Marital interaction of agoraphobic women: A controlled, behavioral observation study.

Married couples with a female agoraphobic spouse (n = 22) were compared with demographically similar community control couples (n = 21) on self-report and observational measures of marital interaction. Consistent with hypotheses, husbands of agoraphobic women were more critical of their wives than were control husbands, and clinical couples were less likely to engage in positive problem solution than control couples. Contrary to hypothesis, clinical husbands were not less supportive than control husbands. Where general measures of marital distress were concerned, clinical couples, relative to control couples, evinced more distress by self-report, by their higher rate of negative nonverbal behavior, and by their longer sequences of negative exchanges. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Graphite Nucleation in Cast Iron Melts Based on Solidification Experiments and Microstructure Simulation

Microstructure strongly influences the mechanical properties of cast iron. By inoculating the melt with proper inoculants, foreign substrates are brought into the melt and eventually the graphite can crystallize on them. The elements and substrates that really play a role for nucleation are yet unknown. Until now there is very little knowledge about the fundamentals of nucleation, such as composition and morphology of nuclei. In this work we utilized EN-GJL-200 as a base material and examined several produced specimens. The specimens were cast with and without inoculants and quenched at different solidification states. Specimens were also examined with a high and low oxygen concentration, but the results showed that different oxygen contents have no influence on the nucleation in cast iron melts. Our research was focused on the microscopic examination and phase-field simulations. For studying the samples we applied different analytical methods, where SEM-EDS, -WDS were proved to be most effective. The simulations were conducted by using the software MICRESS, which is based on a multiphase-field model and has been coupled directly to the TCFE3 thermodynamic database from TCAB. On the basis of the experimental investigations a nucleation mechanism is proposed, which claims MnS precipitates as the preferred site for graphite nucleation. This theory is supported by the results of the phase-field simulations.     

Comparison of nine common coffee extraction methods: instrumental and sensory analysis

The preparation of a cup of coffee may vary between countries, cultures and individuals. Here, an analysis of nine different extraction methods is presented regarding analytical and sensory aspects for four espressi and five lunghi. This comprised espresso and lungo from a semi-automatic coffee machine, espresso and lungo from a fully automatic coffee machine, espresso from a single-serve capsule system, mocha made with a percolator, lungo prepared with French Press extraction, filter coffee and lungo extracted with a Bayreuth coffee machine. Analytical measurements included headspace analysis with HS SPME GC/MS, acidity (pH), titratable acidity, content of fatty acids, total solids, refractive indices (expressed in °Brix), caffeine and chlorogenic acids content with HPLC. Sensory analysis included visual, aroma, flavor and textural attributes as well as aftersensation. The technical differences in the extraction methods led to a higher concentration of the respective quantities in the espressi than in the lunghi. Regarding the contents per cup of coffee, the lunghi generally had a higher content than the espressi. The extraction efficiency of the respective compounds was mainly driven by their solubility in water. A higher amount of water, as in the extraction of a lungo, generally led to higher extraction efficiency. Comparing analytical data with sensory profiles, the following positive correlations were found total solids ? texture/body, headspace intensity ? aroma intensity, concentrations of caffeine/chlorogenic acids ? bitterness and astringency.     

A sampling approach to biases in conditional probability judgments: Beyond base rate neglect and statistical format.

Conditional probability judgments of rare events are often inflated. Early accounts assumed a general deficit in using statistical base rates. More recent approaches predict improvement when problems are presented in frequency format or refer to natural categories. The present theory focuses on sampling processes. Experiment 1 showed that a seeming advantage of frequency over probability formats is due to a confounded factor, the need to mentally transform stimulus samples. An information search paradigm was used in Experiment 2. When sampling by the predictor, the probability to be estimated, p(criterion/predictor), was conserved in the samples and judgments were quite accurate. However, when sampling by the criterion, the low base-rate event was strongly overrepresented, accounting for the entire bias. Judgments were quite sensitive to the sampled data, but failed to take sampling constraints into account, as shown in Experiments 3 and 4. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rating the clinical effectiveness of employed physicians.

The common procedure for evaluating individual physicians in hospitals and large clinics is a review and evaluation of their patients' records. Such records cannot give an overall assessment of clinical effectiveness whereas performance ratings can. Good rater acceptability and criterion validity (r = .75, p     

Comparison of culture and the antigenemia assay for detection of cytomegalovirus in blood specimens submitted to a reference laboratory

We compared the antigenemia assay (AA) with tandem shell vial cultures (SVCs) and tube cultures (TCs) for detection of cytomegalovirus (CMV) in 343 blood specimens. For 249 specimens, the AA was performed in duplicate with two different commercially available monoclonal antibody reagents (Biotest Diagnostic Corporation and Argene Biosoft). Specimens considered true positives were positive in either culture system or both AAs. Only specimens which were negative in both cultures and positive in a single AA were tested retrospectively with a CMV PCR assay. CMV recovery rates were also calculated to determine if increased specimen age resulted in decreased positivity. CMV recovery rates for the AA and the combination of both cultures were 20.0 and 5.0% at 3 to 18 h, 20.2 and 14.0% at 18 to 35 h, 12.5 and 7.8% at 36 to 52 h, and 18.8 and 6.3% at 64 to 75 h, respectively. The sensitivities and specificities of the Biotest AA, the Argene AA, SVC, and TC were 84.4 and 100.0, 100.0 and 99.6, 44.4 and 100.0, and 46.0 and 100.0%, respectively. The AA was significantly more sensitive than either culture method alone and was also more sensitive than the two culture methods used in tandem (the tandem culture sensitivity was 63.5%); the Argene AA identified more positives than the Biotest AA.     

Child homicide in Oklahoma: a continuing public health problem

Homicide is a leading manner of injury to cause death in children. To assess this phenomenon in Oklahoma, the demographic characteristics and causes of death of the victims of child homicide in Oklahoma have been reviewed. One hundred eleven consecutive cases of homicide in children less than age 13 years were reviewed and the demographic characteristics of the victims were analyzed. The majority of homicides occurred in Tulsa and Oklahoma Counties (55.8%). The ratio of male to female victims was approximately equal. The races of the victims were 66.6 percent White, 24.3 percent Black, 8.1 percent Native American and 0.9 percent Asian. The most common cause of death was head injury (45.9%). An unexpected finding was that in 23.4 percent of cases, an additional fatality occurred in the family due to family violence. This fatality involved either suicide of the perpetrator or homicide of a sibling. These findings indicate a continuing family violence problem in Oklahoma.     

A Local Algorithm for the Computation of Image Velocity via Constructive Interference of Global Fourier Components

A novel Fourier-based technique for local motion detection from image sequences is proposed. In this method, the instantaneous velocities of local image points are inferred directly from the global 3D Fourier components of the image sequence. This is done by selecting those velocities for which the superposition of the corresponding Fourier gratings leads to constructive interference at the image point. Hence, image velocities can be assigned locally even though position is computed from the phases and amplitudes of global Fourier components (spanning the whole image sequence) that have been filtered based on the motion-constraint equation, reducing certain aperture effects typically arising from windowing in other methods. Regularization is introduced for sequences having smooth flow fields. Aperture effects and their effect on optic-flow regularization are investigated in this context. The algorithm is tested on both synthetic and real image sequences and the results are compared to those of other local methods. Finally, we show that other motion features, i.e. motion direction, can be computed using the same algorithmic framework without requiring an intermediate representation of local velocity, which is an important characteristic of the proposed method.     

Should learners use their hands for learning? Results from an eye-tracking study

Given the widespread use of touch screen devices, the effect of the users' fingers on information processing and learning is of growing interest. The present study drew on cognitive load theory and embodied cognition perspectives to investigate the effects of pointing and tracing gestures on the surface of a multimedia learning instruction. Learning performance, cognitive load and visual attention were examined in a one-factorial experimental design with the between-subject factor pointing and tracing gestures. The pointing and tracing group were instructed to use their fingers during the learning phase to make connections between corresponding text and picture information, whereas the control group was instructed not to use their hands for learning. The results showed a beneficial effect of pointing and tracing gestures on learning performance, a significant shift in visual attention and deeper processing of information by the pointing and tracing group, but no effect on subjective ratings of cognitive load. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.     

Development of an (S)-1-{2-[tris(4-methoxyphenyl)methoxy]ethyl}piperidine-3-carboxylic acid [(S)-SNAP-5114] carba analogue inhibitor for murine γ-aminobutyric acid transporter type 4

A series of GABA uptake inhibitors related to (S)-1-{2-[tris(4-methoxyphenyl)methoxy]ethyl}piperidine-3-carboxylic acid [(S)-SNAP-5114], the most potent mGAT4 inhibitor known so far, were synthesized and biologically evaluated for their inhibitory potency at the four GABA uptake transporters mGAT1-4 stably expressed in HEK-293 cell lines. New analogues were developed with potencies that are similar to or slightly higher than those of current mGAT4 inhibitors, but with distinctly improved chemical stability. (S)-Nipecotic acid derivatives possessing a 2-[1-(4-methoxy-2-methylphenyl)-1,1-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)methoxy]ethyl (DDPM-859) or a 4,4,4-tris(4-methoxyphenyl)but-2-en-1-yl moiety (DDPM-1457) were found to exhibit pIC(50) values of 5.78 and 5.87, respectively. Thus, as mGAT4 inhibitors, these compounds compare well with (S)-SNAP-5114 (pIC(50) =5.71), but are far more stable than the latter. Moreover, DDPM-859 displays a more favorable subtype selectivity for mGAT4 versus mGAT3 than does (S)-SNAP-5114.