Stroop dilution but not word-processing dilution : evidence for attention capture

Stroop dilution refers to the observation that the impact of a color word on the naming of a color bar is reduced if another word-like object is displayed simultaneously. Recently, Brown, Roos-Gilbert, and Carr (1995) concluded that Stroop dilution is due to early-visual interference. This conclusion was evaluated in three experiments. Experiment 1 showed that, contrary to the predictions of an early-visual interference account, (a) diluters that are similar in terms of visual complexity induced different amounts of dilution and (b) the size of the dilution effect is proportional to the size of the Stroop interference effect when the diluters are used as single distractors. Experiments 2 and 3 revealed that when the position of the color bar is pre-cued, Stroop dilution disappears. We argue that these findings support Van der Heijden’s (1992) attention-capture account of Stroop dilution.The first author was supported by a grant of the Westfalisch-Lippische Universitatsgesellschaft, Biefeld, Germany.peer-reviewe

Structure-property relations in ZrCN coatings for tribologic applications

ZrCN coatings were deposited by dc reactive magnetron sputtering with N2 flows ranging from 2 to 10 sccm in order to investigate the influence of the nitrogen incorporation on structure and properties. Information about the chemical composition was obtained by glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy. The evolution of the crystal structure studied by X-ray diffraction revealed the formation of a face-centred cubic ZrCN phase for N2 flows greater than 4 sccm. Additionally, the presence of an amorphous phase in the coatings deposited with the highest N2 flows could be evidenced by Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. This phase can act as a lubricant resulting in a low coefficient of friction as shown in the conducted ball-on-disc tests. Nanoindentation measurements showed that coatings deposited with a 6 sccm N2 flow had the maximum hardness which also revealed the best performance in the conducted dry cutting tests.CRUP InstitutionSpanish Ministry of Science and InnovationChristian Doppler Research Associatio

Effects of Place of Articulation Changes on Auditory Neural Activity: A Magnetoencephalography Study

In casual speech, phonemic segments often assimilate such that they adopt features from adjacent segments, a typical feature being their place of articulation within the vocal tract (e.g., labial, coronal, velar). Place assimilation (e.g., from coronal /n/ to labial /m/: rainbow→*raimbow) alters the surface form of words. Listeners' ability to perceptually compensate for such changes seems to depend on the phonemic context, on whether the adjacent segment (e.g., the /b/ in “rainbow”) invites the particular change. Also, some assimilations occur frequently (e.g., /n/→/m/), others are rare (e.g., /m/→/n/). We investigated the effects of place assimilation, its contextual dependency, and its frequency on the strength of auditory evoked mismatch negativity (MMN) responses, using pseudowords. Results from magnetoencephalography (MEG) revealed that the MMN was modulated both by the frequency and contextual appropriateness of assimilations

Description and discrimination of freshness and biometric qualities of three different fishes: Grass carp, pacu, and catfish

The goal of this work was to wade into the freshness quality and biometric evaluation, by means of distinct statistical descriptive methods, on three fresh catch species of fish, as well as to evaluate the discriminant potential of the variables targeted in the study. The species grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus), and catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) were caught at a rural property located in the city of Pato Branco, PR, Brazil. These fresh catch were weighed, measured, eviscerated, and cut into fillets for acquisition of biometric parameters. Freshness was judged by the analysis of the total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) value and pH. The comparison between means and medians showed symmetries for biometric measures. Correlations between body measures and fillet yield showed a weak relation regardless of the species analysed, wherein the best equation for predictions was obtained by relating total weight to the fillet's weight. The biometric variables were the best discriminants for the species

Selección y entrenamiento de un panel para evaluar el defecto rancio en aceite de soja y hamburguesas de pescado

Due to its composition of unsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, oils and fats are very susceptible to oxidation, with rancidity being one of the main defects. Among the several existing methodologies to monitor oxidation in foods, sensory analysis stands out because of the sensitivity of responses. Accordingly, this study aimed to select and train a panel of expert assessors to identify the rancid flavor, showing the statistical steps in the process. Assessors were selected according to their individual performance, statistically analyzed by ANOVA and Tukey’s mean comparison, Wald Sequential Analysis and chi-square test. The validation of the trained panel was carried out with the sensory analysis of fish burgers and soybean oil. F Value and box-plot graphic methods were effective for better visualization of results when used along with the mean and standard deviation tables. The final trained panel consisted of seven assessors, who have been able to identify and differentiate rancid taste in both samples used for validation.Debido a su composición en ácidos grasos insaturados y poliinsaturados, los aceites y grasas son muy susceptibles a la oxidación, siendo la rancidez uno de los principales defectos. Entre las diversas metodologías existentes para seguir la oxidación en los alimentos, el análisis sensorial destaca por la sensibilidad de las respuestas. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo seleccionar y capacitar a un panel de catadores entrenados para identificar el sabor rancio y se muestra estadisticamente los pasos del proceso. Los catadores fueron seleccionados de acuerdo a su capacidad individual y estadísticamente analizados por ANOVA comparando las medias mediante Tukey, análisis secuencial de Wald y prueba de chi-cuadrado. La validación del panel entrenado se realizó con el análisis sensorial de hamburguesas de pescado y aceite de soja. El valor F y la representación gráfica boxplot fueron eficaces para una mejor visualización de los resultados cuando se utilizan junto con las tablas de desviación media y estándar. El panel final estuvo formado por siete catadores que fueron capaces de identificar y diferenciar el sabor rancio en ambas muestras utilizadas para su validación

Predicting fitness to practise events in international medical graduates who registered as UK doctors via the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) system: a national cohort study

Background International medical graduates working in the UK are more likely to be censured in relation to fitness to practise compared to home graduates. Performance on the General Medical Council’s (GMC’s) Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) tests and English fluency have previously been shown to predict later educational performance in this group of doctors. It is unknown whether the PLAB system is also a valid predictor of unprofessional behaviour and malpractice. The findings would have implications for regulatory policy. Methods This was an observational study linking data relating to fitness to practise events (referral or censure), PLAB performance, demographic variables and English language competence, as evaluated via the International English Language Test System (IELTS). Data from 27,330 international medical graduates registered with the GMC were analysed, including 210 doctors who had been sanctioned in relation to at least one fitness to practise issue. The main outcome was risk of eventual censure (including a warning). Results The significant univariable educational predictors of eventual censure (versus no censures or referrals) were lower PLAB part 1 (hazard ratio [HR], 0.99; 95% confidence interval, 0.98 to 1.00) and part 2 scores (HR, 0.94; 0.91 to 0.97) at first sitting, multiple attempts at both parts of the PLAB, lower IELTS reading (HR, 0.79; 0.65 to 0.94) and listening scores (HR, 0.76; 0.62 to 0.93) and higher IELTS speaking scores (HR, 1.28; 1.04 to 1.57). Multiple resits at either part of the PLAB and higher IELTS speaking score (HR, 1.49; 1.20 to 1.84) were also independent predictors of censure. We estimated that the proposed limit of four attempts at both parts of the PLAB would reduce the risk in this entire group by only approximately two censures per 5 years in this group of doctors. Conclusions Making the PLAB, or any replacement assessment, more stringent and raising the required standards of English reading and listening may result in fewer fitness to practice events in international medical graduates. However, the number of PLAB resits permitted would have to be further capped to meaningfully impact the risk of sanctions in this group of doctor

Foreign Subtitles Help but Native-Language Subtitles Harm Foreign Speech Perception

Understanding foreign speech is difficult, in part because of unusual mappings between sounds and words. It is known that listeners in their native language can use lexical knowledge (about how words ought to sound) to learn how to interpret unusual speech-sounds. We therefore investigated whether subtitles, which provide lexical information, support perceptual learning about foreign speech. Dutch participants, unfamiliar with Scottish and Australian regional accents of English, watched Scottish or Australian English videos with Dutch, English or no subtitles, and then repeated audio fragments of both accents. Repetition of novel fragments was worse after Dutch-subtitle exposure but better after English-subtitle exposure. Native-language subtitles appear to create lexical interference, but foreign-language subtitles assist speech learning by indicating which words (and hence sounds) are being spoken