bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An Empirical Evaluation of Technical Drawing Didactic in Virtual Worlds
Authors: Murad Sharefa , Passero Ignazio , Francese Rita , Tortora Genoveffa
Published: September 2011

This work proposes a 3D Virtual World environment and a didactic experience for training young students in an environment capable of supporting the engineering practices based on technical drawing. The main difficulty of technical drawing consists in representing a 3D object on a 2D medium. This restriction imposes to human mind to be able to summarize the spatial properties of objects on the paper. The proposed system trains these capabilities by requiring students to build, in the simulated environment, simple objects represented with 2D drawings. In this way, the students are not only pushed to move themselves between different dimensionality spaces, but also they benefit of the 3D spaces for moving and exploring the models they are building. An empirical evaluation, conducted as a controlled experiment, has provided enthusiastic results in terms of user performances and impressions.
From the EDUCON2011 Conference Chair
Authors: Al-Zoubi A. Y.
Published: September 2011

Guest Editorial
Modeling of Influenza-Specific CD8+ T Cells during the Primary Response Indicates that the Spleen Is a Major Source of Effectors
Authors: Wu Hulin , Kumar Arun , Miao Hongyu , Holden-Wiltse Jeanne , Mosmann Timothy R. , Livingstone Alexandra M. , Belz Gabrielle T. , Perelson Alan S. , Zand Martin S. , Topham David J.
Published: September 2011

The biological parameters that determine the distribution of virus-specific CD8+ T cells during influenza infection are not all directly measurable by experimental techniques but can be inferred through mathematical modeling. Mechanistic and semimechanistic ordinary differential equations were developed to describe the expansion, trafficking, and disappearance of activated virus-specific CD8+ T cells in lymph nodes, spleens, and lungs of mice during primary influenza A infection. An intensive sampling of virus-specific CD8+ T cells from these three compartments was used to inform the models. Rigorous statistical fitting of the models to the experimental data allowed estimation of important biological parameters. Although the draining lymph node is the first tissue in which Ag-specific CD8+ T cells are detected, it was found that the spleen contributes the greatest number of effector CD8+ T cells to the lung, with rates of expansion and migration that exceeded those of the draining lymph node. In addition, models that were based on the number and kinetics of professional APCs fit the data better than those based on viral load, suggesting that the immune response is limited by Ag presentation rather than the amount of virus. Modeling also suggests that loss of effector T cells from the lung is significant and time dependent, increasing toward the end of the acute response. Together, these efforts provide a better understanding of the primary CD8+ T cell response to influenza infection, changing the view that the spleen plays a minor role in the primary immune response.
Elf3 Regulates Allergic Airway Inflammation by Controlling Dendritic Cell-Driven T Cell Differentiation
Authors: Kushwah Rahul , Oliver Jordan R. , Wu Jing , Chang Zhijie , Hu Jim
Published: September 2011

Elf3 belongs to the Ets family of transcription factors and has been implicated in inflammation. Elf3 is highly expressed in the lungs, and Elf3−/− mice are impaired in IL-6 production after intranasal LPS exposure. To identify the role of Elf3 in Th17-driven pulmonary inflammation, we have performed epicutaneous sensitization of Elf3−/− mice with OVA followed by airway OVA challenge and have identified Elf3−/− mice to be impaired in induction of Th17 response, attributable to impairment of IL-6 production by dendritic cells (DCs). However, increased serum levels of OVA-specific IgG1 and IgE were observed, pointing toward an exaggerated Th2 response. To study Th2 response, we performed i.p. sensitization of Elf3−/− mice with OVA and confirmed loss of Elf3 to result in an aggravated Th2 response, characterized by increased generation of IL-4–producing T cells, increased levels of OVA-specific IgE and IgG1 Ab titers, and increased serum levels of Th2 cytokines, together with extensive inflammation and mucus production in airways. Elf3−/− DCs were impaired in priming Th1 differentiation, which, in turn, promoted Th2 differentiation. This was mediated by the ability of Elf3−/− DCs to undergo hypermaturation but secrete significantly lower levels of IL-12 in response to inflammatory stimuli. The impairment of IL-12 production was due to impairment of IL-12p40 gene induction in Elf3−/− DCs in response to inflammatory stimuli. Taken together, our study identifies a novel function of Elf3 in regulating allergic airway inflammation by regulating DC-driven Th1, Th2, and Th17 differentiation.
A pictorial essay: Radiology of lines and tubes in the intensive care unit
Authors: Jain Sanjay N
Published: September 2011

A variety of devices are used in the intensive care unit for long durations. Each one of them is a double-edged sword: intended to save life, but life-threatening if in the wrong place. Hence, it is important to periodically check that these devices are correctly placed so as to prevent complications. The portable chest radiograph is of tremendous value in this context.
Evaluation of umbilical cord thickness, cross-sectional area, and coiling index as predictors of pregnancy outcome
Authors: Tahmasebi Morteza , Alighanbari Reza
Published: September 2011

Aims: This study was designed to evaluate the relationship of sonographic measurements of umbilical cord thickness, cross-sectional area, and coiling index with pregnancy outcome (low birth weight, 5-min Apgar score, and meconium staining). Materials and Methods: From January 2010 to January 2011, among 255 singleton pregnant women who were referred for routine pregnancy USG after 20 weeks of gestation, 223 fulfilled the study criteria. In these patients, the diameter, cross-sectional area, and coiling index were measured in a free loop of umbilical cord. The pregnancies were followed till delivery, when birth weight, presence of meconium staining, and 5-min Apgar score were recorded. The sonographic measurements and clinical findings were analyzed to determine any correlation. Results: A statistically significant correlation was observed between small umbilical cord thickness and cross-sectional area and low birth weight (LBW), with sensitivity of 52.9% and 57.9%, specificity of 95.0% and 94.4%, positive predictive value of 52.6% and 52.0%, and negative predictive value of 95.0% and 95.0%, respectively. Also noted was significant correlation between small umbilical cord thickness and cross-sectional area with meconium staining (P<0.001). No significant correlation was seen between umbilical cord thickness and cross-sectional area with low 5-min Apgar score. There was no statistically significant correlation between umbilical cord coiling index and LBW, 5-min Apgar score, and meconium staining. Conclusion: Umbilical cord diameter and cross-sectional area measured after 20 weeks of gestation are useful for predicting LBW and meconium staining and have the potential to serve as markers for adverse pregnancy outcome.
Whole brain CT perfusion on a 320-slice CT scanner
Authors: Shankar Jai Jai Shiva , Lum Cheemun
Published: September 2011

Computed tomography perfusion (CTP) has been criticized for limited brain coverage. This may result in inadequate coverage of the lesion, inadequate arterial input function, or omission of the lesion within the target perfusion volume. The availability of 320-slice CT scanners offers whole brain coverage. This minimizes the chances of misregistration of lesions regardless of location, and makes the selection of the arterial input function easy. We present different clinical scenarios in which whole brain CTP is especially useful.
Left behind radiological investigations: An inherent problem
Authors: Govindswamy Giridhar A , Gopinath Srinath M , Kumar Adekal Ashok
Published: September 2011

Objectives: To assess the number of investigations left behind by patients in radiology department, their cost, and the possible methods of reducing the problem. Materials and Methods: A total of 1424 radiographs, 160 computed tomography (CT) scans, 300 ultrasonography (USG) reports, and 46 Doppler reports were left behind by patients in one financial year. The total cost of these left behind investigations was calculated and the reports were categorized into normal and abnormal for each modality. Results: Of the radiographs left behind 658 were abnormal, with 211 among these being radiographs of postoperative patients. Thirty-seven percent of CT scans had positive findings. Sixty-eight percent of USG reports had positive findings while 46% of Doppler reports were abnormal. Conclusion: We believe that the cost and number of these left behind investigations over a period of time would definitely be significant for the health care system in a developing country. It is time to think of the possible reasons and methods for containing this problem.
Orthotrichum affine var. bohemicum (Orthotrichaceae), a new variety of epiphytic moss from the Czech Republic
Authors: Plášek Vítězslav , Sawicki Jakub , Marková Ivana , Wierzcholska Sylwia
Published: September 2011

Orthotrichum affine var. bohemicum Plášek & Sawicki, var. nova, is a confirmed record of a new variety from the Czech Republic. The new taxon is described and illustrated by photos and drawing. It is characterized by having superficial stomata and a peristome with 16 endostome segments (practically as long as exostome teeth). Molecular data indicating the phylogenetic placement of the species are presented.
Allium olivieri Boiss. (Alliaceae), a new taxon to Turkey, with contributions to its taxonomy
Authors: Eker İsmail , Koyuncu Mehmet
Published: September 2011

Allium olivieri Boiss. (Alliaceae) is reported as a new record for Turkish flora. It was identified using the collected specimens and Flora orientalis, Flora of Iraq and Flora Iranica. The detailed description, illustrations, geographical distribution, habitat, status of IUCN extinction risk and some comments and discussions on the taxonomy of the species are given.
Structural basis of glaucoma: The fortified astrocytes of the optic nerve head are the target of raised intraocular pressure
Authors: Dai Chao , Khaw Peng T. , Yin Zheng Qin , Li Daqing , Raisman Geoffrey , Li Ying
Published: September 2011

Increased intraocular pressure (IOP) damages the retinal ganglion cell axons as they pass through the optic nerve head (ONH). The massive connective tissue structure of the human lamina cribrosa is generally assumed to be the pressure transducer responsible for the damage. The rat, however, with no lamina cribrosa, suffers the same glaucomatous response to raised IOP. Here, we show that the astrocytes of the rat ONH are “fortified” by extraordinarily dense cytoskeletal filaments that would make them ideal transducers of distorting mechanical forces. The ONH astrocytes are arranged as a fan‐like radial array, firmly attached ventrally to the sheath of the ONH by thick basal processes, but dividing dorsally into progressively more slender processes with only delicate attachments to the sheath. At 1 week after raising the IOP by an injection of magnetic microspheres into the anterior eye chamber, the fine dorsal processes of the ONH astrocytes are torn away from the surrounding sheath. There is no indication of distortion or compression of the axons. Subsequently, despite return of the IOP toward normal levels, the damage to the ONH progresses ventrally through the astrocytic cell bodies, resulting in complete loss of the fortified astrocytes and of the majority of the axons by around 4 weeks. We propose that the dorsal attachments of the astrocytes are the site of initial damage in glaucoma, and that the damage to the axons is not mechanical, but is a consequence oflocalized loss of metabolic support from the astrocytes (Tsacopoulos and Magistretti (1996) J Neurosci 16:877–885). © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
c‐Jun is essential for the induction of Il‐1β gene expression in in vitro activated Bergmann glial cells
Authors: Albanito Lidia , Reddy Chandrakanth Edamakanti , Musti Anna Maria
Published: September 2011

In the central nervous system (CNS), the c‐Jun transcription factor has been mainly studied in neuronal cells and coupled to apoptotic and regenerative pathways following brain injury. Besides, several studies have shown a transcriptional role of c‐Jun in activated cortical and spinal astrocytes. In contrast, little is known about c‐Jun expression and transactivation in Bergmann glial (BG) cells, the radial cerebellar astrocytes playing crucial roles in cerebellar development and physiology. Here, we used neuronal/glial cerebellar cultures from neonatal mice to assess putative functions of c‐Jun in BG cells. By performing double immunocytochemical staining of c‐Jun and two BG specific markers, S100 and glutamate aspartate transporter (GLAST), we show that c‐Jun was highly expressed in radial glial cells derived from Bergmann glia. Bergmann glia‐derived cells expressed toll‐like receptor 4 and treatment with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐induced c‐Jun phosphorylation at serine 63, a hallmark of c‐Jun transactivation, exclusively in BG cells. Moreover, LPS‐induced IL‐1β expression and inhibition of c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase (JNK) activity abolished both c‐Jun phosphorylation and the increase of IL‐1β mRNA. Notably, LPS failed to induce IL‐1β mRNA in neuronal/glial cerebellar cultures generated from conditional knockout mice lacking c‐Jun expression in the CNS, indicating the essential role of c‐Jun in astroglial‐specific induction of IL‐1β. Immunohistochemical analyses of c‐Jun‐expressing cells in the early postnatal cerebellum confirmed in vivo the expression of c‐Jun in BG cells and uncovered a dynamic expression of c‐Jun during the formation of the BG monolayer. Altogether, our finding underlines a putative role of c‐Jun in astroglia‐mediated neuroinflammatory dysfunctions of the cerebellum. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Influence of dentin substrates to simplify wet‐bonding: A leakage‐free and reliable tensile strength interface for long‐lasting restorations
Authors: Piemjai Morakot , Waleepitackdej Onusa , Nakabayashi Nobuo
Published: September 2011

The wet‐bonding procedure can be simplified by eliminating the primer. An aqueous mixture of 1% citric acid and 1% ferric chloride (1‐1) was hypothesized as providing an easier dehydratable thinner substrate to which 4‐META/MMA‐TBB resin can adhere reliably. The 1‐1 was applied for 10 s and rinsed off with water for 10 s. Demineralized dentin under four conditions was prepared before bonding to PMMA rod using 4‐META/MMA‐TBB resin: air‐dried 10 s (D‐NP); air‐dried 10 s, primed 60 s with 5% 4‐META in acetone (D‐P); blotted dry 10 s (W‐NP); blotted dry 10 s, primed 60 s (W‐P). The tensile strengths (MPa) using mini‐dumbbell specimens were 4.0 ± 2.4 for D‐NP, 10.6 ± 5.4 for D‐P, 38.3 ± 4.4 for W‐NP, and 42.9 ± 3.3 for W‐P. There was no significant difference between W‐NP and W‐P with cohesive failure in the dentin and the cured resin. In the wet groups, the hybridized dentin was stable against both HCl and NaOCl challenges. TEM examination and a leakage tests confirmed a perfect seal with a leakage‐free interface of W‐NP. These results suggest that this primer‐less wet‐bonding is promising method to protect the underlying intact dentin and pulp, thus providing long‐lasting dental treatment. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 2011.
Winter distribution and conservation status of the Sierra Nevada great gray owl
Authors: Jepsen Eric P. B. , Keane John J. , Ernest Holly B.
Published: September 2011

Little information is available on the winter ecology of the small, geographically isolated, genetically‐unique population of great gray owls (Strix nebulosa) in the central Sierra Nevada, California. This population is comprised of facultative, elevational winter migrants and access to winter habitat is an important component of their ecology. Winter observations and remotely sensed habitat variables were used to inform a predictive model of the environmental requirements and geographic distribution of this owl population. Using the modeled distribution map we assessed the distribution of 20% probability of occurrence classes relative to owl habitat associations, ownership, current development, and projected future development patterns. Our findings indicate that high probability class (81–100%) areas and the broader joint medium/medium‐high/high probability class (41–100%) areas are uncommon on the landscape (0.2% and 5.0% of study area, respectively). High probability areas were characterized by Sierran Yellow Pine forest surrounding relatively small, flat areas of grassland, wet meadow, and riparian habitats, within the mid‐elevation range. Approximately 32% of the high probability areas and 48% of the medium/medium‐high/high probability areas occur on private lands. Of the areas on private lands, 32% of the high probability and 42% of the medium/medium‐high/high probability areas occur on currently developed lands. Projected future development on private lands indicated that an additional 12% of the high and 18% of medium/medium‐high/high suitability areas are slated for development by the year 2040. Future conservation planning efforts for the great gray owl in the Sierra Nevada will need to address management issues on both public and private lands. For future planning of development projects around great gray owl wintering habitat, the results from our study supplement current knowledge of breeding distributions to provide land and wildlife managers guidance on conservation priorities. © 2011 The Wildlife Society.
Rock Mass Excavatability Estimation Using Artificial Neural Network
Authors: Chehreghani Sajad Haghir , Alipour Aref , Eskandarzade Mehdi
Published: September 2011

One important decision in design of surface mine is the selection of mine equipment and plant. Demand for mechanical excavation is growing in mining industry because of its high productivity and excavation in large scale with lower costs. Several models have been developed over the years to evaluate the ease of excavation and machine performance against rock mass properties. Due to complexity of excavation process and large number of effective parameters, approaches made for this purpose are essentially empirical. There are many uncertainties in results of these models. An attempt is made in this paper to revise the exisiting models. Neural network models for estimation of rock mass excavatability and production rate of VASM-2D excavating machine at Limestone quarry in Retznei, Austria, is presented. Input parameters of this model are Uniaxial compressive strength, tensile strength and discontinuities spacing of rocks. Output is the specific excavation rate per power consumption (bcm/Kwh) as the productivity indicator. Average of deviation between actual data and results estimated by neural network model was only 15% which is in an acceptable range.
Estimation of Radon as an Earthquake Precursor: A Neural Network Approach
Authors: Gupta Dhawal , Shahani D. T.
Published: September 2011

An artificial neural networks (ANN) approach combined with Fourier Transform based selection of time period in the time series Radon Emission Data has been presented and shown to improve event prediction rates and reduce false alarms in Earthquake Event Identification over the traditional multiple linear regression techniques. The paper presents a neural networks system using radial basis function (RBF) network as an alternative to traditional statistical regression technique in isolating Radon Emission Anomaly caused by seismic activities. The RBF model has been developed to accept and predict earthquakes events based on a known data set of Radon Emanation, Metrological parameters and actual earthquake events. Subsequently, the model was tested and evaluated on a future data set and a prediction rate of 87.8%, if a reduced false alarm was achieved, the results obtained are better than the traditional techniques.
A molecular switch that governs mitochondrial fusion and fission mediated by the BCL2-like protein CED-9 of
Caenorhabditis elegans
Authors: Lu Yun , Rolland Stéphane G. , Conradt Barbara
Published: September 2011

Depending on the cellular context, BCL2-like proteins promote mitochondrial fusion or fission. What determines which of these two opposing processes they promote has so far been unknown. Furthermore, the mechanisms through which BCL2-like proteins affect mitochondrial dynamics remain to be fully understood. The BCL2-like protein CED-9 of
Caenorhabditis elegans
has previously been shown to promote mitochondrial fusion by physically interacting with the mitochondrial fusion protein FZO-1. Here, we report that CED-9 also physically interacts with the mitochondrial fission protein DRP-1 and that this interaction can be enhanced when CED-9 is associated with the BH3-only protein EGL-1. In addition, we show that the EGL-1–CED-9 complex promotes mitochondrial fission by recruiting DRP-1 to mitochondria and that the
egl-1
gene is required for CED-9-dependent mitochondrial fission in vivo. Based on these results, we propose that EGL-1 converts CED-9 into a mitochondrial receptor for DRP-1, thereby shifting its activity from profusion to profission. We hypothesize that BCL2-like proteins act as mitochondrial receptors for DRP-1–like proteins in higher organisms as well and that BH3-only proteins play a general role as modifiers of the function in mitochondrial dynamics of BCL2-like proteins. We speculate that this function of BCL2-like proteins may be as couplers of mitochondrial fusion and fission.
A Panacea for the Ills of the Country: American Presbyterian Education in Inter-War Iran
Authors: Zirinsky Michael P.
Published: September 2011

Earliest contacts between the United States and Iran came about through Protestant missions. This activity resulted from the second great awakening, which, beginning in the early nineteenth century, impelled many Christians to preach the Gospel to all humankind; thus the American Protestant mission to Iran was part of a world-wide phenomenon. This mission was important to the development of Iranian and American perceptions of each other. Missionaries represented the U.S. to Iran, and they transmitted perceptions of Iran back to America. Because of the beneficent nature of their activities, especially education, many Iranians developed a favorable yet perhaps unrealistic view of the United States. This article will explore some of these early contacts and the imperfect mutual understandings they inspired. It will focus on mission personnel, schools, curricula, and students in the interwar years, as Iran tightened its control over education by initiatives taken in 1928, 1932, and 1939.
Render Therefore unto Caesar the Things Which Are Caesar's: American Presbyterian Educators and Reza Shah
Authors: Zirinsky Michael P.
Published: September 2011

When Presbyterian missionaries entered Iran, they did so with the intention of introducing modern, Western civilization to the country. Regarding themselves as “servants of God sent to render service to man,” they favored a future for Iran in education, society, and politics much like what they foresaw for America: a nation that would be Christian, scientific, vigorous, cooperative, and democratic. In the inter-war years, it seems, they sought to achieve this vision by supporting Reza Shah's military dictatorship.

This seeming pro-Pahlavism can be explained, in part, by Jesus‘ exhortation to “render … unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things which are God's” (Matt. 22:21). Serving but one God—that of Abraham, Isaac, Moses, and Jesus—the missionaries had to contend with two “caesars.” While they were patriotic Americans, loyal to the United States, they lived and worked in Iran, and therefore served at the pleasure of the Iranian government.
Evaluating the Role of Distinctiveness in the Generation Effect
Authors: Schmidt Stephen R.
Published: September 2011

According to the distinctiveness interpretation, generating words from word fragments leads to more distinctive memory traces than reading intact words. As a test of this hypothesis, the generation effect was experimentally compared to three phenomena previously attributed to distinctiveness. Experiments 1 and 2 proved that the generation effect was unlike conceptual and encoding task distinctiveness. In Experiment 3 the generation effect and the effects of orthographic distinctiveness were compared. These two manipulations had similar effects on memory, but the effects were additive—challenging the hypothesis that the generation effect is a result of the unusual appearance of to-be-generated items. Thus, the generation effect is inconsistent with current theories of distinctiveness. The results were consistent with the hypothesis that generated items receive more encoding resources than read items, and that increased attention to generated items may be at the expense of attention to intact items in the list.
Naming Impairments following Recovery from Herpes Simplex Encephalitis: Category-Specific?
Authors: Stewart Fiona , Parkin Alan J. , Hunkin Nicola M.
Published: September 2011

An apparently clear case of category-specific naming impairment selectively affecting animals was detected in a patient who had recovered from herpes simplex encephalitis. However, subsequent investigation demonstrated that these category-specific effects could be eliminated by controlling simultaneously for three factors in picture naming: word frequency, concept familiarity, and visual complexity. The results emphasize the importance of controlling for all factors pertinent to picture naming when attempting to demonstrate category specificity in picture naming. Further testing indicated that deficits were also apparent when naming to definition was required, and some impairment in the ability to answer questions about objects and living things was also noted. Theoretical implications of these data are considered.
Evidence for a Distinction between Judged and Perceived Causality
Authors: Schlottmann Anne , Shanks David R.
Published: September 2011

Two experiments investigated Michotte's launch event, in which successive motion of two objects appears to evoke an immediate perception that the first motion caused the second, as in a collision. Launching was embedded in event sequences where a third event (a colour change of the second object) was established as a competing predictor of the second motion, in an attempt to see whether subjects’ learning of alternative predictive relationships would influence their causal impressions of launch events. In Experiment 1 subjects saw launch events in which temporal contiguity at the point of impact was varied so that an impact was varied so that an impact itself did not reliably predict when the second object would move. Half of these scenes, however, contained a colour change of the second object which did reliably predict when it would move. In accordance with Michotte's theory, subjects’ ratings of the degree of perceived causality were not affected by the colour change. In Experiment 2 subjects saw scenes that contained launch events with or without temporal contiguity and a colour change. These were interspersed with events in which a colour change alone did or did not precede the second motion. Thus, movement of the second object was either contingent on or independent of the impact. Subjects repeatedly (a) rated perceived causality in single launch events and (b) judged the necessity of collisions for movement in the overall set of events. These responses dissociated, in that ratings type (a) showed only a substantial contiguity effect, whereas judgements of type (b) showed both a contingency and a much smaller contiguity effect. These results appear to support a distinction between judged and perceived causality and are discussed with respect to Michotte's theory of direct causal perception.
A conceptual critique of the people's education discourse
Authors: Mashamba George
Published: September 2011

The struggle on the educational terrain in South Africa has been intimately connected with the broader struggle there for democratic rights and the elimination of apartheid. From an early call for equality in education, the movement of People's Education now calls for a complete transformation of the form and content of education, as well as a change in the way in which it is managed. Education has formerly served as an instrument of oppression, but it carries the potential for liberation and its importance cannot be underestimated. Changing demands relating to education have mirrored changes in the substance of the larger struggle. The manner of conceptualising these demands, and indeed the understanding of what constitutes People's Education are not static, but the reflection and the consequence of changing social circumstances. It is the burden of Mashamba's analysis, excerpts of which are reprinted below, to chart these changes and interpret their significance.
Response–Stimulus Interval in Choice Serial Reaction Time: Interaction with Sleep Deprivation, Choice, and Practice
Authors: Wilkinson R. T.
Published: September 2011

In choice serial reaction time (RT), Response-to-next-Stimulus Interval (RSI) was varied from 0 to 600 msec in 40-msec steps. In three experiments, RT fell and errors rose as RSI was increased to 480 msec; they remained unchanged thereafter. The effect of RSI on RT was not linear, was reduced by 6- as compared with 4- or 3-choice responding, and was unaffected by sleep deprivation, despite loss of sleep reducing RT overall. The effect of penultimate RSI on RT was similar to that current RSI, but smaller. Two explanations of RSI—response-generated kinaesthetic feedback blocking a “central processor” and a preparatory interval as in warned simple RT—are rejected. Instead, the idea of “relative refractory state” is revived but now, because of the RSI/error finding, biased more towards responding than stimulus reception and encoding. In all three experiments the influence of RSI on RT was reduced with practice. If practice encourages automatic rather than controlled processing (Shiffrin & Schneider, 1977), the prediction is that the former will show less refractoriness.
Semantic Processing in an Incidental Learning Task
Authors: McGeorge P. , Burton A. M.
Published: September 2011

Recent research on implicit learning has suggested that perceptual learning could account for the observed dissociation between task performance and associated verbal knowledge. We report three experiments that investigate whether performance in an incidental learning task is based on knowledge held primarily at a perceptual or a semantic level. The results indicate that, under the task conditions described, processing of the semantic content of the stimuli is an automatic process. The implications of this result for implicit learning are discussed.
Interpretation of Verb Phrase Anaphora: Influences of Task and Syntactic Context
Authors: Murphy Gregory L.
Published: September 2011

When listeners hear a sentence like “Will Carey do it?” they must find an interpretation of the phrase “do it”, which is an anaphor replacing a full verb phrase (VP). To accomplish this task, listeners may use two sources of information: finding a recent VP that is syntactically appropriate, or using pragmatics to find a recent discourse event that plausibly completes the sentence. One theory of anaphor comprehension says that listeners use both sources of information in a competition for the best antecedent. Another theory says that listeners use only one of those sources, depending on the syntactic class of anaphor. Two experiments are reported, one using a reading time technique and one a sensicality judgement task. The experiments varied the distance of the antecedent from the anaphor, the material that intervened between the antecedent and anaphor, and the syntactic class of the anaphor. In the reading task, the results followed the predictions of the two-source competition theory, as a number of effects were observed, but none of them depended on the anaphor's syntactic class. In the judgement task, however, the type of anaphor did influence judgement time. The overall results suggest that there are important differences between simple comprehension tasks and metalinguistic judgements, and that past empirical conflicts may be explicable on this basis.
Does Attention Have Different Effects on Line Orientation and Line Arrangement Discrimination?
Authors: Cheal MaryLou , Lyon Don R. , Hubbard David C.
Published: September 2011

Visual search and texture segregation studies have led to the inference that stimuli differing in the orientation of their component line segments can be distinguished without focal attention, whereas stimuli that differ only in the arrangement of line segments cannot. In most of this research, the locus of attention has not been explicitly manipulated. In the first experiment presented here, attention was directed to a relevant peripheral target by a cue presented near the target location or at the fovea. Effects of attention on orientation discrimination were assessed in a two-alternative forced-choice task with targets that were either: (1) lines that slanted obliquely to the right or left, or were horizontal or vertical, or (2) Y-like targets that had a short arm leading obliquely right or left of a vertical line. In some groups, a four-alternative forced-choice test with lines at 0°, 45°, 90°, and 135° orientations was used. Discrimination of these targets (i.e. targets that differ in the orientation of component line segments) was only minimally facilitated as the time between the onset of the valid cue and the onset of the target (cue-target stimulus onset asynchrony, SOA) was increased from 0 or 17 msec to 267 msec. In contrast, discrimination of targets that did not differ in the orientation of component line segments but differed in line arrangement (T-like characters), was greatly facilitated by longer cue-target SOAs. In Experiment 2, a cue misdirected attention on 20% of the trials. A decrement occurred on incorrectly cued trials in comparison to correctly cued trials for both types of stimuli used (lines and Ts). The results from these experiments suggest that discrimination of line orientation benefits less from focal attention than does discrimination of line arrangement, but that both discriminations suffer when attention must be disengaged from an irrelevant spatial location.
Across-channel Masking of Changes in Modulation Depth for Amplitude- and Frequency-modulated Signals
Authors: Moore Brian C.J. , Glasberg Brian R. , Gaunt Tracey , Child Tim
Published: September 2011

This study examines a form of masking that can take place when the signal and masker are widely separated in frequency and cannot be explained in terms of the traditional concept of the auditory filter or critical band. We refer to this as across-channel masking. The task of the subject was to detect an increment in modulation depth of a 1000-Hz sinusoidal carrier. The carrier could either be sinusoidally amplitude modulated or sinusoidally frequency modulated at a 10-Hz rate. Modulation increment thresholds of this “target” signal were measured for the target alone, and in the presence of two interfering sounds with carrier frequencies of 230 and 3300 Hz. When the interfering sounds were unmodulated, they had no effect on modulation increment thresholds. When the interfering sounds were either amplitude or frequency modulated, thresholds increased. Amplitude modulation (AM) increment thresholds were affected by both amplitude-modulated and frequency-modulated interference. Similarly, frequency modulation (FM) increment thresholds were affected by both amplitude-modulated and frequency-modulated interference. For both types of signal, the interference was tuned for modulation rate; across-channel masking was greatest when the interfering sounds were modulated at rates close to 10 Hz, and declined for higher or lower rates. However, the tuning was rather broad. When the target and interfering sounds were modulated at the same rate, there was no effect of the relative phase of the modulators. Two possible explanations for the results are discussed. One is based on the idea that carriers that are modulated in a similar way tend to be perceptually “grouped”. The other is based on the idea that there are “channels” in the auditory system tuned for AM and FM rate. Neither explanation appears completely satisfactory.
The Use of Prosody in Highlighting Alterations in Repairs from Unrestricted Speech
Authors: Howell Peter , Young Keith
Published: September 2011

A speaker has several ways in which he or she may highlight the fact that an error or imprecision of speech has been made and subsequently altered. The three principal ones are by signalling through the structure of the speech that surrounds the error (the repair-syntax), by the use of prosody, and through the semantic content. The role of prosody in the correction process is investigated in the current studies. Analysis of the prosody of a number of errors and their alterations drawn from unrestricted speech are reported. The analysis shows that pauses occur at the moment of interruption and that an increase in stress occurs at the start of the alteration. Pauses could indicate the moment of interruption, and stress could highlight what has been altered. Two sets of perceptual experiments were carried out to assess whether these cues are salient for listeners who hear constructions containing an error and its alteration. Two paradigms were employed in each set of experiments: (1) direct judgement about the comprehensibility of sentences containing errors and alterations, and (2) repeating a message that had an error and alteration without the error. The effects of stress and pauses on (Experiments 1A and 1B) or pauses around (Experiment 2A and 2B) the alterations were assessed. In the first set of experiments it was shown that pauses and stress help listeners process repairs. When a word is spoken in error, the speaker may repeat a section of speech immediately preceding the alteration and/or a section immediately following that word. Inclusion of these repeated sections allows assessment of whether pauses signal where the interruption occurred. The second experiment shows that the placing of the pause before the retrace, rather than at other locations, indicates to listeners where the repair starts.
Output Buffer Storage and the Modality of Recall
Authors: Tattersall Andrew J. , Broadbent Donald E.
Published: September 2011

In two experiments, subjects were presented with two lists of visual items simultaneously, both of which were to be recalled. The order of recall of the lists was manipulated. In Experiment 1, subjects were required to recall one list by speaking it and the other by writing it down. Prior knowledge of the particular mode of output required for each list resulted in significantly higher levels of recall than in a condition in which the output mode for each list was not known until after presentation. This result suggests that there may be at least two modality-specific output buffers. Experiment 2 employed the same method of presentation, but spoken recall of both lists was required. In addition, the priority of the lists was manipulated, and articulatory suppression was required in half of the trials. There was an effect of priority and of recall order, together with an interaction between the two. In contrast to the results of FitzGerald and Broadbent (1985a), however, who carried out a similar experiment but with written recall, articulatory suppression significantly reduced the priority and recall order interaction. It is concluded that there is one form of output buffer storage for written or manual output and one for spoken output.
Semantic Priming and Identification of near Threshold Primes in a Lexical Decision Task
Authors: Dark Veronica J. , Benson Ken
Published: September 2011

Three experiments examined both the impact of semantic analysis of 50-msec, masked visual primes on a target response and the impact of semantic analysis of the target on a prime response. The first two experiments used a prime-target interval of 1000 msec. In Experiment 1, subjects reported the identity of each prime: (a) after a lexical decision about the target, (b) both before and after a lexical decision, or (c) after a target detection response. Prime report after both types of target response showed retroactive priming in which report was facilitated by related targets and inhibited by unrelated targets. Analyses of lexical decision latency and accuracy conditionalized on prime report showed that semantic priming was restricted to reported related primes. In Experiment 2, subjects made no overt response to the primes. Priming was conditionalized on recognition of the primes on a subsequent test. The pattern was the same as Experiment 1: There was priming only for recognized primes; recognition memory showed a pattern consistent with retroactive priming. Experiment 3 also conditionalized priming on recognition performance but used a prime-target interval of only 250 msec. Again, semantic priming was found only for recognized primes, and recognition memory revealed retroactive priming. Retroactive priming indicates an interdependency between prime and target processing that needs to be incorporated into models of semantic priming.
Reasoning about Conditional Promises and Warnings: Darwinian Algorithms, Mental Models, Relevance Judgements or Pragmatic Schemas?
Authors: Politzer Guy , Nguyen-Xuan Anh
Published: September 2011

It is proposed that reasoning about social contracts, such as conditional promises and warnings, is under the control of a compound schema made of two pragmatic schemas (Cheng & Holyoak, 1985), expressing an obligation and a permission. Two experiments were run using thematic versions of the Wason selection task in which the rule and the core of the scenario were kept constant and the point of view of the actor (e.g. promisor or promisee) was varied. The results supported the predictions (including the occurrence of a correct pattern of response that consists of all four cards) and falsified predictions derived from Cosmides' (1989) theory of social exchange. The mental models theory and Evans' two-stage theory of reasoning are also discussed in the light of the present results.
The Phonetic Integration of Speech and Non-speech Sounds: Effects of Perceived Location
Authors: Ciocca Valter , Bregman Albert S. , Capreol Kathleen L.
Published: September 2011

The third-formant (F3) transition of a three-formant /da/ or /ga/ syllable was extracted and replaced by sine-wave transitions that followed the F3 centre frequency. The syllable without the F3 transition (base) was always presented at the left ear, and a /da/ (falling) or /ga/ (rising) sine-wave transition could be presented at either the left, the right, or both ears. The listeners perceived the base as a syllable, and the sine-wave transition as a non-speech whistle, which was lateralized near the left ear, the right ear, or the middle of the head, respectively. In Experiment 1, the sine-wave transition strongly influenced the identity of the syllable only when it was lateralized at the same ear as the base (left ear). Phonetic integration between the base and the transitions became weak, but was not completely eliminated, when the latter was perceived near the middle of the head or at the opposite ear as the base (right ear). The second experiment replicated these findings by using duplex stimuli in which the level of the sine-wave transitions was such that the subjects could not reliably tell whether a /da/ or a /ga/ transition was present at the same ear as the base. This condition was introduced in order to control for the possibility that the subjects could have identified the syallables by associating a rising or falling transition presented at the left ear with a /da/ or /ga/ percept. Alternative suggestions about the relation between speech and non-speech perceptual processes are discussed on the basis of these results.
Against Relative Timing Invariance in Movement Kinematics
Authors: Burgess-Limerick Robin , Neal Robert J. , Abernethy Bruce
Published: September 2011

The kinematics of stair climbing were examined to test the assertion that relative timing is an invariant feature of human gait. Six male and four female subjects were video-recorded (at 60 Hz) while they climbed a flight of stairs 10 times at each of three speeds. Each gait cycle was divided into three segments by the maximum and minimum angular displacement of the left knee and left foot contact. Gentner's (1987) analysis methods were applied to the individual subject data to determine whether the duration of the segments remained a fixed proportion of gait cycle duration across changes in stair-climbing speed. A similar analysis was performed using knee velocity maxima to partition the gait cycle. Regardless of how the gait cycle was divided, relative timing was not found to remain strictly invariant across changes in speed. This conclusion is contrary to previous studies of relative timing that involved less conservative analysis but is consistent with the wider gait literature. Strict invariant relative timing may not be a fundamental feature of movement kinematics.
Lexical Mediation between Sight and Sound in Speechreading
Authors: Repp Bruno H. , Frost Ram , Zsiga Elizabeth
Published: September 2011

In two experiments, we investigated whether simultaneous speech reading can influence the detection of speech in envelope-matched noise. Subjects attempted to detect the presence of a disyllabic utterance in noise while watching a speaker articulate a matching or a non-matching utterance. Speech detection was not facilitated by an audio-visual match, which suggests that listeners relied on low-level auditory cues whose perception was immune to cross-modal top-down influences. However, when the stimuli were words (Experiment 1), there was a (predicted) relative shift in bias, suggesting that the masking noise itself was perceived as more speechlike when its envelope corresponded to the visual information. This bias shift was absent, however, with non-word materials (Experiment 2). These results, which resemble earlier findings obtained with orthographic visual input, indicate that the mapping from sight to sound is lexically mediated even when, as in the case of the articulatory-phonetic correspondence, the cross-modal relationship is non-arbitrary.
Articulatory and Phonological Determinants of Word Length Effects in Span Tasks
Authors: Caplan David , Rochon Elizabeth , Waters Gloria S.
Published: September 2011

Several previous studies have shown that memory span is greater for short words than for long words. This effect is claimed to occur even when the short and long words are matched for the number of syllables and phonemes and so to provide evidence for subvocal articulation as being one mechanism that underlies memory span (Baddeley, Thomson, & Buchanan, 1975). The three experiments reported in this paper further investigate the articulatory determinants of word length effects on span tasks. Experiment 1 replicated Baddeley et al.'s finding of an effect of word length on auditory and visual span when the stimuli consist of words that differ in terms of the number of syllables. Experiments 2 and 3 showed that the effects of word length are eliminated when the words in the span task are matched for the number of syllables and phonemes but differ with respect to the duration and/or complexity of their articulatory gestures. These results indicate that it is the phonological structure of a word and not features of its actual articulation that determines the magnitude of the word length effect in span tasks.