Foretelling the judgments of reviewers and editors.

Examined reviewer recommendations and subsequent editorial decisions for 153 papers submitted for publication. In an earlier article (D. W. Fiske and L. Fogg; see record 1990-23769-001), the authors demonstrated the diversity of reviewer comments and the relative uniqueness of each review. In the current study, overall reviewer recommendation to accept or reject an article predicted 93% of the 153 editorial decisions correctly. Reviewers evaluated papers on the basis of planning and execution flaws or general negative comments, with little weight given to interpretations or results. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Describing Near Surface, Transient Flow Processes in Unconfined Aquifers below Irrigated Lands: Model Application in the Western San Joaquin Valley, California

In order to rigorously examine near surface, field to field interactions between irrigation management regimes and a shallow fluctuating water table, an enhanced deforming finite element (DFE) model was recently developed. The enhanced DFE model, through a process of iteration within each time step, avoids making common assumptions regarding the changing geometry of an aquifer free surface. This paper demonstrates the usefulness and effectiveness of the model by employing it to an irrigated region in the western San Joaquin Valley, Calif., where shallow subsurface tile drains have been installed to control shallow water tables. By virtue of the problems created by the need to dispose off the drainage water, this region has been the focus of several important regional scale modeling exercises, which have evaluated the utility of management strategies, such as source control, groundwater pumping, and land retirement. By refining the focus of the analysis, the enhanced DFE model is found to be able to show that both sources control and managed pumping could be more effective drainage control strategies than predicted based on the results of regional models.     

But the reviewers are making different criticisms of my paperp Diversity and uniqueness in reviewer comments.

This research studied the critical points made in 402 reviews of 153 papers submitted to 12 editors of American Psychological Association journals. The diverse criticisms dealt not only with the planning and execution of the research but also with the presentation in the report, spreading fairly evenly over all steps in research activity from early conceptualizing to final writing. The modal category is Interpretations and Conclusions. In the typical case, two reviews of the same paper had no critical point in common. It seemed that reviewers did not overtly disagree on particular points; instead, they wrote about different topics, each making points that were appropriate and accurate. As a consequence, their recommendations about editorial decisions showed hardly any agreement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rigid polyurethane foam: Refrigerator cabinet design and constructionMousse rigide de polyuréthane: Conception et construction des meubles frigorifiques

Factors affecting the manufacture and properties of foam used in refrigerator construction are discussed. The process for foam insulation of domestic refrigerators is described and comparisons are drawn between the original and most modern production techniques, showing how development of rigid polyurethane foam technology has assisted changes in refrigeration cabinet construction.     

The chemical response of main-group extended solids to formal mixed valency: the case of LixBC

The introduction of mixed valency into extended main-group solids is discussed using the example of hole-doped LiBC, where a combination of experimental measurements and density functional theory calculations is used to understand the observed electronic properties in terms of deviation from the expected rigid-band electronic structure behaviour.     

Behavior problems among young children in low-income urban day care centers

The purposes of this study were to describe: (a) the frequency and correlates of behavior problems among a sample of 2- and 3-year-old children from low-income families as seen by their parents and day care teachers, (b) the degree to which parents and teachers agree about the children's behavior problems in their respective contexts, and (c) family characteristics that distinguish toddlers with behavior problems both at home and at day care from the rest of the sample. Parents of 133 toddlers from 10 Chicago day care centers completed measures of child behavior problems, child behavioral intensity, parenting self-efficacy, discipline strategies, and stress. Children's day care teachers also completed a measure of child behavior problems. Parent-reported behavior problems were associated with higher child behavioral intensity, greater parent stress, lower self-efficacy, and discipline strategies characterized by irritability, coercion, and inconsistency. Parent and teacher ratings on child behavior were correlated for boys' behavior problems only. Parents reported more child behavior problems than teachers. Approximately 8% of the children were rated as having behavior problems at home and at day care. Although most of the children are functioning well, many of these parents and toddlers are engaged in highly stressful and coercive relationships.     

Role of volatilization in changing TBA and MTBE concentrations at MTBE-contaminated sites

Tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA) is commonly found as an impurity in methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) added to gasoline. Frequent observations of high TBA, and especially rising TBA/MTBE concentration ratios, in groundwater at gasoline spill sites are generally attributed to microbial conversion of MTBE to TBA. Typically overlooked is the role of volatilization in the attenuation of these chemicals especially in the vadose zone, which is a source of contamination to groundwater. Here we show that volatilization, particularly through remediation by vapor extraction, can substantially affect the trends in TBA and MTBE concentrations and the respective mass available to impact groundwater aquifers, through the preferential removal of more volatile compounds, including MTBE, and the apparent enrichment of less volatile compounds like TBA. We demonstrate this phenomenon through numerical simulations of remedial-enhanced volatilization. Results show increases in TBA/MTBE concentration ratios consistent with ratios observed in groundwater at gasoline spill sites. Volatilization is an important, and potentially dominant, process that can result in concentration trends similar to those typically attributed to biodegradation.