Using enhanced text to facilitate recognition of drug names: evidence from two experimental studies

Two studies examined the effects of enhanced text on immediate recognition of drug names. Study 1 sampled 102 college students using a between-subjects design, while Study 2 sampled 11 practicing pharmacists and technicians using a within-subjects Latin square design. Both studies utilized a computer-based sequential recognition task where a prime word was shown with various text enhancements, followed by a mask and then a target word. Participants decided whether the target word was the same as the prime word. Stimuli were organized so that 120 trials were matches and 120 trials were mismatches, randomly sequenced for each participant. Results showed an effect of orthographic similarity, where high-similarity name mismatches were missed more often. This effect was independent of the type of text enhancement used and response bias. Case-based enhancements also increased errors of commission (false alarms) significantly. Discussion includes the practical relevance of the data and future directions for research.     

Durability of FRP Composite Bridge Deck Materials under Freeze-Thaw and Low Temperature Conditions

Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites, especially lightweight sandwich structures, are rapidly finding their way into civil infrastructure application. FRP composite panels are particularly attractive as bridge deck systems due to their high strength, low density, and durability, which are of importance to the bridge industry. Most of the vast amount of durability data for FRP has been generated for aerospace and automotive applications, which involve very different service conditions than civil infrastructure. For civil engineering applications, it is essential to examine the durability performance of FRP materials under weathering conditions. The ultimate goal of this research is to develop a reliable framework for durability assessment of FRP decks, including laboratory testing procedure and finite-element simulation capability. Such a framework should be applicable to all types of FRP deck construction. In this paper, specimens of typical FRP bridge deck skin materials are subjected to freeze-thaw cycling between 4.4 and ?17.8°C in media of dry air, distilled water, and saltwater, and constant freeze at ?17.8°C . The selected deck is used as an example for demonstration purposes. In addition, selected specimens are subjected to simultaneous environmental exposure conditions and sustained loading of 25% ultimate strain. It should be emphasized that most of the environmental conditions reported in the literature produce minor deterioration of a single composite property, and the assessment of such effect on this single property becomes unreliable because of a large property variation. Therefore, in this paper we use multiple mechanical properties as performance indices for damage evaluation. Based on findings from this work, it is concluded that freeze-thaw cycling between 4.4 and ?17.8°C alone and up to 1,250 h and 625 cycles caused very insignificant or no change in the flexural strength, storage modulus, and loss factor of the FRP specimens conditioned in dry air, distilled water, and saltwater. Small reductions in storage modulus (about 1% or less) were observed when specimens were prestrained and subjected to 250 freeze-thaw cycles in distilled water and saltwater. Changes in flexural strength were statistically insignificant, since they were within the data scatter.     

Analogical Problem Solving in Casual and Experienced Users: When Interface Consistency Leads to Inappropriate Transfer

ABSTRACT

The problem-solving abilities of casual users were compared to experienced users in a computer setting. It was hypothesized that casual users would benefit from reduced consistency with other applications. Experience was gauged with a questionnaire and empirical measures. Four interfaces were developed with varying degrees of similarity to Web browsers. Using a Web browser as a source problem, participants were tested with two of the experimental interfaces. The data indicated that the accuracy of casual users was equivalent across consistent and inconsistent interfaces but that the consistent interfaces had significantly higher latencies. The primary conclusions of the study are that performance for casual users is improved by superficially inconsistent interfaces and that their performance is equivalent to experienced users when a true analogue is present. Commonalities with familiar elements may be a hindrance.     

Probability Distribution Functions for Construction Simulation

The need for reliable simulation systems has been discussed and recognized by many researchers. At the same time researchers have recognized that the quality of a simulation model's results are strictly related to the quality of the input probability distribution functions. The data used in this research were acquired from the Atkinson-Washington-Zachry joint venture on the Eastside Reservoir Project in California. The data were analyzed using BestFit software to obtain the parameters of the theoretical distribution functions that best described the field data set. The research validated previous warnings about the influence of the class interval decision on the selection of a distribution function when the chi-square fitting test is utilized. A second issue of importance that was encountered was the reliability of goodness-of-fit tests when dealing with large data sets.     

Lot-to-order matching for a semiconductor assembly andtest facility

This paper is motivated by the problem of assigning semiconductor fabrication wafer lots to customer orders of various sizes. The goal of this research is to develop a method for deciding, on a given day, which orders to fill and the assignment of available lots to orders. This decision should be made in order to effectively utilize the capacity of the assembly/test facility, to minimize excess product that must be sent to a storage facility, and to maximize on-time delivery of customer orders. This problem can be formulated as an integer program with a nonlinear objective and nonlinear constraints. Because of the complexity of this formulation we decompose the problem into two integer linear programs and solve them in sequence by heuristic methods. The performance of the heuristic is analyzed using a representative data set. Based on this analysis, it is shown that our greedy heuristic performs significantly better than current practice.     

Defining a Probability Distribution Function for Construction Simulation

Simulation is widely applied as a practical tool for planning and analysis in many industries. However, in the case of construction processes, it has not yet emerged from the research stage into practice. The lack of confidence in selection of a probability distribution function (PDF) for an activity duration has limited the use of simulation as a practical tool for constructors. A modified β1-β2 plane analysis by AbouRizk and Halpin revealed that most of the construction data sets they analyzed laid in the beta region. Based on research in experimental psychology, it is recommended that the subjective information used to define beta parameters include the minimum and maximum activity durations, as well as the mode and the 75th or 25th percentiles. This paper presents a method to determine a beta PDF for use in construction simulation modeling.     

Whole-cell chloride currents in rat astrocytes accompany changes in cell morphology

Astrocytes can change shape dramatically in response to increased physiological and pathological demands, yet the functional consequences of morphological change are unknown. We report the expression of Cl- currents after manipulations that alter astrocyte morphology. Whole-cell Cl- currents were elicited after (1) rounding up cells by brief exposure to trypsin; (2) converting cells from a flat polygonal to a process-bearing (stellate) morphology by exposure to serum-free Ringer's solution; and (3) swelling cells by exposure to hypo-osmotic solution. Zero-current potentials approximated the Nernst for Cl-, and rectification usually followed that predicted by the constant-field equation. We observed heterogeneity in the activation and inactivation kinetics, as well as in the relative degree of outward versus inward rectification. Cl- conductances were inhibited by 4, 4-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid (200 microM) and by Zn2+ (1 mM). Whole-cell Cl- currents were not expressed in cells without structural change. We investigated whether changes in cytoskeletal actin accompanying changes in astrocytic morphology play a role in the induction of shape-dependent Cl- currents. Cytochalasins, which disrupt actin polymers by enhancing actin-ATP hydrolysis, elicited whole-cell Cl- conductances in flat, polygonal astrocytes. In stellate cells, elevated intracellular Ca2+ (2 microM), which can depolymerize actin, enhanced Cl- currents, and high intracellular ATP (5 mM), required for repolymerization, reduced Cl- currents. Modulation of Cl- current by Ca2+ and ATP was blocked by concurrent whole-cell dialysis with phalloidin and DNase, respectively. Phalloidin stabilizes actin polymers and DNase inhibits actin polymerization. Dialysis with phalloidin also prevented hypo-osmotically activated Cl- currents. These results demonstrate how the expression of astrocyte Cl- currents can be dependent on cell morphology, the structure of actin, Ca2+ homeostasis, and metabolism.     

Comparison and evaluation of lot-to-order matching policies for a semiconductor assembly and test facility

This paper is motivated by the problem of assigning semiconductor fabrication wafer lots to customer orders of various sizes. The goal of this research is to develop a method for deciding, on a given day, which orders to fill and the assignment of available lots to orders. This problem can be formulated as an integer program with a non-linear objective and non-linear constraints. Because of the complexity of this formulation, the problem is decomposed into two integer linear programs and solved in sequence by heuristic methods. In this paper, heuristic solutions are selected for the two subproblems and the performances of these heuristics are analysed in an experimental design using a representative data set. Based on this analysis, it is shown that the greedy heuristics selected perform significantly better than current practice. Finally, future research is discussed.     

Evaluation of heuristics for a class-constrained lot-to-order matching problem in semiconductor manufacturing

While semiconductors are being used in an increasing number of products, semiconductor manufacturers continually look for ways to make their processes more efficient. This paper will focus on an issue in the manufacturing process called the class-constrained lot-to-order matching problem (CLOMP), where individual lots of microprocessors are matched to customer orders, while seeking to optimize multiple objectives. Due to its complexity, the problem is decomposed into two stages—the first identifies which customer orders to fill while the second assigns specific lots to the chosen orders. We design an experiment with four first-stage sorting rules, four second-stage heuristics and two production cases. Based on our simulation results, this paper will recommend the first-stage sorting rule and second-stage heuristic which attain the best results with regards to our measures of effectiveness.