HISTORIOGRAPHY OF SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATIONS IN THE FIELD OF MEMORY AND BLOOD-BRAIN BARRIER

A scientometric study after author's own methods (Tomov, 1986 and 1998) of the publication output in the field ofmemory and blood-brain barrier in MEDLINE on CD-ROM (EBSCO Publ., USA) data base for 1965-2000 was carried out. On this interdisciplinary topic, a total of 126 articles in seven languages, mainly in English, had been published in a total of 93 journals from 21 countries. In 37 review articles there were 5289 references (at an average of 143 references per paper). Authors' institutions belonged to 18 mono- and 7 interdisciplinary thematic profiles while the journals could be assigned to 17 mono- and 8 interdisciplinary profiles. Some 39 journals from 12 countries containing 57 articles belonged to the generalized profile of neurosciences. The authors from the USA had published 37 papers in 30 American journals but 16 ones in 10 journals from 5 countries. Aa a whole, 67 papers had been published in domestic journals but 59 ones in foreign journals. Eight articles by authors from 6 countries had been published in 7 "international" journals from 5 countries. The computerized historiography of science could be successfully applied for scientometric purposes and for perfection of science policy and management at any levels in small countries like Bulgaria

Quantifying the Hydrophobic Effect per CF2 Moiety from Adsorption of Fluorinated Alcohols at the Water/Oil Interface

Amphiphilic fluorocarbon substances are a trending topic of research due to their wide range of applications accompanied by an alarming environmental and health impact. In order to predict their fate in the environment, use them more economically, develop new water treatment methods, etc., a better understanding of their physicochemical behavior is required. Their hydrophobicity in water/oil systems is particularly sensitive to one key thermodynamic parameter: the free energy of transfer of a perfluoromethylene group from oil to water. However, for the –CF2– moiety, the transfer energy values reported in the literature vary by more than ±25%. Due to the exponential relationship between this energy and the adsorption constants or the partition coefficients, such an uncertainty can lead to orders of magnitude error in the predicted distribution of fluorinated species. We address this problem by presenting an experimental determination of the hydrophobic effect of a –CF2– moiety with a greater certainty than currently available. The transfer energy is determined by measuring the interfacial tension of water|hexane for aqueous solutions of short-chained fluorotelomer alcohols. The obtained results for the free energy of transfer of a –CF2– moiety from oil to water are 1.68±0.02×0 , 1.75±0.02×0 , and 1.88±0.02×0 at 288.15 K, 293.15 K, and 303.15 K, respectively

GEANT4 simulation of the moderating neutrons spectrum

The probability and intensity of nuclear reactions involving neutrons are characterized by the corresponding reaction cross-sections which are known to depend strongly on the incident neutron energy. In real applications the neutrons are seldom or never monoenergetic, and are usually characterized by certain continuous energy spectrum. The detailed knowledge of the neutron spectrum is crucial for numerous applications such as the nuclear reactor operation, the traveling wave reactor (TWR) development, including the search of the neutron energy ranges suitable for the wave nuclear burning, the search and prediction of the so-called "blowup modes" in neutron-multiplying media, the verification of neutron moderation theories and so on. In this paper we describe a method of GEANT4-based Monte Carlo calculation of the neutron spectrum evolution as well as the steady-state neutron spectrum in a system containing a persistent neutron source.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figure

Lower body acceleration and muscular responses to rotational and vertical whole-body vibration of different frequencies and amplitudes

This is the final version. Available on open access from SAGE Publications via the DOI in this recordThe aim of this study was to characterise acceleration transmission and neuromuscular responses to rotational (RV) and vertical (VV) vibration of different frequencies and amplitudes. Methods - 12 healthy males completed 2 experimental trials (RV vs. VV) during which vibration was delivered during either squatting (30°; RV vs. VV) or standing (RV only) with 20, 25, 30 Hz, at 1.5 and 3.0 mm peak-to-peak amplitude. Vibration-induced accelerations were assessed with triaxial accelerometers mounted on the platform and bony landmarks at ankle, knee, and lumbar spine. Results At all frequency/amplitude combinations, accelerations at the ankle were greater during RV (all p < 0.03) with the greatest difference observed at 30 Hz 1.5 mm. Transmission of RV was also influenced by body posture (standing vs. squatting, p < 0.03). Irrespective of vibration type vibration transmission to all skeletal sites was generally greater at higher amplitudes but not at higher frequencies, especially above the ankle joint. Acceleration at the lumbar spine increased with greater vibration amplitude but not frequency and was highest with RV during standing. Conclusions/Implications - The transmission of vibration during WBV is dependent on intensity and direction of vibration as well as body posture. For targeted mechanical loading at the lumbar spine, RV of higher amplitude and lower frequency vibration while standing is recommended. These results will assist with the prescription of WBV to achieve desired levels of mechanical loading at specific sites in the human body.London South Bank UniversityAge U

Audiovisual integration in social evaluation

Our social evaluation of other people is influenced by their faces and their voices. However, rather little is known about how these channels combine in forming "first impressions." Over 5 experiments, we investigate the relative contributions of facial and vocal information for social judgments: dominance and trustworthiness. The experiments manipulate each of these sources of information within-person, combining faces and voices giving rise to different social attributions. We report that vocal pitch is a reliable source of information for judgments of dominance (Study 1), but not trustworthiness (Study 4). Faces and voices make reliable, but independent, contributions to social evaluation. However, voices have the larger influence in judgments of dominance (Study 2), whereas faces have the larger influence in judgments of trustworthiness (Study 5). The independent contribution of the 2 sources appears to be mandatory, as instructions to ignore 1 channel do not eliminate its influence (Study 3). Our results show that information contained in both the face and the voice contributes to first impression formation. This combination is, to some degree, outside conscious control, and the weighting of channel contribution varies according the trait being perceived. (PsycINFO Database Recor

Sex Differences in the Perceived Dominance and Prestige of Women With and Without Cosmetics

Human social status has long been of interest to evolutionary and social psychologists. The question of who gets to control resources and be a leader has garnered a lot of attention from these and other fields, and this thesis examines evidence for there being two different mechanisms of achieving high status, and their correlates. The mechanisms are 1) Dominance: being aggressive, manipulative and forcing others to follow you, and 2) Prestige: possessing qualities which make others freely follow you. Chapter 1 is an introductory chapter in which I explain selection pressures, group formation, and the need for social hierarchies; I then describe the two proposed methods of attaining social status and how facial characteristics can give clues as to an individual’s social status. In Chapter 2, my first experimental chapter, I examined how faces created to appear either high in dominance or high in prestige were judged with respect to those traits as well as personality characteristics. Taking this further, in Chapter 3, I looked at how natural variation in real faces would reflect differences in other- and self-perceived ratings of dominance and prestige. Chapter 4 served to examine whether, given a set of words related to social status, I would find differences in what words were placed into dominant or prestige categories. Findings within these chapters are consistent with dominance and prestige being separable methods of attaining high status, from differences in facial appearance (Chapter 2 and 3), to personality characteristics (Chapter 2), to word usage (Chapter 4). Once I had established that these were two distinct routes to achieving high status, I chose to focus on dominance in Chapter 5 and explored the conceptual relationships between dominance and facial expressions. I found that manipulating perceptions of dominance affected how intense expressions of anger, sadness, and fear were perceived (Chapter 5). As there has been a paucity of research in the area of women’s social status, in Chapter 6, I went on to explore what effects cosmetics use in women would have on their perceived social status. I found differences in how men and women perceived women wearing cosmetics, which again points to a distinction between dominance and prestige. My thesis then presents a broad view of the two different mechanisms for attaining high status. Using new methods not otherwise used in exploring dominance and prestige I was able to explore correlates and indicators, as well as perceptions of both strategies. These findings will allow us to determine who might be capable of attaining social status, which of the two methods they might use, as well as what implicit associations we hold about each. They will also open doors for future research into the two strategies, and even help interpret previous research, as many previous studies simply relate to high status and do not distinguish between dominance and prestige

The bidirectional association between sleep problems and autism spectrum disorder

Background: Sleep difficulties are prevalent in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The temporal nature of the association between sleep problems and ASD is unclear because longitudinal studies are lacking. Our aim is to clarify whether sleep problems precede and worsen autistic traits and ASD or occur as a consequence o

Geološki, morfološki i pedološki činioci teorara Smederevke

Terroir depicts a set of pedologic, micro‐climatic and historical factors that have a say in deciding whether and where to practice viticulture and determines its qualitative and quantitative exploitation potential. For winemakers, it is paramount for targeting a viticulture variety. European winemakers use to guide their choices by the family tradition. Scientific breakthroughs, i.e. pedological characterization of the soil, introduced a new approach for viticulture, and drove the world‐leading wineries to turn to scientific approach in the last 30 years. In this research, we went one step further in respect to pedological approach. Since the soil itself is considered as a product of its bedrock and climate, it is logical to also include those factors that condition the properties of the soil itself in the terroir context, such as geological and morphologic factors (Burns, 2010). It is thereby, possible to perform a preliminary delineation of zones with suitable set of factors at regional scales, and direct the subsequent, more detailed soil investigations. By analyzing wider areas, it becomes possible to plan more strategically, especially when it comes to preservation of rare and indigenous vine varieties. From winemakers’ perspective, indigenous vine varieties represent the true genetic potential. Smederevka, which is shyly re‐introduced, but without any planning and consulting the profession is one such example. Before the 2nd World War, Smederevka (colloquially known as “the Yellow”) was grown predominantly in the Smederevo wine region, but with caution to the micro‐location, soil composition, slope aspect, sun reflection off the water surface, etc. The quality was unparalleled in comparison to the same vine from 1950–1990, a period marked by a high‐yield, collective farming practice of the “Godomin” company back in the socialism. Locality Plavinac in Smederevo (from experience) has the Smederevka vine with the best sensory characteristics, although micro‐localities Zlatno Brdo (Mons Aureus) and Petrijevo are more familiar

A Dual-Beam Irradiation Facility for a Novel Hybrid Cancer Therapy

In this paper we present the main ideas and discuss both the feasibility and the conceptual design of a novel hybrid technique and equipment for an experimental cancer therapy based on the simultaneous and/or sequential application of two beams, namely a beam of neutrons and a CW (continuous wave) or intermittent sub-terahertz wave beam produced by a gyrotron for treatment of cancerous tumors. The main simulation tools for the development of the computer aided design (CAD) of the prospective experimental facility for clinical trials and study of such new medical technology are briefly reviewed. Some tasks for a further continuation of this feasibility analysis are formulated as well.Comment: 18 pages, 3 tables, 8 figures, 50 reference