Naturalistic Face Learning in Infants and Adults.

Everyday face recognition presents a difficult challenge because faces vary naturally in appearance as a result of changes in lighting, expression, viewing angle, and hairstyle. We know little about how humans develop the ability to learn faces despite natural facial variability. In the current study, we provide the first examination of attentional mechanisms underlying adults' and infants' learning of naturally varying faces. Adults (n = 48) and 6- to 12-month-old infants (n = 48) viewed videos of models reading a storybook; the facial appearance of these models was either high or low in variability. Participants then viewed the learned face paired with a novel face. Infants showed adultlike prioritization of face over nonface regions; both age groups fixated the face region more in the high- than low-variability condition. Overall, however, infants showed less ability to resist contextual distractions during learning, which potentially contributed to their lack of discrimination between the learned and novel faces. Mechanisms underlying face learning across natural variability are discussed.

Presenting Research Paper: Learning the steps.

For a beginner, presenting a research paper at a conference as a podium presentation can be a daunting task. She is required to choose an appropriate conference for presentation, prepare an abstract, prepare slides and the speech that goes parallel with the slides and train oneself to answer questions posed by the audience. She has also got to overcome the fear of speaking in public and conquer the phobia of encountering a hostile audience ready to shred her paper to pieces. This communication intends to provide useful tips on how to go about preparing and presenting a research paper. Almost every conference has at least one slot reserved for oral or podium presentation of research papers. These podium presentation sessions are important for the presenters, organizers as well as for the attending delegates (Table 1). For the beginners and the recently-initiated, the challenge of organizing all the data and ideas for presentation in less than 10 minutes, might seem overwhelming. Added to that would be the anxiety of speaking in front of a crowd consisting of experts and above all, to be prepared to answer searching questions posed by the delegates. Through this communication, we intend to provide a supporting framework for the beginners about how to go about such scientific presentations, which are so vital for one's career and above all, for advancement of science. Once your research project is over, findings analyzed and report written; you should be on the lookout for conferences where presenting your research would be of relevance and interest to the delegates. But even before the conference is chosen, you could start thinking about the process of presentation.

Creating Posters for Effective Scientific Communication.

A scientific poster is a summary of one's research that is presented in a visually engaging manner. Posters are presented as a means of short and quick scientific communications at conferences and scientific meetings. Presenting posters has advantages for the presenters and for conference attendees and organizers. It also plays a part in dissemination of research findings and furthering science. An effective poster is the one that focuses on a single message and conveys it through a concise and artistically attractive manner. This communication intends to provide tips on creating an effective poster to young scientists.

Intervention experiences among children with congenital and neonatal conditions impacting brain development: patterns of service utilization, barriers and future directions.

OBJECTIVE: The current study examined reported patterns of utilization and barriers to early and school-age interventions, as well as directions for future care, among families of children with congenital or neonatal conditions with known-risk for poor neurocognitive development. The impact of the child's severity of injury, condition and adaptive functioning, as well as family sociodemographic factors were considered. METHODS: The sample included 62 parents (53 mothers, 5 fathers, 4 mother-father pairs) of children diagnosed with neonatal stroke, hypoxia ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), and congenital heart disease (CHD) ranging in age between 3 to 9 years (mean age = 4.5 years, SD = 1.82). RESULTS: In this sample, approximately 80% of children were reported to have had utilized one or more therapies. The most frequent services utilized included: (a) speech and language therapy, (b) occupational therapy, and (c) physical therapy. Less than 10% of sample reported utilizing any psychological therapies. Common family barriers to all interventions included time off work, lack of childcare, and transportation. Parents of children with more severe injury or condition reported that their children were utilizing a greater number of interventions and also perceived a greater number of barriers. Over half of the parents expressed a need for more parent support groups, remote psychosocial services, and individualized psychological therapy for themselves or their family. CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight patterns of utilization and perceived gaps in early and school-age interventions for children with congenital or neonatal conditions that impact neurodevelopment. Direction for clinical care and improved intervention opportunities are discussed.

Sequential biological process for molybdenum extraction from hydrodesulphurization spent catalyst.

Spent catalyst bioleaching with Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans has been widely studied and low Mo leaching has often been reported. This work describes an enhanced extraction of Mo via a two stage sequential process for the bioleaching of hydrodesulphurization spent catalyst containing Molybdenum, Nickel and, Aluminium. In the first stage, two-step bioleaching was performed using Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, and achieved 89.4% Ni, 20.9% Mo and 12.7% Al extraction in 15 days. To increase Mo extraction, the bioleached catalyst was subjected to a second stage bioleaching using Escherichia coli, during which 99% of the remaining Mo was extracted in 25 days. This sequential bioleaching strategy selectively extracted Ni in the first stage and Mo in the second stage, and is a more environmentally friendly alternative to sequential chemical leaching with alkaline reagents for improved Mo extraction. Kinetic modelling to establish the rate determining step in both stages of bioleaching showed that in the first stage, Mo extraction was chemical reaction controlled whereas in the subsequent stage, product layer diffusion model provided the best fit.