Sample records for abstract background evidence

  1. Modelling difficulties in abstract thinking in psychosis: the importance of socio-developmental background.

    PubMed

    Berg, A O; Melle, I; Zuber, V; Simonsen, C; Nerhus, M; Ueland, T; Andreassen, O A; Sundet, K; Vaskinn, A

    2017-01-01

    Abstract thinking is important in modern understanding of neurocognitive abilities, and a symptom of thought disorder in psychosis. In patients with psychosis, we assessed if socio-developmental background influences abstract thinking, and the association with executive functioning and clinical psychosis symptoms. Participants (n = 174) had a diagnosis of psychotic or bipolar disorder, were 17-65 years, intelligence quotient (IQ) > 70, fluent in a Scandinavian language, and their full primary education in Norway. Immigrants (N = 58) were matched (1:2) with participants without a history of migration (N = 116). All participants completed a neurocognitive and clinical assessment. Socio-developmental background was operationalised as human developmental index (HDI) of country of birth, at year of birth. Structural equation modelling was used to assess the model with best fit. The model with best fit, χ 2  = 96.591, df = 33, p < .001, confirmed a significant indirect effect of HDI scores on abstract thinking through executive functioning, but not through clinical psychosis symptoms. This study found that socio-developmental background influences abstract thinking in psychosis by indirect effect through executive functioning. We should take into account socio-developmental background in the interpretation of neurocognitive performance in patients with psychosis, and prioritise cognitive remediation in treatment of immigrant patients.

  2. Reappraising Abstract Paintings after Exposure to Background Information

    PubMed Central

    Park, Seongmin A.; Yun, Kyongsik; Jeong, Jaeseung

    2015-01-01

    Can knowledge help viewers when they appreciate an artwork? Experts’ judgments of the aesthetic value of a painting often differ from the estimates of naïve viewers, and this phenomenon is especially pronounced in the aesthetic judgment of abstract paintings. We compared the changes in aesthetic judgments of naïve viewers while they were progressively exposed to five pieces of background information. The participants were asked to report their aesthetic judgments of a given painting after each piece of information was presented. We found that commentaries by the artist and a critic significantly increased the subjective aesthetic ratings. Does knowledge enable experts to attend to the visual features in a painting and to link it to the evaluative conventions, thus potentially causing different aesthetic judgments? To investigate whether a specific pattern of attention is essential for the knowledge-based appreciation, we tracked the eye movements of subjects while viewing a painting with a commentary by the artist and with a commentary by a critic. We observed that critics’ commentaries directed the viewers’ attention to the visual components that were highly relevant to the presented commentary. However, attention to specific features of a painting was not necessary for increasing the subjective aesthetic judgment when the artists’ commentary was presented. Our results suggest that at least two different cognitive mechanisms may be involved in knowledge- guided aesthetic judgments while viewers reappraise a painting. PMID:25945789

  3. Evidence for cross-script abstract identities in learners of Japanese kana.

    PubMed

    Schubert, Teresa; Gawthrop, Roderick; Kinoshita, Sachiko

    2018-05-07

    The presence of abstract letter identity representations in the Roman alphabet has been well documented. These representations are invariant to letter case (upper vs. lower) and visual appearance. For example, "a" and "A" are represented by the same abstract identity. Recent research has begun to consider whether the processing of non-Roman orthographies also involves abstract orthographic representations. In the present study, we sought evidence for abstract identities in Japanese kana, which consist of two scripts, hiragana and katakana. Abstract identities would be invariant to the script used as well as to the degree of visual similarity. We adapted the cross-case masked-priming letter match task used in previous research on Roman letters, by presenting cross-script kana pairs and testing adult beginning -to- intermediate Japanese second-language (L2) learners (first-language English readers). We found robust cross-script priming effects, which were equal in magnitude for visually similar (e.g., り/リ) and dissimilar (e.g., あ/ア) kana pairs. This pattern was found despite participants' imperfect explicit knowledge of the kana names, particularly for katakana. We also replicated prior findings from Roman abstract letter identities in the same participants. Ours is the first study reporting abstract kana identity priming (in adult L2 learners). Furthermore, these representations were acquired relatively early in our adult L2 learners.

  4. Going beyond the Evidence: Abstract Laws and Preschoolers' Responses to Anomalous Data

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schulz, Laura E.; Goodman, Noah D.; Tenenbaum, Joshua B.; Jenkins, Adrianna C.

    2008-01-01

    Given minimal evidence about novel objects, children might learn only relationships among the specific entities, or they might make a more abstract inference, positing classes of entities and the relations that hold among those classes. Here we show that preschoolers (mean: 57 months) can use sparse data about perceptually unique objects to infer…

  5. Abstract and concrete categories? Evidences from neurodegenerative diseases.

    PubMed

    Catricalà, Eleonora; Della Rosa, Pasquale A; Plebani, Valentina; Vigliocco, Gabriella; Cappa, Stefano F

    2014-11-01

    We assessed the performance of patients with a diagnosis of Alzheimer׳s disease (AD) and of the semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia (sv-PPA) in a series of tasks involving both abstract and concrete stimuli, which were controlled for most of the variables that have been shown to affect performance on lexical-semantic tasks. Our aims were to compare the patients׳ performance on abstract and concrete stimuli and to assess category-effects within the abstract and concrete domains. The results showed: (i) a better performance on abstract than concrete concepts in sv-PPA patients. (ii) Category-related effects in the abstract domain, with emotion concepts being preserved in AD and social relations being selectively impaired in sv-PPA. In addition, a living-non living dissociation may be (infrequently) observed in individual AD patients after controlling for an extensive set of potential confounds. Thus, differences between and within the concrete or abstract domain may be present in patients with semantic memory disorders, mirroring the different brain regions involved by the different pathologies. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. The Theory of Localist Representation and of a Purely Abstract Cognitive System: The Evidence from Cortical Columns, Category Cells, and Multisensory Neurons.

    PubMed

    Roy, Asim

    2017-01-01

    The debate about representation in the brain and the nature of the cognitive system has been going on for decades now. This paper examines the neurophysiological evidence, primarily from single cell recordings, to get a better perspective on both the issues. After an initial review of some basic concepts, the paper reviews the data from single cell recordings - in cortical columns and of category-selective and multisensory neurons. In neuroscience, columns in the neocortex (cortical columns) are understood to be a basic functional/computational unit. The paper reviews the fundamental discoveries about the columnar organization and finds that it reveals a massively parallel search mechanism. This columnar organization could be the most extensive neurophysiological evidence for the widespread use of localist representation in the brain. The paper also reviews studies of category-selective cells. The evidence for category-selective cells reveals that localist representation is also used to encode complex abstract concepts at the highest levels of processing in the brain. A third major issue is the nature of the cognitive system in the brain and whether there is a form that is purely abstract and encoded by single cells. To provide evidence for a single-cell based purely abstract cognitive system, the paper reviews some of the findings related to multisensory cells. It appears that there is widespread usage of multisensory cells in the brain in the same areas where sensory processing takes place. Plus there is evidence for abstract modality invariant cells at higher levels of cortical processing. Overall, that reveals the existence of a purely abstract cognitive system in the brain. The paper also argues that since there is no evidence for dense distributed representation and since sparse representation is actually used to encode memories, there is actually no evidence for distributed representation in the brain. Overall, it appears that, at an abstract level, the

  7. The Theory of Localist Representation and of a Purely Abstract Cognitive System: The Evidence from Cortical Columns, Category Cells, and Multisensory Neurons

    PubMed Central

    Roy, Asim

    2017-01-01

    The debate about representation in the brain and the nature of the cognitive system has been going on for decades now. This paper examines the neurophysiological evidence, primarily from single cell recordings, to get a better perspective on both the issues. After an initial review of some basic concepts, the paper reviews the data from single cell recordings – in cortical columns and of category-selective and multisensory neurons. In neuroscience, columns in the neocortex (cortical columns) are understood to be a basic functional/computational unit. The paper reviews the fundamental discoveries about the columnar organization and finds that it reveals a massively parallel search mechanism. This columnar organization could be the most extensive neurophysiological evidence for the widespread use of localist representation in the brain. The paper also reviews studies of category-selective cells. The evidence for category-selective cells reveals that localist representation is also used to encode complex abstract concepts at the highest levels of processing in the brain. A third major issue is the nature of the cognitive system in the brain and whether there is a form that is purely abstract and encoded by single cells. To provide evidence for a single-cell based purely abstract cognitive system, the paper reviews some of the findings related to multisensory cells. It appears that there is widespread usage of multisensory cells in the brain in the same areas where sensory processing takes place. Plus there is evidence for abstract modality invariant cells at higher levels of cortical processing. Overall, that reveals the existence of a purely abstract cognitive system in the brain. The paper also argues that since there is no evidence for dense distributed representation and since sparse representation is actually used to encode memories, there is actually no evidence for distributed representation in the brain. Overall, it appears that, at an abstract level, the

  8. Abstracts Produced Using Computer Assistance.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Craven, Timothy C.

    2000-01-01

    Describes an experiment that evaluated features of TEXNET abstracting software, compared the use of keywords and phrases that were automatically extracted, tested hypotheses about relations between abstractors' backgrounds and their reactions to abstracting assistance software, and obtained ideas for further features to be developed in TEXNET.…

  9. Psychologists as Witnesses: Background and Good Practice in the Delivery of Evidence

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ireland, Jane L.

    2008-01-01

    An outline of the background to the provision of psychological evidence within legal settings will be provided, with attention to formal and quasi-court settings (e.g., tribunals). Key points of relevance to psychologists and to educational psychologists in particular will be illustrated, including guidelines for defendable written and oral…

  10. Evidence of lensing of the cosmic microwave background by dark matter halos.

    PubMed

    Madhavacheril, Mathew; Sehgal, Neelima; Allison, Rupert; Battaglia, Nick; Bond, J Richard; Calabrese, Erminia; Caligiuri, Jerod; Coughlin, Kevin; Crichton, Devin; Datta, Rahul; Devlin, Mark J; Dunkley, Joanna; Dünner, Rolando; Fogarty, Kevin; Grace, Emily; Hajian, Amir; Hasselfield, Matthew; Hill, J Colin; Hilton, Matt; Hincks, Adam D; Hlozek, Renée; Hughes, John P; Kosowsky, Arthur; Louis, Thibaut; Lungu, Marius; McMahon, Jeff; Moodley, Kavilan; Munson, Charles; Naess, Sigurd; Nati, Federico; Newburgh, Laura; Niemack, Michael D; Page, Lyman A; Partridge, Bruce; Schmitt, Benjamin; Sherwin, Blake D; Sievers, Jon; Spergel, David N; Staggs, Suzanne T; Thornton, Robert; Van Engelen, Alexander; Ward, Jonathan T; Wollack, Edward J

    2015-04-17

    We present evidence of the gravitational lensing of the cosmic microwave background by 10(13) solar mass dark matter halos. Lensing convergence maps from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope Polarimeter (ACTPol) are stacked at the positions of around 12 000 optically selected CMASS galaxies from the SDSS-III/BOSS survey. The mean lensing signal is consistent with simulated dark matter halo profiles and is favored over a null signal at 3.2σ significance. This result demonstrates the potential of microwave background lensing to probe the dark matter distribution in galaxy group and galaxy cluster halos.

  11. Evidence for gravitational lensing of the cosmic microwave background polarization from cross-correlation with the cosmic infrared background.

    PubMed

    Ade, P A R; Akiba, Y; Anthony, A E; Arnold, K; Atlas, M; Barron, D; Boettger, D; Borrill, J; Borys, C; Chapman, S; Chinone, Y; Dobbs, M; Elleflot, T; Errard, J; Fabbian, G; Feng, C; Flanigan, D; Gilbert, A; Grainger, W; Halverson, N W; Hasegawa, M; Hattori, K; Hazumi, M; Holzapfel, W L; Hori, Y; Howard, J; Hyland, P; Inoue, Y; Jaehnig, G C; Jaffe, A; Keating, B; Kermish, Z; Keskitalo, R; Kisner, T; Le Jeune, M; Lee, A T; Leitch, E M; Linder, E; Lungu, M; Matsuda, F; Matsumura, T; Meng, X; Miller, N J; Morii, H; Moyerman, S; Myers, M J; Navaroli, M; Nishino, H; Paar, H; Peloton, J; Poletti, D; Quealy, E; Rebeiz, G; Reichardt, C L; Richards, P L; Ross, C; Rotermund, K; Schanning, I; Schenck, D E; Sherwin, B D; Shimizu, A; Shimmin, C; Shimon, M; Siritanasak, P; Smecher, G; Spieler, H; Stebor, N; Steinbach, B; Stompor, R; Suzuki, A; Takakura, S; Tikhomirov, A; Tomaru, T; Wilson, B; Yadav, A; Zahn, O

    2014-04-04

    We reconstruct the gravitational lensing convergence signal from cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization data taken by the Polarbear experiment and cross-correlate it with cosmic infrared background maps from the Herschel satellite. From the cross spectra, we obtain evidence for gravitational lensing of the CMB polarization at a statistical significance of 4.0σ and indication of the presence of a lensing B-mode signal at a significance of 2.3σ. We demonstrate that our results are not biased by instrumental and astrophysical systematic errors by performing null tests, checks with simulated and real data, and analytical calculations. This measurement of polarization lensing, made via the robust cross-correlation channel, not only reinforces POLARBEAR auto-correlation measurements, but also represents one of the early steps towards establishing CMB polarization lensing as a powerful new probe of cosmology and astrophysics.

  12. Is searching full text more effective than searching abstracts?

    PubMed Central

    Lin, Jimmy

    2009-01-01

    Background With the growing availability of full-text articles online, scientists and other consumers of the life sciences literature now have the ability to go beyond searching bibliographic records (title, abstract, metadata) to directly access full-text content. Motivated by this emerging trend, I posed the following question: is searching full text more effective than searching abstracts? This question is answered by comparing text retrieval algorithms on MEDLINE® abstracts, full-text articles, and spans (paragraphs) within full-text articles using data from the TREC 2007 genomics track evaluation. Two retrieval models are examined: bm25 and the ranking algorithm implemented in the open-source Lucene search engine. Results Experiments show that treating an entire article as an indexing unit does not consistently yield higher effectiveness compared to abstract-only search. However, retrieval based on spans, or paragraphs-sized segments of full-text articles, consistently outperforms abstract-only search. Results suggest that highest overall effectiveness may be achieved by combining evidence from spans and full articles. Conclusion Users searching full text are more likely to find relevant articles than searching only abstracts. This finding affirms the value of full text collections for text retrieval and provides a starting point for future work in exploring algorithms that take advantage of rapidly-growing digital archives. Experimental results also highlight the need to develop distributed text retrieval algorithms, since full-text articles are significantly longer than abstracts and may require the computational resources of multiple machines in a cluster. The MapReduce programming model provides a convenient framework for organizing such computations. PMID:19192280

  13. [The historical background and present development of evidence-based healthcare and clinical nursing].

    PubMed

    Tsai, Jung-Mei

    2014-12-01

    Evidence-based healthcare (EBHC) emphasizes the integration of the best research evidence with patient values, specialist suggestions, and clinical circumstances during the process of clinical decision-making. EBHC is a recognized core competency in modern healthcare. Nursing is a professional discipline of empirical science that thrives in an environment marked by advances in knowledge and technology in medicine as well as in nursing. Clinical nurses must elevate their skills and professional qualifications, provide efficient and quality health services, and promote their proficiency in EBHC. The Institute of Medicine in the United States indicates that evidence-based research results often fail to disseminate efficiently to clinical decision makers. This problem highlights the importance of better promoting the evidence-based healthcare fundamentals and competencies to frontline clinical nurses. This article describes the historical background and present development of evidence-based healthcare from the perspective of modern clinical nursing in light of the importance of evidence-based healthcare in clinical nursing; describes the factors associated with evidence-based healthcare promotion; and suggests strategies and policies that may improve the promotion and application of EBHC in clinical settings. The authors hope that this paper provides a reference for efforts to improve clinical nursing in the realms of EBHC training, promotion, and application.

  14. Spatial distance effects on incremental semantic interpretation of abstract sentences: evidence from eye tracking.

    PubMed

    Guerra, Ernesto; Knoeferle, Pia

    2014-12-01

    A large body of evidence has shown that visual context information can rapidly modulate language comprehension for concrete sentences and when it is mediated by a referential or a lexical-semantic link. What has not yet been examined is whether visual context can also modulate comprehension of abstract sentences incrementally when it is neither referenced by, nor lexically associated with, the sentence. Three eye-tracking reading experiments examined the effects of spatial distance between words (Experiment 1) and objects (Experiment 2 and 3) on participants' reading times for sentences that convey similarity or difference between two abstract nouns (e.g., 'Peace and war are certainly different...'). Before reading the sentence, participants inspected a visual context with two playing cards that moved either far apart or close together. In Experiment 1, the cards turned and showed the first two nouns of the sentence (e.g., 'peace', 'war'). In Experiments 2 and 3, they turned but remained blank. Participants' reading times at the adjective (Experiment 1: first-pass reading time; Experiment 2: total times) and at the second noun phrase (Experiment 3: first-pass times) were faster for sentences that expressed similarity when the preceding words/objects were close together (vs. far apart) and for sentences that expressed dissimilarity when the preceding words/objects were far apart (vs. close together). Thus, spatial distance between words or entirely unrelated objects can rapidly and incrementally modulate the semantic interpretation of abstract sentences. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Evidence That the Directly Imaged Planet HD 131399 Ab Is a Background Star

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nielsen, Eric L.; De Rosa, Robert J.; Rameau, Julien; Wang, Jason J.; Esposito, Thomas M.; Millar-Blanchaer, Maxwell A.; Marois, Christian; Vigan, Arthur; Ammons, S. Mark; Artigau, Etienne; Bailey, Vanessa P.; Blunt, Sarah; Bulger, Joanna; Chilcote, Jeffrey; Cotten, Tara; Doyon, René; Duchêne, Gaspard; Fabrycky, Daniel; Fitzgerald, Michael P.; Follette, Katherine B.; Gerard, Benjamin L.; Goodsell, Stephen J.; Graham, James R.; Greenbaum, Alexandra Z.; Hibon, Pascale; Hinkley, Sasha; Hung, Li-Wei; Ingraham, Patrick; Jensen-Clem, Rebecca; Kalas, Paul; Konopacky, Quinn; Larkin, James E.; Macintosh, Bruce; Maire, Jérôme; Marchis, Franck; Metchev, Stanimir; Morzinski, Katie M.; Murray-Clay, Ruth A.; Oppenheimer, Rebecca; Palmer, David; Patience, Jennifer; Perrin, Marshall; Poyneer, Lisa; Pueyo, Laurent; Rafikov, Roman R.; Rajan, Abhijith; Rantakyrö, Fredrik T.; Ruffio, Jean-Baptiste; Savransky, Dmitry; Schneider, Adam C.; Sivaramakrishnan, Anand; Song, Inseok; Soummer, Remi; Thomas, Sandrine; Wallace, J. Kent; Ward-Duong, Kimberly; Wiktorowicz, Sloane; Wolff, Schuyler

    2017-12-01

    We present evidence that the recently discovered, directly imaged planet HD 131399 Ab is a background star with nonzero proper motion. From new JHK1L‧ photometry and spectroscopy obtained with the Gemini Planet Imager, VLT/SPHERE, and Keck/NIRC2, and a reanalysis of the discovery data obtained with VLT/SPHERE, we derive colors, spectra, and astrometry for HD 131399 Ab. The broader wavelength coverage and higher data quality allow us to reinvestigate its status. Its near-infrared spectral energy distribution excludes spectral types later than L0 and is consistent with a K or M dwarf, which are the most likely candidates for a background object in this direction at the apparent magnitude observed. If it were a physically associated object, the projected velocity of HD 131399 Ab would exceed escape velocity given the mass and distance to HD 131399 A. We show that HD 131399 Ab is also not following the expected track for a stationary background star at infinite distance. Solving for the proper motion and parallax required to explain the relative motion of HD 131399 Ab, we find a proper motion of 12.3 mas yr-1. When compared to predicted background objects drawn from a galactic model, we find this proper motion to be high but consistent with the top 4% fastest-moving background stars. From our analysis, we conclude that HD 131399 Ab is a background K or M dwarf.

  16. Allograph priming is based on abstract letter identities: Evidence from Japanese kana.

    PubMed

    Kinoshita, Sachiko; Schubert, Teresa; Verdonschot, Rinus G

    2018-04-23

    It is well-established that allographs like the uppercase and lowercase forms of the Roman alphabet (e.g., a and A) map onto the same "abstract letter identity," orthographic representations that are independent of the visual form. Consistent with this, in the allograph match task ("Are 'a' and 'A' the same letter?"), priming by a masked letter prime is equally robust for visually dissimilar prime-target pairs (e.g., d and D) and similar pairs (e.g., c and C). However, in principle this pattern of priming is also consistent with the possibility that allograph priming is purely phonological, based on the letter name. Because different allographic forms of the same letter, by definition, share a letter name, it is impossible to rule out this possibility a priori. In the present study, we investigated the influence of shared letter names by taking advantage of the fact that Japanese is written in two distinct writing systems, syllabic kana-that has two parallel forms, hiragana and katakana-and logographic kanji. Using the allograph match task, we tested whether a kanji prime with the same pronunciation as the target kana (e.g., - い, both pronounced /i/) produces the same amount of priming as a kana prime in the opposite kana form (e.g., イ- い). We found that the kana primes produced substantially greater priming than the phonologically identical kanji prime, which we take as evidence that allograph priming is based on abstract kana identity, not purely phonology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  17. Abstraction in perceptual symbol systems.

    PubMed Central

    Barsalou, Lawrence W

    2003-01-01

    After reviewing six senses of abstraction, this article focuses on abstractions that take the form of summary representations. Three central properties of these abstractions are established: ( i ) type-token interpretation; (ii) structured representation; and (iii) dynamic realization. Traditional theories of representation handle interpretation and structure well but are not sufficiently dynamical. Conversely, connectionist theories are exquisitely dynamic but have problems with structure. Perceptual symbol systems offer an approach that implements all three properties naturally. Within this framework, a loose collection of property and relation simulators develops to represent abstractions. Type-token interpretation results from binding a property simulator to a region of a perceived or simulated category member. Structured representation results from binding a configuration of property and relation simulators to multiple regions in an integrated manner. Dynamic realization results from applying different subsets of property and relation simulators to category members on different occasions. From this standpoint, there are no permanent or complete abstractions of a category in memory. Instead, abstraction is the skill to construct temporary online interpretations of a category's members. Although an infinite number of abstractions are possible, attractors develop for habitual approaches to interpretation. This approach provides new ways of thinking about abstraction phenomena in categorization, inference, background knowledge and learning. PMID:12903648

  18. Clarifying the abstracts of systematic literature reviews*

    PubMed Central

    Hartley, James

    2000-01-01

    Background: There is a small body of research on improving the clarity of abstracts in general that is relevant to improving the clarity of abstracts of systematic reviews. Objectives: To summarize this earlier research and indicate its implications for writing the abstracts of systematic reviews. Method: Literature review with commentary on three main features affecting the clarity of abstracts: their language, structure, and typographical presentation. Conclusions: The abstracts of systematic reviews should be easier to read than the abstracts of medical research articles, as they are targeted at a wider audience. The aims, methods, results, and conclusions of systematic reviews need to be presented in a consistent way to help search and retrieval. The typographic detailing of the abstracts (type-sizes, spacing, and weights) should be planned to help, rather than confuse, the reader. PMID:11055300

  19. Newborn infants perceive abstract numbers

    PubMed Central

    Izard, Véronique; Sann, Coralie; Spelke, Elizabeth S.; Streri, Arlette

    2009-01-01

    Although infants and animals respond to the approximate number of elements in visual, auditory, and tactile arrays, only human children and adults have been shown to possess abstract numerical representations that apply to entities of all kinds (e.g., 7 samurai, seas, or sins). Do abstract numerical concepts depend on language or culture, or do they form a part of humans' innate, core knowledge? Here we show that newborn infants spontaneously associate stationary, visual-spatial arrays of 4–18 objects with auditory sequences of events on the basis of number. Their performance provides evidence for abstract numerical representations at the start of postnatal experience. PMID:19520833

  20. CONSORT for Reporting Randomized Controlled Trials in Journal and Conference Abstracts: Explanation and Elaboration

    PubMed Central

    Hopewell, Sally; Clarke, Mike; Moher, David; Wager, Elizabeth; Middleton, Philippa; Altman, Douglas G; Schulz, Kenneth F

    2008-01-01

    Background Clear, transparent, and sufficiently detailed abstracts of conferences and journal articles related to randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are important, because readers often base their assessment of a trial solely on information in the abstract. Here, we extend the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) Statement to develop a minimum list of essential items, which authors should consider when reporting the results of a RCT in any journal or conference abstract. Methods and Findings We generated a list of items from existing quality assessment tools and empirical evidence. A three-round, modified-Delphi process was used to select items. In all, 109 participants were invited to participate in an electronic survey; the response rate was 61%. Survey results were presented at a meeting of the CONSORT Group in Montebello, Canada, January 2007, involving 26 participants, including clinical trialists, statisticians, epidemiologists, and biomedical editors. Checklist items were discussed for eligibility into the final checklist. The checklist was then revised to ensure that it reflected discussions held during and subsequent to the meeting. CONSORT for Abstracts recommends that abstracts relating to RCTs have a structured format. Items should include details of trial objectives; trial design (e.g., method of allocation, blinding/masking); trial participants (i.e., description, numbers randomized, and number analyzed); interventions intended for each randomized group and their impact on primary efficacy outcomes and harms; trial conclusions; trial registration name and number; and source of funding. We recommend the checklist be used in conjunction with this explanatory document, which includes examples of good reporting, rationale, and evidence, when available, for the inclusion of each item. Conclusions CONSORT for Abstracts aims to improve reporting of abstracts of RCTs published in journal articles and conference proceedings. It will help

  1. Metacognition and abstract reasoning.

    PubMed

    Markovits, Henry; Thompson, Valerie A; Brisson, Janie

    2015-05-01

    The nature of people's meta-representations of deductive reasoning is critical to understanding how people control their own reasoning processes. We conducted two studies to examine whether people have a metacognitive representation of abstract validity and whether familiarity alone acts as a separate metacognitive cue. In Study 1, participants were asked to make a series of (1) abstract conditional inferences, (2) concrete conditional inferences with premises having many potential alternative antecedents and thus specifically conducive to the production of responses consistent with conditional logic, or (3) concrete problems with premises having relatively few potential alternative antecedents. Participants gave confidence ratings after each inference. Results show that confidence ratings were positively correlated with logical performance on abstract problems and concrete problems with many potential alternatives, but not with concrete problems with content less conducive to normative responses. Confidence ratings were higher with few alternatives than for abstract content. Study 2 used a generation of contrary-to-fact alternatives task to improve levels of abstract logical performance. The resulting increase in logical performance was mirrored by increases in mean confidence ratings. Results provide evidence for a metacognitive representation based on logical validity, and show that familiarity acts as a separate metacognitive cue.

  2. Is gastroenterology research in decline? A comparison of abstract publication rates from The British Society of Gastroenterology meetings between 1995 and 2005.

    PubMed

    Prendergast, Sarah; Mattishent, Katharina; Broughton, Tom; Beales, Ian

    2013-01-01

    Background: Reports have suggested that academic medicine may be in decline within the UK. Further evidence suggests that rates of subsequent full publication of abstracts presented at major scientific meetings are low and may be declining. We have compared the publication rates of abstracts presented at meetings of the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) between 1995 and 2005 and examined factors associated with full paper publication.  Methods: Abstracts presented at BSG meetings in 1995 and 2005 were assessed by cross-referencing with multiple databases. Abstract characteristics associated with publication were analysed. Results: There were no differences in overall publication rates, impact factors or time to publication between 1995 and 2005. Overall, basic-science abstracts were twice as likely to achieve full publication than non-basic science. There was a significant fall in the publication rates for case series and audits, and significantly increased rates for fundamental/basic-science abstracts over the study period. There were non-significant increases in publication rates for controlled trials and systematic reviews. In general, publication rates for all predominantly clinically orientated abstracts reduced between the two periods with the most notable fall occurring in nutrition.  Conclusions: There was no evidence of a decline in overall abstract publication rates between 1995 and 2005. There seemed to be trend for increased publication rates of abstracts using perceived high-quality study methodologies with a corresponding decrease in those with lower quality methods. The proportion of basic-science abstracts is likely to be a determinant of overall full publication rates following scientific meetings.

  3. Students' Abstraction in Recognizing, Building with and Constructing a Quadrilateral

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Budiarto, Mega Teguh; Rahaju, Endah Budi; Hartono, Sugi

    2017-01-01

    This study aims to implement empirically students' abstraction with socio-cultural background of Indonesia. Abstraction is an activity that involves a vertical reorganization of previously constructed mathematics into a new mathematical structure. The principal components of the model are three dynamic nested epistemic actions: recognizing,…

  4. Making the Abstract Concrete

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Potter, Lee Ann

    2005-01-01

    President Ronald Reagan nominated a woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court. He did so through a single-page form letter, completed in part by hand and in part by typewriter, announcing Sandra Day O'Connor as his nominee. While the document serves as evidence of a historic event, it is also a tangible illustration of abstract concepts…

  5. The semantic richness of abstract concepts

    PubMed Central

    Recchia, Gabriel; Jones, Michael N.

    2012-01-01

    We contrasted the predictive power of three measures of semantic richness—number of features (NFs), contextual dispersion (CD), and a novel measure of number of semantic neighbors (NSN)—for a large set of concrete and abstract concepts on lexical decision and naming tasks. NSN (but not NF) facilitated processing for abstract concepts, while NF (but not NSN) facilitated processing for the most concrete concepts, consistent with claims that linguistic information is more relevant for abstract concepts in early processing. Additionally, converging evidence from two datasets suggests that when NSN and CD are controlled for, the features that most facilitate processing are those associated with a concept's physical characteristics and real-world contexts. These results suggest that rich linguistic contexts (many semantic neighbors) facilitate early activation of abstract concepts, whereas concrete concepts benefit more from rich physical contexts (many associated objects and locations). PMID:23205008

  6. Thinking Big or Small: Does Mental Abstraction Affect Social Network Organization?

    PubMed Central

    Bacev-Giles, Chantal; Peetz, Johanna

    2016-01-01

    Four studies examined how mental abstraction affects how people perceive their relationships with other people, specifically, how these relationships may be categorized in social groups. We expected that individuals induced to think abstractly would report fewer more global social groups, compared to those induced to think concretely, who would report more specific groups. However, induced abstract mindset did not affect how people structured their social groups (Study 2–4), despite evidence that the mindset manipulation changed the level of abstraction in their thoughts (Study 3) and evidence that it changed how people structured groups for a control condition (household objects, Study 4). Together, these studies suggest that while the way people organize their relationships into groups is malleable; cognitive abstraction does not seem to affect how people categorize their relationships into social groups. PMID:26808086

  7. Asking Questions in Child English: Evidence for Early Abstract Representations

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pozzan, Lucia; Valian, Virginia

    2017-01-01

    We compare the predictions of two different accounts of first language acquisition by investigating the relative contributions of abstract syntax and input frequency to the elicited production of main and embedded questions by 36 monolingual English-speaking toddlers aged 3;00 to 5;11. In particular, we investigate whether children's accuracy…

  8. Are Abstract and Concrete Concepts Organized Differently? Evidence from the Blocked Translation Paradigm

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhang, Xiaohong; Han, Zaizhu; Bi, Yanchao

    2013-01-01

    Using the blocked-translation paradigm with healthy participants, we examined Crutch and Warrington's hypothesis that concrete and abstract concepts are organized by distinct principles: concrete concepts by semantic similarities and abstract ones by associations. In three experiments we constructed two types of experimental blocking (similar…

  9. Evaluating Data Abstraction Assistant, a novel software application for data abstraction during systematic reviews: protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

    PubMed

    Saldanha, Ian J; Schmid, Christopher H; Lau, Joseph; Dickersin, Kay; Berlin, Jesse A; Jap, Jens; Smith, Bryant T; Carini, Simona; Chan, Wiley; De Bruijn, Berry; Wallace, Byron C; Hutfless, Susan M; Sim, Ida; Murad, M Hassan; Walsh, Sandra A; Whamond, Elizabeth J; Li, Tianjing

    2016-11-22

    Data abstraction, a critical systematic review step, is time-consuming and prone to errors. Current standards for approaches to data abstraction rest on a weak evidence base. We developed the Data Abstraction Assistant (DAA), a novel software application designed to facilitate the abstraction process by allowing users to (1) view study article PDFs juxtaposed to electronic data abstraction forms linked to a data abstraction system, (2) highlight (or "pin") the location of the text in the PDF, and (3) copy relevant text from the PDF into the form. We describe the design of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) that compares the relative effectiveness of (A) DAA-facilitated single abstraction plus verification by a second person, (B) traditional (non-DAA-facilitated) single abstraction plus verification by a second person, and (C) traditional independent dual abstraction plus adjudication to ascertain the accuracy and efficiency of abstraction. This is an online, randomized, three-arm, crossover trial. We will enroll 24 pairs of abstractors (i.e., sample size is 48 participants), each pair comprising one less and one more experienced abstractor. Pairs will be randomized to abstract data from six articles, two under each of the three approaches. Abstractors will complete pre-tested data abstraction forms using the Systematic Review Data Repository (SRDR), an online data abstraction system. The primary outcomes are (1) proportion of data items abstracted that constitute an error (compared with an answer key) and (2) total time taken to complete abstraction (by two abstractors in the pair, including verification and/or adjudication). The DAA trial uses a practical design to test a novel software application as a tool to help improve the accuracy and efficiency of the data abstraction process during systematic reviews. Findings from the DAA trial will provide much-needed evidence to strengthen current recommendations for data abstraction approaches. The trial is registered

  10. Orthographically Influenced Abstract Phonological Representation: Evidence from Non-Rhotic Speakers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Taft, Marcus

    2006-01-01

    It is typically assumed that when orthography is translated silently into phonology (i.e., when reading silently), the phonological representation is equivalent to the spoken form or, at least, the surface phonemic form. The research presented here demonstrates that the phonological representation is likely to be more abstract than this, and is…

  11. A Quantitative Empirical Analysis of the Abstract/Concrete Distinction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hill, Felix; Korhonen, Anna; Bentz, Christian

    2014-01-01

    This study presents original evidence that abstract and concrete concepts are organized and represented differently in the mind, based on analyses of thousands of concepts in publicly available data sets and computational resources. First, we show that abstract and concrete concepts have differing patterns of association with other concepts.…

  12. Effects of Abstract and Concrete Simulation Elements on Science Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jaakkola, T.; Veermans, K.

    2015-01-01

    Contemporary evidence on the effectiveness of concrete and abstract representations in science education is based solely on studies conducted in college context. There it has been found that learning with abstract representations produces predominantly better outcomes than learning with concrete representations and combining the representations…

  13. The meaning of 'life' and other abstract words: Insights from neuropsychology.

    PubMed

    Hoffman, Paul

    2016-09-01

    There are a number of long-standing theories on how the cognitive processing of abstract words, like 'life', differs from that of concrete words, like 'knife'. This review considers current perspectives on this debate, focusing particularly on insights obtained from patients with language disorders and integrating these with evidence from functional neuroimaging studies. The evidence supports three distinct and mutually compatible hypotheses. (1) Concrete and abstract words differ in their representational substrates, with concrete words depending particularly on sensory experiences and abstract words on linguistic, emotional, and magnitude-based information. Differential dependence on visual versus verbal experience is supported by the evidence for graded specialization in the anterior temporal lobes for concrete versus abstract words. In addition, concrete words have richer representations, in line with better processing of these words in most aphasic patients and, in particular, patients with semantic dementia. (2) Abstract words place greater demands on executive regulation processes because they have variable meanings that change with context. This theory explains abstract word impairments in patients with semantic-executive deficits and is supported by neuroimaging studies showing greater response to abstract words in inferior prefrontal cortex. (3) The relationships between concrete words are governed primarily by conceptual similarity, while those of abstract words depend on association to a greater degree. This theory, based primarily on interference and priming effects in aphasic patients, is the most recent to emerge and the least well understood. I present analyses indicating that patterns of lexical co-occurrence may be important in understanding these effects. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Neuropsychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of the British Psychological Society.

  14. Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Assessing the Evidence

    PubMed Central

    Ramirez de Arellano, Michael A.; Jobe-Shields, Lisa; George, Preethy; Dougherty, Richard H.; Daniels, Allen S.; Ghose, Sushmita Shoma; Huang, Larke; Delphin-Rittmon, Miriam E.

    2015-01-01

    Objective Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is a conjoint parent-child treatment developed by Cohen, Mannarino, and Deblinger that uses cognitive-behavioral principles and exposure techniques to prevent and treat posttraumatic stress, depression, and behavioral problems. This review defined TF-CBT, differentiated it from other models, and assessed the evidence base. Methods Authors reviewed meta-analyses, reviews, and individual studies (1995 to 2013). Databases surveyed were PubMed, PsycINFO, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts, Social Services Abstracts, PILOTS, the ERIC, and the CINAHL. They chose from three levels of research evidence (high, moderate, and low) on the basis of benchmarks for number of studies and quality of their methodology. They also described the evidence of effectiveness. Results The level of evidence for TF-CBT was rated as high on the basis of ten RCTs, three of which were conducted independently (not by TF-CBT developers). TF-CBT has demonstrated positive outcomes in reducing symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, although it is less clear whether TF-CBT is effective in reducing behavior problems or symptoms of depression. Limitations of the studies include concerns about investigator bias and exclusion of vulnerable populations. Conclusions TF-CBT is a viable treatment for reducing trauma-related symptoms among some children who have experienced trauma and their nonoffending caregivers. Based on this evidence, TF-CBT should be available as a covered service in health plans. Ongoing research is needed to further identify best practices for TF-CBT in various settings and with individuals from various racial and ethnic backgrounds and with varied trauma histories, symptoms, and stages of intellectual, social, and emotional development. PMID:24638076

  15. Abstraction and model evaluation in category learning.

    PubMed

    Vanpaemel, Wolf; Storms, Gert

    2010-05-01

    Thirty previously published data sets, from seminal category learning tasks, are reanalyzed using the varying abstraction model (VAM). Unlike a prototype-versus-exemplar analysis, which focuses on extreme levels of abstraction only, a VAM analysis also considers the possibility of partial abstraction. Whereas most data sets support no abstraction when only the extreme possibilities are considered, we show that evidence for abstraction can be provided using the broader view on abstraction provided by the VAM. The present results generalize earlier demonstrations of partial abstraction (Vanpaemel & Storms, 2008), in which only a small number of data sets was analyzed. Following the dominant modus operandi in category learning research, Vanpaemel and Storms evaluated the models on their best fit, a practice known to ignore the complexity of the models under consideration. In the present study, in contrast, model evaluation not only relies on the maximal likelihood, but also on the marginal likelihood, which is sensitive to model complexity. Finally, using a large recovery study, it is demonstrated that, across the 30 data sets, complexity differences between the models in the VAM family are small. This indicates that a (computationally challenging) complexity-sensitive model evaluation method is uncalled for, and that the use of a (computationally straightforward) complexity-insensitive model evaluation method is justified.

  16. Early access to abstract representations in developing readers: Evidence from masked priming

    PubMed Central

    Perea, Manuel; Abu Mallouh, Reem; Carreiras, Manuel

    2013-01-01

    A commonly shared assumption in the field of visual-word recognition is that retinotopic representations are rapidly converted into abstract representations. Here we examine the role of visual form vs. abstract representations during the early stages of word processing –as measured by masked priming– in young children (3rd and 6th graders) and adult readers. To maximize the chances of detecting an effect of visual form, we employed a language with a very intricate orthography, Arabic. If visual form plays a role in the early moments of processing, greater benefit would be expected from related primes that have the same visual form (in terms of the ligation pattern between a word’s letters) as the target word (e.g., - [ktzb-ktAb] –note that the three initial letters are connected in prime and target) than for those that do not ( [ktxb-ktAb]). Results showed that the magnitude of priming effect relative to an unrelated condition (e.g., ) was remarkably similar for both types of primes. Thus, despite the visual complexity of Arabic orthography, there is fast access to the abstract letter representations not only in adult readers by also in developing readers. PMID:23786474

  17. The Learnability of Abstract Syntactic Principles

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Perfors, Amy; Tenenbaum, Joshua B.; Regier, Terry

    2011-01-01

    Children acquiring language infer the correct form of syntactic constructions for which they appear to have little or no direct evidence, avoiding simple but incorrect generalizations that would be consistent with the data they receive. These generalizations must be guided by some inductive bias--some abstract knowledge--that leads them to prefer…

  18. Development and evaluation of a quality score for abstracts

    PubMed Central

    Timmer, Antje; Sutherland, Lloyd R; Hilsden, Robert J

    2003-01-01

    Background The evaluation of abstracts for scientific meetings has been shown to suffer from poor inter observer reliability. A measure was developed to assess the formal quality of abstract submissions in a standardized way. Methods Item selection was based on scoring systems for full reports, taking into account published guidelines for structured abstracts. Interrater agreement was examined using a random sample of submissions to the American Gastroenterological Association, stratified for research type (n = 100, 1992–1995). For construct validity, the association of formal quality with acceptance for presentation was examined. A questionnaire to expert reviewers evaluated sensibility items, such as ease of use and comprehensiveness. Results The index comprised 19 items. The summary quality scores showed good interrater agreement (intra class coefficient 0.60 – 0.81). Good abstract quality was associated with abstract acceptance for presentation at the meeting. The instrument was found to be acceptable by expert reviewers. Conclusion A quality index was developed for the evaluation of scientific meeting abstracts which was shown to be reliable, valid and useful. PMID:12581457

  19. Generative electronic background music system

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Mazurowski, Lukasz

    In this short paper-extended abstract the new approach to generation of electronic background music has been presented. The Generative Electronic Background Music System (GEBMS) has been located between other related approaches within the musical algorithm positioning framework proposed by Woller et al. The music composition process is performed by a number of mini-models parameterized by further described properties. The mini-models generate fragments of musical patterns used in output composition. Musical pattern and output generation are controlled by container for the mini-models - a host-model. General mechanism has been presented including the example of the synthesized output compositions.

  20. Early access to abstract representations in developing readers: evidence from masked priming.

    PubMed

    Perea, Manuel; Mallouh, Reem Abu; Carreiras, Manuel

    2013-07-01

    A commonly shared assumption in the field of visual-word recognition is that retinotopic representations are rapidly converted into abstract representations. Here we examine the role of visual form vs. abstract representations during the early stages of word processing - as measured by masked priming - in young children (3rd and 6th Graders) and adult readers. To maximize the chances of detecting an effect of visual form, we employed a language with a very intricate orthography, Arabic. If visual form plays a role in the early stages of processing, greater benefit would be expected from related primes that have the same visual form (in terms of the ligation pattern between a word's letters) as the target word (e.g.- [ktz b-ktA b] - note that the three initial letters are connected in prime and target) than for those that do not (- [ktxb-ktA b]). Results showed that the magnitude of priming effect relative to an unrelated condition (e.g. -) was remarkably similar for both types of prime. Thus, despite the visual complexity of Arabic orthography, there is fast access to the abstract letter representations not only in adult readers by also in developing readers. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  1. Three New Z Cam Stars (Abstract)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Simonsen, M.

    2016-12-01

    (Abstract only) I will present the evidence and discovery stories of three cataclysmic variables who appear to be members of the Z Cam class of dwarf novae. One discovered by a lone visual observer and his unwavering patience and persistence, one through the directed effort of the ongoing Z CamPaign and one via survey data from the Gaia satellite.

  2. Bilingual/Bicultural Education: Titles and Abstracts of Doctoral Dissertations.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    California State Univ., Los Angeles. National Dissemination and Assessment Center.

    Dissertation abstracts describing research on a wide variety of topics in bilingual education are presented. This publication is designed to provide background material for bilingual educators as well as practical procedures for bilingual teachers, administrators, counselors, and evaluators. The titles were acquired by using the two broad…

  3. Discrepancies Between Plastic Surgery Meeting Abstracts and Subsequent Full-Length Manuscript Publications.

    PubMed

    Denadai, Rafael; Araujo, Gustavo Henrique; Pinho, Andre Silveira; Denadai, Rodrigo; Samartine, Hugo; Raposo-Amaral, Cassio Eduardo

    2016-10-01

    The purpose of this bibliometric study was to assess the discrepancies between plastic surgery meeting abstracts and subsequent full-length manuscript publications. Abstracts presented at the Brazilian Congress of Plastic Surgery from 2010 to 2011 were compared with matching manuscript publications. Discrepancies between the abstract and the subsequent manuscript were categorized as major (changes in the purpose, methods, study design, sample size, statistical analysis, results, and conclusions) and minor (changes in the title and authorship) variations. The overall discrepancy rate was 96 %, with at least one major (76 %) and/or minor (96 %) variation. There were inconsistencies between the study title (56 %), authorship (92 %), purpose (6 %), methods (20 %), study design (36 %), sample size (51.2 %), statistical analysis (14 %), results (20 %), and conclusions (8 %) of manuscripts compared with their corresponding meeting abstracts. As changes occur before manuscript publication of plastic surgery meeting abstracts, caution should be exercised in referencing abstracts or altering surgical practices based on abstracts' content. This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

  4. Construction of High School Students' Abstraction Levels in Understanding the Concept of Quadrilaterals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Budiarto, Mega Teguh; Khabibah, Siti; Setianingsih, Rini

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the abstraction thinking or the vertical reorganization activity of mathematical concepts of high school students while taking account of the abstraction that was constructed earlier, and the socio-cultural background. This study was qualitative in nature with task-based interviews as the method of…

  5. The origin of the diffuse background gamma radiation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stecker, F. W.; Puget, J. L.

    1974-01-01

    Recent observations provided evidence for diffuse background gamma radiation extending to energies beyond 100 MeV, and evidence of isotropy and implied cosmological origin. Significant features in the spectrum of this background radiation were observed which provide evidence for its origin in nuclear processes in the early stages of big-bang cosmology, and connect these processes with the galaxy formation theory. A test of the theory is in future observations of the background radiation in the 100 MeK to 100 GeV energy range which are made with large orbiting spark-chamber satellite detectors. The theoretical interpretations of present data, their connection with baryon-symmetric cosmology and galaxy formation theory, and the need for future observations are discussed.

  6. Blindness to background: an inbuilt bias for visual objects.

    PubMed

    O'Hanlon, Catherine G; Read, Jenny C A

    2017-09-01

    Sixty-eight 2- to 12-year-olds and 30 adults were shown colorful displays on a touchscreen monitor and trained to point to the location of a named color. Participants located targets near-perfectly when presented with four abutting colored patches. When presented with three colored patches on a colored background, toddlers failed to locate targets in the background. Eye tracking demonstrated that the effect was partially mediated by a tendency not to fixate the background. However, the effect was abolished when the targets were named as nouns, whilst the change to nouns had little impact on eye movement patterns. Our results imply a powerful, inbuilt tendency to attend to objects, which may slow the development of color concepts and acquisition of color words. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/TKO1BPeAiOI. [Correction added on 27 January 2017, after first online publication: The video abstract link was added.]. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. Intuitive reasoning about abstract and familiar physics problems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kaiser, Mary Kister; Jonides, John; Alexander, Joanne

    1986-01-01

    Previous research has demonstrated that many people have misconceptions about basic properties of motion. Two experiments examined whether people are more likely to produce dynamically correct predictions about basic motion problems involving situations with which they are familiar, and whether solving such problems enhances performance on a subsequent abstract problem. In experiment 1, college students were asked to predict the trajectories of objects exiting a curved tube. Subjects were more accurate on the familiar version of the problem, and there was no evidence of transfer to the abstract problem. In experiment 2, two familiar problems were provided in an attempt to enhance subjects' tendency to extract the general structure of the problems. Once again, they gave more correct responses to the familiar problems but failed to generalize to the abstract problem. Formal physics training was associated with correct predictions for the abstract problem but was unrelated to performance on the familiar problems.

  8. Information from multiple modalities helps 5-month-olds learn abstract rules.

    PubMed

    Frank, Michael C; Slemmer, Jonathan A; Marcus, Gary F; Johnson, Scott P

    2009-07-01

    By 7 months of age, infants are able to learn rules based on the abstract relationships between stimuli (Marcus et al., 1999), but they are better able to do so when exposed to speech than to some other classes of stimuli. In the current experiments we ask whether multimodal stimulus information will aid younger infants in identifying abstract rules. We habituated 5-month-olds to simple abstract patterns (ABA or ABB) instantiated in coordinated looming visual shapes and speech sounds (Experiment 1), shapes alone (Experiment 2), and speech sounds accompanied by uninformative but coordinated shapes (Experiment 3). Infants showed evidence of rule learning only in the presence of the informative multimodal cues. We hypothesize that the additional evidence present in these multimodal displays was responsible for the success of younger infants in learning rules, congruent with both a Bayesian account and with the Intersensory Redundancy Hypothesis.

  9. The Use, Users, and Role of Abstracts in the Digital Scholarly Environment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nicholas, David; Huntington, Paul; Jamali, Hamid R.

    2007-01-01

    Utilizing transactional log data taken from digital journal libraries and attitudinal and demographic data derived from a questionnaire survey, the article pieces together evidence concerning the use, users, and role of abstracts in a digital environment. It shows that abstracts are used in large quantities, even when full-text viewing facilities…

  10. The origin of the diffuse background gamma-radiation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stecker, F. W.; Puget, J. L.

    1974-01-01

    Recent observations have now provided evidence for diffuse background gamma radiation extending to energies beyond 100 MeV. There is some evidence of isotropy and implied cosmological origin. Significant features in the spectrum of this background radiation have been observed which provide evidence for its origin in nuclear processes in the early stages of the big-band cosmology and tie in these processes with galaxy fromation theory. A crucial test of the theory may lie in future observations of the background radiation in the 100 MeV to 100 GeV energy range which may be made with large orbiting spark-chamber satellite detectors. A discussion of the theoretical interpretations of present data, their connection with baryon symmetric cosmology and galaxy formation theory, and the need for future observations are given.

  11. Abstract Graphemic Representations Support Preparation of Handwritten Responses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shen, Xingjia Rachel; Damian, Marcus F.; Stadthagen-Gonzalez, Hans

    2013-01-01

    Some evidence suggests that the written production of single words involves not only the ordered retrieval of individual letters, but that abstract, higher-level linguistic properties of the words also influence responses. We report five experiments using the "implicit priming" task adopted from the spoken domain to investigate response…

  12. Dual-tracer background subtraction approach for fluorescent molecular tomography

    PubMed Central

    Holt, Robert W.; El-Ghussein, Fadi; Davis, Scott C.; Samkoe, Kimberley S.; Gunn, Jason R.; Leblond, Frederic

    2013-01-01

    Abstract. Diffuse fluorescence tomography requires high contrast-to-background ratios to accurately reconstruct inclusions of interest. This is a problem when imaging the uptake of fluorescently labeled molecularly targeted tracers in tissue, which can result in high levels of heterogeneously distributed background uptake. We present a dual-tracer background subtraction approach, wherein signal from the uptake of an untargeted tracer is subtracted from targeted tracer signal prior to image reconstruction, resulting in maps of targeted tracer binding. The approach is demonstrated in simulations, a phantom study, and in a mouse glioma imaging study, demonstrating substantial improvement over conventional and homogenous background subtraction image reconstruction approaches. PMID:23292612

  13. The body and the fading away of abstract concepts and words: a sign language analysis

    PubMed Central

    Borghi, Anna M.; Capirci, Olga; Gianfreda, Gabriele; Volterra, Virginia

    2014-01-01

    One of the most important challenges for embodied and grounded theories of cognition concerns the representation of abstract concepts, such as “freedom.” Many embodied theories of abstract concepts have been proposed. Some proposals stress the similarities between concrete and abstract concepts showing that they are both grounded in perception and action system while other emphasize their difference favoring a multiple representation view. An influential view proposes that abstract concepts are mapped to concrete ones through metaphors. Furthermore, some theories underline the fact that abstract concepts are grounded in specific contents, as situations, introspective states, emotions. These approaches are not necessarily mutually exclusive, since it is possible that they can account for different subsets of abstract concepts and words. One novel and fruitful way to understand the way in which abstract concepts are represented is to analyze how sign languages encode concepts into signs. In the present paper we will discuss these theoretical issues mostly relying on examples taken from Italian Sign Language (LIS, Lingua dei Segni Italiana), the visual-gestural language used within the Italian Deaf community. We will verify whether and to what extent LIS signs provide evidence favoring the different theories of abstract concepts. In analyzing signs we will distinguish between direct forms of involvement of the body and forms in which concepts are grounded differently, for example relying on linguistic experience. In dealing with the LIS evidence, we will consider the possibility that different abstract concepts are represented using different levels of embodiment. The collected evidence will help us to discuss whether a unitary embodied theory of abstract concepts is possible or whether the different theoretical proposals can account for different aspects of their representation. PMID:25120515

  14. Analysis of conference abstract-to-publication rate in UK orthopaedic research.

    PubMed

    Collier, Thomas; Roadley-Battin, Michelle; Darlow, Chloe; Chant, Philip; Hing, Caroline B; Smith, Toby O

    2018-02-01

    Presentation of research at orthopaedic conferences is an important component for surgical evidence-based practice. However, there remains uncertainty as to how many conference abstracts proceed to achieve full-text publication (FTP) for wider dissemination. This study aimed to determine the abstract-to-publication rate (APR) of research presented in the largest hip and knee orthopaedic meetings in the UK, and to identify predictive factors which influence the APR. All published abstracts (n=744) from the 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010 British Hip Society (BHS) and the 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011 British Association for Surgery of the Knee (BASK) annual conference meetings were examined by four researchers independently. To determine whether abstracts had been published in full-text form, Google Scholar, Medline and EMBASE evidence databases were used to verify FTP status. Variables including sample size, statistical significance, grade of the first author, research affiliated institution and research design were extracted and analysed to identify whether these were associated with FTP. 176 out of 744 abstracts achieved FTP status (APR: 23.7%). Factors associated with FTP status included statistically significant results (P<0.01) and research design (P=0.02). Factors not associated included sample size, grade of the first author and research affiliated institution (P>0.05). APRs of the assessed BHS and BASK annual conference presentations are low in comparison to other scientific meetings. Encouragement should be provided to clinicians and academics to submit their work for publication to address this short fall, thereby enhancing the potential for full-text research publications to inform evidence-based orthopaedics. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  15. Trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy for children and adolescents: assessing the evidence.

    PubMed

    de Arellano, Michael A Ramirez; Lyman, D Russell; Jobe-Shields, Lisa; George, Preethy; Dougherty, Richard H; Daniels, Allen S; Ghose, Sushmita Shoma; Huang, Larke; Delphin-Rittmon, Miriam E

    2014-05-01

    Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is a conjoint parent-child treatment developed by Cohen, Mannarino, and Deblinger that uses cognitive-behavioral principles and exposure techniques to prevent and treat posttraumatic stress, depression, and behavioral problems. This review defined TF-CBT, differentiated it from other models, and assessed the evidence base. Authors reviewed meta-analyses, reviews, and individual studies (1995 to 2013). Databases surveyed were PubMed, PsycINFO, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts, Social Services Abstracts, PILOTS, the ERIC, and the CINAHL. They chose from three levels of research evidence (high, moderate, and low) on the basis of benchmarks for number of studies and quality of their methodology. They also described the evidence of effectiveness. The level of evidence for TF-CBT was rated as high on the basis of ten RCTs, three of which were conducted independently (not by TF-CBT developers). TF-CBT has demonstrated positive outcomes in reducing symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, although it is less clear whether TF-CBT is effective in reducing behavior problems or symptoms of depression. Limitations of the studies include concerns about investigator bias and exclusion of vulnerable populations. TF-CBT is a viable treatment for reducing trauma-related symptoms among some children who have experienced trauma and their nonoffending caregivers. Based on this evidence, TF-CBT should be available as a covered service in health plans. Ongoing research is needed to further identify best practices for TF-CBT in various settings and with individuals from various racial and ethnic backgrounds and with varied trauma histories, symptoms, and stages of intellectual, social, and emotional development.

  16. Mass Communication: Abstracts of Doctoral Dissertations Published in "Dissertation Abstracts International," January through June 1984, (Vol. 44 Nos. 7 through 12).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills, Urbana, IL.

    This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 36 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) content diversity in local television news; (2) advertising influences on consumers' use of evidence; (3) organized labor and the mass media; (4) feminist film…

  17. Beyond Captions: Linking Figures with Abstract Sentences in Biomedical Articles

    PubMed Central

    Bockhorst, Joseph P.; Conroy, John M.; Agarwal, Shashank; O’Leary, Dianne P.; Yu, Hong

    2012-01-01

    Although figures in scientific articles have high information content and concisely communicate many key research findings, they are currently under utilized by literature search and retrieval systems. Many systems ignore figures, and those that do not typically only consider caption text. This study describes and evaluates a fully automated approach for associating figures in the body of a biomedical article with sentences in its abstract. We use supervised methods to learn probabilistic language models, hidden Markov models, and conditional random fields for predicting associations between abstract sentences and figures. Three kinds of evidence are used: text in abstract sentences and figures, relative positions of sentences and figures, and the patterns of sentence/figure associations across an article. Each information source is shown to have predictive value, and models that use all kinds of evidence are more accurate than models that do not. Our most accurate method has an -score of 69% on a cross-validation experiment, is competitive with the accuracy of human experts, has significantly better predictive accuracy than state-of-the-art methods and enables users to access figures associated with an abstract sentence with an average of 1.82 fewer mouse clicks. A user evaluation shows that human users find our system beneficial. The system is available at http://FigureItOut.askHERMES.org. PMID:22815711

  18. Evidence from the Cochrane Collaboration for Traditional Chinese Medicine Therapies

    PubMed Central

    Wieland, Susan; Kimbrough, Elizabeth; Cheng, Ker; Berman, Brian M.

    2009-01-01

    Abstract Background The Cochrane Collaboration, an international not-for-profit organization that prepares and maintains systematic reviews of randomized trials of health care therapies, has produced reviews summarizing much of the evidence on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Our objective was to review the evidence base according to Cochrane systematic reviews. Methods In order to detect reviews focusing on TCM, we searched the titles and abstracts of all reviews in Issue 4, 2008 of the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. For each review, we extracted data on the number of trials included and the total number of participants. We provided an indication of the strength of the review findings by assessing the reviewers' abstract conclusions statement. We supplemented our assessment of the abstract conclusions statements with a listing of the comparisons and outcomes showing statistically significant meta-analyses results. Results We identified 70 Cochrane systematic reviews of TCM, primarily acupuncture (n = 26) and Chinese herbal medicine (n = 42), and 1 each of moxibustion and t'ai chi. Nineteen (19) of 26 acupuncture reviews and 22/42 herbal medicine reviews concluded that there was not enough good quality trial evidence to make any conclusion about the efficacy of the evaluated treatment, while the remaining 7 acupuncture and 20 herbal medicine reviews and each of the moxibustion and t'ai chi reviews indicated a suggestion of benefit, which was qualified by a caveat about the poor quality and quantity of studies. Most reviews included many distinct interventions, controls, outcomes, and populations, and a large number of different comparisons were made, each with a distinct forest plot. Conclusions Most Cochrane systematic reviews of TCM are inconclusive, due specifically to the poor methodology and heterogeneity of the studies reviewed. Some systematic reviews provide preliminary evidence of Chinese medicine's benefits to certain patient populations

  19. NASA Patent Abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 21) Abstracts

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1982-01-01

    Abstracts are cited for 87 patents and applications introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period of January 1982 through June 1982. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in mose cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  20. 77 FR 10508 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Background Checks...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-02-22

    ... Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Background Checks for Contractor Employees (Renewal) AGENCY... the electronic docket, go to www.regulations.gov . Title: Background Checks for Contractor Employees... consolidated in 40 CFR part 9. Abstract: The EPA uses contractors to perform services throughout the nation...

  1. Automatic Evidence Retrieval for Systematic Reviews

    PubMed Central

    Choong, Miew Keen; Galgani, Filippo; Dunn, Adam G

    2014-01-01

    Background Snowballing involves recursively pursuing relevant references cited in the retrieved literature and adding them to the search results. Snowballing is an alternative approach to discover additional evidence that was not retrieved through conventional search. Snowballing’s effectiveness makes it best practice in systematic reviews despite being time-consuming and tedious. Objective Our goal was to evaluate an automatic method for citation snowballing’s capacity to identify and retrieve the full text and/or abstracts of cited articles. Methods Using 20 review articles that contained 949 citations to journal or conference articles, we manually searched Microsoft Academic Search (MAS) and identified 78.0% (740/949) of the cited articles that were present in the database. We compared the performance of the automatic citation snowballing method against the results of this manual search, measuring precision, recall, and F1 score. Results The automatic method was able to correctly identify 633 (as proportion of included citations: recall=66.7%, F1 score=79.3%; as proportion of citations in MAS: recall=85.5%, F1 score=91.2%) of citations with high precision (97.7%), and retrieved the full text or abstract for 490 (recall=82.9%, precision=92.1%, F1 score=87.3%) of the 633 correctly retrieved citations. Conclusions The proposed method for automatic citation snowballing is accurate and is capable of obtaining the full texts or abstracts for a substantial proportion of the scholarly citations in review articles. By automating the process of citation snowballing, it may be possible to reduce the time and effort of common evidence surveillance tasks such as keeping trial registries up to date and conducting systematic reviews. PMID:25274020

  2. Grounding Abstractness: Abstract Concepts and the Activation of the Mouth

    PubMed Central

    Borghi, Anna M.; Zarcone, Edoardo

    2016-01-01

    One key issue for theories of cognition is how abstract concepts, such as freedom, are represented. According to the WAT (Words As social Tools) proposal, abstract concepts activate both sensorimotor and linguistic/social information, and their acquisition modality involves the linguistic experience more than the acquisition of concrete concepts. We report an experiment in which participants were presented with abstract and concrete definitions followed by concrete and abstract target-words. When the definition and the word matched, participants were required to press a key, either with the hand or with the mouth. Response times and accuracy were recorded. As predicted, we found that abstract definitions and abstract words yielded slower responses and more errors compared to concrete definitions and concrete words. More crucially, there was an interaction between the target-words and the effector used to respond (hand, mouth). While responses with the mouth were overall slower, the advantage of the hand over the mouth responses was more marked with concrete than with abstract concepts. The results are in keeping with grounded and embodied theories of cognition and support the WAT proposal, according to which abstract concepts evoke linguistic-social information, hence activate the mouth. The mechanisms underlying the mouth activation with abstract concepts (re-enactment of acquisition experience, or re-explanation of the word meaning, possibly through inner talk) are discussed. To our knowledge this is the first behavioral study demonstrating with real words that the advantage of the hand over the mouth is more marked with concrete than with abstract concepts, likely because of the activation of linguistic information with abstract concepts. PMID:27777563

  3. Transitional Jobs: Background, Program Models, and Evaluation Evidence

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bloom, Dan

    2010-01-01

    The budget for the U.S. Department of Labor for Fiscal Year 2010 includes a total of $45 million to support and study transitional jobs. This paper describes the origins of the transitional jobs models that are operating today, reviews the evidence on the effectiveness of this approach and other subsidized employment models, and offers some…

  4. ERP evidence for hemispheric asymmetries in abstract but not exemplar-specific repetition priming.

    PubMed

    Küper, Kristina; Liesefeld, Anna M; Zimmer, Hubert D

    2015-12-01

    Implicit memory retrieval is thought to be exemplar-specific in the right hemisphere (RH) but abstract in the left hemisphere (LH). Yet, conflicting behavioral priming results illustrate that the level at which asymmetries take effect is difficult to pinpoint. In the present divided visual field experiment, we tried to address this issue by analyzing ERPs in addition to behavioral measures. Participants made a natural/artificial decision on lateralized visual objects that were either new, identical repetitions, or different exemplars of studied items. Hemispheric asymmetries did not emerge in either behavioral or late positive complex (LPC) priming effects, but did affect the process of implicit memory retrieval proper as indexed by an early frontal negativity (N350/(F)N400). Whereas exemplar-specific N350/(F)N400 priming effects emerged irrespective of presentation side, abstract implicit memory retrieval of different exemplars was contingent on right visual field presentation and the ensuing initial stimulus processing by the LH. © 2015 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

  5. Do Executives' Backgrounds Matter to IPO Investors? Evidence from the Life Science Industry

    PubMed Central

    Chok, Jay; Qian, Jifeng

    2013-01-01

    In this study, we focus on the impact of senior executives' industry backgrounds on the amount of capital raised in the stock market. The primary contribution of the study entails applying the upper echelon theory to the initial public offering (IPO) phenomenon. Specifically, we hypothesize that the industry backgrounds of corporate executives affect the amount of capital that the firm raised in the primary stock market. We argue that the firm's future investment strategies are unobserved by the investors ex-ante and investors expect firms' investment strategies to be based on the executives' industry backgrounds. As a result, the executives' industry backgrounds influence the investors' expectations about what investment strategies the firm is likely to deploy. Furthermore, the above logic also suggests that executives of different industry backgrounds should prefer different investment strategies corresponding with demand for different amount of capital. As a result, we expect the industry backgrounds to covary with the capital raised from both the supply and demand perspectives. To test the hypotheses, we ran a reduced econometric model wherein the executives' background predicts the amount of capital raised. Regression analyses suggest that the capital raised is negatively associated with the number of senior executives with prior career experience in the healthcare and genomic sectors but positively associated with the number of senior executives with prior career experience in regulatory affairs. The results provide tentative support for the notion that investors infer corporate strategies from senior executives' industry backgrounds. PMID:23690920

  6. Do executives' backgrounds matter to IPO investors? Evidence from the life science industry.

    PubMed

    Chok, Jay; Qian, Jifeng

    2013-01-01

    In this study, we focus on the impact of senior executives' industry backgrounds on the amount of capital raised in the stock market. The primary contribution of the study entails applying the upper echelon theory to the initial public offering (IPO) phenomenon. Specifically, we hypothesize that the industry backgrounds of corporate executives affect the amount of capital that the firm raised in the primary stock market. We argue that the firm's future investment strategies are unobserved by the investors ex-ante and investors expect firms' investment strategies to be based on the executives' industry backgrounds. As a result, the executives' industry backgrounds influence the investors' expectations about what investment strategies the firm is likely to deploy. Furthermore, the above logic also suggests that executives of different industry backgrounds should prefer different investment strategies corresponding with demand for different amount of capital. As a result, we expect the industry backgrounds to covary with the capital raised from both the supply and demand perspectives. To test the hypotheses, we ran a reduced econometric model wherein the executives' background predicts the amount of capital raised. Regression analyses suggest that the capital raised is negatively associated with the number of senior executives with prior career experience in the healthcare and genomic sectors but positively associated with the number of senior executives with prior career experience in regulatory affairs. The results provide tentative support for the notion that investors infer corporate strategies from senior executives' industry backgrounds.

  7. Extracting rate changes in transcriptional regulation from MEDLINE abstracts.

    PubMed

    Liu, Wenting; Miao, Kui; Li, Guangxia; Chang, Kuiyu; Zheng, Jie; Rajapakse, Jagath C

    2014-01-01

    Time delays are important factors that are often neglected in gene regulatory network (GRN) inference models. Validating time delays from knowledge bases is a challenge since the vast majority of biological databases do not record temporal information of gene regulations. Biological knowledge and facts on gene regulations are typically extracted from bio-literature with specialized methods that depend on the regulation task. In this paper, we mine evidences for time delays related to the transcriptional regulation of yeast from the PubMed abstracts. Since the vast majority of abstracts lack quantitative time information, we can only collect qualitative evidences of time delays. Specifically, the speed-up or delay in transcriptional regulation rate can provide evidences for time delays (shorter or longer) in GRN. Thus, we focus on deriving events related to rate changes in transcriptional regulation. A corpus of yeast regulation related abstracts was manually labeled with such events. In order to capture these events automatically, we create an ontology of sub-processes that are likely to result in transcription rate changes by combining textual patterns and biological knowledge. We also propose effective feature extraction methods based on the created ontology to identify the direct evidences with specific details of these events. Our ontologies outperform existing state-of-the-art gene regulation ontologies in the automatic rule learning method applied to our corpus. The proposed deterministic ontology rule-based method can achieve comparable performance to the automatic rule learning method based on decision trees. This demonstrates the effectiveness of our ontology in identifying rate-changing events. We also tested the effectiveness of the proposed feature mining methods on detecting direct evidence of events. Experimental results show that the machine learning method on these features achieves an F1-score of 71.43%. The manually labeled corpus of events

  8. Can Individuals with Autism Abstract Prototypes of Natural Faces?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gastgeb, Holly Zajac; Wilkinson, Desiree A.; Minshew, Nancy J.; Strauss, Mark S.

    2011-01-01

    There is a growing amount of evidence suggesting that individuals with autism have difficulty with face processing. One basic cognitive ability that may underlie face processing difficulties is the ability to abstract a prototype. The current study examined prototype formation with natural faces using eye-tracking in high-functioning adults with…

  9. Is the Motor System Necessary for Processing Action and Abstract Emotion Words? Evidence from Focal Brain Lesions

    PubMed Central

    Dreyer, Felix R.; Frey, Dietmar; Arana, Sophie; von Saldern, Sarah; Picht, Thomas; Vajkoczy, Peter; Pulvermüller, Friedemann

    2015-01-01

    Neuroimaging and neuropsychological experiments suggest that modality-preferential cortices, including motor- and somatosensory areas, contribute to the semantic processing of action related concrete words. Still, a possible role of sensorimotor areas in processing abstract meaning remains under debate. Recent fMRI studies indicate an involvement of the left sensorimotor cortex in the processing of abstract-emotional words (e.g., “love”) which resembles activation patterns seen for action words. But are the activated areas indeed necessary for processing action-related and abstract words? The current study now investigates word processing in two patients suffering from focal brain lesion in the left frontocentral motor system. A speeded Lexical Decision Task on meticulously matched word groups showed that the recognition of nouns from different semantic categories – related to food, animals, tools, and abstract-emotional concepts – was differentially affected. Whereas patient HS with a lesion in dorsolateral central sensorimotor systems next to the hand area showed a category-specific deficit in recognizing tool words, patient CA suffering from lesion centered in the left supplementary motor area was primarily impaired in abstract-emotional word processing. These results point to a causal role of the motor cortex in the semantic processing of both action-related object concepts and abstract-emotional concepts and therefore suggest that the motor areas previously found active in action-related and abstract word processing can serve a meaning-specific necessary role in word recognition. The category-specific nature of the observed dissociations is difficult to reconcile with the idea that sensorimotor systems are somehow peripheral or ‘epiphenomenal’ to meaning and concept processing. Rather, our results are consistent with the claim that cognition is grounded in action and perception and based on distributed action perception circuits reaching into

  10. [Variant of abnormal mental development with early evidence of abstract thinking].

    PubMed

    Bulakhova, L A

    1982-01-01

    The author presents the data of 4- to 25-year-long observation of a group of boys distinguished since the early age by a pronounced disproportionaity of the psychic development: an accelerated development of abstract-logical thinking with gross defects of sensuous perception, emotions, psychomotor functions, and adaptive behaviour as a whole. Despite the evolutional course of the state most of the patients appeared to be unable to independent social adaptation. The degree and structure of this disharmonic underdevelopment allow one to regard this pathology as a variant of nervous system dysontogenesis differing from, but bordering on such forms as Kanner's autism, Asperger's psychopathy, or mental retardation with partial giftedness.

  11. Revealing hidden covariation detection: evidence for implicit abstraction at study.

    PubMed

    Rossnagel, C S

    2001-09-01

    Four experiments in the brain scans paradigm (P. Lewicki, T. Hill, & I. Sasaki, 1989) investigated hidden covariation detection (HCD). In Experiment 1 HCD was found in an implicit- but not in an explicit-instruction group. In Experiment 2 HCD was impaired by nonholistic perception of stimuli but not by divided attention. In Experiment 3 HCD was eliminated by interspersing stimuli that deviated from the critical covariation. In Experiment 4 a transfer procedure was used. HCD was found with dissimilar test stimuli that preserved the covariation but was almost eliminated with similar stimuli that were neutral as to the covariation. Awareness was assessed both by objective and subjective tests in all experiments. Results suggest that HCD is an effect of implicit rule abstraction and that similarity processing plays only a minor role. HCD might be suppressed by intentional search strategies that induce inappropriate aggregation of stimulus information.

  12. Semantic domain-specific functional integration for action-related vs. abstract concepts.

    PubMed

    Ghio, Marta; Tettamanti, Marco

    2010-03-01

    A central topic in cognitive neuroscience concerns the representation of concepts and the specific neural mechanisms that mediate conceptual knowledge. Recently proposed modal theories assert that concepts are grounded on the integration of multimodal, distributed representations. The aim of the present work is to complement the available neuropsychological and neuroimaging evidence suggesting partially segregated anatomo-functional correlates for concrete vs. abstract concepts, by directly testing the semantic domain-specific patterns of functional integration between language and modal semantic brain regions. We report evidence from a functional magnetic resonance imaging study, in which healthy participants listened to sentences with either an action-related (actions involving physical entities) or an abstract (no physical entities involved) content. We measured functional integration using dynamic causal modeling, and found that the left superior temporal gyrus was more strongly connected: (1) for action-related vs. abstract sentences, with the left-hemispheric action representation system, including sensorimotor areas; (2) for abstract vs. action-related sentences, with left infero-ventral frontal, temporal, and retrosplenial cingulate areas. A selective directionality effect was observed, with causal modulatory effects exerted by perisylvian language regions on peripheral modal areas, and not vice versa. The observed condition-specific modulatory effects are consistent with embodied and situated language processing theories, and indicate that linguistic areas promote a semantic content-specific reactivation of modal simulations by top-down mechanisms. Copyright 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. The cosmic microwave background radiation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Silk, Joseph

    1992-01-01

    A review the implications of the spectrum and anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background for cosmology. Thermalization and processes generating spectral distortions are discussed. Anisotropy predictions are described and compared with observational constraints. If the evidence for large-scale power in the galaxy distribution in excess of that predicted by the cold dark matter model is vindicated, and the observed structure originated via gravitational instabilities of primordial density fluctuations, the predicted amplitude of microwave background anisotropies on angular scales of a degree and larger must be at least several parts in 10 exp 6.

  14. Eliminate background interference from latent fingerprints using ultraviolet multispectral imaging

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huang, Wei; Xu, Xiaojing; Wang, Guiqiang

    2014-02-01

    Fingerprints are the most important evidence in crime scene. The technology of developing latent fingerprints is one of the hottest research areas in forensic science. Recently, multispectral imaging which has shown great capability in fingerprints development, questioned document detection and trace evidence examination is used in detecting material evidence. This paper studied how to eliminate background interference from non-porous and porous surface latent fingerprints by rotating filter wheel ultraviolet multispectral imaging. The results approved that background interference could be removed clearly from latent fingerprints by using multispectral imaging in ultraviolet bandwidth.

  15. Publication Rates of Abstracts Presented at Five National Pharmacy Association Meetings

    PubMed Central

    Prohaska, Emily; Generali, Joyce; Zak, Kevin; Grauer, Dennis

    2013-01-01

    Background: Abstract presentations at professional meetings provide a medium for disseminating the findings of scholarly activity. Rates of abstract publication from various biomedical disciplines have been evaluated, with pharmacy noted to be lower than other specialties. Previous research on pharmacy abstract publication rates was conducted for a limited number of professional meetings but has not been assessed using Google Scholar. Objective: To determine the full publication rate of abstracts presented at the 2005 American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) Spring and Annual Meetings, American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Annual Meeting, and American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Summer and Midyear Clinical Meetings. Methods: Publication status was assessed for abstracts presented during the 2005 ACCP Spring and Annual Meetings, APhA Annual Meeting, and ASHP Summer and Midyear Clinical Meetings using PubMed and Google Scholar. Data collected included abstract category, study category, practice site, database(s) in which publication appeared, time in months to publication, publication type, and journal of publication. Results: Evaluation of 2,000 abstracts presented in 2005 revealed an overall full publication rate of 19.8% (n = 384). Nearly all pharmacy abstracts were published as manuscripts (98.4%; n=378) and indexed in PubMed and Google Scholar (91.9%; n = 353), although a significant percentage were indexed in Google Scholar only (7.8%; n = 30). The mean time to full publication was 16.8 months (SD ±11.9 months). Conclusions: Results were consistent with previously reported full publication rates of abstracts from pharmacy association meetings, indicating that abstracts presented at pharmacy meetings continue to have a lower full publication rate than other health disciplines. PMID:24421465

  16. Teaching Equivalent Fractions to Secondary Students with Disabilities via the Virtual-Representational-Abstract Instructional Sequence

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bouck, Emily C.; Bassette, Laura; Shurr, Jordan; Park, Jiyoon; Kerr, Jackie; Whorley, Abbie

    2017-01-01

    Fractions are an important mathematical concept; however, fractions are also a struggle for many students with disabilities. This study explored a new framework adapted from the evidence-based concrete-representational-abstract framework: the virtual-representational-abstract (VRA) framework. The VRA framework involves teaching students to solve…

  17. Central load reduces peripheral processing: Evidence from incidental memory of background speech.

    PubMed

    Halin, Niklas; Marsh, John E; Sörqvist, Patrik

    2015-12-01

    Is there a trade-off between central (working memory) load and peripheral (perceptual) processing? To address this question, participants were requested to undertake an n-back task in one of two levels of central/cognitive load (i.e., 1-back or 2-back) in the presence of a to-be-ignored story presented via headphones. Participants were told to ignore the background story, but they were given a surprise memory test of what had been said in the background story, immediately after the n-back task was completed. Memory was poorer in the high central load (2-back) condition in comparison with the low central load (1-back) condition. Hence, when people compensate for higher central load, by increasing attentional engagement, peripheral processing is constrained. Moreover, participants with high working memory capacity (WMC) - with a superior ability for attentional engagement - remembered less of the background story, but only in the low central load condition. Taken together, peripheral processing - as indexed by incidental memory of background speech - is constrained when task engagement is high. © 2015 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology published by Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  18. Abstract Mindsets Increase Believability of Spatially Distant Online Messages

    PubMed Central

    Sungur, Hande; Hartmann, Tilo; van Koningsbruggen, Guido M.

    2016-01-01

    Growing evidence from online credibility research reveals that online users rely on heuristic processes to evaluate the credibility of online information. The current paper, which is based on the construal level theory (CLT), proposes that congruency between the psychological distance of a stimulus and the way it is mentally construed can act as a heuristic for believability. According to CLT, psychologically close (e.g., spatially, temporally, socially) stimuli are represented concretely whereas psychologically distant stimuli are represented abstractly. The level of mental construals and the psychological distance of information have been shown to influence people’s truth judgments in offline contexts. This study tests whether congruency between the construal level of people’s mindsets (abstract vs. concrete) and the psychological distance implied in an online message (far vs. close) enhances message believability. By partially confirming CLT predictions, we found that believability of an online news item about a distant location increased when people maintained an abstract mindset rather than a concrete one. The effect of a concrete mindset on believability was not significant for the close psychological distance condition. Our findings provide initial evidence that congruency between the construal level of people’s mindsets and psychological distance cues in online messages can act as a heuristic for believability. We discuss the potential of applying the CLT framework to the growing literature on online cognitive heuristics in the area of online information credibility. PMID:27468272

  19. PS2-06: Best Practices for Advancing Multi-site Chart Abstraction Research

    PubMed Central

    Blick, Noelle; Cole, Deanna; King, Colleen; Riordan, Rick; Von Worley, Ann; Yarbro, Patty

    2012-01-01

    Background/Aims Multi-site chart abstraction studies are becoming increasingly common within the HMORN. Differences in systems among HMORN sites can pose significant obstacles to the success of these studies. It is therefore crucial to standardize abstraction activities by following best practices for multi-site chart abstraction, as consistency of processes across sites will increase efficiencies and enhance data quality. Methods Over the past few months the authors have been meeting to identify obstacles to multi-site chart abstraction and to address ways in which multi-site chart abstraction processes can be systemized and standardized. The aim of this workgroup is to create a best practice guide for multi-site chart abstraction studies. Focus areas include: abstractor training, format for chart abstraction (database, paper, etc), data quality, redaction, mechanism for transferring data, site specific access to medical records, IRB/HIPAA concerns, and budgetary issues. Results The results of the workgroup’s efforts (the best practice guide) will be presented by a panel of experts at the 2012 HMORN conference. The presentation format will also focus on discussion among attendees to elicit further input and to identify areas that need to be further addressed. Subsequently, the best practice guide will be posted on the HMORN website. Discussion The best practice guide for multi-site chart abstraction studies will establish sound guidelines and serve as an aid to researchers embarking on multi-site chart abstraction studies. Efficiencies and data quality will be further enhanced with standardized multi-site chart abstraction practices.

  20. Perception of emotion in abstract artworks: a multidisciplinary approach.

    PubMed

    Melcher, David; Bacci, Francesca

    2013-01-01

    There is a long-standing and fundamental debate regarding how emotion can be expressed by fine art. Some artists and theorists have claimed that certain features of paintings, such as color, line, form, and composition, can consistently express an "objective" emotion, while others have argued that emotion perception is subjective and depends more on expertise of the observer. Here, we discuss two studies in which we have found evidence for consistency in observer ratings of emotion for abstract artworks. We have developed a stimulus set of abstract art images to test emotional priming, both between different painting images and between paintings and faces. The ratings were also used in a computational vision analysis of the visual features underlying emotion expression. Overall, these findings suggest that there is a strong bottom-up and objective aspect to perception of emotion in abstract artworks that may tap into basic visual mechanisms. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Reporting funding source or conflict of interest in abstracts of randomized controlled trials, no evidence of a large impact on general practitioners' confidence in conclusions, a three-arm randomized controlled trial.

    PubMed

    Buffel du Vaure, Céline; Boutron, Isabelle; Perrodeau, Elodie; Ravaud, Philippe

    2014-04-28

    Systematic reporting of funding sources is recommended in the CONSORT Statement for abstracts. However, no specific recommendation is related to the reporting of conflicts of interest (CoI). The objective was to compare physicians' confidence in the conclusions of abstracts of randomized controlled trials of pharmaceutical treatment indexed in PubMed. We planned a three-arm parallel-group randomized trial. French general practitioners (GPs) were invited to participate and were blinded to the study's aim. We used a representative sample of 75 abstracts of pharmaceutical industry-funded randomized controlled trials published in 2010 and indexed in PubMed. Each abstract was standardized and reported in three formats: 1) no mention of the funding source or CoI; 2) reporting the funding source only; and 3) reporting the funding source and CoI. GPs were randomized according to a computerized randomization on a secure Internet system at a 1:1:1 ratio to assess one abstract among the three formats. The primary outcome was GPs' confidence in the abstract conclusions (0, not at all, to 10, completely confident). The study was planned to detect a large difference with an effect size of 0.5. Between October 2012 and June 2013, among 605 GPs contacted, 354 were randomized, 118 for each type of abstract. The mean difference (95% confidence interval) in GPs' confidence in abstract findings was 0.2 (-0.6; 1.0) (P = 0.84) for abstracts reporting the funding source only versus no funding source or CoI; -0.4 (-1.3; 0.4) (P = 0.39) for abstracts reporting the funding source and CoI versus no funding source and CoI; and -0.6 (-1.5; 0.2) (P = 0.15) for abstracts reporting the funding source and CoI versus the funding source only. We found no evidence of a large impact of trial report abstracts mentioning funding sources or CoI on GPs' confidence in the conclusions of the abstracts. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01679873.

  2. Abstract concepts, language and sociality: from acquisition to inner speech.

    PubMed

    Borghi, Anna M; Barca, Laura; Binkofski, Ferdinand; Tummolini, Luca

    2018-08-05

    The problem of representation of abstract concepts, such as 'freedom' and 'justice', has become particularly crucial in recent years, owing to the increased success of embodied and grounded views of cognition. We will present a novel view on abstract concepts and abstract words. Since abstract concepts do not have single objects as referents, children and adults might rely more on input from others to learn them; we, therefore, suggest that linguistic and social experience play an important role for abstract concepts. We will discuss evidence obtained in our and other laboratories showing that processing of abstract concepts evokes linguistic interaction and social experiences, leading to the activation of the mouth motor system. We will discuss the possible mechanisms that underlie this activation. Mouth motor system activation can be due to re-enactment of the experience of conceptual acquisition, which occurred through the mediation of language. Alternatively, it could be due to the re-explanation of the word meaning, possibly through inner speech. Finally, it can be due to a metacognitive process revealing low confidence in the meaning of our concepts. This process induces in us the need to rely on others to ask/negotiate conceptual meaning. We conclude that with abstract concepts language works as a social tool: it extends our thinking abilities and pushes us to rely on others to integrate our knowledge.This article is part of the theme issue 'Varieties of abstract concepts: development, use, and representation in the brain'. © 2018 The Author(s).

  3. Abstraction and Consolidation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Monaghan, John; Ozmantar, Mehmet Fatih

    2006-01-01

    The framework for this paper is a recently developed theory of abstraction in context. The paper reports on data collected from one student working on tasks concerned with absolute value functions. It examines the relationship between mathematical constructions and abstractions. It argues that an abstraction is a consolidated construction that can…

  4. Assessment of the quality of reporting in abstracts of systematic reviews with meta-analyses in periodontology and implant dentistry.

    PubMed

    Faggion, C M; Liu, J; Huda, F; Atieh, M

    2014-04-01

    Proper scientific reporting is necessary to ensure the correct interpretation of study results by readers. The main objective of this study was to assess the quality of reporting in abstracts of systematic reviews (SRs) with meta-analyses in periodontology and implant dentistry. Differences in reporting of abstracts in Cochrane and paper-based reviews were also assessed. The PubMed electronic database and the Cochrane database for SRs were searched on November 11, 2012, independently and in duplicate, for SRs with meta-analyses related to interventions in periodontology and implant dentistry. Assessment of the quality of reporting was performed independently and in duplicate, taking into account items related to the effect direction, numerical estimates of effect size, measures of precision, probability and consistency. We initially screened 433 papers and included 146 (127 paper-based and 19 Cochrane reviews, respectively). The direction of evidence was reported in two-thirds of the abstracts while strength of evidence and measure of precision (i.e., confidence interval) were reported in less than half the selected abstracts. Measures of consistency such as I(2) statistics were reported in only 5% of the selected sample of abstracts. Cochrane abstracts reported the limitations of evidence and precision better than paper-based ones. Two items ("meta-analysis" in title and abstract, respectively), were nevertheless better reported in paper-based abstracts. Abstracts of SRs with meta-analyses in periodontology and implant dentistry currently have no uniform standard of reporting, which may hinder readers' understanding of study outcomes. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. Quality of reporting of trial abstracts needs to be improved: using the CONSORT for abstracts to assess the four leading Chinese medical journals of traditional Chinese medicine

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    Background Due to language limitations, the abstract of journal article may be the only way for people of non-Chinese speaking countries to know about trials in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). However, little is known about the reporting quality of these trial abstracts. Our study is to assess the reporting quality of abstracts of randomized controlled trials (RCT) published in four leading Chinese medical journals of TCM, and to identify any differences in reporting between the Chinese and English version of the same abstract publication. Method Two reviewers hand-searched the Chinese Journal of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, the Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine, the China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica and the Chinese Acupuncture & Moxibustion for all abstracts of RCTs published between 2006 and 2007. Two reviewers independently assessed the reporting quality of the Chinese and English version of all eligible abstracts based on a modified version of the CONSORT for reporting randomised trials in journal and conference abstracts (CONSORT for abstracts). Results We identified a total of 345 RCTs of TCM with both a Chinese and English abstract. More than half of Chinese abstracts reported details of the trial participants (68%; 234/345), control group intervention (52%; 179/345), the number of participants randomized (73%; 253/345) and benefits when interpreting the trial results (55%; 190/345). Reporting of methodological quality or key features of trial design and trial results were poor; only 2% (7/345) included details of the trial design, 3% (11/345) defined the primary outcome, 5% (17/345) described the methods of random sequence generation, and only 4% (13/345) reported the number of participants analyzed. No abstracts provided details on allocation concealment and trial registration. The percentage agreement in reporting (between the Chinese and English version of the same abstract) ranged from 84% to 100% across individual

  6. Effects of Socio-Economic Background Factors on Typewriting Speed and Accuracy.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Erickson, Lawrence W.

    The socioeconomic backgrounds of typewriting students as such backgrounds affect typewriting performance is evaluated in this research. There is convincing evidence that socioeconomic factors play a significant role in affecting typewriting performance. Students from low socioeconomic backgrounds are almost always associated with the poorest…

  7. [CONSORT for reporting randomized controlled trials in journal and conference abstracts: explanation and elaboration].

    PubMed

    Hopewel, Sally; Clarke, Mike; Moher, David; Wager, Elizabeth; Middleton, Philippa; Altman, Douglas G; Schulz, Kenneth F; The, Consort Group

    2008-03-01

    Clear, transparent, and sufficiently detailed abstracts of conferences and journal articles related to randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are important, because readers often base their assessment of a trial solely on information in the abstract. Here, we extend the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) Statement to develop a minimum list of essential items, which authors should consider when reporting the results of a RCT in any journal or conference abstract. We generated a list of items from existing quality assessment tools and empirical evidence. A three-round, modified-Delphi process was used to select items. In all, 109 participants were invited to participate in an electronic survey; the response rate was 61%. Survey results were presented at a meeting of the CONSORT Group in Montebello, Canada, January 2007, involving 26 participants, including clinical trialists, statisticians, epidemiologists, and biomedical editors. Checklist items were discussed for eligibility into the final checklist. The checklist was then revised to ensure that it reflected discussions held during and subsequent to the meeting. CONSORT for Abstracts recommends that abstracts relating to RCTs have a structured format. Items should include details of trial objectives; trial design (e.g., method of allocation, blinding/masking); trial participants (i.e., description, numbers randomized, and number analyzed); interventions intended for each randomized group and their impact on primary efficacy outcomes and harms; trial conclusions; trial registration name and number; and source of funding. We recommend the checklist be used in conjunction with this explanatory document, which includes examples of good reporting, rationale, and evidence, when available, for the inclusion of each item. CONSORT for Abstracts aims to improve reporting of abstracts of RCTs published in journal articles and conference proceedings. It will help authors of abstracts of these trials provide the

  8. Methoxyflurane: I. An overview. II. An abstracted literature collection, 1947--1976

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Waters, E.M.; Ricci, B.E.

    1977-07-01

    Evidence presented in the literature suggests that methoxyflurane (Penthrane) (MOF) is a potent and efficacious anesthetic. At the same time, however, observed adverse reactions indicate that additional data are needed to determine the feasibility for continued widespread use of MOF. Experimental and clinical evidence clearly demonstrates that the ionic metabolites of MOF (fluoride and oxalate ions) are the toxic moieties responsible for the resultant physiologic maladies. This report on methoxyflurane is comprised of an overview and an abstracted literature collection.

  9. Abstract analogical reasoning in high-functioning children with autism spectrum disorders.

    PubMed

    Green, Adam E; Kenworthy, Lauren; Mosner, Maya G; Gallagher, Natalie M; Fearon, Edward W; Balhana, Carlos D; Yerys, Benjamin E

    2014-12-01

    Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) exhibit a deficit in spontaneously recognizing abstract similarities that are crucial for generalizing learning to new situations. This may contribute to deficits in the development of appropriate schemas for navigating novel situations, including social interactions. Analogical reasoning is the central cognitive mechanism that enables typically developing children to understand abstract similarities between different situations. Intriguingly, studies of high-functioning children with ASD point to a relative cognitive strength in basic, nonabstract forms of analogical reasoning. If this analogical reasoning ability extends to abstract analogical reasoning (i.e., between superficially dissimilar situations), it may provide a bridge between a cognitive capability and core ASD deficits in areas such as generalization and categorization. This study tested whether preserved analogical reasoning abilities in ASD can be extended to abstract analogical reasoning, using photographs of real-world items and situations. Abstractness of the analogies was determined via a quantitative measure of semantic distance derived from latent semantic analysis. Children with ASD performed as well as typically developing children at identifying abstract analogical similarities when explicitly instructed to apply analogical reasoning. Individual differences in abstract analogical reasoning ability predicted individual differences in a measure of social function in the ASD group. Preliminary analyses indicated that children with ASD, but not typically developing children, showed an effect of age on abstract analogical reasoning. These results provide new evidence that children with ASD are capable of identifying abstract similarities through analogical reasoning, pointing to abstract analogical reasoning as a potential lever for improving generalization skills and social function in ASD. © 2014 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley

  10. Relationship between abstract thinking and eye gaze pattern in patients with schizophrenia

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Effective integration of visual information is necessary to utilize abstract thinking, but patients with schizophrenia have slow eye movement and usually explore limited visual information. This study examines the relationship between abstract thinking ability and the pattern of eye gaze in patients with schizophrenia using a novel theme identification task. Methods Twenty patients with schizophrenia and 22 healthy controls completed the theme identification task, in which subjects selected which word, out of a set of provided words, best described the theme of a picture. Eye gaze while performing the task was recorded by the eye tracker. Results Patients exhibited a significantly lower correct rate for theme identification and lesser fixation and saccade counts than controls. The correct rate was significantly correlated with the fixation count in patients, but not in controls. Conclusions Patients with schizophrenia showed impaired abstract thinking and decreased quality of gaze, which were positively associated with each other. Theme identification and eye gaze appear to be useful as tools for the objective measurement of abstract thinking in patients with schizophrenia. PMID:24739356

  11. Pacifier Overuse and Conceptual Relations of Abstract and Emotional Concepts.

    PubMed

    Barca, Laura; Mazzuca, Claudia; Borghi, Anna M

    2017-01-01

    This study explores the impact of the extensive use of an oral device since infancy (pacifier) on the acquisition of concrete, abstract, and emotional concepts. While recent evidence showed a negative relation between pacifier use and children's emotional competence (Niedenthal et al., 2012), the possible interaction between use of pacifier and processing of emotional and abstract language has not been investigated. According to recent theories, while all concepts are grounded in sensorimotor experience, abstract concepts activate linguistic and social information more than concrete ones. Specifically, the Words As Social Tools (WAT) proposal predicts that the simulation of their meaning leads to an activation of the mouth (Borghi and Binkofski, 2014; Borghi and Zarcone, 2016). Since the pacifier affects facial mimicry forcing mouth muscles into a static position, we hypothesize its possible interference on acquisition/consolidation of abstract emotional and abstract not-emotional concepts, which are mainly conveyed during social and linguistic interactions, than of concrete concepts. Fifty-nine first grade children, with a history of different frequency of pacifier use, provided oral definitions of the meaning of abstract not-emotional, abstract emotional, and concrete words. Main effect of concept type emerged, with higher accuracy in defining concrete and abstract emotional concepts with respect to abstract not-emotional concepts, independently from pacifier use. Accuracy in definitions was not influenced by the use of pacifier, but correspondence and hierarchical clustering analyses suggest that the use of pacifier differently modulates the conceptual relations elicited by abstract emotional and abstract not-emotional. While the majority of the children produced a similar pattern of conceptual relations, analyses on the few (6) children who overused the pacifier (for more than 3 years) showed that they tend to distinguish less clearly between concrete and

  12. Pacifier Overuse and Conceptual Relations of Abstract and Emotional Concepts

    PubMed Central

    Barca, Laura; Mazzuca, Claudia; Borghi, Anna M.

    2017-01-01

    This study explores the impact of the extensive use of an oral device since infancy (pacifier) on the acquisition of concrete, abstract, and emotional concepts. While recent evidence showed a negative relation between pacifier use and children's emotional competence (Niedenthal et al., 2012), the possible interaction between use of pacifier and processing of emotional and abstract language has not been investigated. According to recent theories, while all concepts are grounded in sensorimotor experience, abstract concepts activate linguistic and social information more than concrete ones. Specifically, the Words As Social Tools (WAT) proposal predicts that the simulation of their meaning leads to an activation of the mouth (Borghi and Binkofski, 2014; Borghi and Zarcone, 2016). Since the pacifier affects facial mimicry forcing mouth muscles into a static position, we hypothesize its possible interference on acquisition/consolidation of abstract emotional and abstract not-emotional concepts, which are mainly conveyed during social and linguistic interactions, than of concrete concepts. Fifty-nine first grade children, with a history of different frequency of pacifier use, provided oral definitions of the meaning of abstract not-emotional, abstract emotional, and concrete words. Main effect of concept type emerged, with higher accuracy in defining concrete and abstract emotional concepts with respect to abstract not-emotional concepts, independently from pacifier use. Accuracy in definitions was not influenced by the use of pacifier, but correspondence and hierarchical clustering analyses suggest that the use of pacifier differently modulates the conceptual relations elicited by abstract emotional and abstract not-emotional. While the majority of the children produced a similar pattern of conceptual relations, analyses on the few (6) children who overused the pacifier (for more than 3 years) showed that they tend to distinguish less clearly between concrete and

  13. Mapping the Multiple Graded Contributions of the Anterior Temporal Lobe Representational Hub to Abstract and Social Concepts: Evidence from Distortion-corrected fMRI

    PubMed Central

    Binney, Richard J.; Hoffman, Paul; Lambon Ralph, Matthew A.

    2016-01-01

    A growing body of recent convergent evidence indicates that the anterior temporal lobe (ATL) has connectivity-derived graded differences in semantic function: the ventrolateral region appears to be the transmodal, omni-category center-point of the hub whilst secondary contributions come from the peripheries of the hub in a manner that reflects their differential connectivity to different input/output modalities. One of the key challenges for this neurocognitive theory is how different types of concept, especially those with less reliance upon external sensory experience (such as abstract and social concepts), are coded across the graded ATL hub. We were able to answer this key question by using distortion-corrected fMRI to detect functional activations across the entire ATL region and thus to map the neural basis of social and psycholinguistically-matched abstract concepts. Both types of concept engaged a core left-hemisphere semantic network, including the ventrolateral ATL, prefrontal regions and posterior MTG. Additionally, we replicated previous findings of weaker differential activation of the superior and polar ATL for the processing of social stimuli, in addition to the stronger, omni-category activation observed in the vATL. These results are compatible with the view of the ATL as a graded transmodal substrate for the representation of coherent concepts. PMID:27600844

  14. 2018 Congress Poster Abstracts

    PubMed

    2018-02-21

    Each abstract has been indexed according to the first author. Abstracts appear as they were submitted and have not undergone editing or the Oncology Nursing Forum’s review process. Only abstracts that will be presented appear here. Poster numbers are subject to change. For updated poster numbers, visit congress.ons.org or check the Congress guide. Data published in abstracts presented at the ONS 43rd Annual Congress are embargoed until the conclusion of the presentation. Coverage and/or distribution of an abstract, poster, or any of its supplemental material to or by the news media, any commercial entity, or individuals, including the authors of said abstract, is strictly prohibited until the embargo is lifted. Promotion of general topics and speakers is encouraged within these guidelines.

  15. Abstract number and arithmetic in preschool children.

    PubMed

    Barth, Hilary; La Mont, Kristen; Lipton, Jennifer; Spelke, Elizabeth S

    2005-09-27

    Educated humans use language to express abstract number, applying the same number words to seven apples, whistles, or sins. Is language or education the source of numerical abstraction? Claims to the contrary must present evidence for numerical knowledge that applies to disparate entities, in people who have received no formal mathematics instruction and cannot express such knowledge in words. Here we show that preschool children can compare and add large sets of elements without counting, both within a single visual-spatial modality (arrays of dots) and across two modalities and formats (dot arrays and tone sequences). In two experiments, children viewed animations and either compared one visible array of dots to a second array or added two successive dot arrays and compared the sum to a third array. In further experiments, a dot array was replaced by a sequence of sounds, so that participants had to integrate quantity information presented aurally and visually. Children performed all tasks successfully, without resorting to guessing strategies or responding to continuous variables. Their accuracy varied with the ratio of the two quantities: a signature of large, approximate number representations in adult humans and animals. Addition was as accurate as comparison, even though children showed no relevant knowledge when presented with symbolic versions of the addition tasks. Abstract knowledge of number and addition therefore precedes, and may guide, language-based instruction in mathematics.

  16. The neural representation of abstract words: the role of emotion.

    PubMed

    Vigliocco, Gabriella; Kousta, Stavroula-Thaleia; Della Rosa, Pasquale Anthony; Vinson, David P; Tettamanti, Marco; Devlin, Joseph T; Cappa, Stefano F

    2014-07-01

    It is generally assumed that abstract concepts are linguistically coded, in line with imaging evidence of greater engagement of the left perisylvian language network for abstract than concrete words (Binder JR, Desai RH, Graves WW, Conant LL. 2009. Where is the semantic system? A critical review and meta-analysis of 120 functional neuroimaging studies. Cerebral Cortex. 19:2767-2796; Wang J, Conder JA, Blitzer DN, Shinkareva SV. 2010. Neural representation of abstract and concrete concepts: A meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies. Hum Brain Map. 31:1459-1468). Recent behavioral work, which used tighter matching of items than previous studies, however, suggests that abstract concepts also entail affective processing to a greater extent than concrete concepts (Kousta S-T, Vigliocco G, Vinson DP, Andrews M, Del Campo E. The representation of abstract words: Why emotion matters. J Exp Psychol Gen. 140:14-34). Here we report a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment that shows greater engagement of the rostral anterior cingulate cortex, an area associated with emotion processing (e.g., Etkin A, Egner T, Peraza DM, Kandel ER, Hirsch J. 2006. Resolving emotional conflict: A role for the rostral anterior cingulate cortex in modulating activity in the amygdala. Neuron. 52:871), in abstract processing. For abstract words, activation in this area was modulated by the hedonic valence (degree of positive or negative affective association) of our items. A correlation analysis of more than 1,400 English words further showed that abstract words, in general, receive higher ratings for affective associations (both valence and arousal) than concrete words, supporting the view that engagement of emotional processing is generally required for processing abstract words. We argue that these results support embodiment views of semantic representation, according to which, whereas concrete concepts are grounded in our sensory-motor experience, affective experience is crucial in the

  17. Abstract conceptual feature ratings predict gaze within written word arrays: evidence from a Visual Wor(l)d paradigm

    PubMed Central

    Primativo, Silvia; Reilly, Jamie; Crutch, Sebastian J

    2016-01-01

    The Abstract Conceptual Feature (ACF) framework predicts that word meaning is represented within a high-dimensional semantic space bounded by weighted contributions of perceptual, affective, and encyclopedic information. The ACF, like latent semantic analysis, is amenable to distance metrics between any two words. We applied predictions of the ACF framework to abstract words using eye tracking via an adaptation of the classical ‘visual word paradigm’. Healthy adults (N=20) selected the lexical item most related to a probe word in a 4-item written word array comprising the target and three distractors. The relation between the probe and each of the four words was determined using the semantic distance metrics derived from ACF ratings. Eye-movement data indicated that the word that was most semantically related to the probe received more and longer fixations relative to distractors. Importantly, in sets where participants did not provide an overt behavioral response, the fixation rates were none the less significantly higher for targets than distractors, closely resembling trials where an expected response was given. Furthermore, ACF ratings which are based on individual words predicted eye fixation metrics of probe-target similarity at least as well as latent semantic analysis ratings which are based on word co-occurrence. The results provide further validation of Euclidean distance metrics derived from ACF ratings as a measure of one facet of the semantic relatedness of abstract words and suggest that they represent a reasonable approximation of the organization of abstract conceptual space. The data are also compatible with the broad notion that multiple sources of information (not restricted to sensorimotor and emotion information) shape the organization of abstract concepts. Whilst the adapted ‘visual word paradigm’ is potentially a more metacognitive task than the classical visual world paradigm, we argue that it offers potential utility for studying

  18. Processing abstract language modulates motor system activity.

    PubMed

    Glenberg, Arthur M; Sato, Marc; Cattaneo, Luigi; Riggio, Lucia; Palumbo, Daniele; Buccino, Giovanni

    2008-06-01

    Embodiment theory proposes that neural systems for perception and action are also engaged during language comprehension. Previous neuroimaging and neurophysiological studies have only been able to demonstrate modulation of action systems during comprehension of concrete language. We provide neurophysiological evidence for modulation of motor system activity during the comprehension of both concrete and abstract language. In Experiment 1, when the described direction of object transfer or information transfer (e.g., away from the reader to another) matched the literal direction of a hand movement used to make a response, speed of responding was faster than when the two directions mismatched (an action-sentence compatibility effect). In Experiment 2, we used single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation to study changes in the corticospinal motor pathways to hand muscles while reading the same sentences. Relative to sentences that do not describe transfer, there is greater modulation of activity in the hand muscles when reading sentences describing transfer of both concrete objects and abstract information. These findings are discussed in relation to the human mirror neuron system.

  19. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 08)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1976-01-01

    This bibliography is issued in two sections; abstracts and indexes. The Abstract Section cites 180 patents and applications for patents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period of July 1975 through December 1975. Each entry in the Abstract Section consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or application for patent. The index Section contains entries for 2,905 patents and applications for patent citations covering the period May 1969 through December 1975. The Index Section contains five indexes -- subject, inventor, source, number and accession number.

  20. Fine-grained semantic categorization across the abstract and concrete domains.

    PubMed

    Ghio, Marta; Vaghi, Matilde Maria Serena; Tettamanti, Marco

    2013-01-01

    A consolidated approach to the study of the mental representation of word meanings has consisted in contrasting different domains of knowledge, broadly reflecting the abstract-concrete dichotomy. More fine-grained semantic distinctions have emerged in neuropsychological and cognitive neuroscience work, reflecting semantic category specificity, but almost exclusively within the concrete domain. Theoretical advances, particularly within the area of embodied cognition, have more recently put forward the idea that distributed neural representations tied to the kinds of experience maintained with the concepts' referents might distinguish conceptual meanings with a high degree of specificity, including those within the abstract domain. Here we report the results of two psycholinguistic rating studies incorporating such theoretical advances with two main objectives: first, to provide empirical evidence of fine-grained distinctions within both the abstract and the concrete semantic domains with respect to relevant psycholinguistic dimensions; second, to develop a carefully controlled linguistic stimulus set that may be used for auditory as well as visual neuroimaging studies focusing on the parametrization of the semantic space beyond the abstract-concrete dichotomy. Ninety-six participants rated a set of 210 sentences across pre-selected concrete (mouth, hand, or leg action-related) and abstract (mental state-, emotion-, mathematics-related) categories, with respect either to different semantic domain-related scales (rating study 1), or to concreteness, familiarity, and context availability (rating study 2). Inferential statistics and correspondence analyses highlighted distinguishing semantic and psycholinguistic traits for each of the pre-selected categories, indicating that a simple abstract-concrete dichotomy is not sufficient to account for the entire semantic variability within either domains.

  1. Fine-Grained Semantic Categorization across the Abstract and Concrete Domains

    PubMed Central

    Tettamanti, Marco

    2013-01-01

    A consolidated approach to the study of the mental representation of word meanings has consisted in contrasting different domains of knowledge, broadly reflecting the abstract-concrete dichotomy. More fine-grained semantic distinctions have emerged in neuropsychological and cognitive neuroscience work, reflecting semantic category specificity, but almost exclusively within the concrete domain. Theoretical advances, particularly within the area of embodied cognition, have more recently put forward the idea that distributed neural representations tied to the kinds of experience maintained with the concepts' referents might distinguish conceptual meanings with a high degree of specificity, including those within the abstract domain. Here we report the results of two psycholinguistic rating studies incorporating such theoretical advances with two main objectives: first, to provide empirical evidence of fine-grained distinctions within both the abstract and the concrete semantic domains with respect to relevant psycholinguistic dimensions; second, to develop a carefully controlled linguistic stimulus set that may be used for auditory as well as visual neuroimaging studies focusing on the parametrization of the semantic space beyond the abstract-concrete dichotomy. Ninety-six participants rated a set of 210 sentences across pre-selected concrete (mouth, hand, or leg action-related) and abstract (mental state-, emotion-, mathematics-related) categories, with respect either to different semantic domain-related scales (rating study 1), or to concreteness, familiarity, and context availability (rating study 2). Inferential statistics and correspondence analyses highlighted distinguishing semantic and psycholinguistic traits for each of the pre-selected categories, indicating that a simple abstract-concrete dichotomy is not sufficient to account for the entire semantic variability within either domains. PMID:23825625

  2. Full-text publication of abstracts presented at European Orthodontic Society congresses.

    PubMed

    Livas, Christos; Pandis, Nikolaos; Ren, Yijin

    2014-10-01

    Empirical evidence has indicated that only a subsample of studies conducted reach full-text publication and this phenomenon has become known as publication bias. A form of publication bias is the selectively delayed full publication of conference abstracts. The objective of this article was to examine the publication status of oral abstracts and poster-presentation abstracts, included in the scientific program of the 82nd and 83rd European Orthodontic Society (EOS) congresses, held in 2006 and 2007, and to identify factors associated with full-length publication. A systematic search of PubMed and Google Scholar databases was performed in April 2013 using author names and keywords from the abstract title to locate abstract and full-article publications. Information regarding mode of presentation, type of affiliation, geographical origin, statistical results, and publication details were collected and analyzed using univariable and multivariable logistic regression. Approximately 51 per cent of the EOS 2006 and 55 per cent of the EOS 2007 abstracts appeared in print more than 5 years post congress. A mean period of 1.32 years elapsed between conference and publication date. Mode of presentation (oral or poster), use of statistical analysis, and research subject area were significant predictors for publication success. Inherent discrepancies of abstract reporting, mainly related to presentation of preliminary results and incomplete description of methods, may be considered in analogous studies. On average 52.2 per cent of the abstracts presented at the two EOS conferences reached full publication. Abstracts presented orally, including statistical analysis, were more likely to get published. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Orthodontic Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  3. Abstracting Concepts and Methods.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Borko, Harold; Bernier, Charles L.

    This text provides a complete discussion of abstracts--their history, production, organization, publication--and of indexing. Instructions for abstracting are outlined, and standards and criteria for abstracting are stated. Management, automation, and personnel are discussed in terms of possible economies that can be derived from the introduction…

  4. The Publication Rate of Abstracts Presented at the 2003 Urological Brazilian Meeting

    PubMed Central

    Oliveira, Leonardo Resende Sousa; Figueiredo, André Avarese; Choi, Mauro; Ferrarez, Carlos Eduardo Prata Fernandes; Bastos, Andre Netto; Netto, Jose Murillo Bastos

    2009-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To determine the publication rate of orally-presented abstracts from the 2003 Urological Brazilian Meeting, as well as the factors determining this publication rate. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The publication rate of the 313 orally-presented abstracts at the 2003 Urological Brazilian Meeting was evaluated by scanning the Lilacs, Scielo and Medline databases. The time between presentation and publication, the state and country of the abstract, the research methodology (cross-sectional, case-control, retrospective case series, prospective case series or clinical trial), whether drugs were utilized and the topic of the study were all characterized. RESULTS: Thirty-nine percent of the abstracts were published after a median time of 14 months (range: 1 to 51 months). There were high publication rates for cross-sectional abstracts (75%), drug utilization studies (51.3%), clinical trials (50%) and prospective case series’ (48.1%). However, there was only a moderate statistical trend towards a higher publication rate in the prospective case series (p=0.07), while the retrospective case series’ showed statistically lower publication rates than the other groups (33.7%, p=0.04). Abstracts on laparoscopic surgery had the highest publication rate (61.9%, p=0.03) compared to others topics. In 57% of the unpublished abstracts, there was no interest in or attempt to publish, and rejection was responsible for the lack of publication of only 4% of the abstracts. CONCLUSION: The publication rate of the orally-presented abstracts from the 2003 Urological Brazilian Meeting was comparable to that of international congresses. The subsequent publication of presented abstracts and the selection of prospective studies with stronger evidence should be encouraged and may improve the scientific quality of the meeting. PMID:19488593

  5. Distinct Roles for the Anterior Cingulate and Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortices During Conflict Between Abstract Rules

    PubMed Central

    Boschin, Erica A.; Brkic, Merima M.; Simons, Jon S.; Buckley, Mark J.

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Distinct patterns of activity within the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) reported in neuroimaging studies during tasks involving conflict between competing responses have often been cited as evidence for their key contributions to conflict-monitoring and behavioral adaptation, respectively. However, supporting evidence from neuropsychological patients has been scarce and contradictory. We administered a well-studied analog of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, designed to elicit conflict between 2 abstract rules, to a cohort of 6 patients with damage to ACC or dlPFC. Patients who had sustained more significant damage to the ACC were not impaired either on a measure of “conflict cost” nor on measures of “conflict-induced behavioral adaptation.” In contrast, damage to dlPFC did not affect the conflict cost measure but abolished the patients’ ability to adapt their behavior following exposure to conflict, compared with controls. This pattern of results complements the findings from nonhuman primates with more circumscribed lesions to ACC or dlPFC on the same task and provides converging evidence that ACC is not necessary for performance when conflict is elicited between 2 abstract rules, whereas dlPFC plays a fundamental role in behavioral adaptation. PMID:28365775

  6. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 07)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1975-01-01

    This bibliography is issued in two sections: Section 1 - Abstracts, and Section 2 - Indexes. This issue of the Abstract Section cites 158 patents and applications for patent introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period of January 1975 through June 1975. Each entry in the Abstract Section consists of a citation, an abstract, and, in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or application for patent. This issue of the Index Section contains entries for 2830 patent and application for patent citations covering the period May 1969 through June 1975. The index section contains five indexes -- subject, inventor, source, number and accession number.

  7. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 09)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1976-01-01

    This bibliography is issued in two sections: Section 1 - Abstracts, and Section 2 - Indexes. This issue of the Abstract Section cites 200 patents and applications for patent introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period of January 1976 through June 1976. Each entry in the Abstract Section consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or application for patent. This issue of the Index Section contains entries for 2994 patent and application for patent citations covering the period May 1969 through June 1976. The Index Section contains five indexes -- subject, inventor, source, number and accession number.

  8. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 13)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1978-01-01

    This bibliography is issued in two sections: Section 1 - Abstracts, and Section 2 - Indexes. This issue of the Abstract Section cites 161 patents and applications for patent introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period January 1978 through June 1978. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or application for patent.

  9. Mapping the Multiple Graded Contributions of the Anterior Temporal Lobe Representational Hub to Abstract and Social Concepts: Evidence from Distortion-corrected fMRI.

    PubMed

    Binney, Richard J; Hoffman, Paul; Lambon Ralph, Matthew A

    2016-09-06

    A growing body of recent convergent evidence indicates that the anterior temporal lobe (ATL) has connectivity-derived graded differences in semantic function: the ventrolateral region appears to be the transmodal, omni-category center-point of the hub whilst secondary contributions come from the peripheries of the hub in a manner that reflects their differential connectivity to different input/output modalities. One of the key challenges for this neurocognitive theory is how different types of concept, especially those with less reliance upon external sensory experience (such as abstract and social concepts), are coded across the graded ATL hub. We were able to answer this key question by using distortion-corrected fMRI to detect functional activations across the entire ATL region and thus to map the neural basis of social and psycholinguistically-matched abstract concepts. Both types of concept engaged a core left-hemisphere semantic network, including the ventrolateral ATL, prefrontal regions and posterior MTG. Additionally, we replicated previous findings of weaker differential activation of the superior and polar ATL for the processing of social stimuli, in addition to the stronger, omni-category activation observed in the vATL. These results are compatible with the view of the ATL as a graded transmodal substrate for the representation of coherent concepts. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

  10. Imagine that! ERPs provide evidence for distinct hemispheric contributions to the processing of concrete and abstract concepts

    PubMed Central

    Huang, Hsu-Wen; Lee, Chia-Lin; Federmeier, Kara D.

    2009-01-01

    Although abstract and concrete concepts are processed and remembered differently, the underlying nature of those differences remains in dispute. The current study used visual half-field (VF) presentation methods and event-related potential (ERP) measures to examine how the left (LH) and right (RH) cerebral hemispheres process concrete and abstract meanings of polysemous nouns (e.g., “green book,” referring to the concrete, physical object that is a book, versus “engaging book,” referring to the abstract information that a book conveys). With presentation to the right VF, nouns preceded by concrete modifiers were associated with more positivity on the P2 and N400, suggesting that concrete concepts were easier for the LH to process perceptually and semantically. In contrast, with presentation to the left VF (RH), nouns used in a concrete sense elicited a sustained frontal negativity (500-900 ms) that has been previously linked to imagery. The results thus reveal multiple, distinct neural and cognitive sources for concreteness effects and point to a critical role for the RH in linking language input to sensory imagery. PMID:19631274

  11. Vitamin D and Cardiovascular Disease: An Appraisal of the Evidence

    PubMed Central

    Schnatz, Peter F.; Manson, JoAnn E.

    2013-01-01

    Background Supplementation with vitamin D (VitD) has received attention as a potential cardioprotective strategy. Biologically plausible mechanisms have been proposed to link VitD to coronary heart disease (CHD) prevention and observational studies suggest an inverse association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) concentrations and CHD. Few randomized clinical trials of VitD supplementation and CHD have been conducted, however, and no completed trial has been done with CHD as the primary pre-specified outcome. Content A search was conducted in PubMed to find prospective studies on the use of vitamin D supplementation and cardiovascular risk factors (RFs) and/or cardiovascular disease. The exact search query was ((vitamin D supplement*[Title/Abstract]) AND cardiovascular [Title/Abstract]) AND prospective [Title/Abstract]. This query yielded 42 results. Randomized Controlled Trial (article type) was employed as a filter in a subsequent query with the same search terms. We review the evidence that VitD supplementation modifies coronary RFs, such as blood pressure, lipids, and glucose tolerance, and/or affects the development of clinical CHD events. We address potential sources of confounding in observational epidemiologic studies of the relationship between serum 25OHD and CHD. We also address laboratory assay issues relevant to the reliable measurement of 25OHD. Summary Most VitD supplementation trials have not demonstrated improvement in cardiovascular disease, but have tested relatively low doses of VitD. Thus, the evidence remains inconclusive, highlighting the need for rigorous randomized trials of higher VitD doses, with cardiovascular events as prespecified outcomes. While awaiting ongoing trial results, the recommended dietary allowances from the Institute of Medicine remain the best guidepost for nutritional requirements. PMID:24193116

  12. Abstract Interpreters for Free

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Might, Matthew

    In small-step abstract interpretations, the concrete and abstract semantics bear an uncanny resemblance. In this work, we present an analysis-design methodology that both explains and exploits that resemblance. Specifically, we present a two-step method to convert a small-step concrete semantics into a family of sound, computable abstract interpretations. The first step re-factors the concrete state-space to eliminate recursive structure; this refactoring of the state-space simultaneously determines a store-passing-style transformation on the underlying concrete semantics. The second step uses inference rules to generate an abstract state-space and a Galois connection simultaneously. The Galois connection allows the calculation of the "optimal" abstract interpretation. The two-step process is unambiguous, but nondeterministic: at each step, analysis designers face choices. Some of these choices ultimately influence properties such as flow-, field- and context-sensitivity. Thus, under the method, we can give the emergence of these properties a graph-theoretic characterization. To illustrate the method, we systematically abstract the continuation-passing style lambda calculus to arrive at two distinct families of analyses. The first is the well-known k-CFA family of analyses. The second consists of novel "environment-centric" abstract interpretations, none of which appear in the literature on static analysis of higher-order programs.

  13. What Can Evidence-Use in Practice Learn from Evidence-Use in Policy?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rickinson, Mark; de Bruin, Kate; Walsh, Lucas; Hall, Matthew

    2017-01-01

    Background: This paper approaches evidence-informed practice from the perspective of evidence-informed policy-making. Using the findings of a recent study of evidence-use by educational policy-makers to raise questions about evidence-use by educational practitioners, it seeks to explore what such a study might tell us about how to understand and…

  14. Conference presentation to publication: a retrospective study evaluating quality of abstracts and journal articles in medical education research.

    PubMed

    Stephenson, Christopher R; Vaa, Brianna E; Wang, Amy T; Schroeder, Darrell R; Beckman, Thomas J; Reed, Darcy A; Sawatsky, Adam P

    2017-11-09

    There is little evidence regarding the comparative quality of abstracts and articles in medical education research. The Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument (MERSQI), which was developed to evaluate the quality of reporting in medical education, has strong validity evidence for content, internal structure, and relationships to other variables. We used the MERSQI to compare the quality of reporting for conference abstracts, journal abstracts, and published articles. This is a retrospective study of all 46 medical education research abstracts submitted to the Society of General Internal Medicine 2009 Annual Meeting that were subsequently published in a peer-reviewed journal. We compared MERSQI scores of the abstracts with scores for their corresponding published journal abstracts and articles. Comparisons were performed using the signed rank test. Overall MERSQI scores increased significantly for published articles compared with conference abstracts (11.33 vs 9.67; P < .001) and journal abstracts (11.33 vs 9.96; P < .001). Regarding MERSQI subscales, published articles had higher MERSQI scores than conference abstracts in the domains of sampling (1.59 vs 1.34; P = .006), data analysis (3.00 vs 2.43; P < .001), and validity of evaluation instrument (1.04 vs 0.28; P < .001). Published articles also had higher MERSQI scores than journal abstracts in the domains of data analysis (3.00 vs 2.70; P = .004) and validity of evaluation instrument (1.04 vs 0.26; P < .001). To our knowledge, this is the first study to compare the quality of medical education abstracts and journal articles using the MERSQI. Overall, the quality of articles was greater than that of abstracts. However, there were no significant differences between abstracts and articles for the domains of study design and outcomes, which indicates that these MERSQI elements may be applicable to abstracts. Findings also suggest that abstract quality is generally preserved

  15. Paper Abstract Animals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sutley, Jane

    2010-01-01

    Abstraction is, in effect, a simplification and reduction of shapes with an absence of detail designed to comprise the essence of the more naturalistic images being depicted. Without even intending to, young children consistently create interesting, and sometimes beautiful, abstract compositions. A child's creations, moreover, will always seem to…

  16. Understanding the Diffusion of Non-Evidence-Based Health Interventions: The Role of Experiential Evidence

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Evans, Rhiannon; Murphy, Simon; Scourfield, Jonathan; Turley, Ruth

    2017-01-01

    Objective: The utilisation of evidence-based health interventions remains a challenge in educational settings. Although driving forward the scientific evidence-base may contribute to the diffusion of such approaches, abstract notions of population-level impact may not be seen as priorities in local. This paper considers the alternative forms of…

  17. High nonpublication rate from publication professionals hinders evidence-based publication practices

    PubMed Central

    Stretton, Serina; Kenreigh, Charlotte A.; Wagner, Linda T.; Woolley, Karen L.

    2016-01-01

    Background. The need for timely, ethical, and high-quality reporting of clinical trial results has seen a rise in demand for publication professionals. These publication experts, who are not ghostwriters, work with leading medical researchers and funders around the world to plan and prepare thousands of publications each year. Despite the involvement of publication professionals in an increasing number of peer-reviewed publications, especially those that affect patient care, there is limited evidence-based guidance in the peer-reviewed literature on their publication practices. Similar to the push for editors and the peer-review community to conduct and publish research on publication ethics and the peer-review process, the International Society for Medical Publication Professionals (ISMPP) has encouraged members to conduct and publish research on publication planning and practices. Our primary objective was to investigate the publication rate of research presented at ISMPP Annual Meetings. Methods. ISMPP Annual Meeting abstract lists (April 2009–April 2014) were searched in November 2014 and data were extracted into a pilot-tested spreadsheet. MEDLINE was searched in December 2014 to determine the publication rate (calculated as the % of presented abstracts published as full papers in peer-reviewed journals). Data were analyzed using the Cochran-Armitage trend test (significance: P < .05) by an independent academic statistician. Results. From 2009 to 2014, there were 220 abstracts submitted, 185 accepted, and 164 presented. There were four corresponding publications (publication rate 2.4%). Over time, ISMPP’s abstract acceptance rate (overall: 84.1%) did not change, but the number of abstracts presented increased significantly (P = .02). Most abstracts were presented as posters (81.1%) and most research was observational (72.6%). Most researchers came from the US (78.0%), followed by Europe (17.7%), and the Asia-Pacific region (11.2%). Discussion. Research

  18. ASTRONAUTICS INFORMATION. Abstracts Vol. III, No. 1. Abstracts 3,082- 3,184

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    None

    1961-01-01

    Abstracts are presented on astronautics. The abstracts are generally restricted to spaceflight and to applicable techniques and data. The publication covers the period of January 1961. 102 references. (J.R.D.)

  19. Predicting Juno Evidence for a Solid Methane Gas Hydrate Jupiter J. Ackerman Abstract

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ackerman, J. A., Jr.

    2016-12-01

    Predicting Juno Evidence for a Solid Methane Gas Hydrate Jupiter J. Ackerman AbstractDeuterium enhancements of 1010 observed in LDNs and heavy elements detected by the Galileo probe (C, O, S, Ar, Kr and Xe) suggest the giant planets accreted slow and cold from snowflakes and dust at their current orbits, forming frozen, highly deuterated Methane Gas Hydrate (d=0.9) bodies, together comprising > 300 earth masses of water. Jupiter also incorporated most of the heavy elements in the nascent solar system as dust grains (d=1.33). A recent (6,000 years BP) high energy impact on heavily deuterated Jupiter triggered a massive nuclear fusion explosion which ejected the Galilean moons, initiating a flaming plasma plume originally extending 2 x106 km, beyond Callisto. The rapidly rotating plume produced the physical differences observed on the Galilean moons and the remainder condensed ejecting millions of asteroids similar to 67P as it slowly diminished over 5000 years. The fusion reaction has diminished to d + p > 3He+ + γ, but is still producing Jupiter's atmospheric temperature excess, >5x1017 watts, and driving the multiple zonal wind vortices constrained below by Jupiter's solid surface. The mass being ejected by the plume measurably slowed the rotation of the giant Jupiter up until 1937. The highly energetic 3He+ ions from the fusion reaction that exit Jupiter through the Great Red Spot were sensed by Ulysses, Cassini and Galileo at distances greater than 11 Jupiter radii, with the period of Jupiter's rotation. The Juno JEDI particle detector will measure the speed and density of the 3He+ 'blizzard' exiting the GRS, for which there is no other explanation. The Micro Wave Radiometer (MWR) system will confirm the hot vortex extending below the cloud tops from the fusion reaction on the surface westward to the Great Red Spot at 22o S latitude, due to its estimated 115 degree longitudinal extent. The high intensity of the 3He+ particulate radiation at 4000 km directly

  20. Publication rate of abstracts presented at European Paediatric Orthopaedic Society Annual Meetings, 2006 to 2008.

    PubMed

    Kleine-Konig, Marie-Theres; Schulte, Tobias L; Gosheger, Georg; Rödl, Robert; Schiedel, Frank M

    2014-09-01

    The quality of the abstracts presented at a conference reflects the scientific work and level of activity of the scientific association concerned. The aim of the present study was to determine the rate of publications of podium presentations and posters at the conferences of the European Paediatric Orthopaedic Society (EPOS) from 2006 to 2008 and to identify factors that favor publication in peer-reviewed journals. The results are compared with those of other international societies. All 646 abstracts (including podiums, posters, and e-posters) presented at the EPOS conferences were investigated using the PubMed database to identify any corresponding published articles in the journals listed in the database. A period of 5 years before and after the relevant conference was used for the PubMed search. Factors influencing publication and the quality of the study, such as the type of presentation and the level of evidence, were also investigated. A publication rate of 36.7% was observed, corresponding to 237 publications of 646 abstracts. The period to publication showed a mean of 13.88 ± 1.34 months. It was found that abstracts of podium presentations were published significantly more often than poster abstracts (P<0.001). Experimental studies, with a publication rate of 50.9%, showed better results than clinical studies (36.0%). Overall, the articles were published in 61 different journals, with the largest number (n=50) appearing in the Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics. In addition, the present study shows that abstracts with a higher level of evidence were associated with a higher publication rate. At 36.7%, the rate of publication of EPOS abstracts is within the range reached by other specialist orthopaedics societies, such as the German Society of Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery (36%) and the British Orthopaedic Association (36%). However, it is lower than the publication rate of the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA), at 50%. The high

  1. The EPIC-MOS Particle-Induced Background Spectra

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kuntz, K. D.; Sowden, S. L.

    2007-01-01

    In order to analyse diffuse emission that fills the field of view, one must accurately characterize the instrumental backgrounds. For the XMM-Newton EPIC instrument these backgrounds include a temporally variable "quiescent" component. as well as the strongly variable soft proton contamination. We have characterized the spectral and spatial response of the EPIC detectors to these background components and have developed tools to remove these backgrounds from observations. The "quiescent" component was characterized using a combination of the filter-wheel-closed data and a database of unexposed-region data. The soft proton contamination was characterized by differencing images and spectra taken during flared and flare-free intervals. After application of our modeled backgrounds, the differences between independent observations of the same region of "blank sky" are consistent with the statistical uncertainties except when there is clear spectral evidence of solar wind charge exchange emission. Using a large sample of blank sky data, we show that strong magnetospheric SWCX emission requires elevated solar wind fluxes; observations through the densest part of the magnetosheath are not necessarily strongly contaminated with SWCX emission.

  2. The role of the anterior temporal lobes in the comprehension of concrete and abstract words: rTMS evidence

    PubMed Central

    Pobric, Gorana; Lambon Ralph, Matthew A.; Jefferies, Elizabeth

    2009-01-01

    Conceptual knowledge allows us to bring meaning to our world. Studies of semantic dementia (SD) patients and some functional neuroimaging studies indicate that the anterior temporal lobes, bilaterally, are a core neural substrate for the formation of conceptual representations. The majority of SD patients (who have circumscribed atrophy of the anterior temporal lobes) have better comprehension of concrete than abstract words. However, this finding remains controversial, as some individual SD patients have exhibited reverse imageability effects, i.e., relative preservation of abstract knowledge. This would imply that the anterior temporal lobes are particularly crucial for processing sensory aspects of semantic knowledge, which are an important part of concrete but not abstract concepts. To adjudicate on this debate, we used offline, low-frequency, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation to disrupt neural processing temporarily in the left or right temporal poles (TPs). We examined this effect using a synonym judgement task, comprising high, medium and low imageability items, which we have previously employed with a case-series of SD patients. The time required to make semantic decisions was slowed considerably, particularly for low imageability items, consistent with the pattern we observed in SD. These results confirm that both TPs make a critical contribution to semantic processing, even for abstract concepts that do not have strong sensory representations. PMID:19303592

  3. ASTRONAUTICS INFORMATION. ABSTRACTS, VOL. V, NO. 3. Abstracts 5,201- 5,330

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hardgrove, B.J.; Warren, F.L. comps.

    1962-03-01

    Abstracts of astronautics information covering the period March 1962 are presented. The 129 abstracts cover the subject of spaceflight and applicable data and techniques. Author, subject, and source indexes are included. (M.C.G.)

  4. Check Sample Abstracts.

    PubMed

    Alter, David; Grenache, David G; Bosler, David S; Karcher, Raymond E; Nichols, James; Rajadhyaksha, Aparna; Camelo-Piragua, Sandra; Rauch, Carol; Huddleston, Brent J; Frank, Elizabeth L; Sluss, Patrick M; Lewandrowski, Kent; Eichhorn, John H; Hall, Janet E; Rahman, Saud S; McPherson, Richard A; Kiechle, Frederick L; Hammett-Stabler, Catherine; Pierce, Kristin A; Kloehn, Erica A; Thomas, Patricia A; Walts, Ann E; Madan, Rashna; Schlesinger, Kathie; Nawgiri, Ranjana; Bhutani, Manoop; Kanber, Yonca; Abati, Andrea; Atkins, Kristen A; Farrar, Robert; Gopez, Evelyn Valencerina; Jhala, Darshana; Griffin, Sonya; Jhala, Khushboo; Jhala, Nirag; Bentz, Joel S; Emerson, Lyska; Chadwick, Barbara E; Barroeta, Julieta E; Baloch, Zubair W; Collins, Brian T; Middleton, Owen L; Davis, Gregory G; Haden-Pinneri, Kathryn; Chu, Albert Y; Keylock, Joren B; Ramoso, Robert; Thoene, Cynthia A; Stewart, Donna; Pierce, Arand; Barry, Michelle; Aljinovic, Nika; Gardner, David L; Barry, Michelle; Shields, Lisa B E; Arnold, Jack; Stewart, Donna; Martin, Erica L; Rakow, Rex J; Paddock, Christopher; Zaki, Sherif R; Prahlow, Joseph A; Stewart, Donna; Shields, Lisa B E; Rolf, Cristin M; Falzon, Andrew L; Hudacki, Rachel; Mazzella, Fermina M; Bethel, Melissa; Zarrin-Khameh, Neda; Gresik, M Vicky; Gill, Ryan; Karlon, William; Etzell, Joan; Deftos, Michael; Karlon, William J; Etzell, Joan E; Wang, Endi; Lu, Chuanyi M; Manion, Elizabeth; Rosenthal, Nancy; Wang, Endi; Lu, Chuanyi M; Tang, Patrick; Petric, Martin; Schade, Andrew E; Hall, Geraldine S; Oethinger, Margret; Hall, Geraldine; Picton, Avis R; Hoang, Linda; Imperial, Miguel Ranoa; Kibsey, Pamela; Waites, Ken; Duffy, Lynn; Hall, Geraldine S; Salangsang, Jo-Anne M; Bravo, Lulette Tricia C; Oethinger, Margaret D; Veras, Emanuela; Silva, Elvia; Vicens, Jimena; Silva, Elvio; Keylock, Joren; Hempel, James; Rushing, Elizabeth; Posligua, Lorena E; Deavers, Michael T; Nash, Jason W; Basturk, Olca; Perle, Mary Ann; Greco, Alba; Lee, Peng; Maru, Dipen; Weydert, Jamie Allen; Stevens, Todd M; Brownlee, Noel A; Kemper, April E; Williams, H James; Oliverio, Brock J; Al-Agha, Osama M; Eskue, Kyle L; Newlands, Shawn D; Eltorky, Mahmoud A; Puri, Puja K; Royer, Michael C; Rush, Walter L; Tavora, Fabio; Galvin, Jeffrey R; Franks, Teri J; Carter, James Elliot; Kahn, Andrea Graciela; Lozada Muñoz, Luis R; Houghton, Dan; Land, Kevin J; Nester, Theresa; Gildea, Jacob; Lefkowitz, Jerry; Lacount, Rachel A; Thompson, Hannis W; Refaai, Majed A; Quillen, Karen; Lopez, Ana Ortega; Goldfinger, Dennis; Muram, Talia; Thompson, Hannis

    2009-02-01

    The following abstracts are compiled from Check Sample exercises published in 2008. These peer-reviewed case studies assist laboratory professionals with continuing medical education and are developed in the areas of clinical chemistry, cytopathology, forensic pathology, hematology, microbiology, surgical pathology, and transfusion medicine. Abstracts for all exercises published in the program will appear annually in AJCP.

  5. StemTextSearch: Stem cell gene database with evidence from abstracts.

    PubMed

    Chen, Chou-Cheng; Ho, Chung-Liang

    2017-05-01

    Previous studies have used many methods to find biomarkers in stem cells, including text mining, experimental data and image storage. However, no text-mining methods have yet been developed which can identify whether a gene plays a positive or negative role in stem cells. StemTextSearch identifies the role of a gene in stem cells by using a text-mining method to find combinations of gene regulation, stem-cell regulation and cell processes in the same sentences of biomedical abstracts. The dataset includes 5797 genes, with 1534 genes having positive roles in stem cells, 1335 genes having negative roles, 1654 genes with both positive and negative roles, and 1274 with an uncertain role. The precision of gene role in StemTextSearch is 0.66, and the recall is 0.78. StemTextSearch is a web-based engine with queries that specify (i) gene, (ii) category of stem cell, (iii) gene role, (iv) gene regulation, (v) cell process, (vi) stem-cell regulation, and (vii) species. StemTextSearch is available through http://bio.yungyun.com.tw/StemTextSearch.aspx. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  6. International Conference on Aerosols and Background Pollution Abstracts Held in Galway, Ireland on 13-15 June 1989

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1989-06-15

    Andes near Santiago de Chile extinction coefficients have been determined at elevations above 3000 meters. Values betwee 0.018 km and 0.15 km have been...McGovern 1515 North Atlantic Aerosol Background concentrations measured at a Hebridean coastal site N.H. Smith, P.M. Park and I.E. Consterdine 1530...ocean V. Dreiling, R. Maser and L. Schutz 1615 Measurements of aerosol concentration and distribution at Helgoland Island P. Brand, J. Gebhart, M. Below

  7. Abstract Datatypes in PVS

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Owre, Sam; Shankar, Natarajan

    1997-01-01

    PVS (Prototype Verification System) is a general-purpose environment for developing specifications and proofs. This document deals primarily with the abstract datatype mechanism in PVS which generates theories containing axioms and definitions for a class of recursive datatypes. The concepts underlying the abstract datatype mechanism are illustrated using ordered binary trees as an example. Binary trees are described by a PVS abstract datatype that is parametric in its value type. The type of ordered binary trees is then presented as a subtype of binary trees where the ordering relation is also taken as a parameter. We define the operations of inserting an element into, and searching for an element in an ordered binary tree; the bulk of the report is devoted to PVS proofs of some useful properties of these operations. These proofs illustrate various approaches to proving properties of abstract datatype operations. They also describe the built-in capabilities of the PVS proof checker for simplifying abstract datatype expressions.

  8. Modelling abstraction licensing strategies ahead of the UK's water abstraction licensing reform

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Klaar, M. J.

    2012-12-01

    Within England and Wales, river water abstractions are licensed and regulated by the Environment Agency (EA), who uses compliance with the Environmental Flow Indicator (EFI) to ascertain where abstraction may cause undesirable effects on river habitats and species. The EFI is a percentage deviation from natural flow represented using a flow duration curve. The allowable percentage deviation changes with different flows, and also changes depending on an assessment of the sensitivity of the river to changes in flow (Table 1). Within UK abstraction licensing, resource availability is expressed as a surplus or deficit of water resources in relation to the EFI, and utilises the concept of 'hands-off-flows' (HOFs) at the specified flow statistics detailed in Table 1. Use of a HOF system enables abstraction to cease at set flows, but also enables abstraction to occur at periods of time when more water is available. Compliance at low flows (Q95) is used by the EA to determine the hydrological classification and compliance with the Water Framework Directive (WFD) for identifying waterbodies where flow may be causing or contributing to a failure in good ecological status (GES; Table 2). This compliance assessment shows where the scenario flows are below the EFI and by how much, to help target measures for further investigation and assessment. Currently, the EA is reviewing the EFI methodology in order to assess whether or not it can be used within the reformed water abstraction licensing system which is being planned by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to ensure the licensing system is resilient to the challenges of climate change and population growth, while allowing abstractors to meet their water needs efficiently, and better protect the environment. In order to assess the robustness of the EFI, a simple model has been created which allows a number of abstraction, flow and licensing scenarios to be run to determine WFD compliance using the

  9. Grounded understanding of abstract concepts: The case of STEM learning.

    PubMed

    Hayes, Justin C; Kraemer, David J M

    2017-01-01

    Characterizing the neural implementation of abstract conceptual representations has long been a contentious topic in cognitive science. At the heart of the debate is whether the "sensorimotor" machinery of the brain plays a central role in representing concepts, or whether the involvement of these perceptual and motor regions is merely peripheral or epiphenomenal. The domain of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning provides an important proving ground for sensorimotor (or grounded) theories of cognition, as concepts in science and engineering courses are often taught through laboratory-based and other hands-on methodologies. In this review of the literature, we examine evidence suggesting that sensorimotor processes strengthen learning associated with the abstract concepts central to STEM pedagogy. After considering how contemporary theories have defined abstraction in the context of semantic knowledge, we propose our own explanation for how body-centered information, as computed in sensorimotor brain regions and visuomotor association cortex, can form a useful foundation upon which to build an understanding of abstract scientific concepts, such as mechanical force. Drawing from theories in cognitive neuroscience, we then explore models elucidating the neural mechanisms involved in grounding intangible concepts, including Hebbian learning, predictive coding, and neuronal recycling. Empirical data on STEM learning through hands-on instruction are considered in light of these neural models. We conclude the review by proposing three distinct ways in which the field of cognitive neuroscience can contribute to STEM learning by bolstering our understanding of how the brain instantiates abstract concepts in an embodied fashion.

  10. Beyond learning fixed rules and social cues: abstraction in the social arena.

    PubMed Central

    Call, Joseph

    2003-01-01

    Abstraction is a central idea in many areas of physical comparative cognition such as categorization, numerical competence or problem solving. This idea, however, has rarely been applied to comparative social cognition. In this paper, I propose that the notion of abstraction can be applied to the social arena and become an important tool to investigate the social cognition and behaviour processes in animals. To make this point, I present recent evidence showing that chimpanzees know about what others can see and about what others intend. These data do not fit either low-level mechanisms based on stimulus-response associations or high-level explanations based on metarepresentational mechanisms such as false belief attribution. Instead, I argue that social abstraction, in particular the development of concepts such as seeing in others, is key to explaining the behaviour of our closest relative in a variety of situations. PMID:12903652

  11. A preliminary measurement of the cosmic microwave background spectrum by the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mather, J. C.; Cheng, E. S.; Shafer, R. A.; Bennett, C. L.; Boggess, N. W.; Dwek, E.; Hauser, M. G.; Kelsall, T.; Moseley, S. H., Jr.; Silverberg, R. F.

    1990-01-01

    A preliminary spectrum is presented of the background radiation between 1 and 20/cm from regions near the north Galactic pole, as observed by the FIRAS instrument on the COBE satellite. The spectral resolution is 1/cm. The spectrum is well fitted by a blackbody with a temperature of 2.735 + or - 0.06 K, and the deviation from a blackbody is less than 1 percent of the peak intensity over the range 1-20/cm. These new data show no evidence for the submillimeter excess previously reported by Matsumoto et al. (1988) in the cosmic microwave background. Further analysis and additional data are expected to improve the sensitivity to deviations from a blackbody spectrum by an order of magnitude.

  12. Overcoming the Challenges of Unstructured Data in Multi-site, Electronic Medical Record-based Abstraction

    PubMed Central

    Polnaszek, Brock; Gilmore-Bykovskyi, Andrea; Hovanes, Melissa; Roiland, Rachel; Ferguson, Patrick; Brown, Roger; Kind, Amy JH

    2014-01-01

    Background Unstructured data encountered during retrospective electronic medical record (EMR) abstraction has routinely been identified as challenging to reliably abstract, as this data is often recorded as free text, without limitations to format or structure. There is increased interest in reliably abstracting this type of data given its prominent role in care coordination and communication, yet limited methodological guidance exists. Objective As standard abstraction approaches resulted in sub-standard data reliability for unstructured data elements collected as part of a multi-site, retrospective EMR study of hospital discharge communication quality, our goal was to develop, apply and examine the utility of a phase-based approach to reliably abstract unstructured data. This approach is examined using the specific example of discharge communication for warfarin management. Research Design We adopted a “fit-for-use” framework to guide the development and evaluation of abstraction methods using a four step, phase-based approach including (1) team building, (2) identification of challenges, (3) adaptation of abstraction methods, and (4) systematic data quality monitoring. Measures Unstructured data elements were the focus of this study, including elements communicating steps in warfarin management (e.g., warfarin initiation) and medical follow-up (e.g., timeframe for follow-up). Results After implementation of the phase-based approach, inter-rater reliability for all unstructured data elements demonstrated kappas of ≥ 0.89 -- an average increase of + 0.25 for each unstructured data element. Conclusions As compared to standard abstraction methodologies, this phase-based approach was more time intensive, but did markedly increase abstraction reliability for unstructured data elements within multi-site EMR documentation. PMID:27624585

  13. Abstracts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    American Biology Teacher, 1976

    1976-01-01

    Presents abstracts of 63 papers to be presented at the 1976 Convention of the National Association of Biology Teachers, October 14-17, 1976, Denver, Colorado. Papers cover a wide range of biology and science education topics with the majority concentrating upon the convention's main program, "Ecosystems: 1776-1976-?". (SL)

  14. Research Abstracts of 1982.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1982-12-01

    Third Molars in Naval Personnel,- (Abstract #1430) 7. A. SEROWSKI* and F. AKER --"The Effect of Marine and Fresh-Water Atmospheric Environments on...Packaged Dental Instrument4’, (Abstract #1133) 8. I. L. SHKLAIR*, R. W. GAUGLER, R. G. WALTER -.The Effect of Three Surfactants on Controlling Caries...Insoluble Streptococcal Glucan"’. e (Abstract #102) - _/_ / 10. R. G. WALTER* and I. L. SHKLAIR - The Effect of T-10 Dextran on Caries and Plaque in

  15. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 05)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1974-01-01

    This bibliography is issued in two sections: Section 1 - Abstracts, and section 2 - Indexes. The abstract section cites 217 patents and applications for patent introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period of January 1974 through June 1974. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and, in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or application for patent. The index section contains entries for 2653 patent and application for patent citations covering the period May 1969 through June 1974. The index section contains five indexes -- subject, inventor, source, number and accession number.

  16. Automatic Abstraction in Planning

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Christensen, J.

    1991-01-01

    Traditionally, abstraction in planning has been accomplished by either state abstraction or operator abstraction, neither of which has been fully automatic. We present a new method, predicate relaxation, for automatically performing state abstraction. PABLO, a nonlinear hierarchical planner, implements predicate relaxation. Theoretical, as well as empirical results are presented which demonstrate the potential advantages of using predicate relaxation in planning. We also present a new definition of hierarchical operators that allows us to guarantee a limited form of completeness. This new definition is shown to be, in some ways, more flexible than previous definitions of hierarchical operators. Finally, a Classical Truth Criterion is presented that is proven to be sound and complete for a planning formalism that is general enough to include most classical planning formalisms that are based on the STRIPS assumption.

  17. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 32)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1988-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 136 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period July through December 1987. Each entry consists of a citation , an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  18. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 29)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1986-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 115 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period January 1986 through June 1986. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent application.

  19. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 31)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1987-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 85 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period January 1987 through June 1987. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  20. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 24)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1984-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 167 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period July 1983 through December 1983. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  1. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 27)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1985-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 92 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period January 1985 through June 1985. Each entry consist of a citation, and abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  2. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 45)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1994-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 137 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period Jan. 1994 through Jun. 1994. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  3. NASA patent abstracts bibliography. A continuing bibliography (supplement 22). Section 1: Abstracts

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1983-01-01

    Abstracts are cited for 234 patents and patent applications introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period July 1982 through December 1982. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  4. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 35)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1989-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 58 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information systems during the period January 1989 through June 1989. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  5. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 37)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1989-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 76 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information systems during the period January 1990 through June 1990. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  6. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 30)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1987-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 105 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period July 1986 through December 1986. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  7. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 38)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1991-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 132 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period July 1990 through December 1990. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  8. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 39)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1991-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 154 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information systems during the period Jan. 1991 through Jun. 1991. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  9. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 43)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1993-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 128 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period Jan. 1993 through Jun. 1993. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  10. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 42)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1993-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 174 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period July 1992 through December 1992. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  11. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 36)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1990-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 63 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information systems during the period July 1989 through December 1989. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  12. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 40)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1992-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 181 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period July 1991 through December 1991. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  13. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 28)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1986-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 109 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during the period July 1985 through December 1985. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  14. NASA Patent Abstracts Bibliography: A Continuing Bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (Supplement 48)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1996-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 85 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period July 1995 through December 1995. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  15. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 25)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1984-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 102 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period January 1984 through June 1984. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  16. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 33)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1988-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 16 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information systems during the period January 1988 through June 1988. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  17. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 15)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1979-01-01

    Abstracts are cited for 240 patents and applications for patents introduced into the NASA scientific system during the period of January 1979 through June 1979. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or application for patent.

  18. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 26)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1985-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 172 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period July 1984 through December 1984. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  19. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 16)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1980-01-01

    Abstracts are cited for 138 patents and patent applications introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period July 1979 through December 1979. Each entry cib consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  20. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 23)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1983-01-01

    Abstracts are cited for 129 patents and patent applications introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period January 1983 through June 1983. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  1. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 18)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1981-01-01

    Abstracts are cited for 120 patents and patent applications for patents introduced into the NASA scientific system during the period of July 1980 through December 1980. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or application for patent.

  2. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 34)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1989-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 124 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information systems during the period July 1988 through December 1988. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  3. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 41)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1992-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 131 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period Jan. 1992 through Jun. 1992. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  4. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 44)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1994-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 131 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period Jun. 1993 through Dec. 1993. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  5. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 20)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1982-01-01

    Abstracts are cited for 165 patents and patent applications introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period July 1981 through December 1981. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  6. Abstraction and art.

    PubMed

    Gortais, Bernard

    2003-07-29

    In a given social context, artistic creation comprises a set of processes, which relate to the activity of the artist and the activity of the spectator. Through these processes we see and understand that the world is vaster than it is said to be. Artistic processes are mediated experiences that open up the world. A successful work of art expresses a reality beyond actual reality: it suggests an unknown world using the means and the signs of the known world. Artistic practices incorporate the means of creation developed by science and technology and change forms as they change. Artists and the public follow different processes of abstraction at different levels, in the definition of the means of creation, of representation and of perception of a work of art. This paper examines how the processes of abstraction are used within the framework of the visual arts and abstract painting, which appeared during a period of growing importance for the processes of abstraction in science and technology, at the beginning of the twentieth century. The development of digital platforms and new man-machine interfaces allow multimedia creations. This is performed under the constraint of phases of multidisciplinary conceptualization using generic representation languages, which tend to abolish traditional frontiers between the arts: visual arts, drama, dance and music.

  7. Use of Syllabic Logograms to Help Dyslexic Readers of English Visualize Abstract Words as Pictures

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Saez-Rodriguez, Alberto

    2009-01-01

    Background: Dyslexics read concrete words better than abstract ones. As a result, one of the major problems facing dyslexics is the fact that only part of the information that they require to communicate is concrete, i.e. can easily be pictured. Method: The experiment involved dyslexic third-grade, English-speaking children (8-year-olds) divided…

  8. Qualitative Differences in the Representation of Abstract versus Concrete Words: Evidence from the Visual-World Paradigm

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dunabeitia, Jon Andoni; Aviles, Alberto; Afonso, Olivia; Scheepers, Christoph; Carreiras, Manuel

    2009-01-01

    In the present visual-world experiment, participants were presented with visual displays that included a target item that was a semantic associate of an abstract or a concrete word. This manipulation allowed us to test a basic prediction derived from the qualitatively different representational framework that supports the view of different…

  9. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 19)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1981-01-01

    Abstracts are cited for 130 patents and patent applications introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period of January 1981 through July 1981. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or application for patent.

  10. Cooperative Educational Abstracting Service (CEAS). (Abstract Series No. 103-122, March 1972).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    International Bureau of Education, Geneva (Switzerland).

    This document is a compilation of 20 English-language abstracts concerning various aspects of education in Switzerland, New Zealand, Chile, Poland, Argentina, Pakistan, Malaysia, Thailand, and France. The abstracts are informative in nature, each being approximately 1,500 words in length. They are based on documents submitted by each of the…

  11. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 17)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1980-01-01

    Abstracts are cited for 150 patents and applications for patents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period January 1980 through June 1980. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or application for patent.

  12. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 14)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1979-01-01

    Abstracts are cited for 213 patents and applications for patent introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period of July 1978 through December 1978. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or application for patent.

  13. Abstraction and reformulation in artificial intelligence.

    PubMed Central

    Holte, Robert C.; Choueiry, Berthe Y.

    2003-01-01

    This paper contributes in two ways to the aims of this special issue on abstraction. The first is to show that there are compelling reasons motivating the use of abstraction in the purely computational realm of artificial intelligence. The second is to contribute to the overall discussion of the nature of abstraction by providing examples of the abstraction processes currently used in artificial intelligence. Although each type of abstraction is specific to a somewhat narrow context, it is hoped that collectively they illustrate the richness and variety of abstraction in its fullest sense. PMID:12903653

  14. Abstraction and reformulation in artificial intelligence.

    PubMed

    Holte, Robert C; Choueiry, Berthe Y

    2003-07-29

    This paper contributes in two ways to the aims of this special issue on abstraction. The first is to show that there are compelling reasons motivating the use of abstraction in the purely computational realm of artificial intelligence. The second is to contribute to the overall discussion of the nature of abstraction by providing examples of the abstraction processes currently used in artificial intelligence. Although each type of abstraction is specific to a somewhat narrow context, it is hoped that collectively they illustrate the richness and variety of abstraction in its fullest sense.

  15. Use abstracted patient-specific features to assist an information-theoretic measurement to assess similarity between medical cases

    PubMed Central

    Cao, Hui; Melton, Genevieve B.; Markatou, Marianthi; Hripcsak, George

    2008-01-01

    Inter-case similarity metrics can potentially help find similar cases from a case base for evidence-based practice. While several methods to measure similarity between cases have been proposed, developing an effective means for measuring patient case similarity remains a challenging problem. We were interested in examining how abstracting could potentially assist computing case similarity. In this study, abstracted patient-specific features from medical records were used to improve an existing information-theoretic measurement. The developed metric, using a combination of abstracted disease, finding, procedure and medication features, achieved a correlation between 0.6012 and 0.6940 to experts. PMID:18487093

  16. Affective priming using facial expressions modulates liking for abstract art.

    PubMed

    Flexas, Albert; Rosselló, Jaume; Christensen, Julia F; Nadal, Marcos; Olivera La Rosa, Antonio; Munar, Enric

    2013-01-01

    We examined the influence of affective priming on the appreciation of abstract artworks using an evaluative priming task. Facial primes (showing happiness, disgust or no emotion) were presented under brief (Stimulus Onset Asynchrony, SOA = 20 ms) and extended (SOA = 300 ms) conditions. Differences in aesthetic liking for abstract paintings depending on the emotion expressed in the preceding primes provided a measure of the priming effect. The results showed that, for the extended SOA, artworks were liked more when preceded by happiness primes and less when preceded by disgust primes. Facial expressions of happiness, though not of disgust, exerted similar effects in the brief SOA condition. Subjective measures and a forced-choice task revealed no evidence of prime awareness in the suboptimal condition. Our results are congruent with findings showing that the affective transfer elicited by priming biases evaluative judgments, extending previous research to the domain of aesthetic appreciation.

  17. Affective Priming Using Facial Expressions Modulates Liking for Abstract Art

    PubMed Central

    Flexas, Albert; Rosselló, Jaume; Christensen, Julia F.; Nadal, Marcos; Olivera La Rosa, Antonio; Munar, Enric

    2013-01-01

    We examined the influence of affective priming on the appreciation of abstract artworks using an evaluative priming task. Facial primes (showing happiness, disgust or no emotion) were presented under brief (Stimulus Onset Asynchrony, SOA = 20ms) and extended (SOA = 300ms) conditions. Differences in aesthetic liking for abstract paintings depending on the emotion expressed in the preceding primes provided a measure of the priming effect. The results showed that, for the extended SOA, artworks were liked more when preceded by happiness primes and less when preceded by disgust primes. Facial expressions of happiness, though not of disgust, exerted similar effects in the brief SOA condition. Subjective measures and a forced-choice task revealed no evidence of prime awareness in the suboptimal condition. Our results are congruent with findings showing that the affective transfer elicited by priming biases evaluative judgments, extending previous research to the domain of aesthetic appreciation. PMID:24260350

  18. Assessing abstracts of Iranian systematic reviews and metaanalysis indexed in WOS and Scopus using PRISMA.

    PubMed

    Kazerani, Maryam; Davoudian, Atefeh; Zayeri, Farid; Soori, Hamid

    2017-01-01

    Background: Systematic reviews and meta-analysis have significant advantages over conventional reviews in that all available data should be presented. This study aimed to evaluate Iranian systematic reviews and meta-analysis abstracts indexed in WOS and Scopus during 2003-2012 based on PRISMA checklist. Methods: This is an analytical study. We evaluated 46 article abstracts indexed in WOS, 89 article abstracts indexed in Scopus and 158 article abstracts indexed in WOS and Scopus both (overlapped group). The quality of the abstracts was evaluated according to the PRISMA checklist for abstracts. Some indicators including distribution per year, total citation, average citations per year, average citations per documents and average citations per year in each article were determined through searching the WOS and Scopus Databases' analytical section. Then, the correlations between the abstract's PRISMA scores, average citations per year, and publication year were calculated. Results: The abstract's quality is not desirable as far as the PRISMA criteria are concerned. In other words, none of the articles' abstracts is in line with the PRISMA items. The average of scores of the current study was 5.9 while the maximum score was 12. The PRISMA criteria showed the highest compliance with "Objectives" (98.6%), the second highest with "Synthesis of result" (85%) and "Title" (80.2%) and the lowest compliance with "Registration" (2%). There was a positive correlation between the compliance of PRISMA score and the average citations per year while there was a negative correlation between PRISMA score and the publication year. Conclusion: It seems that the suggested criteria for reporting Iranian systematic reviews and meta-analysis are not considered adequately by the writers and even scientific journal editors.

  19. Abstraction and art.

    PubMed Central

    Gortais, Bernard

    2003-01-01

    In a given social context, artistic creation comprises a set of processes, which relate to the activity of the artist and the activity of the spectator. Through these processes we see and understand that the world is vaster than it is said to be. Artistic processes are mediated experiences that open up the world. A successful work of art expresses a reality beyond actual reality: it suggests an unknown world using the means and the signs of the known world. Artistic practices incorporate the means of creation developed by science and technology and change forms as they change. Artists and the public follow different processes of abstraction at different levels, in the definition of the means of creation, of representation and of perception of a work of art. This paper examines how the processes of abstraction are used within the framework of the visual arts and abstract painting, which appeared during a period of growing importance for the processes of abstraction in science and technology, at the beginning of the twentieth century. The development of digital platforms and new man-machine interfaces allow multimedia creations. This is performed under the constraint of phases of multidisciplinary conceptualization using generic representation languages, which tend to abolish traditional frontiers between the arts: visual arts, drama, dance and music. PMID:12903659

  20. Extraction of Pharmacokinetic Evidence of Drug–Drug Interactions from the Literature

    PubMed Central

    Kolchinsky, Artemy; Lourenço, Anália; Wu, Heng-Yi; Li, Lang; Rocha, Luis M.

    2015-01-01

    Drug-drug interaction (DDI) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality and a subject of intense scientific interest. Biomedical literature mining can aid DDI research by extracting evidence for large numbers of potential interactions from published literature and clinical databases. Though DDI is investigated in domains ranging in scale from intracellular biochemistry to human populations, literature mining has not been used to extract specific types of experimental evidence, which are reported differently for distinct experimental goals. We focus on pharmacokinetic evidence for DDI, essential for identifying causal mechanisms of putative interactions and as input for further pharmacological and pharmacoepidemiology investigations. We used manually curated corpora of PubMed abstracts and annotated sentences to evaluate the efficacy of literature mining on two tasks: first, identifying PubMed abstracts containing pharmacokinetic evidence of DDIs; second, extracting sentences containing such evidence from abstracts. We implemented a text mining pipeline and evaluated it using several linear classifiers and a variety of feature transforms. The most important textual features in the abstract and sentence classification tasks were analyzed. We also investigated the performance benefits of using features derived from PubMed metadata fields, various publicly available named entity recognizers, and pharmacokinetic dictionaries. Several classifiers performed very well in distinguishing relevant and irrelevant abstracts (reaching F1≈0.93, MCC≈0.74, iAUC≈0.99) and sentences (F1≈0.76, MCC≈0.65, iAUC≈0.83). We found that word bigram features were important for achieving optimal classifier performance and that features derived from Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms significantly improved abstract classification. We also found that some drug-related named entity recognition tools and dictionaries led to slight but significant improvements, especially in

  1. The EPIC-MOS Particle-Induced Background Spectrum

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kuntz, K. D.; Snowden, S. L.

    2006-01-01

    We have developed a method for constructing a spectrum of the particle-induced instrumental background of the XMM-Newton EPIC MOS detectors that can be used for observations of the diffuse background and extended sources that fill a significant fraction of the instrument field of view. The strength and spectrum of the particle-induced background, that is, the background due to the interaction of particles with the detector and the detector surroundings, is temporally variable as well as spatially variable over individual chips. Our method uses a combination of the filter-wheel-closed data and a database of unexposed-region data to construct a spectrum of the "quiescent" background. We show that, using this method of background subtraction, the differences between independent observations of the same region of "blank sky" are consistent with the statistical uncertainties except when there is clear evidence of solar wind charge exchange emission. We use the blank sky observations to show that contamination by SWCX emission is a strong function of the solar wind proton flux, and that observations through the flanks of the magnetosheath appear to be contaminated only at much higher solar wind fluxes. We have also developed a spectral model of the residual soft proton flares, which allows their effects to be removed to a substantial degree during spectral fitting.

  2. Publication Rates and Inconsistencies of the Abstracts Presented at the National Anatomy Congresses in 2007 and 2008

    PubMed Central

    Gürses, İlke Ali; Gayretli, Özcan; Gürtekin, Başak; Öztürk, Adnan

    2017-01-01

    Background: Despite significant efforts made for, most abstracts presented during a meeting do not proceed and publish as a manuscript in scientific journals. Aims: To investigate publication rates of national anatomy congresses. Study Design: Descriptive study. Methods: All abstracts presented at two annual meetings in 2007 and 2008 were extracted. PubMed and Google Scholar database search used for publication history. Presentation and study types, publication rates and mean publishing times were evaluated. Inconsistency rates between meeting abstract and final published article were also considered. Results: Among 342 abstracts, 195 (57%) were followed by a full-text article. Publication rates for oral and poster presentations were 75% and 52.2%, respectively. The mean publication time was 23.7±23 months. Overall, 89.2% of the articles were published within 5 years. There were no inconsistencies in 50 (25.6%) articles, while 145 (74.4%) had inconsistencies compared to the abstracts presented at the congress. Getting adequate information for 45 (23.1%) articles was not possible. There was no standard reporting format for the abstracts. Conclusion: Our study shows that, overall publication rates for abstracts presented at national anatomy meetings were higher than those presented at national meetings for clinical specialties. PMID:28251026

  3. The distribution of probability values in medical abstracts: an observational study.

    PubMed

    Ginsel, Bastiaan; Aggarwal, Abhinav; Xuan, Wei; Harris, Ian

    2015-11-26

    A relatively high incidence of p values immediately below 0.05 (such as 0.047 or 0.04) compared to p values immediately above 0.05 (such as 0.051 or 0.06) has been noticed anecdotally in published medical abstracts. If p values immediately below 0.05 are over-represented, such a distribution may reflect the true underlying distribution of p values or may be due to error (a false distribution). If due to error, a consistent over-representation of p values immediately below 0.05 would be a systematic error due either to publication bias or (overt or inadvertent) bias within studies. We searched the Medline 2012 database to identify abstracts containing a p value. Two thousand abstracts out of 80,649 abstracts were randomly selected. Two independent researchers extracted all p values. The p values were plotted and compared to a predicted curve. Chi square test was used to test assumptions and significance was set at 0.05. 2798 p value ranges and 3236 exact p values were reported. 4973 of these (82%) were significant (<0.05). There was an over-representation of p values immediately below 0.05 (between 0.01 and 0.049) compared to those immediately above 0.05 (between 0.05 and 0.1) (p = 0.001). The distribution of p values in reported medical abstracts provides evidence for systematic error in the reporting of p values. This may be due to publication bias, methodological errors (underpowering, selective reporting and selective analyses) or fraud.

  4. Cognitive Bridging: Using Strategic Communication To Connect Abstract Goals With The Means To Achieve Them.

    PubMed

    Katz, Sherri Jean; Byrne, Sahara

    2018-01-29

    Three studies test several mechanisms of cognitive bridging, or how a strategic communication message functions to connect the abstract goal of an individual with the specific means to achieve the goal. Across all of the experiments (n = 276, n = 209, n = 145), it was demonstrated that participants who received an induced bridging mechanism were more likely to produce cognitive bridging outputs and report more abstract responses than participants who did not receive a bridging technique. We do not find the same pattern of results among participants who received an integrated bridging technique. Taken together, these studies provide evidence that how abstractly or concretely an individual is thinking can be influenced by abstraction cues planted within a strategic message, providing promise for messaging efforts at the moment of decision. In other words, the level of abstract thinking an individual is carrying into an exposure situation is possible to change using cues within the message itself. This is the first article to juxtapose the induced and integrated mechanisms of cognitive bridging.

  5. Background levels in the Borexino detector

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    D'Angelo, Davide; Wurm, Michael; Borexino Collaboration

    2008-11-01

    The Borexino detector, designed and constructed for sub-MeV solar neutrino spectroscopy, is taking data at the Gran Sasso Laboratory, Italy; since May 2007. The main physics objective of Borexino, based on elastic scattering of neutrinos in organic liquid scintillator, is the real time flux measurement of the 862keV mono-energetic neutrinos from 7Be, which set extremely severe radio-purity requirements in the detector's design and handling. The first year of continous data taking provide now evidence of the extremely low background levels achieved in the construction of the detector and in the purification of the target mass. Several pieces of analysis sense the presence of radioisotopes of the 238U and 232Th chains, of 85Kr and of 210Po out of equilibrium from other Radon daughters. Particular emphasis is given to the detection of the cosmic muon background whose angular distributions have been obtained with the outer detector tracking algorithm and to the possibility of tagging the muon-induced neutron background in the scintillator with the recently enhanced electronics setup.

  6. Concept Formation and Abstraction.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lunzer, Eric A.

    1979-01-01

    This paper examines the nature of concepts and conceptual processes and the manner of their formation. It argues that a process of successive abstraction and systematization is central to the evolution of conceptual structures. Classificatory processes are discussed and three levels of abstraction outlined. (Author/SJL)

  7. Abstraction Techniques for Parameterized Verification

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2006-11-01

    approach for applying model checking to unbounded systems is to extract finite state models from them using conservative abstraction techniques. Prop...36 2.5.1 Multiple Reference Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 2.5.2 Adding Monitor Processes...model checking to complex pieces of code like device drivers depends on the use of abstraction methods. An abstraction method extracts a small finite

  8. The Future of Phosphorus for Food Security: Making Media to Recover the Nutrient from Water (abstract)

    EPA Science Inventory

    The abstract is only allowed to be 500 words maximum and is supposed to represent the theme of the conference so I am focusing my information more on the background of why phosphorus is important to recovery then giving a little less detail on the material I've made for this purp...

  9. Identification of Rural-Background Applicants by the Talent Identification Program of WHAHEC

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Calkins, E. Virginia; And Others

    1978-01-01

    The Talent Identification Program identifies, motivates, and assists high school juniors and seniors with disadvantaged backgrounds who have potential for careers in the health sciences. The policy of assistance in applying and preparing for medical school is in accordance with evidence that rural-background students are more likely to practice…

  10. Geophysical abstracts 167, October-December 1956

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Rabbitt, Mary C.; Vitaliano, Dorothy B.; Vesselowsky, S.T.; ,

    1956-01-01

    Geophysical Abstracts includes abstracts of technical papers and books on the physics of the solid earth, the application of physical methods and techniques to geologic problems, and geophysical exploration. The table of contents, which is alphabetically arranged, shows the material covered.Abstracts are prepared only of material that is believed to be generally available. Ordinarily abstracts are not published of material with limited circulation (such as dissertations, open-file reports, or memoranda) or of other papers presented orally at meetings unless summaries of substantial length are published. Abstracts of papers in Japanese and Chinese are based on abstracts or summaries in a western language accompanying the paper.

  11. Geophysical abstracts 164, January-March 1956

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Rabbitt, Mary C.; Vitaliano, Dorothy B.; Vesselowsky, S.T.; ,

    1956-01-01

    Geophysical Abstracts includes abstracts of technical papers and books on the physics of the solid earth, the application of physical methods and techniques to geologic problems, and geophysical exploration. A new table of contents, alphabetically arranged, has been adapted to show more clearly the material covered.Abstracts are prepared only of material that is believed to be generally available. Ordinarily abstracts are not published of material with limited circulation (such as dissertations, open-file reports, or memoranda) or of papers presented orally at meetings unless summaries of substantial length are published. Abstracts of papers in Japanese and Chinese are based on abstracts or summaries in a western language accompanying the paper.

  12. Geophysical abstracts 166, July-September 1956

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Rabbitt, Mary C.; Vitaliano, Dorothy B.; Vesselowsky, S.T.; ,

    1956-01-01

    Geophysical Abstracts includes abstracts of technical papers and books on the physics of the solid earth, the application of physical methods and techniques to geologic problems, and geophysical exploration. The table of contents, which is alphabetically arranged, shows the material covered.Abstracts are prepared only of material that is believed to be generally available. Ordinarily abstracts are not published of material with limited circulation (such as dissertations, open-file reports, or memoranda) or of other papers presented orally at meetings unless summaries of substantial length are published. Abstracts of papers in Japanese and Chinese are based on abstracts or summaries in a western language accompanying the paper.

  13. Geophysical abstracts 165, April-June 1956

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Rabbitt, Mary C.; Vitaliano, Dorothy B.; Vesselowsky, S.T.; ,

    1956-01-01

    Geophysical Abstracts includes abstracts of technical papers and books on the physics of the solid earth, the application of physical methods and techniques to geologic problems, and geophysical exploration. The table of contents, which is alphabetically arranged, shows the material covered.Abstracts are prepared only of material that is believed to be generally available. Ordinarily abstracts are not published of material with limited circulation (such as dissertations, open-file reports, or memoranda) or of other papers presented orally at meetings unless summaries of substantial length are published. Abstracts of papers in Japanese and Chinese are based on abstracts or summaries in a western language accompanying the paper.

  14. Energy Research Abstracts. [DOE abstract journal

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    1981-01-01

    Energy Research Abstracts (ERA) provides abstracting and indexing coverage of all scientific and technical reports, journal articles, conference papers and proceedings, books, patents, theses, and monographs originated by the US Department of Energy, its laboratories, energy centers, and contractors. ERA also covers other energy information prepared in report form by federal and state government organizations, foreign governments, and domestic and foreign universities and research organizations. ERA coverage of non-report literature is limited to that generated by Department of Energy activity. ERA is comprehensive in its subject scope, encompassing the DOE's research, development, demonstration, and technological programs resulting from its broadmore » charter for energy sources, conservation, safety, environmental impacts, and regulation. Corporate, author, subject, report number, and contract number indexes are included. ERA is available on an exchange basis to universities, research intitutions, industrial firms, and publishers of scientific information. Federal, state, and municipal agencies concerned with energy development, conservation, and usage may obtain ERA free of charge. Inquiries should be directed to the Technical Information Center, P.O. Box 62, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830. ERA is available to the public on a subscription basis for 24 semimonthly issues including a semiannual index and an annual index. All citations announced in ERA exist as separate records in the DOE Energy Data Base.« less

  15. Does the modified Stroop effect exist in PTSD? Evidence from dissertation abstracts and the peer reviewed literature.

    PubMed

    Kimble, Matthew O; Frueh, B Christopher; Marks, Libby

    2009-06-01

    The modified Stroop effect (MSE), in which participants show delayed colour naming to trauma-specific words, is one of the most widely cited findings in the literature pertaining to cognitive bias in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The current study used a novel approach (Dissertation Abstract Review; DAR) to review the presence of the MSE in dissertation abstracts. A review of dissertations that used the modified Stroop task in a PTSD sample revealed that only 8% of the studies found delayed reaction times to trauma-specific words in participants with PTSD. The most common finding (75%) was for no PTSD-specific effects in colour naming trauma-relevant words. This ratio is significantly lower than ratios found in the peer reviewed literature, but even in the peer reviewed literature only 44% of controlled studies found the modified Stroop effect. These data suggest that a reevaluation of the MSE in PTSD is warranted.

  16. Finding Feasible Abstract Counter-Examples

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Pasareanu, Corina S.; Dwyer, Matthew B.; Visser, Willem; Clancy, Daniel (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    A strength of model checking is its ability to automate the detection of subtle system errors and produce traces that exhibit those errors. Given the high computational cost of model checking most researchers advocate the use of aggressive property-preserving abstractions. Unfortunately, the more aggressively a system is abstracted the more infeasible behavior it will have. Thus, while abstraction enables efficient model checking it also threatens the usefulness of model checking as a defect detection tool, since it may be difficult to determine whether a counter-example is feasible and hence worth developer time to analyze. We have explored several strategies for addressing this problem by extending an explicit-state model checker, Java PathFinder (JPF), to search for and analyze counter-examples in the presence of abstractions. We demonstrate that these techniques effectively preserve the defect detection ability of model checking in the presence of aggressive abstraction by applying them to check properties of several abstracted multi-threaded Java programs. These new capabilities are not specific to JPF and can be easily adapted to other model checking frameworks; we describe how this was done for the Bandera toolset.

  17. Dehumanizing Gender: The Debiasing Effects of Gendering Human-Abstracted Entities.

    PubMed

    Martin, Ashley E; Slepian, Michael L

    2018-05-01

    The propensity to "gender"-or conceptually divide entities by masculinity versus femininity-is pervasive. Such gendering is argued to hinder gender equality, as it reifies the bifurcation of men and women into two unequal categories, leading many to advocate for a "de-gendering movement." However, gendering is so prevalent that individuals can also gender entities far removed from human sex categories of male and female (i.e., weather, numbers, sounds) due to the conceptual similarities they share with our notions of masculinity and femininity (e.g., tough, tender). While intuition might predict that extending gender to these (human-abstracted) entities only further reinforces stereotypes, the current work presents a novel model and evidence demonstrating the opposing effect. Five studies demonstrate that gendering human-abstracted entities highlights how divorced psychological notions of gender are from biological sex, thereby decreasing gender stereotyping and penalties toward stereotype violators, through reducing essentialist views of gender. Rather than "de-gendering" humans, we demonstrate the potential benefits of "dehumanizing gender."

  18. From action to abstraction: Using the hands to learn math

    PubMed Central

    Novack, Miriam A.; Congdon, Eliza L.; Hemani-Lopez, Naureen; Goldin-Meadow, Susan

    2014-01-01

    Previous research has shown that children benefit from gesturing during math instruction. Here we ask whether gesturing promotes learning because it is itself a physical action, or because it uses physical action to represent abstract ideas. To address this question, we taught third-grade children a strategy for solving mathematical equivalence problems that was instantiated in one of three ways: (1) in the physical action children performed on objects, (2) in a concrete gesture miming that action, or (3) in an abstract gesture. All three types of hand movements helped children learn how to solve the problems on which they were trained. However, only gesture led to success on problems that required generalizing the knowledge gained. The results provide the first evidence that gesture promotes transfer of knowledge better than action, and suggest that the beneficial effects gesture has on learning may reside in the features that differentiate it from action. PMID:24503873

  19. Co-operative Educational Abstracting Service (CEAS). [Abstract Series No. 1-4, 1969-1971].

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    International Bureau of Education, Geneva (Switzerland).

    This document is a compilation of 163 English-language abstracts concerning various aspects of education in Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary, Iceland, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, Thailand, UAR, U.S., USSR, and Yugoslavia. The abstracts are informative in nature and are approximately 1,500 words…

  20. Is gastroenterology research in decline? A comparison of abstract publication rates from The British Society of Gastroenterology meetings between 1995 and 2005.

    PubMed

    Prendergast, Sarah; Mattishent, Katharina; Broughton, Tom; Beales, Ian

    2013-02-22

    Reports have suggested that academic medicine may be in decline within the UK. Further evidence suggests that rates of subsequent full publication of abstracts presented at major scientific meetings are low and may be declining. We have compared the publication rates of abstracts presented at meetings of the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) between 1995 and 2005 and examined factors associated with full paper publication.  Abstracts presented at BSG meetings in 1995 and 2005 were assessed by cross-referencing with multiple databases. Abstract characteristics associated with publication were analysed. There were no differences in overall publication rates, impact factors or time to publication between 1995 and 2005. Overall, basic-science abstracts were twice as likely to achieve full publication than non-basic science. There was a significant fall in the publication rates for case series and audits, and significantly increased rates for fundamental/basic-science abstracts over the study period. There were non-significant increases in publication rates for controlled trials and systematic reviews. In general, publication rates for all predominantly clinically orientated abstracts reduced between the two periods with the most notable fall occurring in nutrition.  There was no evidence of a decline in overall abstract publication rates between 1995 and 2005. There seemed to be trend for increased publication rates of abstracts using perceived high-quality study methodologies with a corresponding decrease in those with lower quality methods. The proportion of basic-science abstracts is likely to be a determinant of overall full publication rates following scientific meetings.

  1. Assessing abstracts of Iranian systematic reviews and metaanalysis indexed in WOS and Scopus using PRISMA

    PubMed Central

    Kazerani, Maryam; Davoudian, Atefeh; Zayeri, Farid; Soori, Hamid

    2017-01-01

    Background: Systematic reviews and meta-analysis have significant advantages over conventional reviews in that all available data should be presented. This study aimed to evaluate Iranian systematic reviews and meta-analysis abstracts indexed in WOS and Scopus during 2003-2012 based on PRISMA checklist. Methods: This is an analytical study. We evaluated 46 article abstracts indexed in WOS, 89 article abstracts indexed in Scopus and 158 article abstracts indexed in WOS and Scopus both (overlapped group). The quality of the abstracts was evaluated according to the PRISMA checklist for abstracts. Some indicators including distribution per year, total citation, average citations per year, average citations per documents and average citations per year in each article were determined through searching the WOS and Scopus Databases’ analytical section. Then, the correlations between the abstract's PRISMA scores, average citations per year, and publication year were calculated. Results: The abstract’s quality is not desirable as far as the PRISMA criteria are concerned. In other words, none of the articles’ abstracts is in line with the PRISMA items. The average of scores of the current study was 5.9 while the maximum score was 12. The PRISMA criteria showed the highest compliance with "Objectives" (98.6%), the second highest with "Synthesis of result" (85%) and "Title" (80.2%) and the lowest compliance with "Registration" (2%). There was a positive correlation between the compliance of PRISMA score and the average citations per year while there was a negative correlation between PRISMA score and the publication year. Conclusion: It seems that the suggested criteria for reporting Iranian systematic reviews and meta-analysis are not considered adequately by the writers and even scientific journal editors. PMID:28955668

  2. Natural concepts in a juvenile gorilla (gorilla gorilla gorilla) at three levels of abstraction.

    PubMed Central

    Vonk, Jennifer; MacDonald, Suzanne E

    2002-01-01

    The extent to which nonhumans are able to form conceptual versus perceptual discriminations remains a matter of debate. Among the great apes, only chimpanzees have been tested for conceptual understanding, defined as the ability to form discriminations not based solely on simple perceptual features of stimuli, and to transfer this learning to novel stimuli. In the present investigation, a young captive female gorilla was trained at three levels of abstraction (concrete, intermediate, and abstract) involving sets of photographs representing natural categories (e.g., orangutans vs. humans, primates vs. nonprimate animals, animals vs. foods). Within each level of abstraction, when the gorilla had learned to discriminate positive from negative exemplars in one set of photographs, a novel set was introduced. Transfer was defined in terms of high accuracy during the first two sessions with the new stimuli. The gorilla acquired discriminations at all three levels of abstraction but showed unambiguous transfer only with the concrete and abstract stimulus sets. Detailed analyses of response patterns revealed little evidence of control by simple stimulus features. Acquisition and transfer involving abstract stimulus sets suggest a conceptual basis for gorilla categorization. The gorilla's relatively poor performance with intermediate-level discriminations parallels findings with pigeons, and suggests a need to reconsider the role of perceptual information in discriminations thought to indicate conceptual behavior in nonhumans. PMID:12507006

  3. Designing for Mathematical Abstraction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pratt, Dave; Noss, Richard

    2010-01-01

    Our focus is on the design of systems (pedagogical, technical, social) that encourage mathematical abstraction, a process we refer to as "designing for abstraction." In this paper, we draw on detailed design experiments from our research on children's understanding about chance and distribution to re-present this work as a case study in designing…

  4. (abstract) Large-Scale Topography on Main-Belt Asteroids: Evidence from Arecibo Radar Spectra

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mitchell, D. L.; Ostro, S. J.; Rosma, K. D.; Campbell, D. B.; Chandler, J. F.; Shapiro, I. I.; Hudson, R. S.

    1994-01-01

    Arecibo lambda 13 cm radar spectra of the main belt asteroids 7 Iris, 9 Metis, 12 Victoria, 216 Kleopatra, and 654 Zelinda exhibit evidence for large-scale topography. These asteroids range in diameter from 113 to 200 km and include members of the S,C, and M classes. Radar.

  5. Scientific meeting abstracts: significance, access, and trends.

    PubMed Central

    Kelly, J A

    1998-01-01

    Abstracts of scientific papers and posters that are presented at annual scientific meetings of professional societies are part of the broader category of conference literature. They are an important avenue for the dissemination of current data. While timely and succinct, these abstracts present problems such as an abbreviated peer review and incomplete bibliographic access. METHODS: Seventy societies of health sciences professionals were surveyed about the publication of abstracts from their annual meetings. Nineteen frequently cited journals also were contacted about their policies on the citation of meeting abstracts. Ten databases were searched for the presence of meetings abstracts. RESULTS: Ninety percent of the seventy societies publish their abstracts, with nearly half appearing in the society's journal. Seventy-seven percent of the societies supply meeting attendees with a copy of each abstract, and 43% make their abstracts available in an electronic format. Most of the journals surveyed allow meeting abstracts to be cited. Bibliographic access to these abstracts does not appear to be widespread. CONCLUSIONS: Meeting abstracts play an important role in the dissemination of scientific knowledge. Bibliographic access to meeting abstracts is very limited. The trend toward making meeting abstracts available via the Internet has the potential to give a broader audience access to the information they contain. PMID:9549015

  6. In defense of abstract conceptual representations.

    PubMed

    Binder, Jeffrey R

    2016-08-01

    An extensive program of research in the past 2 decades has focused on the role of modal sensory, motor, and affective brain systems in storing and retrieving concept knowledge. This focus has led in some circles to an underestimation of the need for more abstract, supramodal conceptual representations in semantic cognition. Evidence for supramodal processing comes from neuroimaging work documenting a large, well-defined cortical network that responds to meaningful stimuli regardless of modal content. The nodes in this network correspond to high-level "convergence zones" that receive broadly crossmodal input and presumably process crossmodal conjunctions. It is proposed that highly conjunctive representations are needed for several critical functions, including capturing conceptual similarity structure, enabling thematic associative relationships independent of conceptual similarity, and providing efficient "chunking" of concept representations for a range of higher order tasks that require concepts to be configured as situations. These hypothesized functions account for a wide range of neuroimaging results showing modulation of the supramodal convergence zone network by associative strength, lexicality, familiarity, imageability, frequency, and semantic compositionality. The evidence supports a hierarchical model of knowledge representation in which modal systems provide a mechanism for concept acquisition and serve to ground individual concepts in external reality, whereas broadly conjunctive, supramodal representations play an equally important role in concept association and situation knowledge.

  7. Foundations of the Bandera Abstraction Tools

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hatcliff, John; Dwyer, Matthew B.; Pasareanu, Corina S.; Robby

    2003-01-01

    Current research is demonstrating that model-checking and other forms of automated finite-state verification can be effective for checking properties of software systems. Due to the exponential costs associated with model-checking, multiple forms of abstraction are often necessary to obtain system models that are tractable for automated checking. The Bandera Tool Set provides multiple forms of automated support for compiling concurrent Java software systems to models that can be supplied to several different model-checking tools. In this paper, we describe the foundations of Bandera's data abstraction mechanism which is used to reduce the cardinality (and the program's state-space) of data domains in software to be model-checked. From a technical standpoint, the form of data abstraction used in Bandera is simple, and it is based on classical presentations of abstract interpretation. We describe the mechanisms that Bandera provides for declaring abstractions, for attaching abstractions to programs, and for generating abstracted programs and properties. The contributions of this work are the design and implementation of various forms of tool support required for effective application of data abstraction to software components written in a programming language like Java which has a rich set of linguistic features.

  8. Is It Really Abstract?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kernan, Christine

    2011-01-01

    For this author, one of the most enjoyable aspects of teaching elementary art is the willingness of students to embrace the different styles of art introduced to them. In this article, she describes a project that allows upper-elementary students to learn about abstract art and the lives of some of the master abstract artists, implement the idea…

  9. Water Pollution Abstracts. Volume 43, Number 4, Abstracts 645-849.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    WATER POLLUTION, *ABSTRACTS, PURIFICATION, WASTES(INDUSTRIAL), CONTROL, SEWAGE, WATER SUPPLIES, PUBLIC HEALTH, PETROLEUM PRODUCTS, DEGRADATION, DAMS...ESTUARIES, PLANKTON, PHOTOSYNTHESIS, VIRUSES, SEA WATER , MICROBIOLOGY, UNITED KINGDOM.

  10. Blackfolds in (anti)-de Sitter backgrounds

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Armas, Jay; Obers, Niels A.

    2011-04-15

    We construct different neutral blackfold solutions in Anti-de Sitter and de Sitter background spacetimes in the limit where the cosmological constant is taken to be much smaller than the horizon size. This includes a class of blackfolds with horizons that are products of odd-spheres times a transverse sphere, for which the thermodynamic stability is also studied. Moreover, we exhibit a specific case in which the same blackfold solution can describe different limiting black hole spacetimes therefore illustrating the geometric character of the blackfold approach. Furthermore, we show that the higher-dimensional Kerr-(Anti)-de Sitter black hole allows for ultraspinning regimes in themore » same limit under consideration and demonstrate that this is correctly described by a pancaked blackfold geometry. We also give evidence for the possibility of saturating the rigidity theorem in these backgrounds.« less

  11. Repeal of Comprehensive Background Check Policies and Firearm Homicide and Suicide.

    PubMed

    Kagawa, Rose M C; Castillo-Carniglia, Alvaro; Vernick, Jon S; Webster, Daniel; Crifasi, Cassandra; Rudolph, Kara E; Cerdá, Magdalena; Shev, Aaron; Wintemute, Garen J

    2018-04-02

    In 2016, firearms killed 38,658 people in the United States. Federal law requires licensed gun dealers, but not private parties, to conduct background checks on prospective firearm purchasers with the goal of preventing prohibited persons from obtaining firearms. Our objective was to estimate the effect of the repeal of comprehensive background check laws - requiring a background check for all handgun sales, not just sales by licensed dealers - on firearm homicide and suicide rates in Indiana and Tennessee. We compared age-adjusted firearm homicide and suicide rates, measured annually from 1981-2008 and 1994-2008 in Indiana and Tennessee, respectively, to rates in control groups constructed using the synthetic control method. The average rates of firearm homicide and suicide in Indiana and Tennessee following repeal were within the range of what could be expected given natural variation (differences = 0.7 firearm homicides and 0.5 firearm suicides per 100,000 residents in Indiana and 0.4 firearm homicides and 0.3 firearm suicides per 100,000 residents in Tennessee). Sensitivity analyses resulted in similar findings. We found no evidence of an association between the repeal of comprehensive background check policies and firearm homicide and suicide rates in Indiana and Tennessee. In order to understand whether comprehensive background check policies reduce firearm deaths in the United States generally, more evidence on the impact of such policies from other states is needed.

  12. The left inferior frontal gyrus: A neural crossroads between abstract and concrete knowledge.

    PubMed

    Della Rosa, Pasquale Anthony; Catricalà, Eleonora; Canini, Matteo; Vigliocco, Gabriella; Cappa, Stefano F

    2018-07-15

    Evidence from both neuropsychology and neuroimaging suggests that different types of information are necessary for representing and processing concrete and abstract word meanings. Both abstract and concrete concepts, however, conjointly rely on perceptual, verbal and contextual knowledge, with abstract concepts characterized by low values of imageability (IMG) (low sensory-motor grounding) and low context availability (CA) (more difficult to contextualize). Imaging studies supporting differences between abstract and concrete concepts show a greater recruitment of the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) for abstract concepts, which has been attributed either to the representation of abstract-specific semantic knowledge or to the request for more executive control than in the case of concrete concepts. We conducted an fMRI study on 27 participants, using a lexical decision task involving both abstract and concrete words, whose IMG and CA values were explicitly modelled in separate parametric analyses. The LIFG was significantly more activated for abstract than for concrete words, and a conjunction analysis showed a common activation for words with low IMG or low CA only in the LIFG, in the same area reported for abstract words. A regional template map of brain activations was then traced for words with low IMG or low CA, and BOLD regional time-series were extracted and correlated with the specific LIFG neural activity elicited for abstract words. The regions associated to low IMG, which were functionally correlated with LIFG, were mainly in the left hemisphere, while those associated with low CA were in the right hemisphere. Finally, in order to reveal which LIFG-related network increased its connectivity with decreases of IMG or CA, we conducted generalized psychophysiological interaction analyses. The connectivity strength values extracted from each region connected with the LIFG were correlated with specific LIFG neural activity for abstract words, and a regression

  13. Evidence-Based Practices: Applications of Concrete Representational Abstract Framework across Math Concepts for Students with Mathematics Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Agrawal, Jugnu; Morin, Lisa L.

    2016-01-01

    Students with mathematics disabilities (MD) experience difficulties with both conceptual and procedural knowledge of different math concepts across grade levels. Research shows that concrete representational abstract framework of instruction helps to bridge this gap for students with MD. In this article, we provide an overview of this strategy…

  14. Belief beyond the evidence: using the proposed effect of breakfast on obesity to show 2 practices that distort scientific evidence1234

    PubMed Central

    Brown, Andrew W; Bohan Brown, Michelle M

    2013-01-01

    Background: Various intentional and unintentional factors influence beliefs beyond what scientific evidence justifies. Two such factors are research lacking probative value (RLPV) and biased research reporting (BRR). Objective: We investigated the prevalence of RLPV and BRR in research about the proposition that skipping breakfast causes weight gain, which is called the proposed effect of breakfast on obesity (PEBO) in this article. Design: Studies related to the PEBO were synthesized by using a cumulative meta-analysis. Abstracts from these studies were also rated for the improper use of causal language and biased interpretations. In separate analyses, articles that cited an observational study about the PEBO were rated for the inappropriate use of causal language, and articles that cited a randomized controlled trial (RCT) about the PEBO were rated for misleadingly citing the RCT. Results: The current body of scientific knowledge indicates that the PEBO is only presumed true. The observational literature on the PEBO has gratuitously established the association, but not the causal relation, between skipping breakfast and obesity (final cumulative meta-analysis P value <10−42), which is evidence of RLPV. Four examples of BRR are evident in the PEBO literature as follows: 1) biased interpretation of one's own results, 2) improper use of causal language in describing one's own results, 3) misleadingly citing others’ results, and 4) improper use of causal language in citing others’ work. Conclusions: The belief in the PEBO exceeds the strength of scientific evidence. The scientific record is distorted by RLPV and BRR. RLPV is a suboptimal use of collective scientific resources. PMID:24004890

  15. Data Abstraction in GLISP.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Novak, Gordon S., Jr.

    GLISP is a high-level computer language (based on Lisp and including Lisp as a sublanguage) which is compiled into Lisp. GLISP programs are compiled relative to a knowledge base of object descriptions, a form of abstract datatypes. A primary goal of the use of abstract datatypes in GLISP is to allow program code to be written in terms of objects,…

  16. Youth Studies Abstracts. Vol. 4 No. 3.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Youth Studies Abstracts, 1985

    1985-01-01

    This volume contains 169 abstracts of documents dealing with youth and educational programs for youth. Included in the volume are 97 abstracts of documents dealing with social and educational developments; 56 abstracts of program reports, reviews, and evaluations; and 16 abstracts of program materials. Abstracts are grouped according to the…

  17. Thyra Abstract Interface Package

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bartlett, Roscoe A.

    2005-09-01

    Thrya primarily defines a set of abstract C++ class interfaces needed for the development of abstract numerical atgorithms (ANAs) such as iterative linear solvers, transient solvers all the way up to optimization. At the foundation of these interfaces are abstract C++ classes for vectors, vector spaces, linear operators and multi-vectors. Also included in the Thyra package is C++ code for creating concrete vector, vector space, linear operator, and multi-vector subclasses as well as other utilities to aid in the development of ANAs. Currently, very general and efficient concrete subclass implementations exist for serial and SPMD in-core vectors and multi-vectors. Codemore » also currently exists for testing objects and providing composite objects such as product vectors.« less

  18. Knowledge acquisition for temporal abstraction.

    PubMed

    Stein, A; Musen, M A; Shahar, Y

    1996-01-01

    Temporal abstraction is the task of detecting relevant patterns in data over time. The knowledge-based temporal-abstraction method uses knowledge about a clinical domain's contexts, external events, and parameters to create meaningful interval-based abstractions from raw time-stamped clinical data. In this paper, we describe the acquisition and maintenance of domain-specific temporal-abstraction knowledge. Using the PROTEGE-II framework, we have designed a graphical tool for acquiring temporal knowledge directly from expert physicians, maintaining the knowledge in a sharable form, and converting the knowledge into a suitable format for use by an appropriate problem-solving method. In initial tests, the tool offered significant gains in our ability to rapidly acquire temporal knowledge and to use that knowledge to perform automated temporal reasoning.

  19. Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background due to Primordial Binary Black Hole Mergers.

    PubMed

    Mandic, Vuk; Bird, Simeon; Cholis, Ilias

    2016-11-11

    Recent Advanced LIGO detections of binary black hole mergers have prompted multiple studies investigating the possibility that the heavy GW150914 binary system was of primordial origin, and hence could be evidence for dark matter in the form of black holes. We compute the stochastic background arising from the incoherent superposition of such primordial binary black hole systems in the Universe and compare it to the similar background spectrum due to binary black hole systems of stellar origin. We investigate the possibility of detecting this background with future gravitational-wave detectors, and conclude that constraining the dark matter component in the form of black holes using stochastic gravitational-wave background measurements will be very challenging.

  20. Abstract Constructions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pietropola, Anne

    1998-01-01

    Describes a lesson designed to culminate a year of eighth-grade art classes in which students explore elements of design and space by creating 3-D abstract constructions. Outlines the process of using foam board and markers to create various shapes and optical effects. (DSK)

  1. Abstract numerical discrimination learning in rats.

    PubMed

    Taniuchi, Tohru; Sugihara, Junko; Wakashima, Mariko; Kamijo, Makiko

    2016-06-01

    In this study, we examined rats' discrimination learning of the numerical ordering positions of objects. In Experiments 1 and 2, five out of seven rats successfully learned to respond to the third of six identical objects in a row and showed reliable transfer of this discrimination to novel stimuli after being trained with three different training stimuli. In Experiment 3, the three rats from Experiment 2 continued to be trained to respond to the third object in an object array, which included an odd object that needed to be excluded when identifying the target third object. All three rats acquired this selective-counting task of specific stimuli, and two rats showed reliable transfer of this selective-counting performance to test sets of novel stimuli. In Experiment 4, the three rats from Experiment 3 quickly learned to respond to the third stimulus in object rows consisting of either six identical or six different objects. These results offer strong evidence for abstract numerical discrimination learning in rats.

  2. ClinicalTrials.gov registration can supplement information in abstracts for systematic reviews: a comparison study

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background The inclusion of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reported in conference abstracts in systematic reviews is controversial, partly because study design information and risk of bias is often not fully reported in the abstract. The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) requires trial registration of abstracts submitted for their annual conference as of 2007. Our goal was to assess the feasibility of obtaining study design information critical to systematic reviews, but not typically included in conference abstracts, from the trial registration record. Methods We reviewed all conference abstracts presented at the ARVO meetings from 2007 through 2009, and identified 496 RCTs; 154 had a single matching registration record in ClinicalTrials.gov. Two individuals independently extracted information from the abstract and the ClinicalTrials.gov record, including study design, sample size, inclusion criteria, masking, interventions, outcomes, funder, and investigator name and contact information. Discrepancies were resolved by consensus. We assessed the frequencies of reporting variables appearing in the abstract and the trial register and assessed agreement of information reported in both sources. Results We found a substantial amount of study design information in the ClinicalTrials.gov record that was unavailable in the corresponding conference abstract, including eligibility criteria associated with gender (83%; 128/154); masking or blinding of study participants (53%, 82/154), persons administering treatment (30%, 46/154), and persons measuring the outcomes (40%, 61/154)); and number of study centers (58%; 90/154). Only 34% (52/154) of abstracts explicitly described a primary outcome, but a primary outcome was included in the “Primary Outcome” field in the ClinicalTrials.gov record for 82% (126/154) of studies. One or more study interventions were reported in each abstract, but agreed exactly with those reported in Clinical

  3. Spectroscopic limits to an extragalactic far-ultraviolet background.

    PubMed

    Martin, C; Hurwitz, M; Bowyer, S

    1991-10-01

    We use a spectrum of the lowest intensity diffuse far-ultraviolet background obtained from a series of observations in a number of celestial view directions to constrain the properties of the extragalactic FUV background. The mean continuum level, IEG = 280 +/- 35 photons cm-2 s-1 angstrom-1 sr-1, was obtained in a direction with very low H I column density, and this represents a firm upper limit to any extragalactic background in the 1400-1900 angstroms band. Previous work has demonstrated that the far-ultraviolet background includes (depending on a view direction) contributions from dust-scattered Galactic light, high-ionization emission lines, two-photon emission from H II, H2 fluorescence, and the integrated light of spiral galaxies. We find no evidence in the spectrum of line or continuum features that would signify additional extragalactic components. Motivated by the observation of steep BJ and U number count distributions, we have made a detailed comparison of galaxy evolution models to optical and UV data. We find that the observations are difficult to reconcile with a dominant contribution from unclustered, starburst galaxies at low redshifts. Our measurement rules out large ionizing fluxes at z = 0, but cannot strongly constrain the QSO background light, which is expected to be 0.5%-4% of IEG. We present improved limits on radiative lifetimes of massive neutrinos. We demonstrated with a simple model that IGM radiation is unlikely to make a significant contribution to IEG. Since dust scattering could produce a significant part of the continuum in this lowest intensity spectrum, we carried out a series of tests to evaluate this possibility. We find that the spectrum of a nearby target with higher NH I, when corrected for H2 fluorescence, is very similar to the spectrum obtained in the low H I view direction. This is evidence that the majority of the continuum observed at low NH I is also dust reflection, indicating either the existence of a hitherto

  4. GENETIC BACKGROUND BUT NOT METALLOTHIONEIN PHENOTYPE DICTATES SENSITIVITY TO CADMIUM-INDUCED TESTICULAR INJURY IN MICE

    EPA Science Inventory

    Genetic Background but not Metallothionein Phenotype Dictates Sensitivity to
    Cadmium-Induced Testicular Injury in Mice

    Jie Liu1,2, Chris Corton3, David J. Dix4, Yaping Liu1, Michael P. Waalkes2
    and Curtis D. Klaassen1

    ABSTRACT

    Parenteral administrati...

  5. Distinct Roles for the Anterior Cingulate and Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortices During Conflict Between Abstract Rules.

    PubMed

    Boschin, Erica A; Brkic, Merima M; Simons, Jon S; Buckley, Mark J

    2017-01-01

    Distinct patterns of activity within the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) reported in neuroimaging studies during tasks involving conflict between competing responses have often been cited as evidence for their key contributions to conflict-monitoring and behavioral adaptation, respectively. However, supporting evidence from neuropsychological patients has been scarce and contradictory. We administered a well-studied analog of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, designed to elicit conflict between 2 abstract rules, to a cohort of 6 patients with damage to ACC or dlPFC. Patients who had sustained more significant damage to the ACC were not impaired either on a measure of "conflict cost" nor on measures of "conflict-induced behavioral adaptation." In contrast, damage to dlPFC did not affect the conflict cost measure but abolished the patients' ability to adapt their behavior following exposure to conflict, compared with controls. This pattern of results complements the findings from nonhuman primates with more circumscribed lesions to ACC or dlPFC on the same task and provides converging evidence that ACC is not necessary for performance when conflict is elicited between 2 abstract rules, whereas dlPFC plays a fundamental role in behavioral adaptation. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

  6. Abstracts of contributed papers

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    1994-08-01

    This volume contains 571 abstracts of contributed papers to be presented during the Twelfth US National Congress of Applied Mechanics. Abstracts are arranged in the order in which they fall in the program -- the main sessions are listed chronologically in the Table of Contents. The Author Index is in alphabetical order and lists each paper number (matching the schedule in the Final Program) with its corresponding page number in the book.

  7. The ``X component'' of the radio background

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Semenova, T. A.; Pariiskii, Yu. N.; Bursov, N. N.

    2009-01-01

    The recent publication of evidence for a new mechanism producing background radio emission of the Galaxy at centimeter wavelengths (in addition to synchrotron radiation, free—free transitions in ionized gas, and the weak radio emission of standard dust) gave rise to a strong reaction among observers, and requires independent experimental verification. This signal is of special concern in connection with studies of the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) using new-generation experiments. We have derived independent estimates of the validity of the “spinning-dust” hypothesis (dipole emission of macromolecules) using multi-frequency RATAN-600 observations. Test studies in the Perseus molecular cloud show evidence for anomalous extended emission in the absence of strong radio sources (compact HII regions) that could imitate an anomalous radio spectrum in this region. A statistical analysis at centimeter wavelengths over the Ratan Zenith Field shows that the upper limit for the polarized noise from this new component in the spinning-dust hypothesis is unlikely to exceed 1 µK at wavelengths of 1 cm or shorter on the main scales of the EE mode of Sakharov oscillations. Thus, this emission should not hinder studies of this mode, at least to within several percent of the predicted level of polarization of the CMB emission.

  8. Advance Organizers: Concret Versus Abstract.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Corkill, Alice J.; And Others

    1988-01-01

    Two experiments examined the relative effects of concrete and abstract advance organizers on students' memory for subsequent prose. Results of the experiments are discussed in terms of the memorability, familiarity, and visualizability of concrete and abstract verbal materials. (JD)

  9. Emerging evidence of ozone metabolic effects and potential mechanisms

    EPA Science Inventory

    SOT 2014 Abstract: Invitational Emerging evidence of ozone metabolic effects and potential mechanisms U.P. Kodavanti NHEERL, USEPA, Research Triangle Park, NC Recent evidence suggests that air pollutants are linked to metabolic syndrome and impact several key metabolic proce...

  10. Abstracting and indexing guide

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    ,; ,

    1974-01-01

    These instructions have been prepared for those who abstract and index scientific and technical documents for the Water Resources Scientific Information Center (WRSIC). With the recent publication growth in all fields, information centers have undertaken the task of keeping the various scientific communities aware of current and past developments. An abstract with carefully selected index terms offers the user of WRSIC services a more rapid means for deciding whether a document is pertinent to his needs and professional interests, thus saving him the time necessary to scan the complete work. These means also provide WRSIC with a document representation or surrogate which is more easily stored and manipulated to produce various services. Authors are asked to accept the responsibility for preparing abstracts of their own papers to facilitate quick evaluation, announcement, and dissemination to the scientific community.

  11. Publication Abstracts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD. Center for the Study of Social Organization of Schools.

    This booklet contains abstracts of 62 documents published by the Johns Hopkins University Center for the Study of Social Organization of Schools from September 1967 to May 1970. The majority of the documents are research studies in the areas of desegregation, language development, educational opportunity, and educational games--most of them…

  12. Analysis of the publication rate of the abstracts presented at a national gastroenterology meeting after 6 years

    PubMed Central

    Gandhi, Divyangkumar; Mclean, Richard W.; Laiyemo, Adeyinka O.

    2017-01-01

    Background/Aims Abstract presentations at scientific meetings provide an opportunity to convey the results of important research. Unfortunately, many abstracts are not eventually published as full manuscripts. We evaluated factors associated with publication of abstracts as manuscripts up to 6.5 years after presentation at the 73rd scientific meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology in 2008. Methods All abstracts, excluding case reports, presented at the meeting were evaluated. We systematically searched for matching manuscripts indexed in PubMed or EMBASE up till May 2015. We used logistic regression models to determine factors associated with manuscript publication and calculated odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results Of included 791 abstracts, 249 (31.5%) were published as manuscripts within 6.5 years. Oral presentation (OR=2.11; 95%CI: 1.15-3.87), multicenter studies (OR=2.67; 95%CI: 1.44-4.95), abstracts by University-based authors (OR=1.80; 95%CI: 1.20-2.72), and funded research (OR=2.15; 95%CI: 1.43-3.23) were more likely to be published. Winning an award at the meeting was not associated with manuscript publication (OR=1.09; 95%CI: 0.57-2.06). Conclusions There is an urgent need to improve dissemination of scientific knowledge through publication of abstracts presented at gastroenterology meetings as manuscripts. Mentors should endeavor to encourage their mentees to complete this final stage of their scholarly activities. PMID:27931019

  13. Interpreting Abstract Interpretations in Membership Equational Logic

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fischer, Bernd; Rosu, Grigore

    2001-01-01

    We present a logical framework in which abstract interpretations can be naturally specified and then verified. Our approach is based on membership equational logic which extends equational logics by membership axioms, asserting that a term has a certain sort. We represent an abstract interpretation as a membership equational logic specification, usually as an overloaded order-sorted signature with membership axioms. It turns out that, for any term, its least sort over this specification corresponds to its most concrete abstract value. Maude implements membership equational logic and provides mechanisms to calculate the least sort of a term efficiently. We first show how Maude can be used to get prototyping of abstract interpretations "for free." Building on the meta-logic facilities of Maude, we further develop a tool that automatically checks and abstract interpretation against a set of user-defined properties. This can be used to select an appropriate abstract interpretation, to characterize the specified loss of information during abstraction, and to compare different abstractions with each other.

  14. SEER Abstracting Tool (SEER*Abs)

    Cancer.gov

    With this customizable tool, registrars can collect and store data abstracted from medical records. Download the software and find technical support and reference manuals. SEER*Abs has features for creating records, managing abstracting work and data, accessing reference data, and integrating edits.

  15. The Abstraction Process of Limit Knowledge

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sezgin Memnun, Dilek; Aydin, Bünyamin; Özbilen, Ömer; Erdogan, Günes

    2017-01-01

    The RBC+C abstraction model is an effective model in mathematics education because it gives the opportunity to analyze research data through cognitive actions. For this reason, we aim to examine the abstraction process of the limit knowledge of two volunteer participant students using the RBC+C abstraction model. With this aim, the students'…

  16. Outcome of abstracts presented at the British Association of Paediatric Surgeons congresses (1999-2008).

    PubMed

    Macdonald, Alexander L; Parsons, Christopher; Davenport, Mark

    2012-02-01

    Abstracts presented at the British Association of Paediatric Surgeons annual congress have the potential to influence practice. However, it is not known what percentage of accepted abstracts actually go on to withstand peer review and be published in the literature. Abstract books were reviewed for the period 1999 to 2008. A MEDLINE search using keywords from title and authors' names was used to identify subsequent publication. Categorical analysis for variation and trend with P < .05 was accepted as significant. Data were expressed as median (interquartile range). During the 10-year period, 862 abstracts were presented orally and were derived from 36 countries, with a median of 18 (17-19) countries represented each year. Of these, 375 (43%) abstracts originated from 25 United Kingdom (UK) institutions with most (45%) from London and specifically the Institute of Child Health/Great Ormond Street Hospital (n = 118, 14%). The annual median number of presentations was 81 (74-97). This fell during the first half of the decade but is now rising with a significant increase in the UK proportion (P = .001). Thirty (27-35) abstracts per year (overall, n = 302) were subsequently published with the proportion (36% [33%-39%]) remaining remarkably consistent over the period. Abstracts were published in a range of 26 journals, but most (69%) were published in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery. The publication rate of the British Association of Paediatric Surgeons congress and hence entry into the "evidence base" as published material is consistent at just over one third of submissions. Whether this represents a waste of scientific endeavor or further refinement of quality is a moot point. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Teaching Evidence-Based Medicine at Complementary and Alternative Medicine Institutions: Strategies, Competencies, and Evaluation

    PubMed Central

    Schiffke, Heather; Fleishman, Susan; Haas, Mitch; Cruser, des Anges; LeFebvre, Ron; Sullivan, Barbara; Taylor, Barry; Gaster, Barak

    2014-01-01

    Abstract Background: As evidence-based medicine (EBM) becomes a standard in health care, it is essential that practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) become experts in searching and evaluating the research literature. In support of this goal, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) provided R25 funding to nine CAM colleges to develop individual programs focused on teaching EBM. An overarching goal of these research education grants has been to provide CAM faculty and students with the skills they need to apply a rigorous evidence-based perspective to their training and practice. Methods/Results: This paper reviews the competencies and teaching strategies developed and implemented to enhance research literacy at all nine R25-funded institutions. While each institution designed approaches suitable for its research culture, the guiding principles were similar: to develop evidence-informed skills and knowledge, thereby helping students and faculty to critically appraise evidence and then use that evidence to guide their clinical practice. Curriculum development and assessment included faculty-driven learning activities and longitudinal curricular initiatives to encourage skill reinforcement and evaluate progress. Conclusion: As the field of integrative medicine matures, the NIH-NCCAM research education grants provide essential training for future clinicians and clinician-researchers. Building this workforce will facilitate multidisciplinary collaborations that address the unique needs for research that informs integrative clinical practice. PMID:25380144

  18. Abstracts of Research Papers 1970.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Drowatzky, John N., Ed.

    This publication includes the abstracts of 199 research papers presented at the 1970 American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation convention in Seattle, Washington. Abstracts from symposia on environmental quality education, obesity, motor development, research methods, and laboratory equipment are also included. Each…

  19. From evidence to action

    PubMed Central

    Verheyen, Cees CPM; Kerkhoffs, Gino M; Bhandari, Mohit; Schünemann, Holger J

    2009-01-01

    ABSTRACT Good guidelines will help us to take evidence into practice. In a survey among Dutch orthopedic surgeons, development and use of evidence-based guidelines was perceived as one of the best ways of moving from opinion-based to evidence-based orthopedic practice. The increasing number of guidelines means that knowing how to make a critical appraisal of guidelines is now a key part of every surgeon’s life. This is particularly true because guidelines use varying systems to judge the quality of evidence and the strength of recommendations. In this manuscript we discuss what a guideline is, where we can find guidelines, how to evaluate the quality of guidelines, and finally provide an example on the different steps of guideline development. Thus, we show that good guidelines are a summary of the best available evidence and that they provide a graded recommendation to help surgeons in evidence-based practice. PMID:19234892

  20. Human Blood Typing: A Forensic Science Approach. Part I: Background.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kobilinsky, Lawrence; Sheehan, Francis X.

    1988-01-01

    In this article, part I of a series, the forensic methods used in "typing" human blood, which as physical evidence is often found in the dried state, are outlined. Background information about individualization, antibody typing, fresh blood, dried blood, and additional systems is provided. (CW)

  1. Imaginal, semantic, and surface-level processing of concrete and abstract words: an electrophysiological investigation.

    PubMed

    West, W C; Holcomb, P J

    2000-11-01

    Words representing concrete concepts are processed more quickly and efficiently than words representing abstract concepts. Concreteness effects have also been observed in studies using event-related brain potentials (ERPs). The aim of this study was to examine concrete and abstract words using both reaction time (RT) and ERP measurements to determine (1) at what point in the stream of cognitive processing concreteness effects emerge and (2) how different types of cognitive operations influence these concreteness effects. Three groups of subjects performed a sentence verification task in which the final word of each sentence was concrete or abstract. For each group the truthfulness judgment required either (1) image generation, (2) semantic decision, or (3) evaluation of surface characteristics. Concrete and abstract words produced similar RTs and ERPs in the surface task, suggesting that postlexical semantic processing is necessary to elicit concreteness effects. In both the semantic and imagery tasks, RTs were shorter for concrete than for abstract words. This difference was greatest in the imagery task. Also, in both of these tasks concrete words elicited more negative ERPs than abstract words between 300 and 550 msec (N400). This effect was widespread across the scalp and may reflect activation in a linguistic semantic system common to both concrete and abstract words. ERPs were also more negative for concrete than abstract words between 550 and 800 msec. This effect was more frontally distributed and was most evident in the imagery task. We propose that this later anterior effect represents a distinct ERP component (N700) that is sensitive to the use of mental imagery. The N700 may reflect the a access of specific characteristics of the imaged item or activation in a working memory system specific to mental imagery. These results also support the extended dual-coding hypothesis that superior associative connections and the use of mental imagery both contribute

  2. Background Noise Acceptance and Personality Factors Involved in Library Environment Choices by College Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gordon-Hickey, Susan; Lemley, Trey

    2012-01-01

    For decades, academic libraries made efforts to provide study environments differing in acoustic environment. The present study aimed to provide an evidence basis for this practice by comparing background noise acceptance and personality factors of two groups of college-aged students self identified as preferring quiet or background noise when…

  3. A Shallow Underground Laboratory for Low-Background Radiation Measurements and Materials Development

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Aalseth, Craig E.; Bonicalzi, Ricco; Cantaloub, Michael G.

    Abstract: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory recently commissioned a new shallow underground laboratory, located at a depth of approximately 30 meters water-equivalent. This new addition to the small class of radiation measurement laboratories located at modest underground depths worldwide houses the latest generation of custom-made, high-efficiency, low-background gamma-ray spectrometers and gas proportional counters. This manuscript describes the unique capabilities present in the shallow underground laboratory; these include large-scale ultra-pure materials production and a suite of radiation detection systems. Reported data characterize the degree of background reduction achieved through a combination of underground location, graded shielding, and rejection of cosmic-ray events. Wemore » conclude by presenting measurement targets and future opportunities.« less

  4. Food Science and Technology Abstracts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cohen, Elinor; Federman, Joan

    1979-01-01

    Introduces the reader to the Food Science and Technology Abstracts, a data file that covers worldwide literature on human food commodities and aspects of food processing. Topics include scope, subject index, thesaurus, searching online, and abstracts; tables provide a comparison of ORBIT and DIALOG versions of the file. (JD)

  5. Full-Text Publication of Abstract-Presented Work in Physical Therapy: Do Therapists Publish What They Preach?

    PubMed Central

    Smith, Heather D.; Bogenschutz, Elizabeth D.; Bayliss, Amy J.; Altenburger, Peter A.

    2011-01-01

    Background and Objective Professional meetings, such as the American Physical Therapy Association's (APTA's) Combined Sections Meeting (CSM), provide forums for sharing information relevant to physical therapy. An indicator of whether therapists fully disseminate their work is the number of full-text peer-reviewed publications that result. The purposes of this study were: (1) to determine the full-text publication rate of work presented in abstract form at CSM and (2) to investigate factors influencing this rate. Methods A systematic search was undertaken to locate full-text publications of work presented in abstract form within the Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy sections at CSM between 2000 and 2004. Eligible publications were published within 5 years following abstract presentation. The influences of APTA section, year of abstract presentation, institution of origin, study design, sample size, study significance, reporting of a funding source, and presentation type on full-text publication rate were assessed. Characteristics of full-text publications were explored. Results Work presented in 1 out of 4 abstracts (25.4%) progressed to full-text publication. Odds of full-text publication increased if the abstract originated from a doctorate-granting or “other” institution, reported findings of an experimental study, reported a statistically significant finding, included a larger sample size, disclosed a funding source, or was presented as a platform presentation. More than one third (37.8%) of full-text publications were published in the Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy or Physical Therapy, and 4 out of 10 full-text publications (39.2%) contained at least one major change from information presented in abstract form. Conclusions The full-text publication rate for information presented in abstract form within the Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy sections at CSM is low relative to comparative disciplines. Caution should be

  6. Medication-assisted treatment with methadone: assessing the evidence.

    PubMed

    Fullerton, Catherine Anne; Kim, Meelee; Thomas, Cindy Parks; Lyman, D Russell; Montejano, Leslie B; Dougherty, Richard H; Daniels, Allen S; Ghose, Sushmita Shoma; Delphin-Rittmon, Miriam E

    2014-02-01

    Detoxification followed by abstinence has shown little success in reducing illicit opioid use. Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) helps individuals with an opioid use disorder abstain from or decrease use of illegal or nonmedical opiates. This review examined evidence for MMT's effectiveness. Authors reviewed meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and individual studies of MMT from 1995 through 2012. Databases searched were PubMed, PsycINFO, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts, Social Services Abstracts, and Published International Literature on Traumatic Stress. The authors rated the level of evidence (high, moderate, and low) based on benchmarks for the number of studies and quality of their methodology. They also described the evidence of service effectiveness and examined maternal and fetal results of MMT for pregnant women. The review included seven randomized controlled trials and two quasi-experimental studies of MMT, indicating a high level of evidence for the positive impact of MMT on treatment retention and illicit opioid use, particularly at doses greater than 60 mg. Evidence suggests positive impacts on drug-related HIV risk behaviors, mortality, and criminality. Meta-analyses were difficult to perform or yielded nonsignificant results. Studies found little association between MMT and sex-related HIV risk behaviors. MMT in pregnancy was associated with improved maternal and fetal outcomes, and rates of neonatal abstinence syndrome were similar for mothers receiving different doses. Reports of adverse events were also found. MMT is associated with improved outcomes for individuals and pregnant women with opioid use disorders. MMT should be a covered service available to all individuals.

  7. Behavioral management for children and adolescents: assessing the evidence.

    PubMed

    Johnson, Melissa H; George, Preethy; Armstrong, Mary I; Lyman, D Russell; Dougherty, Richard H; Daniels, Allen S; Ghose, Sushmita Shoma; Delphin-Rittmon, Miriam E

    2014-05-01

    Behavioral management services for children and adolescents are important components of the mental health service system. Behavioral management is a direct service designed to help develop or maintain prosocial behaviors in the home, school, or community. This review examined evidence for the effectiveness of family-centered, school-based, and integrated interventions. Literature reviews and individual studies published from 1995 through 2012 were identified by searching PubMed, PsycINFO, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts, Social Services Abstracts, Published International Literature on Traumatic Stress, the Educational Resources Information Center, and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature. Authors chose from three levels of evidence (high, moderate, and low) based on benchmarks for the number of studies and quality of their methodology. They also described the evidence of service effectiveness. The level of evidence for behavioral management was rated as high because of the number of well-designed randomized controlled trials across settings, particularly for family-centered and integrated family- and school-based interventions. Results for the effectiveness of behavioral management interventions were strong, depending on the type of intervention and mode of implementation. Evidence for school-based interventions as an isolated service was mixed, partly because complexities of evaluating group interventions in schools resulted in somewhat less rigor. Behavioral management services should be considered for inclusion in covered plans. Further research addressing the mechanisms of effect and specific populations, particularly at the school level, will assist in bolstering the evidence base for this important category of clinical intervention.

  8. Abstract Conceptual Feature Ratings Predict Gaze within Written Word Arrays: Evidence from a Visual Wor(l)d Paradigm

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Primativo, Silvia; Reilly, Jamie; Crutch, Sebastian J

    2017-01-01

    The Abstract Conceptual Feature (ACF) framework predicts that word meaning is represented within a high-dimensional semantic space bounded by weighted contributions of perceptual, affective, and encyclopedic information. The ACF, like latent semantic analysis, is amenable to distance metrics between any two words. We applied predictions of the ACF…

  9. The Direction of Hemispheric Asymmetries for Object Categorization at Different Levels of Abstraction Depends on the Task

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Studer, Tobias; Hubner, Ronald

    2008-01-01

    In this study hemispheric asymmetries for categorizing objects at the basic versus subordinate level of abstraction were investigated. As predictions derived from different theoretical approaches are contradictory and experimental evidence is inconclusive in this regard, we conducted two categorization experiments, where we contrasted two…

  10. Innovation Abstracts; Volume XIV, 1992.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roueche, Suanne D., Ed.

    1992-01-01

    This series of 30 one- to two-page abstracts covering 1992 highlights a variety of innovative approaches to teaching and learning in the community college. Topics covered in the abstracts include: (1) faculty recognition and orientation; (2) the Amado M. Pena, Jr., Scholarship Program; (3) innovative teaching techniques, with individual abstracts…

  11. Innovation Abstracts, Volume XV, 1993.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roueche, Suanne D., Ed.

    1993-01-01

    This volume of 30 one- to two-page abstracts from 1993 highlights a variety of innovative approaches to teaching and learning in the community college. Topics covered in the abstracts include: (1) role-playing to encourage critical thinking; (2) team learning techniques to cultivate business skills; (3) librarian-instructor partnerships to create…

  12. Vague Language in Conference Abstracts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cutting, Joan

    2012-01-01

    This study examined abstracts for a British Association for Applied Linguistics conference and a Sociolinguistics Symposium, to define the genre of conference abstracts in terms of vague language, specifically universal general nouns (e.g. people) and research general nouns (e.g. results), and to discover if the language used reflected the level…

  13. Laryngeal Features Are Phonetically Abstract: Mismatch Negativity Evidence from Arabic, English, and Russian

    PubMed Central

    Schluter, Kevin T.; Politzer-Ahles, Stephen; Al Kaabi, Meera; Almeida, Diogo

    2017-01-01

    Many theories of phonology assume that the sound structure of language is made up of distinctive features, but there is considerable debate about how much articulatory detail distinctive features encode in long-term memory. Laryngeal features such as voicing provide a unique window into this question: while many languages have two-way contrasts that can be given a simple binary feature account [±VOICE], the precise articulatory details underlying these contrasts can vary significantly across languages. Here, we investigate a series of two-way voicing contrasts in English, Arabic, and Russian, three languages that implement their voicing contrasts very differently at the articulatory-phonetic level. In three event-related potential experiments contrasting English, Arabic, and Russian fricatives along with Russian stops, we observe a consistent pattern of asymmetric mismatch negativity (MMN) effects that is compatible with an articulatorily abstract and cross-linguistically uniform way of marking two-way voicing contrasts, as opposed to an articulatorily precise and cross-linguistically diverse way of encoding them. Regardless of whether a language is theorized to encode [VOICE] over [SPREAD GLOTTIS], the data is consistent with a universal marking of the [SPREAD GLOTTIS] feature. PMID:28555118

  14. Innovation Abstracts, Volume XVI, 1994.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roueche, Suanne D., Ed.

    1994-01-01

    This volume of 30 one- to two-page abstracts highlights a variety of innovative approaches to teaching and learning in the community college. Topics covered in the abstracts include: (1) music in the biology classroom; (2) pairing English as a second language and freshman composition students in writing activities; (3) moot court exercises in…

  15. A grounded theory of abstraction in artificial intelligence.

    PubMed Central

    Zucker, Jean-Daniel

    2003-01-01

    In artificial intelligence, abstraction is commonly used to account for the use of various levels of details in a given representation language or the ability to change from one level to another while preserving useful properties. Abstraction has been mainly studied in problem solving, theorem proving, knowledge representation (in particular for spatial and temporal reasoning) and machine learning. In such contexts, abstraction is defined as a mapping between formalisms that reduces the computational complexity of the task at stake. By analysing the notion of abstraction from an information quantity point of view, we pinpoint the differences and the complementary role of reformulation and abstraction in any representation change. We contribute to extending the existing semantic theories of abstraction to be grounded on perception, where the notion of information quantity is easier to characterize formally. In the author's view, abstraction is best represented using abstraction operators, as they provide semantics for classifying different abstractions and support the automation of representation changes. The usefulness of a grounded theory of abstraction in the cartography domain is illustrated. Finally, the importance of explicitly representing abstraction for designing more autonomous and adaptive systems is discussed. PMID:12903672

  16. A grounded theory of abstraction in artificial intelligence.

    PubMed

    Zucker, Jean-Daniel

    2003-07-29

    In artificial intelligence, abstraction is commonly used to account for the use of various levels of details in a given representation language or the ability to change from one level to another while preserving useful properties. Abstraction has been mainly studied in problem solving, theorem proving, knowledge representation (in particular for spatial and temporal reasoning) and machine learning. In such contexts, abstraction is defined as a mapping between formalisms that reduces the computational complexity of the task at stake. By analysing the notion of abstraction from an information quantity point of view, we pinpoint the differences and the complementary role of reformulation and abstraction in any representation change. We contribute to extending the existing semantic theories of abstraction to be grounded on perception, where the notion of information quantity is easier to characterize formally. In the author's view, abstraction is best represented using abstraction operators, as they provide semantics for classifying different abstractions and support the automation of representation changes. The usefulness of a grounded theory of abstraction in the cartography domain is illustrated. Finally, the importance of explicitly representing abstraction for designing more autonomous and adaptive systems is discussed.

  17. Observational evidence and strength of evidence domains: case examples

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Systematic reviews of healthcare interventions most often focus on randomized controlled trials (RCTs). However, certain circumstances warrant consideration of observational evidence, and such studies are increasingly being included as evidence in systematic reviews. Methods To illustrate the use of observational evidence, we present case examples of systematic reviews in which observational evidence was considered as well as case examples of individual observational studies, and how they demonstrate various strength of evidence domains in accordance with current Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) methods guidance. Results In the presented examples, observational evidence is used when RCTs are infeasible or raise ethical concerns, lack generalizability, or provide insufficient data. Individual study case examples highlight how observational evidence may fulfill required strength of evidence domains, such as study limitations (reduced risk of selection, detection, performance, and attrition); directness; consistency; precision; and reporting bias (publication, selective outcome reporting, and selective analysis reporting), as well as additional domains of dose-response association, plausible confounding that would decrease the observed effect, and strength of association (magnitude of effect). Conclusions The cases highlighted in this paper demonstrate how observational studies may provide moderate to (rarely) high strength evidence in systematic reviews. PMID:24758494

  18. Abstract Spatial Reasoning as an Autistic Strength

    PubMed Central

    Stevenson, Jennifer L.; Gernsbacher, Morton Ann

    2013-01-01

    Autistic individuals typically excel on spatial tests that measure abstract reasoning, such as the Block Design subtest on intelligence test batteries and the Raven’s Progressive Matrices nonverbal test of intelligence. Such well-replicated findings suggest that abstract spatial processing is a relative and perhaps absolute strength of autistic individuals. However, previous studies have not systematically varied reasoning level – concrete vs. abstract – and test domain – spatial vs. numerical vs. verbal, which the current study did. Autistic participants (N = 72) and non-autistic participants (N = 72) completed a battery of 12 tests that varied by reasoning level (concrete vs. abstract) and domain (spatial vs. numerical vs. verbal). Autistic participants outperformed non-autistic participants on abstract spatial tests. Non-autistic participants did not outperform autistic participants on any of the three domains (spatial, numerical, and verbal) or at either of the two reasoning levels (concrete and abstract), suggesting similarity in abilities between autistic and non-autistic individuals, with abstract spatial reasoning as an autistic strength. PMID:23533615

  19. Using ClinicalTrials.gov to Supplement Information in Ophthalmology Conference Abstracts about Trial Outcomes: A Comparison Study

    PubMed Central

    Scherer, Roberta W.; Huynh, Lynn; Ervin, Ann-Margret; Dickersin, Kay

    2015-01-01

    Background Including results from unpublished randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in a systematic review may ameliorate the effect of publication bias in systematic review results. Unpublished RCTs are sometimes described in abstracts presented at conferences, included in trials registers, or both. Trial results may not be available in a trials register and abstracts describing RCT results often lack study design information. Complementary information from a trials register record may be sufficient to allow reliable inclusion of an unpublished RCT only available as an abstract in a systematic review. Methods We identified 496 abstracts describing RCTs presented at the 2007 to 2009 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) meetings; 154 RCTs were registered in ClinicalTrials.gov. Two persons extracted verbatim primary and non-primary outcomes reported in the abstract and ClinicalTrials.gov record. We compared each abstract outcome with all ClinicalTrials.gov outcomes and coded matches as complete, partial, or no match. Results We identified 800 outcomes in 152 abstracts (95 primary [51 abstracts] and 705 [141 abstracts] non-primary outcomes). No outcomes were reported in 2 abstracts. Of 95 primary outcomes, 17 (18%) agreed completely, 53 (56%) partially, and 25 (26%) had no match with a ClinicalTrials.gov primary or non-primary outcome. Among 705 non-primary outcomes, 56 (8%) agreed completely, 205 (29%) agreed partially, and 444 (63%) had no match with a ClinicalTrials.gov primary or non-primary outcome. Among the 258 outcomes partially agreeing, we found additional information on the time when the outcome was measured more often in ClinicalTrials.gov than in the abstract (141/258 (55%) versus 55/258 (21%)). We found no association between the presence of non-matching “new” outcomes and year of registration, time to registry update, industry sponsorship, or multi-center status. Conclusion Conference abstracts may be a valuable source of

  20. The role of family social background and inheritance in later life volunteering: Evidence from SHARE-Israel

    PubMed Central

    Youssim, Iaroslav; Hank, Karsten; Litwin, Howard

    2014-01-01

    Building on a tripartite model of capitals necessary to perform productive activities and on work suggesting that cumulative (dis-) advantage processes are important mechanisms for life-course inequalities, our study set out to investigate the potential role of family social background and inheritance in later-life volunteering. We hypothesized that older individuals who inherited work-relevant economic and cultural capitals from their family of origin are more likely to be engaged in voluntary activities than their counterparts with a less advantageous family social background. Our main findings from the analysis of a representative sample of community-dwelling Israelis aged 50 and over provide strong support for this hypothesis: the likelihood to volunteer is significantly higher among those who received substantial financial transfers from their family of origin (‘inherited economic capital’) and among those having a ‘white collar’ parental background (‘inherited cultural capital’). We conclude with perspectives for future research. PMID:25651548

  1. The role of family social background and inheritance in later life volunteering: evidence from SHARE-Israel.

    PubMed

    Youssim, Iaroslav; Hank, Karsten; Litwin, Howard

    2015-01-01

    Building on a tripartite model of capitals necessary to perform productive activities and on work suggesting that cumulative (dis-)advantage processes are important mechanisms for life course inequalities, our study set out to investigate the potential role of family social background and inheritance in later life volunteering. We hypothesized that older individuals who inherited work-relevant economic and cultural capitals from their family of origin are more likely to be engaged in voluntary activities than their counterparts with a less advantageous family social background. Our main findings from the analysis of a representative sample of community-dwelling Israelis aged 50 and over provide strong support for this hypothesis: the likelihood to volunteer is significantly higher among those who received substantial financial transfers from their family of origin ("inherited economic capital") and among those having a "white collar" parental background ("inherited cultural capital"). We conclude with perspectives for future research. © The Author(s) 2014.

  2. Construct Abstraction for Automatic Information Abstraction from Digital Images

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2006-05-30

    objects and features and the names of objects of objects and features. For example, in Figure 15 the parts of the fish could be named the ‘mouth... fish -1 fish -2 fish -3 tennis shoe tennis racquet...of abstraction and generality. For example, an algorithm might usefully find a polygon ( blob ) in an image and calculate numbers such as the

  3. Tips to Understanding and Writing Manuscript Abstracts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Plakhotnik, Maria S.

    2017-01-01

    An abstract represents a short summary of key elements of the manuscript. The purpose of this essay is to discuss the function, contents, and types of manuscript abstracts. The essay concludes with a few tips for authors to writing effective abstracts.

  4. The reporting quality of meta-analysis results of systematic review abstracts in periodontology and implant dentistry is suboptimal.

    PubMed

    Polychronopoulou, Argy

    2014-12-01

    Assessment of the quality of reporting in abstracts of systematic reviews with meta-analyses in periodontology and implant dentistry. Faggion CM Jr., Liu J, Huda F, Atieh M. J Periodontal Res 2014; 49(2):137-42. Argy Polychronopoulou, DDS, MS, ScM, ScD PURPOSE/QUESTION: What is the reporting quality of meta-analysis results of abstracts of systematic reviews in periodontology and implant dentistry journals? The authors received no funding for this study Meta-epidemiological study Level 3: Other evidence Not applicable. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Neural Representations of Emotion Are Organized around Abstract Event Features

    PubMed Central

    Skerry, Amy E.; Saxe, Rebecca

    2016-01-01

    Summary Research on emotion attribution has tended to focus on the perception of overt expressions of at most five or six basic emotions. However, our ability to identify others' emotional states is not limited to perception of these canonical expressions. Instead, we make fine-grained inferences about what others feel based on the situations they encounter, relying on knowledge of the eliciting conditions for different emotions. In the present research, we provide convergent behavioral and neural evidence concerning the representations underlying these concepts. First, we find that patterns of activity in mentalizing regions contain information about subtle emotional distinctions conveyed through verbal descriptions of eliciting situations. Second, we identify a space of abstract situation features that well captures the emotion discriminations subjects make behaviorally and show that this feature space outperforms competing models in capturing the similarity space of neural patterns in these regions. Together, the data suggest that our knowledge of others' emotions is abstract and high dimensional, that brain regions selective for mental state reasoning support relatively subtle distinctions between emotion concepts, and that the neural representations in these regions are not reducible to more primitive affective dimensions such as valence and arousal. PMID:26212878

  6. Modelling Metamorphism by Abstract Interpretation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dalla Preda, Mila; Giacobazzi, Roberto; Debray, Saumya; Coogan, Kevin; Townsend, Gregg M.

    Metamorphic malware apply semantics-preserving transformations to their own code in order to foil detection systems based on signature matching. In this paper we consider the problem of automatically extract metamorphic signatures from these malware. We introduce a semantics for self-modifying code, later called phase semantics, and prove its correctness by showing that it is an abstract interpretation of the standard trace semantics. Phase semantics precisely models the metamorphic code behavior by providing a set of traces of programs which correspond to the possible evolutions of the metamorphic code during execution. We show that metamorphic signatures can be automatically extracted by abstract interpretation of the phase semantics, and that regular metamorphism can be modelled as finite state automata abstraction of the phase semantics.

  7. Publication Rate of Avian Medicine Conference Abstracts and Influencing Factors: 2011-2015.

    PubMed

    Doukaki, Christina; MedVet, Dr; Beaufrère, Hugues; Vet, Dr Med; Huynh, Minh

    2018-06-01

    International conferences on avian medicine and surgery aim to disseminate scientific and evidence-based information in the form of oral presentations and posters. Most manuscripts presented are printed in the conference proceedings as abstracts. Subsequent publication in a scientific peer-reviewed journal is the natural outcome of the research cycle, although studies have shown that the vast majority of conference abstracts are not published. The purpose of this study was to explore 1) the fate of abstracts presented in avian conferences (Association of Avian Veterinarians, European Association of Avian Veterinarians, International Conference on Avian Herpetological and Exotic Mammal Medicine) in the years 2011-2015, 2) assess the publication rate in peer-reviewed journals, 3) describe the time course of subsequent publication, and 4) identify factors associated with increased likelihood of publication. The results showed that 24% of conference abstracts were published within the next 2 years. Depending on the statistical model used, several factors were identified as associated with increased publication rate. North American papers seem to publish with more frequency (univariate model), while European papers had the opposite trend (multivariable model). Likewise, experimental studies were more prone to being published overall (univariate model), whereas retrospective observational studies had a lower rate of publication (multivariable model). Increasing the number of authors was also associated with increased publication rate. Most publications were published in the Journal of Avian Medicine and Surgery, which tends to suggest that this journal is the main journal of the specialty. Some parameters highlighted in this study may assist conference attendees to assess the likelihood of later publication.

  8. Background Lamb waves in the Earth's atmosphere

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nishida, K.; Kobayashi, N.; Fukao, Y.

    2013-12-01

    Lamb waves of the Earth's atmosphere in the millihertz band have been considered as transient phenomena excited only by large events [e.g. the major volcanic eruption of Krakatoa in 1833, the impact of Siberian meteorite in 1908, the testing of large nuclear tests and the huge earthquakes, Garrett1969]. In a case of the solid Earth, observation of background free oscillations in the millihertz band-now known as Earth's background free oscillations or seismic hum, has been firmly established. Above 5 mHz, their dominant excitation sources are oceanic infragravity waves. At 3.7 and 4.4 mHz an elasto-acoustic resonance between the solid Earth and the atmosphere was observed [Nishida et al., 2000]. These seismic observations show that the contribution of atmospheric disturbances to the seismic hum is dominant below 5 mHz. Such contribution implies background excitations of acoustic-gravity waves in this frequency range. For direct detection of the background acoustic-gravity waves, our group conducted observations using an array of barometers [Nishida et al. 2005]. However, the spatial scale of the array of about 10 km was too small to detect acoustic modes below 10 mHz. Since then, no direct observations of these waves have been reported. In 2011, 337 high-resolution microbarometers were installed on a continental scale at USArray Transportable Array. The large and dense array enables us to detect the background atmospheric waves. Here, we show the first evidence of background Lamb waves in the Earth's atmosphere from 0.2 to 10 mHz, based on the array analysis of microbarometer data from the USArray in 2012. The observations suggest that the excitation sources are atmospheric disturbances in the troposphere. Theoretically, their energy in the troposphere tunnels into the thermosphere at a resonant frequency via thermospheric gravity wave, where the observed amplitudes indeed take a local minimum. The energy leak through the frequency window could partly contribute to

  9. Effects of an evidence service on health-system policy makers' use of research evidence: A protocol for a randomised controlled trial

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Health-system policy makers need timely access to synthesised research evidence to inform the policy-making process. No efforts to address this need have been evaluated using an experimental quantitative design. We developed an evidence service that draws inputs from Health Systems Evidence, which is a database of policy-relevant systematic reviews. The reviews have been (a) categorised by topic and type of review; (b) coded by the last year searches for studies were conducted and by the countries in which included studies were conducted; (c) rated for quality; and (d) linked to available user-friendly summaries, scientific abstracts, and full-text reports. Our goal is to evaluate whether a "full-serve" evidence service increases the use of synthesized research evidence by policy analysts and advisors in the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) as compared to a "self-serve" evidence service. Methods/design We will conduct a two-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT), along with a follow-up qualitative process study in order to explore the findings in greater depth. For the RCT, all policy analysts and policy advisors (n = 168) in a single division of the MOHLTC will be invited to participate. Using a stratified randomized design, participants will be randomized to receive either the "full-serve" evidence service (database access, monthly e-mail alerts, and full-text article availability) or the "self-serve" evidence service (database access only). The trial duration will be ten months (two-month baseline period, six-month intervention period, and two month cross-over period). The primary outcome will be the mean number of site visits/month/user between baseline and the end of the intervention period. The secondary outcome will be participants' intention to use research evidence. For the qualitative study, 15 participants from each trial arm (n = 30) will be purposively sampled. One-on-one semi-structured interviews will be conducted by

  10. Annual Conference Abstracts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Journal of Engineering Education, 1972

    1972-01-01

    Includes abstracts of papers presented at the 80th Annual Conference of the American Society for Engineering Education. The broad areas include aerospace, affiliate and associate member council, agricultural engineering, biomedical engineering, continuing engineering studies, chemical engineering, civil engineering, computers, cooperative…

  11. Annual Conference Abstracts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Engineering Education, 1976

    1976-01-01

    Presents the abstracts of 158 papers presented at the American Society for Engineering Education's annual conference at Knoxville, Tennessee, June 14-17, 1976. Included are engineering topics covering education, aerospace, agriculture, biomedicine, chemistry, computers, electricity, acoustics, environment, mechanics, and women. (SL)

  12. Multi-terminology indexing for the assignment of MeSH descriptors to medical abstracts in French

    PubMed Central

    Pereira, Suzanne; Sakji, Saoussen; Névéol, Aurélie; Kergourlay, Ivan; Kerdelhué, Gaétan; Serrot, Elisabeth; Joubert, Michel; Darmoni, Stéfan J.

    2009-01-01

    Background: To facilitate information retrieval in the biomedical domain, a system for the automatic assignment of Medical Subject Headings to documents curated by an online quality-controlled health gateway was implemented. The French Multi-Terminology Indexer (F-MTI) implements a multiterminology approach using nine main medical terminologies in French and the mappings between them. Objective: This paper presents recent efforts to assess the added value of (a) integrating four new terminologies (Orphanet, ATC, drug names, MeSH supplementary concepts) into F-MTI’s knowledge sources and (b) performing the automatic indexing on the titles and abstracts (vs. title only) of the online health resources. Methods: F-MTI was evaluated on a CISMeF corpus comprising 18,161 manually indexed resources. Results: The performance of F-MTI including nine health terminologies on CISMeF resources with Title only was 27.9% precision and 19.7% recall, while the performance on CISMeF resources with Title and Abstract is 14.9 % precision (−13.0%) and 25.9% recall (+6.2%). Conclusion: In a few weeks, CISMeF will launch the indexing of resources based on title and abstract, using nine terminologies. PMID:20351910

  13. From research to evidence-informed decision making: a systematic approach

    PubMed Central

    Poot, Charlotte C; van der Kleij, Rianne M; Brakema, Evelyn A; Vermond, Debbie; Williams, Siân; Cragg, Liza; van den Broek, Jos M; Chavannes, Niels H

    2018-01-01

    Abstract Background Knowledge creation forms an integral part of the knowledge-to-action framework aimed at bridging the gap between research and evidence-informed decision making. Although principles of science communication, data visualisation and user-centred design largely impact the effectiveness of communication, their role in knowledge creation is still limited. Hence, this article aims to provide researchers a systematic approach on how knowledge creation can be put into practice. Methods A systematic two-phased approach towards knowledge creation was formulated and executed. First, during a preparation phase the purpose and audience of the knowledge were defined. Subsequently, a developmental phase facilitated how the content is ‘said’ (language) and communicated (channel). This developmental phase proceeded via two pathways: a translational cycle and design cycle, during which core translational and design components were incorporated. The entire approach was demonstrated by a case study. Results The case study demonstrated how the phases in this systematic approach can be operationalised. It furthermore illustrated how created knowledge can be delivered. Conclusion The proposed approach offers researchers a systematic, practical and easy-to-implement tool to facilitate effective knowledge creation towards decision-makers in healthcare. Through the integration of core components of knowledge creation evidence-informed decision making will ultimately be optimized. PMID:29538728

  14. Abstracting/Annotating. ERIC Processing Manual, Section VI.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brandhorst, Ted, Ed.

    Rules and guidelines are provided for the preparation of abstracts and annotations for documents and journal articles entering the ERIC database. Various types of abstracts are defined, including the Informative, Indicative, and mixed Informative-Indicative. Advice is given on how to select the abstract type appropriate for the particular…

  15. Choosing a Database for Social Work: A Comparison of Social Work Abstracts and Social Service Abstracts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Flatley, Robert K.; Lilla, Rick; Widner, Jack

    2007-01-01

    This study compared Social Work Abstracts and Social Services Abstracts databases in terms of indexing, journal coverage, and searches. The authors interviewed editors, analyzed journal coverage, and compared searches. It was determined that the databases complement one another more than compete. The authors conclude with some considerations.

  16. ABSTRACTS OF RESEARCH REPORTS.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    DENTISTRY, ABSTRACTS), TEETH, DISEASES, MOUTH, TRANSPLANTATION, HYGIENE, STERILIZATION, FLUORIDES, HISTOLOGY, SURGICAL IMPLANTATION, OXYTETRACYCLINE , GELATINS, CELLULOSE, CASTING, PROGRAMMED INSTRUCTION, TRAINING DEVICES

  17. Discrimination against Students with Foreign Backgrounds: Evidence from Grading in Swedish Public High Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hinnerich, Bjorn Tyrefors; Höglin, Erik; Johannesson, Magnus

    2015-01-01

    We rigorously test for discrimination against students with foreign backgrounds in high school grading in Sweden. We analyse a random sample of national tests in the Swedish language graded both non-blindly by the student's own teacher and blindly without any identifying information. The increase in the test score due to non-blind grading is…

  18. Abstractions for Fault-Tolerant Distributed System Verification

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Pike, Lee S.; Maddalon, Jeffrey M.; Miner, Paul S.; Geser, Alfons

    2004-01-01

    Four kinds of abstraction for the design and analysis of fault tolerant distributed systems are discussed. These abstractions concern system messages, faults, fault masking voting, and communication. The abstractions are formalized in higher order logic, and are intended to facilitate specifying and verifying such systems in higher order theorem provers.

  19. Use of abstracts, orientations, and codas in narration by language-disordered and nondisordered children.

    PubMed

    Sleight, C C; Prinz, P M

    1985-11-01

    In this study language-disordered and nondisordered children viewed a nonverbal film, wrote the story, and narrated it to language-disordered and nondisordered peers who were unfamiliar with the film. The narratives were analyzed for the use of abstracts, orientations (background information), and codas. Language-disordered children made fewer references to the orientation clauses of props and activities than nondisordered children. Neither group modified their language in the areas examined to take into account the communicative status of their listeners. Therapeutic implications for the language-disordered children are presented as are suggestions for future research.

  20. Topic and Background Knowledge Effects on Performance in Speaking Assessment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Khabbazbashi, Nahal

    2017-01-01

    This study explores the extent to which topic and background knowledge of topic affect spoken performance in a high-stakes speaking test. It is argued that evidence of a substantial influence may introduce construct-irrelevant variance and undermine test fairness. Data were collected from 81 non-native speakers of English who performed on 10…

  1. Refining a taxonomy for guideline implementation: results of an exercise in abstract classification

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background To better understand the efficacy of various implementation strategies, improved methods for describing and classifying the nature of these strategies are urgently required. The aim of this study was to develop and pilot the feasibility of a taxonomy to classify the nature and content of implementation strategies. Methods A draft implementation taxonomy was developed based on the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC) data collection checklist. The draft taxonomy had four domains (professional, financial, organisational and regulatory) covering 49 distinct strategies. We piloted the draft taxonomy by using it to classify the implementation strategies described in the conference abstracts of the implementation stream of the 2010 Guideline International Network Conference. Five authors classified the strategies in each abstract individually. Final categorisation was then carried out in a face-to-face consensus meeting involving three authors. Results The implementation strategies described in 71 conference abstracts were classified. Approximately 15.5% of abstracts utilised strategies that could not be categorised using the draft taxonomy. Of those strategies that could be categorised, the majority were professionally focused (57%). A total of 41% of projects used only one implementation strategy, with 29% using two and 31% three or more. The three most commonly used strategies were changes in quality assurance, quality improvement and/or performance measurement systems, changes in information and communication technology, and distribution of guideline materials (via hard-copy, audio-visual and/or electronic means). Conclusions Further refinement of the draft taxonomy is required to provide hierarchical dimensions and granularity, particularly in the areas of patient-focused interventions, those concerned with audit and feedback and quality improvement, and electronic forms of implementation, including electronic decision support. PMID

  2. Writing a Structured Abstract for the Thesis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hartley, James

    2010-01-01

    This article presents the author's suggestions on how to improve thesis abstracts. The author describes two books on writing abstracts: (1) "Creating Effective Conference Abstracts and Posters in Biomedicine: 500 tips for Success" (Fraser, Fuller & Hutber, 2009), a compendium of clear advice--a must book to have in one's hand as one prepares a…

  3. Role of genetic background in induced instability

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kadhim, Munira A.; Nelson, G. A. (Principal Investigator)

    2003-01-01

    Genomic instability is effectively induced by ionizing radiation. Recently, evidence has accumulated supporting a relationship between genetic background and the radiation-induced genomic instability phenotype. This is possibly due to alterations in proteins responsible for maintenance of genomic integrity or altered oxidative metabolism. Studies in human cell lines, human primary cells, and mouse models have been performed predominantly using high linear energy transfer (LET) radiation, or high doses of low LET radiation. The interplay between genetics, radiation response, and genomic instability has not been fully determined at low doses of low LET radiation. However, recent studies using low doses of low LET radiation suggest that the relationship between genetic background and radiation-induced genomic instability may be more complicated than these same relationships at high LET or high doses of low LET radiation. The complexity of this relationship at low doses of low LET radiation suggests that more of the population may be at risk than previously recognized and may have implications for radiation risk assessment.

  4. Improving data retrieval quality: Evidence based medicine perspective.

    PubMed

    Kamalov, M; Dobrynin, V; Balykina, J; Kolbin, A; Verbitskaya, E; Kasimova, M

    2015-01-01

    The actively developing approach in modern medicine is the approach focused on principles of evidence-based medicine. The assessment of quality and reliability of studies is needed. However, in some cases studies corresponding to the first level of evidence may contain errors in randomized control trials (RCTs). Solution of the problem is the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system. Studies both in the fields of medicine and information retrieval are conducted for developing search engines for the MEDLINE database [1]; combined techniques for summarization and information retrieval targeted to solving problems of finding the best medication based on the levels of evidence are being developed [2]. Based on the relevance and demand for studies both in the field of medicine and information retrieval, it was decided to start the development of a search engine for the MEDLINE database search on the basis of the Saint-Petersburg State University with the support of Pavlov First Saint-Petersburg State Medical University and Tashkent Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education. Novelty and value of the proposed system are characterized by the use of ranking method of relevant abstracts. It is suggested that the system will be able to perform ranking based on studies level of evidence and to apply GRADE criteria for system evaluation. The assigned task falls within the domain of information retrieval and machine learning. Based on the results of implementation from previous work [3], in which the main goal was to cluster abstracts from MEDLINE database by subtypes of medical interventions, a set of algorithms for clustering in this study was selected: K-means, K-means ++, EM from the sklearn (http://scikit-learn.org) and WEKA (http://www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/~ml/weka/) libraries, together with the methods of Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) [4] choosing the first 210 facts and the model "bag of words" [5] to represent clustered documents

  5. Don’t forget the posters! Quality and content variables associated with accepted abstracts at a national trauma meeting

    PubMed Central

    Dossett, Lesly A.; Fox, Erin E.; del Junco, Deborah J.; Zaydfudim, Victor; Kauffmann, Rondi; Shelton, Julia; Wang, Weiwei; Cioffi, William G.; Holcomb, John B.; Cotton, Bryan A.

    2014-01-01

    BACKGROUND As a primary venue for presenting research results, abstracts selected for presentation at national meetings should be of the highest scientific merit and research quality. It is uncertain to what degree this is achieved as the methodological quality of abstracts submitted to national surgical meetings has not been previously described. The objective of this study was to evaluate abstracts presented at a leading trauma meeting for methodological quality. METHODS All abstracts accepted for the 2009 American Association for the Surgery of Trauma meeting were reviewed and scored for methodological quality based on 10 criteria (scores, 0–10; 10 being the highest). Criteria were based on nationally published methodology guidelines. Two independent reviewers who were blinded to institution, region, and author reviewed each abstract. RESULTS A total of 187 abstracts were accepted for presentation (67 oral and 120 posters). The most frequent clinical topics were shock/transfusion (23%), abdomen (12%), and nervous system (11%). Shock/transfusion abstracts were more common in the oral presentations (31% vs. 19%; p =0.06). Abstracts from the northeast and south regions were the most common in both oral (26% and 29%) and posters (25% and 24%). Basic science accounted for 12% of accepted studies, while 51% were clinical and 28% were health services/outcomes. Only 8% of abstracts presented randomized data and only 11% reported null findings. Overall abstract scores ranged from 3 to 10 (median, 7; mean, 7.4). Abstracts selected for poster presentation had an overall higher score than those selected for oral presentation (7.4 ±1.7 vs. 6.8 ±1.7; p =0.02). CONCLUSION Although oral presentations traditionally receive the most attention and interest, the methodological quality of abstracts accepted for poster presentation equals (and sometimes exceeds) that of oral abstracts. Attendees of these national meetings should reconsider their time spent in viewing and visiting

  6. Optimal Learning in Schools--Theoretical Evidence: Part 1 Piaget's Theoretical Background

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Crossland, John

    2016-01-01

    The research questions a teacher would ask of neuroscience require answers researched within a typical classroom context. Unfortunately this research has rarely been available. The Education Endowment Foundation recently set up six projects applying evidence from neuroscience and educational studies to the classroom context. Most of the evaluation…

  7. Attracting Girls into Physics (abstract)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gadalla, Afaf

    2009-04-01

    A recent international study of women in physics showed that enrollment in physics and science is declining for both males and females and that women are severely underrepresented in careers requiring a strong physics background. The gender gap begins early in the pipeline, from the first grade. Girls are treated differently than boys at home and in society in ways that often hinder their chances for success. They have fewer freedoms, are discouraged from accessing resources or being adventurous, have far less exposure to problem solving, and are not encouraged to choose their lives. In order to motivate more girl students to study physics in the Assiut governorate of Egypt, the Assiut Alliance for the Women and Assiut Education District collaborated in renovating the education of physics in middle and secondary school classrooms. A program that helps in increasing the number of girls in science and physics has been designed in which informal groupings are organized at middle and secondary schools to involve girls in the training and experiences needed to attract and encourage girls to learn physics. During implementation of the program at some schools, girls, because they had not been trained in problem-solving as boys, appeared not to be as facile in abstracting the ideas of physics, and that was the primary reason for girls dropping out of science and physics. This could be overcome by holding a topical physics and technology summer school under the supervision of the Assiut Alliance for the Women.

  8. Weighing up the evidence: a systematic review of the effectiveness of workplace interventions to tackle socio-economic inequalities in obesity

    PubMed Central

    Cairns, Joanne-Marie; Bambra, Clare; Hillier-Brown, Frances C.; Moore, Helen J.; Summerbell, Carolyn D.

    2015-01-01

    Abstract Background Addressing socio-economic inequalities in obesity is a public health priority and the workplace is seen as a potential health promotion site. However, there is a lack of evidence on what works. This article systematically reviews studies of the effects of workplace interventions on socio-economic inequalities in obesity. Methods Following PRISMA guidelines, we searched for published or unpublished experimental and observational evaluation studies. Nine electronic databases were searched as well as websites and bibliographies. Included studies were data extracted, quality assessed and narratively synthesized. Results Eighteen studies were included of which 14 examined behavioural interventions and 4 mixed or environmental ones. While most studies (n = 12) found no effects on inequalities in obesity—and a minority found increases (n = 3), there was also some evidence of potentially effective workplace interventions (n = 3) especially in terms of physical activity interventions targeted at lower occupational groups. Conclusion There is experimental evidence that workplace delivered physical activity interventions have the potential to reduce inequalities in obesity by targeting lower occupational groups. However, overall, the evidence base is small, largely from the USA, and of a low quality. More high-quality, experimental study designs are required. PMID:25316262

  9. Olfactory language and abstraction across cultures

    PubMed Central

    Burenhult, Niclas; Stensmyr, Marcus; de Valk, Josje; Hansson, Bill S.

    2018-01-01

    Olfaction presents a particularly interesting arena to explore abstraction in language. Like other abstract domains, such as time, odours can be difficult to conceptualize. An odour cannot be seen or held, it can be difficult to locate in space, and for most people odours are difficult to verbalize. On the other hand, odours give rise to primary sensory experiences. Every time we inhale we are using olfaction to make sense of our environment. We present new experimental data from 30 Jahai hunter-gatherers from the Malay Peninsula and 30 matched Dutch participants from the Netherlands in an odour naming experiment. Participants smelled monomolecular odorants and named odours while reaction times, odour descriptors and facial expressions were measured. We show that while Dutch speakers relied on concrete descriptors, i.e. they referred to odour sources (e.g. smells like lemon), the Jahai used abstract vocabulary to name the same odours (e.g. musty). Despite this differential linguistic categorization, analysis of facial expressions showed that the two groups, nevertheless, had the same initial emotional reactions to odours. Critically, these cross-cultural data present a challenge for how to think about abstraction in language. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Varieties of abstract concepts: development, use and representation in the brain’. PMID:29915007

  10. Leadership Abstracts, 1993.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Doucette, Don, Ed.

    1993-01-01

    This document includes 10 issues of Leadership Abstracts (volume 6, 1993), a newsletter published by the League for Innovation in the Community College (California). The featured articles are: (1) "Reinventing Government" by David T. Osborne; (2) "Community College Workforce Training Programs: Expanding the Mission to Meet Critical Needs" by…

  11. Leadership Abstracts, 2001.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilson, Cynthia, Ed.

    2001-01-01

    This is volume 14 of Leadership Abstracts, a newsletter published by the League for Innovation (California). Issue 1 of February 2001, "Developmental Education: A Policy Primer," discusses developmental programs in the community college. According to the article, community college trustees and presidents would serve their constituents well by…

  12. The Global Evidence Mapping Initiative: Scoping research in broad topic areas

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Evidence mapping describes the quantity, design and characteristics of research in broad topic areas, in contrast to systematic reviews, which usually address narrowly-focused research questions. The breadth of evidence mapping helps to identify evidence gaps, and may guide future research efforts. The Global Evidence Mapping (GEM) Initiative was established in 2007 to create evidence maps providing an overview of existing research in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). Methods The GEM evidence mapping method involved three core tasks: 1. Setting the boundaries and context of the map: Definitions for the fields of TBI and SCI were clarified, the prehospital, acute inhospital and rehabilitation phases of care were delineated and relevant stakeholders (patients, carers, clinicians, researchers and policymakers) who could contribute to the mapping were identified. Researchable clinical questions were developed through consultation with key stakeholders and a broad literature search. 2. Searching for and selection of relevant studies: Evidence search and selection involved development of specific search strategies, development of inclusion and exclusion criteria, searching of relevant databases and independent screening and selection by two researchers. 3. Reporting on yield and study characteristics: Data extraction was performed at two levels - 'interventions and study design' and 'detailed study characteristics'. The evidence map and commentary reflected the depth of data extraction. Results One hundred and twenty-nine researchable clinical questions in TBI and SCI were identified. These questions were then prioritised into high (n = 60) and low (n = 69) importance by the stakeholders involved in question development. Since 2007, 58 263 abstracts have been screened, 3 731 full text articles have been reviewed and 1 644 relevant neurotrauma publications have been mapped, covering fifty-three high priority questions. Conclusions GEM

  13. Cross-correlating Cosmic IR and X-ray Background Fluctuations: Evidence of Significant Black Hole Populations Among the CIB Sources

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cappelluti, N.; Kashlinsky, A.; Arendt, R. G.; Comastri, A.; Fazio, G. G.; Finoguenov, A.; Hasinger, G.; Mather, J. C.; Miyaji, T; Moseley, S. H.

    2013-01-01

    In order to understand the nature of the sources producing the recently uncovered cosmic infrared background (CIB) fluctuations, we study cross-correlations between the fluctuations in the source-subtracted CIB from Spitzer/IRAC data and the unresolved cosmic X-ray background from deep Chandra observations. Our study uses data from the EGS/AEGIS field, where both data sets cover an approx = 8' x 45' region of the sky. Our measurement is the cross-power spectrum between the IR and X-ray data. The cross-power signal between the IRAC maps at 3.6 micron and 4.5 micron and the Chandra [0.5-2] keV data has been detected, at angular scales approx >20'', with an overall significance of approx = 3.8 sigma and approx. = 5.6 sigma, respectively. At the same time we find no evidence of significant cross-correlations at the harder Chandra bands. The cross-correlation signal is produced by individual IR sources with 3.6 micron and 4.5 micron magnitudes m(sub AB) approx. > 25-26 and [0.5-2] keV X-ray fluxes << 7 × 10(exp -177 erg sq. cm/ s. We determine that at least 15%-25% of the large scale power of the CIB fluctuations is correlated with the spatial power spectrum of the X-ray fluctuations. If this correlation is attributed to emission from accretion processes at both IR and X-ray wavelengths, this implies a much higher fraction of accreting black holes than among the known populations. We discuss the various possible origins for the cross-power signal and show that neither local foregrounds nor the known remaining normal galaxies and active galactic nuclei can reproduce the measurements. These observational results are an important new constraint on theoretical modeling of the near-IR CIB fluctuations. local foregrounds, nor the known remaining normal galaxies and active galactic nuclei (AGN) can reproduce the measurements. These observational results are an important new constraint on theoretical modeling of the near-IR CIB fluctuations

  14. Journal article overlap among Index Medicus, Science Citation Index, Biological Abstracts, and Chemical Abstracts.

    PubMed Central

    Poyer, R K

    1984-01-01

    Journal article overlap is defined as the same journal article being indexed by two or more services. Using journal references from seventy dissertations written in the preclinical sciences, the extent of journal article overlap among Index Medicus, Science Citation Index, Biological Abstracts, and Chemical Abstracts was examined. Of the 7,969 journal references cited, 92% were indexed by at least two of these services; 591 articles were covered by only one of the services, and 55 articles were not indexed. A discussion of the advantages and costs of journal article overlap is presented. PMID:6388693

  15. National Workplace Literacy Program. 1993 Abstracts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Office of Vocational and Adult Education (ED), Washington, DC. National Workplace Literacy Program.

    This publication presents the abstracts of the 57 National Workplace Literacy Program 1993 projects. Each abstract provides the following information: project title; award number; project director; awardee; address; telephone and fax numbers; funds by fiscal year (federal and nonfederal); award period; federal project officer; objectives;…

  16. Mathematical Abstraction: Constructing Concept of Parallel Coordinates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nurhasanah, F.; Kusumah, Y. S.; Sabandar, J.; Suryadi, D.

    2017-09-01

    Mathematical abstraction is an important process in teaching and learning mathematics so pre-service mathematics teachers need to understand and experience this process. One of the theoretical-methodological frameworks for studying this process is Abstraction in Context (AiC). Based on this framework, abstraction process comprises of observable epistemic actions, Recognition, Building-With, Construction, and Consolidation called as RBC + C model. This study investigates and analyzes how pre-service mathematics teachers constructed and consolidated concept of Parallel Coordinates in a group discussion. It uses AiC framework for analyzing mathematical abstraction of a group of pre-service teachers consisted of four students in learning Parallel Coordinates concepts. The data were collected through video recording, students’ worksheet, test, and field notes. The result shows that the students’ prior knowledge related to concept of the Cartesian coordinate has significant role in the process of constructing Parallel Coordinates concept as a new knowledge. The consolidation process is influenced by the social interaction between group members. The abstraction process taken place in this group were dominated by empirical abstraction that emphasizes on the aspect of identifying characteristic of manipulated or imagined object during the process of recognizing and building-with.

  17. Communication and dissemination strategies to facilitate the use of health-related evidence.

    PubMed

    McCormack, Lauren; Sheridan, Stacey; Lewis, Megan; Boudewyns, Vanessa; Melvin, Cathy L; Kistler, Christine; Lux, Linda J; Cullen, Katherine; Lohr, Kathleen N

    2013-11-01

    This review examined how to best communicate and disseminate evidence, including uncertain evidence, to inform health care decisions. The review focused on three primary objectives--comparing the effectiveness of: (1) communicating evidence in various contents and formats that increase the likelihood that target audiences will both understand and use the information (KQ 1); (2) a variety of approaches for disseminating evidence from those who develop it to those who are expected to use it (KQ 2); and (3) various ways of communicating uncertainty-associated health-related evidence to different target audiences (KQ 3). A secondary objective was to examine how the effectiveness of communication and dissemination strategies varies across target audiences, including evidence translators, health educators, patients, and clinicians. We searched MEDLINE®, the Cochrane Library, Cochrane Central Trials Registry, PsycINFO®, and the Web of Science. We used a variety of medical subject headings (MeSH terms) and major headings, and used free-text and title and abstract text-word searches. The search was limited to studies on humans published from 2000 to March 15, 2013, for communication and dissemination, given the prior systematic reviews, and from 1966 to March 15, 2013, for communicating uncertainty. We used standard Evidence-based Practice Center methods of dual review of abstracts, full-text articles, and abstractions, and quality ratings and group consensus to resolve disagreements. We used group consensus to grade strength of evidence. The search identified 4,152 articles (after removing duplicates) for all three KQs. After dual review at the title/abstract stage and full-text review stage, we retained 61 articles that directly (i.e., head to head) compared strategies to communicate and disseminate evidence. Across the KQs, many of the comparisons yielded insufficient evidence to draw firm conclusions. For KQ 1, we found that investigators frequently blend more than

  18. Oncology trial abstracts showed suboptimal improvement in reporting: a comparative before-and-after evaluation using CONSORT for Abstract guidelines.

    PubMed

    Ghimire, Saurav; Kyung, Eunjung; Lee, Heeyoung; Kim, Eunyoung

    2014-06-01

    The aims of this study were to evaluate the quality of randomized controlled trial (RCT) abstracts published in the field of oncology and identify characteristics associated with better reporting quality. All phase III trials published during 2005-2007 [before Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT)] and 2010-2012 (after CONSORT) were searched electronically in MEDLINE/PubMed and retrieved for review using an 18-point overall quality score (OQS) for reporting based on the CONSORT for Abstract guidelines. Descriptive statistics followed by multivariate linear regression were used to identify features associated with improved reporting quality. The mean OQS was 8.2 (range: 5-13; 95% confidence interval (CI): 8.0, 8.3) and 9.9 (range: 5-18; 95% CI: 9.7, 10.2) in the pre- and post-CONSORT periods, respectively. The method for random sequence generation, allocation concealment, blinding details, and funding sources were missing in pre-CONSORT abstracts and insufficiently reported (<20%) in post-CONSORT abstracts. A high impact factor (P < 0.001) and the journal of publication (P < 0.001) were independent factors that were significantly associated with higher reporting quality on multivariate analysis. The reporting quality of RCT abstracts in oncology showed suboptimal improvement over time. Thus, stricter adherence to the CONSORT for Abstract guidelines is needed to improve the reporting quality of RCT abstracts published in oncology. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Interactional Metadiscourse in Research Article Abstracts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gillaerts, Paul; Van de Velde, Freek

    2010-01-01

    This paper deals with interpersonality in research article abstracts analysed in terms of interactional metadiscourse. The evolution in the distribution of three prominent interactional markers comprised in Hyland's (2005a) model, viz. hedges, boosters and attitude markers, is investigated in three decades of abstract writing in the field of…

  20. Press abstracts of the 21st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1990-01-01

    The Program Committee for the Twenty-fisrt Lunar and Planetary Science Conference has chosen these contributions as having the greatest potential interest for the general public. The papers in this collection were written for general presentation, avoiding jargon and unnecessarily complex terms. More technical abstracts will be found in Lunar and Planetary Science XXI. Representative titles are: Ancient Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Interactions on Mars: Global Model and Geological Evidence; Oxygen Isotopic Compositions of Ordinary Chondrites and Their Chondrules; Exposure Ages and Collisional History of L-Chondrite Parent Bodies; Models of Solar-Powered Geysers on Triton; and Search for Life: A Science Rationale for a Permanent Base on Mars.

  1. Neural representations of emotion are organized around abstract event features.

    PubMed

    Skerry, Amy E; Saxe, Rebecca

    2015-08-03

    Research on emotion attribution has tended to focus on the perception of overt expressions of at most five or six basic emotions. However, our ability to identify others' emotional states is not limited to perception of these canonical expressions. Instead, we make fine-grained inferences about what others feel based on the situations they encounter, relying on knowledge of the eliciting conditions for different emotions. In the present research, we provide convergent behavioral and neural evidence concerning the representations underlying these concepts. First, we find that patterns of activity in mentalizing regions contain information about subtle emotional distinctions conveyed through verbal descriptions of eliciting situations. Second, we identify a space of abstract situation features that well captures the emotion discriminations subjects make behaviorally and show that this feature space outperforms competing models in capturing the similarity space of neural patterns in these regions. Together, the data suggest that our knowledge of others' emotions is abstract and high dimensional, that brain regions selective for mental state reasoning support relatively subtle distinctions between emotion concepts, and that the neural representations in these regions are not reducible to more primitive affective dimensions such as valence and arousal. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Evidence and Clinical Trials.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Goodman, Steven N.

    1989-11-01

    This dissertation explores the use of a mathematical measure of statistical evidence, the log likelihood ratio, in clinical trials. The methods and thinking behind the use of an evidential measure are contrasted with traditional methods of analyzing data, which depend primarily on a p-value as an estimate of the statistical strength of an observed data pattern. It is contended that neither the behavioral dictates of Neyman-Pearson hypothesis testing methods, nor the coherency dictates of Bayesian methods are realistic models on which to base inference. The use of the likelihood alone is applied to four aspects of trial design or conduct: the calculation of sample size, the monitoring of data, testing for the equivalence of two treatments, and meta-analysis--the combining of results from different trials. Finally, a more general model of statistical inference, using belief functions, is used to see if it is possible to separate the assessment of evidence from our background knowledge. It is shown that traditional and Bayesian methods can be modeled as two ends of a continuum of structured background knowledge, methods which summarize evidence at the point of maximum likelihood assuming no structure, and Bayesian methods assuming complete knowledge. Both schools are seen to be missing a concept of ignorance- -uncommitted belief. This concept provides the key to understanding the problem of sampling to a foregone conclusion and the role of frequency properties in statistical inference. The conclusion is that statistical evidence cannot be defined independently of background knowledge, and that frequency properties of an estimator are an indirect measure of uncommitted belief. Several likelihood summaries need to be used in clinical trials, with the quantitative disparity between summaries being an indirect measure of our ignorance. This conclusion is linked with parallel ideas in the philosophy of science and cognitive psychology.

  3. Abstraction in Mathematics and Mathematics Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mitchelmore, Michael; White, Paul

    2004-01-01

    It is claimed that, since mathematics is essentially a self-contained system, mathematical objects may best be described as "abstract-apart." On the other hand, fundamental mathematical ideas are closely related to the real world and their learning involves empirical concepts. These concepts may be called "abstract-general" because they embody…

  4. Dissertation Abstracts in Mathematics Education, 1983.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Suydam, Marilyn N., Comp.

    The dissertation abstracts in this compilation all appeared in "Dissertation Abstracts International" in 1983. The 300 dissertations cited in the annual listing of research in the July 1984 issue of the "Journal for Research in Mathematics Education" are included, as well as 55 dissertations which were located but could not be…

  5. Embodiment of abstract concepts: good and bad in right- and left-handers.

    PubMed

    Casasanto, Daniel

    2009-08-01

    Do people with different kinds of bodies think differently? According to the body-specificity hypothesis, people who interact with their physical environments in systematically different ways should form correspondingly different mental representations. In a test of this hypothesis, 5 experiments investigated links between handedness and the mental representation of abstract concepts with positive or negative valence (e.g., honesty, sadness, intelligence). Mappings from spatial location to emotional valence differed between right- and left-handed participants. Right-handers tended to associate rightward space with positive ideas and leftward space with negative ideas, but left-handers showed the opposite pattern, associating rightward space with negative ideas and leftward with positive ideas. These contrasting mental metaphors for valence cannot be attributed to linguistic experience, because idioms in English associate good with right but not with left. Rather, right- and left-handers implicitly associated positive valence more strongly with the side of space on which they could act more fluently with their dominant hands. These results support the body-specificity hypothesis and provide evidence for the perceptuomotor basis of even the most abstract ideas.

  6. Evidence on global medical travel

    PubMed Central

    Záliš, Ladislav; Meurice, Christopher R; Hilton, Ian; Ly, Terry-Lisa; Zupan, Zorana; Hinrichs, Saba

    2015-01-01

    Abstract The potential benefits of travelling across national borders to obtain medical treatment include improved care, decreased costs and reduced waiting times. However, medical travel involves additional risks, compared to obtaining treatment domestically. We review the publicly-available evidence on medical travel. We suggest that medical travel needs to be understood in terms of its potential risks and benefits so that it can be evaluated against alternatives by patients who are seeking care. We propose three domains –quality standards, informed decision-making, economic and legal protection – in which better evidence could support the development of medical travel policies. PMID:26549906

  7. Electrophysiological evidence for phenomenal consciousness.

    PubMed

    Revonsuo, Antti; Koivisto, Mika

    2010-09-01

    Abstract Recent evidence from event-related brain potentials (ERPs) lends support to two central theses in Lamme's theory. The earliest ERP correlate of visual consciousness appears over posterior visual cortex around 100-200 ms after stimulus onset. Its scalp topography and time window are consistent with recurrent processing in the visual cortex. This electrophysiological correlate of visual consciousness is mostly independent of later ERPs reflecting selective attention and working memory functions. Overall, the ERP evidence supports the view that phenomenal consciousness of a visual stimulus emerges earlier than access consciousness, and that attention and awareness are served by distinct neural processes.

  8. Automated Assume-Guarantee Reasoning by Abstraction Refinement

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Pasareanu, Corina S.; Giannakopoulous, Dimitra; Glannakopoulou, Dimitra

    2008-01-01

    Current automated approaches for compositional model checking in the assume-guarantee style are based on learning of assumptions as deterministic automata. We propose an alternative approach based on abstraction refinement. Our new method computes the assumptions for the assume-guarantee rules as conservative and not necessarily deterministic abstractions of some of the components, and refines those abstractions using counter-examples obtained from model checking them together with the other components. Our approach also exploits the alphabets of the interfaces between components and performs iterative refinement of those alphabets as well as of the abstractions. We show experimentally that our preliminary implementation of the proposed alternative achieves similar or better performance than a previous learning-based implementation.

  9. Background characterization of an ultra-low background liquid scintillation counter

    DOE PAGES

    Erchinger, J. L.; Orrell, John L.; Aalseth, C. E.; ...

    2017-01-26

    The Ultra-Low Background Liquid Scintillation Counter developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will expand the application of liquid scintillation counting by enabling lower detection limits and smaller sample volumes. By reducing the overall count rate of the background environment approximately 2 orders of magnitude below that of commercially available systems, backgrounds on the order of tens of counts per day over an energy range of ~3–3600 keV can be realized. Finally, initial test results of the ULB LSC show promising results for ultra-low background detection with liquid scintillation counting.

  10. The representation of abstract words: why emotion matters.

    PubMed

    Kousta, Stavroula-Thaleia; Vigliocco, Gabriella; Vinson, David P; Andrews, Mark; Del Campo, Elena

    2011-02-01

    Although much is known about the representation and processing of concrete concepts, knowledge of what abstract semantics might be is severely limited. In this article we first address the adequacy of the 2 dominant accounts (dual coding theory and the context availability model) put forward in order to explain representation and processing differences between concrete and abstract words. We find that neither proposal can account for experimental findings and that this is, at least partly, because abstract words are considered to be unrelated to experiential information in both of these accounts. We then address a particular type of experiential information, emotional content, and demonstrate that it plays a crucial role in the processing and representation of abstract concepts: Statistically, abstract words are more emotionally valenced than are concrete words, and this accounts for a residual latency advantage for abstract words, when variables such as imageability (a construct derived from dual coding theory) and rated context availability are held constant. We conclude with a discussion of our novel hypothesis for embodied abstract semantics. (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

  11. Concrete Model Checking with Abstract Matching and Refinement

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Pasareanu Corina S.; Peianek Radek; Visser, Willem

    2005-01-01

    We propose an abstraction-based model checking method which relies on refinement of an under-approximation of the feasible behaviors of the system under analysis. The method preserves errors to safety properties, since all analyzed behaviors are feasible by definition. The method does not require an abstract transition relation to he generated, but instead executes the concrete transitions while storing abstract versions of the concrete states, as specified by a set of abstraction predicates. For each explored transition. the method checks, with the help of a theorem prover, whether there is any loss of precision introduced by abstraction. The results of these checks are used to decide termination or to refine the abstraction, by generating new abstraction predicates. If the (possibly infinite) concrete system under analysis has a finite bisimulation quotient, then the method is guaranteed to eventually explore an equivalent finite bisimilar structure. We illustrate the application of the approach for checking concurrent programs. We also show how a lightweight variant can be used for efficient software testing.

  12. Building Background Knowledge To Improve Reading Comprehension through Use of Technology.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ferguson, Iyla

    This study describes a program designed to increase student background knowledge in order to improve reading comprehension. The targeted first grade class is located in a Midwest, middle class, metropolitan community. More than half of the school's population is identified as low-income. Evidence for the existence of the problem was obtained…

  13. The first step in the development of text mining technology for cancer risk assessment: identifying and organizing scientific evidence in risk assessment literature

    PubMed Central

    Korhonen, Anna; Silins, Ilona; Sun, Lin; Stenius, Ulla

    2009-01-01

    Background One of the most neglected areas of biomedical Text Mining (TM) is the development of systems based on carefully assessed user needs. We have recently investigated the user needs of an important task yet to be tackled by TM -- Cancer Risk Assessment (CRA). Here we take the first step towards the development of TM technology for the task: identifying and organizing the scientific evidence required for CRA in a taxonomy which is capable of supporting extensive data gathering from biomedical literature. Results The taxonomy is based on expert annotation of 1297 abstracts downloaded from relevant PubMed journals. It classifies 1742 unique keywords found in the corpus to 48 classes which specify core evidence required for CRA. We report promising results with inter-annotator agreement tests and automatic classification of PubMed abstracts to taxonomy classes. A simple user test is also reported in a near real-world CRA scenario which demonstrates along with other evaluation that the resources we have built are well-defined, accurate, and applicable in practice. Conclusion We present our annotation guidelines and a tool which we have designed for expert annotation of PubMed abstracts. A corpus annotated for keywords and document relevance is also presented, along with the taxonomy which organizes the keywords into classes defining core evidence for CRA. As demonstrated by the evaluation, the materials we have constructed provide a good basis for classification of CRA literature along multiple dimensions. They can support current manual CRA as well as facilitate the development of an approach based on TM. We discuss extending the taxonomy further via manual and machine learning approaches and the subsequent steps required to develop TM technology for the needs of CRA. PMID:19772619

  14. High-Level Data-Abstraction System

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fishwick, P. A.

    1986-01-01

    Communication with data-base processor flexible and efficient. High Level Data Abstraction (HILDA) system is three-layer system supporting data-abstraction features of Intel data-base processor (DBP). Purpose of HILDA establishment of flexible method of efficiently communicating with DBP. Power of HILDA lies in its extensibility with regard to syntax and semantic changes. HILDA's high-level query language readily modified. Offers powerful potential to computer sites where DBP attached to DEC VAX-series computer. HILDA system written in Pascal and FORTRAN 77 for interactive execution.

  15. The structural and content aspects of abstracts versus bodies of full text journal articles are different

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    Background An increase in work on the full text of journal articles and the growth of PubMedCentral have the opportunity to create a major paradigm shift in how biomedical text mining is done. However, until now there has been no comprehensive characterization of how the bodies of full text journal articles differ from the abstracts that until now have been the subject of most biomedical text mining research. Results We examined the structural and linguistic aspects of abstracts and bodies of full text articles, the performance of text mining tools on both, and the distribution of a variety of semantic classes of named entities between them. We found marked structural differences, with longer sentences in the article bodies and much heavier use of parenthesized material in the bodies than in the abstracts. We found content differences with respect to linguistic features. Three out of four of the linguistic features that we examined were statistically significantly differently distributed between the two genres. We also found content differences with respect to the distribution of semantic features. There were significantly different densities per thousand words for three out of four semantic classes, and clear differences in the extent to which they appeared in the two genres. With respect to the performance of text mining tools, we found that a mutation finder performed equally well in both genres, but that a wide variety of gene mention systems performed much worse on article bodies than they did on abstracts. POS tagging was also more accurate in abstracts than in article bodies. Conclusions Aspects of structure and content differ markedly between article abstracts and article bodies. A number of these differences may pose problems as the text mining field moves more into the area of processing full-text articles. However, these differences also present a number of opportunities for the extraction of data types, particularly that found in parenthesized text

  16. Substance Abuse Intensive Outpatient Programs: Assessing the Evidence

    PubMed Central

    McCarty, Dennis; Braude, Lisa; Dougherty, Richard H.; Daniels, Allen S.; Ghose, Sushmita Shoma; Delphin-Rittmon, Miriam E.

    2014-01-01

    Objective Substance abuse intensive outpatient programs (IOPs) are direct services for people with substance use disorders or co-occurring mental and substance use disorders who do not require medical detoxification or 24-hour supervision. IOPs are alternatives to inpatient and residential treatment. They are designed to establish psychosocial supports and facilitate relapse management and coping strategies. This article assesses their evidence base. Methods Authors searched major databases: PubMed, PsycINFO, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts, Social Services Abstracts, Published International Literature on Traumatic Stress, the Educational Resources Information Center, and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature. They identified 12 individual studies and one review published between 1995 and 2012. They chose from three levels of research evidence (high, moderate, and low) based on benchmarks for the number of studies and quality of their methodology. They also described the evidence of service effectiveness. Results Based on the quality of trials, diversity of settings, and consistency of outcomes, the level of evidence for IOP research was considered high. Multiple randomized trials and naturalistic analyses compared IOPs with inpatient or residential care; these types of services had comparable outcomes. All studies reported substantial reductions in alcohol and drug use between baseline and follow-up. However, substantial variability in the operationalization of IOPs and outcome measures was apparent. Conclusions IOPs are an important part of the continuum of care for alcohol and drug use disorders. They are as effective as inpatient treatment for most individuals seeking care. Public and commercial health plans should consider IOP treatment as a covered health benefit. Standardization of the elements included in IOPs may improve their quality and effectiveness. PMID:24445620

  17. Evidence Acquisition and Evaluation for a U.S. Government Evidence Summit on Protecting Children outside Family Care

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Higgs, Elizabeth S.; Zlidar, Vera M.; Balster, Robert L.

    2012-01-01

    Recognizing the need for evidence to inform policies, strategies, and programs to care for vulnerable children, the U.S. Government convened an Evidence Summit on Protecting Children Outside of Family Care on December 12-13, 2011, in Washington, DC, USA. This paper summarizes the background and methods for the acquisition and evaluation of the…

  18. Plate Tectonism on Early Mars: Diverse Geological and Geophysical Evidence

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dohm, J. M.; Maruyama, S.; Baker, V. R.; Anderson, R. C.; Ferris, Justin C.; Hare, Trent M.

    2002-01-01

    Mars has been modified by endogenic and exogenic processes similar in many ways to Earth. However, evidence of Mars embryonic development is preserved because of low erosion rates and stagnant lid convective conditions since the Late Noachian. Early plate tectonism can explain such evidence. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

  19. Conference Abstracts: AEDS '82.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching, 1982

    1982-01-01

    Abstracts from nine selected papers presented at the 1982 Association for Educational Data Systems (AEDS) conference are provided. Copies of conference proceedings may be obtained for fifteen dollars from the Association. (MP)

  20. Accuracy of Cochlear Implant Recipients on Speech Reception in Background Music

    PubMed Central

    Gfeller, Kate; Turner, Christopher; Oleson, Jacob; Kliethermes, Stephanie; Driscoll, Virginia

    2012-01-01

    Objectives This study (a) examined speech recognition abilities of cochlear implant (CI) recipients in the spectrally complex listening condition of three contrasting types of background music, and (b) compared performance based upon listener groups: CI recipients using conventional long-electrode (LE) devices, Hybrid CI recipients (acoustic plus electric stimulation), and normal-hearing (NH) adults. Methods We tested 154 LE CI recipients using varied devices and strategies, 21 Hybrid CI recipients, and 49 NH adults on closed-set recognition of spondees presented in three contrasting forms of background music (piano solo, large symphony orchestra, vocal solo with small combo accompaniment) in an adaptive test. Outcomes Signal-to-noise thresholds for speech in music (SRTM) were examined in relation to measures of speech recognition in background noise and multi-talker babble, pitch perception, and music experience. Results SRTM thresholds varied as a function of category of background music, group membership (LE, Hybrid, NH), and age. Thresholds for speech in background music were significantly correlated with measures of pitch perception and speech in background noise thresholds; auditory status was an important predictor. Conclusions Evidence suggests that speech reception thresholds in background music change as a function of listener age (with more advanced age being detrimental), structural characteristics of different types of music, and hearing status (residual hearing). These findings have implications for everyday listening conditions such as communicating in social or commercial situations in which there is background music. PMID:23342550

  1. Evidence-based medicine for every day, everyone, and every therapeutic study.

    PubMed

    Govindarajan, Raghav; Narayanaswami, Pushpa

    2018-04-17

    The rapid growth in published medical literature makes it difficult for clinicians to keep up with advances in their fields. This may result in a cursory scan of the abstract and conclusion of a study without critically evaluating study quality. The application of evidence-based medicine (EBM) is the process of converting the abstract task of reading the literature into a practical method of using the literature to inform care in a specific clinical context while simultaneously expanding one's knowledge. EBM involves 4 steps: (1) stating the clinical problem in a defined question; (2) searching the literature for the evidence; (3) critically appraising the evidence for its validity; and (4) applying the evidence in the context of the patient's situation, preferences, and values. In this review, we use the recently published trial of thymectomy in myasthenia gravis as an example and systematically go through the steps of assessing internal validity, precision, and external validity. Muscle Nerve, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  2. Third LDEF Post-Retrieval Symposium Abstracts

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Levine, Arlene S. (Compiler)

    1993-01-01

    This volume is a compilation of abstracts submitted to the Third Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) Post-Retrieval Symposium. The abstracts represent the data analysis of the 57 experiments flown on the LDEF. The experiments include materials, coatings, thermal systems, power and propulsion, science (cosmic ray, interstellar gas, heavy ions, micrometeoroid, etc.), electronics, optics, and life science.

  3. User-Extensible Graphics Using Abstract Structure,

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1987-08-01

    Flex 6 The Algol68 model of the graphical abstract structure 5 The creation of a PictureDefinition 6 The making of a picture from a PictureDefinition 7...data together with the operations that can be performed on that data. i 7! ś I _ § 4, The Alqol68 model of the graphical abstract structure Every

  4. COSMIC INFRARED BACKGROUND FLUCTUATIONS AND ZODIACAL LIGHT

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Arendt, Richard G.; Kashlinsky, A.; Moseley, S. H.

    We performed a specific observational test to measure the effect that the zodiacal light can have on measurements of the spatial fluctuations of the near-IR background. Previous estimates of possible fluctuations caused by zodiacal light have often been extrapolated from observations of the thermal emission at longer wavelengths and low angular resolution or from IRAC observations of high-latitude fields where zodiacal light is faint and not strongly varying with time. The new observations analyzed here target the COSMOS field at low ecliptic latitude where the zodiacal light intensity varies by factors of ∼2 over the range of solar elongations atmore » which the field can be observed. We find that the white-noise component of the spatial power spectrum of the background is correlated with the modeled zodiacal light intensity. Roughly half of the measured white noise is correlated with the zodiacal light, but a more detailed interpretation of the white noise is hampered by systematic uncertainties that are evident in the zodiacal light model. At large angular scales (≳100″) where excess power above the white noise is observed, we find no correlation of the power with the modeled intensity of the zodiacal light. This test clearly indicates that the large-scale power in the infrared background is not being caused by the zodiacal light.« less

  5. Cosmic Infrared Background Fluctuations and Zodiacal Light

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Arendt, Richard G.; Kashlinsky, A.; Moseley, S. H.; Mather, J.

    2016-06-01

    We performed a specific observational test to measure the effect that the zodiacal light can have on measurements of the spatial fluctuations of the near-IR background. Previous estimates of possible fluctuations caused by zodiacal light have often been extrapolated from observations of the thermal emission at longer wavelengths and low angular resolution or from IRAC observations of high-latitude fields where zodiacal light is faint and not strongly varying with time. The new observations analyzed here target the COSMOS field at low ecliptic latitude where the zodiacal light intensity varies by factors of ˜2 over the range of solar elongations at which the field can be observed. We find that the white-noise component of the spatial power spectrum of the background is correlated with the modeled zodiacal light intensity. Roughly half of the measured white noise is correlated with the zodiacal light, but a more detailed interpretation of the white noise is hampered by systematic uncertainties that are evident in the zodiacal light model. At large angular scales (≳100″) where excess power above the white noise is observed, we find no correlation of the power with the modeled intensity of the zodiacal light. This test clearly indicates that the large-scale power in the infrared background is not being caused by the zodiacal light.

  6. Static Analysis Using Abstract Interpretation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Arthaud, Maxime

    2017-01-01

    Short presentation about static analysis and most particularly abstract interpretation. It starts with a brief explanation on why static analysis is used at NASA. Then, it describes the IKOS (Inference Kernel for Open Static Analyzers) tool chain. Results on NASA projects are shown. Several well known algorithms from the static analysis literature are then explained (such as pointer analyses, memory analyses, weak relational abstract domains, function summarization, etc.). It ends with interesting problems we encountered (such as C++ analysis with exception handling, or the detection of integer overflow).

  7. Abstraction networks for terminologies: Supporting management of "big knowledge".

    PubMed

    Halper, Michael; Gu, Huanying; Perl, Yehoshua; Ochs, Christopher

    2015-05-01

    Terminologies and terminological systems have assumed important roles in many medical information processing environments, giving rise to the "big knowledge" challenge when terminological content comprises tens of thousands to millions of concepts arranged in a tangled web of relationships. Use and maintenance of knowledge structures on that scale can be daunting. The notion of abstraction network is presented as a means of facilitating the usability, comprehensibility, visualization, and quality assurance of terminologies. An abstraction network overlays a terminology's underlying network structure at a higher level of abstraction. In particular, it provides a more compact view of the terminology's content, avoiding the display of minutiae. General abstraction network characteristics are discussed. Moreover, the notion of meta-abstraction network, existing at an even higher level of abstraction than a typical abstraction network, is described for cases where even the abstraction network itself represents a case of "big knowledge." Various features in the design of abstraction networks are demonstrated in a methodological survey of some existing abstraction networks previously developed and deployed for a variety of terminologies. The applicability of the general abstraction-network framework is shown through use-cases of various terminologies, including the Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine - Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT), the Medical Entities Dictionary (MED), and the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS). Important characteristics of the surveyed abstraction networks are provided, e.g., the magnitude of the respective size reduction referred to as the abstraction ratio. Specific benefits of these alternative terminology-network views, particularly their use in terminology quality assurance, are discussed. Examples of meta-abstraction networks are presented. The "big knowledge" challenge constitutes the use and maintenance of terminological structures that

  8. Stimulus background influences phase invariant coding by correlated neural activity

    PubMed Central

    Metzen, Michael G; Chacron, Maurice J

    2017-01-01

    Previously we reported that correlations between the activities of peripheral afferents mediate a phase invariant representation of natural communication stimuli that is refined across successive processing stages thereby leading to perception and behavior in the weakly electric fish Apteronotus leptorhynchus (Metzen et al., 2016). Here, we explore how phase invariant coding and perception of natural communication stimuli are affected by changes in the sinusoidal background over which they occur. We found that increasing background frequency led to phase locking, which decreased both detectability and phase invariant coding. Correlated afferent activity was a much better predictor of behavior as assessed from both invariance and detectability than single neuron activity. Thus, our results provide not only further evidence that correlated activity likely determines perception of natural communication signals, but also a novel explanation as to why these preferentially occur on top of low frequency as well as low-intensity sinusoidal backgrounds. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.24482.001 PMID:28315519

  9. Information Leakage Analysis by Abstract Interpretation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zanioli, Matteo; Cortesi, Agostino

    Protecting the confidentiality of information stored in a computer system or transmitted over a public network is a relevant problem in computer security. The approach of information flow analysis involves performing a static analysis of the program with the aim of proving that there will not be leaks of sensitive information. In this paper we propose a new domain that combines variable dependency analysis, based on propositional formulas, and variables' value analysis, based on polyhedra. The resulting analysis is strictly more accurate than the state of the art abstract interpretation based analyses for information leakage detection. Its modular construction allows to deal with the tradeoff between efficiency and accuracy by tuning the granularity of the abstraction and the complexity of the abstract operators.

  10. Isotropic blackbody cosmic microwave background radiation as evidence for a homogeneous universe.

    PubMed

    Clifton, Timothy; Clarkson, Chris; Bull, Philip

    2012-08-03

    The question of whether the Universe is spatially homogeneous and isotropic on the largest scales is of fundamental importance to cosmology but has not yet been answered decisively. Surprisingly, neither an isotropic primary cosmic microwave background (CMB) nor combined observations of luminosity distances and galaxy number counts are sufficient to establish such a result. The inclusion of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect in CMB observations, however, dramatically improves this situation. We show that even a solitary observer who sees an isotropic blackbody CMB can conclude that the Universe is homogeneous and isotropic in their causal past when the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect is present. Critically, however, the CMB must either be viewed for an extended period of time, or CMB photons that have scattered more than once must be detected. This result provides a theoretical underpinning for testing the cosmological principle with observations of the CMB alone.

  11. Abstracts of SIG Sessions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Proceedings of the ASIS Annual Meeting, 1997

    1997-01-01

    Presents abstracts of SIG Sessions. Highlights include digital collections; information retrieval methods; public interest/fair use; classification and indexing; electronic publication; funding; globalization; information technology projects; interface design; networking in developing countries; metadata; multilingual databases; networked…

  12. What Gaze Fixation and Pupil Dilation Can Tell Us About Perceived Differences Between Abstract Art by Artists Versus by Children and Animals.

    PubMed

    Alvarez, Sergio A; Winner, Ellen; Hawley-Dolan, Angelina; Snapper, Leslie

    2015-01-01

    People with no arts background often misunderstand abstract art as requiring no skill. However, adults with no art background discriminate paintings by abstract expressionists from superficially similar works by children and animals. We tested whether participants show different visual exploration when looking at paintings by artists' versus children or animals. Participants sat at an eye tracker and viewed paintings by artists paired with "similar" paintings by children or animals, and were asked which they preferred and which was better. Mean duration of eye gaze fixations, total fixation time, and spatial extent of visual exploration was greater to the artist than child or animal images in response to quality but not preference. Pupil dilation was greater to the artist images in response to both questions and greater in response to the quality than preference question. Explicit selections of images paralleled total fixation times: Participants selected at chance for preference, but selected the artist images above chance in response to quality. Results show that lay adults respond differently on both an implicit as well as explicit measure when thinking about preference versus quality in art and discriminate abstract paintings by artists from superficially similar works by children and animals, despite the popular misconception by the average viewer that "my kid could have done that." © The Author(s) 2015.

  13. Selected abstracts on aviation weather hazard research

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1996-01-01

    This paper consists of bibliographic information and abstracts for literature on the topics of weather-related aviation hazards. These abstracts were selected from reports written for the ASR-9, ITWS, TDWR programs, sponsored by the Federal Aviation ...

  14. Dark energy and the cosmic microwave background radiation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dodelson, S.; Knox, L.

    2000-01-01

    We find that current cosmic microwave background anisotropy data strongly constrain the mean spatial curvature of the Universe to be near zero, or, equivalently, the total energy density to be near critical-as predicted by inflation. This result is robust to editing of data sets, and variation of other cosmological parameters (totaling seven, including a cosmological constant). Other lines of argument indicate that the energy density of nonrelativistic matter is much less than critical. Together, these results are evidence, independent of supernovae data, for dark energy in the Universe.

  15. Dark energy and the cosmic microwave background radiation.

    PubMed

    Dodelson, S; Knox, L

    2000-04-17

    We find that current cosmic microwave background anisotropy data strongly constrain the mean spatial curvature of the Universe to be near zero, or, equivalently, the total energy density to be near critical-as predicted by inflation. This result is robust to editing of data sets, and variation of other cosmological parameters (totaling seven, including a cosmological constant). Other lines of argument indicate that the energy density of nonrelativistic matter is much less than critical. Together, these results are evidence, independent of supernovae data, for dark energy in the Universe.

  16. Initial Characterization of Unequal-Length, Low-Background Proportional Counters for Absolute Gas-Counting Applications

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Mace, Emily K.; Aalseth, Craig E.; Bonicalzi, Ricco

    Abstract. Characterization of two sets of custom unequal length proportional counters is underway at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). These detectors will be used in measurements to determine the absolute activity concentration of gaseous radionuclides (e.g., 37Ar). A set of three detectors has been fabricated based on previous PNNL ultra-low-background proportional counters (ULBPC) designs and now operate in PNNL’s shallow underground counting laboratory. A second set of four counters has also been fabricated using clean assembly of OFHC copper components for use in an above-ground counting laboratory. Characterization of both sets of detectors is underway with measurements of background rates,more » gas gain, energy resolution, and shielding considerations. These results will be presented along with uncertainty estimates of future absolute gas counting measurements.« less

  17. Abstract memory representations in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus support concept generalization.

    PubMed

    Bowman, Caitlin R; Zeithamova, Dagmar

    2018-02-07

    to arise through integration across events supported by the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) and hippocampus. The current study combined formal categorization models with fMRI data analysis to show that the VMPFC and anterior hippocampus represent abstract prototype information during concept generalization, contributing novel evidence of generalized concept representations in the brain. Results indicate that VMPFC-hippocampal memory integration mechanisms contribute to knowledge generalization across multiple cognitive domains, with the degree of abstraction of memory representations varying along the long axis of the hippocampus. Copyright © 2018 the authors.

  18. On the Power of Abstract Interpretation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Reddy, Uday S.; Kamin, Samuel N.

    1991-01-01

    Increasingly sophisticated applications of static analysis place increased burden on the reliability of the analysis techniques. Often, the failure of the analysis technique to detect some information my mean that the time or space complexity of the generated code would be altered. Thus, it is important to precisely characterize the power of static analysis techniques. We follow the approach of Selur et. al. who studied the power of strictness analysis techniques. Their result can be summarized by saying 'strictness analysis is perfect up to variations in constants.' In other words, strictness analysis is as good as it could be, short of actually distinguishing between concrete values. We use this approach to characterize a broad class of analysis techniques based on abstract interpretation including, but not limited to, strictness analysis. For the first-order case, we consider abstract interpretations where the abstract domain for data values is totally ordered. This condition is satisfied by Mycroft's strictness analysis that of Sekar et. al. and Wadler's analysis of list-strictness. For such abstract interpretations, we show that the analysis is complete in the sense that, short of actually distinguishing between concrete values with the same abstraction, it gives the best possible information. We further generalize these results to typed lambda calculus with pairs and higher-order functions. Note that products and function spaces over totally ordered domains are not totally ordered. In fact, the notion of completeness used in the first-order case fails if product domains or function spaces are added. We formulate a weaker notion of completeness based on observability of values. Two values (including pairs and functions) are considered indistinguishable if their observable components are indistinguishable. We show that abstract interpretation of typed lambda calculus programs is complete up to this notion of indistinguishability. We use denotationally

  19. Young Children's Self-Concepts Include Representations of Abstract Traits and the Global Self.

    PubMed

    Cimpian, Andrei; Hammond, Matthew D; Mazza, Giulia; Corry, Grace

    2017-11-01

    There is debate about the abstractness of young children's self-concepts-specifically, whether they include representations of (a) general traits and abilities and (b) the global self. Four studies (N = 176 children aged 4-7) suggested these representations are indeed part of early self-concepts. Studies 1 and 2 reexamined prior evidence that young children cannot represent traits and abilities. The results suggested that children's seemingly immature judgments in previous studies were due to peculiarities of the task context not the inadequacy of children's self-concepts. Similarly, Studies 3 and 4 revealed that, contrary to claims of immaturity in reasoning about the global self, young children update their global self-evaluations in flexible, context-sensitive ways. This evidence suggests continuity in the structure of self-concepts across childhood. © 2017 The Authors. Child Development © 2017 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

  20. Current Evidence Regarding Diagnostic Imaging Methods for Pediatric Lumbar Spondylolysis: A Report From the Scoliosis Research Society Evidence-Based Medicine Committee.

    PubMed

    Ledonio, Charles G T; Burton, Douglas C; Crawford, Charles H; Bess, Robert Shay; Buchowski, Jacob M; Hu, Serena S; Lonner, Baron S H; Polly, David W; Smith, Justin S; Sanders, James O

    2017-03-01

    Spondylolysis is common among the pediatric population, yet no formal systematic literature review regarding diagnostic imaging has been performed. The Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) requested an assessment of the current state of peer reviewed evidence regarding pediatric spondylolysis. Literature was searched professionally and citations retrieved. Abstracts were reviewed and analyzed by the SRS Evidence-Based Medicine Committee. Level I studies were considered to provide Good Evidence for the clinical question. Level II or III studies were considered Fair Evidence. Level IV studies were considered Poor Evidence. From 947 abstracts, 383 full texts reviewed. Best available evidence for the questions of diagnostic methods was provided by 27 studies: no Level I sensitivity/specificity studies, five Level II and two Level III evidence, and 19 Level IV evidence. Pain with hyperextension in athletes is the most widely reported finding in history and physical examination. Plain radiography is considered a first-line diagnostic test for suspected spondylolysis, but validation evidence is lacking. There is consistent Level II and III evidence that pars defects are detected by advanced imaging in 32% to 44% of adolescents with spondylolysis based on history and physical. Level III evidence that single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is superior to planar bone scan and plain radiographs but limited by high rates of false-positive and false-negative results and by high radiation dose. Computed tomography (CT) is considered the gold standard and most accurate modality for detecting the bony defect and assessment of osseous healing but exposes the pediatric patient to ionizing radiation. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is reported to be as accurate as CT and useful in detecting early stress reactions of the pars without a fracture. Plain radiographs are widely used as screening tools for pediatric spondylolysis. CT scan is considered the gold standard but

  1. Reporting of Numerical and Statistical Differences in Abstracts

    PubMed Central

    Dryver, Eric; Hux, Janet E

    2002-01-01

    OBJECTIVE The reporting of relative risk reductions (RRRs) or absolute risk reductions (ARRs) to quantify binary outcomes in trials engenders differing perceptions of therapeutic efficacy, and the merits of P values versus confidence intervals (CIs) are also controversial. We describe the manner in which numerical and statistical difference in treatment outcomes is presented in published abstracts. DESIGN A descriptive study of abstracts published in 1986 and 1996 in 8 general medical and specialty journals. Inclusion criteria: controlled, intervention trials with a binary primary or secondary outcome. Seven items were recorded: raw data (outcomes for each treatment arm), measure of relative difference (e.g., RRR), ARR, number needed to treat, P value, CI, and verbal statement of statistical significance. The prevalence of these items was compared between journals and across time. RESULTS Of 5,293 abstracts, 300 met the inclusion criteria. In 1986, 60% of abstracts did not provide both the raw data and a corresponding P value or CI, while 28% failed to do so in 1Dr. Hux is a Career Scientist of the Ontario Ministry of Health and receives salary support from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences in Ontario.996 (P < .001; RRR of 53%; ARR of 32%; CI for ARR 21% to 43%). The variability between journals was highly significant (P < .001). In 1986, 100% of abstracts lacked a measure of absolute difference while 88% of 1996 abstracts did so (P < .001). In 1986, 98% of abstracts lacked a CI while 65% of 1996 abstracts did so (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS The provision of quantitative outcome and statistical quantitative information has significantly increased between 1986 and 1996. However, further progress can be made to make abstracts more informative. PMID:11929506

  2. Journal Literature Covered by Physics Abstracts in 1965.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Keenan, Stella; Brickwedde, F.G.

    A study of the publications of the Physics Journal literature has been made, utilizing the 1965 issues of Physics Abstracts. It is intended to provide a profile of the physics literature and statistical information on physics abstract coverage. It deals with abstracts from serial (journal) publications and includes some 32,000 articles from 495…

  3. Abstracts of SIG Sessions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Proceedings of the ASIS Annual Meeting, 1996

    1996-01-01

    Includes abstracts of special interest group (SIG) sessions. Highlights include digital imagery; text summarization; browsing; digital libraries; icons and the Web; information management; curricula planning; interfaces; information systems; theories; scholarly and scientific communication; global development; archives; document delivery;…

  4. Process improvement: a multi-registry database abstraction success story.

    PubMed

    Abrich, Victor; Rokey, Roxann; Devadas, Christopher; Uebel, Julie

    2014-01-01

    The St. Joseph Hospital/Marshfield Clinic Cardiac Database Registry submits data to the National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR) and to the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) National Database. Delayed chart abstraction is problematic, since hospital policy prohibits patient care clarifications made to the medical record more than 1 month after hospital discharge. This can also lead to late identification of missed care opportunities and untimely notification to providers. Our institution was 3.5 months behind in retrospective postdischarge case abstraction. A process improvement plan was implemented to shorten this delay to 1 month postdischarge. Daily demand of incoming cases and abstraction capacity were determined for 4 employees. Demand was matched to capacity, with the remaining time allocated to reducing backlog. Daily demand of new cases was 17.1 hours. Daily abstraction capacity was 24 hours, assuming 6 hours of effective daily abstraction time per employee, leaving 7 hours per day for backlogged case abstraction. The predicted time to reach abstraction target was 10 weeks. This was accomplished after 10 weeks, as predicted, leading to a 60% reduction of backlogged cases. The delay of postdischarge chart abstraction was successfully shortened from 3.5 months to 1 month. We intend to maintain same-day abstraction efficiency without reaccumulating substantial backlog.

  5. Abstracts of SIG Sessions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Proceedings of the ASIS Annual Meeting, 1994

    1994-01-01

    Includes abstracts of 18 special interest group (SIG) sessions. Highlights include natural language processing, information science and terminology science, classification, knowledge-intensive information systems, information value and ownership issues, economics and theories of information science, information retrieval interfaces, fuzzy thinking…

  6. Conference Abstracts: AEDS '84.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baird, William E.

    1985-01-01

    The Association of Educational Data Systems (AEDS) conference included 102 presentations. Abstracts of seven of these presentations are provided. Topic areas considered include LOGO, teaching probability through a computer game, writing effective computer assisted instructional materials, computer literacy, research on instructional…

  7. Abstracts of SIG Sessions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Proceedings of the ASIS Annual Meeting, 1993

    1993-01-01

    Presents abstracts of 34 special interest group (SIG) sessions. Highlights include humanities scholars and electronic texts; information retrieval and indexing systems design; automated indexing; domain analysis; query expansion in document retrieval systems; thesauri; business intelligence; Americans with Disabilities Act; management;…

  8. Background Lamb waves in the Earth's atmosphere

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nishida, Kiwamu; Kobayashi, Naoki; Fukao, Yoshio

    2014-01-01

    Lamb waves of the Earth's atmosphere in the millihertz band have been considered as transient phenomena excited only by large events. Here, we show the first evidence of background Lamb waves in the Earth's atmosphere from 0.2 to 10 mHz, based on the array analysis of microbarometer data from the USArray in 2012. The observations suggest that the probable excitation source is atmospheric turbulence in the troposphere. Theoretically, their energy in the troposphere tunnels into the thermosphere at a resonant frequency via thermospheric gravity wave, where the observed amplitudes indeed take a local minimum. The energy leak through the frequency window could partly contribute to thermospheric wave activity.

  9. Cosmic Microwave Background Polarization and Inflation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chuss, David T.

    2011-01-01

    Measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) offer a means to explore the universe at a very early epoch. Specifically, if the universe went through a brief period of exponential expansion called inflation as current data suggest, gravitational waves from this period would polarize the CMB in a specific pattern. At GSFC, we are currently working towards two experiments that work in concert to measure this polarization pattern in search of evidence for inflation. The Cosmology Large Angular Scale Surveyor (CLASS) will measure the polarization at frequencies between 40 and 150 GHz from the Atacama Desert in Chile. The Primordial Inflation Polarization Explorer (PIPER) is a balloon-borne experiment that will make similar measurements at frequencies between 200 and 600 GHz.

  10. An Investigation of the Role of Background Music in IVWs for Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Richards, Debbie; Fassbender, Eric; Bilgin, Ayse; Thompson, William Forde

    2008-01-01

    Empirical evidence is needed to corroborate the intuitions of gamers and game developers in understanding the benefits of Immersive Virtual Worlds (IVWs) as a learning environment and the role that music plays within these environments. We report an investigation to determine if background music of the genre typically found in computer-based…

  11. Content Abstract Classification Using Naive Bayes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Latif, Syukriyanto; Suwardoyo, Untung; Aldrin Wihelmus Sanadi, Edwin

    2018-03-01

    This study aims to classify abstract content based on the use of the highest number of words in an abstract content of the English language journals. This research uses a system of text mining technology that extracts text data to search information from a set of documents. Abstract content of 120 data downloaded at www.computer.org. Data grouping consists of three categories: DM (Data Mining), ITS (Intelligent Transport System) and MM (Multimedia). Systems built using naive bayes algorithms to classify abstract journals and feature selection processes using term weighting to give weight to each word. Dimensional reduction techniques to reduce the dimensions of word counts rarely appear in each document based on dimensional reduction test parameters of 10% -90% of 5.344 words. The performance of the classification system is tested by using the Confusion Matrix based on comparative test data and test data. The results showed that the best classification results were obtained during the 75% training data test and 25% test data from the total data. Accuracy rates for categories of DM, ITS and MM were 100%, 100%, 86%. respectively with dimension reduction parameters of 30% and the value of learning rate between 0.1-0.5.

  12. Cosmic Infrared Background Fluctuations and Zodiacal Light

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Arendt, Richard G.; Kashlinsky, A.; Moseley, S. H.; Mather, J.

    2017-01-01

    We performed a specific observational test to measure the effect that the zodiacal light can have on measurements of the spatial fluctuations of the near-IR (near-infrared)background. Previous estimates of possible fluctuations caused by zodiacal light have often been extrapolated from observations of the thermal emission at longer wavelengths and low angular resolution or from IRAC (Infrared Array Camera) observations of high-latitude fields where zodiacal light is faint and not strongly varying with time. The new observations analyzed here target the COSMOS (Cosmic Evolution Survey) field at low ecliptic latitude where the zodiacal light intensity varies by factors of approximately 2 over the range of solar elongations at which the field can be observed. We find that the white-noise component of the spatial power spectrum of the background is correlated with the modeled zodiacal light intensity. Roughly half of the measured white noise is correlated with the zodiacal light, but a more detailed interpretation of the white noise is hampered by systematic uncertainties that are evident in the zodiacal light model. At large angular scales (greater than or approximately equal to 100 arcseconds) where excess power above the white noise is observed, we find no correlation of the power with the modeled intensity of the zodiacal light. This test clearly indicates that the large-scale power in the infrared background is not being caused by the zodiacal light.

  13. Homicide in the western family and background factors of a perpetrator.

    PubMed

    Aho, Anna Liisa; Remahl, Anni; Paavilainen, Eija

    2017-07-01

    Familicide is a multiple-victim homicide incident in which the killer's spouse and one or more children are slain. A systematic review was conducted to reveal the background factors of western homicide perpetrators. The systematic search was performed in the Arto, Medic, Cinahl, Medline, EBSCOhost Academic Search Premier and Social Services abstracts databases. The keywords were familicide, family homicide, familicide-suicide, filicide-suicide, extended suicide, child, murder, family, filicide and infanticide. The searches revealed 4139 references from the databases. The references were filtered and 32 peer-reviewed research articles revealed in years 2004-2014 were selected as data. The articles were analysed using inductive content analysis, by finding all possible background factors related to homicide. The factors were described as percentages of the range. The background factors of familicide perpetrators were categorised as follows: perpetrators who had committed homicide of a child and intimate partner and possibly committed suicide; a father had who killed a child; a mother who had killed a child; a father who had committed a filicide-suicide; and a mother who had committed a filicide-suicide. Psychological instability, violence and crime were found in all these categories of familicides. Perpetrators who had committed a suicide in addition to the familicide had more often been diagnosed with depression, but they sought treatment for mental health problems less often and had violence and self-destructiveness less often in their background than in other familicide categories. Social and healthcare professionals should be more sensitive to emerging family problems and be prepared for intervention.

  14. Feedback Form for the ADS Abstract Service

    Science.gov Websites

    ADS Feedback Form for the ADS Abstract Service Please use this form to report bugs or send comments to the ADS Abstract Project. Thank you for your feedback. ❉ Required field Your Name: ❉ Your E

  15. Argument structure and the representation of abstract semantics.

    PubMed

    Rodríguez-Ferreiro, Javier; Andreu, Llorenç; Sanz-Torrent, Mònica

    2014-01-01

    According to the dual coding theory, differences in the ease of retrieval between concrete and abstract words are related to the exclusive dependence of abstract semantics on linguistic information. Argument structure can be considered a measure of the complexity of the linguistic contexts that accompany a verb. If the retrieval of abstract verbs relies more on the linguistic codes they are associated to, we could expect a larger effect of argument structure for the processing of abstract verbs. In this study, sets of length- and frequency-matched verbs including 40 intransitive verbs, 40 transitive verbs taking simple complements, and 40 transitive verbs taking sentential complements were presented in separate lexical and grammatical decision tasks. Half of the verbs were concrete and half were abstract. Similar results were obtained in the two tasks, with significant effects of imageability and transitivity. However, the interaction between these two variables was not significant. These results conflict with hypotheses assuming a stronger reliance of abstract semantics on linguistic codes. In contrast, our data are in line with theories that link the ease of retrieval with availability and robustness of semantic information.

  16. Abstract shapes of RNA.

    PubMed

    Giegerich, Robert; Voss, Björn; Rehmsmeier, Marc

    2004-01-01

    The function of a non-protein-coding RNA is often determined by its structure. Since experimental determination of RNA structure is time-consuming and expensive, its computational prediction is of great interest, and efficient solutions based on thermodynamic parameters are known. Frequently, however, the predicted minimum free energy structures are not the native ones, leading to the necessity of generating suboptimal solutions. While this can be accomplished by a number of programs, the user is often confronted with large outputs of similar structures, although he or she is interested in structures with more fundamental differences, or, in other words, with different abstract shapes. Here, we formalize the concept of abstract shapes and introduce their efficient computation. Each shape of an RNA molecule comprises a class of similar structures and has a representative structure of minimal free energy within the class. Shape analysis is implemented in the program RNAshapes. We applied RNAshapes to the prediction of optimal and suboptimal abstract shapes of several RNAs. For a given energy range, the number of shapes is considerably smaller than the number of structures, and in all cases, the native structures were among the top shape representatives. This demonstrates that the researcher can quickly focus on the structures of interest, without processing up to thousands of near-optimal solutions. We complement this study with a large-scale analysis of the growth behaviour of structure and shape spaces. RNAshapes is available for download and as an online version on the Bielefeld Bioinformatics Server.

  17. Neural correlates of visualizations of concrete and abstract words in preschool children: a developmental embodied approach

    PubMed Central

    D’Angiulli, Amedeo; Griffiths, Gordon; Marmolejo-Ramos, Fernando

    2015-01-01

    The neural correlates of visualization underlying word comprehension were examined in preschool children. On each trial, a concrete or abstract word was delivered binaurally (part 1: post-auditory visualization), followed by a four-picture array (a target plus three distractors; part 2: matching visualization). Children were to select the picture matching the word they heard in part 1. Event-related potentials (ERPs) locked to each stimulus presentation and task interval were averaged over sets of trials of increasing word abstractness. ERP time-course during both parts of the task showed that early activity (i.e., <300 ms) was predominant in response to concrete words, while activity in response to abstract words became evident only at intermediate (i.e., 300–699 ms) and late (i.e., 700–1000 ms) ERP intervals. Specifically, ERP topography showed that while early activity during post-auditory visualization was linked to left temporo-parietal areas for concrete words, early activity during matching visualization occurred mostly in occipito-parietal areas for concrete words, but more anteriorly in centro-parietal areas for abstract words. In intermediate ERPs, post-auditory visualization coincided with parieto-occipital and parieto-frontal activity in response to both concrete and abstract words, while in matching visualization a parieto-central activity was common to both types of words. In the late ERPs for both types of words, the post-auditory visualization involved right-hemispheric activity following a “post-anterior” pathway sequence: occipital, parietal, and temporal areas; conversely, matching visualization involved left-hemispheric activity following an “ant-posterior” pathway sequence: frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital areas. These results suggest that, similarly, for concrete and abstract words, meaning in young children depends on variably complex visualization processes integrating visuo-auditory experiences and supramodal embodying

  18. AAVSO and the International Year of Light (Poster abstract)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Larsen, K.

    2015-06-01

    (Abstract only) The United Nations General Assembly has officially designated 2015 to be the International Year of Light (IYL). Modeled in part on the earlier International Year of Astronomy (IYA), this cross-disciplinary, international educational and outreach project will celebrate the importance of light in science, technology, cultural heritage, and the arts. It ties in with several important anniversaries, such as the 1000th anniversary of the publication of Ibn Al Haythem's “Book of Optics,” the 150th anniversary of Maxwell's equations of electromagnetism, the centenary of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, and the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation. Because variable stars are defined as such due to the variability of the light we observe from them, all of the AAVSO programs, regardless of type of variable or instrumentation (eye, DSLR, PEP, or CCD) have natural tie-ins to the study of light. This poster will highlight a number of specific ways that AAVSO members and the organization as a whole can become intimately involved with this unique outreach opportunity.

  19. An analysis of abstracts presented to the College on Problems of Drug Dependence meeting and subsequent publication in peer review journals

    PubMed Central

    Valderrama-Zurián, Juan Carlos; Bolaños-Pizarro, Máxima; Bueno-Cañigral, Francisco Jesús; Álvarez, F Javier; Ontalba-Ruipérez, José Antonio; Aleixandre-Benavent, Rafael

    2009-01-01

    Background Subsequent publication rate of abstracts presented at meetings is seen as an indicator of the interest and quality of the meeting. We have analyzed characteristics and rate publication in peer-reviewed journals derived from oral communications and posters presented at the 1999 College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) meeting. Methods All 689 abstracts presented at the 1999 CPDD meeting were reviewed. In order to find the existence of publications derived from abstracts presented at that meeting, a set of bibliographical searches in the database Medline was developed in July 2006. Information was gathered concerning the abstracts, articles and journals in which they were published. Results 254 out of 689 abstracts (36.9%) gave rise to at least one publication. The oral communications had a greater likelihood of being published than did the posters (OR = 2.53, 95% CI 1.80-3.55). The average time lapse to publication of an article was 672.97 days. The number of authors per work in the subsequent publications was 4.55. The articles were published in a total of 84 journals, of which eight were indexed with the subject term Substance-Related Disorders. Psychopharmacology (37 articles, 14.5%) was the journal that published the greatest number of articles subsequent to the abstracts presented at the 1999 CPDD meeting. Conclusion One out of every three abstracts presented to the 1999 CPDD meeting were later published in peer-reviewed journals indexed in Medline. The subsequent publication of the abstracts presented in the CPDD meetings should be actively encouraged, as this maximizes the dissemination of the scientific research and therefore the investment. PMID:19889211

  20. Compendium of abstracts on statistical applications in geotechnical engineering

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hynes-Griffin, M. E.; Deer, G. W.

    1983-09-01

    The results of a literature search of geotechnical and statistical abstracts are presented in tables listing specific topics, title of the abstract, main author and the file number under which the abstract can be found.

  1. Composing Interfering Abstract Protocols

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-04-01

    Tecnologia , Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Caparica, Portugal. This document is a companion technical report of the paper, “Composing Interfering Abstract...a Ciência e Tecnologia (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) through the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program under grant SFRH / BD / 33765

  2. Cognitive, Noncognitive, and Family Background Contributions to College Attainment: A Behavioral Genetic Perspective.

    PubMed

    McGue, Matt; Rustichini, Aldo; Iacono, William G

    2017-02-01

    There is considerable evidence that college attainment is associated with family background and cognitive and noncognitive skills. Behavioral genetic methods are used to determine whether the family background effect is mediated through cognitive and noncognitive skill development. We analyze data from two longitudinal behavioral genetic studies: the Minnesota Twin Family Study, consisting of 1,382 pairs of like-sex twins and their parents, and the Sibling Interaction and Behavior Study, consisting of 409 adoptive and 208 nonadoptive families with two offspring and their rearing parents. Cognitive ability, noncognitive skills, and family background are all associated with offspring college attainment. Biometric analysis shows that the intergenerational transmission of college attainment owes to both genetic and shared environmental factors. The shared environmental influence was not due to highly educated parents fostering noncognitive skill development in their children, and there was limited evidence that they foster cognitive skill development. The environmental transmission of educational attainment does not appear to be a consequence of highly educated parents fostering cognitive and noncognitive skill development. Alternative mechanisms are needed to explain the strong shared environmental influence on college attainment. Possibilities include academic expectations, social network effects, and the economic benefits of having wealthy parents. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  3. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 06)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1975-01-01

    Patents and applications for patent introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system are cited. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and a key illustration selected from the patent or application for patent. The patent and application for patent citations are indexed according to subject, inventor, source, number, and accession number.

  4. A study of nuclear recoil backgrounds in dark matter detectors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Westerdale, Shawn S.

    Despite the great success of the Standard Model of particle physics, a preponderance of astrophysical evidence suggests that it cannot explain most of the matter in the universe. This so-called dark matter has eluded direct detection, though many theoretical extensions to the Standard Model predict the existence of particles with a mass on the 1-1000 GeV scale that interact only via the weak nuclear force. Particles in this class are referred to as Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), and their high masses and low scattering cross sections make them viable dark matter candidates. The rarity of WIMP-nucleus interactions makes them challenging to detect: any background can mask the signal they produce. Background rejection is therefore a major problem in dark matter detection. Many experiments greatly reduce their backgrounds by employing techniques to reject electron recoils. However, nuclear recoil backgrounds, which produce signals similar to what we expect from WIMPs, remain problematic. There are two primary sources of such backgrounds: surface backgrounds and neutron recoils. Surface backgrounds result from radioactivity on the inner surfaces of the detector sending recoiling nuclei into the detector. These backgrounds can be removed with fiducial cuts, at some cost to the experiment's exposure. In this dissertation we briefly discuss a novel technique for rejecting these events based on signals they make in the wavelength shifter coating on the inner surfaces of some detectors. Neutron recoils result from neutrons scattering off of nuclei in the detector. These backgrounds may produce a signal identical to what we expect from WIMPs and are extensively discussed here. We additionally present a new tool for calculating (alpha, n) yields in various materials. We introduce the concept of a neutron veto system designed to shield against, measure, and provide an anti-coincidence veto signal for background neutrons. We discuss the research and development

  5. A Study of Nuclear Recoil Backgrounds in Dark Matter Detectors

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Westerdale, Shawn S.

    2016-01-01

    Despite the great success of the Standard Model of particle physics, a preponderance of astrophysical evidence suggests that it cannot explain most of the matter in the universe. This so-called dark matter has eluded direct detection, though many theoretical extensions to the Standard Model predict the existence of particles with a mass on themore » $1-1000$ GeV scale that interact only via the weak nuclear force. Particles in this class are referred to as Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), and their high masses and low scattering cross sections make them viable dark matter candidates. The rarity of WIMP-nucleus interactions makes them challenging to detect: any background can mask the signal they produce. Background rejection is therefore a major problem in dark matter detection. Many experiments greatly reduce their backgrounds by employing techniques to reject electron recoils. However, nuclear recoil backgrounds, which produce signals similar to what we expect from WIMPs, remain problematic. There are two primary sources of such backgrounds: surface backgrounds and neutron recoils. Surface backgrounds result from radioactivity on the inner surfaces of the detector sending recoiling nuclei into the detector. These backgrounds can be removed with fiducial cuts, at some cost to the experiment's exposure. In this dissertation we briefly discuss a novel technique for rejecting these events based on signals they make in the wavelength shifter coating on the inner surfaces of some detectors. Neutron recoils result from neutrons scattering from nuclei in the detector. These backgrounds may produce a signal identical to what we expect from WIMPs and are extensively discussed here. We additionally present a new tool for calculating ($$\\alpha$$, n)yields in various materials. We introduce the concept of a neutron veto system designed to shield against, measure, and provide an anti-coincidence veto signal for background neutrons. We discuss the research and

  6. Bilingual Vocational Education. Project Abstracts 1987-1988.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Office of Vocational and Adult Education (ED), Washington, DC.

    Abstracts are provided for 16 bilingual vocational education projects offered in 1987-88. Each abstract provides information on: grantee; state; project title; project director, address, and telephone number; project officer and U.S. Department of Education address; language group(s) served; occupational skills area(s); length of training cycle…

  7. Mobile and Web 2.0 interventions for weight management: an overview of review evidence and its methodological quality

    PubMed Central

    Smith, Jane R.; Samaha, Laya; Abraham, Charles

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Background : The use of Internet and related technologies for promoting weight management (WM), physical activity (PA), or dietary-related behaviours has been examined in many articles and systematic reviews. This overview aims to summarize and assess the quality of the review evidence specifically focusing on mobile and Web 2.0 technologies, which are the most utilized, currently available technologies. Methods: Following a registered protocol (CRD42014010323), we searched 16 databases for articles published in English until 31 December 2014 discussing the use of either mobile or Web 2.0 technologies to promote WM or related behaviors, i.e. diet and physical activity (PA). Two reviewers independently selected reviews and assessed their methodological quality using the AMSTAR checklist. Citation matrices were used to determine the overlap among reviews. Results: Forty-four eligible reviews were identified, 39 of which evaluated the effects of interventions using mobile or Web 2.0 technologies. Methodological quality was generally low with only 7 reviews (16%) meeting the highest standards. Suggestive evidence exists for positive effects of mobile technologies on weight-related outcomes and, to a lesser extent, PA. Evidence is inconclusive regarding Web 2.0 technologies. Conclusions : Reviews on mobile and Web 2.0 interventions for WM and related behaviors suggest that these technologies can, under certain circumstances, be effective, but conclusions are limited by poor review quality based on a heterogeneous evidence base. PMID:27335330

  8. Evidence-based practice guideline of Chinese herbal medicine for primary open-angle glaucoma (qingfeng -neizhang)

    PubMed Central

    Yang, Yingxin; Ma, Qiu-yan; Yang, Yue; He, Yu-peng; Ma, Chao-ting; Li, Qiang; Jin, Ming; Chen, Wei

    2018-01-01

    Abstract Background: Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) is a chronic, progressive optic neuropathy. The aim was to develop an evidence-based clinical practice guideline of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) for POAG with focus on Chinese medicine pattern differentiation and treatment as well as approved herbal proprietary medicine. Methods: The guideline development group involved in various pieces of expertise in contents and methods. Authors searched electronic databases include CNKI, VIP, Sino-Med, Wanfang data, PubMed, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, as well as checked China State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) from the inception of these databases to June 30, 2015. Systematic reviews and randomized controlled trials of Chinese herbal medicine treating adults with POAG were evaluated. Risk of bias tool in the Cochrane Handbook and evidence strength developed by the GRADE group were applied for the evaluation, and recommendations were based on the findings incorporating evidence strength. After several rounds of Expert consensus, the final guideline was endorsed by relevant professional committees. Results: CHM treatment principle and formulae based on pattern differentiation together with approved patent herbal medicines are the main treatments for POAG, and the diagnosis and treatment focusing on blood related patterns is the major domain. Conclusion: CHM therapy alone or combined with other conventional treatment reported in clinical studies together with Expert consensus were recommended for clinical practice. PMID:29595636

  9. Weak evidence on nalmefene creates dilemmas for clinicians and poses questions for regulators and researchers

    PubMed Central

    Angus, Kathryn; Elders, Andrew; de Andrade, Marisa; Raistrick, Duncan; Heather, Nick; McCambridge, Jim

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Background and aims Nalmefene has been approved in Europe for the treatment of alcohol dependence and subsequently recommended by the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). This study examines critically the evidence base underpinning both decisions and the issues arising. Methods Published studies of nalmefene were identified through a systematic search, with documents from the European Medicines Agency, the NICE appraisal and public clinical trial registries also examined to identify methodological issues. Results Efficacy data used to support the licensing of nalmefene suffer from risk of bias due to lack of specification of a priori outcome measures and sensitivity analyses, use of post‐hoc sample refinement and the use of inappropriate comparators. Despite this, evidence for the efficacy of nalmefene in reducing alcohol consumption in those with alcohol dependence is, at best, modest, and of uncertain significance to individual patients. The relevance of existing trial data to routine primary care practice is doubtful. Conclusions Problems with the registration, design, analysis and reporting of clinical trials of nalmefene did not prevent it being licensed and recommended for treating alcohol dependence. This creates dilemmas for primary care clinicians and commissioning organisations where nalmefene has been heavily promoted, and poses wider questions about the effectiveness of the medicines regulation system and how to develop the alcohol treatment evidence base. PMID:27262594

  10. Preparing and presenting effective abstracts and posters in psychiatry

    PubMed Central

    Singh, Manpreet K.

    2014-01-01

    Presenting an abstract and a poster gives scientists from all fields, including psychiatry, an important opportunity to introduce their research to others. Researchers and mental health professionals at all levels of career development can use several media resources to assist them with the technical aspects of preparing an abstract or a poster. This article will focus on major principles associated with preparing and presenting an abstract and a poster at a scientific meeting. A literature search using NIH PubMed was conducted to identify peer and non-peer-reviewed articles that provide methods for effective abstract and poster presentation for the period of 1966 to June 2014. First, we review the purpose and relative importance of abstracts and posters in academic settings. Next, we describe the qualities of an effective abstract and poster and common pitfalls that may occur. Finally, we present a systematic approach to preparing and presenting an abstract and a poster in a scientific setting. Several sources consistently suggest that readability, organization, and succinctness are qualities that make an effective and successful abstract and poster. Mental health professionals in all stages of their career development may benefit from following these guidelines in presenting their scientific work. PMID:25085499

  11. Subsequent publication of oral and maxillofacial surgery meeting abstracts.

    PubMed

    Rodriguez, Joseph L; Laskin, Daniel M

    2012-05-01

    Previous studies in various medical specialties have shown that fewer than 50% of abstracts presented at meetings are subsequently published. The purpose of the present study was to determine the publication rate of abstracts presented at the annual meetings of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. The titles and authors of the abstracts from all oral abstract session presentations and posters by American contributors were collected from the Final Programs of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons annual meetings for 2006 to 2009. A PubMed search for published articles through December 2010 was then performed using the authors' names, abstract titles, and key words. A total of 311 abstract presentations were done at the 4 annual meetings. Of these, only 85 (24%) were subsequently published. No difference was found between abstracts from oral or poster presentations. Most of the articles were published in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Because of deficiencies that can occur in abstracts and the need to disseminate the information they contain, it is important to take the appropriate measures to ensure that full articles are subsequently published. Copyright © 2012 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Preparing and presenting effective abstracts and posters in psychiatry.

    PubMed

    Singh, Manpreet K

    2014-12-01

    Presenting an abstract and a poster gives scientists from all fields, including psychiatry, an important opportunity to introduce their research to others. Researchers and mental health professionals at all levels of career development can use several media resources to assist them with the technical aspects of preparing an abstract or a poster. This article will focus on major principles associated with preparing and presenting an abstract and a poster at a scientific meeting. A literature search using NIH PubMed was conducted to identify peer and nonpeer-reviewed articles that provide methods for effective abstract and poster presentation for the period of 1966 to June 2014. First, the author reviews the purpose and relative importance of abstracts and posters in academic settings. Next, the author describes the qualities of an effective abstract and poster and common pitfalls that may occur. Finally, the author presents a systematic approach to preparing and presenting an abstract and a poster in a scientific setting. Several sources consistently suggest that readability, organization, and succinctness are qualities that make an effective and successful abstract and poster. Mental health professionals in all stages of their career development may benefit from following these guidelines in presenting their scientific work.

  13. ERGONOMICS ABSTRACTS 48347-48982.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ministry of Technology, London (England). Warren Spring Lab.

    IN THIS COLLECTION OF ERGONOMICS ABSTRACTS AND ANNOTATIONS THE FOLLOWING AREAS OF CONCERN ARE REPRESENTED--GENERAL REFERENCES, METHODS, FACILITIES, AND EQUIPMENT RELATING TO ERGONOMICS, SYSTEMS OF MAN AND MACHINES, VISUAL, AUDITORY, AND OTHER SENSORY INPUTS AND PROCESSES (INCLUDING SPEECH AND INTELLIGIBILITY), INPUT CHANNELS, BODY MEASUREMENTS,…

  14. Assume-Guarantee Abstraction Refinement Meets Hybrid Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bogomolov, Sergiy; Frehse, Goran; Greitschus, Marius; Grosu, Radu; Pasareanu, Corina S.; Podelski, Andreas; Strump, Thomas

    2014-01-01

    Compositional verification techniques in the assume- guarantee style have been successfully applied to transition systems to efficiently reduce the search space by leveraging the compositional nature of the systems under consideration. We adapt these techniques to the domain of hybrid systems with affine dynamics. To build assumptions we introduce an abstraction based on location merging. We integrate the assume-guarantee style analysis with automatic abstraction refinement. We have implemented our approach in the symbolic hybrid model checker SpaceEx. The evaluation shows its practical potential. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work combining assume-guarantee reasoning with automatic abstraction-refinement in the context of hybrid automata.

  15. Innovation Abstracts: Volume XI, Numbers 1-30.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roueche, Suanne D., Ed.

    1989-01-01

    This series of one- to two-page abstracts highlights a variety of innovative approaches to teaching and learning in the community college. Topics covered in the abstracts include: (1) cooperative planning for institutional excellence; (2) rewarding scholarship among community college faculty; (3) in-class debates as a learning strategy; (4)…

  16. Abstract processing and observer vantage perspective in dysphoria.

    PubMed

    Hart-Smith, Ly; Moulds, Michelle L

    2018-05-07

    processing and observer vantage perspective have been associated with negative consequences in depression. We investigated the relationship between mode of processing and vantage perspective bidirectionally in high and low dysphoric individuals, using abstract and concrete descriptions of experimenter-provided everyday actions. When vantage perspective was manipulated and processing mode was measured (Study 1a), participants who adopted a field perspective did not differ from those who adopted an observer perspective in their preference for abstract descriptions, irrespective of dysphoria status. When processing mode was manipulated and vantage perspective was measured (Study 1b), participants provided with abstract descriptions had a greater tendency to adopt an observer perspective than those provided with concrete descriptions, irrespective of dysphoria status. These results were replicated in larger online samples (Studies 2a and 2b). Together, they indicate a unidirectional causal relationship, whereby processing mode causally influences vantage perspective, in contrast to the bidirectional relationship previously reported in an unselected sample (Libby, Shaeffer, & Eibach, 2009). Further, these findings demonstrate that abstract processing increases the likelihood of adopting an observer perspective, and support targeting abstract processing in the treatment of depression to address the negative consequences associated with both abstract processing and recalling/imagining events from an observer perspective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  17. The lexical processing of abstract and concrete nouns.

    PubMed

    Papagno, Costanza; Fogliata, Arianna; Catricalà, Eleonora; Miniussi, Carlo

    2009-03-31

    Recent activation studies have suggested different neural correlates for processing concrete and abstract words. However, the precise localization is far from being defined. One reason for the heterogeneity of these results could lie in the extreme variability of experimental paradigms, ranging from explicit semantic judgments to lexical decision tasks (auditory and/or visual). The present study explored the processing of abstract/concrete nouns by using repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) and a lexical decision paradigm in neurologically-unimpaired subjects. Four sites were investigated: left inferior frontal, bilaterally posterior-superior temporal and left posterior-inferior parietal. An interference on accuracy was found for abstract words when rTMS was applied over the left temporal site, while for concrete words accuracy decreased when rTMS was applied over the right temporal site. Accuracy for abstract words, but not for concrete words, decreased after frontal stimulation as compared to the sham condition. These results suggest that abstract lexical entries are stored in the posterior part of the left temporal superior gyrus and possibly in the left frontal inferior gyrus, while the regions involved in storing concrete items include the right temporal cortex. It cannot be excluded, however, that additional areas, not tested in this experiment, are involved in processing both, concrete and abstract nouns.

  18. Search for Linear Polarization of the Cosmic Background Radiation

    DOE R&D Accomplishments Database

    Lubin, P. M.; Smoot, G. F.

    1978-10-01

    We present preliminary measurements of the linear polarization of the cosmic microwave background (3 deg K blackbody) radiation. These ground-based measurements are made at 9 mm wavelength. We find no evidence for linear polarization, and set an upper limit for a polarized component of 0.8 m deg K with a 95% confidence level. This implies that the present rate of expansion of the Universe is isotropic to one part in 10{sup 6}, assuming no re-ionization of the primordial plasma after recombination

  19. 2013 Nutrition Risk Evidence Review Panel. Evidence Review for: The Risk Factor of Inadequate Nutrition

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2014-01-01

    The 2013 Nutrition Risk Standing Review Panel (from here on referred to as the SRP) met for a site visit in Houston, TX on November 20 - 21, 2013. The SRP reviewed the new Evidence Report for the Risk Factor of Inadequate Nutrition (from here on referred to as the 2013 Nutrition Evidence Report), as well as the Research Plan for this Risk. Overall, the SRP thinks the well-qualified research team has compiled an excellent summary of background information in the 2013 Nutrition Evidence Report. The SRP would like to commend the authors in general and particularly note that while the 2013 Nutrition Evidence Report has been written using a single nutrient approach, the research plan takes a much more integrated and physiologically based approach.

  20. Reducing Abstraction in High School Computer Science Education: The Case of Definition, Implementation, and Use of Abstract Data Types

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sakhnini, Victoria; Hazzan, Orit

    2008-01-01

    The research presented in this article deals with the difficulties and mental processes involved in the definition, implementation, and use of abstract data types encountered by 12th grade advanced-level computer science students. Research findings are interpreted within the theoretical framework of "reducing abstraction" [Hazzan 1999]. The…

  1. A matter of font type: The effect of serifs on the evaluation of scientific abstracts.

    PubMed

    Kaspar, Kai; Wehlitz, Thea; von Knobelsdorff, Sara; Wulf, Tim; von Saldern, Marie Antoinette Oktavie

    2015-10-01

    Text-based communication is one of the substantial ways of spreading scientific information. While the content and contextual aspects of written words have been widely researched, the impact of font characteristics on text perception is an almost blank page. The following study deals with the influence of serifs on the evaluation of online-presented scientific abstracts. Yet there is only evidence for faster reading times when texts are presented in sans-serif fonts, although the opposite is stated in parts of the literature. The present work examines if the presence or absence of serifs also have an impact on the appraisal of scientific texts when all other important font characteristics do not change. For this purpose, 188 university students participated in an online experiment and rated different aspects of scientific abstracts as well as of the research outlined in the abstracts. The results show that missing serifs led to increased reading speed. However, and in contrast to the perceptual fluency hypothesis, the presence of serifs had a positive effect on all evaluation dimensions. The results of a second study with 187 participants also indicated that reading fluency counteracted the liking of texts. Implications for future studies and media production are discussed. © 2015 International Union of Psychological Science.

  2. Poster Session- Extended Abstracts

    Treesearch

    Jack D. Alexander III; Jean Findley; Brenda K. Kury; Jan L. Beyers; Douglas S. Cram; Terrell T. Baker; Jon C. Boren; Carl Edminster; Sue A. Ferguson; Steven McKay; David Nagel; Trent Piepho; Miriam Rorig; Casey Anderson; Jeanne Hoadley; Paulette L. Ford; Mark C. Andersen; Ed L. Fredrickson; Joe Truett; Gary W. Roemer; Brenda K. Kury; Jennifer Vollmer; Christine L. May; Danny C. Lee; James P. Menakis; Robert E. Keane; Zhi-Liang Zhu; Carol Miller; Brett Davis; Katharine Gray; Ken Mix; William P. Kuvlesky Jr.; D. Lynn Drawe; Marcia G. Narog; Roger D. Ottmar; Robert E. Vihnanek; Clinton S. Wright; Timothy E. Paysen; Burton K. Pendleton; Rosemary L. Pendleton; Carleton S. White; John Rogan; Doug Stow; Janet Franklin; Jennifer Miller; Lisa Levien; Chris Fischer; Emma Underwood; Robert Klinger; Peggy Moore; Clinton S. Wright

    2008-01-01

    Titles found within Poster Session-Extended Abstracts include:Assessment of emergency fire rehabilitation of four fires from the 2000 fire season on the Vale, Oregon, BLM district: review of the density sampling materials and methods: p. 329 Growth of regreen, seeded for erosion control, in the...

  3. Constructing Abstraction Hierarchies Using a Skill-Symbol Loop

    PubMed Central

    Konidaris, George

    2017-01-01

    We describe a framework for building abstraction hierarchies whereby an agent alternates skill- and representation-construction phases to construct a sequence of increasingly abstract Markov decision processes. Our formulation builds on recent results showing that the appropriate abstract representation of a problem is specified by the agent’s skills. We describe how such a hierarchy can be used for fast planning, and illustrate the construction of an appropriate hierarchy for the Taxi domain. PMID:28579718

  4. Title I, Higher Education Act Program Abstracts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miller, Lorna M., Ed.

    The 1979 edition of the Title I, Higher Education Act Program Abstracts is presented. Directed toward state Title I, HEA administrators, the program abstracts are made available in order to encourage nationwide program replication of those tested and evaluated programs that have been conducted with Title I support by institutions of higher…

  5. Reexamination of mood-mediation hypothesis of background-music-dependent effects in free recall.

    PubMed

    Isarida, Toshiko K; Kubota, Takayuki; Nakajima, Saki; Isarida, Takeo

    2017-03-01

    The present study reexamined the mood-mediation hypothesis for explaining background-music-dependent effects in free recall. Experiments 1 and 2 respectively examined tempo- and tonality-dependent effects in free recall, which had been used as evidence for the mood-mediation hypothesis. In Experiments 1 and 2, undergraduates (n = 75 per experiment) incidentally learned a list of 20 unrelated words presented one by one at a rate of 5 s per word and then received a 30-s delayed oral free-recall test. Throughout the study and test sessions, a piece of music was played. At the time of test, one third of the participants received the same piece of music with the same tempo or tonality as at study, one third heard a different piece with the same tempo or tonality, and one third heard a different piece with a different tempo or tonality. Note that the condition of the same piece with a different tempo or tonality was excluded. Furthermore, the number of sampled pieces of background music was increased compared with previous studies. The results showed neither tempo- nor tonality-dependent effects, but only a background-music-dependent effect. Experiment 3 (n = 40) compared the effects of background music with a verbal association task and focal music (only listening to musical selections) on the participants' moods. The results showed that both the music tempo and tonality influenced the corresponding mood dimensions (arousal and pleasantness). These results are taken as evidence against the mood-mediation hypothesis. Theoretical implications are discussed.

  6. Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Subjects with Type 1 Diabetes: Improvement in Accuracy by Correcting for Background Current

    PubMed Central

    Youssef, Joseph El; Engle, Julia M.; Massoud, Ryan G.; Ward, W. Kenneth

    2010-01-01

    Abstract Background A cause of suboptimal accuracy in amperometric glucose sensors is the presence of a background current (current produced in the absence of glucose) that is not accounted for. We hypothesized that a mathematical correction for the estimated background current of a commercially available sensor would lead to greater accuracy compared to a situation in which we assumed the background current to be zero. We also tested whether increasing the frequency of sensor calibration would improve sensor accuracy. Methods This report includes analysis of 20 sensor datasets from seven human subjects with type 1 diabetes. Data were divided into a training set for algorithm development and a validation set on which the algorithm was tested. A range of potential background currents was tested. Results Use of the background current correction of 4 nA led to a substantial improvement in accuracy (improvement of absolute relative difference or absolute difference of 3.5–5.5 units). An increase in calibration frequency led to a modest accuracy improvement, with an optimum at every 4 h. Conclusions Compared to no correction, a correction for the estimated background current of a commercially available glucose sensor led to greater accuracy and better detection of hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia. The accuracy-optimizing scheme presented here can be implemented in real time. PMID:20879968

  7. Possibilities of identifying cyber attack in noisy space of n-dimensional abstract system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jašek, Roman; Dvořák, Jiří; Janková, Martina; Sedláček, Michal

    2016-06-01

    This article briefly mentions some selected options of current concept for identifying cyber attacks from the perspective of the new cyberspace of real system. In the cyberspace, there is defined n-dimensional abstract system containing elements of the spatial arrangement of partial system elements such as micro-environment of cyber systems surrounded by other suitably arranged corresponding noise space. This space is also gradually supplemented by a new image of dynamic processes in a discreet environment, and corresponding again to n-dimensional expression of time space defining existence and also the prediction for expected cyber attacksin the noise space. Noises are seen here as useful and necessary for modern information and communication technologies (e.g. in processes of applied cryptography in ICT) and then the so-called useless noises designed for initial (necessary) filtering of this highly aggressive environment and in future expectedly offensive background in cyber war (e.g. the destruction of unmanned means of an electromagnetic pulse, or for destruction of new safety barriers created on principles of electrostatic field or on other principles of modern physics, etc.). The key to these new options is the expression of abstract systems based on the models of microelements of cyber systems and their hierarchical concept in structure of n-dimensional system in given cyberspace. The aim of this article is to highlight the possible systemic expression of cyberspace of abstract system and possible identification in time-spatial expression of real environment (on microelements of cyber systems and their surroundings with noise characteristics and time dimension in dynamic of microelements' own time and externaltime defined by real environment). The article was based on a partial task of faculty specific research.

  8. Abstracts of BESRL Research Publications, FY 1969.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brown, Emma E.

    Publications abstracted include Technical Research Reports 1156 and 1157, Technical Research Notes 199 through 210, Research Studies 68-4 through 68-6 and 69-1 through 6910, and Research Memorandums 68-8 through 68-13. Included are descriptions of 19 Work Units covering activities reported in the 33 abstracted publications, a list of regular…

  9. Use of Structure as a Basis for Abstraction in Air Traffic Control

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Davison, Hayley J.; Hansman, R. John

    2004-01-01

    The safety and efficiency of the air traffic control domain is highly dependent on the capabilities and limitations of its human controllers. Past research has indicated that structure provided by the airspace and procedures could aid in simplifying the controllers cognitive tasks. In this paper, observations, interviews, voice command data analyses, and radar analyses were conducted at the Boston Terminal Route Control (TRACON) facility to determine if there was evidence of controllers using structure to simplify their cognitive processes. The data suggest that controllers do use structure-based abstractions to simplify their cognitive processes, particularly the projection task. How structure simplifies the projection task and the implications of understanding the benefits structure provides to the projection task was discussed.

  10. Parent Education: Abstract Bibliography.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kremer, Barbara, Comp.

    This bibliography has been compiled to alert educators to parent education documents found in the ERIC microfiche collection and in journal literature. Abstracts of selected documents have been taken from "Research in Education (RIE)", and journal article citations from the "Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE)". Included are published…

  11. Send Me No Abstract.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Levy, Steven

    1985-01-01

    Discusses Magazine Index's practice of assigning letter grades (sometimes inaccurate) to book, restaurant, and movie reviews, thus allowing patrons to get the point of the review from the index rather than the article itself, and argues that this situation is indicative of the larger problem of reliability of abstracts. (MBR)

  12. Effects of Background Noise on Cortical Encoding of Speech in Autism Spectrum Disorders

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Russo, Nicole; Zecker, Steven; Trommer, Barbara; Chen, Julia; Kraus, Nina

    2009-01-01

    This study provides new evidence of deficient auditory cortical processing of speech in noise in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Speech-evoked responses (approximately 100-300 ms) in quiet and background noise were evaluated in typically-developing (TD) children and children with ASD. ASD responses showed delayed timing (both conditions) and…

  13. High stimulus variability in nonnative speech learning supports formation of abstract categories: evidence from Japanese geminates.

    PubMed

    Sadakata, Makiko; McQueen, James M

    2013-08-01

    This study reports effects of a high-variability training procedure on nonnative learning of a Japanese geminate-singleton fricative contrast. Thirty native speakers of Dutch took part in a 5-day training procedure in which they identified geminate and singleton variants of the Japanese fricative /s/. Participants were trained with either many repetitions of a limited set of words recorded by a single speaker (low-variability training) or with fewer repetitions of a more variable set of words recorded by multiple speakers (high-variability training). Both types of training enhanced identification of speech but not of nonspeech materials, indicating that learning was domain specific. High-variability training led to superior performance in identification but not in discrimination tests, and supported better generalization of learning as shown by transfer from the trained fricatives to the identification of untrained stops and affricates. Variability thus helps nonnative listeners to form abstract categories rather than to enhance early acoustic analysis.

  14. Developing Creativity and Abstraction in Representing Data

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    South, Andy

    2012-01-01

    Creating charts and graphs is all about visual abstraction: the process of representing aspects of data with imagery that can be interpreted by the reader. Children may need help making the link between the "real" and the image. This abstraction can be achieved using symbols, size, colour and position. Where the representation is close to what…

  15. Reporting quality of randomised controlled trial abstracts on age-related macular degeneration health care: a cross-sectional quantification of the adherence to CONSORT abstract reporting recommendations.

    PubMed

    Baulig, Christine; Krummenauer, Frank; Geis, Berit; Tulka, Sabrina; Knippschild, Stephanie

    2018-05-22

    To assess the reporting quality of randomised controlled trial (RCT) abstracts on age-related macular degeneration (AMD) healthcare, to evaluate the adherence to the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) statement's recommendations on minimum abstract information and to identify journal characteristics associated with abstract reporting quality. Cross-sectional evaluation of RCT abstracts on AMD healthcare. A PubMed search was implemented to identify RCT abstracts on AMD healthcare published in the English language between January 2004 and December 2013. Data extraction was performed by two parallel readers independently by means of a documentation format in accordance with the 16 items of the CONSORT checklist for abstracts. The total number of criteria fulfilled by an abstract was derived as primary endpoint of the investigation; incidence rate ratios (IRRs) with unadjusted 95% CI were estimated by means of multiple Poisson regression to identify journal and article characteristics (publication year, multicentre design, structured abstract recommendations, effective sample size, effective abstract word counts and journal impact factor) possibly associated with the total number of fulfilled items. 136 of 673 identified abstracts (published in 36 different journals) fulfilled all eligibility criteria. The median number of fulfilled items was 7 (95% CI 7 to 8). No abstract reported all 16 recommended items; the maximum total number was 14, the minimum 3 of 16 items. Multivariate analysis only demonstrated the abstracts' word counts as being significantly associated with a better reporting of abstracts (Poisson regression-based IRR 1.002, 95% CI 1.001 to 1.003). Reporting quality of RCT abstracts on AMD investigations showed a considerable potential for improvement to meet the CONSORT abstract reporting recommendations. Furthermore, word counts of abstracts were identified as significantly associated with the overall abstract reporting quality.

  16. Spectral feature characterization methods for blood stain detection in crime scene backgrounds

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Jie; Mathew, Jobin J.; Dube, Roger R.; Messinger, David W.

    2016-05-01

    Blood stains are one of the most important types of evidence for forensic investigation. They contain valuable DNA information, and the pattern of the stains can suggest specifics about the nature of the violence that transpired at the scene. Blood spectral signatures containing unique reflectance or absorption features are important both for forensic on-site investigation and laboratory testing. They can be used for target detection and identification applied to crime scene hyperspectral imagery, and also be utilized to analyze the spectral variation of blood on various backgrounds. Non-blood stains often mislead the detection and can generate false alarms at a real crime scene, especially for dark and red backgrounds. This paper measured the reflectance of liquid blood and 9 kinds of non-blood samples in the range of 350 nm - 2500 nm in various crime scene backgrounds, such as pure samples contained in petri dish with various thicknesses, mixed samples with different colors and materials of fabrics, and mixed samples with wood, all of which are examined to provide sub-visual evidence for detecting and recognizing blood from non-blood samples in a realistic crime scene. The spectral difference between blood and non-blood samples are examined and spectral features such as "peaks" and "depths" of reflectance are selected. Two blood stain detection methods are proposed in this paper. The first method uses index to denote the ratio of "depth" minus "peak" over"depth" add"peak" within a wavelength range of the reflectance spectrum. The second method uses relative band depth of the selected wavelength ranges of the reflectance spectrum. Results show that the index method is able to discriminate blood from non-blood samples in most tested crime scene backgrounds, but is not able to detect it from black felt. Whereas the relative band depth method is able to discriminate blood from non-blood samples on all of the tested background material types and colors.

  17. Atypical associations to abstract words in Broca's aphasia.

    PubMed

    Roll, Mikael; Mårtensson, Frida; Sikström, Sverker; Apt, Pia; Arnling-Bååth, Rasmus; Horne, Merle

    2012-09-01

    Left frontal brain lesions are known to give rise to aphasia and impaired word associations. These associations have previously been difficult to analyze. We used a semantic space method to investigate associations to cue words. The degree of abstractness of the generated words and semantic similarity to the cue words were measured. Three subjects diagnosed with Broca's aphasia and twelve control subjects associated freely to cue words. Results were evaluated with latent semantic analysis (LSA) applied to the Swedish Parole corpus. The aphasic subjects could be clearly distinguished from controls by a lower degree of abstractness in the words they generated. The aphasic group's associations showed a negative correlation between semantic similarity to cue word and abstractness of cue word. By developing novel semantic measures, we showed that Broca's aphasic subjects' word production was characterized by a low degree of abstractness and low degree of coherence in associations to abstract cue words. The results support models where meanings of concrete words are represented in neural networks involving perceptual and motor areas, whereas the meaning of abstract words is more dependent on connections to other word forms in the left frontal region. Semantic spaces can be used in future developments of evaluative tools for both diagnosis and research purposes. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Srl. All rights reserved.

  18. Selected Translated Abstracts of Chinese-Language Climate Change Publications

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Cushman, R.M.; Burtis, M.D.

    1999-05-01

    This report contains English-translated abstracts of important Chinese-language literature concerning global climate change for the years 1995-1998. This body of literature includes the topics of adaptation, ancient climate change, climate variation, the East Asia monsoon, historical climate change, impacts, modeling, and radiation and trace-gas emissions. In addition to the biological citations and abstracts translated into English, this report presents the original citations and abstracts in Chinese. Author and title indexes are included to assist the reader in locating abstracts of particular interest.

  19. An Abstract Plan Preparation Language

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Butler, Ricky W.; Munoz, Cesar A.

    2006-01-01

    This paper presents a new planning language that is more abstract than most existing planning languages such as the Planning Domain Definition Language (PDDL) or the New Domain Description Language (NDDL). The goal of this language is to simplify the formal analysis and specification of planning problems that are intended for safety-critical applications such as power management or automated rendezvous in future manned spacecraft. The new language has been named the Abstract Plan Preparation Language (APPL). A translator from APPL to NDDL has been developed in support of the Spacecraft Autonomy for Vehicles and Habitats Project (SAVH) sponsored by the Explorations Technology Development Program, which is seeking to mature autonomy technology for application to the new Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) that will replace the Space Shuttle.

  20. Children and Computers Abstracts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rothenberg, Dianne, Ed.

    1992-01-01

    Abstracts of reports of eight research studies on computer uses in children's education are presented. Topics covered include (1) LOGO computer language; (2) computer graphics for art instruction; (3) animation; (4) problem solving; (5) children's use of symbols; (6) an evaluation of a Chapter 1 program involving children's computer use; (7) peer…

  1. Abstract Film and Beyond.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Le Grice, Malcolm

    A theoretical and historical account of the main preoccupations of makers of abstract films is presented in this book. The book's scope includes discussion of nonrepresentational forms as well as examination of experiments in the manipulation of time in films. The ten chapters discuss the following topics: art and cinematography, the first…

  2. Evidence-based periodontal therapy: An overview

    PubMed Central

    Vijayalakshmi, R.; Anitha, V.; Ramakrishnan, T.; Sudhakar, Uma

    2008-01-01

    Dentists need to make clinical decisions based on limited scientific evidence. In clinical practice, a clinician must weigh a myriad of evidences every day. The goal of evidence-based dentistry is to help practitioners provide their patients with optimal care. This is achieved by integrating sound research evidence with personal clinical expertise and patient values to determine the best course of treatment. Periodontology has a rich background of research and scholarship. Therefore, efficient use of this wealth of research data needs to be a part of periodontal practice. Evidence-based periodontology aims to facilitate such an approach and it offers a bridge from science to clinical practice. The clinician must integrate the evidence with patient preference, scientific knowledge, and personal experience. Most important, it allows us to care for our patients. Therefore, evidence-based periodontology is a tool to support decision-making and integrating the best evidence available with clinical practice. PMID:20142947

  3. Abstract Imagery in Art Therapy: What Does It Mean?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hanes, Michael J.

    1998-01-01

    Explores some of the factors involving abstract imagery in the work of art-therapy patients and presents examples of abstract imagery produced by patients in an acute-patient psychiatric hospital. Examples illustrate that abstract imagery can serve not only a defensive purpose, but a progressive function as well. (Author/MKA)

  4. Current Guidelines Have Limited Applicability to Patients with Comorbid Conditions: A Systematic Analysis of Evidence-Based Guidelines

    PubMed Central

    Lugtenberg, Marjolein; Burgers, Jako S.; Clancy, Carolyn; Westert, Gert P.; Schneider, Eric C.

    2011-01-01

    Background Guidelines traditionally focus on the diagnosis and treatment of single diseases. As almost half of the patients with a chronic disease have more than one disease, the applicability of guidelines may be limited. The aim of this study was to assess the extent that guidelines address comorbidity and to assess the supporting evidence of recommendations related to comorbidity. Methodology/Principal Findings We conducted a systematic analysis of evidence-based guidelines focusing on four highly prevalent chronic conditions with a high impact on quality of life: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, depressive disorder, diabetes mellitus type 2, and osteoarthritis. Data were abstracted from each guideline on the extent that comorbidity was addressed (general comments, specific recommendations), the type of comorbidity discussed (concordant, discordant), and the supporting evidence of the comorbidity-related recommendations (level of evidence, translation of evidence). Of the 20 guidelines, 17 (85%) addressed the issue of comorbidity and 14 (70%) provided specific recommendations on comorbidity. In general, the guidelines included few recommendations on patients with comorbidity (mean 3 recommendations per guideline, range 0 to 26). Of the 59 comorbidity-related recommendations provided, 46 (78%) addressed concordant comorbidities, 8 (14%) discordant comorbidities, and for 5 (8%) the type of comorbidity was not specified. The strength of the supporting evidence was moderate for 25% (15/59) and low for 37% (22/59) of the recommendations. In addition, for 73% (43/59) of the recommendations the evidence was not adequately translated into the guidelines. Conclusions/Significance Our study showed that the applicability of current evidence-based guidelines to patients with comorbid conditions is limited. Most guidelines do not provide explicit guidance on treatment of patients with comorbidity, particularly for discordant combinations. Guidelines should be more

  5. How to prepare and submit abstracts for scientific meetings

    PubMed Central

    Japiassú, Andre Miguel

    2013-01-01

    The presentation of study results is a key step in scientific research, and submitting an abstract to a meeting is often the first form of public communication. Meeting abstracts have a defined structure that is similar to abstracts for scientific articles, with an introduction, the objective, methods, results and conclusions. However, abstracts for meetings are not presented as part of a full article and, therefore, must contain the necessary and most relevant data. In this article, we detail their structure and include tips to make them technically correct. PMID:23917970

  6. How to prepare and submit abstracts for scientific meetings.

    PubMed

    Japiassú, Andre Miguel

    2013-01-01

    The presentation of study results is a key step in scientific research, and submitting an abstract to a meeting is often the first form of public communication. Meeting abstracts have a defined structure that is similar to abstracts for scientific articles, with an introduction, the objective, methods, results and conclusions. However, abstracts for meetings are not presented as part of a full article and, therefore, must contain the necessary and most relevant data. In this article, we detail their structure and include tips to make them technically correct.

  7. Optimal background matching camouflage.

    PubMed

    Michalis, Constantine; Scott-Samuel, Nicholas E; Gibson, David P; Cuthill, Innes C

    2017-07-12

    Background matching is the most familiar and widespread camouflage strategy: avoiding detection by having a similar colour and pattern to the background. Optimizing background matching is straightforward in a homogeneous environment, or when the habitat has very distinct sub-types and there is divergent selection leading to polymorphism. However, most backgrounds have continuous variation in colour and texture, so what is the best solution? Not all samples of the background are likely to be equally inconspicuous, and laboratory experiments on birds and humans support this view. Theory suggests that the most probable background sample (in the statistical sense), at the size of the prey, would, on average, be the most cryptic. We present an analysis, based on realistic assumptions about low-level vision, that estimates the distribution of background colours and visual textures, and predicts the best camouflage. We present data from a field experiment that tests and supports our predictions, using artificial moth-like targets under bird predation. Additionally, we present analogous data for humans, under tightly controlled viewing conditions, searching for targets on a computer screen. These data show that, in the absence of predator learning, the best single camouflage pattern for heterogeneous backgrounds is the most probable sample. © 2017 The Authors.

  8. Supporting Evidence Use in Networked Professional Learning: The Role of the Middle Leader

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    LaPointe-McEwan, Danielle; DeLuca, Christopher; Klinger, Don A.

    2017-01-01

    Background: In Canada, contemporary collaborative professional learning models for educators utilise multiple forms of evidence to inform practice. Commonly, two forms of evidence are prioritised: (a) research-based evidence and (b) classroom-based evidence of student learning. In Ontario, the integration of these two forms of evidence within…

  9. The International College of Neuropsychopharmacology (CINP) Treatment Guidelines for Bipolar Disorder in Adults (CINP-BD-2017), Part 1: Background and Methods of the Development of Guidelines

    PubMed Central

    Young, Allan; Yatham, Lakshmi; Grunze, Heinz; Vieta, Eduard; Blier, Pierre; Moeller, Hans Jurgen; Kasper, Siegfried

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Background: This paper includes a short description of the important clinical aspects of Bipolar Disorder with emphasis on issues that are important for the therapeutic considerations, including mixed and psychotic features, predominant polarity, and rapid cycling as well as comorbidity. Methods: The workgroup performed a review and critical analysis of the literature concerning grading methods and methods for the development of guidelines. Results: The workgroup arrived at a consensus to base the development of the guideline on randomized controlled trials and related meta-analyses alone in order to follow a strict evidence-based approach. A critical analysis of the existing methods for the grading of treatment options was followed by the development of a new grading method to arrive at efficacy and recommendation levels after the analysis of 32 distinct scenarios of available data for a given treatment option. Conclusion: The current paper reports details on the design, method, and process for the development of CINP guidelines for the treatment of Bipolar Disorder. The rationale and the method with which all data and opinions are combined in order to produce an evidence-based operationalized but also user-friendly guideline and a specific algorithm are described in detail in this paper. PMID:27815414

  10. Vocabulary Knowledge Predicts Lexical Processing: Evidence from a Group of Participants with Diverse Educational Backgrounds

    PubMed Central

    Mainz, Nina; Shao, Zeshu; Brysbaert, Marc; Meyer, Antje S.

    2017-01-01

    Vocabulary knowledge is central to a speaker's command of their language. In previous research, greater vocabulary knowledge has been associated with advantages in language processing. In this study, we examined the relationship between individual differences in vocabulary and language processing performance more closely by (i) using a battery of vocabulary tests instead of just one test, and (ii) testing not only university students (Experiment 1) but young adults from a broader range of educational backgrounds (Experiment 2). Five vocabulary tests were developed, including multiple-choice and open antonym and synonym tests and a definition test, and administered together with two established measures of vocabulary. Language processing performance was measured using a lexical decision task. In Experiment 1, vocabulary and word frequency were found to predict word recognition speed while we did not observe an interaction between the effects. In Experiment 2, word recognition performance was predicted by word frequency and the interaction between word frequency and vocabulary, with high-vocabulary individuals showing smaller frequency effects. While overall the individual vocabulary tests were correlated and showed similar relationships with language processing as compared to a composite measure of all tests, they appeared to share less variance in Experiment 2 than in Experiment 1. Implications of our findings concerning the assessment of vocabulary size in individual differences studies and the investigation of individuals from more varied backgrounds are discussed. PMID:28751871

  11. A "how-to" guide in preparing abstracts and poster presentations.

    PubMed

    Boullata, Joseph I; Mancuso, Carissa E

    2007-12-01

    The preparation of an abstract or poster to share information from a project or case report with colleagues is a professional goal for many nutrition support practitioners. This paper provides an approach to help practitioners prepare an abstract for submission and subsequently a poster for presentation at a meeting. A nutrition support question that required collecting and evaluating information, or a unique patient case or case series, can serve as the focus of an abstract and subsequent poster. The professional meeting selected should be appropriate for the abstract topic, and the authors should closely adhere to the organization's abstract submission guidelines. The well-prepared abstract will then serve as the outline for the poster content; the visual aspect of the poster is also important to effectively communicate the information to colleagues at the meeting. Adequate time is required to prepare both the abstract and the poster in order to fittingly reflect the value of the information. Efforts in preparing the abstract will be worthwhile once the abstract has been accepted by reviewers for a poster session at the meeting. Likewise, the effort in preparing the poster in advance allows the presenter to enjoy the poster session and discuss the project with colleagues.

  12. A Pilot Study To Explore How Low-Income Mothers of Different Ethnic/Racial Backgrounds Perceive and Implement Recommended Childhood Obesity Prevention Messages

    PubMed Central

    Vollmer, Rachel L.

    2013-01-01

    Abstract Background Mothers often serve as the “gatekeepers” of food and the eating experience for young children in the home. Children of different ethnic/racial groups have different obesity prevalence rates, but little is known about how mothers of these groups interpret or implement common childhood obesity prevention messages. The purpose of this mixed methods pilot study was to explore comprehension and implementation of common childhood obesity prevention messages and to identify feeding styles among low-income mothers of young children. Methods White, black, and Hispanic low-income mothers (n=30) of children ages 3–10 were recruited from Indiana. Mothers were interviewed individually regarding the perception and implementation of eight commonly used nutrition and/or physical activity messages. Other outcomes included the results of the Caregiver Feeding Styles Questionnaire and self-reported weight of mothers and child(ren). Interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis to find common themes among the different ethnic/racial groups. Results Childhood obesity prevention messages were often interpreted or implemented differently among the different ethnic/racial groups. For example, white mothers cited control as a means to manage a child's weight more often compared to the other racial/ethnic groups, whereas black and Hispanic mothers reported catering to a child's preference more frequently compared to white mothers. Conclusion The pilot study provides evidence that it may be prudent to tailor nutrition messages to mothers of different ethnic/racial backgrounds during nutrition education. PMID:23679199

  13. A Research Synthesis of the Associations between Socioeconomic Background, Inequality, School Climate, and Academic Achievement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Berkowitz, Ruth; Moore, Hadass; Astor, Ron Avi; Benbenishty, Rami

    2017-01-01

    Educational researchers and practitioners assert that supportive school and classroom climates can positively influence the academic outcomes of students, thus potentially reducing academic achievement gaps between students and schools of different socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds. Nonetheless, scientific evidence establishing directional…

  14. Background noise analysis in urban airport surroundings of Brazilian cities, Congonhas Airport, São Paulo

    PubMed Central

    Scatolini, Fabio; Alves, Cláudio Jorge Pinto

    2016-01-01

    ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To perform a quantitative analysis of the background noise at Congonhas Airport surroundings based on large sampling and measurements with no interruption. METHODS Measuring sites were chosen from 62 and 72 DNL (day-night-level) noise contours, in urban sites compatible with residential use. Fifteen sites were monitored for at least 168 hours without interruption or seven consecutive days. Data compilation was based on cross-reference between noise measurements and air traffic control records, and results were validated by airport meteorological reports. Preliminary diagnoses were established using the standard NBR-13368. Background noise values were calculated based on the Sound Exposure Level (SEL). Statistic parameters were calculated in one-hour intervals. RESULTS Only four of the fifteen sites assessed presented aircraft operations as a clear cause for the noise annoyance. Even so, it is possible to detect background noise levels above regulation limits during periods of low airport activity or when it closes at night. CONCLUSIONS All the sites monitored showed background noise levels above regulation limits between 7:00 and 21:00. In the intervals between 6:00-6:59 and 21:00-22:59 the noise data, when analyzed with the current airport operational characteristics, still allow the development of additional mitigating measures. PMID:28099658

  15. Abstraction through Game Play

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Avraamidou, Antri; Monaghan, John; Walker, Aisha

    2012-01-01

    This paper examines the computer game play of an 11-year-old boy. In the course of building a virtual house he developed and used, without assistance, an artefact and an accompanying strategy to ensure that his house was symmetric. We argue that the creation and use of this artefact-strategy is a mathematical abstraction. The discussion…

  16. Reasoning abstractly about resources

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Clement, B.; Barrett, A.

    2001-01-01

    r describes a way to schedule high level activities before distributing them across multiple rovers in order to coordinate the resultant use of shared resources regardless of how each rover decides how to perform its activities. We present an algorithm for summarizing the metric resource requirements of an abstract activity based n the resource usages of its potential refinements.

  17. Improved Upper Limits on the Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background from 2009-2010 LIGO and Virgo Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aasi, J.; Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Abbott, T.; Abernathy, M. R.; Accadia, T.; Acernese, F.; Ackley, K.; Adams, C.; Adams, T.; Addesso, P.; Adhikari, R. X.; Affeldt, C.; Agathos, M.; Aggarwal, N.; Aguiar, O. D.; Ain, A.; Ajith, P.; Alemic, A.; Allen, B.; Allocca, A.; Amariutei, D.; Andersen, M.; Anderson, R.; Anderson, S. B.; Anderson, W. G.; Arai, K.; Araya, M. C.; Arceneaux, C.; Areeda, J.; Aston, S. M.; Astone, P.; Aufmuth, P.; Aulbert, C.; Austin, L.; Aylott, B. E.; Babak, S.; Baker, P. T.; Ballardin, G.; Ballmer, S. W.; Barayoga, J. C.; Barbet, M.; Barish, B. C.; Barker, D.; Barone, F.; Barr, B.; Barsotti, L.; Barsuglia, M.; Barton, M. A.; Bartos, I.; Bassiri, R.; Basti, A.; Batch, J. C.; Bauchrowitz, J.; Bauer, Th. S.; Behnke, B.; Bejger, M.; Beker, M. G.; Belczynski, C.; Bell, A. S.; Bell, C.; Bergmann, G.; Bersanetti, D.; Bertolini, A.; Betzwieser, J.; Beyersdorf, P. T.; Bilenko, I. A.; Billingsley, G.; Birch, J.; Biscans, S.; Bitossi, M.; Bizouard, M. A.; Black, E.; Blackburn, J. K.; Blackburn, L.; Blair, D.; Bloemen, S.; Blom, M.; Bock, O.; Bodiya, T. P.; Boer, M.; Bogaert, G.; Bogan, C.; Bond, C.; Bondu, F.; Bonelli, L.; Bonnand, R.; Bork, R.; Born, M.; Boschi, V.; Bose, Sukanta; Bosi, L.; Bradaschia, C.; Brady, P. R.; Braginsky, V. B.; Branchesi, M.; Brau, J. E.; Briant, T.; Bridges, D. O.; Brillet, A.; Brinkmann, M.; Brisson, V.; Brooks, A. F.; Brown, D. A.; Brown, D. D.; Brückner, F.; Buchman, S.; Bulik, T.; Bulten, H. J.; Buonanno, A.; Burman, R.; Buskulic, D.; Buy, C.; Cadonati, L.; Cagnoli, G.; Bustillo, J. Calderón; Calloni, E.; Camp, J. B.; Campsie, P.; Cannon, K. C.; Canuel, B.; Cao, J.; Capano, C. D.; Carbognani, F.; Carbone, L.; Caride, S.; Castiglia, A.; Caudill, S.; Cavaglià, M.; Cavalier, F.; Cavalieri, R.; Celerier, C.; Cella, G.; Cepeda, C.; Cesarini, E.; Chakraborty, R.; Chalermsongsak, T.; Chamberlin, S. J.; Chao, S.; Charlton, P.; Chassande-Mottin, E.; Chen, X.; Chen, Y.; Chincarini, A.; Chiummo, A.; Cho, H. S.; Chow, J.; Christensen, N.; Chu, Q.; Chua, S. S. Y.; Chung, S.; Ciani, G.; Clara, F.; Clark, J. A.; Cleva, F.; Coccia, E.; Cohadon, P.-F.; Colla, A.; Collette, C.; Colombini, M.; Cominsky, L.; Constancio, M.; Conte, A.; Cook, D.; Corbitt, T. R.; Cordier, M.; Cornish, N.; Corpuz, A.; Corsi, A.; Costa, C. A.; Coughlin, M. W.; Coughlin, S.; Coulon, J.-P.; Countryman, S.; Couvares, P.; Coward, D. M.; Cowart, M.; Coyne, D. C.; Coyne, R.; Craig, K.; Creighton, J. D. E.; Crowder, S. G.; Cumming, A.; Cunningham, L.; Cuoco, E.; Dahl, K.; Canton, T. Dal; Damjanic, M.; Danilishin, S. L.; D'Antonio, S.; Danzmann, K.; Dattilo, V.; Daveloza, H.; Davier, M.; Davies, G. S.; Daw, E. J.; Day, R.; Dayanga, T.; Debreczeni, G.; Degallaix, J.; Deléglise, S.; Del Pozzo, W.; Denker, T.; Dent, T.; Dereli, H.; Dergachev, V.; De Rosa, R.; DeRosa, R. T.; DeSalvo, R.; Dhurandhar, S.; Díaz, M.; Di Fiore, L.; Di Lieto, A.; Di Palma, I.; Di Virgilio, A.; Donath, A.; Donovan, F.; Dooley, K. L.; Doravari, S.; Dossa, S.; Douglas, R.; Downes, T. P.; Drago, M.; Drever, R. W. P.; Driggers, J. C.; Du, Z.; Dwyer, S.; Eberle, T.; Edo, T.; Edwards, M.; Effler, A.; Eggenstein, H.; Ehrens, P.; Eichholz, J.; Eikenberry, S. S.; Endrőczi, G.; Essick, R.; Etzel, T.; Evans, M.; Evans, T.; Factourovich, M.; Fafone, V.; Fairhurst, S.; Fang, Q.; Farinon, S.; Farr, B.; Farr, W. M.; Favata, M.; Fehrmann, H.; Fejer, M. M.; Feldbaum, D.; Feroz, F.; Ferrante, I.; Ferrini, F.; Fidecaro, F.; Finn, L. S.; Fiori, I.; Fisher, R. P.; Flaminio, R.; Fournier, J.-D.; Franco, S.; Frasca, S.; Frasconi, F.; Frede, M.; Frei, Z.; Freise, A.; Frey, R.; Fricke, T. T.; Fritschel, P.; Frolov, V. V.; Fulda, P.; Fyffe, M.; Gair, J.; Gammaitoni, L.; Gaonkar, S.; Garufi, F.; Gehrels, N.; Gemme, G.; Genin, E.; Gennai, A.; Ghosh, S.; Giaime, J. A.; Giardina, K. D.; Giazotto, A.; Gill, C.; Gleason, J.; Goetz, E.; Goetz, R.; Gondan, L.; González, G.; Gordon, N.; Gorodetsky, M. L.; Gossan, S.; Goßler, S.; Gouaty, R.; Gräf, C.; Graff, P. B.; Granata, M.; Grant, A.; Gras, S.; Gray, C.; Greenhalgh, R. J. S.; Gretarsson, A. M.; Groot, P.; Grote, H.; Grover, K.; Grunewald, S.; Guidi, G. M.; Guido, C.; Gushwa, K.; Gustafson, E. K.; Gustafson, R.; Hammer, D.; Hammond, G.; Hanke, M.; Hanks, J.; Hanna, C.; Hanson, J.; Harms, J.; Harry, G. M.; Harry, I. W.; Harstad, E. D.; Hart, M.; Hartman, M. T.; Haster, C.-J.; Haughian, K.; Heidmann, A.; Heintze, M.; Heitmann, H.; Hello, P.; Hemming, G.; Hendry, M.; Heng, I. S.; Heptonstall, A. W.; Heurs, M.; Hewitson, M.; Hild, S.; Hoak, D.; Hodge, K. A.; Holt, K.; Hooper, S.; Hopkins, P.; Hosken, D. J.; Hough, J.; Howell, E. J.; Hu, Y.; Huerta, E.; Hughey, B.; Husa, S.; Huttner, S. H.; Huynh, M.; Huynh-Dinh, T.; Ingram, D. R.; Inta, R.; Isogai, T.; Ivanov, A.; Iyer, B. R.; Izumi, K.; Jacobson, M.; James, E.; Jang, H.; Jaranowski, P.; Ji, Y.; Jiménez-Forteza, F.; Johnson, W. W.; Jones, D. I.; Jones, R.; Jonker, R. J. G.; Ju, L.; Haris, K.; Kalmus, P.; Kalogera, V.; Kandhasamy, S.; Kang, G.; Kanner, J. B.; Karlen, J.; Kasprzack, M.; Katsavounidis, E.; Katzman, W.; Kaufer, H.; Kawabe, K.; Kawazoe, F.; Kéfélian, F.; Keiser, G. M.; Keitel, D.; Kelley, D. B.; Kells, W.; Khalaidovski, A.; Khalili, F. Y.; Khazanov, E. A.; Kim, C.; Kim, K.; Kim, N.; Kim, N. G.; Kim, Y.-M.; King, E. J.; King, P. J.; Kinzel, D. L.; Kissel, J. S.; Klimenko, S.; Kline, J.; Koehlenbeck, S.; Kokeyama, K.; Kondrashov, V.; Koranda, S.; Korth, W. Z.; Kowalska, I.; Kozak, D. B.; Kremin, A.; Kringel, V.; Królak, A.; Kuehn, G.; Kumar, A.; Kumar, P.; Kumar, R.; Kuo, L.; Kutynia, A.; Kwee, P.; Landry, M.; Lantz, B.; Larson, S.; Lasky, P. D.; Lawrie, C.; Lazzarini, A.; Lazzaro, C.; Leaci, P.; Leavey, S.; Lebigot, E. O.; Lee, C.-H.; Lee, H. K.; Lee, H. M.; Lee, J.; Leonardi, M.; Leong, J. R.; Le Roux, A.; Leroy, N.; Letendre, N.; Levin, Y.; Levine, B.; Lewis, J.; Li, T. G. F.; Libbrecht, K.; Libson, A.; Lin, A. C.; Littenberg, T. B.; Litvine, V.; Lockerbie, N. A.; Lockett, V.; Lodhia, D.; Loew, K.; Logue, J.; Lombardi, A. L.; Lorenzini, M.; Loriette, V.; Lormand, M.; Losurdo, G.; Lough, J.; Lubinski, M. J.; Lück, H.; Luijten, E.; Lundgren, A. P.; Lynch, R.; Ma, Y.; Macarthur, J.; Macdonald, E. P.; MacDonald, T.; Machenschalk, B.; MacInnis, M.; Macleod, D. M.; Magana-Sandoval, F.; Mageswaran, M.; Maglione, C.; Mailand, K.; Majorana, E.; Maksimovic, I.; Malvezzi, V.; Man, N.; Manca, G. M.; Mandel, I.; Mandic, V.; Mangano, V.; Mangini, N.; Mantovani, M.; Marchesoni, F.; Marion, F.; Márka, S.; Márka, Z.; Markosyan, A.; Maros, E.; Marque, J.; Martelli, F.; Martin, I. W.; Martin, R. M.; Martinelli, L.; Martynov, D.; Marx, J. N.; Mason, K.; Masserot, A.; Massinger, T. J.; Matichard, F.; Matone, L.; Matzner, R. A.; Mavalvala, N.; Mazumder, N.; Mazzolo, G.; McCarthy, R.; McClelland, D. E.; McGuire, S. C.; McIntyre, G.; McIver, J.; McLin, K.; Meacher, D.; Meadors, G. 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J.; Padilla, C.; Pai, A.; Palashov, O.; Palomba, C.; Pan, H.; Pan, Y.; Pankow, C.; Paoletti, F.; Paoletti, R.; Paris, H.; Pasqualetti, A.; Passaquieti, R.; Passuello, D.; Pedraza, M.; Penn, S.; Perreca, A.; Phelps, M.; Pichot, M.; Pickenpack, M.; Piergiovanni, F.; Pierro, V.; Pinard, L.; Pinto, I. M.; Pitkin, M.; Poeld, J.; Poggiani, R.; Poteomkin, A.; Powell, J.; Prasad, J.; Premachandra, S.; Prestegard, T.; Price, L. R.; Prijatelj, M.; Privitera, S.; Prodi, G. A.; Prokhorov, L.; Puncken, O.; Punturo, M.; Puppo, P.; Qin, J.; Quetschke, V.; Quintero, E.; Quiroga, G.; Quitzow-James, R.; Raab, F. J.; Rabeling, D. S.; Rácz, I.; Radkins, H.; Raffai, P.; Raja, S.; Rajalakshmi, G.; Rakhmanov, M.; Ramet, C.; Ramirez, K.; Rapagnani, P.; Raymond, V.; Re, V.; Read, J.; Reed, C. M.; Regimbau, T.; Reid, S.; Reitze, D. H.; Rhoades, E.; Ricci, F.; Riles, K.; Robertson, N. A.; Robinet, F.; Rocchi, A.; Rodruck, M.; Rolland, L.; Rollins, J. G.; Romano, J. D.; Romano, R.; Romanov, G.; Romie, J. 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L.; Was, M.; Weaver, B.; Wei, L.-W.; Weinert, M.; Weinstein, A. J.; Weiss, R.; Welborn, T.; Wen, L.; Wessels, P.; West, M.; Westphal, T.; Wette, K.; Whelan, J. T.; White, D. J.; Whiting, B. F.; Wiesner, K.; Wilkinson, C.; Williams, K.; Williams, L.; Williams, R.; Williams, T.; Williamson, A. R.; Willis, J. L.; Willke, B.; Wimmer, M.; Winkler, W.; Wipf, C. C.; Wiseman, A. G.; Wittel, H.; Woan, G.; Worden, J.; Yablon, J.; Yakushin, I.; Yamamoto, H.; Yancey, C. C.; Yang, H.; Yang, Z.; Yoshida, S.; Yvert, M.; ZadroŻny, A.; Zanolin, M.; Zendri, J.-P.; Zhang, Fan; Zhang, L.; Zhao, C.; Zhu, X. J.; Zucker, M. E.; Zuraw, S.; Zweizig, J.; LIGO; Virgo Collaboration

    2014-12-01

    Gravitational waves from a variety of sources are predicted to superpose to create a stochastic background. This background is expected to contain unique information from throughout the history of the Universe that is unavailable through standard electromagnetic observations, making its study of fundamental importance to understanding the evolution of the Universe. We carry out a search for the stochastic background with the latest data from the LIGO and Virgo detectors. Consistent with predictions from most stochastic gravitational-wave background models, the data display no evidence of a stochastic gravitational-wave signal. Assuming a gravitational-wave spectrum of ΩGW(f )=Ωα(f/fref ) α , we place 95% confidence level upper limits on the energy density of the background in each of four frequency bands spanning 41.5-1726 Hz. In the frequency band of 41.5-169.25 Hz for a spectral index of α =0 , we constrain the energy density of the stochastic background to be ΩGW(f )<5.6 ×1 0-6 . For the 600-1000 Hz band, ΩGW(f )<0.14 (f /900 Hz )3 , a factor of 2.5 lower than the best previously reported upper limits. We find ΩGW(f )<1.8 ×1 0-4 using a spectral index of zero for 170-600 Hz and ΩGW(f )<1.0 (f /1300 Hz )3 for 1000-1726 Hz, bands in which no previous direct limits have been placed. The limits in these four bands are the lowest direct measurements to date on the stochastic background. We discuss the implications of these results in light of the recent claim by the BICEP2 experiment of the possible evidence for inflationary gravitational waves.

  18. Improved upper limits on the stochastic gravitational-wave background from 2009-2010 LIGO and Virgo data.

    PubMed

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Matone, L; Matzner, R A; Mavalvala, N; Mazumder, N; Mazzolo, G; McCarthy, R; McClelland, D E; McGuire, S C; McIntyre, G; McIver, J; McLin, K; Meacher, D; Meadors, G D; Mehmet, M; Meidam, J; Meinders, M; Melatos, A; Mendell, G; Mercer, R A; Meshkov, S; Messenger, C; Meyers, P; Miao, H; Michel, C; Mikhailov, E E; Milano, L; Milde, S; Miller, J; Minenkov, Y; Mingarelli, C M F; Mishra, C; Mitra, S; Mitrofanov, V P; Mitselmakher, G; Mittleman, R; Moe, B; Moesta, P; Mohan, M; Mohapatra, S R P; Moraru, D; Moreno, G; Morgado, N; Morriss, S R; Mossavi, K; Mours, B; Mow-Lowry, C M; Mueller, C L; Mueller, G; Mukherjee, S; Mullavey, A; Munch, J; Murphy, D; Murray, P G; Mytidis, A; Nagy, M F; Kumar, D Nanda; Nardecchia, I; Naticchioni, L; Nayak, R K; Necula, V; Nelemans, G; Neri, I; Neri, M; Newton, G; Nguyen, T; Nitz, A; Nocera, F; Nolting, D; Normandin, M E N; Nuttall, L K; Ochsner, E; O'Dell, J; Oelker, E; Oh, J J; Oh, S H; Ohme, F; Oppermann, P; O'Reilly, B; O'Shaughnessy, R; Osthelder, C; Ottaway, D J; 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Willis, J L; Willke, B; Wimmer, M; Winkler, W; Wipf, C C; Wiseman, A G; Wittel, H; Woan, G; Worden, J; Yablon, J; Yakushin, I; Yamamoto, H; Yancey, C C; Yang, H; Yang, Z; Yoshida, S; Yvert, M; Zadrożny, A; Zanolin, M; Zendri, J-P; Zhang, Fan; Zhang, L; Zhao, C; Zhu, X J; Zucker, M E; Zuraw, S; Zweizig, J

    2014-12-05

    Gravitational waves from a variety of sources are predicted to superpose to create a stochastic background. This background is expected to contain unique information from throughout the history of the Universe that is unavailable through standard electromagnetic observations, making its study of fundamental importance to understanding the evolution of the Universe. We carry out a search for the stochastic background with the latest data from the LIGO and Virgo detectors. Consistent with predictions from most stochastic gravitational-wave background models, the data display no evidence of a stochastic gravitational-wave signal. Assuming a gravitational-wave spectrum of Ω_{GW}(f)=Ω_{α}(f/f_{ref})^{α}, we place 95% confidence level upper limits on the energy density of the background in each of four frequency bands spanning 41.5-1726 Hz. In the frequency band of 41.5-169.25 Hz for a spectral index of α=0, we constrain the energy density of the stochastic background to be Ω_{GW}(f)<5.6×10^{-6}. For the 600-1000 Hz band, Ω_{GW}(f)<0.14(f/900  Hz)^{3}, a factor of 2.5 lower than the best previously reported upper limits. We find Ω_{GW}(f)<1.8×10^{-4} using a spectral index of zero for 170-600 Hz and Ω_{GW}(f)<1.0(f/1300  Hz)^{3} for 1000-1726 Hz, bands in which no previous direct limits have been placed. The limits in these four bands are the lowest direct measurements to date on the stochastic background. We discuss the implications of these results in light of the recent claim by the BICEP2 experiment of the possible evidence for inflationary gravitational waves.

  19. Land Application of Sewage Effluents and Sludges: Selected Abstracts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC. Office of Research and Development.

    This report contains 568 selected abstracts concerned with the land application of sewage effluents and sludges. The abstracts are arranged in chronological groupings of ten-year periods from the l940's to the mid-l970's. The report also includes an author index and a subject matter index to facilitate reference to specific abstracts or narrower…

  20. Orthopaedic Section Poster Presentations (Abstracts OPO1-OPO300).

    PubMed

    2018-01-01

    These abstracts are presented here as prepared by the authors. The accuracy and content of each abstract remain the responsibility of the authors. In the identification number above each abstract, OPO designates an Orthopaedic Section poster presentation. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2018;48(1):A67-A202. doi:10.2519/jospt.2018.48.1.A67.

  1. Controlling Low-Rate Signal Path Microdischarge for an Ultra-Low-Background Proportional Counter

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Mace, Emily K.; Aalseth, Craig E.; Bonicalzi, Ricco

    2013-05-01

    ABSTRACT Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has developed an ultra-low-background proportional counter (ULBPC) made of high purity copper. These detectors are part of an ultra-low-background counting system (ULBCS) in the newly constructed shallow underground laboratory at PNNL (at a depth of ~30 meters water-equivalent). To control backgrounds, the current preamplifier electronics are located outside the ULBCS shielding. Thus the signal from the detector travels through ~1 meter of cable and is potentially susceptible to high voltage microdischarge and other sources of electronic noise. Based on initial successful tests, commercial cables and connectors were used for this critical signal path. Subsequentmore » testing across different batches of commercial cables and connectors, however, showed unwanted (but still low) rates of microdischarge noise. To control this noise source, two approaches were pursued: first, to carefully validate cables, connectors, and other commercial components in this critical signal path, making modifications where necessary; second, to develop a custom low-noise, low-background preamplifier that can be integrated with the ULBPC and thus remove most commercial components from the critical signal path. This integrated preamplifier approach is based on the Amptek A250 low-noise charge-integrating preamplifier module. The initial microdischarge signals observed are presented and characterized according to the suspected source. Each of the approaches for mitigation is described, and the results from both are compared with each other and with the original performance seen with commercial cables and connectors.« less

  2. Early development of abstract language knowledge: evidence from perception–production transfer of birth-language memory

    PubMed Central

    Cutler, Anne; Broersma, Mirjam

    2017-01-01

    Children adopted early in life into another linguistic community typically forget their birth language but retain, unaware, relevant linguistic knowledge that may facilitate (re)learning of birth-language patterns. Understanding the nature of this knowledge can shed light on how language is acquired. Here, international adoptees from Korea with Dutch as their current language, and matched Dutch-native controls, provided speech production data on a Korean consonantal distinction unlike any Dutch distinctions, at the outset and end of an intensive perceptual training. The productions, elicited in a repetition task, were identified and rated by Korean listeners. Adoptees' production scores improved significantly more across the training period than control participants' scores, and, for adoptees only, relative production success correlated significantly with the rate of learning in perception (which had, as predicted, also surpassed that of the controls). Of the adoptee group, half had been adopted at 17 months or older (when talking would have begun), while half had been prelinguistic (under six months). The former group, with production experience, showed no advantage over the group without. Thus the adoptees' retained knowledge of Korean transferred from perception to production and appears to be abstract in nature rather than dependent on the amount of experience. PMID:28280567

  3. Abstract rule learning in 11- and 14-month-old infants.

    PubMed

    Koulaguina, Elena; Shi, Rushen

    2013-02-01

    This study tests the hypothesis that distributional information can guide infants in the generalization of word order movement rules at the initial stage of language acquisition. Participants were 11- and 14-month-old infants. Stimuli were sentences in Russian, a language that was unknown to our infants. During training the word order of each sentence was transformed following a consistent pattern (e.g., ABC-BAC). During the test phase infants heard novel sentences that respected the trained rule and ones that violated the trained rule (i.e., a different transformation such as ABC-ACB). Stimuli words had highly variable phonological and morphological shapes. The cue available was the positional information of words and their non-adjacent relations across sentences. We found that 14-month-olds, but not 11-month-olds, showed evidence of abstract rule generalization to novel instances. The implications of this finding to early syntactic acquisition are discussed.

  4. DSH abstract: coverage of the world communicative disorders literature.

    PubMed

    Seaton, W H; Williams, D M

    1982-06-01

    The percentage of journal articles covered by dsh Abstracts and the time it took these articles to appear as abstracts in this secondary publication were analyzed. Articles were obtained from nineteen communicative disorders journals every other year for the years from 1968 to 1976. Then the author index of dsh Abstracts was searched each year for up to five years following journal publication to determine whether each article was included in this abstracting service's coverage of the world literature. Of the 5548 articles included in the study, 3270 (59%) were covered by this abstracting service within a mean time of 9 months; however, time lag and coverage varied considerably for individual journals on a year by year basis. It was concluded that for historical searches and current awareness needs this secondary publication may not be meeting the information needs of communicative disorders specialists.

  5. Background sources at PEP

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lynch, H.; Schwitters, R.F.; Toner, W.T.

    Important sources of background for PEP experiments are studied. Background particles originate from high-energy electrons and positrons which have been lost from stable orbits, ..gamma..-rays emitted by the primary beams through bremsstrahlung in the residual gas, and synchrotron radiation x-rays. The effect of these processes on the beam lifetime are calculated and estimates of background rates at the interaction region are given. Recommendations for the PEP design, aimed at minimizing background are presented. 7 figs., 4 tabs.

  6. Automatic evidence quality prediction to support evidence-based decision making.

    PubMed

    Sarker, Abeed; Mollá, Diego; Paris, Cécile

    2015-06-01

    Evidence-based medicine practice requires practitioners to obtain the best available medical evidence, and appraise the quality of the evidence when making clinical decisions. Primarily due to the plethora of electronically available data from the medical literature, the manual appraisal of the quality of evidence is a time-consuming process. We present a fully automatic approach for predicting the quality of medical evidence in order to aid practitioners at point-of-care. Our approach extracts relevant information from medical article abstracts and utilises data from a specialised corpus to apply supervised machine learning for the prediction of the quality grades. Following an in-depth analysis of the usefulness of features (e.g., publication types of articles), they are extracted from the text via rule-based approaches and from the meta-data associated with the articles, and then applied in the supervised classification model. We propose the use of a highly scalable and portable approach using a sequence of high precision classifiers, and introduce a simple evaluation metric called average error distance (AED) that simplifies the comparison of systems. We also perform elaborate human evaluations to compare the performance of our system against human judgments. We test and evaluate our approaches on a publicly available, specialised, annotated corpus containing 1132 evidence-based recommendations. Our rule-based approach performs exceptionally well at the automatic extraction of publication types of articles, with F-scores of up to 0.99 for high-quality publication types. For evidence quality classification, our approach obtains an accuracy of 63.84% and an AED of 0.271. The human evaluations show that the performance of our system, in terms of AED and accuracy, is comparable to the performance of humans on the same data. The experiments suggest that our structured text classification framework achieves evaluation results comparable to those of human performance

  7. Upper Limits on the Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background from Advanced LIGO's First Observing Run.

    PubMed

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Landry, M; Lang, R N; Lange, J; Lantz, B; Lanza, R K; Lartaux-Vollard, A; Lasky, P D; Laxen, M; Lazzarini, A; Lazzaro, C; Leaci, P; Leavey, S; Lebigot, E O; Lee, C H; Lee, H K; Lee, H M; Lee, K; Lehmann, J; Lenon, A; Leonardi, M; Leong, J R; Leroy, N; Letendre, N; Levin, Y; Li, T G F; Libson, A; Littenberg, T B; Liu, J; Lockerbie, N A; Lombardi, A L; London, L T; Lord, J E; Lorenzini, M; Loriette, V; Lormand, M; Losurdo, G; Lough, J D; Lovelace, G; Lück, H; Lundgren, A P; Lynch, R; Ma, Y; Macfoy, S; Machenschalk, B; MacInnis, M; Macleod, D M; Magaña-Sandoval, F; Majorana, E; Maksimovic, I; Malvezzi, V; Man, N; Mandic, V; Mangano, V; Mansell, G L; Manske, M; Mantovani, M; Marchesoni, F; Marion, F; Márka, S; Márka, Z; Markosyan, A S; Maros, E; Martelli, F; Martellini, L; Martin, I W; Martynov, D V; Mason, K; Masserot, A; Massinger, T J; Masso-Reid, M; Mastrogiovanni, S; Matas, A; Matichard, F; Matone, L; Mavalvala, N; Mazumder, N; McCarthy, R; McClelland, D E; McCormick, S; McGrath, C; McGuire, S C; McIntyre, G; McIver, J; McManus, D J; McRae, T; McWilliams, S T; Meacher, D; Meadors, G D; Meidam, J; Melatos, A; Mendell, G; Mendoza-Gandara, D; Mercer, R A; Merilh, E L; Merzougui, M; Meshkov, S; Messenger, C; Messick, C; Metzdorff, R; Meyers, P M; Mezzani, F; Miao, H; Michel, C; Middleton, H; Mikhailov, E E; Milano, L; Miller, A L; Miller, A; Miller, B B; Miller, J; Millhouse, M; Minenkov, Y; Ming, J; Mirshekari, S; Mishra, C; Mitra, S; Mitrofanov, V P; Mitselmakher, G; Mittleman, R; Moggi, A; Mohan, M; Mohapatra, S R P; Montani, M; Moore, B C; Moore, C J; Moraru, D; Moreno, G; Morriss, S R; Mours, B; Mow-Lowry, C M; Mueller, G; Muir, A W; Mukherjee, Arunava; Mukherjee, D; Mukherjee, S; Mukund, N; Mullavey, A; Munch, J; Muniz, E A M; Murray, P G; Mytidis, A; Napier, K; Nardecchia, I; Naticchioni, L; Nelemans, G; Nelson, T J N; Neri, M; Nery, M; Neunzert, A; Newport, J M; Newton, G; Nguyen, T T; Nielsen, A B; Nissanke, S; Nitz, A; Noack, A; Nocera, F; Nolting, D; Normandin, M E N; Nuttall, L K; 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Yvert, M; Zadrożny, A; Zangrando, L; Zanolin, M; Zendri, J-P; Zevin, M; Zhang, L; Zhang, M; Zhang, T; Zhang, Y; Zhao, C; Zhou, M; Zhou, Z; Zhu, S J; Zhu, X J; Zucker, M E; Zweizig, J

    2017-03-24

    A wide variety of astrophysical and cosmological sources are expected to contribute to a stochastic gravitational-wave background. Following the observations of GW150914 and GW151226, the rate and mass of coalescing binary black holes appear to be greater than many previous expectations. As a result, the stochastic background from unresolved compact binary coalescences is expected to be particularly loud. We perform a search for the isotropic stochastic gravitational-wave background using data from Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory's (aLIGO) first observing run. The data display no evidence of a stochastic gravitational-wave signal. We constrain the dimensionless energy density of gravitational waves to be Ω_{0}<1.7×10^{-7} with 95% confidence, assuming a flat energy density spectrum in the most sensitive part of the LIGO band (20-86 Hz). This is a factor of ∼33 times more sensitive than previous measurements. We also constrain arbitrary power-law spectra. Finally, we investigate the implications of this search for the background of binary black holes using an astrophysical model for the background.

  8. Upper Limits on the Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background from Advanced LIGO's First Observing Run

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Abbott, T. D.; Abernathy, M. R.; Acernese, F.; Ackley, K.; Adams, C.; Adams, T.; Addesso, P.; Adhikari, R. X.; Adya, V. B.; Affeldt, C.; Agathos, M.; Agatsuma, K.; Aggarwal, N.; Aguiar, O. D.; Aiello, L.; Ain, A.; Ajith, P.; Allen, B.; Allocca, A.; Altin, P. A.; Ananyeva, A.; Anderson, S. B.; Anderson, W. G.; Appert, S.; Arai, K.; Araya, M. C.; Areeda, J. S.; Arnaud, N.; Arun, K. G.; Ascenzi, S.; Ashton, G.; Ast, M.; Aston, S. M.; Astone, P.; Aufmuth, P.; Aulbert, C.; Avila-Alvarez, A.; Babak, S.; Bacon, P.; Bader, M. K. M.; Baker, P. T.; Baldaccini, F.; Ballardin, G.; Ballmer, S. W.; Barayoga, J. C.; Barclay, S. E.; Barish, B. C.; Barker, D.; Barone, F.; Barr, B.; Barsotti, L.; Barsuglia, M.; Barta, D.; Bartlett, J.; Bartos, I.; Bassiri, R.; Basti, A.; Batch, J. C.; Baune, C.; Bavigadda, V.; Bazzan, M.; Beer, C.; Bejger, M.; Belahcene, I.; Belgin, M.; Bell, A. S.; Berger, B. K.; Bergmann, G.; Berry, C. P. 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M.; Everett, R.; Factourovich, M.; Fafone, V.; Fair, H.; Fairhurst, S.; Fan, X.; Farinon, S.; Farr, B.; Farr, W. M.; Fauchon-Jones, E. J.; Favata, M.; Fays, M.; Fehrmann, H.; Fejer, M. M.; Fernández Galiana, A.; Ferrante, I.; Ferreira, E. C.; Ferrini, F.; Fidecaro, F.; Fiori, I.; Fiorucci, D.; Fisher, R. P.; Flaminio, R.; Fletcher, M.; Fong, H.; Forsyth, S. S.; Fournier, J.-D.; Frasca, S.; Frasconi, F.; Frei, Z.; Freise, A.; Frey, R.; Frey, V.; Fries, E. M.; Fritschel, P.; Frolov, V. V.; Fulda, P.; Fyffe, M.; Gabbard, H.; Gadre, B. U.; Gaebel, S. M.; Gair, J. R.; Gammaitoni, L.; Gaonkar, S. G.; Garufi, F.; Gaur, G.; Gayathri, V.; Gehrels, N.; Gemme, G.; Genin, E.; Gennai, A.; George, J.; Gergely, L.; Germain, V.; Ghonge, S.; Ghosh, Abhirup; Ghosh, Archisman; Ghosh, S.; Giaime, J. A.; Giardina, K. D.; Giazotto, A.; Gill, K.; Glaefke, A.; Goetz, E.; Goetz, R.; Gondan, L.; González, G.; Gonzalez Castro, J. M.; Gopakumar, A.; Gorodetsky, M. L.; Gossan, S. E.; Gosselin, M.; Gouaty, R.; Grado, A.; Graef, C.; Granata, M.; Grant, A.; Gras, S.; Gray, C.; Greco, G.; Green, A. C.; Groot, P.; Grote, H.; Grunewald, S.; Guidi, G. M.; Guo, X.; Gupta, A.; Gupta, M. K.; Gushwa, K. E.; Gustafson, E. K.; Gustafson, R.; Hacker, J. J.; Hall, B. R.; Hall, E. D.; Hammond, G.; Haney, M.; Hanke, M. M.; Hanks, J.; Hanna, C.; Hannam, M. D.; Hanson, J.; Hardwick, T.; Harms, J.; Harry, G. M.; Harry, I. W.; Hart, M. J.; Hartman, M. T.; Haster, C.-J.; Haughian, K.; Healy, J.; Heidmann, A.; Heintze, M. C.; Heitmann, H.; Hello, P.; Hemming, G.; Hendry, M.; Heng, I. S.; Hennig, J.; Henry, J.; Heptonstall, A. W.; Heurs, M.; Hild, S.; Hoak, D.; Hofman, D.; Holt, K.; Holz, D. E.; Hopkins, P.; Hough, J.; Houston, E. A.; Howell, E. J.; Hu, Y. M.; Huerta, E. A.; Huet, D.; Hughey, B.; Husa, S.; Huttner, S. H.; Huynh-Dinh, T.; Indik, N.; Ingram, D. R.; Inta, R.; Isa, H. N.; Isac, J.-M.; Isi, M.; Isogai, T.; Iyer, B. R.; Izumi, K.; Jacqmin, T.; Jani, K.; Jaranowski, P.; Jawahar, S.; Jiménez-Forteza, F.; Johnson, W. W.; Jones, D. I.; Jones, R.; Jonker, R. J. G.; Ju, L.; Junker, J.; Kalaghatgi, C. V.; Kalogera, V.; Kandhasamy, S.; Kang, G.; Kanner, J. B.; Karki, S.; Karvinen, K. S.; Kasprzack, M.; Katsavounidis, E.; Katzman, W.; Kaufer, S.; Kaur, T.; Kawabe, K.; Kéfélian, F.; Keitel, D.; Kelley, D. B.; Kennedy, R.; Key, J. S.; Khalili, F. Y.; Khan, I.; Khan, S.; Khan, Z.; Khazanov, E. A.; Kijbunchoo, N.; Kim, Chunglee; Kim, J. C.; Kim, Whansun; Kim, W.; Kim, Y.-M.; Kimbrell, S. J.; King, E. J.; King, P. J.; Kirchhoff, R.; Kissel, J. S.; Klein, B.; Kleybolte, L.; Klimenko, S.; Koch, P.; Koehlenbeck, S. M.; Koley, S.; Kondrashov, V.; Kontos, A.; Korobko, M.; Korth, W. Z.; Kowalska, I.; Kozak, D. B.; Krämer, C.; Kringel, V.; Królak, A.; Kuehn, G.; Kumar, P.; Kumar, R.; Kuo, L.; Kutynia, A.; Lackey, B. D.; Landry, M.; Lang, R. N.; Lange, J.; Lantz, B.; Lanza, R. K.; Lartaux-Vollard, A.; Lasky, P. D.; Laxen, M.; Lazzarini, A.; Lazzaro, C.; Leaci, P.; Leavey, S.; Lebigot, E. O.; Lee, C. H.; Lee, H. K.; Lee, H. M.; Lee, K.; Lehmann, J.; Lenon, A.; Leonardi, M.; Leong, J. R.; Leroy, N.; Letendre, N.; Levin, Y.; Li, T. G. F.; Libson, A.; Littenberg, T. B.; Liu, J.; Lockerbie, N. A.; Lombardi, A. L.; London, L. T.; Lord, J. E.; Lorenzini, M.; Loriette, V.; Lormand, M.; Losurdo, G.; Lough, J. D.; Lovelace, G.; Lück, H.; Lundgren, A. P.; Lynch, R.; Ma, Y.; Macfoy, S.; Machenschalk, B.; MacInnis, M.; Macleod, D. M.; Magaña-Sandoval, F.; Majorana, E.; Maksimovic, I.; Malvezzi, V.; Man, N.; Mandic, V.; Mangano, V.; Mansell, G. L.; Manske, M.; Mantovani, M.; Marchesoni, F.; Marion, F.; Márka, S.; Márka, Z.; Markosyan, A. S.; Maros, E.; Martelli, F.; Martellini, L.; Martin, I. W.; Martynov, D. V.; Mason, K.; Masserot, A.; Massinger, T. J.; Masso-Reid, M.; Mastrogiovanni, S.; Matas, A.; Matichard, F.; Matone, L.; Mavalvala, N.; Mazumder, N.; McCarthy, R.; McClelland, D. E.; McCormick, S.; McGrath, C.; McGuire, S. C.; McIntyre, G.; McIver, J.; McManus, D. J.; McRae, T.; McWilliams, S. T.; Meacher, D.; Meadors, G. D.; Meidam, J.; Melatos, A.; Mendell, G.; Mendoza-Gandara, D.; Mercer, R. A.; Merilh, E. L.; Merzougui, M.; Meshkov, S.; Messenger, C.; Messick, C.; Metzdorff, R.; Meyers, P. M.; Mezzani, F.; Miao, H.; Michel, C.; Middleton, H.; Mikhailov, E. E.; Milano, L.; Miller, A. L.; Miller, A.; Miller, B. B.; Miller, J.; Millhouse, M.; Minenkov, Y.; Ming, J.; Mirshekari, S.; Mishra, C.; Mitra, S.; Mitrofanov, V. P.; Mitselmakher, G.; Mittleman, R.; Moggi, A.; Mohan, M.; Mohapatra, S. R. P.; Montani, M.; Moore, B. C.; Moore, C. J.; Moraru, D.; Moreno, G.; Morriss, S. R.; Mours, B.; Mow-Lowry, C. M.; Mueller, G.; Muir, A. W.; Mukherjee, Arunava; Mukherjee, D.; Mukherjee, S.; Mukund, N.; Mullavey, A.; Munch, J.; Muniz, E. A. M.; Murray, P. G.; Mytidis, A.; Napier, K.; Nardecchia, I.; Naticchioni, L.; Nelemans, G.; Nelson, T. J. N.; Neri, M.; Nery, M.; Neunzert, A.; Newport, J. M.; Newton, G.; Nguyen, T. T.; Nielsen, A. B.; Nissanke, S.; Nitz, A.; Noack, A.; Nocera, F.; Nolting, D.; Normandin, M. E. N.; Nuttall, L. K.; Oberling, J.; Ochsner, E.; Oelker, E.; Ogin, G. H.; Oh, J. J.; Oh, S. H.; Ohme, F.; Oliver, M.; Oppermann, P.; Oram, Richard J.; O'Reilly, B.; O'Shaughnessy, R.; Ottaway, D. J.; Overmier, H.; Owen, B. J.; Pace, A. E.; Page, J.; Pai, A.; Pai, S. A.; Palamos, J. R.; Palashov, O.; Palomba, C.; Pal-Singh, A.; Pan, H.; Pankow, C.; Pannarale, F.; Pant, B. C.; Paoletti, F.; Paoli, A.; Papa, M. A.; Paris, H. R.; Parker, W.; Pascucci, D.; Pasqualetti, A.; Passaquieti, R.; Passuello, D.; Patricelli, B.; Pearlstone, B. L.; Pedraza, M.; Pedurand, R.; Pekowsky, L.; Pele, A.; Penn, S.; Perez, C. J.; Perreca, A.; Perri, L. M.; Pfeiffer, H. P.; Phelps, M.; Piccinni, O. J.; Pichot, M.; Piergiovanni, F.; Pierro, V.; Pillant, G.; Pinard, L.; Pinto, I. M.; Pitkin, M.; Poe, M.; Poggiani, R.; Popolizio, P.; Post, A.; Powell, J.; Prasad, J.; Pratt, J. W. W.; Predoi, V.; Prestegard, T.; Prijatelj, M.; Principe, M.; Privitera, S.; Prodi, G. A.; Prokhorov, L. G.; Puncken, O.; Punturo, M.; Puppo, P.; Pürrer, M.; Qi, H.; Qin, J.; Qiu, S.; Quetschke, V.; Quintero, E. A.; Quitzow-James, R.; Raab, F. J.; Rabeling, D. S.; Radkins, H.; Raffai, P.; Raja, S.; Rajan, C.; Rakhmanov, M.; Rapagnani, P.; Raymond, V.; Razzano, M.; Re, V.; Read, J.; Regimbau, T.; Rei, L.; Reid, S.; Reitze, D. H.; Rew, H.; Reyes, S. D.; Rhoades, E.; Ricci, F.; Riles, K.; Rizzo, M.; Robertson, N. A.; Robie, R.; Robinet, F.; Rocchi, A.; Rolland, L.; Rollins, J. G.; Roma, V. J.; Romano, J. D.; Romano, R.; Romie, J. H.; Rosińska, D.; Rowan, S.; Rüdiger, A.; Ruggi, P.; Ryan, K.; Sachdev, S.; Sadecki, T.; Sadeghian, L.; Sakellariadou, M.; Salconi, L.; Saleem, M.; Salemi, F.; Samajdar, A.; Sammut, L.; Sampson, L. M.; Sanchez, E. J.; Sandberg, V.; Sanders, J. R.; Sassolas, B.; Sathyaprakash, B. S.; Saulson, P. R.; Sauter, O.; Savage, R. L.; Sawadsky, A.; Schale, P.; Scheuer, J.; Schlassa, S.; Schmidt, E.; Schmidt, J.; Schmidt, P.; Schnabel, R.; Schofield, R. M. S.; Schönbeck, A.; Schreiber, E.; Schuette, D.; Schutz, B. F.; Schwalbe, S. G.; Scott, J.; Scott, S. M.; Sellers, D.; Sengupta, A. S.; Sentenac, D.; Sequino, V.; Sergeev, A.; Setyawati, Y.; Shaddock, D. A.; Shaffer, T. J.; Shahriar, M. S.; Shapiro, B.; Shawhan, P.; Sheperd, A.; Shoemaker, D. H.; Shoemaker, D. M.; Siellez, K.; Siemens, X.; Sieniawska, M.; Sigg, D.; Silva, A. D.; Singer, A.; Singer, L. P.; Singh, A.; Singh, R.; Singhal, A.; Sintes, A. M.; Slagmolen, B. J. J.; Smith, B.; Smith, J. R.; Smith, R. J. E.; Son, E. J.; Sorazu, B.; Sorrentino, F.; Souradeep, T.; Spencer, A. P.; Srivastava, A. K.; Staley, A.; Steinke, M.; Steinlechner, J.; Steinlechner, S.; Steinmeyer, D.; Stephens, B. C.; Stevenson, S. P.; Stone, R.; Strain, K. A.; Straniero, N.; Stratta, G.; Strigin, S. E.; Sturani, R.; Stuver, A. L.; Summerscales, T. Z.; Sun, L.; Sunil, S.; Sutton, P. J.; Swinkels, B. L.; Szczepańczyk, M. J.; Tacca, M.; Talukder, D.; Tanner, D. B.; Tao, D.; Tápai, M.; Taracchini, A.; Taylor, R.; Theeg, T.; Thomas, E. G.; Thomas, M.; Thomas, P.; Thorne, K. A.; Thrane, E.; Tippens, T.; Tiwari, S.; Tiwari, V.; Tokmakov, K. V.; Toland, K.; Tomlinson, C.; Tonelli, M.; Tornasi, Z.; Torrie, C. I.; Töyrä, D.; Travasso, F.; Traylor, G.; Trifirò, D.; Trinastic, J.; Tringali, M. C.; Trozzo, L.; Tse, M.; Tso, R.; Turconi, M.; Tuyenbayev, D.; Ugolini, D.; Unnikrishnan, C. S.; Urban, A. L.; Usman, S. A.; Vahlbruch, H.; Vajente, G.; Valdes, G.; van Bakel, N.; van Beuzekom, M.; van den Brand, J. F. J.; Van Den Broeck, C.; Vander-Hyde, D. C.; van der Schaaf, L.; van Heijningen, J. V.; van Veggel, A. A.; Vardaro, M.; Varma, V.; Vass, S.; Vasúth, M.; Vecchio, A.; Vedovato, G.; Veitch, J.; Veitch, P. J.; Venkateswara, K.; Venugopalan, G.; Verkindt, D.; Vetrano, F.; Viceré, A.; Viets, A. D.; Vinciguerra, S.; Vine, D. J.; Vinet, J.-Y.; Vitale, S.; Vo, T.; Vocca, H.; Vorvick, C.; Voss, D. V.; Vousden, W. D.; Vyatchanin, S. P.; Wade, A. R.; Wade, L. E.; Wade, M.; Walker, M.; Wallace, L.; Walsh, S.; Wang, G.; Wang, H.; Wang, M.; Wang, Y.; Ward, R. L.; Warner, J.; Was, M.; Watchi, J.; Weaver, B.; Wei, L.-W.; Weinert, M.; Weinstein, A. J.; Weiss, R.; Wen, L.; Weßels, P.; Westphal, T.; Wette, K.; Whelan, J. T.; Whiting, B. F.; Whittle, C.; Williams, D.; Williams, R. D.; Williamson, A. R.; Willis, J. L.; Willke, B.; Wimmer, M. H.; Winkler, W.; Wipf, C. C.; Wittel, H.; Woan, G.; Woehler, J.; Worden, J.; Wright, J. L.; Wu, D. S.; Wu, G.; Yam, W.; Yamamoto, H.; Yancey, C. C.; Yap, M. J.; Yu, Hang; Yu, Haocun; Yvert, M.; ZadroŻny, A.; Zangrando, L.; Zanolin, M.; Zendri, J.-P.; Zevin, M.; Zhang, L.; Zhang, M.; Zhang, T.; Zhang, Y.; Zhao, C.; Zhou, M.; Zhou, Z.; Zhu, S. J.; Zhu, X. J.; Zucker, M. E.; Zweizig, J.; LIGO Scientific Collaboration; Virgo Collaboration

    2017-03-01

    A wide variety of astrophysical and cosmological sources are expected to contribute to a stochastic gravitational-wave background. Following the observations of GW150914 and GW151226, the rate and mass of coalescing binary black holes appear to be greater than many previous expectations. As a result, the stochastic background from unresolved compact binary coalescences is expected to be particularly loud. We perform a search for the isotropic stochastic gravitational-wave background using data from Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory's (aLIGO) first observing run. The data display no evidence of a stochastic gravitational-wave signal. We constrain the dimensionless energy density of gravitational waves to be Ω0<1.7 ×10-7 with 95% confidence, assuming a flat energy density spectrum in the most sensitive part of the LIGO band (20-86 Hz). This is a factor of ˜33 times more sensitive than previous measurements. We also constrain arbitrary power-law spectra. Finally, we investigate the implications of this search for the background of binary black holes using an astrophysical model for the background.

  9. Detection prospects of the cosmic neutrino background

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Yu-Feng

    2015-04-01

    The existence of the cosmic neutrino background (CνB) is a fundamental prediction of the standard Big Bang cosmology. Although current cosmological probes provide indirect observational evidence, the direct detection of the CνB in a laboratory experiment is a great challenge to the present experimental techniques. We discuss the future prospects for the direct detection of the CνB, with the emphasis on the method of captures on beta-decaying nuclei and the PTOLEMY project. Other possibilities using the electron-capture (EC) decaying nuclei, the annihilation of extremely high-energy cosmic neutrinos (EHECνs) at the Z-resonance, and the atomic de-excitation method are also discussed in this review (talk given at the International Conference on Massive Neutrinos, Singapore, 9-13 February 2015).

  10. Studies of the extreme ultraviolet/soft x-ray background

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Stern, R.A.

    1978-01-01

    The results of an extensive sky survey of the extreme ultraviolet (EUV)/soft x-ray background are reported. The data were obtained with a focusing telescope designed and calibrated at U.C. Berkeley which observed EUV sources and the diffuse background as part of the Apollo-Soyuz mission in July, 1975. With a primary field-of-view of 2.3 + 0.1/sup 0/ FWHM and four EUV bandpass filters (16 to 25, 20 to 73, 80 to 108, and 80 to 250 eV) the EUV telescope obtained background data included in the final observational sample for 21 discrete sky locations and 11 large angular scans, as wellmore » as for a number of shorter observations. Analysis of the data reveals as intense flux above 80 eV energy, with upper limits to the background intensity given for the lower energy filters Ca 2 x 10/sup 4/ and 6 x 10/sup 2/ ph cm/sup -2/ sec/sup -1/ ster/sup -1/ eV/sup -1/ at 21 and 45 eV respectively). The 80 to 108 eV flux agrees within statistical errors with the earlier results of Cash, Malina and Stern (1976): the Apollo-Soyuz average reported intensity is 4.0 +- 1.3 ph cm/sup -2/ sec/sup -1/ ster/sup -1/ eV/sup -1/ at Ca 100 eV, or roughly a factor of ten higher than the corresponding 250 eV intensity. The uniformity of the background flux is uncertain due to limitations in the statistical accuracy of the data; upper limits to the point-to-point standard deviation of the background intensity are (..delta..I/I approximately less than 0.8 +- 0.4 (80 to 108 eV) and approximately less than 0.4 +- 0.2 (80 to 250 eV). No evidence is found for a correlation between the telescope count rate and earth-based parameters (zenith angle, sun angle, etc.) for E approximately greater than 80 eV (the lower energy bandpasses are significantly affected by scattered solar radiation. Unlike some previous claims for the soft x-ray background, no simple dependence upon galactic latitude is seen.« less

  11. Possibilities of identifying cyber attack in noisy space of n-dimensional abstract system

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jašek, Roman; Dvořák, Jiří; Janková, Martina

    This article briefly mentions some selected options of current concept for identifying cyber attacks from the perspective of the new cyberspace of real system. In the cyberspace, there is defined n-dimensional abstract system containing elements of the spatial arrangement of partial system elements such as micro-environment of cyber systems surrounded by other suitably arranged corresponding noise space. This space is also gradually supplemented by a new image of dynamic processes in a discreet environment, and corresponding again to n-dimensional expression of time space defining existence and also the prediction for expected cyber attacksin the noise space. Noises are seen heremore » as useful and necessary for modern information and communication technologies (e.g. in processes of applied cryptography in ICT) and then the so-called useless noises designed for initial (necessary) filtering of this highly aggressive environment and in future expectedly offensive background in cyber war (e.g. the destruction of unmanned means of an electromagnetic pulse, or for destruction of new safety barriers created on principles of electrostatic field or on other principles of modern physics, etc.). The key to these new options is the expression of abstract systems based on the models of microelements of cyber systems and their hierarchical concept in structure of n-dimensional system in given cyberspace. The aim of this article is to highlight the possible systemic expression of cyberspace of abstract system and possible identification in time-spatial expression of real environment (on microelements of cyber systems and their surroundings with noise characteristics and time dimension in dynamic of microelements’ own time and externaltime defined by real environment). The article was based on a partial task of faculty specific research.« less

  12. 3D Visualizations of Abstract DataSets

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-08-01

    contrasts no shadows, drop shadows and drop lines. 15. SUBJECT TERMS 3D displays, 2.5D displays, abstract network visualizations, depth perception , human...altitude perception in airspace management and airspace route planning—simulated reality visualizations that employ altitude and heading as well as...cues employed by display designers for depicting real-world scenes on a flat surface can be applied to create a perception of depth for abstract

  13. Brain network response underlying decisions about abstract reinforcers.

    PubMed

    Mills-Finnerty, Colleen; Hanson, Catherine; Hanson, Stephen Jose

    2014-12-01

    Decision making studies typically use tasks that involve concrete action-outcome contingencies, in which subjects do something and get something. No studies have addressed decision making involving abstract reinforcers, where there are no action-outcome contingencies and choices are entirely hypothetical. The present study examines these kinds of choices, as well as whether the same biases that exist for concrete reinforcer decisions, specifically framing effects, also apply during abstract reinforcer decisions. We use both General Linear Model as well as Bayes network connectivity analysis using the Independent Multi-sample Greedy Equivalence Search (IMaGES) algorithm to examine network response underlying choices for abstract reinforcers under positive and negative framing. We find for the first time that abstract reinforcer decisions activate the same network of brain regions as concrete reinforcer decisions, including the striatum, insula, anterior cingulate, and VMPFC, results that are further supported via comparison to a meta-analysis of decision making studies. Positive and negative framing activated different parts of this network, with stronger activation in VMPFC during negative framing and in DLPFC during positive, suggesting different decision making pathways depending on frame. These results were further clarified using connectivity analysis, which revealed stronger connections between anterior cingulate, insula, and accumbens during negative framing compared to positive. Taken together, these results suggest that not only do abstract reinforcer decisions rely on the same brain substrates as concrete reinforcers, but that the response underlying framing effects on abstract reinforcers also resemble those for concrete reinforcers, specifically increased limbic system connectivity during negative frames. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. The role of evidence based medicine in neurotrauma.

    PubMed

    Honeybul, S; Ho, K M

    2015-04-01

    The introduction of evidence based medicine de-emphasised clinical experience and so-called "background information" and stressed the importance of evidence gained from clinical research when making clinical decisions. For many years randomised controlled trials have been seen to be the only way to advance clinical practice, however, applying this methodology in the context of severe trauma can be problematic. In addition, it is increasingly recognised that considerable clinical experience is required in order to critically evaluate the quality of the evidence and the validity of the conclusions as presented. A contemporary example is seen when considering the role of decompressive craniectomy in the management of neurotrauma. Although there is a considerable amount of evidence available attesting to the efficacy of the procedure, considerable clinical expertise is required in order to properly interpret the results of these studies and the implications for clinical practice. Given these limitations the time may have come for a redesign of the traditional pyramid of evidence, to a model that re-emphasises the importance of "background information" such as pathophysiology and acknowledges the role of clinical experience such that the evidence can be critically evaluated in its appropriate context and the subsequent implications for clinical practice be clearly and objectively defined. Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. International symposium on erosion and landscape evolution abstracts

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    This book contains all of the extended abstracts from the ASABE specialty conference, the International Symposium on Erosion and Landscape Evolution (ISELE), held September 18-21, 2011 at the Hilton Anchorage Hotel in Anchorage, Alaska. Three extended abstracts from the meeting keynote speakers as ...

  16. Abstracts of Research, July 1973 through June 1974.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ohio State Univ., Columbus. Computer and Information Science Research Center.

    Abstracts of research papers in the fields of computer and information science are given; 72 papers are abstracted in the areas of information storage and retrieval, information processing, linguistic analysis, artificial intelligence, mathematical techniques, systems programing, and computer networks. In addition, the Ohio State University…

  17. Odors and Air Pollution: A Bibliography with Abstracts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC. Office of Air Programs.

    The annotated bibliography presents a compilation of abstracts which deal with odors as they relate to air pollution. The abstracts are arranged within the following categories: Emission sources; Control methods; Measurement methods; Air quality measurements; Atmospheric interaction; Basic science and technology; Effects-human health;…

  18. Blazar Gamma-Rays, Shock Acceleration, and the Extragalactic Background Light

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stecker, Floyd W.; Baring, Matthew G.; Summerlin, Errol J.

    2007-01-01

    The observed spectra of blazars, their intrinsic emission, and the underlying populations of radiating particles are intimately related. The use of these sources as probes of the extragalactic infrared background, a prospect propelled by recent advances in TeV-band telescopes, soon to be augmented by observations by NASA's upcoming Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), has been a topic of great recent interest. Here, it is demonstrated that if particles in blazar jets are accelerated at relativistic shocks, then GAMMA-ray spectra with indices less than 1.5 can be produced. This, in turn, loosens the upper limits on the near infrared extragalactic background radiation previously proposed. We also show evidence hinting that TeV blazars with flatter spectra have higher intrinsic TeV GAMMA-ray luminosities and we indicate that there may be a correlation of flatness and luminosity with redshift.

  19. New Spectral Evidence of an Unaccounted Component of the Near-infrared Extragalactic Background Light from the CIBER

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Matsuura, Shuji; Arai, Toshiaki; Bock, James J.; Cooray, Asantha; Korngut, Phillip M.; Kim, Min Gyu; Lee, Hyung Mok; Lee, Dae Hee; Levenson, Louis R.; Matsumoto, Toshio; Onishi, Yosuke; Shirahata, Mai; Tsumura, Kohji; Wada, Takehiko; Zemcov, Michael

    2017-04-01

    The extragalactic background light (EBL) captures the total integrated emission from stars and galaxies throughout the cosmic history. The amplitude of the near-infrared EBL from space absolute photometry observations has been controversial and depends strongly on the modeling and subtraction of the zodiacal light (ZL) foreground. We report the first measurement of the diffuse background spectrum at 0.8-1.7 μm from the CIBER experiment. The observations were obtained with an absolute spectrometer over two flights in multiple sky fields to enable the subtraction of ZL, stars, terrestrial emission, and diffuse Galactic light. After subtracting foregrounds and accounting for systematic errors, we find the nominal EBL brightness, assuming the Kelsall ZL model, is {42.7}-10.6+11.9 nW m-2 sr-1 at 1.4 μm. We also analyzed the data using the Wright ZL model, which results in a worse statistical fit to the data and an unphysical EBL, falling below the known background light from galaxies at λ < 1.3 μm. Using a model-independent analysis based on the minimum EBL brightness, we find an EBL brightness of {28.7}-3.3+5.1 nWm-2 sr-1 at 1.4 μm. While the derived EBL amplitude strongly depends on the ZL model, we find that we cannot fit the spectral data to ZL, Galactic emission, and EBL from solely integrated galactic light from galaxy counts. The results require a new diffuse component, such as an additional foreground or an excess EBL with a redder spectrum than that of ZL.

  20. Differential emotional processing in concrete and abstract words.

    PubMed

    Yao, Bo; Keitel, Anne; Bruce, Gillian; Scott, Graham G; O'Donnell, Patrick J; Sereno, Sara C

    2018-02-12

    Emotion (positive and negative) words are typically recognized faster than neutral words. Recent research suggests that emotional valence, while often treated as a unitary semantic property, may be differentially represented in concrete and abstract words. Studies that have explicitly examined the interaction of emotion and concreteness, however, have demonstrated inconsistent patterns of results. Moreover, these findings may be limited as certain key lexical variables (e.g., familiarity, age of acquisition) were not taken into account. We investigated the emotion-concreteness interaction in a large-scale, highly controlled lexical decision experiment. A 3 (Emotion: negative, neutral, positive) × 2 (Concreteness: abstract, concrete) design was used, with 45 items per condition and 127 participants. We found a significant interaction between emotion and concreteness. Although positive and negative valenced words were recognized faster than neutral words, this emotion advantage was significantly larger in concrete than in abstract words. We explored potential contributions of participant alexithymia level and item imageability to this interactive pattern. We found that only word imageability significantly modulated the emotion-concreteness interaction. While both concrete and abstract emotion words are advantageously processed relative to comparable neutral words, the mechanisms of this facilitation are paradoxically more dependent on imageability in abstract words. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  1. Editors' Introduction: Abstract Concepts: Structure, Processing, and Modeling.

    PubMed

    Bolognesi, Marianna; Steen, Gerard

    2018-06-22

    Our ability to deal with abstract concepts is one of the most intriguing faculties of human cognition. Still, we know little about how such concepts are formed, processed, and represented in mind. For example, because abstract concepts do not designate referents that can be experienced through our body, the role of perceptual experiences in shaping their content remains controversial. Current theories suggest a variety of alternative explanations to the question of "how abstract concepts are represented in the human mind." These views pinpoint specific streams of semantic information that would play a prominent role in shaping the content of abstract concepts, such as situation-based information (e.g., Barsalou & Wiemer-Hastings, ), affective information (Kousta, Vigliocco, Vinson, Andrews, & Del Campo, ), and linguistic information (Louwerse, ). Rarely, these theoretical views are directly compared. In this special issue, current views are presented in their most recent and advanced form, and directly compared and discussed in a debate, which is reported at the end of each article. As a result, new exciting questions and challenges arise. These questions and challenges, reported in this introductory article, can arguably pave the way to new empirical studies and theoretical developments on the nature of abstract concepts. © 2018 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  2. Cognitive and anatomic double dissociation in the representation of concrete and abstract words in semantic variant and behavioral variant frontotemporal degeneration.

    PubMed

    Cousins, Katheryn A Q; York, Collin; Bauer, Laura; Grossman, Murray

    2016-04-01

    We examine the anatomic basis for abstract and concrete lexical representations in semantic memory by assessing patients with focal neurodegenerative disease. Prior evidence from healthy adult studies suggests that there may be an anatomical dissociation between abstract and concrete representations: abstract words more strongly activate the left inferior frontal gyrus relative to concrete words, while concrete words more strongly activate left anterior-inferior temporal regions. However, this double dissociation has not been directly examined. We test this dissociation in two patient groups with focal cortical atrophy in each of these regions, the behavioral variant of Frontotemporal Degeneration (bvFTD) and the semantic variant of Primary Progressive Aphasia (svPPA). We administered an associativity judgment task for abstract and concrete words, where subjects select which of two words is best associated with a given target word. Both bvFTD and svPPA patients were significantly impaired in their overall performance compared to controls. While controls treated concrete and abstract words equally, we found a category-specific double dissociation in patients' judgments: bvFTD patients showed a concreteness effect (CE), with significantly worse performance for abstract compared to concrete words, while svPPA patients showed reversal of the CE, with significantly worse performance for concrete over abstract words. Regression analyses also revealed an anatomic double dissociation: The CE is associated with inferior frontal atrophy in bvFTD, while reversal of the CE is associated with left anterior-inferior temporal atrophy in svPPA. These results support a cognitive and anatomic model of semantic memory organization where abstract and concrete representations are supported by dissociable neuroanatomic substrates. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. The Paradox of Abstraction: Precision Versus Concreteness.

    PubMed

    Iliev, Rumen; Axelrod, Robert

    2017-06-01

    We introduce a novel measure of abstractness based on the amount of information of a concept computed from its position in a semantic taxonomy. We refer to this measure as precision. We propose two alternative ways to measure precision, one based on the path length from a concept to the root of the taxonomic tree, and another one based on the number of direct and indirect descendants. Since more information implies greater processing load, we hypothesize that nouns higher in precision will have a processing disadvantage in a lexical decision task. We contrast precision to concreteness, a common measure of abstractness based on the proportion of sensory-based information associated with a concept. Since concreteness facilitates cognitive processing, we predict that while both concreteness and precision are measures of abstractness, they will have opposite effects on performance. In two studies we found empirical support for our hypothesis. Precision and concreteness had opposite effects on latency and accuracy in a lexical decision task, and these opposite effects were observable while controlling for word length, word frequency, affective content and semantic diversity. Our results support the view that concepts organization includes amodal semantic structures which are independent of sensory information. They also suggest that we should distinguish between sensory-based and amount-of-information-based abstractness.

  4. A bibliometric review of published abstracts presented at the Dysphagia Research Society: 2001-2011.

    PubMed

    Plowman, Emily K; Mehdizadeh, Omid; Leder, Steven B; Martino, Rosemary; Belafsky, Peter C

    2013-06-01

    The purpose of this investigation was to perform a comprehensive bibliometric review of published abstracts presented at the Dysphagia Research Society between 2001 and 2011 in order to delineate research trends, identify knowledge gaps, and recommend areas for future dysphagia research. All 972 research abstracts, both oral and poster presentations, were included. Study designs included cross-sectional (n = 333, 34.4 %), cohort (n = 279, 28.8 %), and case series (n = 210, 21.7 %), while randomized controlled trials constituted only 3.3 % (n = 32) of all research presentations. Levels of evidence were assigned based on analysis of abstract details, as level 1 (n = 29, 3.0 %), level 2 (n = 639, 65.7 %), level 3 (n = 53, 5.5 %), level 4 (n = 243, 25.0 %), and level 5 (n = 8, 0.8 %). Research topics included normal swallowing pathophysiology (n = 279, 28.7 %), swallowing physiology (n = 266, 27.4 %), swallowing diagnosis (n = 192, 19.7 %), swallowing treatment (n = 165, 17.0 %), clinical policy and practice (n = 36, 3.7 %), and basic science (n = 34, 3.5 %). Research occurred in adults (n = 861, 88.6 %), pediatrics (n = 76, 7.8 %), animals (n = 29, 3.0 %), cadavers (n = 3, 0.3 %), and mechanical models (n = 3, 0.3 %). Presenting authors represented 14 different disciplines, with the majority in speech-language pathology, dentistry, basic science, and otolaryngology. Research was performed in 14 different countries with increased geographical diversity during the decade of analysis. Research recommendations derived from our findings call for increased (1) randomized controlled clinical trials consistent with level 1 evidence, (2) focus on pediatric feeding and swallowing, (3) use of animal models to study swallowing dysfunction and novel treatments, and (4) investigations from additional medical specialties. In addition, we applaud current trends and encourage continued support of interdisciplinary

  5. Abstract Algebra for Teachers: An Evaluative Case Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hoffman, Andrew Joseph

    2017-01-01

    This manuscript describes the study of an abstract algebra course for preservice secondary mathematics teachers (PSMTs). Often, courses in abstract algebra have not been viewed as productive, beneficial learning experiences for future teachers, both by researchers and PSMTs themselves. This despite calls for increased content knowledge for…

  6. Grasping the invisible: semantic processing of abstract words.

    PubMed

    Zdrazilova, Lenka; Pexman, Penny M

    2013-12-01

    The problem of how abstract word meanings are represented has been a challenging one. In the present study, we extended the semantic richness approach (e.g., Yap, Tan, Pexman, & Hargreaves in Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 18:742-750, 2011) to abstract words, examining the effects of six semantic richness variables on lexical-semantic processing for 207 abstract nouns. The candidate richness dimensions were context availability (CA), sensory experience rating (SER), valence, arousal, semantic neighborhood (SN), and number of associates (NoA). The behavioral tasks were lexical decision (LDT) and semantic categorization (SCT). Our results showed that the semantic richness variables were significantly related to both LDT and SCT latencies, even after lexical and orthographic factors were controlled. The patterns of richness effects varied across tasks, with CA effects in the LDT, and SER and valence effects in the SCT. These results provide new insight into how abstract meanings may be grounded, and are consistent with a dynamic, multidimensional framework for semantic processing.

  7. Automatic evidence retrieval for systematic reviews.

    PubMed

    Choong, Miew Keen; Galgani, Filippo; Dunn, Adam G; Tsafnat, Guy

    2014-10-01

    Snowballing involves recursively pursuing relevant references cited in the retrieved literature and adding them to the search results. Snowballing is an alternative approach to discover additional evidence that was not retrieved through conventional search. Snowballing's effectiveness makes it best practice in systematic reviews despite being time-consuming and tedious. Our goal was to evaluate an automatic method for citation snowballing's capacity to identify and retrieve the full text and/or abstracts of cited articles. Using 20 review articles that contained 949 citations to journal or conference articles, we manually searched Microsoft Academic Search (MAS) and identified 78.0% (740/949) of the cited articles that were present in the database. We compared the performance of the automatic citation snowballing method against the results of this manual search, measuring precision, recall, and F1 score. The automatic method was able to correctly identify 633 (as proportion of included citations: recall=66.7%, F1 score=79.3%; as proportion of citations in MAS: recall=85.5%, F1 score=91.2%) of citations with high precision (97.7%), and retrieved the full text or abstract for 490 (recall=82.9%, precision=92.1%, F1 score=87.3%) of the 633 correctly retrieved citations. The proposed method for automatic citation snowballing is accurate and is capable of obtaining the full texts or abstracts for a substantial proportion of the scholarly citations in review articles. By automating the process of citation snowballing, it may be possible to reduce the time and effort of common evidence surveillance tasks such as keeping trial registries up to date and conducting systematic reviews.

  8. Abstracts of ARI Research Publications, FY 1979

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1980-11-01

    Technical Report 483 ABSTRACTS OF ARI RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS FY 1979 -- C:) U. S . ArmyL.) LAa Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social...U. S . ARMY RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR THE BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES A Field Operating Agency under the Jurisdiction of the Deputy Chief of Staff...PIEIT’S ATALOG NUMBER Technical Report 483 l L~,2 y. (-P- NUZE 4. TITLE (nd Subtfti.) S . TYPE OF REPORT & PERIOD COVERED ABSTRACTS OF ARI RESEARCH

  9. Evidence, Interpretation, and Persuasion: Instructional Decision Making at the District Central Office

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Coburn, Cynthia E.; Toure, Judith; Yamashita, Mika

    2009-01-01

    Background/Context: Calls for evidence-based decision making have become increasingly prominent on the educational landscape. School district central offices increasingly experience these demands. Yet there are few empirical studies of evidence use at the district level. Furthermore, research on evidence use among policy makers in noneducation…

  10. Honors Dissertation Abstracts: A Bounded Qualitative Meta-Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Holman, Debra K.; Banning, James H.

    2012-01-01

    A potential source of useful information about undergraduate honors education can be found in doctoral dissertation abstracts that focus on honors. Debra Holman and James Banning of Colorado State University sought to explore this resource by undertaking a bounded qualitative meta-study of such abstracts using document analysis. Three…

  11. Generating effective project scheduling heuristics by abstraction and reconstitution

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Janakiraman, Bhaskar; Prieditis, Armand

    1992-01-01

    A project scheduling problem consists of a finite set of jobs, each with fixed integer duration, requiring one or more resources such as personnel or equipment, and each subject to a set of precedence relations, which specify allowable job orderings, and a set of mutual exclusion relations, which specify jobs that cannot overlap. No job can be interrupted once started. The objective is to minimize project duration. This objective arises in nearly every large construction project--from software to hardware to buildings. Because such project scheduling problems are NP-hard, they are typically solved by branch-and-bound algorithms. In these algorithms, lower-bound duration estimates (admissible heuristics) are used to improve efficiency. One way to obtain an admissible heuristic is to remove (abstract) all resources and mutual exclusion constraints and then obtain the minimal project duration for the abstracted problem; this minimal duration is the admissible heuristic. Although such abstracted problems can be solved efficiently, they yield inaccurate admissible heuristics precisely because those constraints that are central to solving the original problem are abstracted. This paper describes a method to reconstitute the abstracted constraints back into the solution to the abstracted problem while maintaining efficiency, thereby generating better admissible heuristics. Our results suggest that reconstitution can make good admissible heuristics even better.

  12. Enhancements to the NASA Astrophysics Science Information and Abstract Service

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kurtz, M. J.; Eichhorn, G.; Accomazzi, A.; Grant, C. S.; Murray, S. S.

    1995-05-01

    The NASA Astrophysics Data System Astrophysics Science Information and Abstract Service, the extension of the ADS Abstract Service continues rapidly to expand in both use and capabilities. Each month the service is used by about 4,000 different people, and returns about 1,000,000 pieces of bibliographic information. Among the recent additions to the system are: 1. Whole Text Access. In addition to the ApJ Letters we now have whole text for the ApJ on-line, soon we will have AJ and Rev. Mexicana. Discussions with other publishers are in progress. 2. Space Instrumentation Database. We now provide a second abstract service, covering papers related to space instruments. This is larger than the astronomy and astrophysics database in terms of total abstracts. 3. Reference Books and Historical Journals. We have begun putting the SAO Annals and the HCO Annals on-line. We have put the Handbook of Space Astronomy and Astrophysics by M.V. Zombeck (Cambridge U.P.) on-line. 4. Author Abstracts. We can now include original abstracts in addition to those we get from the NASA STI Abstracts Database. We have included abstracts for A&A in collaboration with the CDS in Strasbourg, and are collaborating with the AAS and the ASP on others. We invite publishers and editors of journals and conference proceedings to include their original abstracts in our service; send inquiries via e-mail to ads@cfa.harvard.edu. 5. Author Notes. We now accept notes and comments from authors of articles in our database. These are arbitrary html files and may contain pointers to other WWW documents, they are listed along with the abstracts, whole text, and data available in the index listing for every reference. The ASIAS is available at: http://adswww.harvard.edu/

  13. Use of abstraction regime and knowledge of hydrogeological conditions to control high-fluoride concentration in abstracted groundwater: San Luis Potosí basin, Mexico

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Carrillo-Rivera, J. J.; Cardona, A.; Edmunds, W. M.

    2002-04-01

    Significant amounts of fluoride are found in the abstracted groundwater of San Luis Potosí. This groundwater withdrawal induces a cold, low-fluoride flow as well as deeper thermal fluoride-rich flow in various proportions. Flow mixing takes place depending on the abstraction regime, local hydrogeology, and borehole construction design and operation. Fluoride concentrations (≈3.7 mg l -1) could become higher still, in time and space, if the input of regional fluoride-rich water to the abstraction boreholes is enhanced. It is suggested that by controlling the abstraction well-head water temperature at 28-30 °C, a pumped water mixture with a fluoride content close to the maximum drinking water standard of 1.5 mg l -1 will be produced. Further, new boreholes and those already operating could take advantage of fluoride solubility controls to reduce the F concentration in the abstracted water by considering lithology and borehole construction design in order to regulate groundwater flow conditions.

  14. Investigating the Effects of Background Knowledge on Chinese Word Processing during Text Reading: Evidence from Eye Movements

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jian, Yu-Cin; Ko, Hwa-Wei

    2014-01-01

    This study investigates the effects of background knowledge on Chinese word processing during silent reading by monitoring adult readers' eye movements. Both higher knowledge (physics major) and lower knowledge (nonphysics major) graduate students were given physics texts to read. Higher knowledge readers spent less time rereading and had…

  15. Mercury and Air Pollution: A Bibliography With Abstracts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC. Office of Air Programs.

    The Air Pollution Technical Information Center (APTIC) of the Office of Air Programs has selected and compiled this bibliography of abstracts on mercury and air pollution. The abstracted documents are considered representative of available literature, although not all-inclusive. They are grouped into eleven categories: (1) Emission Sources, (2)…

  16. Innovation Abstracts: Volume XII, Numbers 1-30, 1990.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roueche, Susanne D., Ed.

    1990-01-01

    This series of one- to two-page abstracts highlights a variety of innovative approaches to teaching and learning in the community college. Topics covered in the abstracts include: (1) academic partnerships pairing "high-risk" students with a concerned faculty member, counselor, or administrator; (2) teacher-to-teacher learning partnerships; (3)…

  17. Analysis of subsequent publication of scientific orally presented abstracts of the French National Congress of Radiology. Part II: Focus on the French abstracts.

    PubMed

    Dangouloff-Ros, V; Ronot, M; Lagadec, M; Vilgrain, V

    2015-05-01

    To evaluate the publication rate of scientific abstracts that were presented orally at the 2008, 2009, and 2010 annual meetings of the French Society of Radiology by French radiologists, and to perform a French regional analysis. Orally presented abstracts were identified by examining online abstract books of the 2008, 2009, and 2010 annual meetings of the French Society of Radiology, and cross-checked by reviewing the paper version of abstracts for the same period. Only abstracts from French teams were selected. The administrative region of submission was noted for each abstract and for each region the total population, the number of active radiologists, the number of active members of the French Society of Radiology and the number of academic radiologists were noted. Imaging subspecialties were also noted. 625 abstracts were identified resulting in 268 publications (publication rate: 43%). The median number of presentations and publications per region was 18 (range: 1-255) and 7 (range: 0-101), respectively. The ratio per million inhabitants was 7.5 and 3 respectively. The median number of presentations and publications per 100 active radiologists (respectively members of the FSR) was 7 and 3 (respectively 10 and 4). The median number of presentations and publications per academic radiologist were 2.6, and 1.2, respectively. The regional variations for each indicator were high (40-180%). Three subspecialties had a publication rate of more than 50%: thoracic imaging (58%), abdominal imaging (52%), and genitourinary imaging (51%). The publication rate of orally presented French scientific abstracts was high, with important variations according to the regions of origin and imaging subspecialties. Copyright © 2015 Éditions françaises de radiologie. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  18. 2011 statistical abstract of the United States

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Krisanda, Joseph M.

    2011-01-01

    The Statistical Abstract of the United States, published since 1878, is the authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States.Use the Abstract as a convenient volume for statistical reference, and as a guide to sources of more information both in print and on the Web.Sources of data include the Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis, and many other Federal agencies and private organizations.

  19. Temporal abstraction-based clinical phenotyping with Eureka!

    PubMed

    Post, Andrew R; Kurc, Tahsin; Willard, Richie; Rathod, Himanshu; Mansour, Michel; Pai, Akshatha Kalsanka; Torian, William M; Agravat, Sanjay; Sturm, Suzanne; Saltz, Joel H

    2013-01-01

    Temporal abstraction, a method for specifying and detecting temporal patterns in clinical databases, is very expressive and performs well, but it is difficult for clinical investigators and data analysts to understand. Such patterns are critical in phenotyping patients using their medical records in research and quality improvement. We have previously developed the Analytic Information Warehouse (AIW), which computes such phenotypes using temporal abstraction but requires software engineers to use. We have extended the AIW's web user interface, Eureka! Clinical Analytics, to support specifying phenotypes using an alternative model that we developed with clinical stakeholders. The software converts phenotypes from this model to that of temporal abstraction prior to data processing. The model can represent all phenotypes in a quality improvement project and a growing set of phenotypes in a multi-site research study. Phenotyping that is accessible to investigators and IT personnel may enable its broader adoption.

  20. Backgrounds in Language.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Maxwell, John C.; Long, Barbara K.

    "Backgrounds in Language," a field-tested inservice course designed for use by groups of 15 or 25 language arts teachers, provides the subject matter background teachers need to make informed decisions about what curriculum materials to use in what way, at what time, and with which students. The course is comprised of eight 2-hour sessions,…

  1. Localization Versus Abstraction: A Comparison of Two Search Reduction Techniques

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lansky, Amy L.

    1992-01-01

    There has been much recent work on the use of abstraction to improve planning behavior and cost. Another technique for dealing with the inherently explosive cost of planning is localization. This paper compares the relative strengths of localization and abstraction in reducing planning search cost. In particular, localization is shown to subsume abstraction. Localization techniques can model the various methods of abstraction that have been used, but also provide a much more flexible framework, with a broader range of benefits.

  2. Algerian Abstract

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-12-08

    Algerian Abstract - April 8th, 1985 Description: What look like pale yellow paint streaks slashing through a mosaic of mottled colors are ridges of wind-blown sand that make up Erg Iguidi, an area of ever-shifting sand dunes extending from Algeria into Mauritania in northwestern Africa. Erg Iguidi is one of several Saharan ergs, or sand seas, where individual dunes often surpass 500 meters-nearly a third of a mile-in both width and height. Credit: USGS/NASA/Landsat 5 To learn more about the Landsat satellite go to: landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/ NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Join us on Facebook

  3. Typographic Settings for Structured Abstracts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hartley, James

    2000-01-01

    Lists some of the major typographic variables involved in structured abstracts (containing sub-headings). Illustrates how typography can affect clarity by presenting seven examples that illustrate the effects of these typographic variables in practice. Concludes with a final example of an effective approach. (SR)

  4. Accuracy of cochlear implant recipients in speech reception in the presence of background music.

    PubMed

    Gfeller, Kate; Turner, Christopher; Oleson, Jacob; Kliethermes, Stephanie; Driscoll, Virginia

    2012-12-01

    This study examined speech recognition abilities of cochlear implant (CI) recipients in the spectrally complex listening condition of 3 contrasting types of background music, and compared performance based upon listener groups: CI recipients using conventional long-electrode devices, Hybrid CI recipients (acoustic plus electric stimulation), and normal-hearing adults. We tested 154 long-electrode CI recipients using varied devices and strategies, 21 Hybrid CI recipients, and 49 normal-hearing adults on closed-set recognition of spondees presented in 3 contrasting forms of background music (piano solo, large symphony orchestra, vocal solo with small combo accompaniment) in an adaptive test. Signal-to-noise ratio thresholds for speech in music were examined in relation to measures of speech recognition in background noise and multitalker babble, pitch perception, and music experience. The signal-to-noise ratio thresholds for speech in music varied as a function of category of background music, group membership (long-electrode, Hybrid, normal-hearing), and age. The thresholds for speech in background music were significantly correlated with measures of pitch perception and thresholds for speech in background noise; auditory status was an important predictor. Evidence suggests that speech reception thresholds in background music change as a function of listener age (with more advanced age being detrimental), structural characteristics of different types of music, and hearing status (residual hearing). These findings have implications for everyday listening conditions such as communicating in social or commercial situations in which there is background music.

  5. Research Abstracts of 1981.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1981-12-01

    Development in Initally Caries-Free Naval Recruits" (Abstract #898) , 13. M. R. WIRTHLIN* and E. B. HANCOCK - " Regeneration After Biologic Treat- ment of...These variables can be grouped into four categories: oral condition (N-7), clinical attendance (N=4), personal characteristics (N=4), and record...Histologic examination of the pulp tissue in these teeth were related to the clinical criteria prior to extraction. Clinical criteria associated

  6. Evidence-based prosthodontics: fundamental considerations, limitations, and guidelines.

    PubMed

    Bidra, Avinash S

    2014-01-01

    Evidence-based dentistry is rapidly emerging to become an integral part of patient care, dental education, and research. Prosthodontics is a unique dental specialty that encompasses art, philosophy, and science and includes reversible and irreversible treatments. It not only affords good applicability of many principles of evidence-based dentistry but also poses numerous limitations. This article describes the epidemiologic background, fundamental considerations, scrutiny of levels of evidence, limitations, guidelines, and future perspectives of evidence-based prosthodontics. Understanding these principles can aid clinicians in appropriate appraisal of the prosthodontics literature and use the best available evidence for making confident clinical decisions and optimizing patient care. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. The Acquisition of Abstract Words by Young Infants

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bergelson, Elika; Swingley, Daniel

    2013-01-01

    Young infants' learning of words for abstract concepts like "all gone" and "eat," in contrast to their learning of more concrete words like "apple" and "shoe," may follow a relatively protracted developmental course. We examined whether infants know such abstract words. Parents named one of two events shown in side-by-side videos while their…

  8. Contextualizing Action for the Abstraction of Scientific Knowledge

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Saglam, Yilmaz

    2015-01-01

    In this paper, abstraction is associated with an activity in the sense of activity theory by Vygotsky. To him, participation in social activities is a fundamental act for the child in order to achieve higher mental functions. The present paper aimed to experimentally investigate the abstraction process and illustrate how meaning emerges on social…

  9. Investigation of the hard x-ray background in backlit pinhole imagers.

    PubMed

    Fein, J R; Peebles, J L; Keiter, P A; Holloway, J P; Klein, S R; Kuranz, C C; Manuel, M J-E; Drake, R P

    2014-11-01

    Hard x-rays from laser-produced hot electrons (>10 keV) in backlit pinhole imagers can give rise to a background signal that decreases signal dynamic range in radiographs. Consequently, significant uncertainties are introduced to the measured optical depth of imaged plasmas. Past experiments have demonstrated that hard x-rays are produced when hot electrons interact with the high-Z pinhole substrate used to collimate the softer He-α x-ray source. Results are presented from recent experiments performed on the OMEGA-60 laser to further study the production of hard x-rays in the pinhole substrate and how these x-rays contribute to the background signal in radiographs. Radiographic image plates measured hard x-rays from pinhole imagers with Mo, Sn, and Ta pinhole substrates. The variation in background signal between pinhole substrates provides evidence that much of this background comes from x-rays produced in the pinhole substrate itself. A Monte Carlo electron transport code was used to model x-ray production from hot electrons interacting in the pinhole substrate, as well as to model measurements of x-rays from the irradiated side of the targets, recorded by a bremsstrahlung x-ray spectrometer. Inconsistencies in inferred hot electron distributions between the different pinhole substrate materials demonstrate that additional sources of hot electrons beyond those modeled may produce hard x-rays in the pinhole substrate.

  10. Investigation of the hard x-ray background in backlit pinhole imagers

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Fein, J. R., E-mail: jrfein@umich.edu; Holloway, J. P.; Peebles, J. L.

    Hard x-rays from laser-produced hot electrons (>10 keV) in backlit pinhole imagers can give rise to a background signal that decreases signal dynamic range in radiographs. Consequently, significant uncertainties are introduced to the measured optical depth of imaged plasmas. Past experiments have demonstrated that hard x-rays are produced when hot electrons interact with the high-Z pinhole substrate used to collimate the softer He-α x-ray source. Results are presented from recent experiments performed on the OMEGA-60 laser to further study the production of hard x-rays in the pinhole substrate and how these x-rays contribute to the background signal in radiographs. Radiographicmore » image plates measured hard x-rays from pinhole imagers with Mo, Sn, and Ta pinhole substrates. The variation in background signal between pinhole substrates provides evidence that much of this background comes from x-rays produced in the pinhole substrate itself. A Monte Carlo electron transport code was used to model x-ray production from hot electrons interacting in the pinhole substrate, as well as to model measurements of x-rays from the irradiated side of the targets, recorded by a bremsstrahlung x-ray spectrometer. Inconsistencies in inferred hot electron distributions between the different pinhole substrate materials demonstrate that additional sources of hot electrons beyond those modeled may produce hard x-rays in the pinhole substrate.« less

  11. Quality of reporting of trial abstracts needs to be improved: using the CONSORT for abstracts to assess the four leading Chinese medical journals of traditional Chinese medicine.

    PubMed

    Wang, Ling; Li, Yulin; Li, Jing; Zhang, Mingming; Xu, Lin; Yuan, Wenming; Wang, Gang; Hopewell, Sally

    2010-07-08

    Due to language limitations, the abstract of journal article may be the only way for people of non-Chinese speaking countries to know about trials in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). However, little is known about the reporting quality of these trial abstracts. Our study is to assess the reporting quality of abstracts of randomized controlled trials (RCT) published in four leading Chinese medical journals of TCM, and to identify any differences in reporting between the Chinese and English version of the same abstract publication. Two reviewers hand-searched the Chinese Journal of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, the Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine, the China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica and the Chinese Acupuncture & Moxibustion for all abstracts of RCTs published between 2006 and 2007. Two reviewers independently assessed the reporting quality of the Chinese and English version of all eligible abstracts based on a modified version of the CONSORT for reporting randomised trials in journal and conference abstracts (CONSORT for abstracts). We identified a total of 345 RCTs of TCM with both a Chinese and English abstract. More than half of Chinese abstracts reported details of the trial participants (68%; 234/345), control group intervention (52%; 179/345), the number of participants randomized (73%; 253/345) and benefits when interpreting the trial results (55%; 190/345). Reporting of methodological quality or key features of trial design and trial results were poor; only 2% (7/345) included details of the trial design, 3% (11/345) defined the primary outcome, 5% (17/345) described the methods of random sequence generation, and only 4% (13/345) reported the number of participants analyzed. No abstracts provided details on allocation concealment and trial registration. The percentage agreement in reporting (between the Chinese and English version of the same abstract) ranged from 84% to 100% across individual checklist item. The reporting

  12. How biological background assumptions influence scientific risk evaluation of stacked genetically modified plants: an analysis of research hypotheses and argumentations.

    PubMed

    Rocca, Elena; Andersen, Fredrik

    2017-08-14

    Scientific risk evaluations are constructed by specific evidence, value judgements and biological background assumptions. The latter are the framework-setting suppositions we apply in order to understand some new phenomenon. That background assumptions co-determine choice of methodology, data interpretation, and choice of relevant evidence is an uncontroversial claim in modern basic science. Furthermore, it is commonly accepted that, unless explicated, disagreements in background assumptions can lead to misunderstanding as well as miscommunication. Here, we extend the discussion on background assumptions from basic science to the debate over genetically modified (GM) plants risk assessment. In this realm, while the different political, social and economic values are often mentioned, the identity and role of background assumptions at play are rarely examined. We use an example from the debate over risk assessment of stacked genetically modified plants (GM stacks), obtained by applying conventional breeding techniques to GM plants. There are two main regulatory practices of GM stacks: (i) regulate as conventional hybrids and (ii) regulate as new GM plants. We analyzed eight papers representative of these positions and found that, in all cases, additional premises are needed to reach the stated conclusions. We suggest that these premises play the role of biological background assumptions and argue that the most effective way toward a unified framework for risk analysis and regulation of GM stacks is by explicating and examining the biological background assumptions of each position. Once explicated, it is possible to either evaluate which background assumptions best reflect contemporary biological knowledge, or to apply Douglas' 'inductive risk' argument.

  13. Comprehension of concrete and abstract words in semantic dementia

    PubMed Central

    Jefferies, Elizabeth; Patterson, Karalyn; Jones, Roy W.; Lambon Ralph, Matthew A.

    2009-01-01

    The vast majority of brain-injured patients with semantic impairment have better comprehension of concrete than abstract words. In contrast, several patients with semantic dementia (SD), who show circumscribed atrophy of the anterior temporal lobes bilaterally, have been reported to show reverse imageability effects, i.e., relative preservation of abstract knowledge. Although these reports largely concern individual patients, some researchers have recently proposed that superior comprehension of abstract concepts is a characteristic feature of SD. This would imply that the anterior temporal lobes are particularly crucial for processing sensory aspects of semantic knowledge, which are associated with concrete not abstract concepts. However, functional neuroimaging studies of healthy participants do not unequivocally predict reverse imageability effects in SD because the temporal poles sometimes show greater activation for more abstract concepts. We examined a case-series of eleven SD patients on a synonym judgement test that orthogonally varied the frequency and imageability of the items. All patients had higher success rates for more imageable as well as more frequent words, suggesting that (a) the anterior temporal lobes underpin semantic knowledge for both concrete and abstract concepts, (b) more imageable items – perhaps due to their richer multimodal representations – are typically more robust in the face of global semantic degradation and (c) reverse imageability effects are not a characteristic feature of SD. PMID:19586212

  14. The identification of clinically important elements within medical journal abstracts: Patient-Population-Problem, Exposure-Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, Duration and Results (PECODR).

    PubMed

    Dawes, Martin; Pluye, Pierre; Shea, Laura; Grad, Roland; Greenberg, Arlene; Nie, Jian-Yun

    2007-01-01

    Information retrieval in primary care is becoming more difficult as the volume of medical information held in electronic databases expands. The lexical structure of this information might permit automatic indexing and improved retrieval. To determine the possibility of identifying the key elements of clinical studies, namely Patient-Population-Problem, Exposure-Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, Duration and Results (PECODR), from abstracts of medical journals. We used a convenience sample of 20 synopses from the journal Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) and their matching original journal article abstracts obtained from PubMed. Three independent primary care professionals identified PECODR-related extracts of text. Rules were developed to define each PECODR element and the selection process of characters, words, phrases and sentences. From the extracts of text related to PECODR elements, potential lexical patterns that might help identify those elements were proposed and assessed using NVivo software. A total of 835 PECODR-related text extracts containing 41,263 individual text characters were identified from 20 EBM journal synopses. There were 759 extracts in the corresponding PubMed abstracts containing 31,947 characters. PECODR elements were found in nearly all abstracts and synopses with the exception of duration. There was agreement on 86.6% of the extracts from the 20 EBM synopses and 85.0% on the corresponding PubMed abstracts. After consensus this rose to 98.4% and 96.9% respectively. We found potential text patterns in the Comparison, Outcome and Results elements of both EBM synopses and PubMed abstracts. Some phrases and words are used frequently and are specific for these elements in both synopses and abstracts. Results suggest a PECODR-related structure exists in medical abstracts and that there might be lexical patterns specific to these elements. More sophisticated computer-assisted lexical-semantic analysis might refine these results, and pave the way

  15. International Early Childhood Resources from Educational Research Abstracts Online (ERA)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    International Journal of Early Years Education, 2004

    2004-01-01

    This annotated bibliography provides abstracts for 14 resources relating to early childhood around the world. Each annotation contains: title; author name(s); Educational Research Abstract; Abstract number; Source (name of journal in which the resource was published); ISSN of the journal in which the resource was published; and Issue (journal…

  16. NASA Patent Abstracts: A Continuing Bibliography. Supplement 54

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1999-01-01

    The NASA Patent Abstracts Bibliography is a semiannual NASA publication containing comprehensive abstracts of NASA owned inventions covered by U.S. patents and applications for patent. The citations included in the bibliography arrangement of citations were originally published in NASA's Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports (STAR) and cover STAR announcements made since May 1969. The citations published in this issue cover the period June 1998 through December 1998. This issue includes 10 major subject divisions separated into 76 specific categories and one general category/division. Each entry consists of a STAR citation accompanied by an abstract and, when appropriate, a key illustration taken from the patent or application for patent. Entries are arranged by subject category in ascending order.

  17. Invited article: Characterization of background sources in space-based time-of-flight mass spectrometers.

    PubMed

    Gilbert, J A; Gershman, D J; Gloeckler, G; Lundgren, R A; Zurbuchen, T H; Orlando, T M; McLain, J; von Steiger, R

    2014-09-01

    For instruments that use time-of-flight techniques to measure space plasma, there are common sources of background signals that evidence themselves in the data. The background from these sources may increase the complexity of data analysis and reduce the signal-to-noise response of the instrument, thereby diminishing the science value or usefulness of the data. This paper reviews several sources of background commonly found in time-of-flight mass spectrometers and illustrates their effect in actual data using examples from ACE-SWICS and MESSENGER-FIPS. Sources include penetrating particles and radiation, UV photons, energy straggling and angular scattering, electron stimulated desorption of ions, ion-induced electron emission, accidental coincidence events, and noise signatures from instrument electronics. Data signatures of these sources are shown, as well as mitigation strategies and design considerations for future instruments.

  18. Calibration of an Ultra-Low-Background Proportional Counter for Measuring 37Ar

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Seifert, Allen; Aalseth, Craig E.; Bonicalzi, Ricco

    Abstract. An ultra-low-background proportional counter (ULBPC) design has been developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) using clean materials, primarily electrochemically-purified copper. This detector, along with an ultra-low-background counting system (ULBCS), was developed to complement a new shallow underground laboratory (30 meters water-equivalent) constructed at PNNL. The ULBCS design includes passive neutron and gamma shielding, along with an active cosmic-veto system. This system provides a capability for making ultra-sensitive measurements to support applications like age-dating soil hydrocarbons with 14C/3H, age-dating of groundwater with 39Ar, and soil-gas assay for 37Ar to support On-Site Inspection (OSI). On-Site Inspection is a key componentmore » of the verification regime for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Measurements of radionuclides created by an underground nuclear explosion are valuable signatures of a Treaty violation. For OSI, the 35-day half-life of 37Ar, produced from neutron interactions with calcium in soil, provides both high specific activity and sufficient time for inspection before decay limits sensitivity. This work describes the calibration techniques and analysis methods developed to enable quantitative measurements of 37Ar samples over a broad range of pressures. These efforts, along with parallel work in progress on gas chemistry separation, are expected to provide a significant new capability for 37Ar soil gas background studies.« less

  19. On Teaching Abstraction in Computer Science to Novices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Armoni, Michal

    2013-01-01

    Abstraction is a key concept in CS, one of the most fundamental ideas underlying CS and its practice. However, teaching this soft concept to novices is a very difficult task, as discussed by many CSE experts. This paper discusses this issue, and suggests a general framework for teaching abstraction in CS to novices, a framework that would fit into…

  20. Experiencing Art: The Influence of Expertise and Painting Abstraction Level

    PubMed Central

    Pihko, Elina; Virtanen, Anne; Saarinen, Veli-Matti; Pannasch, Sebastian; Hirvenkari, Lotta; Tossavainen, Timo; Haapala, Arto; Hari, Riitta

    2011-01-01

    How does expertise influence the perception of representational and abstract paintings? We asked 20 experts on art history and 20 laypersons to explore and evaluate a series of paintings ranging in style from representational to abstract in five categories. We compared subjective esthetic judgments and emotional evaluations, gaze patterns, and electrodermal reactivity between the two groups of participants. The level of abstraction affected esthetic judgments and emotional valence ratings of the laypersons but had no effect on the opinions of the experts: the laypersons’ esthetic and emotional ratings were highest for representational paintings and lowest for abstract paintings, whereas the opinions of the experts were independent of the abstraction level. The gaze patterns of both groups changed as the level of abstraction increased: the number of fixations and the length of the scanpaths increased while the duration of the fixations decreased. The viewing strategies – reflected in the target, location, and path of the fixations – however indicated that experts and laypersons paid attention to different aspects of the paintings. The electrodermal reactivity did not vary according to the level of abstraction in either group but expertise was reflected in weaker responses, compared with laypersons, to information received about the paintings. PMID:21941475

  1. Fate of abstracts presented at a National Turkish Orthopedics and Traumatology Congress: publication rates and consistency of abstracts compared with their subsequent full-text publications.

    PubMed

    Yalçınkaya, Merter; Bagatur, Erdem

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the publication rates of full-text articles after presentation of abstracts at a Turkish National Orthopaedics and Traumatology Congress, determine the time lag from the congress date to publication of full-text articles and assess the consistency between abstracts and the subsequent publications. All abstracts from the scientific program of the 20th Turkish National Orthopaedics and Traumatology Congress (2007) were identified and computerized PubMed searches were conducted to determine whether an abstract had been followed by publication of a full-text article and key features were compared to evaluate their consistency. The time lag to publication and the impact factors of the journals where the articles were published were noted. Of the 770 abstracts (264 oral, 506 poster presentations), 227 (29.5%) were followed by a full-text and 116 (44%) of the 264 oral and 111 (22%) of the 506 poster presentations were published. The mean time to publication was 14.9±16.075 (range: 33 to 55) months. Thirty-three (14.5%) were published prior to the presentation at the congress. The likelihood of publication decreased after the third year (26 of 227, 11.5%). A total of 182 (80.2%) articles showed inconsistencies with the abstract; 74 (32.6%) minor, 14 (6.2%) major, and 94 (41.4%) minor and major inconsistencies. The mean impact factor of the journals was 1.152±0.858. The vast majority of abstracts presented at this congress were not followed by publication of a full-text article. Additionally, frequent inconsistencies between the final published article and the original abstract indicated the inadequacy of quality of reporting in abstracts.

  2. Research dissemination: The art of writing an abstract for conferences.

    PubMed

    Coad, Jane; Devitt, Patric

    2006-03-01

    This article aims to assist readers with developing an abstract for a conference in order to have a paper accepted for presentation at a conference, whether it is in poster or an oral format. This is important as the authors argue that use of conferences as a method of disseminating research findings and good practice is expanding each year. Drawing on author experiences, both as members of scientific review panels and as submitters of abstracts, the article includes a practical review about the meaning of an abstract, how to get started and then breaks down in clear sections what reviewers look for in a good abstract. There are also some key points on the actual process of review, which are helpful in understanding of what happens to an abstract following submission.

  3. Structure and sources of the sporadic meteor background from video observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jakšová, Ivana; Porubčan, Vladimír; Klačka, Jozef

    2015-10-01

    We investigate and discuss the structure of the sporadic meteor background population in the near-Earth space based on video meteor orbits from the SonotaCo database (SonotaCo 2009, WGN, 37, 55). The selection of the shower meteors was done by the Southworth-Hawkins streams-search criterion (Southworth & Hawkins 1963, Smithson. Contr. Astrophys., 7, 261). Of a total of 117786 orbits, 69.34% were assigned to sporadic background meteors. Our analysis revealed all the known sporadic sources, such as the dominant apex source which is splitting into the northern and southern branch. Part of a denser ring structure about the apex source connecting the antihelion and north toroidal sources is also evident. We showed that the annual activity of the apex source is similar to the annual variation in activity of the whole sporadic background. The antihelion source exhibits a very broad maximum from July until January and the north toroidal source shows three maxima similar to the radar observations by the Canadian Meteor Orbit Radar (CMOR). Potential parent bodies of the sporadic population were searched for by comparison of the distributions of the orbital elements of sporadic meteors, minor planets and comets.

  4. Some design constraints required for the assembly of software components: The incorporation of atomic abstract types into generically structured abstract types

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Johnson, Charles S.

    1986-01-01

    It is nearly axiomatic, that to take the greatest advantage of the useful features available in a development system, and to avoid the negative interactions of those features, requires the exercise of a design methodology which constrains their use. A major design support feature of the Ada language is abstraction: for data, functions processes, resources, and system elements in general. Atomic abstract types can be created in packages defining those private types and all of the overloaded operators, functions, and hidden data required for their use in an application. Generically structured abstract types can be created in generic packages defining those structured private types, as buildups from the user-defined data types which are input as parameters. A study is made of the design constraints required for software incorporating either atomic or generically structured abstract types, if the integration of software components based on them is to be subsequently performed. The impact of these techniques on the reusability of software and the creation of project-specific software support environments is also discussed.

  5. Autism and vaccination-the current evidence.

    PubMed

    Miller, Lisa; Reynolds, Joni

    2009-07-01

    The purpose of this article is to review relevant background literature regarding the evidence linking thimerosal-containing vaccine and the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine to autism. Rigorous scientific studies have not identified links between autism and either thimerosal-containing vaccine or the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine. Nurses are often in the position of providing advice regarding vaccines in their formal practice areas as well as in their daily lives. Families need current and credible evidence to make decisions for their children. Excellent vaccine information resources are available online.

  6. Energy Abstracts for Policy Analysis: a monthly abstract journal. Abstracts 1-225

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Thompson, L.M..

    1983-01-01

    Energy Abstracts for Policy Analysis (EAPA), while embracing all phases of energy analysis and development, is limited primarily to nontechnological or quasitechnological articles or reports having significant reference value. This selectivity in scope and coverage of EAPA is effected to emphasize the following: programmatic efforts; policy, legislative, and regulatory aspects; social, economic, and environmental impacts; regional and sectoral analyses, institutional factors, etc. Selection for EAPA is based strictly on content (substantive articles) and is made from Congressional committee prints; federal agency and department reports; regional commission and state and local government reports; periodicals, including trade journals and newsweeklies; conference proceedingsmore » and/or conference papers; books, including manuals, directories, encyclopedias, etc.; and documents from industrial firms, private institutes and foundations, educational institutions, societies, associations, etc. EAPA is available to DOE offices and contractors on request, and on an exchange basis to universities, research institutions, industrial firms, and publishers of energy information. Inquiries should be directed to the Technical Information Center, P.O. Box 62, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830. EAPA is available to the public on a subscription basis from the Superintendent of Documents, US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. The subscription rate for the 12 monthly issues plus the annual index is $70.00 for domestic subscribers and $87.50 for subscribers outside the North American continent.« less

  7. Ecological Research Division Theoretical Ecology Program. [Contains abstracts

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    1990-10-01

    This report presents the goals of the Theoretical Ecology Program and abstracts of research in progress. Abstracts cover both theoretical research that began as part of the terrestrial ecology core program and new projects funded by the theoretical program begun in 1988. Projects have been clustered into four major categories: Ecosystem dynamics; landscape/scaling dynamics; population dynamics; and experiment/sample design.

  8. Search for Tensor, Vector, and Scalar Polarizations in the Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Abbott, T. D.; Acernese, F.; Ackley, K.; Adams, C.; Adams, T.; Addesso, P.; Adhikari, R. X.; Adya, V. B.; Affeldt, C.; Afrough, M.; Agarwal, B.; Agathos, M.; Agatsuma, K.; Aggarwal, N.; Aguiar, O. D.; Aiello, L.; Ain, A.; Ajith, P.; Allen, B.; Allen, G.; Allocca, A.; Altin, P. A.; Amato, A.; Ananyeva, A.; Anderson, S. B.; Anderson, W. G.; Angelova, S. V.; Antier, S.; Appert, S.; Arai, K.; Araya, M. C.; Areeda, J. S.; Arnaud, N.; Ascenzi, S.; Ashton, G.; Ast, M.; Aston, S. M.; Astone, P.; Atallah, D. V.; Aufmuth, P.; Aulbert, C.; AultONeal, K.; Austin, C.; Avila-Alvarez, A.; Babak, S.; Bacon, P.; Bader, M. K. M.; Bae, S.; Baker, P. T.; Baldaccini, F.; Ballardin, G.; Ballmer, S. W.; Banagiri, S.; Barayoga, J. C.; Barclay, S. E.; Barish, B. C.; Barker, D.; Barkett, K.; Barone, F.; Barr, B.; Barsotti, L.; Barsuglia, M.; Barta, D.; Bartlett, J.; Bartos, I.; Bassiri, R.; Basti, A.; Batch, J. C.; Bawaj, M.; Bayley, J. C.; Bazzan, M.; Bécsy, B.; Beer, C.; Bejger, M.; Belahcene, I.; Bell, A. S.; Berger, B. K.; Bergmann, G.; Bero, J. J.; Berry, C. P. L.; Bersanetti, D.; Bertolini, A.; Betzwieser, J.; Bhagwat, S.; Bhandare, R.; Bilenko, I. A.; Billingsley, G.; Billman, C. R.; Birch, J.; Birney, R.; Birnholtz, O.; Biscans, S.; Biscoveanu, S.; Bisht, A.; Bitossi, M.; Biwer, C.; Bizouard, M. A.; Blackburn, J. K.; Blackman, J.; Blair, C. D.; Blair, D. G.; Blair, R. M.; Bloemen, S.; Bock, O.; Bode, N.; Boer, M.; Bogaert, G.; Bohe, A.; Bondu, F.; Bonilla, E.; Bonnand, R.; Boom, B. A.; Bork, R.; Boschi, V.; Bose, S.; Bossie, K.; Bouffanais, Y.; Bozzi, A.; Bradaschia, C.; Brady, P. R.; Branchesi, M.; Brau, J. E.; Briant, T.; Brillet, A.; Brinkmann, M.; Brisson, V.; Brockill, P.; Broida, J. E.; Brooks, A. F.; Brown, D. A.; Brown, D. D.; Brunett, S.; Buchanan, C. C.; Buikema, A.; Bulik, T.; Bulten, H. J.; Buonanno, A.; Buskulic, D.; Buy, C.; Byer, R. L.; Cabero, M.; Cadonati, L.; Cagnoli, G.; Cahillane, C.; Calderón Bustillo, J.; Callister, T. A.; Calloni, E.; Camp, J. B.; Canepa, M.; Canizares, P.; Cannon, K. C.; Cao, H.; Cao, J.; Capano, C. D.; Capocasa, E.; Carbognani, F.; Caride, S.; Carney, M. F.; Diaz, J. Casanueva; Casentini, C.; Caudill, S.; Cavaglià, M.; Cavalier, F.; Cavalieri, R.; Cella, G.; Cepeda, C. B.; Cerdá-Durán, P.; Cerretani, G.; Cesarini, E.; Chamberlin, S. J.; Chan, M.; Chao, S.; Charlton, P.; Chase, E.; Chassande-Mottin, E.; Chatterjee, D.; Cheeseboro, B. D.; Chen, H. Y.; Chen, X.; Chen, Y.; Cheng, H.-P.; Chia, H.; Chincarini, A.; Chiummo, A.; Chmiel, T.; Cho, H. S.; Cho, M.; Chow, J. H.; Christensen, N.; Chu, Q.; Chua, A. J. K.; Chua, S.; Chung, A. K. W.; Chung, S.; Ciani, G.; Ciolfi, R.; Cirelli, C. E.; Cirone, A.; Clara, F.; Clark, J. A.; Clearwater, P.; Cleva, F.; Cocchieri, C.; Coccia, E.; Cohadon, P.-F.; Cohen, D.; Colla, A.; Collette, C. G.; Cominsky, L. R.; Constancio, M.; Conti, L.; Cooper, S. J.; Corban, P.; Corbitt, T. R.; Cordero-Carrión, I.; Corley, K. R.; Cornish, N.; Corsi, A.; Cortese, S.; Costa, C. A.; Coughlin, E.; Coughlin, M. W.; Coughlin, S. B.; Coulon, J.-P.; Countryman, S. T.; Couvares, P.; Covas, P. B.; Cowan, E. E.; Coward, D. M.; Cowart, M. J.; Coyne, D. C.; Coyne, R.; Creighton, J. D. E.; Creighton, T. D.; Cripe, J.; Crowder, S. G.; Cullen, T. J.; Cumming, A.; Cunningham, L.; Cuoco, E.; Canton, T. Dal; Dálya, G.; Danilishin, S. L.; D'Antonio, S.; Danzmann, K.; Dasgupta, A.; Da Silva Costa, C. F.; Dattilo, V.; Dave, I.; Davier, M.; Davis, D.; Daw, E. J.; Day, B.; De, S.; DeBra, D.; Degallaix, J.; De Laurentis, M.; Deléglise, S.; Del Pozzo, W.; Demos, N.; Denker, T.; Dent, T.; De Pietri, R.; Dergachev, V.; De Rosa, R.; DeRosa, R. T.; De Rossi, C.; DeSalvo, R.; de Varona, O.; Devenson, J.; Dhurandhar, S.; Díaz, M. C.; Di Fiore, L.; Di Giovanni, M.; Di Girolamo, T.; Di Lieto, A.; Di Pace, S.; Di Palma, I.; Di Renzo, F.; Doctor, Z.; Dolique, V.; Donovan, F.; Dooley, K. L.; Doravari, S.; Dorrington, I.; Douglas, R.; Dovale Álvarez, M.; Downes, T. P.; Drago, M.; Dreissigacker, C.; Driggers, J. C.; Du, Z.; Ducrot, M.; Dupej, P.; Dwyer, S. E.; Edo, T. B.; Edwards, M. C.; Effler, A.; Eggenstein, H.-B.; Ehrens, P.; Eichholz, J.; Eikenberry, S. S.; Eisenstein, R. A.; Essick, R. C.; Estevez, D.; Etienne, Z. B.; Etzel, T.; Evans, M.; Evans, T. M.; Factourovich, M.; Fafone, V.; Fair, H.; Fairhurst, S.; Fan, X.; Farinon, S.; Farr, B.; Farr, W. M.; Fauchon-Jones, E. J.; Favata, M.; Fays, M.; Fee, C.; Fehrmann, H.; Feicht, J.; Fejer, M. M.; Fernandez-Galiana, A.; Ferrante, I.; Ferreira, E. C.; Ferrini, F.; Fidecaro, F.; Finstad, D.; Fiori, I.; Fiorucci, D.; Fishbach, M.; Fisher, R. P.; Fitz-Axen, M.; Flaminio, R.; Fletcher, M.; Fong, H.; Font, J. A.; Forsyth, P. W. F.; Forsyth, S. S.; Fournier, J.-D.; Frasca, S.; Frasconi, F.; Frei, Z.; Freise, A.; Frey, R.; Frey, V.; Fries, E. M.; Fritschel, P.; Frolov, V. V.; Fulda, P.; Fyffe, M.; Gabbard, H.; Gadre, B. U.; Gaebel, S. M.; Gair, J. R.; Gammaitoni, L.; Ganija, M. R.; Gaonkar, S. G.; Garcia-Quiros, C.; Garufi, F.; Gateley, B.; Gaudio, S.; Gaur, G.; Gayathri, V.; Gehrels, N.; Gemme, G.; Genin, E.; Gennai, A.; George, D.; George, J.; Gergely, L.; Germain, V.; Ghonge, S.; Ghosh, Abhirup; Ghosh, Archisman; Ghosh, S.; Giaime, J. A.; Giardina, K. D.; Giazotto, A.; Gill, K.; Glover, L.; Goetz, E.; Goetz, R.; Gomes, S.; Goncharov, B.; González, G.; Gonzalez Castro, J. M.; Gopakumar, A.; Gorodetsky, M. L.; Gossan, S. E.; Gosselin, M.; Gouaty, R.; Grado, A.; Graef, C.; Granata, M.; Grant, A.; Gras, S.; Gray, C.; Greco, G.; Green, A. C.; Gretarsson, E. M.; Groot, P.; Grote, H.; Grunewald, S.; Gruning, P.; Guidi, G. M.; Guo, X.; Gupta, A.; Gupta, M. K.; Gushwa, K. E.; Gustafson, E. K.; Gustafson, R.; Halim, O.; Hall, B. R.; Hall, E. D.; Hamilton, E. Z.; Hammond, G.; Haney, M.; Hanke, M. M.; Hanks, J.; Hanna, C.; Hannam, M. D.; Hannuksela, O. A.; Hanson, J.; Hardwick, T.; Harms, J.; Harry, G. M.; Harry, I. W.; Hart, M. J.; Haster, C.-J.; Haughian, K.; Healy, J.; Heidmann, A.; Heintze, M. C.; Heitmann, H.; Hello, P.; Hemming, G.; Hendry, M.; Heng, I. S.; Hennig, J.; Heptonstall, A. W.; Heurs, M.; Hild, S.; Hinderer, T.; Hoak, D.; Hofman, D.; Holt, K.; Holz, D. E.; Hopkins, P.; Horst, C.; Hough, J.; Houston, E. A.; Howell, E. J.; Hreibi, A.; Hu, Y. M.; Huerta, E. A.; Huet, D.; Hughey, B.; Husa, S.; Huttner, S. H.; Huynh-Dinh, T.; Indik, N.; Inta, R.; Intini, G.; Isa, H. N.; Isac, J.-M.; Isi, M.; Iyer, B. R.; Izumi, K.; Jacqmin, T.; Jani, K.; Jaranowski, P.; Jawahar, S.; Jiménez-Forteza, F.; Johnson, W. W.; Jones, D. I.; Jones, R.; Jonker, R. J. G.; Ju, L.; Junker, J.; Kalaghatgi, C. V.; Kalogera, V.; Kamai, B.; Kandhasamy, S.; Kang, G.; Kanner, J. B.; Kapadia, S. J.; Karki, S.; Karvinen, K. S.; Kasprzack, M.; Katolik, M.; Katsavounidis, E.; Katzman, W.; Kaufer, S.; Kawabe, K.; Kéfélian, F.; Keitel, D.; Kemball, A. J.; Kennedy, R.; Kent, C.; Key, J. S.; Khalili, F. Y.; Khan, I.; Khan, S.; Khan, Z.; Khazanov, E. A.; Kijbunchoo, N.; Kim, Chunglee; Kim, J. C.; Kim, K.; Kim, W.; Kim, W. S.; Kim, Y.-M.; Kimbrell, S. J.; King, E. J.; King, P. J.; Kinley-Hanlon, M.; Kirchhoff, R.; Kissel, J. S.; Kleybolte, L.; Klimenko, S.; Knowles, T. D.; Koch, P.; Koehlenbeck, S. M.; Koley, S.; Kondrashov, V.; Kontos, A.; Korobko, M.; Korth, W. Z.; Kowalska, I.; Kozak, D. B.; Krämer, C.; Kringel, V.; Królak, A.; Kuehn, G.; Kumar, P.; Kumar, R.; Kumar, S.; Kuo, L.; Kutynia, A.; Kwang, S.; Lackey, B. D.; Lai, K. H.; Landry, M.; Lang, R. N.; Lange, J.; Lantz, B.; Lanza, R. K.; Lartaux-Vollard, A.; Lasky, P. D.; Laxen, M.; Lazzarini, A.; Lazzaro, C.; Leaci, P.; Leavey, S.; Lee, C. H.; Lee, H. K.; Lee, H. M.; Lee, H. W.; Lee, K.; Lehmann, J.; Lenon, A.; Leonardi, M.; Leroy, N.; Letendre, N.; Levin, Y.; Li, T. G. F.; Linker, S. D.; Littenberg, T. B.; Liu, J.; Lo, R. K. L.; Lockerbie, N. A.; London, L. T.; Lord, J. E.; Lorenzini, M.; Loriette, V.; Lormand, M.; Losurdo, G.; Lough, J. D.; Lousto, C. O.; Lovelace, G.; Lück, H.; Lumaca, D.; Lundgren, A. P.; Lynch, R.; Ma, Y.; Macas, R.; Macfoy, S.; Machenschalk, B.; MacInnis, M.; Macleod, D. M.; Magaña Hernandez, I.; Magaña-Sandoval, F.; Magaña Zertuche, L.; Magee, R. M.; Majorana, E.; Maksimovic, I.; Man, N.; Mandic, V.; Mangano, V.; Mansell, G. L.; Manske, M.; Mantovani, M.; Marchesoni, F.; Marion, F.; Márka, S.; Márka, Z.; Markakis, C.; Markosyan, A. S.; Markowitz, A.; Maros, E.; Marquina, A.; Martelli, F.; Martellini, L.; Martin, I. W.; Martin, R. M.; Martynov, D. V.; Mason, K.; Massera, E.; Masserot, A.; Massinger, T. J.; Masso-Reid, M.; Mastrogiovanni, S.; Matas, A.; Matichard, F.; Matone, L.; Mavalvala, N.; Mazumder, N.; McCarthy, R.; McClelland, D. E.; McCormick, S.; McCuller, L.; McGuire, S. C.; McIntyre, G.; McIver, J.; McManus, D. J.; McNeill, L.; McRae, T.; McWilliams, S. T.; Meacher, D.; Meadors, G. D.; Mehmet, M.; Meidam, J.; Mejuto-Villa, E.; Melatos, A.; Mendell, G.; Mercer, R. A.; Merilh, E. L.; Merzougui, M.; Meshkov, S.; Messenger, C.; Messick, C.; Metzdorff, R.; Meyers, P. M.; Miao, H.; Michel, C.; Middleton, H.; Mikhailov, E. E.; Milano, L.; Miller, A. L.; Miller, B. B.; Miller, J.; Millhouse, M.; Milovich-Goff, M. C.; Minazzoli, O.; Minenkov, Y.; Ming, J.; Mishra, C.; Mitra, S.; Mitrofanov, V. P.; Mitselmakher, G.; Mittleman, R.; Moffa, D.; Moggi, A.; Mogushi, K.; Mohan, M.; Mohapatra, S. R. P.; Montani, M.; Moore, C. J.; Moraru, D.; Moreno, G.; Morriss, S. R.; Mours, B.; Mow-Lowry, C. M.; Mueller, G.; Muir, A. W.; Mukherjee, Arunava; Mukherjee, D.; Mukherjee, S.; Mukund, N.; Mullavey, A.; Munch, J.; Muñiz, E. A.; Muratore, M.; Murray, P. G.; Napier, K.; Nardecchia, I.; Naticchioni, L.; Nayak, R. K.; Neilson, J.; Nelemans, G.; Nelson, T. J. N.; Nery, M.; Neunzert, A.; Nevin, L.; Newport, J. M.; Newton, G.; Ng, K. K. Y.; Nguyen, T. T.; Nichols, D.; Nielsen, A. B.; Nissanke, S.; Nitz, A.; Noack, A.; Nocera, F.; Nolting, D.; North, C.; Nuttall, L. K.; Oberling, J.; O'Dea, G. D.; Ogin, G. H.; Oh, J. J.; Oh, S. H.; Ohme, F.; Okada, M. A.; Oliver, M.; Oppermann, P.; Oram, Richard J.; O'Reilly, B.; Ormiston, R.; Ortega, L. F.; O'Shaughnessy, R.; Ossokine, S.; Ottaway, D. J.; Overmier, H.; Owen, B. J.; Pace, A. E.; Page, J.; Page, M. A.; Pai, A.; Pai, S. A.; Palamos, J. R.; Palashov, O.; Palomba, C.; Pal-Singh, A.; Pan, Howard; Pan, Huang-Wei; Pang, B.; Pang, P. T. H.; Pankow, C.; Pannarale, F.; Pant, B. C.; Paoletti, F.; Paoli, A.; Papa, M. 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    2018-05-01

    The detection of gravitational waves with Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo has enabled novel tests of general relativity, including direct study of the polarization of gravitational waves. While general relativity allows for only two tensor gravitational-wave polarizations, general metric theories can additionally predict two vector and two scalar polarizations. The polarization of gravitational waves is encoded in the spectral shape of the stochastic gravitational-wave background, formed by the superposition of cosmological and individually unresolved astrophysical sources. Using data recorded by Advanced LIGO during its first observing run, we search for a stochastic background of generically polarized gravitational waves. We find no evidence for a background of any polarization, and place the first direct bounds on the contributions of vector and scalar polarizations to the stochastic background. Under log-uniform priors for the energy in each polarization, we limit the energy densities of tensor, vector, and scalar modes at 95% credibility to Ω0T<5.58 ×10-8 , Ω0V<6.35 ×10-8 , and Ω0S<1.08 ×10-7 at a reference frequency f0=25 Hz .

  9. Search for Tensor, Vector, and Scalar Polarizations in the Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background.

    PubMed

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Raja, S; Rajan, C; Rajbhandari, B; Rakhmanov, M; Ramirez, K E; Ramos-Buades, A; Rapagnani, P; Raymond, V; Razzano, M; Read, J; Regimbau, T; Rei, L; Reid, S; Reitze, D H; Ren, W; Reyes, S D; Ricci, F; Ricker, P M; Rieger, S; Riles, K; Rizzo, M; Robertson, N A; Robie, R; Robinet, F; Rocchi, A; Rolland, L; Rollins, J G; Roma, V J; Romano, J D; Romano, R; Romel, C L; Romie, J H; Rosińska, D; Ross, M P; Rowan, S; Rüdiger, A; Ruggi, P; Rutins, G; Ryan, K; Sachdev, S; Sadecki, T; Sadeghian, L; Sakellariadou, M; Salconi, L; Saleem, M; Salemi, F; Samajdar, A; Sammut, L; Sampson, L M; Sanchez, E J; Sanchez, L E; Sanchis-Gual, N; Sandberg, V; Sanders, J R; Sassolas, B; Saulson, P R; Sauter, O; Savage, R L; Sawadsky, A; Schale, P; Scheel, M; Scheuer, J; Schmidt, J; Schmidt, P; Schnabel, R; Schofield, R M S; Schönbeck, A; Schreiber, E; Schuette, D; Schulte, B W; Schutz, B F; Schwalbe, S G; Scott, J; Scott, S M; Seidel, E; Sellers, D; Sengupta, A S; Sentenac, D; Sequino, V; Sergeev, A; Shaddock, D A; 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Wilken, D; Williams, D; Williams, R D; Williamson, A R; Willis, J L; Willke, B; Wimmer, M H; Winkler, W; Wipf, C C; Wittel, H; Woan, G; Woehler, J; Wofford, J; Wong, K W K; Worden, J; Wright, J L; Wu, D S; Wysocki, D M; Xiao, S; Yamamoto, H; Yancey, C C; Yang, L; Yap, M J; Yazback, M; Yu, Hang; Yu, Haocun; Yvert, M; Zadrożny, A; Zanolin, M; Zelenova, T; Zendri, J-P; Zevin, M; Zhang, L; Zhang, M; Zhang, T; Zhang, Y-H; Zhao, C; Zhou, M; Zhou, Z; Zhu, S J; Zhu, X J; Zucker, M E; Zweizig, J

    2018-05-18

    The detection of gravitational waves with Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo has enabled novel tests of general relativity, including direct study of the polarization of gravitational waves. While general relativity allows for only two tensor gravitational-wave polarizations, general metric theories can additionally predict two vector and two scalar polarizations. The polarization of gravitational waves is encoded in the spectral shape of the stochastic gravitational-wave background, formed by the superposition of cosmological and individually unresolved astrophysical sources. Using data recorded by Advanced LIGO during its first observing run, we search for a stochastic background of generically polarized gravitational waves. We find no evidence for a background of any polarization, and place the first direct bounds on the contributions of vector and scalar polarizations to the stochastic background. Under log-uniform priors for the energy in each polarization, we limit the energy densities of tensor, vector, and scalar modes at 95% credibility to Ω_{0}^{T}<5.58×10^{-8}, Ω_{0}^{V}<6.35×10^{-8}, and Ω_{0}^{S}<1.08×10^{-7} at a reference frequency f_{0}=25  Hz.

  10. Has evidence-based medicine ever been modern? A Latour-inspired understanding of a changing EBM.

    PubMed

    Wieringa, Sietse; Engebretsen, Eivind; Heggen, Kristin; Greenhalgh, Trish

    2017-10-01

    Evidence-based health care (EBHC), previously evidence-based medicine (EBM), is considered by many to have modernized health care and brought it from an authority-based past to a more rationalist, scientific grounding. But recent concerns and criticisms pose serious challenges and urge us to look at the fundamentals of a changing EBHC. In this paper, we present French philosopher Bruno Latour's vision on modernity as a framework to discuss current changes in the discourse on EBHC/EBM. Drawing on Latour's work, we argue that the early EBM movement had a strong modernist agenda with an aim to "purify" clinical reality into a dichotomy of objective "evidence" from nature and subjective "preferences" from human society and culture. However, we argue that this shift has proved impossible to achieve in reality. Several recent developments appear to point to a demise of purified evidence in the EBHC discourse and a growing recognition-albeit implicit and undertheorized-that evidence in clinical decision making is relentlessly situated and contextual. The unique, individual patient, not abstracted truths from distant research studies, must be the starting point for clinical practice. It follows that the EBHC community needs to reconsider the assumption that science should be abstracted from culture and acknowledge that knowledge from human culture and nature both need translation and interpretation. The implications for clinical reasoning are far reaching. We offer some preliminary principles for conceptualizing EBHC as a "situated practice" rather than as a sequence of research-driven abstract decisions. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  11. Visual signal detection in structured backgrounds. II. Effects of contrast gain control, background variations, and white noise

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Eckstein, M. P.; Ahumada, A. J. Jr; Watson, A. B.

    1997-01-01

    Studies of visual detection of a signal superimposed on one of two identical backgrounds show performance degradation when the background has high contrast and is similar in spatial frequency and/or orientation to the signal. To account for this finding, models include a contrast gain control mechanism that pools activity across spatial frequency, orientation and space to inhibit (divisively) the response of the receptor sensitive to the signal. In tasks in which the observer has to detect a known signal added to one of M different backgrounds grounds due to added visual noise, the main sources of degradation are the stochastic noise in the image and the suboptimal visual processing. We investigate how these two sources of degradation (contrast gain control and variations in the background) interact in a task in which the signal is embedded in one of M locations in a complex spatially varying background (structured background). We use backgrounds extracted from patient digital medical images. To isolate effects of the fixed deterministic background (the contrast gain control) from the effects of the background variations, we conduct detection experiments with three different background conditions: (1) uniform background, (2) a repeated sample of structured background, and (3) different samples of structured background. Results show that human visual detection degrades from the uniform background condition to the repeated background condition and degrades even further in the different backgrounds condition. These results suggest that both the contrast gain control mechanism and the background random variations degrade human performance in detection of a signal in a complex, spatially varying background. A filter model and added white noise are used to generate estimates of sampling efficiencies, an equivalent internal noise, an equivalent contrast-gain-control-induced noise, and an equivalent noise due to the variations in the structured background.

  12. [Quality of the structured abstracts presented at a congress].

    PubMed

    dos Santos, Edilson F; Pereira, Maurício G

    2007-01-01

    To assess and compare quality of abstracts presented at a medical congress (XIV Congresso da Sociedade Brasileira de Infectologia, November, 2005). The hypothesis is that material of better quality is chosen for oral presentation. All the 63 abstracts selected for oral presentation were compared with a random sample (n=63) of the 664 abstracts registered as poster presentations. Quality was measured by a structured questionnaire comprised of 33 criteria, distributed in eight categories: purpose, research design, setting, subjects, intervention, measurement, results and conclusions. The questionnaire was applied by one of the authors who were not blind to the objective of the study. The final score could range from 0 (bad) to 1 (excellent). Abstracts quality was considered moderately good. The overall mean quality scores were 0.60 and 0.62 respectively, for poster and oral presentation (p = 0.086). The criteria rated poorly were: subjects, variable measurements, location and conclusion. The tested hypothesis of better quality in abstracts selected for oral presentation has not been confirmed. It is recommended that organizers of the congresses the use of objective quality criteria to select the form of presentation while improving on quality.

  13. Metaphoric Images from Abstract Concepts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vizmuller-Zocco, Jana

    1992-01-01

    Discusses children's use of metaphors to create meaning, using as an example the pragmatic and "scientific" ways in which preschool children explain thunder and lightning to themselves. Argues that children are being shortchanged by modern scientific notions of abstractness and that they should be encouraged to create their own explanations of…

  14. Journalism Abstracts. Volume 25, 1987.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilhoit, Frances Goins, Ed.

    Collected from 55 universities in the United States and Canada, and published by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, this volume contains 339 abstracts of research dissertations and theses accepted for graduate degrees in journalism and mass communications from July 1, 1986 through June 30, 1987. Only research…

  15. 2011 statistical abstract of the United States

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Krisanda, Joseph M.

    2011-01-01

    The Statistical Abstract of the United States, published since 1878, is the authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States.


    Use the Abstract as a convenient volume for statistical reference, and as a guide to sources of more information both in print and on the Web.


    Sources of data include the Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis, and many other Federal agencies and private organizations.

  16. Abstraction and Assume-Guarantee Reasoning for Automated Software Verification

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chaki, S.; Clarke, E.; Giannakopoulou, D.; Pasareanu, C. S.

    2004-01-01

    Compositional verification and abstraction are the key techniques to address the state explosion problem associated with model checking of concurrent software. A promising compositional approach is to prove properties of a system by checking properties of its components in an assume-guarantee style. This article proposes a framework for performing abstraction and assume-guarantee reasoning of concurrent C code in an incremental and fully automated fashion. The framework uses predicate abstraction to extract and refine finite state models of software and it uses an automata learning algorithm to incrementally construct assumptions for the compositional verification of the abstract models. The framework can be instantiated with different assume-guarantee rules. We have implemented our approach in the COMFORT reasoning framework and we show how COMFORT out-performs several previous software model checking approaches when checking safety properties of non-trivial concurrent programs.

  17. Coupling Radar Rainfall to Hydrological Models for Water Abstraction Management

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Asfaw, Alemayehu; Shucksmith, James; Smith, Andrea; MacDonald, Ken

    2015-04-01

    The impacts of climate change and growing water use are likely to put considerable pressure on water resources and the environment. In the UK, a reform to surface water abstraction policy has recently been proposed which aims to increase the efficiency of using available water resources whilst minimising impacts on the aquatic environment. Key aspects to this reform include the consideration of dynamic rather than static abstraction licensing as well as introducing water trading concepts. Dynamic licensing will permit varying levels of abstraction dependent on environmental conditions (i.e. river flow and quality). The practical implementation of an effective dynamic abstraction strategy requires suitable flow forecasting techniques to inform abstraction asset management. Potentially the predicted availability of water resources within a catchment can be coupled to predicted demand and current storage to inform a cost effective water resource management strategy which minimises environmental impacts. The aim of this work is to use a historical analysis of UK case study catchment to compare potential water resource availability using modelled dynamic abstraction scenario informed by a flow forecasting model, against observed abstraction under a conventional abstraction regime. The work also demonstrates the impacts of modelling uncertainties on the accuracy of predicted water availability over range of forecast lead times. The study utilised a conceptual rainfall-runoff model PDM - Probability-Distributed Model developed by Centre for Ecology & Hydrology - set up in the Dove River catchment (UK) using 1km2 resolution radar rainfall as inputs and 15 min resolution gauged flow data for calibration and validation. Data assimilation procedures are implemented to improve flow predictions using observed flow data. Uncertainties in the radar rainfall data used in the model are quantified using artificial statistical error model described by Gaussian distribution and

  18. Generalized Abstract Symbolic Summaries

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Person, Suzette; Dwyer, Matthew B.

    2009-01-01

    Current techniques for validating and verifying program changes often consider the entire program, even for small changes, leading to enormous V&V costs over a program s lifetime. This is due, in large part, to the use of syntactic program techniques which are necessarily imprecise. Building on recent advances in symbolic execution of heap manipulating programs, in this paper, we develop techniques for performing abstract semantic differencing of program behaviors that offer the potential for improved precision.

  19. Beyond Syntactic Priming: Evidence for Activation of Alternative Syntactic Structures

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vasilyeva, Marina; Waterfall, Heidi

    2012-01-01

    Priming methodology was previously used to investigate children's ability to represent abstract syntactic forms. Existing evidence indicates that following exposure to a particular syntactic structure (such as the passive voice), English-speaking children increase their production of that structure with new lexical items. In the present work, we…

  20. Multiphoton amplitude in a constant background field

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ahmad, Aftab; Ahmadiniaz, Naser; Corradini, Olindo; Kim, Sang Pyo; Schubert, Christian

    2018-01-01

    In this contribution, we present our recent compact master formulas for the multiphoton amplitudes of a scalar propagator in a constant background field using the worldline fomulation of quantum field theory. The constant field has been included nonperturbatively, which is crucial for strong external fields. A possible application is the scattering of photons by electrons in a strong magnetic field, a process that has been a subject of great interest since the discovery of astrophysical objects like radio pulsars, which provide evidence that magnetic fields of the order of 1012G are present in nature. The presence of a strong external field leads to a strong deviation from the classical scattering amplitudes. We explicitly work out the Compton scattering amplitude in a magnetic field, which is a process of potential relevance for astrophysics. Our final result is compact and suitable for numerical integration.