Erratum: "Studies in Early Infant Learning: Classical Conditioning of the Neonatal Heart Rate."

Reports an error in the original article by D. H. Crowell et al (Developmental Psychology, 1976[Jul], 12(4), 373-397). Corrections to equations 1, 2, and 3 on pages 381 and 382 are presented. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1976-20687-001.) Three experiments demonstrated that human newborn heart rate level can be reliably modified through classical conditioning procedures. The theory of sensitization served as a frame of reference for Exps I and II, and drive reduction served for Exp III. In Exp I the delay, delay-trace, and control groups, with 10 2-day-old newborns in each, received 5 preconditioning trials of the CS alone, 16 conditioning trials with CS-UCS pairings differing for each group, and 5 extinction trials. Exp II was a replication of the 1st study and involved only the delay and delay-trace groups with 10 infants each. In both studies the delay group curves showed significant monophasic acceleratory responses during extinction. Results support the sensitization hypothesis (i.e., the CR occurring in the interstimulus interval was fashioned out of the response to the CS). In Exp III, the measure of conditioning was the response to the probe technique. 10 experimental Ss received preconditioning trials of nitrogen puff (UCS-sub-1) administered to the abdomen, followed by 10 CS-UCS-sub-2 (500-Hz tone acetic acid) pairings with an interstimulus interval of 3 sec. 10 controls received the same design with a CS-UCS-sub-2 interval of 40 sec. Analyses of the probe stimulus trials showed significant changes for the control group and none for the experimental group. The CS-UCS-sub-2 pairings in the experimental group are interpreted as producing increased drive and adaptive damping of the heart rate response. Findings show that early learning may occur under a variety of conditions and that the results can be incorporated by different theories. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Analytical methods for superresolution dislocation identification in dark-field X-ray microscopy

Journal of Materials Science - We develop several inference methods to estimate the position of dislocations from images generated using dark-field X-ray microscopy (DFXM)—achieving...     

Antilisterial effects of free fatty acids and monolaurin in beef emulsions and hot dogs

This study was undertaken to screen fatty acids, conjugated isomers of linoleic acid (CLA), and monolaurin for antilisterial effects in broth, and to further test the active compounds in cooked comminuted beef and hot dogs. Capric, lauric, myristic, palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic, and linolenic acid, CLA and monolaurin were screened in sterile nutrient broth at concentrations of 5 to 700 μg/ml. The media were inoculated with 10³ cfu/ml of L. monocytogenes strain Scott A and incubated at 32°C for up to 8 days. Cell enumeration data showed that lauric acid was most inhibitory, followed by monolaurin, and capric acid. Tests in comminuted sterile beef stored at 5°C for 21 days showed log cfu/g of: 8.5 (control), 7.3 (500 μg/g lauric acid), and 4.7 (500 lauric acid+300 capric acid). Similar results were observed in beef hot dog emulsion to which lauricidin, lauric acid, capric acid, and the acid combination were added prior to heat treatment. At 500 μg/g, monolaurin and lauric acid caused similar delayed growth effects at 5°C, whereas the combination of the two acids showed enhanced inhibition on prolonged storage. Nonetheless, the observed 5-log increase in numbers of L. monocytogenes during 45 days of storage indicates limited control of the pathogen in refrigerated cooked meat products.     

Pregnancy planning and the impact on work climate, psychological well-being, and work effort in the military.

This study examined the joint effects of demographics and pregnancy planning and timing on work climate, psychological well-being, and work effort among 345 pregnant U.S. military women from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. Rank predicted both pregnancy planning and career timing. Pregnancy planning was positively associated with support from coworkers and supervisors and with enhanced work effort and psychological well-being. Pregnancy timing was positively associated with support from supervisors, reduced harassment, and increased psychological well-being. Rank interacted with the planning and timing measures. Junior officers and enlisted participants reported reduced command and pregnancy support and increased harassment in conjunction with poorly timed pregnancies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

John McCarthy's legacy

This special issue is dedicated to John McCarthy, founding father of Artificial Intelligence. It contains a collection of recent contributions to the field of knowledge representation and reasoning, a field that McCarthy founded and that has been a main focus of his research during the last half century. In this introductory article, we survey some of McCarthy's major contributions to the field of knowledge representation and reasoning, and situate the papers in this special issue in the context of McCarthy's previous work.     

Studies in early infant learning: Classical conditioning of the neonatal heart rate.

Three experiments demonstrated that human newborn heart rate level can be reliably modified through classical conditioning procedures. The theory of sensitization served as a frame of reference for Exps I and II, and drive reduction served for Exp III. In Exp I the delay, delay-trace, and control groups, with 10 2-day-old newborns in each, received 5 preconditioning trials of the CS alone, 16 conditioning trials with CS–UCS pairings differing for each group, and 5 extinction trials. Exp II was a replication of the 1st study and involved only the delay and delay-trace groups with 10 infants each. In both studies the delay group curves showed significant monophasic acceleratory responses during extinction. Results support the sensitization hypothesis (i.e., the CR occurring in the interstimulus interval was fashioned out of the response to the CS). In Exp III, the measure of conditioning was the response to the probe technique. 10 experimental Ss received preconditioning trials of nitrogen puff (UCS?) administered to the abdomen, followed by 10 CS–UCS? (500-Hz tone acetic acid) pairings with an interstimulus interval of 3 sec. 10 controls received the same design with a CS–UCS? interval of 40 sec. Analyses of the probe stimulus trials showed significant changes for the control group and none for the experimental group. The CS–UCS? pairings in the experimental group are interpreted as producing increased drive and adaptive damping of the heart rate response. Findings show that early learning may occur under a variety of conditions and that the results can be incorporated by different theories. (79 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impact of stress on objectively recorded menopausal hot flushes and on flush report bias.

Investigated the association between stress and both objective (i.e., physiologically recorded) and subjective hot flushes (HFs) among 21 37–71 yr old postmenopausal women who reported having frequent HFs. Ss underwent psychophysiological monitoring during stressful and nonstressful laboratory sessions. Significantly more objective HFs were recorded during the stress session than during the nonstress session. The stress manipulation, however, did not affect Ss' propensity to report HFs. Results suggest that the observed association between reported HFs and stress is not due to changes in report bias. The physiological mechanisms through which stress may stimulate HFs are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Peptide-conjugated quantum dots activate neuronal receptors and initiate downstream signaling of neurite growth

Quantum dots (QDs) could serve as fluorescent scaffolds for effecting specific physiological and pharmacological responses in cells. Here, we conjugate the peptide ligand betaNGF to QD surfaces, and confirm surface modification and single QD nanostructure using AFM. We show that betaNGF-QDs retain bioactivity, activate TrkA receptors, and initiate neuronal differentiation in PC12 cells. Receptor-evoked activity of QD-immobilized ligands has wide-ranging implications for the development of molecular tools and therapeutics targeted at understanding and regulating cell function.     

A role for affect in context-dependent sensitization to amphetamine.

Repeated exposure to stimulant drugs, such as amphetamine, induces sensitization to their behavioral activating effects. It is commonly assumed that behavioral sensitization is expressed in the environment explicitly paired with the drug but not in a different environment explicitly unpaired with the drug. The experiments reported here show that this assumption is incorrect. It was found that sensitization was expressed in an environment explicitly unpaired with amphetamine, but imbued with positive affective valence by its association with a natural reward, oral sucrose. These results suggest that the affective valence of the environment in which the drug is administered plays a decisive role in the expression of drug effects, regardless of any previous association of that environment with the drug. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)