliability. The resulting consequences regarding the importance of relative ranking positions are analyzed, the top three alternatives exhibiting a generally contained decrease in their CTRs that contrasts with the cumulative pattern arising from the fourth position onwards.

     

Detection of Partial Denaturation in AT-Rich DNA Fragments by Ion-Pair Reversed-Phase Chromatography

Temperature-dependent denaturation of DNA restriction fragments from the pBR322 plasmid ranging in length from 46 to 910 base pairs was detected by ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography using columns packed with alkylated nonporous poly(styrene/divinylbenzene) particles. The presence of acetonitrile in the mobile phase was found to decrease the melting temperatures of DNA fragments by 1.5-2 °C/% of acetonitrile in the eluent. Small fragments (<120 bp) were completely denatured between 53.6 and 63.5 °C, depending on their total GC content. Whereas retention times of completely helical DNA fragments increased gradually with increasing temperature, partial denaturation of larger DNA fragments (>150 bp) was found to reduce retention at temperatures above 53.6 °C. Therefore, micropreparative fractionation and rechromatography, together with DNA restriction analysis, were applied to identify the correct elution order of completely helical and partially denatured fragments. Inspection of the DNA sequences of partially denatured fragments revealed domains with repeating AT base pairs. Positions of partial denaturation within the pBR322 plasmid detected by chromatographic analysis were in good agreement with partial denaturation maps obtained by electron microscopy desrcibed in the literature.     

The multimod application framework: a rapid application development tool for computer aided medicine

This paper describes a new application framework (OpenMAF) for rapid development of multimodal applications in computer-aided medicine. MAF applications are multimodal in data, in representation, and in interaction. The framework supports almost any type of biomedical data, including DICOM datasets, motion-capture recordings, or data from computer simulations (e.g. finite element modeling). The interactive visualization approach (multimodal display) helps the user interpret complex datasets, providing multiple representations of the same data. In addition, the framework allows multimodal interaction by supporting the simultaneous use of different input-output devices like 3D trackers, stereoscopic displays, haptics hardware and speech recognition/synthesis systems. The Framework has been designed to run smoothly even on limited power computers, but it can take advantage of all hardware capabilities. The Framework is based on a collection of portable libraries and it can be compiled on any platform that supports OpenGL, including Windows, MacOS X and any flavor of Unix/linux.     

The Metabolic Role of Gut Microbiota in the Development of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Cardiovascular Disease

The prevalence of metabolic disorders, such as type 2 diabetes (T2D), obesity, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which are common risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), has dramatically increased worldwide over the last decades. Although dietary habit is the main etiologic factor, there is an imperfect correlation between dietary habits and the development of metabolic disease. Recently, research has focused on the role of the microbiome in the development of these disorders. Indeed, gut microbiota is implicated in many metabolic functions and an altered gut microbiota is reported in metabolic disorders. Here we provide evidence linking gut microbiota and metabolic diseases, focusing on the pathogenetic mechanisms underlying this association.