In vivo real-time monitoring of aphrodisiac pheromone release of small white cabbage butterflies (Pieris rapae).

The study of insect behavior is of practical importance for developing possible control methods in Integrated Pest Management. Currently, one model of butterfly mating behavior suggests that the initial location of potential mates occurs visually followed by the release of one or more short-range male aphrodisiac pheromones. This model is supported by data obtained from field observations and inferences based on the behavioral effects of chemicals extracted or isolated using indirect and offline techniques. In this study, we performed in vivo real-time monitoring of the male aphrodisiac pheromones released by the small white cabbage male butterfly (Pieris rapae Linnaeus) using confined direct analysis in real time (cDART) mass spectrometry. cDART is a new method easily adapted to the study in real time of chemicals released into the environment by virtually any insect. The major compound released by the male Pieris rapae was identified as ferrulactone. The experimental results reported here indicate that the release of ferrulactone occurs less than 1s after the male visualizes its partner, and reaches a maximum after about one half minute. This study is the first reported in vivo detection and monitoring of butterfly male aphrodisiac pheromones in real time.

Getting it right generally, but not precisely: learning the relation between multiple inputs and outputs.

In real-world situations, people are often faced with the complex task of deciding which of many potential variables are affecting their own or others' behavior, as well as noting which specific aspects of behavior are being affected. Although it is common for professionals who encounter such conditions to claim that they acquire accurate and specific knowledge from their experience, it is unclear that such confidence is justified. Using a managerial task, we examined participants' ability to learn how various interventions affect various aspects of their employees' performance. The results of three experiments reveal that although participants appear to avoid prescribing an intervention that has a positive effect on a primary performance measure and a negative side effect on a secondary measure, when asked directly about the impact of the intervention, they respond by reducing their judgments of its positive impact. This was true regardless of whether participants indicated clear knowledge of its negative side effect (Experiment 3) or did not (Experiments 1 and 2). Thus, participants appear to be automatically integrating across the effects on different outcome measures.

A motivationally-based simulation of performance degradation under pressure.

The CLARION cognitive architecture has been shown to be capable of simulating and explaining a wide range of psychological tasks and data. Currently, two theories exist to explain the psychological phenomenon of performance degradation under pressure: the distraction theory and the explicit-monitoring theory. However, neither provides a detailed mechanistic explanation of the exact processes involved. We propose such a detailed theory within the CLARION cognitive architecture that takes into account motivation and the interaction between explicit and implicit processes. We then use our theory to provide a plausible explanation of some existing data. The data are simulated using the theory within the CLARION cognitive architecture.

Capturing human data in a letter counting task: accessibility and action-centeredness in representing cognitive skills.

This work presents an integrated model of skill learning that takes into account both implicit and explicit processes and both action-centered and non-action-centered knowledge. The existing distinction between procedural and declarative knowledge unnecessarily confounds these two aspects (action-centeredness and accessibility), and can be made clearer through separating the two aspects. The model is used to simulate human data in a letter counting task. The work shows how the data in this task may be captured using either action-centered knowledge alone or both action-centered and non-action-centered knowledge, though the combined approach produced a better fit. The results demonstrate the difference between these approaches and provide a new perspective on skill learning.

Improving outcomes with interoperable EHRs and secure global health information infrastructure.

One of the central pieces for healthcare and public health is information. Through the shared use of the Information Super Highway and the WWW, for example, elder patients can, and indeed are "visited, diagnosed, treated and managed" from their homes, with the help of telemedicine systems. These technologies also provide society with additional benefits within a global health perspective, with applications ranging from disease prevention and genetics to surveillance and epidemiologic studies. For example, discoveries relating to the prevention or curing of a disease in one part of the world should be "known" everywhere else instantaneously. During an emergency, individuals travelling the world should be able to access their healthcare records for proper care, anywhere. Individuals emigrating from a country to any other should be able to use their information "seamlessly" in terms of the "old" and "new" information systems, no matter where they are. The information contained in multiple systems, i.e., civilian, military forces, etc., should appear transparently among all. However, at this time, significant questions regarding privacy of health information, quality of the services delivered and in general, the information assurance, i.e., authenticity, confidentiality, integrity, availability, and non-repudiation persists. A common aspect to information protection and sharing is interoperability. The authors believe that this term is poorly understood and consequently its incorrect use generates immensely negative consequences. The question raised by the authors then is, what is "true interoperability"?

Facilitative interactions of model- and experience-based processes: implications for type and flexibility of representation.

People are often taught using a combination of instruction and practice. In prior research, we have distinguished between model-based knowledge (i.e., acquired from explicit instruction) and experience-based knowledge (i.e., acquired from practice), and have argued that the issue of how these types of knowledge (and associated learning processes) interact has been largely neglected. Two experiments explore this issue using a dynamic control task. Results demonstrate the utility of providing model-based knowledge before practice with the task, but more importantly, suggest how this information improves learning. Results also show that learning in this manner can lead to "costs" such as slowed retrieval, and that this knowledge may not always transfer to new task situations as well as experientially acquired knowledge. Our findings also question the assumption that participants always acquire a highly specific "lookup" table representation while learning this task. We provide an alternate view and discuss the implications for theories of learning.

The interaction of implicit learning, explicit hypothesis testing learning and implicit-to-explicit knowledge extraction.

To further explore the interaction between the implicit and explicit learning processes in skill acquisition (which have been tackled before, e.g. in [Sun, R., Merrill, E., & Peterson, T. (2001). From implicit skill to explicit knowledge: A bottom-up model of skill learning. Cognitive Science, 25(2), 203-244; Sun, R., Slusarz, P., & Terry, C. (2005). The interaction of the explicit and the implicit in skill learning: A dual-process approach. Psychological Review, 112(1), 159-192]), this paper explores details of the interaction of different learning modes: implicit learning, explicit hypothesis testing learning, and implicit-to-explicit knowledge extraction. Contrary to the common tendency in the literature to study each type of learning in isolation, this paper highlights the interaction among them and various effects of the interaction on learning, including the synergy effect. This work advocates an integrated model of skill learning that takes into account both implicit and explicit learning processes; moreover, it also uniquely embodies a bottom-up (implicit-to-explicit) learning approach in addition to other types of learning. The paper shows that this model accounts for various effects in the human behavioural data from the psychological experiments with the process control task, in addition to accounting for other data in other psychological experiments (which has been reported elsewhere). The paper shows that to account for these effects, implicit learning, bottom-up implicit-to-explicit extraction and explicit hypothesis testing learning are all needed.

Developing rich and quickly accessed knowledge of an artificial grammar.

In contrast to prior research, our results demonstrate that it is possible to acquire rich, highly accurate, and quickly accessed knowledge of an artificial grammar. Across two experiments, we trained participants by using a string-edit task and highlighting relatively low-level (letters), medium-level (chunks), or high-level (structural; i.e., grammar diagram) information to increase the efficiency of grammar acquisition. In both experiments, participants who had structural information available during training generated more highly accurate strings during a cued generation test than did those in other conditions, with equivalent speed. Experiment 2 revealed that structural information enhanced acquisition only when relevant features were highlighted during the task using animation. We suggest that two critical components for producing enhanced performance from provided model-based knowledge involve (1) using the model to acquire experience-based knowledge, rather than using a representation of the model to generate responses, and (2) receiving that knowledge precisely when it is needed during training.

Treatment of painful advanced internal lumbar disc derangement with intradiscal injection of hypertonic dextrose.

BACKGROUND: Degenerative discs are thought to produce nerve root pain either mechanically or chemically. Particularly in the case of advanced degenerative disc disease, this clinical entity has often proven to be symptomatically resistant to peridural steroids, Intra-discal Electrothermoplasty (IDET) and direct surgical intervention. Exposure of irritated nerves to hypertonic dextrose is thought to have chemoneuromodulatory potential. Sustained pain reduction has been demonstrated in a pilot study involving injection of a combination of dextrose, glucosamine, chondroitin and dimethylsulfoxide into degenerative discs of patients with chronic low back pain of discogenic origin. OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of disc space injections of hypertonic dextrose in patients experiencing chronic advanced degenerative discogenic leg pain, with or without low back pain. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective consecutive patient series. METHODS: Patients with moderate to severe degenerative disc disease without herniation and with concordant pain reproduction with CT discography were included. All had failure of a physical therapy trial and substantial but temporary relief with two fluoroscopically guided epidural steroid injections. Patients underwent bi-weekly disc space injection of a solution consisting of 50% dextrose and 0.25% Bupivacaine in the disc(s) found positive on discography. The study was performed in an out-patient surgery center in the United States. Outcome measures included an 11-scale numeric pain score (0-10). RESULTS: Each patient was injected an average of 3.5 times. Overall, 43.4% of patients fell into the sustained improvement group with an average improvement in numeric pain scores of 71%, comparing pretreatment and 18 month measurements. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that intradiscal injection of hypertonic dextrose may have a place in the management of pain arising from advanced lumbar degenerative disc disease.

Effects of model-based and memory-based processing on speed and accuracy of grammar string generation.

Learners are able to use 2 different types of knowledge to perform a skill. One type is a conscious mental model, and the other is based on memories of instances. The authors conducted 3 experiments that manipulated training conditions designed to affect the availability of 1 or both types of knowledge about an artificial grammar. Participants were tested for both speed and accuracy of their ability to generate letter sequences. Results indicate that model-based training leads to slow accurate responding. Memory-based training leads to fast, less accurate responding and highest achievement when perfect accuracy was not required. Evidence supports participants' preference for using the memory-based mode when exposed to both types of training. Finally, the accuracy contributed by model-based training declined over a retention interval.

Does the adjustment cavitate the targeted joint? An investigation into the location of cavitation sounds.

BACKGROUND: The cavitation sounds heard during chiropractic adjustments of the spine are common phenomena; yet, their location relative to the technique used is relatively untested. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to locate the cavitation sounds during the L5 spinous hook adjustment and a lower sacroiliac adjustment. The sounds were analyzed for significant difference in location relative to the 2 techniques. METHODS: Thirty asymptomatic volunteers were randomly divided into 2 equal groups. Each group represented either the spinous hook adjustment or lower sacroiliac adjustment. Subjects had 8 microphones taped to their skin, over the relevant facet and sacroiliac joints. Radiographic confirmation was used to ensure optimal placement of the microphones. Sound signals produced during the adjustments were digitized, recorded, and analyzed statistically. RESULTS: The results indicated that no statistically significant correlation existed between the anatomical location of cavitation sounds and the adjustment technique selected. CONCLUSION: Location of cavitation sounds does not appear to have a relationship with type of manipulative technique selected. Further studies using other techniques need to be performed.

Gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric characterisation of amiton and the recovery of amiton from concrete, paint, rubber and soil matrices.

Amiton [O,O-diethyl S-[2-(diethylamino)ethyl] phosphorothiolate], is an organophosphorus chemical included in Schedule 2 of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). Verification provisions under the CWC rely on the existence of a database of analytical information for scheduled chemicals and related compounds. Little analytical information is available for amiton. In this study, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) characterisation of amiton and its typical impurities (including by-products and degradation products), supported by selective GC detection and 31P NMR data, was undertaken. Twenty-one compounds, including a by-product unique to amiton from an industrial source, were identified. Involatile degradation products of amiton were derivatised to enable their identification by GC-MS. The recovery of amiton from matrices that may be expected in an inspection scenario (i.e. concrete, paint, rubber and soil) was also examined. Paint and concrete matrices were the most useful matrices for the detection of amiton, and its by-products and degradation products. Amiton was readily detected in these matrices after 28 days.

Undergraduate basic science preparation for dental school.

In the Institute of Medicines report Dental Education at the Crossroads, it was suggested that dental schools across the country move toward integrated basic science education for dental and medical students in their curricula. To do so, dental school admission requirements and recommendations must be closely reviewed to ensure that students are adequately prepared for this coursework. The purpose of our study was twofold: 1) to identify student dentists' perceptions of their predental preparation as it relates to course content, and 2) to track student dentists' undergraduate basic science course preparation and relate that to DAT performance, basic science course performance in dental school, and Part I and Part II National Board performance. In the first part of the research, a total of ninety student dentists (forty-five from each class) from the entering classes of 1996 and 1997 were asked to respond to a survey. The survey instrument was distributed to each class of students after each completed the largest basic science class given in their second-year curriculum. The survey investigated the area of undergraduate major, a checklist of courses completed in their undergraduate preparation, the relevance of the undergraduate classes to the block basic science courses, and the strength of requiring or recommending the listed undergraduate courses as a part of admission to dental school. Results of the survey, using frequency analysis, indicate that students felt that the following classes should be required, not recommended, for admission to dental school: Microbiology 70 percent, Biochemistry 54.4 percent, Immunology 57.78 percent, Anatomy 50 percent, Physiology 58.89 percent, and Cell Biology 50 percent. The second part of the research involved anonymously tracking undergraduate basic science preparation of the same students with DAT scores, the grade received in a representative large basic science course, and Part I and Part II National Board performance. Using T-test analysis correlations, results indicate that having completed multiple undergraduate basic science courses (as reported by AADSAS BCP hours) did not significantly (p < .05) enhance student performance in any of these parameters. Based on these results, we conclude that student dentists with undergraduate preparation in science and nonscience majors can successfully negotiate the dental school curriculum, even though the students themselves would increase admission requirements to include more basic science courses than commonly required. Basically, the students' recommendations for required undergraduate basic science courses would replicate the standard basic science coursework found in most dental schools: anatomy, histology, biochemistry, microbiology, physiology, and immunology plus the universal foundation course of biology.