Reducing retroactive interference: An interference analysis.

In 4 experiments on retroactive interference (RI), the authors varied paired-associate learning lists that produced either appreciable or negligible forgetting. When the category of the stimulus word predicted its response word category, and the response was relatively unique within its category, learning was extremely rapid, and negative transfer and RI were negligible. The more the competing primed items in the predicted response category, the slower the learning and the greater the RI. If cues and responses were unrelated, learning was very slow, and RI was appreciable. Thus, predictive relations that help stimuli retrieve unique responses greatly alter forgetting in RI paradigms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A study of the CCl stretching region of the Raman spectrum of PVC

The C-Cl stretching regions of the Raman spectra of a number of samples of PVC prepared by various methods which lead to differences in tacticity, conformational content and crystallinity have been studied. It is shown that the spectra of all samples can be fitted well with a set of nine Lorentzian peaks whose positions and widths are the same for each spectrum. Two of these peaks are attributable to the A_g and B_3g species vibrations of crystalline material and the remaining seven may be assigned with reasonable confidence to specific structures in the amorphous regions, three of which are associated with isotactic placements. The area under the A_g and B_3g peaks may be used to estimate the crystallinity of the samples and the area under the peaks assigned to isotactic material may be used to estimate the tacticity of the polymer.     

AMOLED displays with transfer‐printed integrated circuits

Abstract— Small integrated circuits of crystalline silicon (chiplets) transfer‐printed onto a flat‐panel‐display substrate provide greatly improved electrical performance and uniformity in active‐matrix organic light‐emitting‐diode (OLED) displays. The integrated circuits are formed in high‐performance crystalline silicon using conventional photolithographic processes and then transfer‐printed onto a substrate using a stamp that transfers hundreds or thousands of chiplets at once. The chiplets are connected to an external controller and to pixel elements using conventional photolithographic substrate processing methods. Active‐matrix OLED (AMOLED) displays using transfer‐printed chiplets have good yields, excellent uniformity, and electrical performance and are thermally robust.     

A quantitative multimodal discourse analysis of teaching and learning in a web-conferencing environment – The efficacy of student-centred learning designs

This paper presents a quantitative approach to multimodal discourse analysis for analyzing online collaborative learning. The coding framework draws together the fields of systemic functional linguistics and Activity Theory to analyze interactions between collaborative-, content- and technology-related discourse. The approach is used to examine how the task subject matter, the activity design, and the choice of interface affected interaction and collaboration for a computing course conducted in a web-conferencing environment. The analysis revealed the critical impact of activity design on the amount and type of discourse that transpired. Student-centred designs resulted in over six times more student discourse as compared to teacher-centred designs and created a learning environment where students took greater ownership over the tasks and contributed more to the content-based discussion. The paper also incorporates a rationale for the approach to coding and a reflection on its efficacy for discourse analysis in technology-based learning environments.     

The Health Benefits of Selected Culinary Herbs and Spices Found in the Traditional Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet is considered one of the healthiest diets in the world. This is often attributed to low saturated fat consumption, moderate wine consumption, and high vegetable consumption. However, herbs and spices associated with these diets may also play an important role in the quality of this diet. This review summarizes the most recent research regarding the anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, anti-hyperlipidemic and anti-hypertensive properties of this collection of culinary species. Additionally, this review briefly summarizes studies performed on lesser known herbs from around the world, with the goal of identifying new culinary species that may be useful in the treatment or prevention of diseases.     

Performance optimization of integrated gas and power within microgrids using hybrid PSO–PS algorithm

In this paper, a hybrid algorithm consisting of particle swarm optimization and pattern search algorithm is proposed to evaluate and optimize the design and operation of microgrids (MGs) in combined gas and power networks. Key performance indicators (KPIs) are modeled and proposed to evaluate and assess MGs. The paper begins by proposing a comprehensive study to define KPIs, which are used to evaluate the following MG parameters: economical efficiency, reliability, environmental conservation, and power quality. Multi‐objective evaluation functions are then developed by building a relationship matrix of MG and KPI components. The results are then displayed as optimized power generation percentages for each technology with values for four KPI categories: cost, quality, reliability and environmental friendliness. Two case studies are examined in this paper; both the province of Ontario and Toronto regional zone under all system parameters with varying percentage of generation via gas technology. Results indicated that the optimal scenario for both Ontario and Toronto was achieved at hybrid PSO–patern search percentage generation via gas technology with improved cost KPI and other KPIs remaining approximately constant. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Person stereotypes and memory for people.

Tested the proposal by M. Snyder and S. W. Uranowitz (see record 1980-05464-001) that there exists a memory-priming mechanism by which information about a person that is normally unavailable in episodic memory is made available by the activation of a person stereotype that subsumes that information. In 2 experiments 128 college students read a biography of Betty K, who was later labeled as either a heterosexual or a lesbian before Ss took a recognition memory test. A signal-detection model was used to assess the effects of labeling on response bias as well as on the amount of information available in memory. The memory availability hypothesis predicted that Ss primed with a lesbian label for Betty K would have more availability in memory of lesbian information, and Ss primed with a heterosexual label would remember more heterosexual material. Neither experiment produced any improved recognition memory for biographic information due to activation of a sexual stereotype. Both experiments found a response bias (guessing) acting in the direction of the label S received. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fabrication and measurement of low-stress membrane mirrors for adaptive optics

We have fabricated low-stress membranes from single-crystal silicon for use as deformable mirrors in adaptive optics. These membranes have lower stress than membranes made from silicon nitride or other materials and therefore are capable of greater deformation than previously used membrane mirrors. Membranes were assembled into devices by flip chip bonding to electrode chips with either 256 or 1024 electrodes. We have characterized devices with static and dynamic tests and compared their performance with an analytical model. We tracked the evolution of strain in the membrane during the device's fabrication and assembly and identified sources of stress and strain in this process. We identified boron dopant concentration as a critical determinant of intrinsic stress in the membrane.     

Praise or blame? Affective influences on attributions for achievement.

Three experiments showed that mood influences achievement attributions and that cognitive processes underlie these effects. In Experiment 1, happy Ss made more internal and stable attributions for success than failure in typical 'life dilemmas.' In Experiment 2, attributions for real-life exam performance were more internal and stable in a happy than in a sad mood. Dysphoric moods resulted in self-critical rather than self-enhancing attributions, contrary to motivational theories, but consistent with cognitive models and the clinical literature on depression. In Experiment 3 this pattern was repeated with direct self vs. other comparisons, and for self-efficacy judgments. The results are interpreted as supporting cognitive rather than motivational theories of attribution biases. The implications of the results for clinical research, and contemporary affect–cognition theories are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)