Detection and apparent taste intensity of salt—acid mixtures in two media

Gustatory responses to mixtures of sodium chloride and citric acid were measured in two media of dispersion, distilled water and green bean puree, by fifteen experienced Ss. The two psychophysical methods employed, detection thresholds and apparent taste intensity, showed good agreement. Salt sharply depressed apparent sourness in both media, as well as interfering with detection of sourness. Citric acid influenced apparent saltiness in a complex manner, dependent upon concentration, media, method, and tile individual S. In water, lower concentrations of acid generally enhanced and higher concentrations depressed saltiness. Within both media, half the Ss indicated an enhancement of saltiness with increasing acidity and half indicated the reverse. Higher acid levels interfered with detection of saltiness. This biphasic response to binary taste stimuli are discussed and compared with pertinent findings from previous literature.     

A shared-memory approach to microprocessor program development

We have developed hardware and software interfaces with which part of a minicomputer’s memory can be shared among its own programs and an Intel 8080 system. Although access to this shared memory is too slow for most real-time operations, the shared area is an excellent buffer for program code to be copied to faster memory for eventual real-time execution. The shared memory can also be used to pass test data between the processors to automate the testing of 8080 program modules.     

Moderate involvement in sports is related to lower depression levels among adolescents

Sports involvement has been found to be related to social and psychological well-being in Icelandic adolescents. The present study investigated whether similar relationships exist for American adolescents. A group of 89 high school seniors completed a questionnaire that gathered data on sports involvement, depression, intimacy with parents and friends, and grade point average. It was found that the moderate sports involvement group (3 to 6 hours per week) had lower depression scores than did the low sports involvement group (2 hours or less per week). The findings are discussed.     

Two pathways to prevention

Health promotion and disease prevention programs are becoming important components of contemporary health care. There are at least 2 pathways to the enhancement of population health status through disease prevention. The first pathway requires the early diagnosis and treatment of disease. The second pathway promotes healthy lifestyles and disregards the requirement that a condition must be diagnosed before intervention is recommended. Data from several evaluations suggest that prevention efforts that rely on diagnosis have produced somewhat limited benefits, whereas primary prevention efforts may have substantial benefits. Current health policy places greater emphasis on secondary prevention. The objectives of improved population health might be better achieved by devoting relatively more resources to primary prevention through the promotion of healthy behaviors.     

The psychopathology of nostalgia

Nostalgia is distinguished from depression, of which it was originally considered a variant. It is described as a pleasurable affect involving warm memories of the past. For nostalgia to be normal, it must contain a depressive component that is related to the recognition that the past is irrevocable. In its pathological form, the mood contains only the elated aspects without the acceptance of loss, or what could be described as bittersweet sentiment. The pathological form serves mainly denial and functions like a screen affect. I have attempted to show how particular developments play a role in pathological nostalgia, namely, screen affects, ego ideal formation, and rescue and family romance fantasies. The patients that were described enlisted their nostalgic pursuits as a way of remaining close to the past. These pursuits served both a defensive function, as a way of avoiding the humiliation of oedipal and later defeats, as well as offering them instinctual gratification through fantasy.