Changing state disruption of lip-reading by irrelevant sound in perceptual and memory tasks

Three experiments investigated irrelevant sound interference of lip-read lists. In Experiment 1, an acoustically changing sequence of nine irrelevant utterances was more disruptive to spoken immediate identification of lists of nine lip-read digits than nine repetitions of the same utterances (the changing-state effect; Jones, Madden, & Miles, 1992). Experiment 2 replicated this finding when lip-read items were sampled with replacement from the nine digits to form the lip-read lists. In Experiment 3, when the irrelevant sound was confined to the retention interval of a delayed recall task, a changing-state pattern of disruption also occurred. Results confirm a changing-state effect in memory for lip-read items but also point to the possibility that, for lip-reading, changing-state effects may occur at an earlier, perceptual stage.

The language of science

Some aspects of the use and misuse of scientific language are discussed, particularly in relation to quantity calculus, the names and symbols for quantities and units, and the choice of units – including the possible use of non-SI units. The discussion is intended to be constructive, and to suggest ways in which common usage can be improved.

Potential energy functions for ground state surfaces of HCO and HNO

Analytical potential functions are reported for the ground state surfaces of HCO and HNO, the functions being derived from spectroscopic and ab initio data. Harmonized force fields have been deduced for the stable configurations of both molecules and vibration frequencies predicted for the metastable species COH and NOH.

Solid-state interconversions of coordination networks and hydrogen-bonded salts

Thermal or chemical treatment of crystalline 4,4-bipyridinium salts of [MCl4]2- (M=Co, Zn, Fe, or Pt) leads to HCl loss and formation of coordination network solids [{MCl2(4,4-bipy)}n]. For M=Co, Zn, and Fe, these solids can also be prepared by mechanochemical means. Their exposure to HCl vapor or the mechanochemical reaction of metal dichlorides with [4,4-H2bipy]Cl2 gives [4,4-H2bipy]2+ salts of [CoCl4]2-, [ZnCl4]2-, and, for the first time, [FeCl4]2-.