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The article argues for broadening the role of alternatives in assessing dangerous products under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to end pesticide myopia. Topics discussed include pesticide risk assessment under FIFRA, history of NRDC v. EPA that led to the cancellation of tetrachlorvinphos pet collars, role of innovation in pesticides, consumer knowledge of products, and legal avenue to consider the presence of alternatives in registration and cancellations.

Successful goal-directed visual behavior depends on efficient disengagement of attention. Attention must be withdrawn from its current focus before being redeployed to a new object or internal process. Previous research has demonstrated that occupying cognitive processes with a secondary cellular phone conversation impairs attentional functioning and driving behavior. For example, attentional processing is significantly impacted by concurrent cell phone use, resulting in decreased explicit memory for on-road information. Here, we examined the impact of a critical component of cell-phone use—active listening—on the effectiveness of attentional disengagement. In the gap task—a saccadic manipulation of attentional disengagement—we measured saccade latencies while participants performed a secondary active listening task. Saccadic latencies significantly increased under an active listening load only when attention needed to be disengaged, indicating that active listening delays a disengagement operation. Simple dual-task interference did not account for the observed results. Rather, active cognitive engagement is required for measurable disengagement slowing to be observed. These results have implications for investigations of attention, gaze behavior, and distracted driving. Secondary tasks such as active listening or cell-phone conversations can have wide-ranging impacts on cognitive functioning, potentially impairing relatively elementary operations of attentional function, including disengagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the importance of asking prices in transactions. Topics covered include the importance of setting prices that is justifiable in exchange for something that would be bought in case the deal pushes through, various terms used as an alternative for asking price such as sticker price or listing price and tips on negotiating bids. Also mentioned are the advantages of posted prices by sellers for the potential buyers.

Visual cues contribute to the creation of an observers egocentric reference frame, within which the locations and orientations of objects can be judged. However, these cues can also be misleading. In the rod-and-frame illusion, for example, a large tilted frame distorts the observers sense of vertical, causing an enclosed rod to appear tilted in the opposite direction. To determine the brain region responsible for processing these spatial cues, we used TMS to suppress neural activity in the superior parietal lobule of healthy observers. Stimulation of the right hemisphere, but not the left, caused a significant reduction in rod-and-frame susceptibility. In contrast, a tilt illusion caused by a mechanism that does not involve a distortion of the observers egocentric reference frame was unaffected. These results demonstrate that the right superior parietal lobule is actively involved in processing the contextual cues that contribute to our perception of egocentric space [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent financial crisis began with a fall in housing prices in 2006, followed by an increase in delinquencies on subprime mortgages in early 2007) As subprime borrowers began to default on their mortgages, the value of assets backed by these loans &dined, resulting in substantial losses on the balance sheets of many financial institutions in the United States and across the globe. However, as many have noted, these losses were too small to account for the crisis that followed? Therefore, a central challenge in the aftermath has been to understand how relatively small losses within the financial sector could be propagated and amplified to the rest of the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When a visible frame is offset laterally from an observer's objective midline, the subjective midline is pulled toward the frame's center, causing the frame and any enclosed targets to be misperceived as being shifted somewhat in the opposite direction. This illusion, the Roelofs effect, is driven by environmental (bottom-up) visual cues, but whether it can be modulated by top-down (e.g., task-relevant) information is unknown. Here, we used an attentional manipulation (i.e., the color-contingency effect) to test whether attentional filtering can modulate the magnitude of the illusion. When observers were required to report the location of a colored target, presented within an array of differently colored distractors, there was a greater effect of the illusion when the Roelofs-inducing frame was the same color as the target. These results indicate that feature-based attentional processes can modulate the impact of contextual information on an observer's perception of space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of a large‐scale instructional intervention research, this study examined elementary students’ science knowledge and awareness of social activism with regard to an increased greenhouse effect and global warming. The study involved fifth‐grade students from five elementary schools of varying demographic makeup in a large urban school district in the United States. The study was based on the analysis of students’ responses to a writing prompt addressing an increased greenhouse effect and global warming at the beginning of and at the completion of instruction over the school year. The results indicate that students with adequate science knowledge tended to express activism more frequently, and that their expression of activism increased as they gained better science knowledge after the instruction. The results highlight the importance of effective instruction of this contemporary and controversial issue with K‐12 students, so that they come to be aware of this societal problem, take action in solving the problem, and become socially responsible youth and adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the measures taken by scientific societies in organizing their conferences to help address the problem of global climatic changes. The Ecological Society of America (ESA) has examined the environmental impact of its annual meeting by using soy-based inks and advising host hotels to change linen less frequently. On the other hand, the American Geophysical Union (AGU) wanted to try webcasting in some conference sessions to make it more convenient for people to observe them from their homes.

The article focuses on the aspects attributed to the decreased in number of students majoring in computer science and the means initiated by several schools in the U.S. to address the situation. Experts suggest that such decline is due to students concerns about job prospects, increased offshoring and the influx of cheap skilled labor from abroad. Computer scientist Owen Astrachan stresses that the lack of interest is another key component. In response to this condition, the Brooklyn College and Georgia Tech have spiced up their computer science classes with gaming, media and manipulation. At Bryn Mawr College, the sexiness of robots was used to lure students into computer science.

Highlights • An offset visual frame distorts an observer’s apparent midline. • Resulting illusion affects perceived location of the frame and enclosed targets. • Actions remain accurate due to a cancellation of perceptual and motor guidance errors. • Illusion susceptibility is associated with the systemizing trait of autism. Abstract The visual image provides important cues for an observer’s sense of location and orientation within the world. Occasionally, though, these cues can be misleading, resulting in illusions. In the Roelofs and induced Roelofs effects, for example, a large illuminated frame, offset from the observer’s midline in otherwise complete darkness, tends to bias the observer’s judgment of straight ahead, causing the position of the frame, and anything contained within it, to be misperceived. Studies of these illusions have provided much insight into the processes that establish an observer’s egocentric reference frame, and the manner in which object locations are encoded relative to this frame for perception and action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Driving mode on a mobile phone resulted in lower visual attention demand and subjective ratings of distraction compared to a mobile phone without driving mode. • Voice-based driving mode had the lowest visual attention demand and subjective ratings of distraction. • Driving mode interfaces that rely on visual-manual interactions can also reduce visual demand and subjective ratings of distraction. • The tactile detection response task measures of cognitive load were inconclusive. Mobile phone apps and operating systems are increasingly adopting driving mode functions that attempt to reduce driver visual and cognitive demand by limiting functionality, using larger buttons and icons, and adding voice-based interactions. The present study assessed the visual and cognitive demands and the subjective level of distraction from two driving mode implementations (voice or manual) on an Android™ mobile phone using Google Assistant™, compared to a typical mobile phone operating system experience. While driving on a test track, participants performed several trials of five tasks on each of three interfaces: A mobile operating system interface, a manual driving mode interface, and a voice driving mode interface. Visual demand was measured with eye-gaze recordings, cognitive load was measured with the detection response task, and a Likert scale was used to rate the perceived level of distraction. The voice driving mode resulted in the lowest visual attention demand and lowest subjective ratings of distraction. The manual driving mode condition also reduced visual demand and subjective ratings of distraction relative to the mobile operating system condition. The cognitive load results were inconsistent across the task and interaction mode conditions. Overall, the results of this study provide positive evidence in support of voice-based driving mode implementations for reducing visual demand and subjective levels of distraction from mobile devices while driving. Moreover, the results suggest that manual driving mode implementations also have the potential to reduce visual demand and subjective levels of distraction, relative to the mobile operating system condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the decision of District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper to suspend temporarily to some restriction which allows the U.S Navy to use the mid-frequency active (MFA) sonar in southern California coast. The District Judge acted 2 days after president George W. Bush administration granted the Navy waivers from two environmental laws covered under her ruling. The MFA sonar has been linked to strandings of marine mammals which prompted environmental groups to bring it into court last March 2007 limiting the Navy its use in the exercises. However, other restrictions remain intact including a 22-kilometer-wide no sonar zone along the coast.

The article discusses restrictions imposed on the U.S. Navy to protect marine mammals from the dangers of submarine-chasing sonar technology known as mid-frequency active (MFA). The author mentions that a federal judge implemented restrictions on the use of MFA Sonar because the researchers and environmental groups believe that marine species need protection. He explains that MFA sonar detects ultraquiet submarines by creating sound waves that can cause mass strandings of beaked whales and other marine mammals.

The article focuses on the criticism received by the statements made by actor and attorney Fred Thompson on issues related to climatic changes and stem cell research. On his statement related to the genetic reprogramming of skin cells, which he referred as a latest edition in 73 breakthroughs for adult and core blood research, many scientists are of the view that this method misrepresents existing adult stem cell treatments. On his statement made in relation to global warming, in which he suggests the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, scientist Gavin Schmidt states that his statement is based on the faulty idea of a recent warming of the sun.

The article reports that the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland stopped the clinical trial of an AIDS vaccine made by its researchers. The authors inferred that the NIH halted the trial because a similar vaccine developed by Merck & Co. Inc. was found to increase the risk of becoming infected with HIV. However, a meeting conducted by the NIH revealed that majority of the researchers wanted to continue testing the vaccine to see if it works, but they also expressed that they will pursue a redesigned study to reduce the chance of doing harm.

The article reports the National Health Council (NHC), a consortium of medical corporations and nonprofits based in Washington, D. C., is seeking $250,000 to fund a proposed database of rejected National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants. A plan was developed by NHC wherein investigators would submit the title, abstract and other information from their rejected NIH proposals to a searchable database. According to Jo Anne Goodnight of NIH's Office of Extramural Research, the database would allow smaller organizations to leverage the NIH peer-review process.

The article reports on the plan of the University of Hawaii (UH) in Manoa, Hawaii to construct a U.S. Navy-affiliated research laboratory called the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL). The university's Board of Regents finally approved the construction of the laboratory near one of the system's 10 campuses. It is expected that the ARL will generate $10 million annually for three to five years in research funds from the U.S. Navy and other agencies such as the National Institutes of Health. UH vice president for research, James Gaines, assured that the laboratory will raise the institution's profile.

The article reports on the decision of the British University and College Union (UCU) to drop efforts to boycott exchanges with Israeli researchers in Great Britain. The debate on the issue was terminated after lawyers advised that UCU risked violating British antidiscrimination laws. It is noted that the proposal was circulated in May 2007 as a protest of Israeli policies toward Palestinians. Chemist Yoram Cohen of Tel Aviv University in Israel, is happy that collaborations have continued despite the talk of barriers.

The article reports on the expectation of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that a sister agency will fund its new biomedical research aboard the international space station. Intricately, the agreement between NASA and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) intends to open doors for NIH-funded scientists proposing projects to take advantage of the station's microgravity environment. Cell biologist and president-elect of the American Society for Gravitational and Space Biology, Danny Riley, believes that funding will come if the grants are competitive and highly meritorious. In connection, the station is scheduled to open for business in 2011.

The article reports on the court ruling issued by a federal court of appeals regarding the use of sonar in United States Navy exercises off the southern California coasts. The ruling was issued despite of the environmental risks that the exercise may pose. Sonar noise may harm whales and would destroy their habitat forcing them to go elsewhere. The 9th United States Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to stay an injunction by a district court. The majority argues that the public may be concern about whales but they also have an interest in national defense.

The article reports that Google Inc., in partnership with three astronomical teams, has created a new feature for star gazers in its software Google Earth's interface. The tool offers an easily manipulated map of the sky as seen from Earth, along with constellations and the locations of famous images. Currently, images from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the Digital Sky Survey Consortium, along with about 125 of the best known Hubble space telescope shots, including the Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula, are displayed in the program. Sky could in future integrate more images from visible, infrared, ultraviolet, and x-ray observatories to make the system useful for academic scientists.

The article reports that the U.S. would contribute up to $60 million to build the Svalbard Global Seed Vault under a bill passed by the House of Representatives in Spitsbergen Island, Norway. The authorization for the 5-year contribution is enclosed into a controversial plan to change the formula for subsidizing U.S. farmers, and supporters of the seed vault are hoping that the president will seek additional funding in his 2009 budget request. This Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which will preserve 3 million seed samples from the world's crop species, is being built by Global Crop Diversity Trust.

The article underlines the extension of the associate membership of Australia to the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL). It is posed that the 7-year initial term will start in 2008, when Australia will begin sending faculty members and research fellows to EMBL's five European basic research laboratories while gaining EMBL research support. It is also mentioned that sponsors include several Australian universities and the government, which is set to spend a combined $7.2 million to fund the initial term. Iain Mattaj, EMBL's director general, acknowledged Australia's expertise in the fields of medical epidemiology and stem cell research.

Background/aim: Walking requires the integration of the sensory and motor systems. Cognitive distractions have been shown to interfere with negotiation of complex walking environments, especially in populations at greater risk for falls (e.g. the elderly). With the pervasiveness of mobile messaging and the recent introduction of augmented reality mobile gaming, it is increasingly important to understand how distraction associated with the simultaneous use of a mobile device impacts navigation of the complex walking environments experienced in daily life. In this study, we investigated how gait kinematics were altered when participants performed a texting task during step negotiation.Methods: Twenty participants (13 female, 7 males) performed a series of walking trials involving a step-deck obstacle, consisting of at least 3 texting trials and 3 non-texting trials.Results: When texting, participants ascended more slowly and demonstrated reduced dual-step foot toe clearance. Participants similarly descended more slowly when texting and demonstrated reduced single-step foot heel clearance as well as reduced dual-step foot fore-aft heel clearance.Conclusion: These data support the conclusion that texting during stair negotiation results in changes to gait kinematics that may increase the potential for gait disruptions, falls, and injury. Further research should examine the effect texting has on performing other common complex locomotor tasks, actual fall risk, and the patterns of resulting injury rate and severity when negotiating complex environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effectiveness of an idealized lane departure warning (LDW) was evaluated in an interactive fixed base driving simulator. Thirty-eight older (mean age = 77 years) and 40 younger drivers (mean age = 35 years) took four different drives/routes similar in road culture composition and hazards encountered with and without LDW. The four drives were administered over visits separated approximately by two weeks to examine changes in long-term effectiveness of LDW. Performance metrics were number of LDW activations and average correction time to each LDW. LDW reduced correction time to re-center the vehicle by 1.34 s on average (95% CI = 1.12–1.57 s) but did not reduce the number of times the drivers drifted enough in their lanes to activate the system (LDW activations). The magnitude of reductions in average correction RT was similar for older and younger drivers and did not change with repeated exposures across visits. The contribution of individual differences in basic visual and motor function, as well as cognitive function to safety gains from LDW was also examined. Cognitive speed of processing predicted lane keeping performance for older and younger drivers. Differences in memory, visuospatial construction, and executive function tended to predict performance differences among older but not younger drivers. Cognitive functioning did not predict changes in the magnitude of safety benefits from LDW over time. Implications are discussed with respect to real-world safety systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A critical issue in academic assessment is the effect of children's language and culture on their measured performance. Research on this topic has rarely focused on science education, because science is commonly (though erroneously) assumed to be "culture free." Students' scientific understandings are influenced by the cultural values, experiences, and epistemologies of their home communities. Efforts to minimize cultural bias include designing tests to be "culturally neutral" and, conversely, tailoring assessments to specific cultural groups; both approaches are theoretically and practically problematic. Several studies have focused on testing accommodations for English language learners (ELLs), but accommodations raise validity and feasibility issues and are limited by "English-only" policies. This article stresses the linkages between language and culture, drawing on contemporary literacy theory and research on scientific communities as well as groups traditionally marginalized from science. Objective: To examine how children's prior linguistic and cultural knowledge mediates their engagement with school science, as reflected in their responses on science assessments. Participants: Over 1,500 students from six elementary schools serving diverse populations. Design: Project-developed assessments included items requiring students to explain scientific phenomena. Scoring revealed that students misinterpreted some items, and scorers had difficulty understanding some students' responses. Project personnel then undertook qualitative discourse analysis of responses on all tests. Findings: Analysis revealed phonological/orthographic and semantic interference from students' home languages; responses reflecting students' cultural beliefs and practices; and "languacultural" features related to genre, authorial voice, pragmatic framing, and textual organization. Conclusions/Recommendations: Science tests inevitably contain tacit cultural and linguistic knowledge that is not equally accessible to all students. Using "real-life scenarios" in assessment items may confuse students whose lives do not reflect mainstream norms. Furthermore, English-medium assessments are unlikely to accurately measure ELLs' science knowledge. Teachers can learn to recognize factors that impede from grasping or expressing science concepts clearly. They should also ensure that all students understand the discursive and textual conventions inherent in assessment instruments. Linguistic and. cultural factors shape science knowledge not only of students but of teachers, scientists, and test developers. Uncovering the factors shaping students' academic performance requires fine-grained qualitative analysis and collaboration across disciplinary boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]