Intensive computer keyboard training programmes

An intensive computer keyboard training course, based on an information processing model of man, was tested on a variety of personnel in work. Over a one or two week period, 241 adult subjects were trained. Subjects achieved mean speeds of 7.1 words per minute (WPM) after the second and 13.7 WPM after the ninth lesson. Significant decreases in errors per minute (EPM) occurred from 2.67 to 1.78. Previous experience with a keyboard and being female were factors associated with enhanced keyboard operating performance. Compressing the ten lessons from two into one week reduced the effectiveness of the programme.     

Eicosapentaenoic Acid,Arachidonic Acid and Eicosanoid Metabolism in Juvenile Barramundi Lates calcarifer

A two part experiment was conducted to assess the response of barramundi (Lates calcarifer; initial weight = 10.3 ± 0.03 g; mean ± S.D.) fed one of five diets with varying eicosapentaenoic acid (diets 1, 5, 10, 15 and 20 g/kg) or one of four diets with varying arachidonic acid (1, 6, 12, 18 g/kg) against a fish oil control diet. After 6 weeks of feeding, the addition of EPA or ARA did not impact on growth performance or feed utilisation. Analysis of the whole body fatty acids showed that these reflected those of the diets. The ARA retention demonstrated an inversely related curvilinear response to either EPA or ARA. The calculated marginal utilisation efficiencies of EPA and ARA were high (62.1 and 91.9 % respectively) and a dietary ARA requirement was defined (0.012 g/kg^0.796/day). The partial cDNA sequences of genes regulating eicosanoid biosynthesis were identified in barramundi tissues, namely cyclooxygenase 1 (Lc COX1a, Lc COX1b), cyclooxygenase 2 (Lc COX2) and lipoxygenase (Lc ALOX‐5). Both Lc COX2 and Lc ALOX‐5 expression in the liver tissue were elevated in response to increasing dietary ARA, meanwhile expression levels of Lc COX2 and the mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation gene carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (Lc CPT1a) were elevated in the kidney. A low level of EPA increased the expression of Lc COX1b in the liver. Consideration should be given to the EPA to ARA balance for juvenile barramundi in light of nutritionally inducible nature of the cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase enzymes.     

Risk of sick leave associated with outdoor air supply rate, humidification, and occupant complaints

We analyzed 1994 sick leave for 3,720 hourly employees of a large Massachusetts manufacturer, in 40 buildings with 115 independently ventilated work areas. Corporate records identified building characteristics and IEQ complaints. We rated ventilation as moderate (approximately 25 cfm/person, 12 ls-1) or high (approximately 50 cfm/person, 24 ls-1) outdoor air supply based on knowledge of ventilation systems and CO2 measurements on a subset of work areas, and used Poisson regression to analyze sick leave controlled for age, gender, seniority, hours of non-illness absence, shift, ethnicity, crowding, and type of job (office, technical, or manufacturing worker). We found consistent associations of increased sick leave with lower levels of outdoor air supply and IEQ complaints. Among office workers, the relative risk for short-term sick leave was 1.53 (95% confidence 1.22-1.92) with lower ventilation, and 1.52 (1.18-1.97) in areas with IEQ complaints. The effect of ventilation was independent of IEQ complaints and among those exposed to lower outdoor air supply rates the attributable risk of short-term sick leave was 35%. The cost of sick leave attributable to ventilation at current recommended rates was estimated as $480 per employee per year at Polaroid. These findings suggest that net savings of $400 per employee per year may be obtained with increased ventilation. Thus, currently recommended levels of outdoor air supply may be associated with significant morbidity, and lost productivity on a national scale could be as much as $22.8 billion per year. Additional studies of IEQ impacts on productivity and sick leave, and the mechanisms underlying the apparent association are needed.     

Simultaneous quantification of pathogenic Campylobacter and Salmonella in chicken rinse fluid by a flotation and real-time multiplex PCR procedure

A procedure for simultaneous quantification of Campylobacter and Salmonella spp. in poultry skin rinse fluids by a flotation and real-time multiplex PCR method is described. Flotation of the target organisms in a discontinuous density gradient separated them from background microflora, particles from poultry skin, dead target cells and PCR inhibitors. Variation of the buoyant density between 1.052 to 1.106 g/ml was measured at different times for various Salmonella strains grown over a period of 4 weeks. This, and the results from earlier studies on the buoyant densities of Campylobacter spp., which were between 1.065 and 1.109 g/ml, led to design of an optimal discontinuous flotation method with three density layers, of 1.048, 1.109 and approximately 1.200 g/ml. This method preceded a real-time multiplex PCR assay using hybridization probes. The specificity of the PCR assay was confirmed on 73 target and non-target strains, and target organisms were detected at the level of one genome per PCR. Results obtained with the combined flotation and real-time multiplex PCR method showed that quantification in rinse fluids was possible down to 3.0+/-0.3 x 10(3) CFU/ml in the presence of other microorganisms at numbers up to 10(9) CFU/ml.     

The amplitude transition function and the manual and oculomotor control systems.

This article discusses the updating of visuospatial information during the preparation and execution of rapid manual and oculomotor movements. Responses in a double-step target tracking situation are investigated. Both the manual and the oculomotor literature concur on the principle of an amplitude transition function (ATF), which specifies the relationship between the amplitude of the first tracking response and the delay between the occurrence of the second target step and the commencement of the first response. However, different principles underlie the ATF across the two systems. The oculomotor ATF is determined by the temporal integration of the input signals such that the amended amplitude is specified in the initial efferent command. The manual ATF reflects the interaction of parallel programmed responses such that the initial response amplitude is amended after the efferent command is released. The accuracy of a corrective response is discussed in terms of efference copy and mass-spring notions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

BSSRDF Estimation from Single Images

We present a novel method to estimate an approximation of the reflectance characteristics of optically thick, homogeneous translucent materials using only a single photograph as input. First, we approximate the diffusion profile as a linear combination of piecewise constant functions, an approach that enables a linear system minimization and maximizes robustness in the presence of suboptimal input data inferred from the image. We then fit to a smoother monotonically decreasing model, ensuring continuity on its first derivative. We show the feasibility of our approach and validate it in controlled environments, comparing well against physical measurements from previous works. Next, we explore the performance of our method in uncontrolled scenarios, where neither lighting nor geometry are known. We show that these can be roughly approximated from the corresponding image by making two simple assumptions: that the object is lit by a distant light source and that it is globally convex, allowing us to capture the visual appearance of the photographed material. Compared with previous works, our technique offers an attractive balance between visual accuracy and ease of use, allowing its use in a wide range of scenarios including off‐the‐shelf, single images, thus extending the current repertoire of real‐world data acquisition techniques.     

BRDF Representation and Acquisition

Photorealistic rendering of real world environments is important in a range of different areas; including Visual Special effects, Interior/Exterior Modelling, Architectural Modelling, Cultural Heritage, Computer Games and Automotive Design. Currently, rendering systems are able to produce photorealistic simulations of the appearance of many real‐world materials. In the real world, viewer perception of objects depends on the lighting and object/material/surface characteristics, the way a surface interacts with the light and on how the light is reflected, scattered, absorbed by the surface and the impact these characteristics have on material appearance. In order to re‐produce this, it is necessary to understand how materials interact with light. Thus the representation and acquisition of material models has become such an active research area. This survey of the state‐of‐the‐art of BRDF Representation and Acquisition presents an overview of BRDF (Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function) models used to represent surface/material reflection characteristics, and describes current acquisition methods for the capture and rendering of photorealistic materials.     

Agronomic effectiveness of partially acidulated rock phosphate and fused calcium-magnesium phosphate compared with superphosphate

The agronomic effectiveness of two partially acidulated rock phosphate (PARP) fertilizers, made from either North Carolina or Moroccan apatite rock phosphate, and a fused calcium-magnesium phosphate (thermal phosphate or TP), was compared with the effectiveness of superphosphate in two glasshouse experiments. A different lateritic soil from Western Australia was used for each experiment. Oats (Avena sativa) were grown in one experiment and triticale (×Triticosecale) in the other. Fertilizer effectiveness was measured using (i) yield of dried tops, (ii) P content (P concentration in tissue multiplied by yield) of dried tops, and (iii) bicarbonate-extractable soil P (soil test value).The following relationships differed for the different fertilizers: (i) yield of dried tops and P content in the dried tops; (ii) yield and soil test values. Consequently the fertilizer effectiveness values calculated using yield data differed from those calculated using P content or soil test data. Freshly-applied superphosphate was always the most effective fertilizer regardless of the method used to calculate fertilizer effectiveness values. For one of the soils, as calculated using yield data, relative to freshly-applied superphosphate, the PARP and TP fertilizers were 15 to 30% as effective for the first crop, and 20 to 50% as effective for the second crop. The second soil was more acidic, and for the first crop the PARP and TP fertilizers were 80 to 90% as effective as freshly-applied superphosphate, but all fertilizers were only 5 to 15% as effective for the second crop. For each soil, the two PARP fertilizers had similar fertilizer effectiveness values. Generally the TP fertilizer was more effective than the PARP fertilizers.     

Some experimental evidence for and against a parametric conception of movement programming.

In Experiment 1, subjects were supplied with prior information about 1, 2 or all dimensions (the active hand, direction, and extent) of a pointing movement. RTs showed that dimensional effects were found in highly compatible stimulus-response conditions, dimensions specification times were underadditive, and the difference in RT between dimension values when that dimension remained to be specified, disappeared when the dimension was precued. In Experiment 2, subjects were required to name target color after a set of colored targets was presented as a precue, and dimensional effects disappeared. In Experiment 3, a target was presented as a prime, followed by presentation of either the same or a different target. As compared to Experiment 1, dimensional effects were amplified. In conclusion, when two or more movement dimensions have to be specified simultaneously, dimension values are independently selected, then integrated in a compound programming operation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)