Ongoing investigations of drunken aggression tend to focus on 1) situational cues, and 2) individual variables such as personality traits. This study investigated the hypothesis that an undergraduates attention would be pulled toward a nonconscious presentation of aggression stimuli, especially in the presence of alcohol cues, and especially if he or she was high on trait anger [as measured using the State Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI); Spielberger, 1988] and had high expectancies for behaving aggressively while drinking alcohol [as measured using the Expectancy Questionnaire for Alcohol and Aggression Lo Dose (EQAAL); Epps, Hunter, LeVasseur, Steinberg, and Hancock, unpublished manuscript]. Seventy-nine of the participants who completed questionnaires also completed one of the two computer tasks (adapted from John Bargh and associates) weeks later in either the Barroom or the Cleanroom. Attention to HiAggression words (as measured by reaction time or error rate difference scores) was significantly higher than attention to NonAggression words using the parafoveal visual task, with observed power at 1. No significant differences were found using the dichotic listening task. Additionally, there was a significant three-way interaction (Word Type X Setting X Angry Temperament) when participants where blocked according to high vs. low angry temperament scores. Follow-up analyses as well as regression analyses for the specific hypothesis provided mixed results. Individuals lower on angry temperament tended to demonstrate higher levels of attentional interference for aggression words, but only in the presence of alcohol cues. Conversely, individuals higher on angry temperament evidenced higher levels of attentional interference, but only in the absence of alcohol cues. It appears that the relationships among these variables are by no means straightforward. Studies that include an opportunity to aggress behaviorally may shed more light on whether ones level of attentional interference and self-reported personality traits can be combined to predict aggression in the presence of alcohol cues. The parafoveal visual task is recommended as the methodology of choice for these future studies.

Purpose: To improve the predictability, accuracy and stability of laser in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK), by evaluating the clinical, procedural and tissue response factors that affect refractive outcomes. Methods: Myopic LASIK surgeries (n=5,978) were carried out using the Technolas planoscan and Nidek EC-5000 excimer lasers. Clinical variables associated with a refractive outcome of within ??0.50 D of the target were identified using regression analysis. Possible procedural variations such as the timing of the procedure and accuracy of both the chosen keratome and excimer laser were evaluated. The predictability and accuracy of the ablation was assessed by measuring changes in corneal thickness during and after the procedure. Factors influencing the stability of refractive outcome were assessed. Results: Clinical factors associated with a refractive outcome of within ??0.50 D of the target included; corrections less than 5.00 DS (OR 0.21x, 95% CI 0.11-0.40x compared with corrections over -5.00 DS[referent]), patients younger than 40 years (patients over 50 OR 8.27x, 95% CI 3.41-20.03x, patients 40 to 50 years OR 1.93x, 95% CI 0.96-3.90x, compared with patients under 40[referent]) and average pre-operative curvatures between 43.50 and 45.50D (OR 0.39x, 95% CI 0.18-0.83 compared with curvatures of less than 43.50D [referent]). Refractive stability was improved using optic zone sizes between 5.5-6.0 mm, reduced myopic corrections, flatter pre-operative corneal curvatures and thicker corneal flaps (R??=25%, p&lt0.001). Procedural factors associated with poorer outcomes included: thinner measured flap thickness, deeper ablations and the use of the automated corneal shaper (ACS) microkeratome with a novice surgical team (R??=34%, p &lt 0.001). Delaying the ablation from 20 to 90 seconds (s) after flap lift was associated with a more stable refractive outcome at three months (p=0.017). In the 90 s following flap lift, the cornea thinned by 5??3%. The ablation rate per scan varied between procedures, however, the effect on refractive outcome was small (r=0.15, p=0.267). Changes in central corneal thickness indicated refractive stability (p=0.039). Conclusions: Applying the optimal clinical and procedural factors as described afforded a refractive outcome in a further 8% of cases, resulting in 94% to 96% of cases within ??0.50 DS of target. Refractive predictability was limited due to the inability of the keratome to produce a consistent corneal flap thickness and unexpected changes in corneal thickness. The accuracy of refractive outcome will decrease with larger ablations. The degree of refractive inaccuracy with high refractive corrections (&gt -10.00 D) can be over 1.00 D.

In previous research, aggregation of returns has been found as a way to counteract the risk averse behavior that is the result of investors' myopia. This paper expands the study of aggregation by analyzing its effect on forward looking probabilities. Namely, through the disaggregation of future information, subjects become myopic and trade with varying risk preferences. In an experimental market, subjects trading securities with disaggregated forward looking information are found to 'buy high and sell low', while subjects trading the same securities, but with aggregated information, trade with more consistent risk preferences.

This study provided the first direct test of the cognitive underpinnings of the attention-allocation model and attempted to replicate and extend past behavioral findings for this model as an explanation for alcohol-related aggression. Men were randomly assigned to a beverage (Alcohol, No-Alcohol Control) and a distraction (Moderate Distraction, No Distraction) condition. All men were provoked by a male confederate and completed a dot probe task and a laboratory aggression task without distraction or while presented with a moderate distraction task. Results indicated that intoxicated men whose attention was distracted displayed significantly lower levels of aggression bias and enacted significantly less physical aggression than intoxicated men whose attention was not distracted. However, aggression bias did not account for the lower levels of alcohol-related aggression in the distraction, relative to the no-distraction, condition. Discussion focused on how these data inform intervention programming for alcohol-related aggression.

In most cases, myopia is characterized by an increase in axial length of the eye, but the exact mechanisms for the axial elongation are still unknown. Higher intraocular pressure (IOP) has been associated with myopia and could be involved in eye enlargement. Also, some investigators have argued that the mechanical stresses generated by the ocular muscles during near work cause the eye to stretch out of shape. The purpose of this work was to investigate the effect of IOP on eye geometry, build a finite element model of the corneo-scleral shell of a chick eye, and verify if the eye could elongate due to increased IOP and hence become myopic. In the present study, myopia was induced in the right eye of chicks using -15 dioptre (D) goggles. The in-vitro pressure-volume curves of normal and myopic chick eyes were obtained using a computer controlled syringe pump and a digital pressure gauge. The axial length and horizontal equatorial diameter of the chick eyes as pressure increased were measured from digital photographs. To build the finite element model, normal chick eyes were frozen, sliced using a microtome, and photographed. The image sequence was aligned using MATLAB software and imported into SolidWorks® and Mimics software packages for three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction. Three 3D models were constructed and imported into Abaqus/CAE® software for finite element analysis. Isotropic, homogeneous, linear elastic and exponentially stiffening material properties were used for the finite element models. The results of the finite element models were compared with the experimental data. The results showed that normal chick eyes elongated in the axial direction and initially contracted in the horizontal equatorial direction as IOP increased. Myopic chick eyes did not elongate as much in the axial direction and did not contract as much in the horizontal equatorial direction compared with normal eyes. The volumetric deformation of myopic eyes was similar to normal eyes suggesting that growth and remodelling of the ocular tissues was involved in experimental myopia in the chick. The 3D reconstructed geometry of a chick eye was similar to a real eye although small geometric inaccuracies were present. The finite element model with isotropic, homogeneous, and exponentially stiffening material properties agreed well with the experimental strains in spite of the fact that the anisotropy of the ocular tissues was not included in the finite element model. This suggests that the oblate geometry of the chick eye was the main parameter dictating its deformation under increased IOP. The natural tendency of chick eyes is to elongate in the axial direction as IOP increases and this suggests that IOP could play a role in myopia onset and progression. The way chick eyes deformed as pressure increased is probably due to their oblate geometry. The finite element model could be used in the future to study the effect of different parameters such as ocular muscle forces and ocular tissues material properties on eye geometry. This way, an eye configuration more prone to eye elongation and myopia could be determined.

This study examines whether earnings guidance contributes to investor short-termism -- excessive focus on a firm's short term performance and insufficient consideration of its long-term value creation potential. Using an adaptation of Ohlson's (1995) valuation model, I find that investors place significantly higher (lower) weight on short-term (long-term) earnings of quarterly guidance firms than on the corresponding earnings of non-guidance firms. Further tests indicate that the differential weighting cannot be fully explained by measurement errors, earnings properties, risk, or accuracy of analysts' forecasts. For a sample of guidance initiating firms, I find no differential valuations of firm value components before the initiation of guidance, but large differential valuations after guidance initiation. In contrast, for guidance discontinuation firms, I find that investors shift their focus from short-term to long-term earnings after the discontinuation of guidance. Together, the results support critics' claim that quarterly guidance contributes to short-term fixation in the market. / text

In most cases, myopia is characterized by an increase in axial length of the eye, but the exact mechanisms for the axial elongation are still unknown. Higher intraocular pressure (IOP) has been associated with myopia and could be involved in eye enlargement. Also, some investigators have argued that the mechanical stresses generated by the ocular muscles during near work cause the eye to stretch out of shape. The purpose of this work was to investigate the effect of IOP on eye geometry, build a finite element model of the corneo-scleral shell of a chick eye, and verify if the eye could elongate due to increased IOP and hence become myopic. In the present study, myopia was induced in the right eye of chicks using -15 dioptre (D) goggles. The in-vitro pressure-volume curves of normal and myopic chick eyes were obtained using a computer controlled syringe pump and a digital pressure gauge. The axial length and horizontal equatorial diameter of the chick eyes as pressure increased were measured from digital photographs. To build the finite element model, normal chick eyes were frozen, sliced using a microtome, and photographed. The image sequence was aligned using MATLAB software and imported into SolidWorks® and Mimics software packages for three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction. Three 3D models were constructed and imported into Abaqus/CAE® software for finite element analysis. Isotropic, homogeneous, linear elastic and exponentially stiffening material properties were used for the finite element models. The results of the finite element models were compared with the experimental data. The results showed that normal chick eyes elongated in the axial direction and initially contracted in the horizontal equatorial direction as IOP increased. Myopic chick eyes did not elongate as much in the axial direction and did not contract as much in the horizontal equatorial direction compared with normal eyes. The volumetric deformation of myopic eyes was similar to normal eyes suggesting that growth and remodelling of the ocular tissues was involved in experimental myopia in the chick. The 3D reconstructed geometry of a chick eye was similar to a real eye although small geometric inaccuracies were present. The finite element model with isotropic, homogeneous, and exponentially stiffening material properties agreed well with the experimental strains in spite of the fact that the anisotropy of the ocular tissues was not included in the finite element model. This suggests that the oblate geometry of the chick eye was the main parameter dictating its deformation under increased IOP. The natural tendency of chick eyes is to elongate in the axial direction as IOP increases and this suggests that IOP could play a role in myopia onset and progression. The way chick eyes deformed as pressure increased is probably due to their oblate geometry. The finite element model could be used in the future to study the effect of different parameters such as ocular muscle forces and ocular tissues material properties on eye geometry. This way, an eye configuration more prone to eye elongation and myopia could be determined.

The primary aim of the present investigation was to directly examine a theoretically-based, ecologically-valid intervention and proposed mechanism for reducing at risk men’s alcohol-related aggression toward women for the bar setting. This study was developed in response to a critical need to address barriers to interventions for alcohol-related. This literature called for research to empirically investigate (a) specific intervention techniques that reduce aggression, (b) in whom such interventions will have the greatest impact, and (c) the mechanisms that account for such effects. Results of this study evidenced that the attention-allocation model-inspired intervention, relative to control, was associated with less alcohol-related physical aggression toward a female confederate. This finding held for men who reported lower, but not higher, levels of masculine gender role stress. However, results of the study did not support the hypotheses that intoxicated men who received the intervention, relative to control, would display the lowest levels of negative cognition and that masculine gender role stress would moderate this effect. Thus, the present study successfully addressed two of the three barriers cited. Discussion focused on how these data inform intervention programming for alcohol-related aggression.

Myopia is a major cause of vision loss throughout the world. High myopia is associated with severe eye diseases like maculopathy, retinal detachment and glaucoma. The prevalence of myopia is increasing, and varies by country and by ethnic group. In some Asian populations the prevalence is 70%-80%.  This thesis includes five experiments. In experiment I we investigated the effects of added positive and negative spherical aberration on accommodative response accuracy. We found that the accommodative response can be altered by modulating the spherical aberration of the eye with soft contact lenses. There was an improvement in the accommodative response slopes and a decrease in the lag of accommodation with the negative spherical aberration lenses compared to positive spherical aberration lenses.  In experiment II we investigated whether the negative spherical aberration in contact lenses could be tolerated visually in terms of wearability and comfort. We found that all the subjects were satisfied with the contact lens comfort, distance and near vision and the stability of the vision with the lenses. The accommodative response was stable through out the treatment period. In experiment III we investigated the efficacy of a novel dual treatment for the improvement of accommodative accuracy and dynamics in myopes. The spherical aberration of the eye was effectively altered to negative in the treatment group as predicted. In the control group as expected there was no significant change in the spherical aberration of the eye with and without contact lenses. The treatment lenses decreased the lag of accommodation and increased the accommodative response slope at 3 months. In the experiment IV we investigated the effect of the treatment lenses used in the previous experiment on high and low contrast visual acuities after a one year treatment period. The results showed a significant improvement in both high and low contrast visual acuities after the one year period in the treatment group compared to the control group, even though it was not clinically significant. In experiment V we investigated the intrasession repeatability of peripheral aberrations using COAS-HD VR aberrometer and also reported the distribution of higher order aberrations in a group of young emmetropes. There was no significant difference in the variance of total higher-order RMS between on- and off-axis measurements. There was a significant change in the horizontal coma, spherical aberration and higher-order RMS with off-axis angle along the horizontal visual field. We demonstrated that fast, repeatable and valid peripheral aberration measurements can be obtained with this instrument. This thesis contributes new results in this field of myopia, aberration and accommodation.

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