The perception of temporal order along the mental number line.

R. Sekuler, P. Tynan, and E. Levinson (1973) found that when 2 characters are presented side-by-side with a short onset asynchrony, subjectively they often appear in a “first-left, then-right” order. The authors of this article conducted 6 experiments in which observers judged the temporal order (TOJs) in which 2 digits were presented. They found a consistent TOJ benefit (larger d`) when the numerically smaller digit was presented first, even though this semantic information was irrelevant to the task and unrelated to the correct response. They concluded that digits located to the left of the mental number line are transmitted faster to a central comparison stage, which represents an “internal counterpart” to the Sekuler et al. (1973) finding regarding external locations. A corresponding benefit is found for letters pairs (e.g., A–Z) and also for mixed digit–letter pairs (e.g., 1–Z). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Microsoft,Open Source and the software ecosystem: of predators and prey—the leopard can change its spots

Over the past few years, Microsoft has promoted a project called ‘Shared Source Initiative’, which allows certain customers (e.g., research institutions and independent software vendors) access to its source code on a restricted basis. As part of this initiative, Microsoft introduced some licences that appear to give unrestricted access to source code and closely resemble ‘traditional’ Open Source licences. In July 2007, two of these ‘shared source’ licenses (the Microsoft Community Licence and the Microsoft Permissive Licence) were submitted to the Open Source Initiative (OSI) and subsequently approved by the OSI as certified Open Source licences. Thus Microsoft's Shared Source Initiative and its partial embrace of Open Source appear to be a significant step towards closing the ideological rift between developers of proprietary software and the Free/Open Source software movement, and more than just another attempt to appease consumers and/or critics in terms of software transparency. By analysing the ‘evolution’ of Microsoft's Shared Source licences, this article aims to shed some light on the question what is needed for a ‘predator’ (i.e., proprietary, software developer) such as Microsoft to become ‘prey’ (i.e., be part of the Open Source community). This article concludes that, although Microsoft's efforts are to be lauded, it is highly unlikely that the company will embrace fully the Open Source philosophy in the near future.     

The modified outflow funnel — A device to assess the flow characteristics of powders

Flow regulators are added to solid pharmaceutical formulations to improve the flow properties of powder mixtures. During the blending process the glidants adsorb successively at the surface of the host particles and thus lead to a reduction of attractive forces. A large variety of flow additives based on silicon dioxide is commercially available, but not all glidants are just as well suited for each technological problem or each cohesive bulk powder. To assess the improvement of the flowability parameters caused by a glidant a classification system and an adequate measuring device is needed. We would like to present a new measuring device to evaluate the flow enhancing potency of glidants. The modified outflow funnel features a stirrer that acts in the region of bulk arches obstructing the outflow process of a cohesive powder. By destruction of the bulk arches powder outflow is enabled and the time needed for emanation can be measured as a parameter of the flow properties. In addition other measuring parameters like the force needed to destroy the bulk arches are capable to evaluate the flowability of the powder mixture. Binary powder mixtures consisting of corn starch and flow regulator were blended in a Turbula® mixer for a defined period of time. The flow regulators were represented by fumed silica and a selection of various types of SIPERNAT^® precipitated silica provided by Evonik Degussa GmbH, Hanau, Germany. Flowability parameters of the mixtures were characterized with a modified outflow funnel, Hausner Ratio and a shear tester.     

Parallel random number generators for sequences uniformly distributed over any range of integers

A VLSI design methodology is proposed for the efficient generation of multiple pseudorandom number sequences based on a simplification of Cauwenberghs' counterpropagation technique. We demonstrate that the counterpropagation of two sequences can be replaced by one propagating and one nonpropagating sequence, requiring as few as half the number of flip-flops, while still allowing new circuits to be added to the system without additional calculations-there is no need to keep track of random starting values, tap combinations, or time shifts. Moreover we extend our method from multiple bit sequences to multiple random number sequences that are uniformly distributed over any range of integers. In particular we address the more general problem of generating sequences over the range [0,K] where K+1 is any desired integer, including a power of two or a prime number. To this end we demonstrate that the simple concatenation of random bits to form random bytes is a special case of a more general concept whereby random integers distributed over prime number ranges are concatenated to form random integers distributed over any range. We find that the proposed design compares favorably with design strategies based on cellular automata, both in terms of statistical properties and implementation efficiencies.     

Exercise in the treatment of obesity: Effects of four interventions on body composition, resting energy expenditure, appetite, and mood.

This study investigated changes in body composition, resting energy expenditure (REE), appetite, and mood in 128 obese women who were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatment conditions: diet alone, diet plus aerobic training, diet plus strength training, or diet combined with aerobic and strength training (i.e., combined training). All women received the same 48-week group behavioral program and were prescribed the same diet. Exercising participants were provided 3 supervised exercise sessions per week for the 1st 28 weeks and 2 sessions weekly thereafter. Participants across the 4 conditions achieved a mean weight loss of 16.5 ±6.8 kg at Week 24, which decreased to 15.1 ±8.4 kg and Week 48. There were no significant differences among conditions at any time in changes in weight or body composition. Women who received aerobic training displayed significantly smaller reductions in REE at Week 24 than did those who received strength training. There were no other significant differences among conditions at any time on this variable or in changes in appetite or mood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

LSPR-Based Biosensing Enables the Detection of Antimicrobial Resistance Genes

The development of rapid, simple, and accurate bioassays for the detection of nucleic acids has received increasing demand in recent years. Here, localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) spectroscopy for the detection of an antimicrobial resistance gene, sulfhydryl variable β-lactamase (blaSHV), which confers resistance against a broad spectrum of β-lactam antibiotics is used. By performing limit of detection experiments, a 23 nucleotide (nt) long deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequence down to 25 nm was detected, whereby the signal intensity is inversely correlated with sequence length (23, 43, 63, and 100 nt). In addition to endpoint measurements of hybridization events, the setup also allowed to monitor the hybridization events in real-time, and consequently enabled to extract kinetic parameters of the studied binding reaction. Performing LSPR measurements using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) variants of blaSHV revealed that these sequences can be distinguished from the fully complementary sequence. The possibility to distinguish such sequences is of utmost importance in clinical environments, as it allows to identify mutations essential for enzyme function and thus, is crucial for the correct treatment with antibiotics. Taken together, this system provides a robust, label-free, and cost-efficient analytical tool for the detection of nucleic acids and will enable the surveillance of antimicrobial resistance determinants.     

Apoptotic Cells induce Proliferation of Peritoneal Macrophages

The interaction of macrophages with apoptotic cells is required for efficient resolution of inflammation. While apoptotic cell removal prevents inflammation due to secondary necrosis, it also alters the macrophage phenotype to hinder further inflammatory reactions. The interaction between apoptotic cells and macrophages is often studied by chemical or biological induction of apoptosis, which may introduce artifacts by affecting the macrophages as well and/or triggering unrelated signaling pathways. Here, we set up a pure cell death system in which NIH 3T3 cells expressing dimerizable Caspase-8 were co-cultured with peritoneal macrophages in a transwell system. Phenotype changes in macrophages induced by apoptotic cells were evaluated by RNA sequencing, which revealed an unexpectedly dominant impact on macrophage proliferation. This was confirmed in functional assays with primary peritoneal macrophages and IC-21 macrophages. Moreover, inhibition of apoptosis during Zymosan-induced peritonitis in mice decreased mRNA levels of cell cycle mediators in peritoneal macrophages. Proliferation of macrophages in response to apoptotic cells may be important to increase macrophage numbers in order to allow efficient clearance and resolution of inflammation.     

Toward Next-Gen Mobile AR Games

Mobile augmented reality games offer a new and rich game experience allowing players to move and interact in their physical environment with 3D content. The authors review existing approaches to mobile AR games and identify two major trends: small, user-modifiable AR games and larger-scale, event-based AR games that are interwoven with their physical environment.     

Effects of risperidone on polydipsia in chronic schizophrenia patients

A total of 34 patients with advanced ovarian cancer, who relapsed 1-72 months after at least one first-line cisplatin-based chemotherapy protocol, were treated with carboplatin, 350 mg/m2 q 4 weeks, with the adjunct of primary prophylactic granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF; filgrastim), 300 or 480 microg daily, days 5-9. Over 90% of the anticipated dose of carboplatin could be administered. Partial response, defined as a decline in CA-125 of 50% or more on two consecutive samples, occurred in 42%, while 15% of patients achieved a complete response (no clinical signs of disease with normalization of CA-125). Survival from start of carboplatin treatment was 23 months. Myelosuppression was the most important toxicity with 35% of patients experiencing grade 4 thrombocytopenia of short duration. Grade 4 leucopenia occurred in only one patient. It is concluded that single-agent carboplatin, with the adjunct of prophylactic G-CSF, can be administered with adequate dose intensity, and is an effective and acceptable palliative treatment for patients with relapse after first-line cisplatin-based chemotherapy.