A conceptual model of aerobic microbial growth in semisolid matrices were developed as a first step in the prediction of the rate of breakdown in semisolid cellulosic material. The conceptual model was described by a series of equations simplified by the assumption of steady-state microbial activity, and heat and mass transfer limitation. Temperature and oxygen distribution in compost piles were measured experimentally at the Butler County Mushroom Farm, Butler County, Pennsylvania, to test the validity of these assumptions. The compost piles consisted of ground corn husks, straw, and race horse manure. The data fit with the model was excellent with deviation between model predictions (as solved by an anglog computer) and actual temperature measurements never exceeding 3 degrees C. The effects of compost pile geometry, external temperature, compost density, external oxygen concentration, and insulation at the bottom of the pile were then predicted using a digital computer to solve the model. The predicitions show that the maximum breakdown rate occurs for an optimum height (which depends upon the system), insulating the base increases the breakdown rate, increasing the external temperature increases the initial breakdown rate but decreases the pseudo-steady-state breakdown rate and the uniformity and any increase in the external oxygen concentration increases the breakdown rate but decreases the uniformity.

OBJECTIVE Social stressor tasks induce adolescents’ social distress as indexed by low-cost psychophysiological methods. Unknown is how to incorporate these methods within clinical assessments. Having assessors judge graphical depictions of psychophysiological data may facilitate detections of data patterns that may be difficult to identify using judgments about numerical depictions of psychophysiological data. Specifically, the Chernoff Face method involves graphically representing data using features on the human face (eyes, nose, mouth, and face shape). This method capitalizes on humans’ abilities to discern subtle variations in facial features. Using adolescent heart rate norms and Chernoff Faces, we illustrated a method for implementing psychophysiology within clinical assessments of adolescent social anxiety. METHOD Twenty-two clinic-referred adolescents completed a social anxiety self-report and provided psychophysiological data using wireless heart rate monitors during a social stressor task. We graphically represented participants’ psychophysiological data and normative adolescent heart rates. For each participant, two undergraduate coders made comparative judgments between the dimensions (eyes, nose, mouth, and face shape) of two Chernoff Faces. One Chernoff Face represented a participant’s heart rate within a context (baseline, speech preparation, or speech-giving). The second Chernoff Face represented normative heart rate data matched to the participant’s age. RESULTS Using Chernoff faces, coders reliably and accurately identified contextual variation in participants’ heart rate responses to social stress. Further, adolescents’ self-reported social anxiety symptoms predicted Chernoff Face judgments, and judgments could be differentiated by social stress context. CONCLUSIONS Our findings have important implications for implementing psychophysiology within clinical assessments of adolescent social anxiety.

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