bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Individual differences and strategy selection in reasoning
Authors: Roberts Maxwell J. , Gilmore David J. , Wood David J.
Published: April 2011

Although individuals may use different strategies in order to solve reasoning problems, few attempts have been made to understand the processes that lead to strategy choice. One exception to this is work with the sentence‐picture verification task in which it has been found that high spatial ability individuals tend to use a strategy that involves spatial representations while low spatial ability individuals tend to use a strategy that involves verbal representations.

The first study reported here attempted to see whether these findings would generalize to another simple reasoning task with a particularly inefficient spatial strategy. This was found not to be the case; low spatial ability individuals used the spatial strategy while high spatial ability individuals avoided using it. Three explanations were suggested for this based upon (a) spatial ability, (b) intelligence or (c) knowledge. Results of two further studies favoured the spatial ability explanation; individuals do not have explicit prior knowledge of the most effective strategy for this task, and the level of spatial ability determines the degree to which they are able to develop and evaluate the more effective non‐spatial strategies.
A cross‐cultural study of colour grouping: Evidence for weak linguistic relativity
Authors: Davies Ian R. L. , Corbett Greville G.
Published: April 2011

We report a cross‐cultural study of colour grouping carried out as a test of the Sapir‐Whorf hypothesis (linguistic relativity theory). Speakers of English, Russian and Setswana—languages that differ in their number of basic colour terms, and in how the blue‐green region is categorized—were compared on a colour sorting task. Informants sorted a representative set of 65 colours into groups so that members of the groups looked similar to each other, with no restriction on the number of groups formed. If linguistic relativity theory is true, then there should be reliable differences between the three samples in the composition of the groups they formed associated with the differing positions of colour category boundaries in the languages. The most striking feature of the results, inconsistent with linguistic relativity theory, was the similarity amongst the patterns of choice of the three samples. However, there were also significant differences amongst the samples. Setswana speakers (who have a single basic term for BLUE or GREEN) were more likely to group BLUE colours with GREEN colours than either English or Russian speakers. But Russian speakers (who have two basic colour terms for BLUE) were no more likely than English speakers to group light and dark BLUE separately. In addition there were general structural differences in grouping among the samples: they differed in the level of consensus in grouping, the number of groups formed and in the distribution of the number of colours placed in a group. These structural differences may reflect differences in the availability and salience of the colour categories across the languages. Our data support perceptual universalism modulated by weaker linguistic effects.
Hemiregional variations in facial expression of emotions
Authors: Asthana Hari S. , Mandal Manas K.
Published: April 2011

This study examined expressiveness of facial regions during posed expressions of two basic emotions: happy and sad. Two types of composite photographs were prepared: hemifacial composites of left‐left (LL) or right‐right (RR); and hemiregional composites involving a left‐left composite in the upper part and a right‐right composite in the lower part (LL/RR) of the face or vice versa (RR/LL). Participants ranked photographs of an emotion expression: normal orientation (RL), mirror reversed (LR), left facial composite (LL), right facial composite (RR) and hemiregional composites (RR/LL; LL/RR), in order of expressiveness. The hemiregional composite RR/LL was judged as most expressive followed by LL. The findings are explained in terms of the neuroanatomy of fibre projections from the left and right cerebral hemispheres to the facial muscles.
Prolonged use of coloured overlays for classroom reading
Authors: Jeanes Rebecca , Busby Anne , Martin Judith , Lewis Elizabeth , Stevenson Nicola , Pointon David , Wilkins Arnold
Published: April 2011

Ninety‐three children in a primary school and 59 children in two first‐year classes of a secondary school were asked individually to observe a paragraph of random letters arranged to resemble text, and to compare the perceptual effects on its clarity of coloured plastic sheets overlaid on the text. A total of 29 colours were compared using 10 coloured plastic sheets and 19 pairwise combinations of sheets, one superimposed on another. The resulting colours sampled CIE 1976 hue angle (huv) and saturation (suv) systematically and efficiently. All the children who reported beneficial perceptual effects (53 per cent) were given their preferred overlay or combination of overlays to use as and when they wished. When the children were examined three months later the children tended to choose a colour similar to one they had chosen previously. Ten months later, 22 per cent of those offered the overlaps were still using them of their own volition. These children, but not those who had ceased to use their overlay(s), read randomly ordered simple words more quickly with their overlay than without. In a second independent group of children referred to the Norfolk Sensory Support Service, who used overlays routinely, the reading speed was similar with a grey or clear overlay; and slower than with the chosen coloured overlay, suggesting that reduction of contrast was not the critical factor. In a third independent group of children in a primary school in Kent, the increase in reading speed with the chosen overlay predicted the children who continued to use their overlay during the ensuing eight weeks.
When articulatory suppression does not suppress the activity of the phonological loop
Authors: Saito Satoru
Published: April 2011

The purpose of this study is to examine whether the phonological loop works under the conditions where an individual is required to produce an irrelevant speech sound which constitutes the minimum load on the speech motor programming. In the first experiment, participants were tested for serial recall of visually presented letter sequences that were phonologically either similar or dissimilar, and had to remember each of the letter sequences under three learning conditions: a control and two articulatory suppression conditions (intermittent suppression and continuous suppression conditions). Results showed that the phonological similarity effects appeared in the control condition and also in the continuous suppression condition in which an irrelevant speech sound was continuously uttered by the participants. On the other hand, the phonological similarity effect disappeared in the intermittent suppression condition in which an ordinary articulatory suppression was performed. This pattern of results was replicated in the second experiment where participants were exposed to an irrelevant speech sound auditorily in all three conditions. In the third experiment, a simple tapping in synchronization with the irrelevant speech sound did not decrease the size of the phonological similarity effect. Possible relationships between phonological loop, speech motor programming and abstract phonological representations are discussed.
Testing the hypothesis of the relationships between laterality and ability according to Annett's right‐shift theory: Findings in an epidemiological sample of young adults
Authors: Resch F. , Haffner J. , Parzer P. , Pfueller U. , Strehlow U. , Zerahn‐Hartung C.
Published: April 2011

In a large epidemiological sample of young adults, predictions of the right‐shift (RS) theory of Annett that cognitive abilities will vary with right–left hand skill were tested. Presenting a theory of a genetic balanced polymorphism with heterozygote advantage for laterality and ability, Annett & Manning (1989, 1990a) and Annett (1993c) claimed that probands at the right end of the R–L hand skill continuum would show lower general intelligence in IQ testing and that specific verbal abilities and educational success would be lower at both extremes of the R–L distribution, taking the form of an inverted U. Most of these predictions could not be confirmed by our study. In particular, our data contrast with the important and specific prediction of the RS theory that strong dextrals will be the most disfavoured group. In our sample, probands at the left end of the R–L continuum had significantly lower scores in spelling and educational success and showed a tendency to have lower non‐verbal IQ scores, while strong dextrals tended to have average or even marginally higher ability scores. The effects, however, are small and decrease when controlling for other variables. Implications of these empirical findings for the right‐shift theory are discussed.
Judgments of apparent shape contaminated by knowledge of reality: Viewing circles obliquely
Authors: Taylor Laura M. , Mitchell Peter
Published: April 2011

In two experiments, participants viewed a circular disc oriented at a slant (which therefore appeared elliptical). The disc was made of luminous material and situated in a darkened chamber to remove perspective cues. Both student artists and non‐artists exaggerated the circularity when attempting to match it on a computer screen by contracting or expanding a presented ellipse along its vertical axis. Crucially, however, a control group who remained ignorant about the circle's true shape (and were allowed to believe it really was an ellipse) did not exaggerate its circularity. The results of the second experiment suggested that participants were unaware that they were exaggerating the circularity, since their estimations of their own performance were more similar to the projective shape than to the shape they judged the ellipse to be. It seems that knowledge of reality contaminates judgments of appearance over and above any similar effect that might arise from the presence of perspective cues (which were eliminated in these experiments).
A cross‐cultural study of English and Setswana speakers on a colour triads task: A test of the Sapir—Whorf hypothesis
Authors: Davies Ian R. L. , Sowden Paul T. , Jerrett David T. , Jertett Tiny , Corbett Greville G.
Published: April 2011

We report a cross‐cultural study of speakers of Setswana and of English carried out as a test of the linguistic relativity hypothesis (the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis). These languages differ in their number of ‘basic’ colour terms—English has eleven and Setswana has five—and in the position of some colour category boundaries. Speakers of the two languages did a ‘triads’ task in which they chose which of three colours was least like the other two. There were two types of triad: ‘controls’, for which any linguistic influences should lead to the same choices, and ‘experimental’, for which any linguistic influences should lead to different choices by the two groups. Thus the universalist position predicts that the choices of the two samples should be essentially the same for all triads, whereas the relativist position predicts that choice should be the same for the control triads, but differ for the experimental triads. The most striking feature of the results was that the choices made by the two samples were very similar for both kinds of triads, thus supporting universalism. But, there were also small but reliable differences associated with the linguistic differences, thus supporting Whorfianism. Overall, it appears that there is a strong universal influence on colour choice but this universal influence can be moderated by cultural influences such as language, a position consistent with ‘weak Whorfianism’.
Which twin are you? A demonstration of induced categorical perception of identical twin faces
Authors: Stevenage Sarah V.
Published: April 2011

The faces of twins present us with a very complex visual task. How do we get from the stage of being unable to distinguish between the twins, to being able to identify each twin correctly and readily by name? Does the actual process of learning to distinguish between the twins make us change the way we see them? Recent literature has demonstrated such an effect of categorization on perception in what has come to be known as categorical perception (Harnad, 1987). Evidence is available for the categorical perception of stimuli belonging to categories of which we are innately aware (see Etcoff & Magee, 1992), but the labelling of individuals by name is arbitrary and is something we must learn. The present paper reports two experiments which provide converging evidence that categorical perception can be induced for previously unfamiliar categories through training. After training, photographs of the same twin appeared more similar to one another and photographs of the different twins appeared less similar to one another compared to ratings obtained before training. This shift in perception may help us explain how our processing of twin faces can reach a point at which we wonder how we ever confused them.
Effects of semantic variables on the subject—verb agreement processes in writing
Authors: Hupet Michel , Fayol Michel , Schelstraete Marie‐Anne
Published: April 2011

Two experiments are reported in which participants were orally presented with French sentences that they were required to write down. In a single‐task condition, only single sentences were presented and the written recall concerned only these sentences. In a dual‐task condition, a second task was added: to memorize an additional list of words or to do mental addition while writing down the sentences. The experimental sentences were all of the type ‘Prep. + N1 + verb + subject’ (e.g. Dans les trains passe le controleur, Along the trains comes the inspector) in which the preverbal noun constituted either a plausible or an implausible subject for the verb following. Results showed that: (a) number agreement was more likely to be correct when the preverbal noun was implausible as the subject of the sentence, (b) but when they had to transcribe sentences with an implausible preverbal noun, the participants' performance at a concurrent task was poorer. These two findings indicate that the plausibility of the subject role of the preverbal noun provides information that can be used to control the procedures which underlie the construction of the agreement.
Flashbulb memory assumptions: Using national surveys to explore cognitive phenomena
Authors: Wright Daniel B. , Gaskell George D. , O'Muircheartaigh Colm A.
Published: April 2011

Implicit in most flashbulb memory research are three assumptions: that major news events will be important for almost everyone in the chosen sample, that people's ratings of memory quality are reliable and that a detailed recollection of personal circumstances implies a vivid memory. Using two general population surveys of Great Britain (total N = 3160), we examine each of these assumptions for two events that have recently been used in flashbulb memory studies: Margaret Thatcher's resignation as Prime Minister and the Hillsborough football disaster. The results emphasize the importance of careful sampling of both participants and events, and question whether flashbulb memories are as vivid as originally hypothesized. This type of research is rare within the flashbulb memory literature on account of the large sample sizes and the use of samples representative of the general population. This allows us to return to Brown & Kulik's (1977) original emphasis on group differences and re‐evaluate their findings.
Discrepancy poor verbal skills in poor readers: A failure of learning or ability?
Authors: Langdon D. W. , Rosenblatt N. , Mellanby J. H.
Published: April 2011

Poor verbal skills in poor readers have long been reported in the literature. There have been many attempts to understand the interaction between poor verbal ability and poor verbal achievement. The methodological problems are considerable, including the measurement of verbal ability, which has been confounded by previous learning. A new reasoning test, the VESPAR, has been designed to measure novel problem solving and thus to be less reliant on acquired verbal skills. One hundred and seventy 14‐year‐olds completed the VESPAR, the Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT) and a single‐word reading test. Overall, verbal scores were weaker than spatial scores. A subgroup of 38 pupils with particularly marked discrepancies between verbal and non‐verbal CAT was identified. The especially discrepant pupils were matched with other non‐discrepant pupils from the year group for either verbal or non‐verbal CAT. The discrepant group's reading was at the same level as the matched verbal CAT group. However, the primary verbal ability of the discrepancy group, as measured on the VESPAR, was greater than the matched verbal CAT group. This raises the possibility that CAT‐ but not VESPAR‐discrepant pupils may be at particular risk of under‐achievement in the verbal domain.
The value balance model of political evaluations
Authors: Braithwaite Valerie
Published: April 2011

The value balance model posits two relatively independent value orientations, security and harmony, to explain individual differences in adaptation to adversarial left‐right political institutions. Combining high and low scores on security and harmony produces four groups, described as security oriented, harmony oriented, dualists and moral relativists. Using data from student samples and a general population sample, this paper finds support for the consistency and strength of left–right policy preferences among the security‐ and harmony‐oriented. In contrast, moral relativists and dualists adopt a mix of left and right views, supporting a compassionate and just society, but being wary of those unwilling to play by society's rules. Although moral relativists and dualists did not differ overall in their attitude positions, they engaged with the political process differently. Moral relativists were more wary of overarching principles, less willing to prioritize political values, spent less time thinking about their location on a left–right continuum and were more likely to support self‐interest voting.
Believing details known to have been suggested
Authors: Higham Philip A.
Published: April 2011

In two experiments, participants viewed a videotape of a simulated armed robbery, later answered misleading questions about it, and then finally completed a source monitoring test. For the test, participants were asked to indicate for each test item whether it was (1) seen in the video only, (2) read about in the questions only, (3) both seen and read about, (4) not remembered or (5) known to have occurred but the source was unclear. The latter response category was included on the test to remove source guessing and to ensure that attributions to ‘video’, ‘questions' or ‘both’ were caused by false conscious recollection. In Expt 1, robust misinformation effects were obtained with both 1‐ and 48‐hour delays between receiving misinformation and the memory test. However, suggested objects were more likely to receive ‘video only’ attributions at long delay than at short. Experiment 2 verified that it was the interval between receiving the misinformation and the test, and not the interval between viewing the video and receiving the misinformation, that determined the effect of delay in Expt 1. The results are explained by assuming that, at short delay, participants remembered reading about the suggested objects and could discount the ‘video only’ category. However, despite accurately remembering the source of suggested information, the misinformation effect as measured by ‘both’ responses was not diminished. Thus, remembering that misinformation was suggested does not necessarily stop the creation of false memories.
Serial report and item recognition of novel visual patterns
Authors: Avons S. E.
Published: April 2011

Previous studies of memory for novel visual patterns have reported how item recognition varies across serial positions, but have neglected serial order memory. In Expts 1 and 2 participants reported the order in which short series of novel patterns had been presented. The results showed markedly bowed serial position curves similar to those reported for sequences of verbal items or spatial locations. Concurrent articulation reduced performance in the serial report task relative to the memory task alone (Expt 2) or concurrent tapping (Expt 3) suggesting that a verbal component was involved. When two‐alternative forced choice tests were used to test memory for the configuration of each pattern in the series, no primacy or recency was found (Expt 4). In Expt 5 the presentation of a series of five items was followed at random by either a serial report or the two‐choice item recognition task. The serial position curves for the two tasks remained different, suggesting that encoding strategies were not responsible. The results show that bowed serial position curves are found when judgments of serial order are required, even when phonological coding is discouraged, whereas memory for item descriptions is independent of serial position. The implications for current conceptualizations of short‐term memory are discussed.
The frequentist facade and the flight from evidential inference
Authors: Grayson D. A.
Published: April 2011

Recent critics of the use of significance tests (e.g. Cohen, 1994) recommend the use of confidence intervals. They use Bayes' theorem in frequentist examples aimed at illustrating the ‘odds‐against‐chance fantasy’ (Carver, 1978). It is argued below that their criticisms are inappropriate and confused. In particular, they have confounded competing definitions of probability as relative frequency and as a measure of evidence in the single case. Moreover, they fail to address the very same issue (that they have just raised in the context of significance testing) in their recommended or preferred context of confidence intervals. This is demonstrated with an analogous Bayesian example of the evidentiary interpretation of confidence intervals. As these different definitions of probability are definitions, the paper concludes with the advice that each one of us must decide where we stand on the issue of probabilistic evidence in a single research application, as we do with other criteria for evaluating the scientific implications of a single piece of research.
The effect of stimulus omission and interstimulus interval (ISI) on electrodermal habituation at short ISIs
Authors: Daniels Brett A. , Davidson John A.
Published: April 2011

An experiment was conducted to examine the effects of complete stimulus omission and interstimulus interval (ISI) variability on habituation of the skin conductance response. A new scoring technique allowed shorter ISIs to be used (0.5–1.5 s) than in previous studies. It was found that both stimulus omission and variation of a previously constant ISI had a significant effect on the course of habituation at short ISIs. The results are consistent with comparator models of habituation and suggest that participants encode the ISI of a series of stimuli presented as short ISIs.
Ordering of information in conditional reasoning
Authors: Evans Jonathan St B. T. , Handley Simon J. , Buck Edward
Published: April 2011

Two experiments are reported in which participants are asked to evaluate computer‐presented conditional syllogisms consisting of a major premise (conditional rule), a minor premise and a conclusion. As an example the modus tollens inference with an affirmative conditional has the form if p then q, not‐q therefore not‐p. In these experiments, participants were asked to judge the validity of four types of conditional syllogisms with four types of conditional rule in which the presence and absence of negated components was varied. In Expt 1, half of the participants received problems with the conclusion presented prior to the premises, and half in the usual order. Experiment 2 combined this variable with a second: standard or reversed order of major and minor premises. Both manipulations substantially reduced the effects of the negative conclusion bias which is typically observed in this paradigm. The findings are discussed with respect to the debate between mental models and mental logic accounts of conditional inference.
The role of social deviance and violations in predicting road traffic accidents in a sample of young offenders
Authors: Meadows Michelle L. , Stradling Stephen G. , Lawson Susanna
Published: April 2011

Lawton, Parker, Stradling & Manstead (1997) examined the relationship between mild social deviance (West, Elander & French, 1993a), driving violations and road traffic accident involvement in a sample of 830 drivers. The relationship between mild social deviance and accident involvement was shown to be partly mediated by propensity to commit driving violations and by factors associated with driver age. The present research replicates and extends this study with a sample of 100 young, male offenders. Self‐reports of violations and errors (using the Manchester Driver Behaviour Questionnaire), an extended measure of social deviance, speed preference and accident involvement were collected, together with information about age, annual mileage driven and the type of offence for which the driver was under remand. Factor analysis of the social deviance items yielded two factors: extreme and mild social deviance. Logistic regression was used to investigate the relationship between predictor variables and accident involvement. Both propensity to commit driving violations and extreme social deviance predicted accident involvement in this sample. However, the relationship between extreme social deviance and accident involvement was partly mediated by a tendency to commit driving violations. The implications of the findings for intervention strategies aimed at the prevention of accidents are considered.
Can animals detect when their owners are returning home? An experimental test of the ‘psychic pet‘ phenomenon
Authors: Wiseman Richard , Smith Matthew , Milton Julie
Published: April 2011

In his book, Seven Experiments That Could Change The World, Rupert Sheldrake suggested that the public carry out experiments to test whether pets can psychically detect when their owners are returning home. The first of these tests was undertaken by an Austrian television company and involved an owner in the northwest of England, Pam Smart (PS) and her dog (Jaytee). The test appeared remarkably successful and seemed to show Jaytee responding when PS set off to return home from a remote location.

Rupert Sheldrake and PS asked the authors if they would like to carry out their own investigation into Jaytee's abilities. This paper outlines various ‘normal’ explanations that might account for the phenomenon and presents an experimental design that minimizes these possibilities. The paper then details the procedure and results of four experiments. Analysis of the data did not support the hypothesis that Jaytee could psychically detect when his owner was returning home. Finally, the paper discusses a possible reason for the difference in results of these studies and those carried out by the Austrian television company.
A psychophysical study of leg‐before‐wicket judgments in cricket
Authors: Craven B. J.
Published: April 2011

Certain decisions made by officials in sport are suited to study by the techniques of psychophysics. These techniques were applied to one aspect of the leg‐before‐wicket decision in cricket. Participants were presented with simulated stimuli depicting a ball travelling down a cricket pitch and being intercepted. In a three‐alternative forced‐choice task, participants were required to decide whether the ball would have (had it not been obstructed) struck the wicket or whether it would have missed to the left or to the right. The participants' responses were used to make estimates of their random and systematic errors when extrapolating the flight of the ball to the plane of the wicket. It was found that participants were unable to fully allow for variations in the point from which the ball was released by the bowler and for variations in the lateral acceleration (swing) of the ball. The random error of the participants' judgments of the ball's future position had a standard deviation of around 3 cm in the plane of the wicket. The significance of this value is discussed with reference to umpires' error rates, and with reference to the umpire's decision strategy given the accepted practice of giving batsmen the benefit of any doubt.
Ageing and word processing competence: Compensation or compilation?
Authors: Westerman Stephen J. , Davies D. Roy , Glendon A. Ian , Stammers Rob B. , Matthews Gerald
Published: April 2011

Composition and compilation were examined as two alternative hypotheses relating to ‘cognitive competence’ in older adults. Techniques of molar equivalence–molecular decomposition (ME–MD) and molecular equivalence–molar analysis (ME–MA) were used to investigate performance of experienced (over 100 hours) younger (18–30 years) and older (45–66 years) adults on a word processing task, requiring insertion and deletion of words from passages of text. There was some indication that typing skill may form the basis of a compensatory mechanism. However, differences between ‘good’ and ‘poor’ performers in the older sample supported the position that high levels of complex task skill in older adults are associated with the possession (possibly through maintenance) of high levels of basic cognitive capacities, and are not related to the integration of molecular task components.
The role of subjective concerns and characteristics of the moral issue in moral considerations
Authors: Singer M. S.
Published: April 2011

This paper addresses three issues of moral decision making within the framework of Jones' (1991) moral intensity model: (1) the effect of scope of justice for the moral agent and the target person of a moral issue on moral judgments; (2) the relative importance placed upon different characteristics of a moral issue in moral decisions; and (3) the empirical link between judgments of ethicality and fairness. Scope of justice was operationalized in terms of friendship, attitude similarity and justice concerns. A scenario approach was employed whereby each respondent read cases of ethical decisions involving two people known to them. The two people were either the respondent's ‘friend’ or ‘non‐friend’ (high vs. low level of scope of justice), and they were cast in the scenarios as the decision maker and the target person. Respondents then made evaluations of the intensity, fairness and ethicality of the issue. Results show that scope of justice regarding either the moral agent or the target person affected moral judgments. However, these scope of justice effects were context dependent. Results also show that the issue dimension of social consensus was consistently accorded a greater weight in the overall ethicality judgment. A significant empirical link between judgments of ethicality and fairness was also evident. Implications for theories of morality are noted.
Perceptions of risk in motorcyclists: Unrealistic optimism, relative realism and predictions of behaviour
Authors: Rutter D. R. , Quine Lyn , Albery Ian P.
Published: April 2011

In the first phase of a prospective investigation, a national sample of motorcyclists completed a postal questionnaire about their perceptions of risk, their behaviour on the roads and their history of accidents and spills. In the second phase a year later, they reported on their accident history and behaviour over the preceding 12 months. A total of 723 respondents completed both questionnaires. Four sets of findings are reported. First, the group as a whole showed unrealistic optimism: on average, respondents believed themselves to be less at risk than other motorcyclists of an accident needing hospital treatment in the next year. Second, optimism was tempered by ‘relative realism’, in that respondents who were young and inexperienced saw themselves as more at risk than other motorcyclists, as did riders who reported risky behaviours on the road. Third, there was some evidence of debiasing by personal history, in that having a friend or a relative who had been killed or injured on the roads was associated with perceptions of absolute risk of injury or death—though there were no effects on comparative risk and no effects on any of the judgments of a history of accidents of one's own. Finally, there was good evidence that perceptions of risk predicted subsequent behaviour, though generally in the direction not of precaution adoption but of precaution abandonment: the greater the perceived risk at time 1, the more frequent the risky behaviour at time 2. The implications of the findings are discussed, and possible interpretations are suggested.
Substructural Response Reconstruction in Wavelet Domain
Authors: Li J. , Law S. S.
Published: April 2011

An approach for structural response reconstruction in a substructure using the unit impulse response function in the wavelet domain is presented. The forces at the interface degrees-of-freedom are taken as input excitations on the substructure. The response reconstruction is conducted by transforming the measured responses into responses at other selected locations. The response reconstruction using the proposed wavelet domain method is then compared with that from an existing frequency domain method. Numerical studies on a seven-story plane frame structure are carried out to investigate the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed method, and the effects of influencing parameters such as the number of sampled data, sampling rate, sensor numbers, and measurement noise are studied.
Frequency Response of a Viscously Damped Flat Plate
Authors: Martin Michael James
Published: April 2011

The frequency response of a flat plate in a viscous fluid is a problem with applications in microsystems, including gyroscopes, accelerometers, viscometers, and biological sensing. To find the frequency response away from the resonant frequency, the equations of motion are combined with the solution to Stokes’ second problem to produce an analytic solution for the motion of the plate in response to a sinusoidal driving force. These results are used to determine the gain, phase lag, and dynamic stability of the system. The behavior of the system depends on an effective damping ratio ζeff, which depends on the resonator dimensions, and is proportional to the square root of the viscosity times the fluid density.
Community Health Care: Therapeutic Opportunities in the Human Microbiome
Authors: Sonnenburg Justin L. , Fischbach Michael A.
Published: April 2011

The human microbiome harbors tremendous untapped therapeutic potential.
One Foundation’s Strategy to Accelerate Drug Discovery Through Genomics
Authors: Perkins Louise M. , Young Anne Quinn , Giusti Kathy
Published: April 2011

The founder of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation discusses ways to accelerate drug discovery for a rare disease.
Shocking Memories After Surgery
Authors: Mashour George A.
Published: April 2011

Overexpression of heat shock protein can prevent postoperative memory impairment in mice.
Nanoparticles and Jelly
Authors: Rytting Erik
Published: April 2011

An implantable cisplatin-nanoparticle–hydrogel system shows promise for inhibiting tumor growth in vivo.
A Little Tolerance Can Prevent a Broken Heart
Authors: Shum Anthony K.
Published: April 2011

Lack of thymic tolerance to α-MyHC may contribute to myocarditis development in patients with autoimmune-mediated myocardial disease.
Pilot case–control study of paediatric falls from windows
Authors: Johnston Brian D , Quistberg D Alexander , Shandro Jamie R , Partridge Rebecca L , Song Hyun Rae , Ebel Beth E
Published: April 2011

Background

Unintentional falls from windows are an important cause of paediatric morbidity. There have been no controlled studies to identify modifiable environmental risk factors for window falls in young children. The authors have piloted a case–control study to test procedures for case identification, subject enrolment, and environmental data collection.

Methods

Case windows were identified when a child 0–9 years old presented for care after a fall from that window. Control windows were identified (1) from the child's home and (2) from the home of an age- and gender-matched child seeking care for an injury diagnosis not related to a window fall. Study staff visited enrolled homes to collect window measurements and conduct window screen performance tests.

Results

The authors enrolled and collected data on 18 case windows, 18 in-home controls, and 14 matched community controls. Six potential community controls were contacted for every one enrolled. Families who completed the home visit viewed study procedures positively. Case windows were more likely than community controls to be horizontal sliders (100% vs 50%), to have deeper sills (6.28 vs 4.31 inches), to be higher above the exterior surface (183 vs 82 inches), and to have screens that failed below a threshold derived from the static pressure of a 3-year-old leaning against the mesh (60.0% vs 16.7%). Case windows varied very little from in-home controls.

Discussion

Case–control methodology can be used to study risk factors for paediatric falls from windows. Recruitment of community controls is challenging but essential, because in-home controls tend to be over-matched on important variables. A home visit allows direct measurement of window type, height, sill depth, and screen performance. These variables should all be investigated in subsequent, larger studies covering major housing markets.
Late-onset male hypogonadism: clinical and laboratory evaluation
Authors: Ho Clement K M , Beckett Geoffrey J
Published: April 2011

Late-onset male hypogonadism (LOH) is a clinical and biochemical syndrome associated with advancing age and characterised by low serum testosterone concentrations. An understanding of the physiology of androgens in the ageing man is essential for the appropriate diagnosis of LOH. Clinical assessment of androgen status relevant to clinical biochemists and chemical pathologists is outlined in this review. Laboratory investigations of androgen status in men are not without pitfalls and the authors highlight problems associated with measuring and calculating serum testosterone and its fractions, the interpretation of which can be problematic. Current clinical guidelines and recommendations regarding the diagnosis and monitoring of LOH are also summarised.
Why and how do journals retract articles? An analysis of Medline retractions 1988–2008
Authors: Wager Elizabeth , Williams Peter
Published: April 2011

Background

Journal editors are responsible for what they publish and therefore have a duty to correct the record if published work is found to be unreliable. One method for such correction is retraction of an article. Anecdotal evidence suggested a lack of consistency in journal policies and practices regarding retraction. In order to develop guidelines, we reviewed retractions in Medline to discover how and why articles were retracted.

Methods

We retrieved all available Medline retractions from 2005 to 2008 and a one-in-three random selection of those from 1988 to 2004. This yielded 312 retractions (from a total of 870). Details of the retraction including the reason for retraction were recorded by two investigators.

Results

Medline retractions have increased sharply since 1980 and currently represent 0.02% of included articles. Retractions were issued by authors (63%), editors (21%), journals (6%), publishers (2%) and institutions (1%). Reasons for retraction included honest error or non-replicable findings (40%), research misconduct (28%), redundant publication (17%) and unstated/unclear (5%). Some of the stated reasons might have been addressed by corrections.

Conclusions

Journals' retraction practices are not uniform. Some retractions fail to state the reason, and therefore fail to distinguish error from misconduct. We have used our findings to inform guidelines on retractions.
Analysis and interpretation of piezocone data on the silty soils of the Venetian lagoon (Treporti test site)
Authors: Tonni Laura , Gottardi Guido
Published: April 2011

This paper reports the main results of an extensive piezocone testing campaign performed over the last years at the Treporti test site (Venice, Italy) within a long-lasting and comprehensive research project aimed at developing a reliable geotechnical model of the heterogeneous and highly stratified Venetian lagoon basin. The project included the construction of a full-scale vertical-walled cylindrical test bank, together with a detailed monitoring system of surface settlements, pore-water pressures, subsoil strains, and stresses beneath the loaded area. The analysis of the large amount of data thus available, referring to different phases of the loading history, confirms the great potential of piezocone as an in situ testing technique, especially for stratigraphic profiling of the predominantly silty subsoil of the Venetian lagoon, but at the same time reveals some limitations of widely used empirical correlations for the relevant soil characterization, with special reference to compressibility and consolidation properties of such intermediate sediments. Indeed, partial drainage effects during cone penetration, as well as potentially dilative behaviour of these soils, should be taken into careful consideration to derive reliable soil parameters from in situ measurements. More suitable site-specific correlations have been introduced, according to the recent findings on piezocone data interpretation.
INFECTION SPREAD AND VIRUS RELEASEIN VITROIN CELL POPULATIONS AS A SYSTEM WITH PERCOLATION
Authors: OCHOA JUAN G. DIAZ
Published: April 2011

The comprehension of the innate immune system of cell populations is not only of interest to understand systems in vivo but also in vitro, for example, in the control of the release of viral particles for the production of vaccines. In this report I introduce a model, based on dynamical networks, that simulates the cell signaling responsible for this innate immune response and its effect on the infection spread and virus production. The central motivation is to represent a cell population that is constantly mixed in a bio-reactor where there is a cell-to-cell signaling of cytokines (which are proteins responsible for the activation of the antiviral response inside the cell). Such signaling allows the definition of clusters of linked immune cells. Additionally, depending on the density of links, it is possible to identify critical threshold parameters associated to a percolation phase transition. I show that the control of this antiviral response is equivalent to a percolation process.
INTEGRATING LOCAL AND GLOBAL ROUTING ON SCALE-FREE NETWORKS
Authors: PU CUN-LAI , PEI WEN-JIANG
Published: April 2011

Network navigation is one of the main problems in large communication networks. We propose a new routing strategy in which some smart nodes in networks deliver messages to next hops on the paths towards destinations according to Yan's algorithm while the other nodes just deliver messages randomly. We test our routing strategy in a large scale-free network. Simulations show that the average delivery time decreases with increase of number of smart nodes, while the maximal network capacity increases with number of smart nodes in the network. Moreover our strategy is much more efficient when employed with target selection than with random selection of the smart nodes.
THE INFLUENCE OF INDIVIDUAL DRIVER CHARACTERISTICS ON CONGESTION FORMATION
Authors: WANG LANJUN , ZHANG HAO , MENG HUADONG , WANG XIQIN
Published: April 2011

Previous works have pointed out that one of the reasons for the formation of traffic congestion is instability in traffic flow. In this study, we investigate theoretically how the characteristics of individual drivers influence the instability of traffic flow. The discussions are based on the optimal velocity model, which has three parameters related to individual driver characteristics. We specify the mappings between the model parameters and driver characteristics in this study. With linear stability analysis, we obtain a condition for when instability occurs and a constraint about how the model parameters influence the unstable traffic flow. Meanwhile, we also determine how the region of unstable flow densities depends on these parameters. Additionally, the Langevin approach theoretically validates that under the constraint, the macroscopic characteristics of the unstable traffic flow becomes a mixture of free flows and congestions. All of these results imply that both overly aggressive and overly conservative drivers are capable of triggering traffic congestion.
THERMAL TRANSPORT THROUGH A DIELECTRIC CHAIN WITH FERMI–PASTA–ULAM INTERACTIONS
Authors: ZHAO YUAN , YI LIN , ZHAO HUA , LI JINXING
Published: April 2011

By means of the Ford–Kac–Mazur formalism, the heat current and local kinetic energy of a dielectric chain with Fermi–Pasta–Ulam–β nonlinear interactions are derived out in the stationary equilibrium and analyzed numerically. We find that the anharmonicity reduces the heat current for repulsive interactions and enhances the heat current for attractions. The magnitudes of heat current are relevant strong at low frequencies, while the local kinetic energy is bigger in the high-frequency regime. The local kinetic energy displays a periodic oscillation due to the interference of the thermal waves. In particular, the transmission matrix exhibits oscillations due to scattering of phonons for the imperfect contacts. In general, the thermal transport is qualitatively altered by the differences of temperature between reservoirs, nonlinear interactions and the size of chain as well as the contacts.
EFFECTS OF QUANTUM AND THERMAL FLUCTUATIONS ON COLLECTIVE PINNING AND CRITICAL CURRENT DENSITY IN TYPE-II SUPERCONDUCTING BULK MATERIALS
Authors: CHOU MING JU , HORNG HERNG ER
Published: April 2011

The effects of quantum and thermal fluctuations on collective pinning and critical current density Jc are investigated for bulk type-II superconductors by utilizing quantum statistics. It is shown that for a constant magnetic field, Jc is nearly independent of temperature in the quantum limit; however, in the classical limit, Jc decreases weakly with increasing temperature when T < Tdp (depinning temperature); when Tdp < T < Tf (boundary fluctuation temperature), Jc is power-law-decaying, and when T > Tf, Jc decays exponentially. For constant temperature, Jc first decreases, then increases after reaching a maximum, and finally decreases again. These results are in agreement with the experiments.
RAMAN FREQUENCIES CALCULATED FROM THE VOLUME DATA AS A FUNCTION OF TEMPERATURE AT HIGH PRESSURES FOR THE DISORDERED PHASE II OF NH4I
Authors: YURTSEVEN H. , KAVRUK D.
Published: April 2011

In this study, we calculate the Raman frequencies as a function of temperature for the fixed pressures of 706, 1080 and 6355 bars using the volume data for phase II of ammonium iodide. The Raman frequencies calculated here are for the translational optic ν5 TO M (125 cm -1) lattice mode that is located at the zone boundary (M point) of the Brillouin zone of phase II for NH 4 I . For this calculation the volume data obtained at zero pressure, is used through the mode Grüneisen parameter for the disordered phase II (β phase) which has the CsCl structure of NH 4 I .

Our predicted frequencies of the ν5 TO M (125 cm -1) mode can be compared when the Raman data for this lattice mode is available at various temperatures for fixed pressures of 706, 1080 and 6355 bars in the disordered phase II of ammonium iodide.