Showing papers by "Miami University published in 1998"

High Molecular Weight Plant Polyphenolics (Tannins) as Biological Antioxidants.

Abstract: Representative condensed and hydrolyzable tannins and related simple phenolics were evaluated as biological antioxidants using cyclic voltammetry, the metmyoglobin assay, and the deoxyribose assay. The redox potentials of the tannins were similar to those of structurally related simple phenolics. However, the tannins were 15-30 times more effective at quenching peroxyl radicals than simple phenolics or Trolox. One of the tannins, polygalloyl glucose, reacted an order of magnitude more quickly with hydroxyl radical than mannitol. These results suggest that tannins, which are found in many plant-based foods and beverages, are potentially very important biological antioxidants.

Psychological Attachment to the Group: Cross-Cultural Differences in Organizational Identification and Subjective Norms as Predictors of Workers' Turnover Intentions

Abstract: Two studies used the theory of reasoned action, social identity theory, and Ash forth and Mael's work on organizational identification to predict turnover intentions in Japanese and British commercial and academic organizations In both studies and in both countries, the authors expected and found that identification with the organization substantially and significantly predicted turnover intentions Attitudes predicted intentions only in Study 2, and subjective norms significantly predicted intentions across both studies The authors hypothesized that subjective norms would be a significantly stronger predictor of turnover intentions in a collectivist setting This prediction was supported Although social identity is strongly associated with turnover intentions across both cultures, the subjective normative aspects of group membership are significantly more strongly associated in the Japanese organizations

Responsiveness in psychotherapy.

Abstract: Human interaction, including psychotherapy, is systematically responsive; therapists' and clients' behavior is influenced by emerging context, including perceptions of each other's characteristics and behavior. Feedback and mutual influence occur on a wide range of time scales, including treatment assignment, strategy, and tactics, -and even within the delivery of interventions. Consequently, research that assumes linear relations among psychotherapeutic variables may not be trustworthy. The concept of responsiveness helps show how client characteristics, therapist characteristics, and process components may be important in psychotherapy despite a lack of linear relations to outcomes. Research strategies that incorporate responsiveness include the use of evaluative measures, systems approaches, and qualitative and narrative approaches.

Mechanisms of protein precipitation for two tannins, pentagalloyl glucose and epicatechin 16 (4 leads to 8) catechin (procyanidin)

Abstract: The precipitates that form when purified pentagalloylglucose or a purified procyanidin [epicatechin16 (4→8) catechin; EC16-C] are mixed with bovine serum albumin were quantitatively analyzed. EC16-C is a more efficient protein precipitating agent than pentagalloylglucose on a molar or a mass basis. EC16-C precipitates protein independently of temperature and presence of organic solvent. Precipitation by pentagalloylglucose increases as temperature is increased and decreases when alcohols are present. When tannin is in excess, up to 40 mol of pentagalloylglucose is bound per mole of protein precipitated, but only 20 mol of EC16-C is bound per mole of protein precipitated. The data support different models of precipitation for the two types of tannin: pentagalloylglucose, which is very nonpolar, precipitates by forming a hydrophobic coat around the protein, whereas the much more polar EC16-C forms hydrogen-bonded cross-links between protein molecules. Keywords: Polyphenol−protein interaction; tannin; penta...

Revised definition of optical flow: integration of radiometric and geometric cues for dynamic scene analysis

Abstract: Optical flow has been commonly defined as the apparent motion of image brightness patterns in an image sequence. In this paper, we propose a revised definition to overcome shortcomings in interpreting optical flow merely as a geometric transformation field. The new definition is a complete representation of geometric and radiometric variations in dynamic imagery. We argue that this is more consistent with the common interpretation of optical flow induced by various scene events. This leads to a general framework for the investigation of problems in dynamic scene analysis, based on the integration and unified treatment of both geometric and radiometric cues in time-varying imagery. We discuss selected models, including the generalized dynamic image model, for the estimation of optical flow. We show how various 3D scene information are encoded in, and thus may be extracted from, the geometric and radiometric components of optical flow. We provide selected examples based on experiments with real images.

User-Centered Technology: A Rhetorical Theory for Computers and Other Mundane Artifacts

Abstract: From the Publisher: User-Centered Technology presents a theoretical model for examining technology through a user perspective. Johnson begins with a historical overview of the problem of technological use from the ancient Greeks to the present day - a problem seen most clearly in historical discussions of rhetoric theory. The central portion of the book elaborates on user-centered theory by defining three focal issues of the theory: user knowledge, human-technology interaction, and technological determinism. Working from an interdisciplinary perspective, Johnson uses rhetoric theory to present a definition of user knowledge; human factors engineering to illuminate the ideological presuppositions built into technology design; and history, philosophy, and sociology to explain technological determinism, possibly the greatest impediment to user-centered technology development in modern times. The latter part of the book applies user-centered theory in two contexts: the nonacademic sphere, where the writing and design of computer user documentation is discussed, and the academic sphere, through a discussion of how user-centered concepts might drive university technical communication and composition curricula.

Sources of Sport-Confidence: Conceptualization and Instrument Development

Abstract: The purposes of this study were to identify sources of self-confidence in athletes within the sport-confidence framework of Vealey (1986, 1988), develop a reliable and valid measure of sources of sport-confidence, and extend the conceptual framework of sport-confidence to include sources and test predictions within the expanded model. In Phases 1, 2, and 3 of the study, the preliminary conceptual basis for sources of sport-confidence was developed and initial psychometric evidence supported the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the Sources of Sport-Confidence Questionnaire (SSCQ) with 335 college athletes. In Phase 4, a confirmatory factor analysis supported the hypothesized nine-factor structure of the SSCQ using 208 high school basketball players as participants. The theoretical and practical significance of certain sources of confidence in building stable and enduring self-confidence and motivation in sport are discussed based on the study results.

Culture in nonhuman primates

Abstract: ▪ Abstract Cultural primatology is hypothesized on the basis of social learning of group-specific behavior by nonhuman primates, especially in nature. Scholars ask different questions in testing this idea: what? (anthropologists), how? (psychologists), and why? (zoologists). Most evidence comes from five genera: Cebus (capuchin monkeys), Macaca (macaque monkeys), Gorilla (gorilla), Pongo (orangutan), and Pan (chimpanzees). Two species especially, Japanese monkey (Macaca fuscata) and chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), show innovation, dissemination, standardization, durability, diffusion, and tradition in both subsistence and nonsubsistence activities, as revealed by decades of longitudinal study.

Overexpression, Purification, and Characterization of the Cloned Metallo-β-Lactamase L1 from Stenotrophomonas maltophilia

Abstract: The metallo-beta-lactamase L1 from Stenotrophomonas maltophilia was cloned, overexpressed, and characterized by spectrometric and biochemical techniques. Results of metal analyses were consistent with the cloned enzyme having 2 mol of tightly bound Zn(II) per monomer. Gel filtration chromatography demonstrated that the cloned enzyme exists as a tightly held tetramer with a molecular mass of ca. 115 kDa, and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization and time-of-flight mass spectrometry indicated a monomeric molecular mass of 28.8 kDa. Steady-state kinetic studies with a number of diverse penicillin and cephalosporin antibiotics demonstrated that L1 effectively hydrolyzes all tested compounds, with k(cat)/Km values ranging between 0.002 and 5.5 microM(-1) s(-1). These characteristics of the recombinant enzyme are contrasted to those previously reported for metallo-beta-lactamases isolated directly from S. maltophilia.

Alliance structure assessed by the Agnew Relationship Measure (ARM)

Abstract: Objectives. We used a new instrument, the Agnew Relationship Measure (ARM), to examine the alliance's dimensionality and to construct scales for use in future studies. Design. We studied the alliance as reported on the ARM by both clients and therapists in the Second Sheffield Psychotherapy Project, a randomized comparison of two contrasting time-limited psychotherapies for depression. Methods. Clients (N = 95) and therapists (N = 5) completed parallel forms of the (ARM) after every session (N = 1120). Results. Five scales were constructed, based on results of simultaneous components analyses and considerations of conceptual coherence and comparability across client and therapist perspectives. Conclusions. Bond, partnership, and confidence overlapped statistically (consistent with previous studies), but there are conceptual and empirical reasons for retaining the distinctions. Openness represented a relatively independent dimension. The client initiative scale had low internal consistency but the items may have value for future investigations.

Influence of perceived coaching behaviors on burnout and competitive anxiety in female college athletes

Abstract: The focus of this study is on burnout experienced by athletes and coaches, and particularly on how athletes' perceptions of their coach's behavior and communication style may relate to levels of burnout and anxiety experienced by athletes. A modified version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory was used to measure burnout in coaches and the Eades Athletic Burnout Inventory was used to measure six components of burnout in athletes. Three multivariate analyses supported links in the study model. Coach burnout was significantly related to perceived coaching styles/behavior, perceived coaching styles/behavior was predictive of athlete burnout, and athlete anxiety and athlete burnout were significantly related. Interestingly, perceived coaching style/behavior was not a significant predictor of athlete anxiety. The results are discussed in relation to psychometric issues in the measure of bumout and coaching behavior as well as the need for sport psychology researchers to examine burnout from within a soci...

Biological ice nucleation and ice distribution in cold-hardy ectothermic animals

Abstract: For many ectotherms, overwintering survival depends on the avoidance or regulation of ice nucleation and growth within their body fluids Freeze avoidance via supercooling plays an important role in the cold hardiness of many small species, particularly terrestrial arthropods, that do not survive the freezing of their body fluids In contrast, mechanisms that limit supercooling and initiate freezing at relatively high temperatures promote survival of the few invertebrates and vertebrates that tolerate freezing These mechanisms include inoculative freezing, which results from contact with ice in the environment, and various ice nucleating proteins, microbes, and crystalloid compounds In freeze-tolerant ectotherms, cold hardiness is influenced by complex, seasonally changing interactions among physiological factors, ice nucleators, and the physical microenvironment Extraorgan sequestration of ice is a major adaptation of freeze tolerance For most freeze-tolerant species, ice growth is primarily restricted to extracellular compartments; however, intracellular freezing also occurs in some species

Empirically Violated Treatments: Disenfranchisement of Humanistic and Other Psychotherapies

Abstract: It is argued that the criteria for “empirically validated treatments” are restrictive and scientifically unjustified, could disenfranchise therapies which do not share the Division 12 task force's assumptions about the nature of psychotherapy, and will stifle psychological research. The criteria are based on a medical-like meta-model of psychotherapy designed to appeal to the managed-care market, but are inappropriate for therapies whose primary focus is not to “cure disorder.” We argue that empirical support for a therapy should include research based on methods compatible with the assumptions of the therapy, in particular on what it means to say that a given therapy “works.” Neither manualization nor the requirement of targeting therapy for treating specific disorders necessarily fit with humanistic assumptions. Natural science methodology also should not be privileged over human science methodology. Under criteria other than those of the task force there is considerable empirical support for humanistic...

Loss of tannins and other phenolics from willow leaf litter

Abstract: A litter bag experiment was conducted to determine the fate of condensed tannins during the initial phase of willow leaf decomposition. Chemical methods and HPLC were used to identify and quantify the phenolics in aqueous acetone extracts of the leaves during the first eight weeks after leaf fall. Extractable phenolics and tannins were lost rapidly from the leaves and had half lives of about 2.4 weeks. Lower molecular weight tannins were lost more rapidly than higher molecular weight tannins, suggesting that the primary route for loss of tannins is leaching. There was no evidence for decomposition of the tannin during the leaf decay process. After leaching, the tannin apparently sorbs tightly to the soil.

Parental Beliefs and Children's Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity

Abstract: The present study was guided by the Family Influence Model to examine the role of parental beliefs in their children's moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). The specific purposes were to (1) examine the nature of a parental belief system that may be relevant to children's MVPA participation, (2) determine if parental beliefs regarding their children's MVPA are gender related, (3) examine the relationship between parents' exercise behavior and children's MVPA participation, and (4) investigate the strength of the relationship between parental beliefs and children's self-reported MVPA. The participants for this study included 81 children (26 girls and 55 boys) between the ages of 11 and 15 years and their parents (n = 142). Significant findings were: (1) descriptive evidence of a parental belief system for children's MVPA existed, (2) mothers and fathers differed in their MVPA-related beliefs for their child, (3) no relationship was found between parents' exercise behavior and children's M...

Edge detection in medical images using a genetic algorithm

Abstract: An algorithm is developed that detects well-localized, unfragmented, thin edges in medical images based on optimization of edge configurations using a genetic algorithm (GA). Several enhancements were added to improve the performance of the algorithm over a traditional GA. The edge map is split into connected subregions to reduce the solution space and simplify the problem. The edge-map is then optimized in parallel using incorporated genetic operators that perform transforms on edge structures. Adaptation is used to control operator probabilities based on their participation. The GA was compared to the simulated annealing (SA) approach using ideal and actual medical images from different modalities including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), and ultrasound. Quantitative comparisons were provided based on the Pratt figure of merit and on the cost-function minimization. The detected edges were thin, continuous, and well localized. Most of the basic edge features were detected, Results for different medical image modalities are promising and encourage further investigation to improve the accuracy and experiment with different cost functions and genetic operators.

Foreign Language Learning Difficulties An Historical Perspective

Abstract: For 10 years, the authors of this article have examined cognitive, affective, and linguistic influences on foreign language learning. They have proposed the Linguistic Coding Differences Hypothesis (LCDH) as a model for understanding foreign language learning problems. The authors review their empirical support for the LCDH and explain the diagnostic, pedagogical, and policy implications of their research.

Relations of the alliance with psychotherapy outcome: findings in the Second Sheffield Psychotherapy Project

Abstract: Clients (n = 79) and therapists (n = 5) rated their alliance using parallel forms of the Agnew Relationship Measure (ARM) after every session of their time-limited psychodynamic-interpersonal or cognitive-behavioral treatments for depression. The ARM assesses 5 dimensions of the alliance: Bond, Partnership, Confidence, Openness, and Client Initiative. Treatment outcome was assessed as residual gain from pretreatment assessment to end of treatment, 3-month follow-up, and 1-year follow-up on 6 standard measures. Some aspects of the alliance as measured by the ARM were correlated with clients' gains in treatment. The strength of the association varied across assessment measures, occasions of outcome assessment, ARM scales, and the session number when the alliance was measured.

Genotypic and Phenotypic Responses of a Riverine Microbial Community to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Contamination

Abstract: The phenotypic and genotypic adaptation of a freshwater sedimentary microbial community to elevated (22 to 217 μg g [dry weight] of sediment−1) levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was determined by using an integrated biomolecular approach. Central to the approach was the use of phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profiles to characterize the microbial community structure and nucleic acid analysis to quantify the frequency of degradative genes. The study site was the Little Scioto River, a highly impacted, channelized riverine system located in central Ohio. This study site is a unique lotic system, with all sampling stations having similar flow and sediment characteristics both upstream and downstream from the source of contamination. These characteristics allowed for the specific analysis of PAH impact on the microbial community. PAH concentrations in impacted sediments ranged from 22 to 217 μg g (dry weight) of sediment−1, while PAH concentrations in ambient sediments ranged from below detection levels to 1.5 μg g (dry weight) of sediment−1. Total microbial biomass measured by phospholipid phosphate (PLP) analysis ranged from 95 to 345 nmol of PLP g (dry weight) of sediment−1. Nucleic acid analysis showed the presence of PAH-degradative genes at all sites, although observed frequencies were typically higher at contaminated sites. Principal component analysis of PLFA profiles indicated that moderate to high PAH concentrations altered microbial community structure and that seasonal changes were comparable in magnitude to the effects of PAH pollution. These data indicate that this community responded to PAH contamination at both the phenotypic and the genotypic level.

Recent trends in Australian region tropical cyclone activity

Abstract: The number of tropical cyclones observed in the Australian region (south of equator; 105–160° E) has apparently declined since the start of reliable (satellite) observations in the 1969/70 season. However, the number of more intense cyclones (with minimum pressures dropping to 970 hPa or lower) has increased slightly. The numbers of weak (minimum pressures not dropping below 990 hPa) and moderate systems (minimum pressures between 970 and 990 hPa) have declined. Possible reasons for these different trends are discussed. The decline in the number of weaker cyclones may at least partly reflect improved understanding of the nature of some weak systems. The decline in the number of cyclones more intense than 990 hPa primarily reflects the downward trend in the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI). Previous work has demonstrated that the number of tropical cyclones observed in the Australian region each cyclone season is related to the value of the SOI prior to the start of the cyclone season. This relationship is clearest with the number of moderate cyclones. The SOI is only weakly related to the number of intense or weak cyclones. The increase in the number of intense cyclones is not attributable to the trend in the SOI. Nor is there clear reason, at present, to suspect that it is artificial (i.e., due to changes in observing or analysis techniques).

Assimilation analysis of process-experiential psychotherapy: a comparison of two cases

Abstract: The assimilation model proposes a sequence of cognitive/affective levels through which a problematic experience is assimilated into a schema during successful psychotherapy. This research applied the assimilation model to two cases of process-experiential psychotherapy—one that was successful and one that was unsuccessful, according to conventional outcome criteria. Qualitative analysis of the successful client's transcripts suggested that assimilation occurred in at least three problematic experiences. Analysis of three themes in the nominally unsuccessful therapy suggested that the client made progress but that assimilation was blocked at two levels of the assimilation sequence. Das Assimilationsmodell setzt eine Sequenz kognitiver/affektiver Stufen voraus, uber die eine problematische Erfahrung im Verlauf einer erfolgreichen Pychotherapie in ein Schema assimiliert wird. In der vorliegenden Studie wird das Assimilationsmodell auf zwei Falle aus einer prozess-erfahrungsorientierten Psychotherapie angewan...

Alliance Advantage: The Art of Creating Value through Partnering

Abstract: The article reviews the book ‘Alliance Adventure: The Art of Creating Value Through Partnering,' by Yves L. Doz and Gary Hamel.

Differences in native-language skills, foreign-language aptitude, and foreign-language grades among high-, average-, and low-proficiency foreign-language learners: two studies

Abstract: Two studies examined the extent to which there would be differences in native language skills, foreign-language aptitude, and final foreign-language grades among high-school students completing a second year of a foreign-language course and identified as high-, average-, and low-proficiency learners. Oral and written proficiency measures in Spanish, French, and German were designed and administered by trained evaluators. The first study involved 60 females who attended a private, single-sex suburban high school; the second involved a coeducational population of 36 students in a suburban public2 school. Results showed overall differences among the three proficiency groups on native-language and foreign-language aptitude measures. Most group differences were between high- and lowproficiency learners, although high vs average and average vs low groups differed on some measures. There were also group differences in final grades at end of both first-year and second-year foreign-language courses. Discriminant a...

Age Differences in Decision Making: To Take a Risk or Not?

Abstract: A controlled laboratory experiment was used to assess the efficacy of the cognitive processes that underlie risk taking decision making in young and elderly people. Thirty-six participants took part in the study; half the subjects were elderly (mean age of 74) and the other half were young adults (mean age of 19). The elderly participants made equivalent decisions to those of the control young adults. Both age-groups of participants systematically and comparably changed their behavior as a function of risk levels. Furthermore, the elderly participants, relative to young adults, did not exhibit any slowing down in the speed of processing the information involved in making risk taking decisions, reflecting that healthy elderly people are cognitively apt to making risk taking decisions. Both age-groups took comparably less time on the easy trials (trials with either low or high levels of risk) and comparably more time on the difficult trials (trials with medium levels of risk).

Outside Directors and CEO Selection

Abstract: This paper documents a strong positive relation between the percentage of outside directors and the frequency of outside CEO succession. The likelihood that an executive from outside the firm is appointed CEO increases monotonically with the percentage of outside directors. This monotonic relation is observed for both voluntary and forced departures. Evidence from stock returns around succession announcements indicates that, on average, shareholders benefit from outside appointments, but are harmed when an insider replaces a fired CEO.

The sampling of critical, unshared information in decision-making groups: the role of an informed minority

Abstract: A collective information sampling model and observations of discussion content suggest that decision-making groups often fail to disseminate unshared information. This paper examines the role that a fully-informed minority may play in facilitating the sampling and consideration of unshared information. University students read a mystery and then met in four-person groups to discuss the case. When critical clues were unshared among three members before discussion, a fully informed fourth member (informed minority) promoted the discussion of these critical clues when participants thought the mystery had a demonstrably correct answer (solve set) but not when they thought the clue may have been insufficient to solve definitively the case (judge set). None the less, under both solve and judge sets, the informed minority increased the likelihood that the group would identify the correct suspect. Social combination, information sampling, and minority influence interpretations of the results are discussed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.