The stroop effect: why proportion congruent has nothing to do with congruency and everything to do with contingency

The item-specific proportion congruent (ISPC) effect refers to the observation that the Stroup effect is larger for words that are presented mostly in congruent colors (e.g., BLUE presented 75% of the time in blue) and smaller for words that are presented mostly in a given incongruent color (e.g., YELLOW presented 75% of the time in orange). One account of the ISPC effect, the modulation hypothesis, is that participants modulate attention based on the identity of the word (i.e., participants allow the word to influence responding when it is presented mostly in its congruent color). Another account, the contingency hypothesis, is that participants use the word to predict the response that they will need to make (e.g., if the word is YELLOW, then the response is probably "orange"). Reanalyses of data from L. L. Jacoby, D. S. Lindsay, and S. Hessels (2003), along with results from new experiments, are inconsistent with the modulation hypothesis but entirely consistent with the contingency hypothesis. A response threshold mechanism that uses contingency information provides a sufficient account of the data

Filling a gap in the semantic gradient: color associates and response set effects in the Stroop task

In the Stroop task, incongruent color associates (e.g., LAKE) interfere more with color identification than neutral words do (e.g., sFAT). However, color associates have historically been related to colors in the response set. Response set membership is an important factor in Stroop interference, because color words in the response set interfere more than color words not in the response set It has not been established whether response set membership plays a role in the ability of a color associate to interfere with color identification. This issue was addressed in two experiments (one using vocal responses and one using manual responses) by comparing the magnitude of interference caused by color associates related to colors in the response set with that of interference caused by color associates unrelated to colors in the response set. The results of both experiments show that color associates unrelated to colors in the response set interfered with color identification more than neutral words did. However, the amount of interference was less than that from color associates that were related to colors in the response set. In addition, this pattern was consistent across response modalities. These results are discussed with respect to various theoretical accounts of Stroop interference

The Power of Virtual Space

The following essay emerges from the consultation of Evangelical Catholics and Catholic Evangelicals at the 2016 convention of the College Theology Society, which brings together Catholica and Protestant voices concerning a shared topic. In 2016, the theme of liturgy and contemporary social and communications media was in focus. As panelists, we offered complementary papers that have become two sections of this essay. In the first section, Katherine Schmidt provides a theological account of media from a Catholic perspective. Through reflections on the mediatory character of the incarnation, she argues that para-liturgical or extra-liturgical spaces are integral to the Eucharistic assembly and that the internet is at once challenging and cultivating such spaces. In the second section, Derek Hatch provides an historical account of the broader Christian engagement with media, presented through his experience as a Baptist. He argues that, while earlier technological approaches reinforced confessional boundaries, the internet provides new spaces for fruitful ecumenical relationships. Together, we claim that contemporary experience with social media technologies offers a particular cultural and ecclesial moment for engaging with theological difference both within and without our respective traditions and for cultivating renewed visions of the fullness of the church catholic

THE RISE AND REACH OF 'THE DOCTRINE OF CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION': How the Supreme Court Should More Clearly Define Speech Placed in the 'First Amendment Free Zone' from Chaplinsky to Elonis

Chapter 1 introduces the “Doctrine of Categorical Exclusion” which to date has been loosely but persistently articulated by the Supreme Court (without use of the phrase itself). At its core, the Doctrine is a set of rules to identify and analyze certain categories of expression that fall outside the “Freedom of Speech” protected by the First Amendment. Chapters 2 and 3 trace various disjointed roots of the unarticulated doctrine from the mists of history up until the Supreme Court’s first attempt to coalesce and synthesize disparate rulings into what had the appearance of a single doctrine, the landmark 1942 case Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire. Chapters 4 through 7 trace the development of the doctrine, while still unnamed, from Chaplinsky in 1942 to the verge of the Supreme Court’s next attempt, in 2010, at synthesizing the doctrine into a coherent and comprehensive articulation. That 68-year period witnessed the evolution of the excluded categories articulated in Chaplinsky, the rise and fall of an additional category, the enduring recognition of more categories, the rejection of others, and methods developed by the Supreme Court to control the categorical boundaries. Thus, Chapters 4 through 7 travel the jurisprudential path from Chaplinsky to the verge of United States v. Stevens. Chapters 8 and 9 consider the two modern, somewhat comprehensive attempts by the Supreme Court to synthesize the various rules and holdings into a single, coherent doctrine: United States v. Stevens (2010) and United States v. Alvarez (2012). Chapter 10 features a proposal for a simplified, coherent approach to the modern Doctrine of Categorical Exclusion——determining what speech falls in the “First Amendment Free Zone” that is outside the freedom of speech protected by the Constitution. The chapter explains how a simplified approach would promote Speech Clause values and bring greater order and predictability to this aspect of the First Amendment

Glomerular cell number in normal subjects and in type 1 diabetic patients

Glomerular cell number in normal subjects and in type 1 diabetic patients.BackgroundThe number of cells in glomeruli has been a challenging measure, especially in human kidneys, with only a small amount of tissue obtained by biopsy. However, the number of cells and their function are important determinants of renal function in health and disease.MethodsModern morphometric techniques have now provided the means to determine the numerical density (Nv) and number (with a measure of glomerular volume) of endothelial cells, mesangial cells, and podocytes in plastic-embedded renal tissue biopsied from nondiabetic subjects (N = 36) and type 1 diabetic patients (N = 46) over an extended age range from childhood through late adult.ResultsNv values for all glomerular cells varied only slightly with age and did not change within the range of glomerular lesions of diabetes studied. Thus, the increase in glomerular volume during childhood to a steady level thereafter was the primary determinant of total glomerular cell number. The number of mesangial cells and endothelial cells increased with age, reflecting the increase in all cells, while the podocytes remained unchanged in number over all ages studied (10 to 69 years). Numbers of total glomerular cells, mesangial cells, and endothelial cells were not changed with diabetes, while podocytes were fewer in number in diabetic patients of all ages, with reduced podocyte numbers even in diabetes of short duration.ConclusionsThe essentially constant glomerular cell density in nondiabetic and diabetic subjects under different circumstances possibly indicates an underlying propensity for the glomerulus to regulate its architecture to maintain a constant number of cells per volume, no matter the size of the glomerulus or the severity of diabetic nephropathy studied in this set of patients. The reductions in podocyte numbers in both younger and older diabetic patients indicate a significant risk for functional abnormalities as diabetic nephropathy progresses. Moreover, these observations do not support the suggestion of marked increases in glomerular cell number (and especially mesangial cells) with the development and progression of diabetic nephropathy

Multiphoton microfabrication of conducting polymer-based biomaterials

We report the application of multiphoton microfabrication to prepare conducting polymer (CP)-based biomaterials that were capable of drug delivery and interacting with brain tissue ex vivo, thereby highlighting the potential of multiphoton lithography to prepare electroactive biomaterials which may function as implantable neural biointerfaces (e.g. electrodes)