A Cognitive Agent for Spectrum Monitoring and Informed Spectrum Access

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-06-01

electromagnetic environments (EMEs) to understand what spectrum bands are accessed, when those bands are accessed, and how much energy is...recall. The cognitive agent in this report uses the second approach. The knowledge domain of the cognitive agent is the electromagnetic spectrum. The...Knowledge DTV digital television EME electromagnetic environments FM frequency modulated RF radio frequency VHF very high frequency

Cognitive access to numbers: the philosophical significance of empirical findings about basic number abilities.

PubMed

Giaquinto, Marcus

2017-02-19

How can we acquire a grasp of cardinal numbers, even the first very small positive cardinal numbers, given that they are abstract mathematical entities? That problem of cognitive access is the main focus of this paper. All the major rival views about the nature and existence of cardinal numbers face difficulties; and the view most consonant with our normal thought and talk about numbers, the view that cardinal numbers are sizes of sets, runs into the cognitive access problem. The source of the problem is the plausible assumption that cognitive access to something requires causal contact with it. It is argued that this assumption is in fact wrong, and that in this and similar cases, we should accept that a certain recognize-and-distinguish capacity is sufficient for cognitive access. We can then go on to solve the cognitive access problem, and thereby support the set-size view of cardinal numbers, by paying attention to empirical findings about basic number abilities. To this end, some selected studies of infants, pre-school children and a trained chimpanzee are briefly discussed.This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'The origins of numerical abilities'. © 2017 The Author(s).

The acute and medium-term effects of treatment with electroconvulsive therapy on memory in patients with major depressive disorder.

PubMed

Maric, N P; Stojanovic, Z; Andric, S; Soldatovic, I; Dolic, M; Spiric, Z

2016-03-01

Current literature provides insufficient information on the degree of cognitive impairment during and after electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), mostly due to the fact that applied tests lacked sensitivity and flexibility. Our goal was to evaluate cognitive functioning in adult depressed patients treated with bi-temporal ECT, using tests sensitive for detection of possible acute and medium-term memory changes. Thirty adult patients with major depressive disorder, treated with a course of bi-temporal ECT, underwent clinical and cognitive measurements three times: at baseline, immediately after a course of ECT, and 1 month later. For cognition assessment, we used learning and visual, spatial and figural memory tests from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB). Bi-temporal ECT has proven to be an effective treatment. The linear mixed model, used to analyze changes in depression severity and patients' cognitive performances over time and to assess dynamic correlations between aforementioned features, did not show any significant memory impairment as a potential acute or medium-term ECT effect. However, it yielded significant improvement on visual memory and learning at the follow-up, which positively correlated with the improvement of depression. Good progress is being made in the search for ECT-related acute and medium-term cognitive side-effects by using the tests sensitive to detect memory dysfunction with parallel forms of the tasks (to counter practice effects on repeat testing). Our results on learning and memory in relation to ECT during treatment of depression did not bring forth any prolonged and significant bi-temporal ECT-related memory deficit.

Suppression, accessibility of death-related thoughts, and cultural worldview defense: exploring the psychodynamics of terror management.

PubMed

Arndt, J; Greenberg, J; Solomon, S; Pyszczynski, T; Simon, L

1997-07-01

Previous research has shown that after a mortality-salience (MS) treatment, death thought accessibility and worldview defense are initially low and then increase after a delay, suggesting that a person's initial response to conscious thoughts of mortality is to actively suppress death thoughts. If so, then high cognitive load, by disrupting suppression efforts, should lead to immediate increases in death thought accessibility and cultural worldview defense. Studies 1 and 2 supported this reasoning. Specifically, Study 1 replicated the delayed increase in death accessibility after MS among low cognitive load participants but showed a reversed pattern among participants under high cognitive load. Study 2 showed that, unlike low cognitive load participants, high cognitive load participants exhibited immediate increase in pro-American bias after MS. Study 3 demonstrated that worldview defense in response to MS reduces the delayed increase in death accessibility. Implications of these findings for understanding both terror management processes and psychological defense in general are discussed.

Exploring stroke survivor experience of participation in an enriched environment: a qualitative study.

PubMed

White, Jennifer H; Bartley, Emma; Janssen, Heidi; Jordan, Louise-Anne; Spratt, Neil

2015-01-01

Data highlight the importance of undertaking intense and frequent repetition of activities within stroke rehabilitation to maximise recovery. An enriched environment (EE) provides a medium in which these activities can be performed and enhanced recovery achieved. An EE has been shown to promote neuroplasticity in animal models of stroke, facilitating enhanced recovery of motor and cognitive function. However, the benefit of enriching the environment of stroke survivors remains unknown. To qualitatively explore stroke survivors' experience of implementation of exposure to an EE within a typical stroke rehabilitation setting, in order to identify facilitators and barriers to participation. Semi-structured interviews with 10 stroke survivors (7 females and 3 males, mean age of 70.5 years) exposed to an EE for a 2-week period following exposure to routine rehabilitation within a stroke rehabilitation ward. An inductive thematic approach was utilised to collect and analyse data. Qualitative themes emerged concerning the environmental enrichment paradigm including: (1) "It got me moving" - perceived benefits of participation in an EE; (2) "You can be bored or you can be busy." - Attenuating factors influencing participation in an EE; (3) "I don't like to make the staff busier" - limitations to use of the EE. This study provides preliminary support for the implementation of an EE within a typical stroke rehabilitation setting from a patient perspective. Reported benefits included (1) increased motor, cognitive and sensory stimulation, (2) increased social interaction, (3) alleviation of degree of boredom and (4) increased feelings of personal control. However, participants also identified a number of barriers affecting implementation of the EE. We have previously published findings on perceptions of nursing staff working with stroke survivors in this enriched rehabilitation environment who identified that patients benefited from having better access to physical, cognitive and social activities. Together, results contribute to valuable evidence for future implementation of an EE in stroke rehabilitation settings. Implications for Rehabilitation Stroke survivor access to an enriched environment (EE): RESULTS identified that participation in both individual and communal forms of environment enrichment within the stroke rehabilitation ward resulted in increased access to activities providing increased opportunities for enhanced motor, cognitive and sensory stimulation. Increased access to and participation in activities of the environmental enrichment (individual and communal) interrupted the ongoing cycle of boredom and inactivity experienced by many participants. This study provides preliminary support for the implementation of an EE within a typical stroke rehabilitation setting from a patient perspective.

Employers' Skill Preferences across Europe: Between Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mýtna Kureková, Lucia; Beblavý, Miroslav; Haita, Corina; Thum, Anna-Elisabeth

2016-01-01

This article analyses online job advertisements to identify skills that are demanded in selected low- and medium-skilled occupations. We explore data from the publicly administered cross-European EURES job search portal and quantify the different cognitive and non-cognitive skills requested by employers in small European economies. While we find…

Traffic Adaptive Energy Efficient and Low Latency Medium Access Control for Wireless Sensor Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yadav, Rajesh; Varma, Shirshu; Malaviya, N.

2008-05-01

Medium access control for wireless sensor networks has been a very active research area in the recent years. The traditional wireless medium access control protocol such as IEEE 802.11 is not suitable for the sensor network application because these are battery powered. The recharging of these sensor nodes is expensive and also not possible. The most of the literature in the medium access for the sensor network focuses on the energy efficiency. The proposed MAC protocol solves the energy inefficiency caused by idle listening, control packet overhead and overhearing taking nodes latency into consideration based on the network traffic. Simulation experiments have been performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The validation of the simulation results of the proposed MAC has been done by comparing it with the analytical model. This protocol has been simulated in Network Simulator ns-2.

Emerging new practices in technology to support independent community access for people with intellectual and cognitive disabilities.

PubMed

Stock, Steven E; Davies, Daniel K; Wehmeyer, Michael L; Lachapelle, Yves

2011-01-01

The concept of community access is a multidimensional term, which may involve issues related to physical access, knowledge and information, power and control, relationships and communications, advocacy, participation and quality of life [21]. This paper discusses historical and emerging practices and interventions related to physical access to community and community based information for individuals with cognitive disabilities such as intellectual disability, autism or traumatic brain injury. While much societal attention has been paid to features of independent community access for populations such as individuals with hearing, vision or physical disabilities, less attention has focused on independent community access for people with intellectual and other significant cognitive disabilities. Attitudes and actions by families and professional service communities are often mixed for some individuals in this population. The somewhat limited research base in these areas is explored, including a case study review and results from several promising feasibility studies. The paper concludes with comments concerning future prospects and recommendations for improving independent community access for persons with significant cognitive disabilities.

Everyday Cognition in Prodromal Huntington Disease

PubMed Central

Williams, Janet K.; Kim, Ji-In; Downing, Nancy; Farias, Sarah; Harrington, Deborah L.; Long, Jeffrey D.; Mills, James A.; Paulsen, Jane S.

2014-01-01

Objective Assessment of daily functions affected by cognitive loss in prodromal Huntington disease (HD) is necessary in practice and clinical trials. We evaluated baseline and longitudinal sensitivity of the Everyday Cognition (ECog) scales in prodromal HD and compared self- and companion-ratings. Method Everyday cognition was self-assessed by 850 participants with prodromal HD and 768 companions. We examined internal structure using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on baseline data. For longitudinal analysis, we stratified participants into Low, Medium, and High disease progression groups. We examined ECog scores for group differences and participant-and-companion differences using linear mixed effects regression (LMER). Comparison with the Total Functional Capacity (TFC) scale was made. Results CFA revealed good fit of a 5-factor model having a global factor (total score), and sub factors (subscales) of memory, language, visuospatial perception, and executive function. At study entry, participants and companions in the Medium and High groups reported significantly worsened everyday cognition as well as significant functional decline over time. Losses became more pronounced and participant and companion ratings diverged as individuals progressed. TFC showed significant functional loss over time in the High group but not in the Medium group. Conclusions Disease progression is associated with reduced self- and companion-reported everyday cognition in prodromal HD participants who are less than 13 years to estimated motor onset. Our findings suggest companion ratings are more sensitive than participants’ for detecting longitudinal change in daily cognitive function. ECog appears more sensitive to specific functional changes in the prodrome of HD than the TFC. PMID:25000321

Implementation of a Cross-Layer Sensing Medium-Access Control Scheme.

PubMed

Su, Yishan; Fu, Xiaomei; Han, Guangyao; Xu, Naishen; Jin, Zhigang

2017-04-10

In this paper, compressed sensing (CS) theory is utilized in a medium-access control (MAC) scheme for wireless sensor networks (WSNs). We propose a new, cross-layer compressed sensing medium-access control (CL CS-MAC) scheme, combining the physical layer and data link layer, where the wireless transmission in physical layer is considered as a compress process of requested packets in a data link layer according to compressed sensing (CS) theory. We first introduced using compressive complex requests to identify the exact active sensor nodes, which makes the scheme more efficient. Moreover, because the reconstruction process is executed in a complex field of a physical layer, where no bit and frame synchronizations are needed, the asynchronous and random requests scheme can be implemented without synchronization payload. We set up a testbed based on software-defined radio (SDR) to implement the proposed CL CS-MAC scheme practically and to demonstrate the validation. For large-scale WSNs, the simulation results show that the proposed CL CS-MAC scheme provides higher throughput and robustness than the carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) and compressed sensing medium-access control (CS-MAC) schemes.

Who does well in life? Conscientious adults excel in both objective and subjective success.

PubMed

Duckworth, Angela L; Weir, David; Tsukayama, Eli; Kwok, David

2012-01-01

This article investigates how personality and cognitive ability relate to measures of objective success (income and wealth) and subjective success (life satisfaction, positive affect, and lack of negative affect) in a representative sample of 9,646 American adults. In cross-sectional analyses controlling for demographic covariates, cognitive ability, and other Big Five traits, conscientiousness demonstrated beneficial associations of small-to-medium magnitude with all success outcomes. In contrast, other traits demonstrated stronger, but less consistently beneficial, relations with outcomes in the same models. For instance, emotional stability demonstrated medium-to-large associations with life satisfaction and affect but a weak association with income and no association with wealth. Likewise, extraversion demonstrated medium-to-large associations with positive affect and life satisfaction but small-to-medium associations with wealth and (lack of) negative affect and no association with income. Cognitive ability showed small-to-medium associations with income and wealth but no association with any aspect of subjective success. More agreeable adults were worse off in terms of objective success and life satisfaction, demonstrating small-to-medium inverse associations with those outcomes, but they did not differ from less agreeable adults in positive or negative affect. Likewise, openness to experience demonstrated small-to-medium inverse associations with every success outcome except positive affect, in which more open adults were slightly higher. Notably, in each of the five models predicting objective and subjective success outcomes, individual differences other than conscientiousness explained more variance than did conscientiousness. Thus, the benefits of conscientiousness may be remarkable more for their ubiquity than for their magnitude.

Who Does Well in Life? Conscientious Adults Excel in Both Objective and Subjective Success

PubMed Central

Duckworth, Angela L.; Weir, David; Tsukayama, Eli; Kwok, David

2012-01-01

This article investigates how personality and cognitive ability relate to measures of objective success (income and wealth) and subjective success (life satisfaction, positive affect, and lack of negative affect) in a representative sample of 9,646 American adults. In cross-sectional analyses controlling for demographic covariates, cognitive ability, and other Big Five traits, conscientiousness demonstrated beneficial associations of small-to-medium magnitude with all success outcomes. In contrast, other traits demonstrated stronger, but less consistently beneficial, relations with outcomes in the same models. For instance, emotional stability demonstrated medium-to-large associations with life satisfaction and affect but a weak association with income and no association with wealth. Likewise, extraversion demonstrated medium-to-large associations with positive affect and life satisfaction but small-to-medium associations with wealth and (lack of) negative affect and no association with income. Cognitive ability showed small-to-medium associations with income and wealth but no association with any aspect of subjective success. More agreeable adults were worse off in terms of objective success and life satisfaction, demonstrating small-to-medium inverse associations with those outcomes, but they did not differ from less agreeable adults in positive or negative affect. Likewise, openness to experience demonstrated small-to-medium inverse associations with every success outcome except positive affect, in which more open adults were slightly higher. Notably, in each of the five models predicting objective and subjective success outcomes, individual differences other than conscientiousness explained more variance than did conscientiousness. Thus, the benefits of conscientiousness may be remarkable more for their ubiquity than for their magnitude. PMID:23162483

A pilot study of a family cognitive adaptation training guide for individuals with schizophrenia.

PubMed

Kidd, Sean A; Kerman, Nick; Ernest, Debbie; Maples, Natalie; Arthur, Cicely; de Souza, Sara; Kath, Jennifer; Herman, Yarissa; Virdee, Gursharan; Collins, April; Velligan, Dawn

2018-06-01

There is a paucity of accessible, evidence-based tools for caregivers of individuals with schizophrenia. This study examines changes in the self-assessed and caregiver-assessed outcomes of people with schizophrenia after exposure to a cognitive adaptation training (CAT) guide that addressed pragmatic, in-home approaches to offset the cognitive impacts of the illness. This study examined the 4-month, pre-post outcomes of a CAT guide, as compared with a popular, general manual, for families of individuals with schizophrenia. A total of 17 caregiver-supported individual dyads completed all measures, having been randomized to either a CAT-guide group or a support-manual group. Measures included medication adherence, adaptive functioning, quality of life, and caregiver burden. Semistructured interviews assessed use and utility questions. Caregiver-assessed improvements in community functioning with medium-high effect sizes were observed in both study conditions. Self-report ratings by supported individuals did not change from baseline to 4 months and no change was observed in medication adherence or quality of life for either condition. Caregiver-burden ratings significantly declined with a large effect size, again with no difference as a function of manual type. These findings suggest that there is some promise in providing families with evidence-based information in manual form. Further research informed by this study's findings should include assessments of whether and how environmental cognitive supports can be of specific benefit to families affected by schizophrenia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

The Computational and Neural Basis of Cognitive Control: Charted Territory and New Frontiers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Botvinick, Matthew M.; Cohen, Jonathan D.

2014-01-01

Cognitive control has long been one of the most active areas of computational modeling work in cognitive science. The focus on computational models as a medium for specifying and developing theory predates the PDP books, and cognitive control was not one of the areas on which they focused. However, the framework they provided has injected work on…

Cognitive Profile in Low, Medium and High Creative Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferrando, Mercedes; Bermejo, Rosario; Sainz, Marta; Ferrandiz, Carmen; Prieto, Maria Dolores; Soto, Gloria

2012-01-01

Introduction: The aim of the present work is to advance in the study of creativity-intelligence relationship looking into the students' cognitive profiles. It is hypothesized that, if creative ideas emerge as result of connecting distant concepts, and a balanced cognitive profile (without significant differences between ability levels) can…

[Culinary as an object of study and intervention in the field of Food and Nutrition].

PubMed

Diez-Garcia, Rosa Wanda; de Castro, Inês Rugani Ribeiro

2011-01-01

Culinary is approached here as an object of food and nutritional studies and interventions aimed at dietary changes. In order to explore the culinary potential, two studies are presented: one qualitative, focusing on dietary intake, with subjects from two socioeconomic sectors submitted to salt restrictions; the other uses cooking as structural axis of an educational method for promoting healthy eating. In both studies one can observe the potential of culinary: in the first, as a medium which allows access to information about food procedures that can improve the quality of information about food intake and food practices and, in the second, as an effective space for interventions aimed at food habit changes by addressing their sensorial, cognitive, symbolic and procedural dimensions.

Positive effects of combined cognitive and physical exercise training on cognitive function in older adults with mild cognitive impairment or dementia: A meta-analysis.

PubMed

Karssemeijer, Esther G A; Aaronson, Justine A; Bossers, Willem J; Smits, Tara; Olde Rikkert, Marcel G M; Kessels, Roy P C

2017-11-01

Combined cognitive and physical exercise interventions have potential to elicit cognitive benefits in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia. This meta-analysis aims to quantify the overall effect of these interventions on global cognitive functioning in older adults with MCI or dementia. Ten randomized controlled trials that applied a combined cognitive-physical intervention with cognitive function as an outcome measure were included. For each study effect sizes were computed (i.e., post-intervention standardized mean difference (SMD) scores) and pooled, using a random-effects meta-analysis. The primary analysis showed a small-to-medium positive effect of combined cognitive-physical interventions on global cognitive function in older adults with MCI or dementia (SMD[95% confidence interval]=0.32[0.17;0.47], p<0.00). A combined intervention was equally beneficial in patients with dementia (SMD=0.36[0.12;0.60], p<0.00) and MCI (SMD=0.39[0.15;0.63], p<0.05). In addition, the analysis showed a moderate-to-large positive effect after combined cognitive-physical interventions for activities of daily living (ADL) (SMD=0.65[0.09;1.21], p<0.01)and a small-to-medium positive effect for mood (SMD=0.27[0.04;0.50], p<0.01). These functional benefits emphasize the clinical relevance of combined cognitive and physical training strategies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cognitive Radio Cloud Networks: Assured Access In The Future Electromagnetic Operating Environment

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-04-04

AIR COMMAND AND STAFF COLLEGE AIR UNIVERSITY COGNITIVE RADIO CLOUD NETWORKS: ASSURED ACCESS IN THE FUTURE ELECTROMAGNETIC OPERATING...3 Abstract The electromagnetic spectrum is a finite resource that is critical to the United States military’s...ability to gain superiority in the other five warfighting domains. The Department of Defense’s electromagnetic strategy is spectrum access when and

A Novel Dynamic Spectrum Access Framework Based on Reinforcement Learning for Cognitive Radio Sensor Networks.

PubMed

Lin, Yun; Wang, Chao; Wang, Jiaxing; Dou, Zheng

2016-10-12

Cognitive radio sensor networks are one of the kinds of application where cognitive techniques can be adopted and have many potential applications, challenges and future research trends. According to the research surveys, dynamic spectrum access is an important and necessary technology for future cognitive sensor networks. Traditional methods of dynamic spectrum access are based on spectrum holes and they have some drawbacks, such as low accessibility and high interruptibility, which negatively affect the transmission performance of the sensor networks. To address this problem, in this paper a new initialization mechanism is proposed to establish a communication link and set up a sensor network without adopting spectrum holes to convey control information. Specifically, firstly a transmission channel model for analyzing the maximum accessible capacity for three different polices in a fading environment is discussed. Secondly, a hybrid spectrum access algorithm based on a reinforcement learning model is proposed for the power allocation problem of both the transmission channel and the control channel. Finally, extensive simulations have been conducted and simulation results show that this new algorithm provides a significant improvement in terms of the tradeoff between the control channel reliability and the efficiency of the transmission channel.

A Novel Dynamic Spectrum Access Framework Based on Reinforcement Learning for Cognitive Radio Sensor Networks

PubMed Central

Lin, Yun; Wang, Chao; Wang, Jiaxing; Dou, Zheng

2016-01-01

Cognitive radio sensor networks are one of the kinds of application where cognitive techniques can be adopted and have many potential applications, challenges and future research trends. According to the research surveys, dynamic spectrum access is an important and necessary technology for future cognitive sensor networks. Traditional methods of dynamic spectrum access are based on spectrum holes and they have some drawbacks, such as low accessibility and high interruptibility, which negatively affect the transmission performance of the sensor networks. To address this problem, in this paper a new initialization mechanism is proposed to establish a communication link and set up a sensor network without adopting spectrum holes to convey control information. Specifically, firstly a transmission channel model for analyzing the maximum accessible capacity for three different polices in a fading environment is discussed. Secondly, a hybrid spectrum access algorithm based on a reinforcement learning model is proposed for the power allocation problem of both the transmission channel and the control channel. Finally, extensive simulations have been conducted and simulation results show that this new algorithm provides a significant improvement in terms of the tradeoff between the control channel reliability and the efficiency of the transmission channel. PMID:27754316

49 CFR 1542.209 - Fingerprint-based criminal history records checks (CHRC).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

...) Violence at international airports; 18 U.S.C. 37. (28) Conspiracy or attempt to commit any of the criminal... medium to the issuer. (2) Each individual with unescorted access authority who has a disqualifying criminal offense must report the offense to the airport operator and surrender the SIDA access medium to...

49 CFR 1542.209 - Fingerprint-based criminal history records checks (CHRC).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

...) Violence at international airports; 18 U.S.C. 37. (28) Conspiracy or attempt to commit any of the criminal... medium to the issuer. (2) Each individual with unescorted access authority who has a disqualifying criminal offense must report the offense to the airport operator and surrender the SIDA access medium to...

49 CFR 1542.209 - Fingerprint-based criminal history records checks (CHRC).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

...) Violence at international airports; 18 U.S.C. 37. (28) Conspiracy or attempt to commit any of the criminal... medium to the issuer. (2) Each individual with unescorted access authority who has a disqualifying criminal offense must report the offense to the airport operator and surrender the SIDA access medium to...

49 CFR 1542.209 - Fingerprint-based criminal history records checks (CHRC).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

...) Violence at international airports; 18 U.S.C. 37. (28) Conspiracy or attempt to commit any of the criminal... medium to the issuer. (2) Each individual with unescorted access authority who has a disqualifying criminal offense must report the offense to the airport operator and surrender the SIDA access medium to...

49 CFR 1542.209 - Fingerprint-based criminal history records checks (CHRC).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

...) Violence at international airports; 18 U.S.C. 37. (28) Conspiracy or attempt to commit any of the criminal... medium to the issuer. (2) Each individual with unescorted access authority who has a disqualifying criminal offense must report the offense to the airport operator and surrender the SIDA access medium to...

EPA GHG certification of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles: Development of road grade profiles representative of US controlled access highways

DOE PAGES

Wood, Eric; Duran, Adam; Kelly, Kenneth

2016-09-27

In collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory has conducted a national analysis of road grade characteristics experienced by U.S. medium- and heavy-duty trucks on controlled access highways. These characteristics have been developed using TomTom's commercially available street map and road grade database. Using the TomTom national road grade database, national statistics on road grade and hill distances were generated for the U.S. network of controlled access highways. These statistical distributions were then weighted using data provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for activity of medium- and heavy-dutymore » trucks on controlled access highways. Here, the national activity-weighted road grade and hill distance distributions were then used as targets for development of a handful of sample grade profiles potentially to be used in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Model certification tool as well as in dynamometer testing of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and their powertrains.« less

EPA GHG certification of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles: Development of road grade profiles representative of US controlled access highways

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

Wood, Eric; Duran, Adam; Kelly, Kenneth

In collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory has conducted a national analysis of road grade characteristics experienced by U.S. medium- and heavy-duty trucks on controlled access highways. These characteristics have been developed using TomTom's commercially available street map and road grade database. Using the TomTom national road grade database, national statistics on road grade and hill distances were generated for the U.S. network of controlled access highways. These statistical distributions were then weighted using data provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for activity of medium- and heavy-dutymore » trucks on controlled access highways. Here, the national activity-weighted road grade and hill distance distributions were then used as targets for development of a handful of sample grade profiles potentially to be used in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Model certification tool as well as in dynamometer testing of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and their powertrains.« less

Measuring Cognitive Load with Electroencephalography and Self-Report: Focus on the Effect of English-Medium Learning for Korean Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Hyunjeong

2014-01-01

This study investigated a reliable and valid method for measuring cognitive load during learning through comparing various types of cognitive load measurements: electroencephalography (EEG), self-reporting, and learning outcome. A total of 43 college-level students underwent watching a documentary delivered in English or in Korean. EEG was…

Objective Cognitive Functioning in Self-reported Habitual Short Sleepers not Reporting Daytime Dysfunction: Examination of Impulsivity via Delay Discounting.

PubMed

Curtis, Brian J; Williams, Paula G; Anderson, Jeffrey S

2018-05-30

1) Examine performance on an objective measure of reward-related cognitive impulsivity (delay discounting) among self-reported habitual short sleepers and medium (i.e., recommended 7-9 hours) length sleepers either reporting or not reporting daytime dysfunction; 2) Inform the debate regarding what type and duration of short sleep (e.g., 21 to 24 hours of total sleep deprivation, self-reported habitual short sleep duration) meaningfully influences cognitive impulsivity; 3) Compare the predictive utility of sleep duration and perceived dysfunction to other factors previously shown to influence cognitive impulsivity via delay discounting performance (age, income, education, and fluid intelligence). We analyzed data from 1,190 adults from the Human Connectome Project database. Participants were grouped on whether they reported habitual short (≤ 6 hours) vs. medium length (7-9 hours) sleep duration and whether they perceived daytime dysfunction using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. All short sleepers exhibited increased delay discounting compared to all medium length sleepers, regardless of perceived dysfunction. Of the variables examined, self-reported sleep duration was the strongest predictor of delay discounting behavior between groups and across all 1,190 participants. Individuals who report habitual short sleep are likely to exhibit increased reward-related cognitive impulsivity regardless of perceived sleep-related daytime impairment. Therefore, there is reason to suspect that these individuals exhibit more daytime dysfunction, in the form of reward-related cognitive impulsivity, than they may assume. Current findings suggest that assessment of sleep duration over the prior month has meaningful predictive utility for human reward-related impulsivity.

Microcomputer Applications with PC LAN (Local Area Network) in Battleships.

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-12-01

NETWORKS 5 C. TRANSMISSION TECHNIQUES 6 D. MEDIUM ACCESS CONTROL METHODS 6 1. CSMA CD 6 2. Control Token 7 3. Slotted Ring 7 E...network model in the Turkish Battleships will employ the broadband technique. D. MEDIUM ACCESS CONTROL METHODS The access method is one of the most...better performance at heavier loads. 3. Slotted Ring This method is used with a ring network. The ring is initialized to contain a fixed number of

Understanding the cognitive impact of the contraceptive estrogen Ethinyl Estradiol: tonic and cyclic administration impairs memory, and performance correlates with basal forebrain cholinergic system integrity.

PubMed

Mennenga, Sarah E; Gerson, Julia E; Koebele, Stephanie V; Kingston, Melissa L; Tsang, Candy W S; Engler-Chiurazzi, Elizabeth B; Baxter, Leslie C; Bimonte-Nelson, Heather A

2015-04-01

Ethinyl Estradiol (EE), a synthetic, orally bio-available estrogen, is the most commonly prescribed form of estrogen in oral contraceptives, and is found in at least 30 different contraceptive formulations currently prescribed to women as well as hormone therapies prescribed to menopausal women. Thus, EE is prescribed clinically to women at ages ranging from puberty to reproductive senescence. Here, in two separate studies, the cognitive effects of cyclic or tonic EE administration following ovariectomy (Ovx) were evaluated in young female rats. Study I assessed the cognitive effects of low and high doses of EE, delivered tonically via a subcutaneous osmotic pump. Study II evaluated the cognitive effects of low, medium, and high doses of EE administered via a daily subcutaneous injection, modeling the daily rise and fall of serum EE levels with oral regimens. Study II also investigated the impact of low, medium and high doses of EE on the basal forebrain cholinergic system. The low and medium doses utilized here correspond to the range of doses currently used in clinical formulations, and the high dose corresponds to doses prescribed to a generation of women between 1960 and 1970, when oral contraceptives first became available. We evaluate cognition using a battery of maze tasks tapping several domains of spatial learning and memory as well as basal forebrain cholinergic integrity using immunohistochemistry and unbiased stereology to estimate the number of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT)-producing cells in the medial septum and vertical/diagonal bands. At the highest dose, EE treatment impaired multiple domains of spatial memory relative to vehicle treatment, regardless of administration method. When given cyclically at the low and medium doses, EE did not impact working memory, but transiently impaired reference memory during the learning phase of testing. Of the doses and regimens tested here, only EE at the highest dose impaired several domains of memory; tonic delivery of low EE, a dose that corresponds to the most popular doses used in the clinic today, did not impact cognition on any measure. Both medium and high injection doses of EE reduced the number of ChAt-immunoreactive cells in the basal forebrain, and cell population estimates in the vertical/diagonal bands negatively correlated with working memory errors. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Two plus blue equals green: Grapheme-color synesthesia allows cognitive access to numerical information via color

PubMed Central

McCarthy, J. Daniel; Barnes, Lianne N.; Alvarez, Bryan D.; Caplovitz, Gideon Paul

2013-01-01

In grapheme-color synesthesia, graphemes (e.g., numbers or letters) evoke color experiences. It is generally reported that the opposite is not true: colors will not generate experiences of graphemes or their associated information. However, recent research has provided evidence that colors can implicitly elicit symbolic representations of associated graphemes. Here, we examine if these representations can be cognitively accessed. Using a mathematical verification task replacing graphemes with color patches, we find that synesthetes can verify such problems with colors as accurately as with graphemes. Doing so, however, takes time: ~250ms per color. Moreover, we find minimal reaction time switch-costs for switching between computing with graphemes and colors. This demonstrates that given specific task demands, synesthetes can cognitively access numerical information elicited by physical colors, and they do so as accurately as with graphemes. We discuss these results in the context of possible cognitive strategies used to access the information. PMID:24100131

'That proves my point': How mediums reconstrue disconfirmation in medium-sitter interactions.

PubMed

Enoksen, Anette Einan; Dickerson, Paul

2018-04-01

Previous research has examined how the talk of mediums attends to the epistemological status of their readings. Such work has identified that mediums frequently use question-framed propositions that are typically confirmed by the sitter, thereby conferring epistemological status on the medium. This study seeks to investigate what happens when the sitter disconfirms the propositions of the medium. The study focuses on the ways in which such disconfirmation can be responded to such that it is reconstrued as evidence of the psychic nature of the medium's reading. Televised demonstrations of psychic readings involving British and US mediums and their sitters are analysed. The results suggest that mediums rework disconfirmation as proof in several ways: first, by emphasizing the different access that sitter and medium have to knowledge (e.g., about the future); second, as evidence that the medium has access to the actual voice of the deceased (and may therefore mishear what the deceased has said to them); and third, as revealing an important truth that has hitherto been concealed from the sitter. The implications of these findings are considered for cases where speakers bring different and potentially competing, epistemological resources to an interaction. © 2018 The British Psychological Society.

Is cognitive behavioural therapy effective in reducing suicidal ideation and behaviour when delivered face-to-face or via e-health? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Leavey, Katie; Hawkins, Russell

2017-09-01

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a widely used psychotherapeutic intervention for suicide prevention despite its efficacy for suicide prevention in adults remaining ambiguous. Reluctance or inability to access face-to-face help suggests that e-health delivery may be a valuable resource for suicidal people. The aim of this study was to systematically review and conduct meta-analysis on research assessing the efficacy of CBT delivered via face-to-face and e-health for suicidal ideation and behaviour. A comprehensive literature search of MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Scopus, PubMed and The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials was conducted. From 764 identified articles, 26 met the inclusion criteria for investigating CBT for suicidal ideation and behaviours in adult populations. Data were extracted on study characteristics and meta-analysis was performed where possible. There was a statistically significant, small to medium effect for face-to-face delivered CBT in reducing suicidal ideation and behaviour although there was significant heterogeneity between the included studies. CBT delivered via e-health was not found to be efficacious for reducing suicidal ideation and behaviour in adults though the number of studies reviewed was small.

Amending storage vessel and media improves transfer interval of Musa spp. tissue culture plantlets

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Musa spp. are some of the most important fruit food crops in the world. The USDA-ARS TARS maintains a Musa spp. germplasm collection of ~150 accessions in field plots and in medium-term storage in vitro. Accessions maintained in vitro require routine sub-culturing as nutrient medium is lost due to ...

Social cognitive functioning in prodromal psychosis: A meta-analysis.

PubMed

Lee, Tae Young; Hong, Sang Bin; Shin, Na Young; Kwon, Jun Soo

2015-05-01

There is substantial evidence regarding a social cognitive deficit in schizophrenia, and it has been suggested to be a trait-marker of this disorder. However, a domain-by-domain analysis of social cognitive deficits in individuals at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis has not been performed. Electronic databases were searched for studies regarding social cognitive performance in individuals at CHR. The included social cognitive domains, which were classified based on the Social Cognition Psychometric Evaluation (SCOPE) initiative of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), were as follows: theory of mind (ToM), social perception (SP), attributional bias (AB), and emotion processing (EP). Twenty studies that included 1229 individuals at CHR and 825 healthy controls met the inclusion criteria. The overall effect size for social cognition was medium (g=-0.477). The largest effect size was identified for AB (g=-0.708). A medium effect size was identified for EP (g=-0.446) and ToM (g=-0.425), and small effects were identified for SP (g=-0.383). This is the first quantitative domain-by-domain social cognitive meta-analysis regarding CHR individuals. The present study indicated that individuals at CHR exhibited significant impairments in all domains of social cognition compared with healthy controls, with the largest effect size identified for AB. The identification of social cognitive domains that reflect an increased risk for impending psychosis and of predictors of the conversion to psychosis via a longitudinal follow-up study is required. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Computational modeling in cognitive science: a manifesto for change.

PubMed

Addyman, Caspar; French, Robert M

2012-07-01

Computational modeling has long been one of the traditional pillars of cognitive science. Unfortunately, the computer models of cognition being developed today have not kept up with the enormous changes that have taken place in computer technology and, especially, in human-computer interfaces.  For all intents and purposes, modeling is still done today as it was 25, or even 35, years ago. Everyone still programs in his or her own favorite programming language, source code is rarely made available, accessibility of models to non-programming researchers is essentially non-existent, and even for other modelers, the profusion of source code in a multitude of programming languages, written without programming guidelines, makes it almost impossible to access, check, explore, re-use, or continue to develop. It is high time to change this situation, especially since the tools are now readily available to do so. We propose that the modeling community adopt three simple guidelines that would ensure that computational models would be accessible to the broad range of researchers in cognitive science. We further emphasize the pivotal role that journal editors must play in making computational models accessible to readers of their journals. Copyright © 2012 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Test Design Considerations for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Daniel; Farley, Dan; Tindal, Gerald

2015-01-01

Students with significant cognitive disabilities present an assessment dilemma that centers on access and validity in large-scale testing programs. Typically, access is improved by eliminating construct-irrelevant barriers, while validity is improved, in part, through test standardization. In this article, one state's alternate assessment data…

A Dual Coding Model of Processing Chinese as a Second Language: A Cognitive-Load Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sham, Diana Po Lan

2002-01-01

The research was conducted in Sydney and Hong Kong using students, from grades 5 to 9, whose first language or teaching medium was English, learning to read Chinese as second language. According to cognitive load theory, the processing of single Chinese characters accompanied by pictures should impose extraneous cognitive load and thus hinders…

Cognitive functioning and adjudicative competence: defendants referred for neuropsychological evaluation in a psychiatric inpatient setting.

PubMed

Arredondo, Beth C; Marcopulos, Bernice A; Brand, Jesse G; Campbell, Kristen T; Kent, Julie-Ann

2017-11-01

A paucity of peer-reviewed research exists regarding the relation between cognitive functioning and adjudicative competence, despite increasing awareness of cognitive deficits associated with serious mental illness. This retrospective study sought to add to and expand upon existing research by considering performance validity and court determinations of competence, when available. We compared demographic and cognitive variables of a group of defendants with presumed valid testing admitted to an inpatient psychiatric facility for evaluation of adjudicative competence and referred for neuropsychological evaluation (n = 45) and compared individuals determined by the evaluator and/or the court to be competent (n = 30) and incompetent (n = 15). Defendants who were incompetent were more likely to be diagnosed with a cognitive disorder, with a medium effect size. There was a difference in tests of immediate and delayed memory as measured by the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS), with medium to large effects, and high delayed memory scores were helpful in ruling out incompetence (Negative predictive power = 85.71%). These results provide support for the relationship between cognitive functioning and trial competence, particularly at high and low levels of performance.

Extending the Soar Cognitive Architecture

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-07-01

the first corticostriatal loop, communicating with areas in prefrontal cortex may decide that the medium term intention goal is to satisfy hunger ...decided upon, perhaps rising from a chair. The medium term goal of hunger satiation remains - repeatedly selected by its corticostriatal loop when a...decision between hunger and another medium term goal is required. The actions needed to fulfill that goal are executed in sequence until the goal has

Preventing Childhood Anxiety Disorders: Is an Applied Game as Effective as a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy-Based Program?

PubMed

Schoneveld, Elke A; Lichtwarck-Aschoff, Anna; Granic, Isabela

2018-02-01

A large proportion of children experience subclinical levels of anxiety and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) aimed at preventing anxiety disorders is moderately effective. However, most at-risk children do not seek help or drop out of programs prematurely because of stigma, lack of motivation, and accessibility barriers. Applied games have received increased attention as viable alternatives and have shown promising results, but direct comparisons between applied games and the gold-standard CBT are lacking. Our aim was to investigate whether the applied game MindLight is as effective as CBT (i.e., Coping Cat) within an indicated prevention context. We conducted a randomized controlled non-inferiority trial with a sample of 174 children (7- to 12-year olds) with elevated levels of anxiety, comparing MindLight to CBT. Anxiety was assessed with self- and parent-reports at pre- and post-program, and at 3- and 6-month follow-ups. Intention-to-treat and completers-only confidence interval approach and latent growth curve modeling showed an overall significant quadratic decrease in child- and parent-reported anxiety symptoms over time and, as predicted, the magnitude of improvement was the same for MindLight and CBT. The within-group effect sizes were small to medium at post-test (- 0.32 to - 0.63), and medium to large (- 0.60 to - 1.07) at 3- and 6-month follow-ups. Furthermore, MindLight and CBT were rated equally anxiety inducing, difficult, and appealing; CBT was rated as more relevant to daily life than MindLight. The current study adds to the growing research on applied games for mental health and shows that these games hold potential as alternative delivery models for evidence-based therapeutic techniques.

Aboriginal prisoners and cognitive impairment: the impact of dual disadvantage on Social and Emotional Wellbeing.

PubMed

Shepherd, S M; Ogloff, J R P; Shea, D; Pfeifer, J E; Paradies, Y

2017-04-01

Negligible information is available regarding the Social and Emotional Wellbeing (SEWB) needs of Aboriginal Australian individuals in custody with cognitive impairment. This is problematic given that Aboriginal people with cognitive impairment often experience dual disadvantage in the context of the justice system. This study sought to ascertain the relationship between cognitive impairment and mental health/cultural needs (SEWB) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in custody. A sample of 122 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were administered a culturally themed semi-structured questionnaire in custodial settings in Victoria, Australia. The questionnaire included measures of cognitive impairment, SEWB and forensic needs. Analyses were performed to determine differences in the presence of SEWB and unmet custodial needs by level of cognitive impairment. Findings revealed a diminished level of wellbeing for cognitively impaired participants across several factors. Cognitive impairment was associated with poorer coping mechanisms, additional experiences of racism, difficulties handling emotions, discomfort around non-Aboriginal people and reduced access to meaningful activities in custody. All participants regardless of their level of impairment recognised the importance of cultural engagement; however, cognitively impaired participants had greater difficulty accessing/practicing cultural activities. Culturally responsive disability assistance should be available at all phases of the justice system for Indigenous people with cognitive impairment to ensure that equitable care is accessible and needs are addressed. © 2017 MENCAP and International Association of the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Using the Critical Incident Technique to Research Decision Making regarding Access to Training and Development in Medium-Sized Enterprises

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coetzer, Alan; Redmond, Janice; Sharafizad, Jalleh

2012-01-01

Employees in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) form part of a "disadvantaged" group within the workforce that receives less access to training and development (T&D) than employees in large firms. Prior research into reasons for the relatively low levels of employee participation in training and development has typically…

Cognitive radio wireless sensor networks: applications, challenges and research trends.

PubMed

Joshi, Gyanendra Prasad; Nam, Seung Yeob; Kim, Sung Won

2013-08-22

A cognitive radio wireless sensor network is one of the candidate areas where cognitive techniques can be used for opportunistic spectrum access. Research in this area is still in its infancy, but it is progressing rapidly. The aim of this study is to classify the existing literature of this fast emerging application area of cognitive radio wireless sensor networks, highlight the key research that has already been undertaken, and indicate open problems. This paper describes the advantages of cognitive radio wireless sensor networks, the difference between ad hoc cognitive radio networks, wireless sensor networks, and cognitive radio wireless sensor networks, potential application areas of cognitive radio wireless sensor networks, challenges and research trend in cognitive radio wireless sensor networks. The sensing schemes suited for cognitive radio wireless sensor networks scenarios are discussed with an emphasis on cooperation and spectrum access methods that ensure the availability of the required QoS. Finally, this paper lists several open research challenges aimed at drawing the attention of the readers toward the important issues that need to be addressed before the vision of completely autonomous cognitive radio wireless sensor networks can be realized.

Phencyclidine Discoordinates Hippocampal Network Activity But Not Place Fields

PubMed Central

Kao, Hsin-Yi; Kenney, Jana; Kelemen, Eduard

2017-01-01

We used the psychotomimetic phencyclidine (PCP) to investigate the relationships among cognitive behavior, coordinated neural network function, and information processing within the hippocampus place cell system. We report in rats that PCP (5 mg/kg, i.p.) impairs a well learned, hippocampus-dependent place avoidance behavior in rats that requires cognitive control even when PCP is injected directly into dorsal hippocampus. PCP increases 60–100 Hz medium-freguency gamma oscillations in hippocampus CA1 and these increases correlate with the cognitive impairment caused by systemic PCP administration. PCP discoordinates theta-modulated medium-frequency and slow gamma oscillations in CA1 LFPs such that medium-frequency gamma oscillations become more theta-organized than slow gamma oscillations. CA1 place cell firing fields are preserved under PCP, but the drug discoordinates the subsecond temporal organization of discharge among place cells. This discoordination causes place cell ensemble representations of a familiar space to cease resembling pre-PCP representations despite preserved place fields. These findings point to the cognitive impairments caused by PCP arising from neural discoordination. PCP disrupts the timing of discharge with respect to the subsecond timescales of theta and gamma oscillations in the LFP. Because these oscillations arise from local inhibitory synaptic activity, these findings point to excitation–inhibition discoordination as the root of PCP-induced cognitive impairment. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Hippocampal neural discharge is temporally coordinated on timescales of theta and gamma oscillations in the LFP and the discharge of a subset of pyramidal neurons called “place cells” is spatially organized such that discharge is restricted to locations called a cell's “place field.” Because this temporal coordination and spatial discharge organization is thought to represent spatial knowledge, we used the psychotomimetic phencyclidine (PCP) to disrupt cognitive behavior and assess the importance of neural coordination and place fields for spatial cognition. PCP impaired the judicious use of spatial information and discoordinated hippocampal discharge without disrupting firing fields. These findings dissociate place fields from spatial cognitive behavior and suggest that hippocampus discharge coordination is crucial to spatial cognition. PMID:29118102

The Experiences of High Intensity Therapists Delivering Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to People with Intellectual Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marwood, Hayley; Chinn, Deborah; Gannon, Kenneth; Scior, Katrina

2018-01-01

Background: People with intellectual disabilities (ID) should be able to access the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme, currently a main provider of mainstream mental health services in England. IAPT offer cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to individuals experiencing mental health problems, although its effectiveness…

Cognitive advantages and disadvantages in early and late bilinguals.

PubMed

Pelham, Sabra D; Abrams, Lise

2014-03-01

Previous research has documented advantages and disadvantages of early bilinguals, defined as learning a 2nd language by school age and using both languages since that time. Relative to monolinguals, early bilinguals manifest deficits in lexical access but benefits in executive function. We investigated whether becoming bilingual after childhood (late bilinguals) can produce the cognitive advantages and disadvantages typical of early bilinguals. Participants were 30 monolingual English speakers, 30 late English-Spanish bilinguals, and 30 early Spanish-English bilinguals who completed a picture naming task (lexical access) and an attentional network task (executive function). Late and early bilinguals manifested equivalent cognitive effects in both tasks, demonstrating lexical access deficits and executive function benefits. These findings provide support for the hypothesis that cognitive effects associated with bilingualism arise as the result of proficient, habitual use of 2 languages and not of developmental changes associated with becoming bilingual during childhood.

Hypertext or Textbook: Effects on Motivation and Gain in Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Conradty, Cathérine; Bogner, Franz X.

2016-01-01

Computers are considered innovative in classrooms, raising expectations of increased cognitive learning outcomes or motivation with effects on Deeper Learning (DL). The "new medium", however, may cause cognitive overloads. Combined with gender-related variations in ability, self-efficacy or self-confidence, computers may even diminish…

Using Minute Papers to Determine Student Cognitive Development Levels

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vella, Lia

2015-01-01

Can anonymous written feedback collected during classroom assessment activities be used to assess students' cognitive development levels? After library instruction in a first-year engineering design class, students submitted minute papers that included answers to "what they are left wondering." Responses were coded into low, medium and…

An Integrated Model of Cognitive Control in Task Switching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Altmann, Erik M.; Gray, Wayne D.

2008-01-01

A model of cognitive control in task switching is developed in which controlled performance depends on the system maintaining access to a code in episodic memory representing the most recently cued task. The main constraint on access to the current task code is proactive interference from old task codes. This interference and the mechanisms that…

Exposure to television food advertising primes food-related cognitions and triggers motivation to eat.

PubMed

Kemps, Eva; Tiggemann, Marika; Hollitt, Sarah

2014-01-01

This study investigated the effect of exposure to television food advertising on accessibility of food-related cognitions and motivation to eat. We initially developed a word stem completion task to measure accessibility of food-related cognitions. In two subsequent experiments, 160 female undergraduate students (Experiment 1) and 124 overweight or obese community-dwelling women (Experiment 2) viewed a series of television commercials advertising either food or non-food products. They then completed the word stem task and also rated their desire to eat. Exposure to televised food advertisements led to the completion of word stems with more food- and eating-related words in both experiments. It also increased self-reported desire to eat, but only for overweight and obese individuals (Experiment 2). In both samples, there was a positive association between accessibility of food-related cognitions and reported desire to eat, following priming with television food advertisements. We conclude that an increased activation of food-related cognitions may provide a mechanism for the link between food advertising and consumption. This has implications for tackling pathological (over)eating.

Cognitive Radio Wireless Sensor Networks: Applications, Challenges and Research Trends

PubMed Central

Joshi, Gyanendra Prasad; Nam, Seung Yeob; Kim, Sung Won

2013-01-01

A cognitive radio wireless sensor network is one of the candidate areas where cognitive techniques can be used for opportunistic spectrum access. Research in this area is still in its infancy, but it is progressing rapidly. The aim of this study is to classify the existing literature of this fast emerging application area of cognitive radio wireless sensor networks, highlight the key research that has already been undertaken, and indicate open problems. This paper describes the advantages of cognitive radio wireless sensor networks, the difference between ad hoc cognitive radio networks, wireless sensor networks, and cognitive radio wireless sensor networks, potential application areas of cognitive radio wireless sensor networks, challenges and research trend in cognitive radio wireless sensor networks. The sensing schemes suited for cognitive radio wireless sensor networks scenarios are discussed with an emphasis on cooperation and spectrum access methods that ensure the availability of the required QoS. Finally, this paper lists several open research challenges aimed at drawing the attention of the readers toward the important issues that need to be addressed before the vision of completely autonomous cognitive radio wireless sensor networks can be realized. PMID:23974152

A cognitive account of belief: a tentative road map

PubMed Central

Connors, Michael H.; Halligan, Peter W.

2015-01-01

Over the past decades, delusions have become the subject of growing and productive research spanning clinical and cognitive neurosciences. Despite this, the nature of belief, which underpins the construct of delusions, has received little formal investigation. No account of delusions, however, would be complete without a cognitive level analysis of belief per se. One reason for this neglect is the assumption that, unlike more established and accessible modular psychological process (e.g., vision, audition, face-recognition, language-processing, and motor-control systems), beliefs comprise more distributed and therefore less accessible central cognitive processes. In this paper, we suggest some defining characteristics and functions of beliefs. Working back from cognitive accounts of delusions, we consider potential candidate cognitive processes that may be involved in normal belief formation. Finally, we advance a multistage account of the belief process that could provide the basis for a more comprehensive model of belief. PMID:25741291

Drafting standards on cognitive accessibility: a global collaboration.

PubMed

Steel, Emily J; Janeslätt, Gunnel

2017-05-01

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is working on accessibility of products to support people with cognitive impairment. Working Group 10, within the technical committee 173 (assistive products for persons with disability) was formed in 2014 to draft standards for assistive products that support people with cognitive impairment. This article explains the scope and purpose of the working group and the context for its formation, and describes the plans and process for drafting and publishing new international standards. The proposed suite of standards is presented, with examples from a draft standard on daily time management. It draws on international research evidence for the effectiveness of assistive products designed to support time management in people with cognitive impairment. Examples of assistive products and their key features are provided based on domains of time as defined in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health for Children and Youth (ICF-CY). The proposed standards will provide design recommendations for features and functions that increase the accessibility of products used by people with cognitive impairment. They are intended to be used by designers, manufactures, educators and services providers, to facilitate their commitment to inclusion and demonstrate their willingness to work with accessibility regulation. Implications for Rehabilitation New standards based on universal design (UD) principles can guide the design of more user-friendly assistive products for people with cognitive impairment. Greater usability of assistive products, whether mainstream or specially-designed, will make it easier for practitioners to find and introduce assistive solutions to individuals with cognitive impairment. Greater usability of assistive products for daily time management can decrease the need for user training and support and enable participation.

Scaffolding the design of accessible eLearning content: a user-centered approach and cognitive perspective.

PubMed

Catarci, Tiziana; De Giovanni, Loredana; Gabrielli, Silvia; Kimani, Stephen; Mirabella, Valeria

2008-08-01

There exist various guidelines for facilitating the design, preparation, and deployment of accessible eLearning applications and contents. However, such guidelines prevalently address accessibility in a rather technical sense, without giving sufficient consideration to the cognitive aspects and issues related to the use of eLearning materials by learners with disabilities. In this paper we describe how a user-centered design process was applied to develop a method and set of guidelines for didactical experts to scaffold their creation of accessible eLearning content, based on a more sound approach to accessibility. The paper also discusses possible design solutions for tools supporting eLearning content authors in the adoption and application of the proposed approach.

49 CFR 1542.207 - Access control systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY CIVIL AVIATION SECURITY AIRPORT SECURITY Operations § 1542.207 Access control... original access medium, if the airport operator follows measures and procedures in the security program...

49 CFR 1542.207 - Access control systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY CIVIL AVIATION SECURITY AIRPORT SECURITY Operations § 1542.207 Access control... original access medium, if the airport operator follows measures and procedures in the security program...

49 CFR 1542.207 - Access control systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY CIVIL AVIATION SECURITY AIRPORT SECURITY Operations § 1542.207 Access control... original access medium, if the airport operator follows measures and procedures in the security program...

49 CFR 1542.207 - Access control systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY CIVIL AVIATION SECURITY AIRPORT SECURITY Operations § 1542.207 Access control... original access medium, if the airport operator follows measures and procedures in the security program...

49 CFR 1542.207 - Access control systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY CIVIL AVIATION SECURITY AIRPORT SECURITY Operations § 1542.207 Access control... original access medium, if the airport operator follows measures and procedures in the security program...

Research on Cognitive Effects of Non-Educational TV: An Epistemological Discussion.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gomez, Guillermo Orozco

This paper makes a critical exploration into the core epistemological assumptions of mainstream television effects research and explains why the mainstream study of the cognitive impact of television on children suffers from two reductionist tendencies, i.e., television is understood by most researchers to be solely a technical medium, and most…

Interaction of threat and verbal working memory in adolescents.

PubMed

Patel, Nilam; Vytal, Katherine; Pavletic, Nevia; Stoodley, Catherine; Pine, Daniel S; Grillon, Christian; Ernst, Monique

2016-04-01

Threat induces a state of sustained anxiety that can disrupt cognitive processing, and, reciprocally, cognitive processing can modulate an anxiety response to threat. These effects depend on the level of cognitive engagement, which itself varies as a function of task difficulty. In adults, we recently showed that induced anxiety impaired working memory accuracy at low and medium but not high load. Conversely, increasing the task load reduced the physiological correlates of anxiety (anxiety-potentiated startle). The present work examines such threat-cognition interactions as a function of age. We expected threat to more strongly impact working memory in younger individuals by virtue of putatively restricted cognitive resources and weaker emotion regulation. This was tested by examining the influence of age on the interaction of anxiety and working memory in 25 adolescents (10 to 17 years) and 25 adults (22 to 46 years). Working memory load was manipulated using a verbal n-back task. Anxiety was induced using the threat of an aversive loud scream and measured via eyeblink startle. Findings revealed that, in both age groups, accuracy was lower during threat than safe conditions at low and medium but not high load, and reaction times were faster during threat than safe conditions at high load but did not differ at other loads. Additionally, anxiety-potentiated startle was greater during low and medium than high load. Thus, the interactions of anxiety with working memory appear similar in adolescents and adults. Whether these similarities reflect common neural mechanisms would need to be assessed using functional neuroimaging. Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Cognitive theories and the design of e-learning environments.

PubMed

Gillani, Bijan; O'Guinn, Christina

2004-01-01

Cognitive development refers to a mental process by which knowledge is acquired, stored, and retrieved to solve problems. Therefore, cognitive developmental theories attempt to explain cognitive activities that contribute to students' intellectual development and their capacity to learn and solve problems. Cognitive developmental research has had a great impact on the constructivism movement in education and educational technology. In order to appreciate how cognitive developmental theories have contributed to the design, process and development of constructive e-learning environments, we shall first present Piaget's cognitive theory and derive an inquiry training model from it that will support a constructivism approach to teaching and learning. Second, we will discuss an example developed by NASA that used the Web as an appropriate instructional delivery medium to apply Piaget's cognitive theory to create e-learning environments.

Cognitive and Occupational Function in Survivors of Adolescent Cancer.

PubMed

Nugent, Bethany D; Bender, Catherine M; Sereika, Susan M; Tersak, Jean M; Rosenzweig, Margaret

2018-02-01

Adolescents with cancer have unique developmental considerations. These include brain development, particularly in the frontal lobe, and a focus on completing education and entering the workforce. Cancer and treatment at this stage may prove to uniquely affect survivors' experience of cognitive and occupational function. An exploratory, cross-sectional, descriptive comparative study was employed to describe cognitive and occupational function in adult survivors of adolescent cancer (diagnosed between the ages of 15 and 21 years) and explore differences in age- and gender-matched controls. In total, 23 survivors and 14 controls participated in the study. While significant differences were not found between the groups on measures of cognitive and occupational function, several small and medium effect sizes were found suggesting that survivors may have greater difficulty than controls. Two small effect sizes were found in measures of neuropsychological performance (the Digit Vigilance test [d = 0.396] and Stroop test [d = 0.226]). Small and medium effect sizes ranging from 0.269 to 0.605 were found for aspects of perceived and total cognitive function. A small effect size was also found in work output (d = 0.367). While we did not find significant differences in cognitive or occupational function between survivors and controls, the effect sizes observed point to the need for future research. Future work using a larger sample size and longitudinal design are needed to further explore cognitive and occupational function in this vulnerable and understudied population and assist in the understanding of patterns of change over time.

Late-Life Depressive Symptoms and Lifetime History of Major Depression: Cognitive Deficits are Largely Due to Incipient Dementia rather than Depression.

PubMed

Heser, Kathrin; Bleckwenn, Markus; Wiese, Birgitt; Mamone, Silke; Riedel-Heller, Steffi G; Stein, Janine; Lühmann, Dagmar; Posselt, Tina; Fuchs, Angela; Pentzek, Michael; Weyerer, Siegfried; Werle, Jochen; Weeg, Dagmar; Bickel, Horst; Brettschneider, Christian; König, Hans-Helmut; Maier, Wolfgang; Scherer, Martin; Wagner, Michael

2016-08-01

Late-life depression is frequently accompanied by cognitive impairments. Whether these impairments indicate a prodromal state of dementia, or are a symptomatic expression of depression per se is not well-studied. In a cohort of very old initially non-demented primary care patients (n = 2,709, mean age = 81.1 y), cognitive performance was compared between groups of participants with or without elevated depressive symptoms and with or without subsequent dementia using ANCOVA (adjusted for age, sex, and education). Logistic regression analyses were computed to predict subsequent dementia over up to six years of follow-up. The same analytical approach was performed for lifetime major depression. Participants with elevated depressive symptoms without subsequent dementia showed only small to medium cognitive deficits. In contrast, participants with depressive symptoms with subsequent dementia showed medium to very large cognitive deficits. In adjusted logistic regression models, learning and memory deficits predicted the risk for subsequent dementia in participants with depressive symptoms. Participants with a lifetime history of major depression without subsequent dementia showed no cognitive deficits. However, in adjusted logistic regression models, learning and orientation deficits predicted the risk for subsequent dementia also in participants with lifetime major depression. Marked cognitive impairments in old age depression should not be dismissed as "depressive pseudodementia", but require clinical attention as a possible sign of incipient dementia. Non-depressed elderly with a lifetime history of major depression, who remained free of dementia during follow-up, had largely normal cognitive performance.

Software-Defined Architectures for Spectrally Efficient Cognitive Networking in Extreme Environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sklivanitis, Georgios

The objective of this dissertation is the design, development, and experimental evaluation of novel algorithms and reconfigurable radio architectures for spectrally efficient cognitive networking in terrestrial, airborne, and underwater environments. Next-generation wireless communication architectures and networking protocols that maximize spectrum utilization efficiency in congested/contested or low-spectral availability (extreme) communication environments can enable a rich body of applications with unprecedented societal impact. In recent years, underwater wireless networks have attracted significant attention for military and commercial applications including oceanographic data collection, disaster prevention, tactical surveillance, offshore exploration, and pollution monitoring. Unmanned aerial systems that are autonomously networked and fully mobile can assist humans in extreme or difficult-to-reach environments and provide cost-effective wireless connectivity for devices without infrastructure coverage. Cognitive radio (CR) has emerged as a promising technology to maximize spectral efficiency in dynamically changing communication environments by adaptively reconfiguring radio communication parameters. At the same time, the fast developing technology of software-defined radio (SDR) platforms has enabled hardware realization of cognitive radio algorithms for opportunistic spectrum access. However, existing algorithmic designs and protocols for shared spectrum access do not effectively capture the interdependencies between radio parameters at the physical (PHY), medium-access control (MAC), and network (NET) layers of the network protocol stack. In addition, existing off-the-shelf radio platforms and SDR programmable architectures are far from fulfilling runtime adaptation and reconfiguration across PHY, MAC, and NET layers. Spectrum allocation in cognitive networks with multi-hop communication requirements depends on the location, network traffic load, and interference profile at each network node. As a result, the development and implementation of algorithms and cross-layer reconfigurable radio platforms that can jointly treat space, time, and frequency as a unified resource to be dynamically optimized according to inter- and intra-network interference constraints is of fundamental importance. In the next chapters, we present novel algorithmic and software/hardware implementation developments toward the deployment of spectrally efficient terrestrial, airborne, and underwater wireless networks. In Chapter 1 we review the state-of-art in commercially available SDR platforms, describe their software and hardware capabilities, and classify them based on their ability to enable rapid prototyping and advance experimental research in wireless networks. Chapter 2 discusses system design and implementation details toward real-time evaluation of a software-radio platform for all-spectrum cognitive channelization in the presence of narrowband or wideband primary stations. All-spectrum channelization is achieved by designing maximum signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) waveforms that span the whole continuum of the device-accessible spectrum, while satisfying peak power and interference temperature (IT) constraints for the secondary and primary users, respectively. In Chapter 3, we introduce the concept of all-spectrum channelization based on max-SINR optimized sparse-binary waveforms, we propose optimal and suboptimal waveform design algorithms, and evaluate their SINR and bit-error-rate (BER) performance in an SDR testbed. Chapter 4 considers the problem of channel estimation with minimal pilot signaling in multi-cell multi-user multi-input multi-output (MIMO) systems with very large antenna arrays at the base station, and proposes a least-squares (LS)-type algorithm that iteratively extracts channel and data estimates from a short record of data measurements. Our algorithmic developments toward spectrally-efficient cognitive networking through joint optimization of channel access code-waveforms and routes in a multi-hop network are described in Chapter 5. Algorithmic designs are software optimized on heterogeneous multi-core general-purpose processor (GPP)-based SDR architectures by leveraging a novel software-radio framework that offers self-optimization and real-time adaptation capabilities at the PHY, MAC, and NET layers of the network protocol stack. Our system design approach is experimentally validated under realistic conditions in a large-scale hybrid ground-air testbed deployment. Chapter 6 reviews the state-of-art in software and hardware platforms for underwater wireless networking and proposes a software-defined acoustic modem prototype that enables (i) cognitive reconfiguration of PHY/MAC parameters, and (ii) cross-technology communication adaptation. The proposed modem design is evaluated in terms of effective communication data rate in both water tank and lake testbed setups. In Chapter 7, we present a novel receiver configuration for code-waveform-based multiple-access underwater communications. The proposed receiver is fully reconfigurable and executes (i) all-spectrum cognitive channelization, and (ii) combined synchronization, channel estimation, and demodulation. Experimental evaluation in terms of SINR and BER show that all-spectrum channelization is a powerful proposition for underwater communications. At the same time, the proposed receiver design can significantly enhance bandwidth utilization. Finally, in Chapter 8, we focus on challenging practical issues that arise in underwater acoustic sensor network setups where co-located multi-antenna sensor deployment is not feasible due to power, computation, and hardware limitations, and design, implement, and evaluate an underwater receiver structure that accounts for multiple carrier frequency and timing offsets in virtual (distributed) MIMO underwater systems.

Applied Cognitive Task Analysis (ACTA) Methodology

DTIC Science & Technology

1997-11-01

experienced based cognitive skills. The primary goal of this project was to develop streamlined methods of Cognitive Task Analysis that would fill this need...We have made important progression this direction. We have developed streamlined methods of Cognitive Task Analysis . Our evaluation study indicates...developed a CD-based stand alone instructional package, which will make the Applied Cognitive Task Analysis (ACTA) tools widely accessible. A survey of the

[Cognitive remediation and nursing care].

PubMed

Schenin-King, Palmyre; Thomas, Fanny; Braha-Zeitoun, Sonia; Bouaziz, Noomane; Januel, Dominique

2016-01-01

Therapies based on cognitive remediation integrate psychiatric care. Cognitive remediation helps to ease cognitive disorders and enable patients to improve their day-to-day lives. It is essential to complete nurses' training in this field. This article presents the example of a patient with schizophrenia who followed the Cognitive Remediation Therapy programme, enabling him to access mainstream employment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

The association between social support and cognitive function in Mexican adults aged 50 and older.

PubMed

Zamora-Macorra, Mireya; de Castro, Elga Filipa Amorin; Ávila-Funes, José Alberto; Manrique-Espinoza, Betty Soledad; López-Ridaura, Ruy; Sosa-Ortiz, Ana Luisa; Shields, Pamela L; Del Campo, Daniel Samano Martin

Social support networks are crucial for the health of older adults; however, personal characteristics and time of life may diminish the protective effect of social support. to determine if the presence of social support networks were associated with cognitive impairment among Mexican adults aged 50 or older and if this relationship was different based on age. This study analyzed data from the National Representation Survey performed in Mexico, Study on Global Ageing (SAGE) wave 1. Cognitive function was evaluated by a standardized test, social support was evaluated through latent class analysis (LCA). The LCA was run to obtain three subgroups of different Social Support Levels (SSL): low, medium, and high. Logistic regression models, stratified by age, were performed to analyze the association between SSL and cognitive function. For respondents ages 71-80 y/o, there was an inverse relationship with cognitive impairment for those with medium (OR 0.23, p=0.020) and high (OR 0.07, p=0.000) SSL in comparison with low SSL. While social support helped to improve cognitive function in older adults aged 71-80, this same association was not observed in adults of other ages. Those younger than 70 y/o may not need such a strong support network as a result of being more self-sufficient. After 80, social networks were not enough to help diminish the negative impact of cognitive impairment. Social support could improve the cognitive function of adults ages 71 and 80; suggesting there could be a window of opportunity to improve cognitive functioning for this group. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Materiel Readiness Support Activity Automation Plan

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-09-01

Hardwire leased lines Sytek RF broadband cable modems Digital phone switched service Medium Speed - up to 56k baud RF modems Digital phone service High...dialing 121 I iI Medium Speed - up to 56k baud RF modems - up to 56k baud sync modem $2070 plus installation - $25 per month maintenance - $1200 per...security is to disconnect net- work, modem , and hardwire access (that is, all external access to the machine) after 5 p.m. (normal business hours

Interactive video gaming compared with health education in older adults with mild cognitive impairment: a feasibility study.

PubMed

Hughes, Tiffany F; Flatt, Jason D; Fu, Bo; Butters, Meryl A; Chang, Chung-Chou H; Ganguli, Mary

2014-09-01

We evaluated the feasibility of a trial of Wii interactive video gaming, and its potential efficacy at improving cognitive functioning compared with health education, in a community sample of older adults with neuropsychologically defined mild cognitive impairment. Twenty older adults were equally randomized to either group-based interactive video gaming or health education for 90 min each week for 24 weeks. Although the primary outcomes were related to study feasibility, we also explored the effect of the intervention on neuropsychological performance and other secondary outcomes. All 20 participants completed the intervention, and 18 attended at least 80% of the sessions. The majority (80%) of participants were "very much" satisfied with the intervention. Bowling was enjoyed by the most participants and was also rated the highest among the games for mental, social, and physical stimulation. We observed medium effect sizes for cognitive and physical functioning in favor of the interactive video gaming condition, but these effects were not statistically significant in this small sample. Interactive video gaming is feasible for older adults with mild cognitive impairment, and medium effect sizes in favor of the Wii group warrant a larger efficacy trial. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A novel indirect method for capturing involuntary musical imagery under varying cognitive load.

PubMed

Floridou, Georgia A; Williamson, Victoria J; Stewart, Lauren

2017-11-01

Involuntary musical imagery (INMI), i.e the internal experience of a repetitive musical fragment, is one of the most ubiquitous forms of spontaneous cognition. Findings regarding the relationship between INMI and cognitive load are conflicting. In the present study, 200 participants watched and evaluated two non-dialogue, music-only film trailers. Subsequently, they either closed their eyes for 5 min (baseline), or engaged in one of three dot tasks of varying challenge and attentional demand (low, medium, and high cognitive load). Finally, they completed a novel "Mind Activity Questionnaire", which allows for indirect INMI sampling rather than direct questioning. The same questionnaire was completed 24 hours later. Overall, a significant negative linear trend was found. At baseline, 65% of people reported experiencing INMI. This rate decreased to 32.5% in the low load condition with further reductions observed in the medium and high conditions, which did not differ significantly from each other. INMI frequency and duration followed the same pattern as the induction rates. In the 24-hour follow-up, 21% of participants reported INMI experiences. This study supports the hypothesis that INMI occurrence, frequency, and duration relate to spare cognitive capacity and demonstrates an ecologically valid laboratory paradigm for covertly inducing and documenting INMI experiences.

Improved Processing Speed: Online Computer-Based Cognitive Training in Older Adults

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simpson, Tamara; Camfield, David; Pipingas, Andrew; Macpherson, Helen; Stough, Con

2012-01-01

In an increasingly aging population, a number of adults are concerned about declines in their cognitive abilities. Online computer-based cognitive training programs have been proposed as an accessible means by which the elderly may improve their cognitive abilities; yet, more research is needed in order to assess the efficacy of these programs. In…

A Unified Multi-Functional Dynamic Spectrum Access Framework: Tutorial, Theory and Multi-GHz Wideband Testbed

PubMed Central

Qiu, Robert; Guo, Nan; Li, Husheng; Wu, Zhiqiang; Chakravarthy, Vasu; Song, Yu; Hu, Zhen; Zhang, Peng; Chen, Zhe

2009-01-01

Dynamic spectrum access is a must-have ingredient for future sensors that are ideally cognitive. The goal of this paper is a tutorial treatment of wideband cognitive radio and radar—a convergence of (1) algorithms survey, (2) hardware platforms survey, (3) challenges for multi-function (radar/communications) multi-GHz front end, (4) compressed sensing for multi-GHz waveforms—revolutionary A/D, (5) machine learning for cognitive radio/radar, (6) quickest detection, and (7) overlay/underlay cognitive radio waveforms. One focus of this paper is to address the multi-GHz front end, which is the challenge for the next-generation cognitive sensors. The unifying theme of this paper is to spell out the convergence for cognitive radio, radar, and anti-jamming. Moore’s law drives the system functions into digital parts. From a system viewpoint, this paper gives the first comprehensive treatment for the functions and the challenges of this multi-function (wideband) system. This paper brings together the inter-disciplinary knowledge. PMID:22454598

Distributive justice and cognitive enhancement in lower, normal intelligence.

PubMed

Dunlop, Mikael; Savulescu, Julian

2014-01-01

There exists a significant disparity within society between individuals in terms of intelligence. While intelligence varies naturally throughout society, the extent to which this impacts on the life opportunities it affords to each individual is greatly undervalued. Intelligence appears to have a prominent effect over a broad range of social and economic life outcomes. Many key determinants of well-being correlate highly with the results of IQ tests, and other measures of intelligence, and an IQ of 75 is generally accepted as the most important threshold in modern life. The ability to enhance our cognitive capacities offers an exciting opportunity to correct disabling natural variation and inequality in intelligence. Pharmaceutical cognitive enhancers, such as modafinil and methylphenidate, have been shown to have the capacity to enhance cognition in normal, healthy individuals. Perhaps of most relevance is the presence of an 'inverted U effect' for most pharmaceutical cognitive enhancers, whereby the degree of enhancement increases as intelligence levels deviate further below the mean. Although enhancement, including cognitive enhancement, has been much debated recently, we argue that there are egalitarian reasons to enhance individuals with low but normal intelligence. Under egalitarianism, cognitive enhancement has the potential to reduce opportunity inequality and contribute to relative income and welfare equality in the lower, normal intelligence subgroup. Cognitive enhancement use is justifiable under prioritarianism through various means of distribution; selective access to the lower, normal intelligence subgroup, universal access, or paradoxically through access primarily to the average and above average intelligence subgroups. Similarly, an aggregate increase in social well-being is achieved through similar means of distribution under utilitarianism. In addition, the use of cognitive enhancement within the lower, normal intelligence subgroup negates, or at the very least minimises, several common objections to cognitive enhancement. Subsequently, this paper demonstrates that there is a compelling case for cognitive enhancement use in individuals with lower, normal intelligence.

47 CFR 15.601 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Scope. 15.601 Section 15.601 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION GENERAL RADIO FREQUENCY DEVICES Access Broadband Over Power Line (Access... (Access BPL) devices operating in the 1.705-80 MHz band over medium or low voltage lines. ...

Exploring interest and goals for videoconferencing delivered cognitive rehabilitation with rural individuals with mild cognitive impairment or dementia.

PubMed

Burton, Rachel; O'Connell, Megan E; Morgan, Debra G

2016-06-30

Goal oriented cognitive rehabilitation is a promising intervention for individuals diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia due to Alzheimer Disease (AD). Videoconferencing delivered cognitive rehabilitation is a potential avenue for increasing accessibility for rural patients and their families. First, we were concerned with the accessibility of the treatment for individuals in rural and remote areas. Second, client-centered goal setting was explored by asking this sample about their goals for cognitive rehabilitation. We mailed questions to all active patients with diagnoses of MCI or dementia due to AD of a rural memory clinic and compare features of the responders versus the non-responders. We asked about interest in videoconferencing delivered treatment and about goals for cognitive rehabilitation, which were thematically analyzed. The responders (N = 25) were similar to non-responders in severity, depression, and caregiver burden. Of the responders, 80% were interested in videoconferencing developed treatment. A thematic analysis coded 95% of responses as amenable to cognitive rehabilitation. Participants' goals were focused on memory, household activities, other cognitive domains, recreation, and higher order tasks. This work informs the development of both in-person and videoconferencing delivered cognitive rehabilitation for individuals diagnosed with MCI or dementia.

Brief Report: The Use of Self-Report Measures in Young People with Autism Spectrum Disorder to Access Symptoms of Anxiety, Depression and Negative Thoughts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ozsivadjian, Ann; Hibberd, Charlotte; Hollocks, Matthew J.

2014-01-01

The aims of this study were two-fold; firstly, to investigate whether self-report measures are useful and reflect parent-reported psychiatric symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and secondly, to investigate whether children with ASD are able to access and report their cognitions, a prerequisite skill for cognitive behavior…

How Do Medium Naturalness and Personality Traits Shape Academic Achievement and Perceived Learning? An Experimental Study of Face-to-Face and Synchronous E-Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blau, Ina; Weiser, Orli; Eshet-Alkalai, Yoram

2017-01-01

This controlled experiment examined how academic achievement and cognitive, emotional and social aspects of perceived learning are affected by the level of medium naturalness (face-to-face, one-way and two-way videoconferencing) and by learners' personality traits (extroversion-introversion and emotional stability-neuroticism). The Media…

Five Steps to an Accessible Classroom Website

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Amundson, Linda

2009-01-01

When teachers or technology coordinators publish a website, they are providing a product for a diverse group of people. That's why website design should follow accessibility guidelines. Websites should be accessible to those with visual, hearing, movement, cognitive, and speech disabilities. Good design means greater accessibility for all. This…

Using Internet Audio to Enhance Online Accessibility

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schwartz, Linda Matula

2004-01-01

Accessibility to online education programs is an important factor that requires continued research, improvement, and regulation. Particularly valuable in the enhancement of online accessibility is the Voice-over Internet Protocol (VOIP) medium. VOIP compresses analog voice data and converts it into digital packets for transmission over the…

The neural correlates of cognitive effort in anxiety: effects on processing efficiency.

PubMed

Ansari, Tahereh L; Derakshan, Nazanin

2011-03-01

We investigated the neural correlates of cognitive effort/pre-target preparation (Contingent Negative Variation activity; CNV) in anxiety using a mixed antisaccade task that manipulated the interval between offset of instructional cue and onset of target (CTI). According to attentional control theory (Eysenck et al., 2007) we predicted that anxiety should result in increased levels of compensatory effort, as indicated by greater frontal CNV, to maintain comparable levels of performance under competing task demands. Our results showed that anxiety resulted in faster antisaccade latencies during medium compared with short and long CTIs. Accordingly, high-anxious individuals compared with low-anxious individuals showed greater levels of CNV activity at frontal sites during medium CTI suggesting that they exerted greater cognitive effort and invested more attentional resources in preparation for the task goal. Our results are the first to demonstrate the neural correlates of processing efficiency and compensatory effort in anxiety and are discussed within the framework of attentional control theory. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Applications of Measures of Speed of Mental Operations among Children with Intellectual Deficiency.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loranger, Michel; Blais, Marie Claude; Hopps, Sandra; Pepin, Michel; Boisvert, Jean-Marie; Doyon, Martin

2002-01-01

This study assessed use of five computerized analogy problems as a measure of mental speed with 62 children (ages 3-13) with mild/moderate mental retardation. Results found medium to high correlation between scores on the tasks and other cognitive measures and the adaptive behavior scale. The value of assessing cognitive speed in the cognitive…

YouTube and Skype Modes of Virtual Learning Performance in Relations to Cognitive Styles of Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jena, Ananta Kumar; Deka, Monisha; Barman, Munmi

2017-01-01

The study aimed to find out the relationship between cognitive styles, YouTube learning and Skype learning performance of secondary school students. For that purpose, the researchers randomly selected 20 students from two 9th standards of two English medium secondary schools of Silchar Town, Assam, India to conduct the experiment. Quasi…

The impact of a hybrid social marketing intervention on inequities in access, ownership and use of insecticide-treated nets.

PubMed

Agha, Sohail; Van Rossem, Ronan; Stallworthy, Guy; Kusanthan, Thankian

2007-01-29

An ITN intervention was initiated in three predominantly rural districts of Eastern Province, Zambia, that lacked commercial distribution and communication infrastructures. Social marketing techniques were used for product and message development. Public sector clinics and village-based volunteers promoted and distributed subsidized ITNs priced at 2.5 dollars per net. A study was conducted to assess the effects of the intervention on inequities in knowledge, access, ownership and use of ITNs. A post-test only quasi-experimental study design was used to compare intervention and comparison districts. A total of 2,986 respondents were interviewed. Survey respondents were grouped into four socio-economic (SES) categories: low, medium-low, medium and high. Knowledge, access, ownership and use indicators are compared. Concentration index scores are calculated. Interactions between intervention status and SES help determine how different SES groups benefited from the intervention. Although overall use of nets remained relatively low, post-test data show that knowledge, access, ownership and use of mosquito nets was higher in intervention districts. A decline in SES inequity in access to nets occurred in intervention districts, resulting from a disproportionately greater increase in access among the low SES group. Declines in SES inequities in net ownership and use of nets were associated with the intervention. The largest increases in net ownership and use occurred among medium and high SES categories. Increasing access to nets among the poorest respondents in rural areas may not lead to increases in net use unless the price of nets is no longer a barrier to their purchase.

Cognition 2035: Surviving a Complex Environment Through Unprecedented Intelligence

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-02-12

the invention of synthetic telepathy , including mind-to-mind or telepathic dialogue. This type of development would have obvious military and... telepathy . They have this odd way of cocking their head in a certain way whenever they want to access information they don’t already have in their own...accessible through cognition and might include synthetic sensory perception beamed direct to the user’s senses. Wider related ICT developments might include

Novel Virtual User Models of Mild Cognitive Impairment for Simulating Dementia

PubMed Central

Segkouli, Sofia; Tzovaras, Dimitrios; Tsakiris, Thanos; Tsolaki, Magda; Karagiannidis, Charalampos

2015-01-01

Virtual user modeling research has attempted to address critical issues of human-computer interaction (HCI) such as usability and utility through a large number of analytic, usability-oriented approaches as cognitive models in order to provide users with experiences fitting to their specific needs. However, there is demand for more specific modules embodied in cognitive architecture that will detect abnormal cognitive decline across new synthetic task environments. Also, accessibility evaluation of graphical user interfaces (GUIs) requires considerable effort for enhancing ICT products accessibility for older adults. The main aim of this study is to develop and test virtual user models (VUM) simulating mild cognitive impairment (MCI) through novel specific modules, embodied at cognitive models and defined by estimations of cognitive parameters. Well-established MCI detection tests assessed users' cognition, elaborated their ability to perform multitasks, and monitored the performance of infotainment related tasks to provide more accurate simulation results on existing conceptual frameworks and enhanced predictive validity in interfaces' design supported by increased tasks' complexity to capture a more detailed profile of users' capabilities and limitations. The final outcome is a more robust cognitive prediction model, accurately fitted to human data to be used for more reliable interfaces' evaluation through simulation on the basis of virtual models of MCI users. PMID:26339282

Creating Live Interactions to Mitigate Barriers (CLIMB): A Mobile Intervention to Improve Social Functioning in People With Chronic Psychotic Disorders

PubMed Central

Schlosser, Danielle; Nahum, Mor

2016-01-01

Background Numerous psychosocial interventions for individuals with chronic psychotic disorders (CPD) have shown positive effects on social cognitive and functional outcome measures. However, access to and engagement with these interventions remains limited. This is partly because these interventions require specially trained therapists, are not available in all clinical settings, and have a high scheduling burden for participants, usually requiring a commitment of several weeks. Delivering interventions remotely via mobile devices may facilitate access, improve scheduling flexibility, and decrease participant burden, thus improving adherence to intervention requirements. To address these needs, we designed the Creating Live Interactions to Mitigate Barriers (CLIMB) digital intervention, which aims to enhance social functioning in people with CPD. CLIMB consists of two treatment components: a computerized social cognition training (SCT) program and optimized remote group therapy (ORGT). ORGT is an innovative treatment that combines remote group therapy with group texting (short message service, SMS). Objectives The objectives of this single-arm study were to investigate the feasibility of delivering 6 weeks of CLIMB to people with CPD and explore the initial effects on outcomes. Methods Participants were recruited, screened and enrolled via the Internet, and delivered assessments and interventions remotely using provided tablets (iPads). Participants were asked to complete 18 hours of SCT and to attend 6 remote group therapy sessions. To assess feasibility, adherence to study procedures, attrition rates, engagement metrics, and acceptability of the intervention were evaluated. Changes on measures of social cognition, quality of life, and symptoms were also explored. Results In total, 27 participants were enrolled over 12 months. Remote assessments were completed successfully on 96% (26/27) of the enrolled participants. Retention in the 6-week trial was 78% (21/27). Of all the iPads used, 95% (22/23) were returned undamaged at the end of the intervention. Participants on average attended 84% of the group therapy sessions, completed a median of 9.5 hours of SCT, and posted a median of 5.2 messages per week on the group text chat. Participants rated CLIMB in the medium range in usability, acceptability, enjoyment, and perceived benefit. Participants showed significant improvements in emotion identification abilities for prosodic happiness (P=.001), prosodic happiness intensity (P=.04), and facial anger (P=.04), with large within-group effect sizes (d=.60 to d=.86). Trend-level improvements were observed on aspects of quality of life (P values less than .09). No improvements were observed for symptoms. Conclusions It is feasible and acceptable to remotely deliver an intervention aimed at enhancing social functioning in people with CPD using mobile devices. This approach may represent a scalable method to increase treatment access and adherence. Our pilot data also demonstrate within-group gains in some aspects of social cognition after 6 weeks of CLIMB. Future randomized controlled studies in larger samples should evaluate the extent to which CLIMB significantly improves social cognition, symptoms, and quality of life in CPD. PMID:27965190

Creating Live Interactions to Mitigate Barriers (CLIMB): A Mobile Intervention to Improve Social Functioning in People With Chronic Psychotic Disorders.

PubMed

Biagianti, Bruno; Schlosser, Danielle; Nahum, Mor; Woolley, Josh; Vinogradov, Sophia

2016-12-13

Numerous psychosocial interventions for individuals with chronic psychotic disorders (CPD) have shown positive effects on social cognitive and functional outcome measures. However, access to and engagement with these interventions remains limited. This is partly because these interventions require specially trained therapists, are not available in all clinical settings, and have a high scheduling burden for participants, usually requiring a commitment of several weeks. Delivering interventions remotely via mobile devices may facilitate access, improve scheduling flexibility, and decrease participant burden, thus improving adherence to intervention requirements. To address these needs, we designed the Creating Live Interactions to Mitigate Barriers (CLIMB) digital intervention, which aims to enhance social functioning in people with CPD. CLIMB consists of two treatment components: a computerized social cognition training (SCT) program and optimized remote group therapy (ORGT). ORGT is an innovative treatment that combines remote group therapy with group texting (short message service, SMS). The objectives of this single-arm study were to investigate the feasibility of delivering 6 weeks of CLIMB to people with CPD and explore the initial effects on outcomes. Participants were recruited, screened and enrolled via the Internet, and delivered assessments and interventions remotely using provided tablets (iPads). Participants were asked to complete 18 hours of SCT and to attend 6 remote group therapy sessions. To assess feasibility, adherence to study procedures, attrition rates, engagement metrics, and acceptability of the intervention were evaluated. Changes on measures of social cognition, quality of life, and symptoms were also explored. In total, 27 participants were enrolled over 12 months. Remote assessments were completed successfully on 96% (26/27) of the enrolled participants. Retention in the 6-week trial was 78% (21/27). Of all the iPads used, 95% (22/23) were returned undamaged at the end of the intervention. Participants on average attended 84% of the group therapy sessions, completed a median of 9.5 hours of SCT, and posted a median of 5.2 messages per week on the group text chat. Participants rated CLIMB in the medium range in usability, acceptability, enjoyment, and perceived benefit. Participants showed significant improvements in emotion identification abilities for prosodic happiness (P=.001), prosodic happiness intensity (P=.04), and facial anger (P=.04), with large within-group effect sizes (d=.60 to d=.86). Trend-level improvements were observed on aspects of quality of life (P values less than .09). No improvements were observed for symptoms. It is feasible and acceptable to remotely deliver an intervention aimed at enhancing social functioning in people with CPD using mobile devices. This approach may represent a scalable method to increase treatment access and adherence. Our pilot data also demonstrate within-group gains in some aspects of social cognition after 6 weeks of CLIMB. Future randomized controlled studies in larger samples should evaluate the extent to which CLIMB significantly improves social cognition, symptoms, and quality of life in CPD. ©Bruno Biagianti, Danielle Schlosser, Mor Nahum, Josh Woolley, Sophia Vinogradov. Originally published in JMIR Mental Health (http://mental.jmir.org), 13.12.2016.

Education in the Mother-Tongue: A Nigerian Experiment--the Six-Year (Yoruba Medium) Primary Education Project at the University of Ife, Nigeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fafunwa, A. Babs

1975-01-01

This project was launched as a medium of instruction throughout the six-year primary course, predicted on the hypotheses that the child benefits culturally, socially, linguistically and cognitively through native language instruction, and that his command of English will be improved if it is taught as a separate subject by a specially trained…

Examining the relationship between the food environment and adult diabetes prevalence by county economic and racial composition: an ecological study.

PubMed

Haynes-Maslow, Lindsey; Leone, Lucia A

2017-08-09

Inequitable access to healthy food may contribute to health disparities. This study examines the relationship between the prevalence of adult diabetes and food access in the U.S. by county economic/racial composition. An ecological study from 2012 was used to estimate the relationship between diabetes and retail food outlet access. County diabetes prevalence was measured based on individual responses to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey question, "Have you ever been told by a doctor that you have diabetes?" If the answer was "yes" individuals were classified as having diabetes. Retail food outlets included grocery stores, supercenters, farmer's markets, full-service restaurants, fast food restaurants and convenience stores. Counties were categorized as "high-poverty" or "low-poverty". Counties were categorized as low (< 4.6%), medium (4.6%-31.0%), and high (> 31.0%) percent minority residents. Multiple linear regression models estimated the association between retail food outlets and diabetes, controlling for confounders, and testing for interactions between retail food outlets and county racial composition. Regression models were conditioned on county economic composition. Data were analyzed in 2016. Density of retail foods outlets varied greatly by county economic and racial composition; counties with medium-minority populations had the least access to grocery stores and the highest access to fast food restaurants and convenience stores. Low poverty/low-minority population counties had the greatest access to farmer's markets and grocery stores. For low poverty/low-minority counties, grocery stores were associated with decreased of diabetes prevalence. Supercenters were associated with an increase in diabetes prevalence for high-poverty/low-minority counties. Only low poverty/medium-minority counties had a statistically significant relationship between farmer's markets and diabetes prevalence. Fast food restaurants were found to be positively associated with diabetes prevalence in all counties except high poverty/medium-minority. However, only low poverty/low-minority counties had a statistically significant relationship. Across all models, access to full service restaurants were significantly associated with lower prevalence of diabetes. Generally, access to convenience stores were associated with increased diabetes prevalence, except for high poverty/low-minority counties. The food environment is more strongly associated with diabetes prevalence for wealthier counties with a lower proportion of minority residents. This is important given efforts to increase food access in vulnerable communities. Availability of healthier food may not be enough to change health outcomes.

Attitude towards statistics and performance among post-graduate students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosli, Mira Khalisa; Maat, Siti Mistima

2017-05-01

For student to master Statistics is a necessity, especially for those post-graduates that are involved in the research field. The purpose of this research was to identify the attitude towards Statistics among the post-graduates and to determine the relationship between the attitude towards Statistics and post-graduates' of Faculty of Education, UKM, Bangi performance. 173 post-graduate students were chosen randomly to participate in the study. These students registered in Research Methodology II course that was introduced by faculty. A survey of attitude toward Statistics using 5-points Likert scale was used for data collection purposes. The instrument consists of four components such as affective, cognitive competency, value and difficulty. The data was analyzed using the SPSS version 22 in producing the descriptive and inferential Statistics output. The result of this research showed that there is a medium and positive relation between attitude towards statistics and students' performance. As a conclusion, educators need to access students' attitude towards the course to accomplish the learning outcomes.

Role of information and communication technology in promoting oral health at residential aged care facilities.

PubMed

Adebayo, Bola; Durey, Angela; Slack-Smith, Linda M

2017-07-01

Information and communication technology (ICT) can provide knowledge and clinical support to those working in residential aged care facilities (RACFs). This paper aims to: (1) review literature on ICT targeted at residents, staff and external providers in RACFs including general practitioners, dental and allied health professionals on improving residents' oral health; (2) identify barriers and enablers to using ICT in promoting oral health at RACFs; and (3) investigate evidence of effectiveness of these approaches in promoting oral health. Findings from this narrative literature review indicate that ICT is not widely used in RACFs, with barriers to usage identified as limited training for staff, difficulties accessing the Internet, limited computer literacy particularly in older staff, cost and competing work demands. Residents also faced barriers including impaired cognitive and psychosocial functioning, limited computer literacy and Internet use. Findings suggest that more education and training in ICT to upskill staff and residents is needed to effectively promote oral health through this medium.

Affect, accessibility of material in memory, and behavior: a cognitive loop?

PubMed

Isen, A M; Shalker, T E; Clark, M; Karp, L

1978-01-01

Two studies investigated the effect of good mood on cognitive processes. In the first study, conducted in a shopping mall, a positive feeling state was induced by giving subjects a free gift, and good mood, thus induced, was found to improve subjects' evaluations of the performance and service records of products they owned. In the second study, in which affect was induced by having subjects win or lose a computer game in a laboratory setting, subjects who had won the game were found to be better able to recall positive material in memory. The results of the two studies are discussed in terms of the effect that feelings have on accessibility of cognitions. In addition, the nature of affect and the relationship between good mood and behavior (such as helping) are discussed in terms of this proposed cognitive process.

The impact of negative emotions on self-concept abstraction depends on accessible information processing styles.

PubMed

Isbell, Linda M; Rovenpor, Daniel R; Lair, Elicia C

2016-10-01

Research suggests that anger promotes global, abstract processing whereas sadness and fear promote local, concrete processing (see Schwarz & Clore, 2007 for a review). Contrary to a large and influential body of work suggesting that specific affective experiences are tethered to specific cognitive outcomes, the affect-as-cognitive-feedback account maintains that affective experiences confer positive or negative value on currently dominant processing styles, and thus can lead to either global or local processing (Huntsinger, Isbell, & Clore, 2014). The current work extends this theoretical perspective by investigating the impact of discrete negative emotions on the self-concept. By experimentally manipulating information processing styles and discrete negative emotions that vary in appraisals of certainty, we demonstrate that the impact of discrete negative emotions on the spontaneous self-concept depends on accessible processing styles. When global processing was accessible, individuals in angry (negative, high certainty) states generated more abstract statements about themselves than individuals in either sad (Experiment 1) or fearful (Experiment 2; negative, low certainty) states. When local processing was made accessible, however, the opposite pattern emerged, whereby individuals in angry states generated fewer abstract statements than individuals in sad or fearful states. Together these studies provide new insights into the mechanisms through which discrete emotions influence cognition. In contrast to theories assuming a dedicated link between emotions and processing styles, these results suggest that discrete emotions provide feedback about accessible ways of thinking, and are consistent with recent evidence suggesting that the impact of affect on cognition is highly context-dependent. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Left Ventrolateral Prefrontal Cortex and the Cognitive Control of Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Badre, David; Wagner, Anthony D.

2007-01-01

Cognitive control mechanisms permit memory to be accessed strategically, and so aid in bringing knowledge to mind that is relevant to current goals and actions. In this review, we consider the contribution of left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) to the cognitive control of memory. Reviewed evidence supports a two-process model of mnemonic…

What Does God Know? Supernatural Agents' Access to Socially Strategic and Non-Strategic Information

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Purzycki, Benjamin G.; Finkel, Daniel N.; Shaver, John; Wales, Nathan; Cohen, Adam B.; Sosis, Richard

2012-01-01

Current evolutionary and cognitive theories of religion posit that supernatural agent concepts emerge from cognitive systems such as theory of mind and social cognition. Some argue that these concepts evolved to maintain social order by minimizing antisocial behavior. If these theories are correct, then people should process information about…

The Neuroscience of Mathematical Cognition and Learning. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 136

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Looi, Chung Yen; Thompson, Jacqueline; Krause, Beatrix; Kadosh, Roi Cohen

2016-01-01

The synergistic potential of cognitive neuroscience and education for efficient learning has attracted considerable interest from the general public, teachers, parents, academics and policymakers alike. This review is aimed at providing 1) an accessible and general overview of the research progress made in cognitive neuroscience research in…

The Efficacy and Acceptability of Third-Wave Behavioral and Cognitive eHealth Treatments: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

PubMed

O'Connor, Martin; Munnelly, Anita; Whelan, Robert; McHugh, Louise

2018-05-01

eHealth is an innovative method of delivering therapeutic content with the potential to improve access to third-wave behaviural and cognitive therapies. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the efficacy and acceptability of third-wave eHealth treatments in improving mental health outcomes. A comprehensive search of electronic bibliographic databases including PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and CENTRAL was conducted to identify randomized controlled trials of third-wave treatments in which eHealth was the main component. Twenty-one studies were included in the review. Meta-analyses revealed that third-wave eHealth significantly outperformed inactive control conditions in improving anxiety, depression, and quality-of-life outcomes and active control conditions in alleviating anxiety and depression with small to medium effect sizes. No statistically significant differences were found relative to comparison interventions. Findings from a narrative synthesis of participant evaluation outcomes and meta-analysis of participant attrition rates provided preliminary support for the acceptability of third-wave eHealth. Third-wave eHealth treatments are efficacious in improving mental health outcomes including anxiety, depression, and quality of life, but not more so than comparison interventions. Preliminary evidence from indices of participant evaluation and attrition rates supports the acceptability of these treatments. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Underwater acoustic wireless sensor networks: advances and future trends in physical, MAC and routing layers.

PubMed

Climent, Salvador; Sanchez, Antonio; Capella, Juan Vicente; Meratnia, Nirvana; Serrano, Juan Jose

2014-01-06

This survey aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current research on underwater wireless sensor networks, focusing on the lower layers of the communication stack, and envisions future trends and challenges. It analyzes the current state-of-the-art on the physical, medium access control and routing layers. It summarizes their security threads and surveys the currently proposed studies. Current envisioned niches for further advances in underwater networks research range from efficient, low-power algorithms and modulations to intelligent, energy-aware routing and medium access control protocols.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy for obsessive–compulsive disorder: access to treatment, prediction of long-term outcome with neuroimaging

PubMed Central

O’Neill, Joseph; Feusner, Jamie D

2015-01-01

This article reviews issues related to a major challenge to the field for obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD): improving access to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Patient-related barriers to access include the stigma of OCD and reluctance to take on the demands of CBT. Patient-external factors include the shortage of trained CBT therapists and the high costs of CBT. The second half of the review focuses on one partial, yet plausible aid to improve access – prediction of long-term response to CBT, particularly using neuroimaging methods. Recent pilot data are presented revealing a potential for pretreatment resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the brain to forecast OCD symptom severity up to 1 year after completing CBT. PMID:26229514

49 CFR 1544.229 - Fingerprint-based criminal history records checks (CHRC): Unescorted access authority, authority...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... identification media that one or more airports accepts as airport-approved media for unescorted access authority... identification media that one or more airports accepts as airport-approved media for unescorted access authority... aircraft operator identification medium to that individual; (3) Authorizing that individual to perform...

49 CFR 1544.229 - Fingerprint-based criminal history records checks (CHRC): Unescorted access authority, authority...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... identification media that one or more airports accepts as airport-approved media for unescorted access authority... identification media that one or more airports accepts as airport-approved media for unescorted access authority... aircraft operator identification medium to that individual; (3) Authorizing that individual to perform...

49 CFR 1544.229 - Fingerprint-based criminal history records checks (CHRC): Unescorted access authority, authority...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... identification media that one or more airports accepts as airport-approved media for unescorted access authority... identification media that one or more airports accepts as airport-approved media for unescorted access authority... aircraft operator identification medium to that individual; (3) Authorizing that individual to perform...

49 CFR 1544.229 - Fingerprint-based criminal history records checks (CHRC): Unescorted access authority, authority...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... identification media that one or more airports accepts as airport-approved media for unescorted access authority... identification media that one or more airports accepts as airport-approved media for unescorted access authority... aircraft operator identification medium to that individual; (3) Authorizing that individual to perform...

49 CFR 1544.229 - Fingerprint-based criminal history records checks (CHRC): Unescorted access authority, authority...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... identification media that one or more airports accepts as airport-approved media for unescorted access authority... identification media that one or more airports accepts as airport-approved media for unescorted access authority... aircraft operator identification medium to that individual; (3) Authorizing that individual to perform...

[Indigenous peoples' access to health services in Cuiabá, Mato Grosso State, Brazil].

PubMed

Gomes, Silvana Cardoso; Esperidião, Monique Azevedo

2017-06-12

This study aimed to evaluate indigenous peoples' access to medium and high-complexity health services in the municipality of Cuiabá, Mato Grosso State, Brazil, through the Casa de Saúde Indígena or Indigenous Peoples' Clinic (CASAI Cuiabá). A single case study with a qualitative approach was conducted at CASAI Cuiabá. Data were obtained from observation of the work routines at CASAI Cuiabá, semi-structured interviews with health professionals and administrators from the Cuiabá Special Indigenous Health District (DSEI) and CASAI Cuiabá, and document analysis. Data analysis used a matrix derived from the theoretical and logical model of accessibility, validated by the Delphi method with a group of experts on indigenous peoples' health. Despite advances achieved by CASAI in improving indigenous peoples' access, there are persistent social, organizational, cultural, and geographic barriers in access to medium and high-complexity health services in Cuiabá. The study highlights the need for specific strategies to improve access to health services by indigenous peoples in Mato Grosso State.

The Older Adult Positivity Effect in Evaluations of Trustworthiness: Emotion Regulation or Cognitive Capacity?

PubMed

Zebrowitz, Leslie A; Boshyan, Jasmine; Ward, Noreen; Gutchess, Angela; Hadjikhani, Nouchine

2017-01-01

An older adult positivity effect, i.e., the tendency for older adults to favor positive over negative stimulus information more than do younger adults, has been previously shown in attention, memory, and evaluations. This effect has been attributed to greater emotion regulation in older adults. In the case of attention and memory, this explanation has been supported by some evidence that the older adult positivity effect is most pronounced for negative stimuli, which would motivate emotion regulation, and that it is reduced by cognitive load, which would impede emotion regulation. We investigated whether greater older adult positivity in the case of evaluative responses to faces is also enhanced for negative stimuli and attenuated by cognitive load, as an emotion regulation explanation would predict. In two studies, younger and older adults rated trustworthiness of faces that varied in valence both under low and high cognitive load, with the latter manipulated by a distracting backwards counting task. In Study 1, face valence was manipulated by attractiveness (low /disfigured faces, medium, high/fashion models' faces). In Study 2, face valence was manipulated by trustworthiness (low, medium, high). Both studies revealed a significant older adult positivity effect. However, contrary to an emotion regulation account, this effect was not stronger for more negative faces, and cognitive load increased rather than decreased the rated trustworthiness of negatively valenced faces. Although inconsistent with emotion regulation, the latter effect is consistent with theory and research arguing that more cognitive resources are required to process negative stimuli, because they are more cognitively elaborated than positive ones. The finding that increased age and increased cognitive load both enhanced the positivity of trustworthy ratings suggests that the older adult positivity effect in evaluative ratings of faces may reflect age-related declines in cognitive capacity rather than increases in the regulation of negative emotions.

Channel MAC Protocol for Opportunistic Communication in Ad Hoc Wireless Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashraf, Manzur; Jayasuriya, Aruna; Perreau, Sylvie

2008-12-01

Despite significant research effort, the performance of distributed medium access control methods has failed to meet theoretical expectations. This paper proposes a protocol named "Channel MAC" performing a fully distributed medium access control based on opportunistic communication principles. In this protocol, nodes access the channel when the channel quality increases beyond a threshold, while neighbouring nodes are deemed to be silent. Once a node starts transmitting, it will keep transmitting until the channel becomes "bad." We derive an analytical throughput limit for Channel MAC in a shared multiple access environment. Furthermore, three performance metrics of Channel MAC—throughput, fairness, and delay—are analysed in single hop and multihop scenarios using NS2 simulations. The simulation results show throughput performance improvement of up to 130% with Channel MAC over IEEE 802.11. We also show that the severe resource starvation problem (unfairness) of IEEE 802.11 in some network scenarios is reduced by the Channel MAC mechanism.

Cognitive Impairment in Non-Dialysis-Dependent CKD and the Transition to Dialysis: Findings From the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) Study.

PubMed

Harhay, Meera N; Xie, Dawei; Zhang, Xiaoming; Hsu, Chi-Yuan; Vittinghoff, Eric; Go, Alan S; Sozio, Stephen M; Blumenthal, Jacob; Seliger, Stephen; Chen, Jing; Deo, Rajat; Dobre, Mirela; Akkina, Sanjeev; Reese, Peter P; Lash, James P; Yaffe, Kristine; Tamura, Manjula Kurella

2018-05-02

Advanced chronic kidney disease is associated with elevated risk for cognitive impairment. However, it is not known whether and how cognitive impairment is associated with planning and preparation for end-stage renal disease. Retrospective observational study. 630 adults participating in the CRIC (Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort) Study who had cognitive assessments in late-stage CKD, defined as estimated glome-rular filtration rate ≤ 20mL/min/1.73m 2 , and subsequently initiated maintenance dialysis therapy. Predialysis cognitive impairment, defined as a score on the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination lower than previously derived age-based threshold scores. Covariates included age, race/ethnicity, educational attainment, comorbid conditions, and health literacy. Peritoneal dialysis (PD) as first dialysis modality, preemptive permanent access placement, venous catheter avoidance at dialysis therapy initiation, and preemptive wait-listing for a kidney transplant. Multivariable-adjusted logistic regression. Predialysis cognitive impairment was present in 117 (19%) participants. PD was the first dialysis modality among 16% of participants (n=100), 75% had preemptive access placed (n=473), 45% avoided using a venous catheter at dialysis therapy initiation (n=279), and 20% were preemptively wait-listed (n=126). Predialysis cognitive impairment was independently associated with 78% lower odds of PD as the first dialysis modality (adjusted OR [aOR], 0.22; 95% CI, 0.06-0.74; P=0.02) and 42% lower odds of venous catheter avoidance at dialysis therapy initiation (aOR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.34-0.98; P=0.04). Predialysis cognitive impairment was not independently associated with preemptive permanent access placement or wait-listing. Potential unmeasured confounders; single measure of cognitive function. Predialysis cognitive impairment is associated with a lower likelihood of PD as a first dialysis modality and of venous catheter avoidance at dialysis therapy initiation. Future studies may consider addressing cognitive function when testing strategies to improve patient transitions to dialysis therapy. Copyright © 2018 National Kidney Foundation, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mitigating Evidentiary Bias in Planning and Policy-Making Comment on "Reflective Practice: How the World Bank Explored Its Own Biases?"

PubMed

Parkhurst, Justin

2016-07-20

The field of cognitive psychology has increasingly provided scientific insights to explore how humans are subject to unconscious sources of evidentiary bias, leading to errors that can affect judgement and decision-making. Increasingly these insights are being applied outside the realm of individual decision-making to the collective arena of policy-making as well. A recent editorial in this journal has particularly lauded the work of the World Bank for undertaking an open and critical reflection on sources of unconscious bias in its own expert staff that could undermine achievement of its key goals. The World Bank case indeed serves as a remarkable case of a global policy-making agency making its own critical reflections transparent for all to see. Yet the recognition that humans are prone to cognitive errors has been known for centuries, and the scientific exploration of such biases provided by cognitive psychology is now well-established. What still remains to be developed, however, is a widespread body of work that can inform efforts to institutionalise strategies to mitigate the multiple sources and forms of evidentiary bias arising within administrative and policy-making environments. Addressing this gap will require a programme of conceptual and empirical work that supports robust development and evaluation of institutional bias mitigation strategies. The cognitive sciences provides a scientific basis on which to proceed, but a critical priority will now be the application of that science to improve policy-making within those agencies taking responsibility for social welfare and development programmes. © 2017 The Author(s); Published by Kerman University of Medical Sciences. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Urban-rural differences in the association between access to healthcare and health outcomes among older adults in China.

PubMed

Zhang, Xufan; Dupre, Matthew E; Qiu, Li; Zhou, Wei; Zhao, Yuan; Gu, Danan

2017-07-19

Studies have shown that inadequate access to healthcare is associated with lower levels of health and well-being in older adults. Studies have also shown significant urban-rural differences in access to healthcare in developing countries such as China. However, there is limited evidence of whether the association between access to healthcare and health outcomes differs by urban-rural residence at older ages in China. Four waves of data (2005, 2008/2009, 2011/2012, and 2014) from the largest national longitudinal survey of adults aged 65 and older in mainland China (n = 26,604) were used for analysis. The association between inadequate access to healthcare (y/n) and multiple health outcomes were examined-including instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) disability, ADL disability, cognitive impairment, and all-cause mortality. A series of multivariate models were used to obtain robust estimates and to account for various covariates associated with access to healthcare and/or health outcomes. All models were stratified by urban-rural residence. Inadequate access to healthcare was significantly higher among older adults in rural areas than in urban areas (9.1% vs. 5.4%; p < 0.01). Results from multivariate models showed that inadequate access to healthcare was associated with significantly higher odds of IADL disability in older adults living in urban areas (odds ratio [OR] = 1.58-1.79) and rural areas (OR = 1.95-2.30) relative to their counterparts with adequate access to healthcare. In terms of ADL disability, we found significant increases in the odds of disability among rural older adults (OR = 1.89-3.05) but not among urban older adults. Inadequate access to healthcare was also associated with substantially higher odds of cognitive impairment in older adults from rural areas (OR = 2.37-3.19) compared with those in rural areas with adequate access to healthcare; however, no significant differences in cognitive impairment were found among older adults in urban areas. Finally, we found that inadequate access to healthcare increased overall mortality risks in older adults by 33-37% in urban areas and 28-29% in rural areas. However, the increased risk of mortality in urban areas was not significant after taking into account health behaviors and baseline health status. Inadequate access to healthcare was significantly associated with higher rates of disability, cognitive impairment, and all-cause mortality among older adults in China. The associations between access to healthcare and health outcomes were generally stronger among older adults in rural areas than in urban areas. Our findings underscore the importance of providing adequate access to healthcare for older adults-particularly for those living in rural areas in developing countries such as China.

Social problem-solving interventions in medium secure settings for women.

PubMed

Long, C G; Fulton, B; Dolley, O; Hollin, C R

2011-10-01

Problem-solving interventions are a feature of overall medium secure treatment programmes. However, despite the relevance of such treatment to personality disorder there are few descriptions of such interventions for women. Beneficial effects for women who completed social problem-solving group treatment were evident on a number of psychometric assessments. A treatment non-completion rate of one-third raises questions of both acceptability and timing of cognitive behavioural interventions.

Smartphone-based system to improve transportation access for the cognitively impaired.

PubMed

Anderson, Shane M; Riehle, Timothy H; Lichter, Patrick A; Brown, Allen W; Panescu, Dorin

2015-01-01

This project developed and evaluated a smartphone-based system to improve mobility and transportation access for the cognitively impaired. The proposed system is intended to allow the cognitively impaired to use public transportation systems, community transportation and dedicated transportation services for the disabled with greater ease and safety. Individuals with cognitive disabilities are often unable to operate an automobile, or may require a prolonged recovery period before resuming driving. Public transportation systems represent a significant means to allow these individuals to maintain independence. Yet public transportation systems can pose significant challenges to individuals with cognitive impairment. The goal of this project is to develop a system to reduce these barriers via a technological solution consisting of components developed both for the cognitively impaired user and their caregiver or family member. The first component consists of a cognitive prosthetic device featuring traditional memory cueing and reminders as well as custom location-based transportation specific functions. This cognitive mobility assistant will leverage the computing power and GPS location determination capabilities of inexpensive, powerful smart phones. The second component consists of a management application which offers caregivers the ability to configure and program the reminder and transit functions remotely via the Internet. Following completion of the prototype system a pilot human test was performed with cognitively disabled individuals and family members or caregivers to assess the usability and acceptability of both system components.

REVISITING NUCLEOPHILIC SUBSTITUTION REACTIONS: MICROWAVE-ASSISTED SYNTHESIS OF AZIDES, THIOCYANATES AND SULFONES IN AQUEOUS MEDIUM

EPA Science Inventory

A practical, rapid and efficient microwave (MW) promoted synthesis of various azides, thiocyanates and sulfones, is described in aqueous medium. This general and expeditious MW-enhanced nucleophilic substitution approach uses easily accessible starting materials such as halides o...

Need for Cognitive Closure Modulates How Perceptual Decisions Are Affected by Task Difficulty and Outcome Relevance.

PubMed

Viola, Vanda; Tosoni, Annalisa; Brizi, Ambra; Salvato, Ilaria; Kruglanski, Arie W; Galati, Gaspare; Mannetti, Lucia

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to assess the extent to which Need for Cognitive Closure (NCC), an individual-level epistemic motivation, can explain inter-individual variability in the cognitive effort invested on a perceptual decision making task (the random motion task). High levels of NCC are manifested in a preference for clarity, order and structure and a desire for firm and stable knowledge. The study evaluated how NCC moderates the impact of two variables known to increase the amount of cognitive effort invested on a task, namely task ambiguity (i.e., the difficulty of the perceptual discrimination) and outcome relevance (i.e., the monetary gain associated with a correct discrimination). Based on previous work and current design, we assumed that reaction times (RTs) on our motion discrimination task represent a valid index of effort investment. Task ambiguity was associated with increased cognitive effort in participants with low or medium NCC but, interestingly, it did not affect the RTs of participants with high NCC. A different pattern of association was observed for outcome relevance; high outcome relevance increased cognitive effort in participants with moderate or high NCC, but did not affect the performance of low NCC participants. In summary, the performance of individuals with low NCC was affected by task difficulty but not by outcome relevance, whereas individuals with high NCC were influenced by outcome relevance but not by task difficulty; only participants with medium NCC were affected by both task difficulty and outcome relevance. These results suggest that perceptual decision making is influenced by the interaction between context and NCC.

Short- and long-term neurocognitive functioning after electroconvulsive therapy in depressed elderly: a prospective naturalistic study.

PubMed

Verwijk, Esmée; Comijs, Hannie C; Kok, Rob M; Spaans, Harm-Pieter; Tielkes, Caroline E M; Scherder, Erik J A; Stek, Max L

2014-02-01

It is generally assumed that the elderly patients are more vulnerable to cognitive side effects after electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) than younger depressed patients. The current study aims to evaluate the nature and extent of changes across multiple domains of neurocognitive functioning in a group of elderly depressed patients after ECT. In this prospective naturalistic study, we included 42 depressed patients aged ≥55 years. Global cognitive function, memory, and executive function were assessed before ECT treatment and within one week (short-term post-ECT) and six months after ECT (long-term post-ECT). Associations between cognitive functioning and electrode placement, total number of treatment sessions, age, and the severity of depression at the time of cognitive measurement were studied. Our data offered no evidence of decline for any of the neurocognitive tests after ECT, given its power to detect the difference. Post-ECT improvement of neurocognitive functioning was statistically significant for the Mini-Mental State Examination, Visual Association Test, 10 Words Verbal Learning Test, and Expanded Mental Control Test. Effect sizes were medium to large. After six months, compared with post-ECT performance, statistically significant improvement was found only for the Trail Making Test-A and the Letter Fluency Test with small to medium effect sizes. In our severely depressed elderly patients, neurocognitive performance improved or did not change after ECT. Patients with poor cognitive function were not able to participate in neuropsychological assessment before ECT started. Consequently these results may not apply to patients with more severe cognitive impairment prior to the start of ECT.

Extreme cognitions are associated with diminished ability to use disconfirming evidence.

PubMed

Haigh, Matthew; Dodd, Alyson L

2017-03-01

An Integrative Cognitive Model of mood swings and bipolar disorder proposes that cognitive styles characterized by extreme self-referent appraisals of internal states (e.g., 'If I have a bad night's sleep it means that I am about to have a breakdown') interfere with mood regulation. The aim of this study is to determine whether strong endorsement of such appraisals is predicted by a diminished ability to access disconfirming counterexamples. We examined whether the ability to access two different categories of counterexample (known as Disabling Conditions and Alternative Causes) would predict endorsement of extreme appraisals (measured by the Hypomanic Attitudes and Positive Predictions Inventory; HAPPI) and mania risk (measured by the Hypomanic Personality Scale; HPS). A non-clinical sample of 150 students completed the HAPPI, the HPS and a conditional reasoning task that indexed the ability to access Disabling Conditions and Alternative Causes. Current mood was controlled for using the Internal States Scale. The ability to make use of disabling counterexamples during the reasoning task was inversely related with scores on the HAPPI (r = -.19, p < .05); participants that were less able to make use of disabling counterexamples endorsed extreme self-referent appraisals to a greater extent. There was no association between the use of alternative cause counterexamples and the HAPPI, and no association between either measure of counterexample generation and the HPS. A diminished ability to use disconfirming evidence when reasoning about the world may reinforce problematic cognitive styles such as extreme, personalized appraisals of experience, which can interfere with mood regulation. Problematic cognitive styles such as extreme, personalized appraisals of experience may be reinforced by the inability to produce or access evidence that disconfirms these maladaptive beliefs. This reasoning bias may be associated with cognitive styles underlying psychopathology. There may be clinical utility in exploring the use of disabler generation in psychological interventions, to help disconfirm maladaptive beliefs. © 2016 The British Psychological Society.

A Conceptual Model of the Cognitive Processing of Environmental Distance Information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Montello, Daniel R.

I review theories and research on the cognitive processing of environmental distance information by humans, particularly that acquired via direct experience in the environment. The cognitive processes I consider for acquiring and thinking about environmental distance information include working-memory, nonmediated, hybrid, and simple-retrieval processes. Based on my review of the research literature, and additional considerations about the sources of distance information and the situations in which it is used, I propose an integrative conceptual model to explain the cognitive processing of distance information that takes account of the plurality of possible processes and information sources, and describes conditions under which particular processes and sources are likely to operate. The mechanism of summing vista distances is identified as widely important in situations with good visual access to the environment. Heuristics based on time, effort, or other information are likely to play their most important role when sensory access is restricted.

What does God know? Supernatural agents' access to socially strategic and non-strategic information.

PubMed

Purzycki, Benjamin G; Finkel, Daniel N; Shaver, John; Wales, Nathan; Cohen, Adam B; Sosis, Richard

2012-07-01

Current evolutionary and cognitive theories of religion posit that supernatural agent concepts emerge from cognitive systems such as theory of mind and social cognition. Some argue that these concepts evolved to maintain social order by minimizing antisocial behavior. If these theories are correct, then people should process information about supernatural agents' socially strategic knowledge more quickly than non-strategic knowledge. Furthermore, agents' knowledge of immoral and uncooperative social behaviors should be especially accessible to people. To examine these hypotheses, we measured response-times to questions about the knowledge attributed to four different agents--God, Santa Claus, a fictional surveillance government, and omniscient but non-interfering aliens--that vary in their omniscience, moral concern, ability to punish, and how supernatural they are. As anticipated, participants respond more quickly to questions about agents' socially strategic knowledge than non-strategic knowledge, but only when agents are able to punish. Copyright © 2012 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Distributed Fair Auto Rate Medium Access Control for IEEE 802.11 Based WLANs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Yanfeng; Niu, Zhisheng

Much research has shown that a carefully designed auto rate medium access control can utilize the underlying physical multi-rate capability to exploit the time-variation of the channel. In this paper, we develop a simple analytical model to elucidate the rule that maximizes the throughput of RTS/CTS based multi-rate wireless local area networks. Based on the discovered rule, we propose two distributed fair auto rate medium access control schemes called FARM and FARM+ from the view-point of throughput fairness and time-share fairness, respectively. With the proposed schemes, after receiving a RTS frame, the receiver selectively returns the CTS frame to inform the transmitter the maximum feasible rate probed by the signal-to-noise ratio of the received RTS frame. The key feature of the proposed schemes is that they are capable of maintaining throughput/time-share fairness in asymmetric situation where the distribution of SNR varies with stations. Extensive simulation results show that the proposed schemes outperform the existing throughput/time-share fair auto rate schemes in time-varying channel conditions.

Complementary concept for an image archive and communication system in a cardiological department based on CD-medical, an online archive, and networking facilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oswald, Helmut; Mueller-Jones, Kay; Builtjes, Jan; Fleck, Eckart

1998-07-01

The developments in information technologies -- computer hardware, networking and storage media -- has led to expectations that these advances make it possible to replace 35 mm film completely by digital techniques in the catheter laboratory. Besides the role of an archival medium, cine film is used as the major image review and exchange medium in cardiology. None of the today technologies can fulfill completely the requirements to replace cine film. One of the major drawbacks of cine film is the single access in time and location. For the four catheter laboratories in our institutions we have designed a complementary concept combining the CD-R, also called CD-medical, as a single patient storage and exchange medium, and a digital archive for on-line access and image review of selected frames or short sequences on adequate medical workstations. The image data from various modalities as well as all digital documents regarding to a patient are part of an electronic patient record. The access, the processing and the display of documents is supported by an integrated medical application.

Long-term trajectories of self-reported cognitive function in a cohort of older survivors of breast cancer: CALGB 369901 (Alliance).

PubMed

Mandelblatt, Jeanne S; Clapp, Jonathan D; Luta, Gheorghe; Faul, Leigh Anne; Tallarico, Michelle D; McClendon, Trina D; Whitley, Jessica A; Cai, Ling; Ahles, Tim A; Stern, Robert A; Jacobsen, Paul B; Small, Brent J; Pitcher, Brandelyn N; Dura-Fernandis, Estrella; Muss, Hyman B; Hurria, Arti; Cohen, Harvey J; Isaacs, Claudine

2016-07-22

The number of survivors of breast cancer aged ≥65 years ("older") is growing, but to the authors' knowledge, little is known regarding the cognitive outcomes of these individuals. A cohort of cognitively intact older survivors with nonmetastatic, invasive breast cancer was recruited from 78 sites from 2004 through 2011; approximately 83.7% of the survivors (1280 survivors) completed baseline assessments. Follow-up data were collected at 6 months and annually for up to 7 years (median, 4.1 years). Cognitive function was self-reported using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30); scores ranged from 0 to 100, with a higher score indicating better function. Group-based trajectory modeling determined trajectories; women were assigned to a trajectory group based on the highest predicted probability of membership. Multinomial logistic regression evaluated the association between receipt of chemotherapy (with or without hormonal treatment) and trajectory group. Survivors were aged 65 to 91 years; approximately 41% received chemotherapy. There were 3 cognitive trajectories: "maintained high" (42.3% of survivors); "phase shift" (50.1% of survivors), with scores slightly below but parallel to maintained high; and "accelerated decline" (7.6% of survivors), with the lowest baseline scores and greatest decline (from 71.7 [standard deviation, 19.8] to 58.3 [standard deviation, 21.9]). The adjusted odds of being in the accelerated decline group (vs the maintained high group) were 2.1 times higher (95% confidence interval, 1.3-3.5) for survivors who received chemotherapy (with or without hormonal therapy) versus those treated with hormonal therapy alone. Greater comorbidity and frailty also were found to be associated with accelerated decline. Trajectory group analysis demonstrated that the majority of older survivors maintained good long-term self-reported cognitive function, and that only a small subset who were exposed to chemotherapy manifested accelerated cognitive decline. Future research is needed to determine factors that place some older survivors at risk of experiencing cognitive decline. Cancer 2016. 2016 The Authors. Cancer published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Cancer Society. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. © 2016 The Authors. Cancer published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Cancer Society.

Genetic diversity analysis of Varronia curassavica Jacq. accessions using ISSR markers.

PubMed

Brito, F A; Nizio, D A C; Silva, A V C; Diniz, L E C; Rabbani, A R C; Arrigoni-Blank, M F; Alvares-Carvalho, S V; Figueira, G M; Montanari Júnior, I; Blank, A F

2016-09-02

Varronia curassavica Jacq. is a medicinal and aromatic plant from Brazil with significant economic importance. Studies on genetic diversity in active germplasm banks (AGB) are essential for conservation and breeding programs. The aim of this study was to analyze the genetic diversity of V. curassavica accessions of the AGB of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of the Federal University of Sergipe (UFS), using inter-simple sequence repeat molecular markers. Twenty-four primers were tested, and 14 were polymorphic and informative, resulting in 149 bands with 97.98% polymorphism. The UPGMA dendrogram divided the accessions into Clusters I and II. Jaccard similarity coefficients for pair-wise comparisons of accessions ranged between 0.24 and 0.78. The pairs of accessions VCUR-001/VCUR-503, VCUR-001/VCUR-504, and VCUR-104/VCUR-501 showed relatively low similarity (0.24), and the pair of accessions VCUR-402/VCUR- 403 showed medium similarity (0.78). Twenty-eight accessions were divided into three distinct clusters, according to the STRUCTURE analysis. The genetic diversity of V. curassavica in the AGB of UFS is low to medium, and it requires expansion. Accession VCUR-802 is the most suitable for selection in breeding program of this species, since it clearly represents all of the diversity present in the AGB.

Cognitive functioning following stabilisation from first episode mania.

PubMed

Daglas, Rothanthi; Allott, Kelly; Yücel, Murat; Henry, Lisa P; Macneil, Craig A; Hasty, Melissa K; Berk, Michael; Cotton, Sue M

2017-12-18

The purpose of this study was to examine cognitive functioning in people following first-episode mania relative to a demographically similar healthy control group. Forty-one patients, who had recently stabilised from a first manic episode, and twenty-one healthy controls, were compared in an extensive cognitive assessment. First-episode mania participants had significantly lower Full-Scale IQ (FSIQ) relative to healthy controls; however, this finding could be driven by premorbid differences in intellectual functioning. There were no significant differences between groups in Verbal IQ (VIQ) and Performance IQ (PIQ). First-episode mania participants performed significantly poorer than healthy controls in processing speed, verbal learning and memory, working memory, and cognitive flexibility with medium-to-large effects. There were no group differences in other measures of cognition. Participants following first-episode mania have poorer global intelligence than healthy controls, and have cognitive difficulties in some, but not all areas of cognitive functioning. This highlights the importance of early intervention and cognitive assessment in the early course of the disorder.

A pilot study of telephone cognitive-behavioural therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder in young people.

PubMed

Turner, Cynthia; Heyman, Isobel; Futh, Annabel; Lovell, Karina

2009-07-01

Cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT) is the recommended psychological treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in young people. Access to CBT may be limited by a number of factors, including lack of trained therapists, and geographic or financial factors preventing access to a specialized service. Telephone delivery of CBT represents one way of overcoming some of these accessibility issues. This pilot study describes outcomes for a telephone-based cognitive-behavioural treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in young people. Ten participants, aged 13 to 17 years, and their parents received up to 16 sessions of telephone CBT (TCBT). Measures of OCD symptoms were obtained using multiple informants and a repeated measures design. Assessments were conducted at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and at 6- and 12-month follow-up. Improvements were found for OCD symptoms across all informants. Family satisfaction with treatment over the telephone was high. The findings suggest that TCBT is a clinically effective, feasible and acceptable means of service delivery that offers the potential to make CBT a more accessible treatment for young people. TCBT requires further evaluation in randomized, controlled trials to compare effectiveness with face-to-face CBT, which currently represents the usual care model.

Mobile Web and Accessibility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hori, Masahiro; Kato, Takashi

While focusing on the human-computer interaction side of the Web content delivery, this article discusses problems and prospects of the mobile Web and Web accessibility in terms of what lessons and experiences we have gained from Web accessibility and what they can say about the mobile Web. One aim is to draw particular attention to the importance of explicitly distinguishing between perceptual and cognitive aspects of the users’ interactions with the Web. Another is to emphasize the increased importance of scenario-based evaluation and remote testing for the mobile Web where the limited screen space and a variety of environmental factors of mobile use are critical design issues. A newly devised inspection type of evaluation method that focuses on the perceptual-cognitive distinction of accessibility and usability issues is presented as a viable means of scenario-based, remote testing for the Web.

[Birth weight and later nutritional status, cognitive development and job status: a critical revision].

PubMed

Villegas, S; Ivanovic, R; Pérez, H; Almagià, A; Urrutia, M S; Rodríguez, M del P; Larrain, C; Ivanovic, D

2009-12-01

The impact of prenatal nutritional status, assessed through birth weight (BW) and their effects in the short, medium and long-term on nutritional status, cognitive development and job status in the adult life, has been a problem of interest for several researchers; as regards, some of these report a positive and significant association between these variables and others do not find any relation. Children with insufficient, low or very low BW despite the early more deteriorate nutritional status should present higher risk for brain maturation, failure cognitive development and lowered head circumference which implies both lowered brain volume and intellectual development. In the short and medium-term, this situation damages the learning process at school-age, while in the long-term this might condition the quality of jobs. At present, the body of knowledge pinpoints that findings related to these associations is not conclusive verifying a great controversy in these matters. This review article has the purpose of analyzing the current evidence, in order to stimulate research about to these aspects which are relevant for child development and their future life.

Conditioned medium from the stem cells of human dental pulp improves cognitive function in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

PubMed

Mita, Tsuneyuki; Furukawa-Hibi, Yoko; Takeuchi, Hideyuki; Hattori, Hisashi; Yamada, Kiyofumi; Hibi, Hideharu; Ueda, Minoru; Yamamoto, Akihito

2015-10-15

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive, neurodegenerative disease characterized by a decline in cognitive abilities and the appearance of β-amyloid plaques in the brain. Although the pathogenic mechanisms associated with AD are not fully understood, activated microglia releasing various neurotoxic factors, including pro-inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress mediators, appear to play major roles. Here, we investigated the therapeutic benefits of a serum-free conditioned medium (CM) derived from the stem cells of human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHEDs) in a mouse model of AD. The intranasal administration of SHEDs in these mice resulted in substantially improved cognitive function. SHED-CM contained factors involved in multiple neuroregenerative mechanisms, such as neuroprotection, axonal elongation, neurotransmission, the suppression of inflammation, and microglial regulation. Notably, SHED-CM attenuated the pro-inflammatory responses induced by β-amyloid plaques, and generated an anti-inflammatory/tissue-regenerating environment, which was accompanied by the induction of anti-inflammatory M2-like microglia. Our data suggest that SHED-CM may provide significant therapeutic benefits for AD. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Integrating psychopharmacology and cognitive remediation to treat cognitive dysfunction in the psychotic disorders.

PubMed

Medalia, Alice; Opler, Lewis A; Saperstein, Alice M

2014-04-01

Cognitive deficits are a prominent and enduring aspect of schizophrenia, which pose a significant barrier to achieving functional goals. The most promising intervention for treating cognitive impairment is cognitive remediation (CR), a behaviorally based therapy associated with medium effect sizes for cognitive and functional outcomes. However, there is a sizeable group of nonresponders whose CR outcomes become limited when the therapeutic approach fails to address individual differences in baseline cognition, motivation variables, and the extent to which CR offers opportunities for generalization. This speaks to a need to develop cognitive interventions that are both personalized and scalable. Emerging data suggest that specific pharmacological agents have the potential to enhance and accelerate behaviorally based CR effects. This article will review the rationale and preliminary evidence to support combining CR and pharmacotherapy. We will review crucial aspects of cognitive interventions that offer the most promise for improving not only cognitive outcomes, but also for enhancing improvement in real-world functioning. Finally, we will address methodological issues to be considered for future research on combined pharmacological and CR interventions.

Telecommunications technology in cognitive rehabilitation.

PubMed

Caltagirone, Carlo; Zannino, Gian Daniele

2008-01-01

Cognitive disorders are a common long-term consequence of many forms of acquired neurological damage of different aetiology. The already high prevalence of diseases causing cognitive deficits (in particular stroke) is expected to increase in the near future, leading to a greater need for cognitive rehabilitation. The impact of cognitive impairment on daily functioning may be even greater than that of physical limitations in affected patients, contributing to the high cost of brain disorders. New technologies, including telerehabilitation, may provide an effective response to this challenge, allowing increased access to rehabilitation services as well as reduced care costs for individuals needing cognitive rehabilitation.

Underwater Acoustic Wireless Sensor Networks: Advances and Future Trends in Physical, MAC and Routing Layers

PubMed Central

Climent, Salvador; Sanchez, Antonio; Capella, Juan Vicente; Meratnia, Nirvana; Serrano, Juan Jose

2014-01-01

This survey aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current research on underwater wireless sensor networks, focusing on the lower layers of the communication stack, and envisions future trends and challenges. It analyzes the current state-of-the-art on the physical, medium access control and routing layers. It summarizes their security threads and surveys the currently proposed studies. Current envisioned niches for further advances in underwater networks research range from efficient, low-power algorithms and modulations to intelligent, energy-aware routing and medium access control protocols. PMID:24399155

Internet access for delivery of health information to South Australians older than 50.

PubMed

Wilson, Carlene; Flight, Ingrid; Hart, Elizabeth; Turnbull, Deborah; Cole, Steve; Young, Graeme

2008-04-01

An exploratory study to determine the proportion of people aged 50-76 years who have Internet access, the location of this access, predictive characteristics of such access, and preparedness to receive unsolicited health information through this medium. A random sample of 1,000 South Australians was identified from the Australian Electoral Commission roll and contacted by telephone in 2006. They were invited to answer questions about their access to the Internet and attitude towards receiving unsolicited health information via the Internet. Of those contacted, 41% provided information. Of this group, 59% indicated that they had Internet access, mostly at home. Men were more likely than women to have home access (p<0.05). Higher educational achievement, higher economic status and younger age were all significantly associated with access. Of those who had access, 65% would be willing to receive health information through the Internet. More than half the population older than 50 years has access to the Internet at some location, and there is a general acceptance of the possibility of receiving health-promoting material via this medium. However, delivery via the Internet alone would disadvantage those who are less educated, less financially well off and older. It is likely that a generational change in the entire nature of public communication will influence the efficiency and effectiveness of preventive health promotion delivery via the Internet. In order to facilitate improved health outcomes, issues of disparity of access must be addressed.

Cognitive Skill, Skill Demands of Jobs, and Earnings among Young European American, African American, and Mexican American Workers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farkas, George; And Others

1997-01-01

Analyses of National Longitudinal Survey data indicate that cognitive skill level affects access to high-skill occupations and earnings. Lower cognitive skill levels for African Americans and U.S.-born Mexican Americans explain a substantial proportion of income differences between these groups and European Americans but not the gender gap in pay…

The Dynamics of Learning and the Emergence of Distributed Adaption

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-05-01

regular access to experts in a wide range of disciplines—such as, biology, economics, cognitive science, and sociology—that historically have...organized a successful workshop on “Collective Cognition : Mathemati- cal Foundations of Distributed Intelligence,” bringing together workers in...processing and cognition . (For a complete list of participants, talk titles and abstracts, and other information on the workshop, see http

The processing of phonological, orthographical, and lexical information of Chinese characters in sentence contexts: an ERP study.

PubMed

Liu, Baolin; Jin, Zhixing; Qing, Zhao; Wang, Zhongning

2011-02-04

In the current work, we aimed to study the processing of phonological, orthographical, and lexical information of Chinese characters in sentence contexts, as well as to provide further evidence for psychological models. In the experiment, we designed sentences with expected, homophonic, orthographically similar, synonymous, and control characters as endings, respectively. The results indicated that P200 might be related to the early extraction of phonological information. Moreover, it might also represent immediate semantic and orthographic lexical access. This suggested that there might be a dual-route in cognitive processing, where the direct access route and the phonologically mediated access route both exist and interact with each other. The increased N400 under the control condition suggested that both phonological and orthographical information would influence semantic integration in Chinese sentence comprehension. The two positive peaks of the late positive shift might represent the semantic monitoring, and orthographical retrieval and reanalysis processing, respectively. Under the orthographically similar condition, orthographical retrieval and reanalysis processing was more difficult in comparison with the other conditions, which suggested that there might be direct access from orthography to semantic representation in cognitive processing. In conclusion, it was shown that the direct access hypothesis or the dual-route hypothesis could better explain cognitive processing in the brain. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Memory-focused interventions for people with cognitive disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies.

PubMed

Yang, Hui-Ling; Chan, Pi-Tuan; Chang, Pi-Chen; Chiu, Huei-Ling; Sheen Hsiao, Shu-Tai; Chu, Hsin; Chou, Kuei-Ru

2018-02-01

A better understanding of people with cognitive disorders improves performance on memory tasks through memory-focused interventions are needed. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of memoryfocused interventions on cognitive disorders through a meta-analysis. Systematic review and meta-analysis. The online electronic databases PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Ovid-Medline, CINHAL, PsycINFO, Ageline, and Embase (up to May 2017) were used in this study. No language restriction was applied to the search. Objective memory (learning and memory function, immediate recall, delayed recall, and recognition) was the primary indicator and subjective memory performance, global cognitive function, and depression were the secondary indicators. The Hedges' g of change, subgroup analyses, and meta-regression were analyzed on the basis of the characteristics of people with cognitive disorders. A total of 27 studies (2177 participants, mean age=75.80) reporting RCTs were included in the meta-analysis. The results indicated a medium-to-large effect of memory-focused interventions on learning and memory function (Hedges' g=0.62) and subjective memory performance (Hedges' g=0.67), a small-to-medium effect on delayed recall and depression, and a small effect on immediate recall and global cognitive function (all p<0.05) compared with the control. Subgroup analysis and meta-regression indicated that the effects on learning and memory function were more profound in the format of memory training, individual training, shorter treatment duration, and more than eight treatment sessions, and the effect size indicated the MMSE score was the most crucial indicator (β=-0.06, p=0.04). This is first comprehensive meta-analysis of special memory domains in people with cognitive disorders. The results revealed that memory-focused interventions effectively improved memory-related performance in people with cognitive disorders. An appropriately designed intervention can effectively improve memory function, reduce disability progression, and improve mood state in people with cognitive disorders. Additional randomized controlled trials including measures of recognition, global cognitive function, and depression should be conducted and analyzed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Clinical and cognitive correlates of unsheltered status in homeless persons with psychotic disorders.

PubMed

Llerena, Katiah; Gabrielian, Sonya; Green, Michael F

2018-02-24

Homeless persons with psychosis are particularly susceptible to unsheltered homelessness, which includes living on the streets, in cars, and other places not meant for human habitation. Homeless persons with psychosis have distinct barriers to accessing care and comprise a high-need and hard-to-serve homeless subpopulation. Therefore, this study sought to understand unsheltered homelessness in persons with psychosis and its relationship to cognitive impairment, clinical symptoms, and community functioning, examined both categorically and dimensionally. This study included 76 homeless participants with a history of a psychotic diagnosis who were enrolled in a supported housing program but had not yet received housing. This study used two different housing stability thresholds (literally homeless at any point vs. literally homeless >20% of days) for comparing homeless Veterans with psychosis living in sheltered versus unsheltered situations on cognition, clinical symptoms, and community integration. Dimensional analyses also examined the relationship between percentage of days spent in unsheltered locations and cognition, clinical symptoms, and community integration. Sheltered and unsheltered Veterans with psychosis did not differ on clinical symptoms or community integration, but there was an inconsistent group difference on cognition depending on the threshold used for determining housing stability. In the unsheltered group, cognitive deficits in overall cognition, visual learning, and social cognition were related to more days spent in unsheltered locations. Rehabilitation efforts targeting specific cognitive deficits may be useful to facilitate greater access to care and successful interventions in this population. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Haloperidol attenuates Methylphenidate and Modafinil induced behavioural sensitization and cognitive enhancement.

PubMed

Alam, Nausheen; Choudhary, Kulsoom

2018-06-01

Previous studies have demonstrated that repeated psychostimulant administration produces behavioural sensitization and cognitive tolerance. Brain dopaminergic system and the involvement of dopamine D 2 -receptors are considered to be important in psychostimulant-induced sensitization. Study designed to compared the motor activity by using familiar and novel enviroments and cognitive effects by water maze and passive avoidance test after long term administration of methylphenidate(at the dose 0.6 mg/kg/day, 2.5 mg/kg/day and 10 mg/kg/day) and modafinil (50 mg/kg/day, 64 mg/kg/day and 75 mg/kg/day) in rats. The effects of challenge dose of haloperidol (at the dose of 1 mg/kg i.p.) has monitored to visualize any subsensitization or supersensitization of D 2 receptors. We found that motor activity and cognitive performance was increased in all doses and sensitization effect was more pronounced after 13 days of drug administration were greater at high than low and medium doses.Challenge dose of haloperidol attenuate motor activity in familiar and novel environment and impaired cognition in water maze and passive avoidance test in all treated rats. The effect of Haloperidol in high dose treated rats were however somewhat greater than low and medium dose treated rats following methylphenidate and modafinil administration. Increased response of haloperidol in methylphenidate treated rats can be explained in term of supersensitization of D 2 receptors which is greater in high dose treated rats. The results show that the role of D 2 receptors to develop side effects such as behavioural sensitization and cognitive tolerance by the long term administration of psychostimulants is of sufficient importance and helpful in understanding the mechanisms underlying the undesirable effects of psychostimulants.

Using science digital storytelling to increase students’ cognitive ability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dewi, N. R.; Savitri, E. N.; Taufiq, M.; Khusniati, M.

2018-04-01

The purpose of this research is to understand whether or not science digital storytelling can improve cognitive ability. The research design used in this study was one shoot case study. The population of the research was seventh-grade students of junior high school. The number of samples involved in this study was two classes with a total of 68 students. Data of students' cognitive ability were collected using a test. The data that has been collected were then analyzed using N-gain test. Results of data analysis showed that N-gain values of experimental groups are equal to 0.48 and 0.42 which are categorized into medium category. This finding indicates that science digital storytelling can improve students' cognitive ability.

Pullman transportation plan : a transportation and access plan for Pullman National Monument and the surrounding neighborhood

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-09-01

The Pullman Transportation Plan provides a holistic set of recommendations to improve access to and from Pullman National Monument and its surrounding neighborhoods for both visitors and residents. In this plan, we identify short-, medium-, and long-...

Evidence for a compulsive-like behavior in rats exposed to alternate access to highly preferred palatable food.

PubMed

Rossetti, Clara; Spena, Giuseppe; Halfon, Olivier; Boutrel, Benjamin

2014-11-01

Converging evidence suggests that recurrent excessive calorie restriction causes binge eating by promoting behavioral disinhibition and overeating. This interpretation suggests that cognitive adaptations may surpass physiological regulations of metabolic needs after recurrent cycles of dieting and binging. Intermittent access to palatable food has long been studied in rats, but the consequences of such diet cycling procedures on the cognitive control of food seeking remain unclear. Female Wistar rats were divided in two groups matched for food intake and body weight. One group received standard chow pellets 7 days/week, whereas the second group was given chow pellets for 5 days and palatable food for 2 days over seven consecutive weeks. Rats were also trained for operant conditioning. Intermittent access to palatable food elicited binging behavior and reduced intake of normal food. Rats with intermittent access to palatable food failed to exhibit anxiety-like behaviors in the elevated plus maze, but displayed reduced locomotor activity in the open field and developed a blunted corticosterone response following an acute stress across the diet procedure. Trained under a progressive ratio schedule, both groups exhibited the same motivation for sweetened food pellets. However, in contrast to controls, rats with a history of dieting and binging exhibited a persistent compulsive-like behavior when access to preferred pellets was paired with mild electrical foot shock punishments. These results highlight the intricate development of anxiety-like disorders and cognitive deficits leading to a loss of control over preferred food intake after repetitive cycles of intermittent access to palatable food. © 2013 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Accessing English and Networks at an English-Medium Multicultural Church in East Canada: An Ethnography

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Han, Huamei

2014-01-01

Drawing from a larger ethnography of skilled Chinese immigrants' language learning during settlement in Toronto, this article explores the role of informal interactions in facilitating immigrants learning English as a second language and settlement. Examining various activities and networks available at an English-medium multicultural church, this…

The Impact of Language on Educational Access in South Africa. CREATE Pathways to Access. Research Monograph No. 24

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lafon, Michel

2009-01-01

The role of Medium of Instruction or Language of Learning and Teaching has not received sufficient attention as a factor denying meaningful access to education in South Africa. Yet the majority of under-performing learners are also children who learn in a language that is not their mother-tongue. This research aims to assess how recent language…

A Theory of the Measurement of Knowledge Content, Access, and Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pirolli, Peter; Wilson, Mark

1998-01-01

An approach to the measurement of knowledge content, knowledge access, and knowledge learning is developed. First a theoretical view of cognition is described, and then a class of measurement models, based on Rasch modeling, is presented. Knowledge access and content are viewed as determining the observable actions selected by an agent to achieve…

""Moby-Dick" Is My Favorite:" Evaluating a Cognitively Accessible Portable Reading System for Audiobooks for Individuals with Intellectual Disability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davies, Daniel K.; Stock, Steven E.; King, Larry R.; Wehmeyer, Michael L.

2008-01-01

Significant barriers exist for individuals with intellectual disability to independently access print-based content. It is regrettable that, while the amount of content now available electronically increases, tools to access these materials have not been developed with individuals with intellectual disability in mind. This article reports the…

Evaluation of Cognitively Accessible Software to Increase Independent Access to Cellphone Technology for People with Intellectual Disability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stock, S. E.; Davies, D. K.; Wehmeyer, M. L.; Palmer, S. B.

2008-01-01

Background: There are over two billion telephones in use worldwide. Yet, for millions of Americans with intellectual disabilities (ID), access to the benefits of cellphone technology is limited because of deficits in literacy, numerical comprehension, the proliferation of features and shrinking size of cellphone hardware and user interfaces.…

Access of emotional information to visual awareness in patients with major depressive disorder.

PubMed

Sterzer, P; Hilgenfeldt, T; Freudenberg, P; Bermpohl, F; Adli, M

2011-08-01

According to cognitive theories of depression, negative biases affect most cognitive processes including perception. Such depressive perception may result not only from biased cognitive appraisal but also from automatic processing biases that influence the access of sensory information to awareness. Twenty patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 20 healthy control participants underwent behavioural testing with a variant of binocular rivalry, continuous flash suppression (CFS), to investigate the potency of emotional visual stimuli to gain access to awareness. While a neutral, fearful, happy or sad emotional face was presented to one eye, high-contrast dynamic patterns were presented to the other eye, resulting in initial suppression of the face from awareness. Participants indicated the location of the face with a key press as soon as it became visible. The modulation of suppression time by emotional expression was taken as an index of unconscious emotion processing. We found a significant difference in the emotional modulation of suppression time between MDD patients and controls. This difference was due to relatively shorter suppression of sad faces and, to a lesser degree, to longer suppression of happy faces in MDD. Suppression time modulation by sad expression correlated with change in self-reported severity of depression after 4 weeks. Our finding of preferential access to awareness for mood-congruent stimuli supports the notion that depressive perception may be related to altered sensory information processing even at automatic processing stages. Such perceptual biases towards mood-congruent information may reinforce depressed mood and contribute to negative cognitive biases. © Cambridge University Press 2011

Stepping Stones for People with Cognitive Disabilities and Low Digital Literacy.

PubMed

Lee, Steve

2017-01-01

The open source components presented have been designed for use by developers creating applications for people with cognitive disabilities or low digital literacy. They provide easy access to common online activities and include configurable levels of complexity to address varying preferences.

Facilitation of Function and Manipulation Knowledge of Tools Using Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS).

PubMed

Ishibashi, Ryo; Mima, Tatsuya; Fukuyama, Hidenao; Pobric, Gorana

2017-01-01

Using a variety of tools is a common and essential component of modern human life. Patients with brain damage or neurological disorders frequently have cognitive deficits in their recognition and manipulation of tools. In this study, we focused on improving tool-related cognition using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Converging evidence from neuropsychology, neuroimaging and non- invasive brain stimulation has identified the anterior temporal lobe (ATL) and inferior parietal lobule (IPL) as brain regions supporting action semantics. We observed enhanced performance in tool cognition with anodal tDCS over ATL and IPL in two cognitive tasks that require rapid access to semantic knowledge about the function or manipulation of common tools. ATL stimulation improved access to both function and manipulation knowledge of tools. The effect of IPL stimulation showed a trend toward better manipulation judgments. Our findings support previous studies of tool semantics and provide a novel approach for manipulation of underlying circuits.

Work, love, and death-thought accessibility: A terror management investigation.

PubMed

McCabe, Simon; Daly, Michael

2018-05-07

Terror management theory suggests that following culturally derived scripts for valued behaviour protects people from death concerns, and conversely, not meeting standards for cultural value can weaken this protection, heightening mortality concerns. Using this conceptual framework, we examine (1) how considerations of loss of employment, a source of cultural value for many, relates to the accessibility of death-related cognition, and (2) the moderating role of job market health, and (3) involvement in close relationships. Study 1 found that writing about being unemployed (vs. a control topic) led to greater mortality-related cognition. Study 2 found that considering unemployment heightened death cognition, but only when participants were led to perceive the job market as unhealthy. Finally, Study 3 found that considering unemployment led to greater death cognition, but not for those involved in a close relationship. Findings offer insight into a previously overlooked consequence of unemployment, and factors that may serve a protective function. © 2018 The British Psychological Society.

Efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy for childhood anxiety and depression.

PubMed

Crowe, Katherine; McKay, Dean

2017-06-01

A review of meta-analyses of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for childhood anxiety and depression was conducted. A total of 36 meta-analyses were identified that met inclusion criteria for this review. In most cases, medium-to-large effect sizes for treatment reduction were observed when CBT was compared to non-active control conditions. Small-to-medium effects were observed when CBT was compared to active control treatments. The available meta-analyses generally did not examine, or data were not sufficient to evaluate, potential moderators of outcome, differential effects for parental involvement, or changes in quality of life or functional outcomes associated with treatment. Accordingly, while CBT should be broadly considered an effective treatment approach for childhood anxiety and depression, additional research is warranted in order to establish guidelines for service delivery for complicating factors in client presentation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Self-rated driving habits among older adults with clinically-defined mild cognitive impairment, clinically-defined dementia, and normal cognition.

PubMed

O'Connor, Melissa L; Edwards, Jerri D; Bannon, Yvonne

2013-12-01

Older adults with clinically-defined dementia may report reducing their driving more than cognitively normal controls. However, it is unclear how these groups compare to individuals with clinically-defined mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in terms of driving behaviors. The current study investigated self-reported driving habits among adults age 60 and older with clinical MCI (n=41), clinical mild dementia (n=40), and normal cognition (n=43). Participants reported their driving status, driving frequency (days per week), and how often they avoided accessing the community, making left turns, driving at night, driving in unfamiliar areas, driving on high-traffic roads, and driving in bad weather. After adjusting for education, a MANCOVA revealed that participants with MCI and dementia avoided unfamiliar areas and high-traffic roads significantly more than normal participants. Participants with dementia also avoided left turns and accessing the community more than those with normal cognition and MCI (p<0.05 for all). The other driving variables did not significantly differ between groups. Thus, older adults with clinically-defined MCI, as well as those with dementia, avoided some complex driving situations more than cognitively intact adults. However, all diagnostic groups had similar rates of driving cessation and frequency. Future research should examine the safety implications of such findings. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated cognitive testing of monkeys in social groups yields results comparable to individual laboratory-based testing.

PubMed

Gazes, Regina Paxton; Brown, Emily Kathryn; Basile, Benjamin M; Hampton, Robert R

2013-05-01

Cognitive abilities likely evolved in response to specific environmental and social challenges and are therefore expected to be specialized for the life history of each species. Specialized cognitive abilities may be most readily engaged under conditions that approximate the natural environment of the species being studied. While naturalistic environments might therefore have advantages over laboratory settings for cognitive research, it is difficult to conduct certain types of cognitive tests in these settings. We implemented methods for automated cognitive testing of monkeys (Macaca mulatta) in large social groups (Field station) and compared the performance to that of laboratory-housed monkeys (Laboratory). The Field station animals shared access to four touch-screen computers in a large naturalistic social group. Each Field station subject had an RFID chip implanted in each arm for computerized identification and individualized assignment of cognitive tests. The Laboratory group was housed and tested in a typical laboratory setting, with individual access to testing computers in their home cages. Monkeys in both groups voluntarily participated at their own pace for food rewards. We evaluated performance in two visual psychophysics tests, a perceptual classification test, a transitive inference test, and a delayed matching-to-sample memory test. Despite the differences in housing, social environment, age, and sex, monkeys in the two groups performed similarly in all tests. Semi-free ranging monkeys living in complex social environments are therefore viable subjects for cognitive testing designed to take advantage of the unique affordances of naturalistic testing environments.

The feasibility of implementing cognitive remediation for work in community based psychiatric rehabilitation programs.

PubMed

McGurk, Susan R; Mueser, Kim T; Watkins, Melanie A; Dalton, Carline M; Deutsch, Heather

2017-03-01

Adding cognitive remediation to vocational rehabilitation services improves cognitive and work functioning in people with serious mental illness, but despite interest, the uptake of cognitive programs into community services has been slow. This study evaluated the feasibility of implementing an empirically supported cognitive remediation program in routine rehabilitation services at 2 sites. The Thinking Skills for Work (TSW) program was adapted for implementation at 2 sites of a large psychiatric rehabilitation agency providing prevocational services, but not community-based vocational services, which were provided off-site. Agency staff were trained to deliver TSW to clients with work or educational goals. Cognitive assessments were conducted at baseline and posttreatment, with work and school activity tracked for 2 years. Eighty-three participants enrolled in TSW, of whom 79.5% completed at least 6 of the 24 computer cognitive exercise sessions (M = 16.7) over an average of 18 weeks. Participants improved significantly from baseline to posttreatment in verbal learning and memory, speed of processing, and overall cognitive functioning. Over the follow-up, 25.3% of participants worked and 47.0% were involved in work or school activity. Higher work rates were observed at the site where participants had easier access to vocational services. The results support the feasibility of implementing the TSW program by frontline staff in agencies providing psychiatric rehabilitation, and suggest that ease of access to vocational services may influence work outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Automated cognitive testing of monkeys in social groups yields results comparable to individual laboratory based testing

PubMed Central

Gazes, Regina Paxton; Brown, Emily Kathryn; Basile, Benjamin M.; Hampton, Robert R.

2013-01-01

Cognitive abilities likely evolved in response to specific environmental and social challenges and are therefore expected to be specialized for the life history of each species. Specialized cognitive abilities may be most readily engaged under conditions that approximate the natural environment of the species being studied. While naturalistic environments might therefore have advantages over laboratory settings for cognitive research, it is difficult to conduct certain types of cognitive tests in these settings. We implemented methods for automated cognitive testing of monkeys (Macaca mulatta) in large social groups (Field station) and compared the performance to that of laboratory housed monkeys (Laboratory). The Field station animals shared access to four touch screen computers in a large naturalistic social group. Each Field station subject had an RFID chip implanted in each arm for computerized identification and individualized assignment of cognitive tests. The Laboratory group was housed and tested in a typical laboratory setting, with individual access to testing computers in their home cages. Monkeys in both groups voluntarily participated at their own pace for food rewards. We evaluated performance in two visual psychophysics tests, a perceptual classification test, a transitive inference test, and a delayed matching to sample memory test. Despite differences in housing, social environment, age, and sex, monkeys in the two groups performed similarly in all tests. Semi-free ranging monkeys living in complex social environments are therefore viable subjects for cognitive testing designed to take advantage of the unique affordances of naturalistic testing environments. PMID:23263675

Improving medication adherence among community-dwelling seniors with cognitive impairment: a systematic review of interventions.

PubMed

Kröger, Edeltraut; Tatar, Ovidiu; Vedel, Isabelle; Giguère, Anik M C; Voyer, Philippe; Guillaumie, Laurence; Grégoire, Jean-Pierre; Guénette, Line

2017-08-01

Background Medication non-adherence may lead to poor therapeutic outcomes. Cognitive functions deteriorate with age, contributing to decreased adherence. Interventions have been tested to improve adherence in seniors with cognitive impairment or Alzheimer disease (AD), but high-quality systematic reviews are lacking. It remains unclear which interventions are promising. Objectives We conducted a systematic review to identify, describe, and evaluate interventions aimed at improving medication adherence among seniors with any type of cognitive impairment. Methods Following NICE guidance, databases and websites were searched using combinations of controlled and free vocabulary. All adherence-enhancing interventions and study designs were considered. Studies had to include community dwelling seniors, aged 65 years or older, with cognitive impairment, receiving at least one medication for a chronic condition, and an adherence measure. Study characteristics and methodological quality were assessed. Results We identified 13 interventions, including six RCTs. Two studies were of poor, nine of low/medium and two of high quality. Seven studies had sample sizes below 50 and six interventions focused on adherence to AD medication. Six interventions tested a behavioral, four a medication oriented, two an educational and one a multi-faceted approach. Studies rarely assessed therapeutic outcomes. All but one intervention showed improved adherence. Conclusion Three medium quality studies showed better adherence with patches than with pills for AD treatment. Promising interventions used educational or reminding strategies, including one high quality RCT. Nine studies were of low/moderate quality. High quality RCTs using a theoretical framework for intervention selection are needed to identify strategies for improved adherence in these seniors.

Individual Versus Group Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Partner-Violent Men: A Preliminary Randomized Trial.

PubMed

Murphy, Christopher M; Eckhardt, Christopher I; Clifford, Judith M; Lamotte, Adam D; Meis, Laura A

2017-04-01

A randomized clinical trial tested the hypothesis that a flexible, case formulation-based, individual treatment approach integrating motivational interviewing strategies with cognitive-behavioral therapy (ICBT) is more efficacious than a standardized group cognitive-behavioral approach (GCBT) for perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV). Forty-two men presenting for services at a community domestic violence agency were randomized to receive 20 sessions of ICBT or a 20-week group cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) program. Participants and their relationship partners completed assessments of relationship abuse and relationship functioning at baseline and quarterly follow-ups for 1 year. Treatment uptake and session attendance were significantly higher in ICBT than GCBT. However, contrary to the study hypothesis, GCBT produced consistently equivalent or greater benefits than ICBT. Participant self-reports revealed significant reductions in abusive behavior and injuries across conditions with no differential benefits between conditions. Victim partner reports revealed more favorable outcomes for group treatment, including a statistically significant difference in psychological aggression, and differences exceeding a medium effect size for physical assault, emotional abuse, and partner relationship adjustment. In response to hypothetical relationship scenarios, GCBT was associated with greater reductions than ICBT (exceeding a medium effect) in articulated cognitive distortions and aggressive intentions. Treatment competence ratings suggest that flexible, individualized administration of CBT creates challenges in session agenda setting, homework implementation, and formal aspects of relationship skills training. Although caution is needed in generalizing findings from this small-scale trial, the results suggest that the mutual support and positive social influence available in group intervention may be particularly helpful for IPV perpetrators.

A conceptual and empirical analysis of the cognitive ability-voluntary turnover relationship.

PubMed

Maltarich, Mark A; Nyberg, Anthony J; Reilly, Greg

2010-11-01

Despite much research into cognitive ability as a selection tool and a separate large literature on the causes of voluntary turnover, little theoretical or empirical work connects the two. We propose that voluntary turnover is also a potentially key outcome of cognitive ability. Incorporating ideas from the person-environment fit literature and those regarding push and pull influences on turnover, we posit a theoretical connection between cognitive ability and voluntary turnover that addresses both why and how voluntary turnover is related to cognitive ability. Integrating data from 3 different sources, our empirical analyses support the theoretical perspective that the relationship between cognitive ability and voluntary turnover depends on the cognitive demands of the job. When the cognitive demands of a job are high, our findings support the hypothesized curvilinear relationship between cognitive ability and voluntary turnover, such that employees of higher and lower cognitive ability are more likely than medium cognitive ability employees to leave voluntarily. With regard to jobs with low cognitive demands, our data are more consistent with a negative linear relationship between cognitive ability and voluntary turnover, such that higher cognitive ability employees are less likely to leave voluntarily. We also examine the role of job satisfaction, finding that job satisfaction is more strongly linked to voluntary turnover in jobs with high cognitive demands. (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

Analgesia by cooling vibration during venipuncture in children with cognitive impairment.

PubMed

Schreiber, Silvana; Cozzi, Giorgio; Rutigliano, Rosaria; Assandro, Paola; Tubaro, Martina; Cortellazzo Wiel, Luisa; Ronfani, Luca; Barbi, Egidio

2016-01-01

Children with cognitive impairment experience pain more frequently than healthy children and are more likely to require venipuncture or intravenous cannulation for various procedures. They are frequently unable to report pain and often receive poor pain assessment and management. This study assessed the effectiveness of physical analgesia during vascular access in children with cognitive impairments. We conducted a prospective randomised controlled study at a tertiary-level children's hospital in Italy from April to May 2015 to assess whether a cooling vibration device called Buzzy decreased pain during venipuncture and intravenous cannulation in children with cognitive impairment. None of the children had verbal skills and the main cognitive impairments were cerebral palsy, epileptic encephalopathy and genetic syndromes. We tested 70 children with a median age of nine years: 34 in the Buzzy group and 36 in the no-intervention group. Parents were trained in the use of the Noncommunicating Children's Pain Checklist--postoperative version scale, and they reported no or mild procedural pain in 32 cases (91.4%) in the Buzzy group and in 22 cases (61.1%) in the no-intervention group (p = 0.003). Cooling vibration analgesia during vascular access reduced pain in children with cognitive impairment. ©2015 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Effect of physical workload and modality of information presentation on pattern recognition and navigation task performance by high-fit young males.

PubMed

Zahabi, Maryam; Zhang, Wenjuan; Pankok, Carl; Lau, Mei Ying; Shirley, James; Kaber, David

2017-11-01

Many occupations require both physical exertion and cognitive task performance. Knowledge of any interaction between physical demands and modalities of cognitive task information presentation can provide a basis for optimising performance. This study examined the effect of physical exertion and modality of information presentation on pattern recognition and navigation-related information processing. Results indicated males of equivalent high fitness, between the ages of 18 and 34, rely more on visual cues vs auditory or haptic for pattern recognition when exertion level is high. We found that navigation response time was shorter under low and medium exertion levels as compared to high intensity. Navigation accuracy was lower under high level exertion compared to medium and low levels. In general, findings indicated that use of the haptic modality for cognitive task cueing decreased accuracy in pattern recognition responses. Practitioner Summary: An examination was conducted on the effect of physical exertion and information presentation modality in pattern recognition and navigation. In occupations requiring information presentation to workers, who are simultaneously performing a physical task, the visual modality appears most effective under high level exertion while haptic cueing degrades performance.

Cognitive remediation therapy for adolescent inpatients with severe and complex anorexia nervosa: A treatment trial.

PubMed

Harrison, Amy; Stavri, Pamela; Ormond, Lynn; McEnemy, Francine; Akyol, Dilan; Qureshi, Annum; Al-Khairulla, Hind

2018-05-01

Cognitive remediation therapy (CRT) is a low-intensity treatment adjunct for individuals with severe and complex anorexia nervosa (AN) with difficulties in globally oriented, flexible thinking. Previously trialled in adults, this study investigated whether individual and group CRT was a feasible, acceptable, and beneficial treatment for 125 adolescent inpatients with severe and complex AN. Seventy patients (mean age = 15.22, SD = 1.44) received 10 sessions of individual CRT, and 55 patients (mean age = 14.89, SD = 1.74) received 10 sessions of group CRT. In individual CRT, 1 patient (1.43%) dropped out, and there were medium-sized improvements in bigger picture thinking and set-shifting, small to large-sized improvements in switching-related initiation and inhibition skills, and large-sized improvements in motivation to recover. Group CRT had higher dropout (9.09%; n = 5) and produced small-sized improvements in global information processing and medium-sized improvements in self-reported cognitive flexibility and high acceptability ratings. Data suggest that a randomised controlled trial for adolescents with AN is warranted. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.

Meal composition and shift work performance.

PubMed

Love, Heather L; Watters, Corilee A; Chang, Wei-Ching

2005-01-01

Research indicates that the ability to perform a task can be affected by the composition of the meal preceding the task. This study investigated the effect of shift workers' consumption of a medium-fat, medium-carbohydrate meal on alertness scores. Six subjects (four men, two women) aged 19 to 44 recorded food intake, sleep, and quality of sleep for two weeks, and measured their body temperature and performed cognitive tests during two night shifts at baseline and in test periods. The Stanford Sleepiness Scale (SSS) was used to quantify sleepiness, and a Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) was used to measure cognitive performance. In comparison with the score at baseline, when subjects had a low-fat, high-carbohydrate dietary intake (1,335 kcal/5,588 kJ, 56% carbohydrate, 28% fat), the 1.6-second PASAT score improved significantly (p=0.042) during night shifts when subjects consumed a test meal (987 kcal/4,131 kJ, 46% carbohydrate, 42% fat). No statistically significant difference in SSS was found between baseline and test periods. The reduced body temperature between 2400 hours and 0530 hours was similar for both baseline and test periods. Meal composition and size during night shifts may affect cognitive performance.

Interactive Video Gaming compared to Health Education in Older Adults with MCI: A Feasibility Study

PubMed Central

Hughes, Tiffany F.; Flatt, Jason D.; Fu, Bo; Butters, Meryl A.; Chang, Chung-Chou H.; Ganguli, Mary

2014-01-01

Objective We evaluated the feasibility of a trial of Wii interactive video gaming, and its potential efficacy at improving cognitive functioning compared to health education, in a community sample of older adults with neuropsychologically defined mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Methods Twenty older adults were equally randomized to either group-based interactive video gaming or health education for 90 minutes each week for 24 weeks. Although the primary outcomes were related to study feasibility, we also explored the effect of the intervention on neuropsychological performance and other secondary outcomes. Results All 20 participants completed the intervention, and 18 attended at least 80% of the sessions. The majority (80%) of participants were “very much” satisfied with the intervention. Bowling was enjoyed by the most participants, and was also the rated highest among the games for mental, social and physical stimulation. We observed medium effect sizes for cognitive and physical functioning in favor of the interactive video gaming condition, but these effects were not statistically significant in this small sample. Conclusion Interactive video gaming is feasible for older adults with MCI and medium effects sizes in favor of the Wii group warrant a larger efficacy trial. PMID:24452845

OCP: Opportunistic Carrier Prediction for Wireless Networks

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-08-01

Many protocols have been proposed for medium access control in wireless networks. MACA [13], MACAW [3], and FAMA [8] are the earlier proposals for...world performance of carrier sense. In Proceedings of ACM SIGCOMM E-WIND Workshop, 2005. [13] P. Karn. MACA : A new channel access method for packet radio

The Fine Art of Using a Laserdisc in the Art Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Porter, Sharon

1998-01-01

Laserdiscs are an efficient and flexible medium for art presentations in schools. This article discusses laserdiscs, also called videodiscs; distinguishes between constant linear velocity (CLV) and constant angular velocity (CAV) which allows more flexible access; describes the use of bar coding for access; and lists selected visual art…

The Profile of Creativity and Proposing Statistical Problem Quality Level Reviewed From Cognitive Style

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Awi; Ahmar, A. S.; Rahman, A.; Minggi, I.; Mulbar, U.; Asdar; Ruslan; Upu, H.; Alimuddin; Hamda; Rosidah; Sutamrin; Tiro, M. A.; Rusli

2018-01-01

This research aims to reveal the profile about the level of creativity and the ability to propose statistical problem of students at Mathematics Education 2014 Batch in the State University of Makassar in terms of their cognitive style. This research uses explorative qualitative method by giving meta-cognitive scaffolding at the time of research. The hypothesis of research is that students who have field independent (FI) cognitive style in statistics problem posing from the provided information already able to propose the statistical problem that can be solved and create new data and the problem is already been included as a high quality statistical problem, while students who have dependent cognitive field (FD) commonly are still limited in statistics problem posing that can be finished and do not load new data and the problem is included as medium quality statistical problem.

Behavioral interventions for office-based care: behavior change.

PubMed

Delfino, Matthew; Larzelere, Michele McCarthy

2014-03-01

Family physicians play an important role in identifying and treating the behavioral etiologies of morbidity and mortality. Changing behavior is a challenging process that begins with identifying a patient's readiness to change. Interventions, such as motivational interviewing, are used to increase a patient's desire to change, and cognitive behavioral therapy can be initiated to increase a patient's likelihood of change, particularly if barriers are identified. After patients embark on change, family physicians are uniquely positioned to connect them to self-help programs, more intensive psychotherapy, and newer technology-based support programs, and to provide repeated, brief, positive reinforcement. Specific behavioral interventions that can be effective include computerized smoking cessation programs; electronic reminders and support delivered by family physicians or other clinicians for weight loss; linkage to community-based programs for seniors; increased length and demands of in-school programs to support exercise participation by children; and access reduction education to prevent firearm injury. Written permission from the American Academy of Family Physicians is required for reproduction of this material in whole or in part in any form or medium.

[Media use with developmental benefits].

PubMed

Hipeli, E; Süss, D

2012-08-01

For children of school age television is still the dominant medium. TV consumption isn't only limited on the TV set, but also happens on the computer with internet access and mobile devices. Computer games take a high priority for boys. For girls reading is still an important experience space. Parents influence the media use of their children by their role model, and the rates for shared non-media experiences. Neighborhoods which aren't child-friendly can cause children's withdraw into home media spaces. Restrictions and controls are less important than the conversations that are conducted around media interests of the child and parents attention to early signs of problematic media use. Potentially irritating media content for children (such as violence or sex) can have strong effects when there's no open debate taking place in the family around these issues. Today's media diversity leads to parallel surfing and multi-tasking. In order that this doesn't influence children's cognitive development and learning negatively a culture of regular restriction to one activity, to which they devote their full attention, is required.

A randomized study of internet parent training accessed from community technology centers.

PubMed

Irvine, A Blair; Gelatt, Vicky A; Hammond, Michael; Seeley, John R

2015-05-01

Behavioral parent training (BPT) has been shown to be efficacious to improve parenting skills for problematic interactions with adolescents displaying oppositional and antisocial behaviors. Some research suggests that support group curricula might be transferred to the Internet, and some studies suggest that other curriculum designs might also be effective. In this research, a BPT program for parents of at-risk adolescents was tested on the Internet in a randomized trial (N = 307) from computer labs at six community technology centers in or near large metropolitan areas. The instructional design was based on asynchronous scenario-based e-learning, rather than a traditional parent training model where presentation of course material builds content sequentially over multiple class sessions. Pretest to 30-day follow-up analyses indicated significant treatment effects on parent-reported discipline style (Parenting Scale, Adolescent version), child behavior (Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory), and on social cognitive theory constructs of intentions and self-efficacy. The effect sizes were small to medium. These findings suggest the potential to provide effective parent training programs on the Internet.

An Examination of Library World Wide Web Sites at Medium-Sized Universities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tolppanen, Bradley P.; Miller, Joan; Wooden, Martha H.

2000-01-01

Presents the results of a study of Web sites for 133 academic libraries serving medium-sized universities. Suggests that navigational and design aspects need improvement; information should not be included unless it will be accessed and used; and greater use should be made of online tutorials and virtual tours to supplement regular bibliographic…

Exploring the Use of Internet by University Students for Seeking Health Related Information

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ahmad, Asad; Khan, Mohammed Naved; Rahman, Obaidur

2017-01-01

Purpose: Internet is both a medium and a platform for information exchange. This characteristic of internet is gradually metamorphosing it into an e-learning enabler. A significant percentage of internet users access health-related information through the medium of internet, but little is known about the factors that determine such behaviour. This…

Using Mimio Boardcast in an Online Principles of Macroeconomics Course to Improve Student Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finlay, Nikki McIntyre; Deis, Michael H.

2005-01-01

The emergence of the speedily evolving world of technology has given many universities an interactive medium to facilitate teaching and learning. One such medium has been online courses, which have provided greater access to both traditional and non-traditional students. In quantitative courses such as economics, however, there are often concerns…

A Cyber Pearl Harbor

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-02-03

specific intrusions that can vary in costs and damage. These medium- potential tools are used to access systems, sustain access, and hide access. In the...appropriate response. A cyber intrusion aimed at spying or extracting data will drive different international and domestic responses than a weapon...stealing credit cards or data to a DDoS or creating and selling malware to the highest bidder. Insecure cyberspace is a crime syndicate’s dream in

A flexible influence of affective feelings on creative and analytic performance.

PubMed

Huntsinger, Jeffrey R; Ray, Cara

2016-09-01

Considerable research shows that positive affect improves performance on creative tasks and negative affect improves performance on analytic tasks. The present research entertained the idea that affective feelings have flexible, rather than fixed, effects on cognitive performance. Consistent with the idea that positive and negative affect signal the value of accessible processing inclinations, the influence of affective feelings on performance on analytic or creative tasks was found to be flexibly responsive to the relative accessibility of different styles of processing (i.e., heuristic vs. systematic, global vs. local). When a global processing orientation was accessible happy participants generated more creative uses for a brick (Experiment 1), successfully solved more remote associates and insight problems (Experiment 2) and displayed broader categorization (Experiment 3) than those in sad moods. When a local processing orientation was accessible this pattern reversed. When a heuristic processing style was accessible happy participants were more likely to commit the conjunction fallacy (Experiment 3) and showed less pronounced anchoring effects (Experiment 4) than sad participants. When a systematic processing style was accessible this pattern reversed. Implications of these results for relevant affect-cognition models are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

On Dual Processing and Heuristic Approaches to Moral Cognition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lapsley, Daniel K.; Hill, Patrick L.

2008-01-01

We examine the implications of dual-processing theories of cognition for the moral domain, with particular emphasis upon "System 1" theories: the Social Intuitionist Model (Haidt), moral heuristics (Sunstein), fast-and-frugal moral heuristics (Gigerenzer), schema accessibility (Lapsley & Narvaez) and moral expertise (Narvaez). We argue that these…

Understanding the Integral: Students' Symbolic Forms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Steven R.

2013-01-01

Researchers are currently investigating how calculus students understand the basic concepts of first-year calculus, including the integral. However, much is still unknown regarding the "cognitive resources" (i.e., stable cognitive units that can be accessed by an individual) that students hold and draw on when thinking about the integral. This…

Effectiveness of a freely available computerised cognitive behavioural therapy programme (MoodGYM) for depression: Meta-analysis.

PubMed

Twomey, Conal; O'Reilly, Gary

2017-03-01

To investigate the effectiveness of a freely available computerised cognitive behavioural therapy programme (MoodGYM) for depression (primary outcome), anxiety and general psychological distress in adults. We searched PsycINFO, CINAHL Plus, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Social Science Citation Index and references from identified papers. To assess MoodGYM's effectiveness, we conducted random effects meta-analysis of identified randomised controlled trials. Comparisons from 11 studies demonstrated MoodGYM's effectiveness for depression symptoms at post-intervention, with a small effect size ( g = 0.36, 95% confidence interval: 0.17-0.56; I 2  = 78%). Removing the lowest quality studies ( k = 3) had minimal impact; however, adjusting for publication bias reduced the effect size to a non-significant level ( g = 0.17, 95% confidence interval: -0.01 to 0.38). Comparisons from six studies demonstrated MoodGYM's effectiveness for anxiety symptoms at post-intervention, with a medium effect size ( g = 0.57, 95% confidence interval: 0.20-0.94; I 2  = 85%). Although comparisons from six studies did not yield significance for MoodGYM's effectiveness for general psychological distress symptoms, the small effect size approached significance ( g = 0.34, 95% confidence interval: -0.04 to 0.68; I 2  = 79%). Both the type of setting (clinical vs non-clinical) and MoodGYM-developer authorship in randomised controlled trials had no meaningful influence on results; however, the results were confounded by the type of control deployed, level of clinician guidance, international region of trial and adherence to MoodGYM. The confounding influence of several variables, and presence of publication bias, means that the results of this meta-analysis should be interpreted with caution. Tentative support is provided for MoodGYM's effectiveness for symptoms of depression and general psychological distress. The programme's medium effect on anxiety symptoms demonstrates its utility for people with this difficulty. MoodGYM benefits from its free accessibility over the Internet, but adherence rates can be problematic and at the extreme can fall below 10%. We conclude that MoodGYM is best placed as a population-level intervention that is likely to benefit a sizeable minority of its users.

Breaking Bad: The Efficacy of Ethics Education in Air Force Officer PME

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-02-12

development may influence ethical decision making, “ cognitions of right and wrong are not enough to explain or predict ethical decision-making behavior.”29...specific theory in this regard but presents several to show the pervasive impact of cognitive processes on ethical behavior and that it is possible to...accession training), and that lessons are commensurate with students’ grade, experience, and cognitive moral development .87 Moreover, each school

Basal ganglia and beyond: The interplay between motor and cognitive aspects in Parkinson's disease rehabilitation.

PubMed

Ferrazzoli, Davide; Ortelli, Paola; Madeo, Graziella; Giladi, Nir; Petzinger, Giselle M; Frazzitta, Giuseppe

2018-07-01

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by motor and cognitive dysfunctions, affecting the motor behaviour. We summarize evidence that the interplay between motor and cognitive approaches is crucial in PD rehabilitation. Rehabilitation is complementary to pharmacological therapy and effective in reducing the PD disturbances, probably acting by inducing neuroplastic effects. The motor behaviour results from a complex integration between cortical and subcortical areas, underlying the motor, cognitive and motivational aspects of movement. The close interplay amongst these areas makes possible to learn, control and express habitual-automatic actions, which are dysfunctional in PD. The physiopathology of PD could be considered the base for the development of effective rehabilitation treatments. As the volitional action control is spared in early-medium stages of disease, rehabilitative approaches engaging cognition permit to achieve motor benefits and appear to be the most effective for PD. We will point out data supporting the relevance of targeting both motor and cognitive aspects in PD rehabilitation. Finally, we will discuss the role of cognitive engagement in motor rehabilitation for PD. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Paradoxical effects of alcohol information on alcohol outcome expectancies.

PubMed

Krank, Marvin D; Ames, Susan L; Grenard, Jerry L; Schoenfeld, Tara; Stacy, Alan W

2010-07-01

Cognitive associations with alcohol predict both current and future use in youth and young adults. Much cognitive and social cognitive research suggests that exposure to information may have unconscious influences on thinking and behavior. The present study assessed the impact of information statements on the accessibility of alcohol outcome expectancies. The 2 studies reported here investigated the effects of exposure to alcohol statements typical of informational approaches to prevention on the accessibility of alcohol outcome expectancies. High school and university students were presented with information statements about the effects of alcohol and other commercial products. The alcohol statements were taken from expectancy questionnaires. Some of these statements were presented as facts and others as myths. The retention of detailed information about these statements was manipulated by (i) divided attention versus focused attention or (ii) immediate versus delayed testing. Accessibility of personal alcohol outcome expectancies was subsequently measured using an open-ended question about the expected effects of alcohol. Participants reported more alcohol outcomes seen during the information task as personal expectations about the effects of alcohol use than similar unseen items. Paradoxically, myth statements were also more likely to be reported as expectancies than unseen items in all conditions. Additionally, myth statements were generated less often than fact statements only under the condition of immediate testing with strong content processing instructions. These observations are consistent with findings from cognitive research where familiarity in the absence of explicit memory can have an unconscious influence on performance. In particular, the exposure to these items in an informational format increases accessibility of the seen items even when the participants were told that they were myths. The findings have implications for the development of effective prevention materials.

Paradoxical Effects of Alcohol Information on Alcohol Outcome Expectancies

PubMed Central

Krank, Marvin D.; Ames, Susan L.; Grenard, Jerry L.; Schoenfeld, Tara; Stacy, Alan W.

2014-01-01

Background Cognitive associations with alcohol predict both current and future use in youth and young adults. Much cognitive and social cognitive research suggests that exposure to information may have unconscious influences on thinking and behavior. The present study assessed the impact of information statements on the accessibility of alcohol outcome expectancies. Methods The 2 studies reported here investigated the effects of exposure to alcohol statements typical of informational approaches to prevention on the accessibility of alcohol outcome expectancies. High school and university students were presented with information statements about the effects of alcohol and other commercial products. The alcohol statements were taken from expectancy questionnaires. Some of these statements were presented as facts and others as myths. The retention of detailed information about these statements was manipulated by (i) divided attention versus focused attention or (ii) immediate versus delayed testing. Accessibility of personal alcohol outcome expectancies was subsequently measured using an open-ended question about the expected effects of alcohol. Results Participants reported more alcohol outcomes seen during the information task as personal expectations about the effects of alcohol use than similar unseen items. Paradoxically, myth statements were also more likely to be reported as expectancies than unseen items in all conditions. Additionally, myth statements were generated less often than fact statements only under the condition of immediate testing with strong content processing instructions. Conclusions These observations are consistent with findings from cognitive research where familiarity in the absence of explicit memory can have an unconscious influence on performance. In particular, the exposure to these items in an informational format increases accessibility of the seen items even when the participants were told that they were myths. The findings have implications for the development of effective prevention materials. PMID:20477773

Thermal energy storage apparatus, controllers and thermal energy storage control methods

DOEpatents

Hammerstrom, Donald J.

2016-05-03

Thermal energy storage apparatus, controllers and thermal energy storage control methods are described. According to one aspect, a thermal energy storage apparatus controller includes processing circuitry configured to access first information which is indicative of surpluses and deficiencies of electrical energy upon an electrical power system at a plurality of moments in time, access second information which is indicative of temperature of a thermal energy storage medium at a plurality of moments in time, and use the first and second information to control an amount of electrical energy which is utilized by a heating element to heat the thermal energy storage medium at a plurality of moments in time.

Research into Telecommunications Options for People with Physical Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nguyen, Toan; Garrett, Rob; Downing, Andrew; Walker, Lloyd; Hobbs, David

2007-01-01

People with a disability do not have equitable access to the modern telecommunication medium. Many experience difficulty typing, handling the phone, dialing, or answering calls. For those who are unable to speak, the only option is to type messages using whatever functional control site exists on their body. The provision of accessible mobile…

Interaction Management Strategies on IRC and Virtual Chat Rooms.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Altun, Arif

Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is an electronic medium that combines orthographic form with real time, synchronous transmission in an unregulated global multi-user environment. The orthographic letters mediate the interaction in that users can only access the IRC session through reading and writing; they have no access to any visual representations at…

45 CFR 1386.22 - Access to records, facilities and individuals with developmental disabilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... activities including media reports and newspaper articles) to believe that such individual has been subject... which P&A systems must have access under section 142(A)(2)(I) (whether written or in another medium... information that was relied upon in creating a report, including all information and records which describe...

45 CFR 1386.22 - Access to records, facilities and individuals with developmental disabilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... activities including media reports and newspaper articles) to believe that such individual has been subject... which P&A systems must have access under section 142(A)(2)(I) (whether written or in another medium... information that was relied upon in creating a report, including all information and records which describe...

45 CFR 1386.22 - Access to records, facilities and individuals with developmental disabilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... activities including media reports and newspaper articles) to believe that such individual has been subject... which P&A systems must have access under section 142(A)(2)(I) (whether written or in another medium... information that was relied upon in creating a report, including all information and records which describe...

45 CFR 1386.22 - Access to records, facilities and individuals with developmental disabilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... activities including media reports and newspaper articles) to believe that such individual has been subject... which P&A systems must have access under section 142(A)(2)(I) (whether written or in another medium... information that was relied upon in creating a report, including all information and records which describe...

45 CFR 1386.22 - Access to records, facilities and individuals with developmental disabilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... activities including media reports and newspaper articles) to believe that such individual has been subject... which P&A systems must have access under section 142(A)(2)(I) (whether written or in another medium... information that was relied upon in creating a report, including all information and records which describe...

47 CFR 15.611 - General technical requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... § 15.109(b). (2) Low voltage power lines. Access BPL systems that operate over low-voltage power lines, including those that operate over low-voltage lines that are connected to the in-building wiring, shall... limits—(1) Medium voltage power lines. (i) Access BPL systems that operate in the frequency range of 1...

47 CFR 15.611 - General technical requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... § 15.109(b). (2) Low voltage power lines. Access BPL systems that operate over low-voltage power lines, including those that operate over low-voltage lines that are connected to the in-building wiring, shall... limits—(1) Medium voltage power lines. (i) Access BPL systems that operate in the frequency range of 1...

47 CFR 15.611 - General technical requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... § 15.109(b). (2) Low voltage power lines. Access BPL systems that operate over low-voltage power lines, including those that operate over low-voltage lines that are connected to the in-building wiring, shall... limits—(1) Medium voltage power lines. (i) Access BPL systems that operate in the frequency range of 1...

Effect of Endodontic Access on the Failure Load of Lithium Disilicate and Resin Nano-ceramic CADCAM Crowns

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-06-09

3 August 2016 Douglas D. Lancaster, COL, DC Army Post Graduate Dental School Effect of Endodontic Access on the Failure Load of Lithium...University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD; Schofield Barracks Dental Clinic, Schofield Barracks, HI; Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu...underlying die was reached. (Neo Diamond, Microcopy Dental ). The access outline was then completed with a medium (100-110µm) grit round-ended

Accessing Information in Working Memory: Can the Focus of Attention Grasp Two Elements at the Same Time?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oberauer, Klaus; Bialkova, Svetlana

2009-01-01

Processing information in working memory requires selective access to a subset of working-memory contents by a focus of attention. Complex cognition often requires joint access to 2 items in working memory. How does the focus select 2 items? Two experiments with an arithmetic task and 1 with a spatial task investigate time demands for successive…

Fertility History and Cognition in Later Life.

PubMed

Read, Sanna L; Grundy, Emily M D

2017-10-01

To investigate the association between fertility history and cognition in older men and women. We analyzed associations between number of children (parity) and timing of births with level and change in cognition among 11,233 men and women aged 50+ in England using latent growth curve models. Models were adjusted for age, socioeconomic position, health, depressive symptoms, control, social contacts, activities, and isolation. Low (0-1 child) and high parity (3+ children) compared to medium parity (2 children) were associated with poorer cognitive functioning, as was an early age at entry to parenthood (<20 women/23 men). Many of these associations disappeared when socioeconomic position and health were controlled. For women, however, adjusting for socioeconomic position and social contacts strengthened the association between childlessness and poor cognition. Late motherhood (>35) was associated with better cognitive function. Associations between fertility history and cognition were to large extent accounted for socioeconomic position, partly because this influenced health and social engagement. Poorer cognition in childless people and better cognition among mothers experiencing child birth at higher ages suggest factors related to childbearing/rearing that are beneficial for later cognitive functioning, although further research into possible earlier selection factors is needed. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America.

The cognitive atlas: toward a knowledge foundation for cognitive neuroscience.

PubMed

Poldrack, Russell A; Kittur, Aniket; Kalar, Donald; Miller, Eric; Seppa, Christian; Gil, Yolanda; Parker, D Stott; Sabb, Fred W; Bilder, Robert M

2011-01-01

Cognitive neuroscience aims to map mental processes onto brain function, which begs the question of what "mental processes" exist and how they relate to the tasks that are used to manipulate and measure them. This topic has been addressed informally in prior work, but we propose that cumulative progress in cognitive neuroscience requires a more systematic approach to representing the mental entities that are being mapped to brain function and the tasks used to manipulate and measure mental processes. We describe a new open collaborative project that aims to provide a knowledge base for cognitive neuroscience, called the Cognitive Atlas (accessible online at http://www.cognitiveatlas.org), and outline how this project has the potential to drive novel discoveries about both mind and brain.

Gender-Specific Effects of Cognitive Load on Social Discounting.

PubMed

Strombach, Tina; Margittai, Zsofia; Gorczyca, Barbara; Kalenscher, Tobias

2016-01-01

We live busy, social lives, and meeting the challenges of our complex environments puts strain on our cognitive systems. However, cognitive resources are limited. It is unclear how cognitive load affects social decision making. Previous findings on the effects of cognitive load on other-regarding preferences have been ambiguous, allowing no coherent opinion whether cognitive load increases, decreases or does not affect prosocial considerations. Here, we suggest that social distance between individuals modulates whether generosity towards a recipient increases or decreases under cognitive load conditions. Participants played a financial social discounting task with several recipients at variable social distance levels. In this task, they could choose between generous alternatives, yielding medium financial rewards for the participant and recipient at variable social distances, or between a selfish alternative, yielding larger rewards for the participant alone. We show that the social discount function of male participants was significantly flattened under high cognitive load conditions, suggesting they distinguished less between socially close and socially distant recipients. Unexpectedly, the cognitive-load effect on social discounting was gender-specific: while social discounting was strongly dependent on cognitive load in men, women were nearly unaffected by cognitive load manipulations. We suggest that cognitive load leads men, but not women to simplify the decision problem by neglecting the social distance information. We consider our study a good starting point for further experiments exploring the role of gender in prosocial choice.

Gender-Specific Effects of Cognitive Load on Social Discounting

PubMed Central

Strombach, Tina; Margittai, Zsofia; Gorczyca, Barbara; Kalenscher, Tobias

2016-01-01

We live busy, social lives, and meeting the challenges of our complex environments puts strain on our cognitive systems. However, cognitive resources are limited. It is unclear how cognitive load affects social decision making. Previous findings on the effects of cognitive load on other-regarding preferences have been ambiguous, allowing no coherent opinion whether cognitive load increases, decreases or does not affect prosocial considerations. Here, we suggest that social distance between individuals modulates whether generosity towards a recipient increases or decreases under cognitive load conditions. Participants played a financial social discounting task with several recipients at variable social distance levels. In this task, they could choose between generous alternatives, yielding medium financial rewards for the participant and recipient at variable social distances, or between a selfish alternative, yielding larger rewards for the participant alone. We show that the social discount function of male participants was significantly flattened under high cognitive load conditions, suggesting they distinguished less between socially close and socially distant recipients. Unexpectedly, the cognitive-load effect on social discounting was gender-specific: while social discounting was strongly dependent on cognitive load in men, women were nearly unaffected by cognitive load manipulations. We suggest that cognitive load leads men, but not women to simplify the decision problem by neglecting the social distance information. We consider our study a good starting point for further experiments exploring the role of gender in prosocial choice. PMID:27788192

A single-sided representation for the homogeneous Green's function of a unified scalar wave equation.

PubMed

Wapenaar, Kees

2017-06-01

A unified scalar wave equation is formulated, which covers three-dimensional (3D) acoustic waves, 2D horizontally-polarised shear waves, 2D transverse-electric EM waves, 2D transverse-magnetic EM waves, 3D quantum-mechanical waves and 2D flexural waves. The homogeneous Green's function of this wave equation is a combination of the causal Green's function and its time-reversal, such that their singularities at the source position cancel each other. A classical representation expresses this homogeneous Green's function as a closed boundary integral. This representation finds applications in holographic imaging, time-reversed wave propagation and Green's function retrieval by cross correlation. The main drawback of the classical representation in those applications is that it requires access to a closed boundary around the medium of interest, whereas in many practical situations the medium can be accessed from one side only. Therefore, a single-sided representation is derived for the homogeneous Green's function of the unified scalar wave equation. Like the classical representation, this single-sided representation fully accounts for multiple scattering. The single-sided representation has the same applications as the classical representation, but unlike the classical representation it is applicable in situations where the medium of interest is accessible from one side only.

Unified double- and single-sided homogeneous Green’s function representations

PubMed Central

van der Neut, Joost; Slob, Evert

2016-01-01

In wave theory, the homogeneous Green’s function consists of the impulse response to a point source, minus its time-reversal. It can be represented by a closed boundary integral. In many practical situations, the closed boundary integral needs to be approximated by an open boundary integral because the medium of interest is often accessible from one side only. The inherent approximations are acceptable as long as the effects of multiple scattering are negligible. However, in case of strongly inhomogeneous media, the effects of multiple scattering can be severe. We derive double- and single-sided homogeneous Green’s function representations. The single-sided representation applies to situations where the medium can be accessed from one side only. It correctly handles multiple scattering. It employs a focusing function instead of the backward propagating Green’s function in the classical (double-sided) representation. When reflection measurements are available at the accessible boundary of the medium, the focusing function can be retrieved from these measurements. Throughout the paper, we use a unified notation which applies to acoustic, quantum-mechanical, electromagnetic and elastodynamic waves. We foresee many interesting applications of the unified single-sided homogeneous Green’s function representation in holographic imaging and inverse scattering, time-reversed wave field propagation and interferometric Green’s function retrieval. PMID:27436983

Unified double- and single-sided homogeneous Green's function representations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wapenaar, Kees; van der Neut, Joost; Slob, Evert

2016-06-01

In wave theory, the homogeneous Green's function consists of the impulse response to a point source, minus its time-reversal. It can be represented by a closed boundary integral. In many practical situations, the closed boundary integral needs to be approximated by an open boundary integral because the medium of interest is often accessible from one side only. The inherent approximations are acceptable as long as the effects of multiple scattering are negligible. However, in case of strongly inhomogeneous media, the effects of multiple scattering can be severe. We derive double- and single-sided homogeneous Green's function representations. The single-sided representation applies to situations where the medium can be accessed from one side only. It correctly handles multiple scattering. It employs a focusing function instead of the backward propagating Green's function in the classical (double-sided) representation. When reflection measurements are available at the accessible boundary of the medium, the focusing function can be retrieved from these measurements. Throughout the paper, we use a unified notation which applies to acoustic, quantum-mechanical, electromagnetic and elastodynamic waves. We foresee many interesting applications of the unified single-sided homogeneous Green's function representation in holographic imaging and inverse scattering, time-reversed wave field propagation and interferometric Green's function retrieval.

Benefits of use, and tolerance of, medium-chain triglyceride medical food in the management of Japanese patients with Alzheimer's disease: a prospective, open-label pilot study.

PubMed

Ohnuma, Tohru; Toda, Aiko; Kimoto, Ayako; Takebayashi, Yuto; Higashiyama, Ryoko; Tagata, Yuko; Ito, Masanobu; Ota, Tsuneyoshi; Shibata, Nobuto; Arai, Heii

2016-01-01

This is the first clinical trial of this type in Japan, designed to analyze two important aspects of Alzheimer's disease (AD) management using medium-chain triglycerides. Axona was administered for 3 months (40 g of powder containing 20 g of caprylic triglycerides). We used an indurating, four-step dose-titration method (from 10 to 40 g per day) for 7 days before the trial, and examined the tolerance and adverse effects of this intervention. We also investigated its effect on cognitive function in mild-to-moderate AD patients. This was a clinical intervention in 22 Japanese patients with sporadic AD at a mild-to-moderate stage (ten females, 12 males), mean age (± standard deviation) 63.9 (±8.5) years, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score, 10-25, seven patients were ApoE4-positive. During Axona administration, we examined changes in cognitive function by obtaining MMSE and AD assessment-scale scores. Intolerance and serum ketone concentrations were also examined. The tolerance of Axona was good, without severe gastrointestinal adverse effects. Axona did not improve cognitive function in our sample of AD patients, even in those patients without the ApoE4 allele. However, some ApoE4-negative patients with baseline MMSE score ≥14 showed improvement in their cognitive functions. The modified dose-titration method, starting with a low dose of Axona, decreased gastrointestinal adverse effects in Japanese patients. Axona might be effective for some relatively mildly affected patients with AD (with cognitive function MMSE score of ≥14 and lacking the ApoE4 allele).

Cognitive remediation therapy for eating disorders.

PubMed

Danner, Unna N; Dingemans, Alexandra E; Steinglass, Joanna

2015-11-01

This review compares the literature on cognitive remediation therapy (CRT) for eating disorders with findings in the field of schizophrenia, and discusses future directions for CRT for eating disorders. First studies using a randomized controlled trial design show the added value of CRT for eating disorders. Patients reported lessened symptoms and further improvements in quality of life and cognitive flexibility. Furthermore, the acceptability of the intervention was good and attrition rates for CRT itself were low. Research into the use of cognitive remediation for schizophrenia is extensive and the results on global cognition appeared to be robust at post-treatment and durable at follow-up, with small to medium effect sizes. Recent articles within the field of schizophrenia emphasize the necessity of intrinsic motivation to translate cognitive gains into actual changes in everyday life. A next step is to examine the impact of CRT for eating disorders on motivation. It is also important to focus on the transdiagnostic use of CRT, considering the overlap in cognitive inefficiencies between eating disorders. Another important step may be to develop effective personalized methods of CRT by taking into account individual differences in cognitive processes most relevant to improvement in outcome.

Improving brain injury cognitive rehabilitation by personalized telerehabilitation services: Guttmann neuropersonal trainer.

PubMed

Solana, Javier; Cáceres, César; García-Molina, Alberto; Opisso, Eloy; Roig, Teresa; Tormos, José M; Gómez, Enrique J

2015-01-01

Cognitive rehabilitation aims to remediate or alleviate the cognitive deficits appearing after an episode of acquired brain injury (ABI). The purpose of this work is to describe the telerehabilitation platform called Guttmann Neuropersonal Trainer (GNPT) which provides new strategies for cognitive rehabilitation, improving efficiency and access to treatments, and to increase knowledge generation from the process. A cognitive rehabilitation process has been modeled to design and develop the system, which allows neuropsychologists to configure and schedule rehabilitation sessions, consisting of set of personalized computerized cognitive exercises grounded on neuroscience and plasticity principles. It provides remote continuous monitoring of patient's performance, by an asynchronous communication strategy. An automatic knowledge extraction method has been used to implement a decision support system, improving treatment customization. GNPT has been implemented in 27 rehabilitation centers and in 83 patients' homes, facilitating the access to the treatment. In total, 1660 patients have been treated. Usability and cost analysis methodologies have been applied to measure the efficiency in real clinical environments. The usability evaluation reveals a system usability score higher than 70 for all target users. The cost efficiency study results show a relation of 1-20 compared to face-to-face rehabilitation. GNPT enables brain-damaged patients to continue and further extend rehabilitation beyond the hospital, improving the efficiency of the rehabilitation process. It allows customized therapeutic plans, providing information to further development of clinical practice guidelines.

Using situated cognition theory in researching student experience of the workplace

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Case, Jennifer; Jawitz, Jeff

2004-05-01

It has been proposed that situated cognition theory, in which learning is conceptualized as induction into a community of practice through the activity of legitimate peripheral participation, offers an appropriate theoretical perspective for examining issues of gender in science education. This study critically engages with this proposal by means of an investigation of the vacation work experiences of a group of South African final-year civil and chemical engineering students. Issues of race and gender appeared prominently and spontaneously in focus group and interview data. An analysis of these data using the situated cognition framework allowed for a deeper understanding of these issues and their impact on learning. It was found that access to legitimate peripheral participation was critical for good learning outcomes (associated with positive identity formation) while denial of this access (as sometimes experienced by black and female students) appeared to be related to less effective learning and poor feelings of self-worth.

Access to Obstetric Care and Children's Health, Growth and Cognitive Development in Vietnam: Evidence from Young Lives.

PubMed

Lavin, Tina; Preen, David B; Newnham, Elizabeth A

2017-06-01

Background The impact of birth with poor access to skilled obstetric care such as home birth on children's long term development is unknown. This study explores the health, growth and cognitive development of children surviving homebirth in the Vietnam Young Lives sample during early childhood. Methods The Young Lives longitudinal cohort study was conducted in Vietnam with 1812 children born in 2001/2 with follow-up at 1, 5, and 8 years. Data were collected on height/weight, health and cognitive development (Peabody Picture Vocabulary test). Statistical models adjusted for sociodemographic and pregnancy-related factors. Results Children surviving homebirth did not have significantly poorer long-term health, greater stunting after adjusting for sociodemographic/pregnancy-related factors. Rural location, lack of household education, ethnic minority status and lower wealth predicted greater stunting and poorer scores on Peabody Vocabulary test. Conclusions Social disadvantage rather than homebirth influenced children's health, growth and development.

Exploring the Relationship between Fetal Heart Rate and Cognition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kisilevsky, Barbara S.; Hains, Sylvia M. J.

2010-01-01

A relationship between fetal heart rate (HR) and cognition is explored within the context of infant, child and adult studies where the association is well established. Lack of direct access to the fetus and maturational changes limit research paradigms and response measures for fetal studies. Nevertheless, neural regulation of HR shows a number of…

Efficacy and Utility of Computer-Assisted Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Anxiety Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Przeworski, Amy; Newman, Michelle G.

2006-01-01

Despite the efficacy of cognitive behavioural treatment for anxiety disorders, more than 70% of individuals with anxiety disorders go untreated every year. This is partially due to obstacles to treatment including limited access to mental health services for rural residents, the expense of treatment and the inconvenience of attending weekly…

Compliance and Cognitive Function: A Methodological Approach to Measuring Unintentional Errors in Medication Compliance in the Elderly.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Isaac, Lisa M.; And Others

1993-01-01

Assessed multiple aspects of cognitive performance, medication planning ability, and medication compliance in 20 elderly outpatients. Findings suggest that aspects of attention/concentration, visual and verbal memory, and motor function which are untapped by simple mental status assessment are related to medication access, planning, and compliance…

Self-Consciousness and Death Cognitions from a Terror Management Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taubman-Ben-Ari, Orit; Noy, Adi

2010-01-01

Two studies explored the connection between self-consciousness and death cognitions. In Study 1 (n = 56), a positive association was found between accessibility of death-related thoughts and the ruminative dimension of self-consciousness. In Study 2 (n = 212), a mortality salience induction led to higher validation of cultural worldviews (a more…

Towards Greater Individualization and Process-Oriented Learning through Electronic Self-Access: Project "e-daf"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chan, Wai Meng; Kim, Dong-Ha

2004-01-01

Research in cognitive psychology and second language learning has underlined the significance of learners' cognitive processes and individual preferences in language learning. Helping learners to be aware of these processes and preferences has in fact become an important methodological principle of language teaching. Advances in information and…

The Two-Word Stage: Motivated by Linguistic or Cognitive Constraints?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berk, Stephanie; Lillo-Martin, Diane

2012-01-01

Child development researchers often discuss a "two-word" stage during language acquisition. However, there is still debate over whether the existence of this stage reflects primarily cognitive or linguistic constraints. Analyses of longitudinal data from two Deaf children, Mei and Cal, not exposed to an accessible first language (American Sign…

The Problem State: A Cognitive Bottleneck in Multitasking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Borst, Jelmer P.; Taatgen, Niels A.; van Rijn, Hedderik

2010-01-01

The main challenge for theories of multitasking is to predict when and how tasks interfere. Here, we focus on interference related to the problem state, a directly accessible intermediate representation of the current state of a task. On the basis of Salvucci and Taatgen's (2008) threaded cognition theory, we predict interference if 2 or more…

Testing the Theory of Embodied Cognition with Subliminal Words

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ansorge, Ulrich; Kiefer, Marcus; Khalid, Shah; Grassl, Sylvia; Konig, Peter

2010-01-01

In the current study, we tested the embodied cognition theory (ECT). The ECT postulates mandatory sensorimotor processing of words when accessing their meaning. We test that prediction by investigating whether invisible (i.e., subliminal) spatial words activate responses based on their long-term and short-term meaning. Masking of the words is used…

Negotiating in an Anarchy: Faculty Collective Bargaining and Organizational Cognition. ASHE Annual Meeting Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Birnbaum, Robert

Symbolic and cognitive organizational perspectives were used to analyze a case study of a complete academic bargaining cycle. The researcher, as participant-observer, had access to all bargaining sessions and to both union and administration caucuses. Although bargaining is often considered a rational process, this case illuminated the processes…

The Timing and Magnitude of Stroop Interference and Facilitation in Monolinguals and Bilinguals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coderre, Emily L.; Van Heuven, Walter J. B.; Conklin, Kathy

2013-01-01

Executive control abilities and lexical access speed in Stroop performance were investigated in English monolinguals and two groups of bilinguals (English-Chinese and Chinese-English) in their first (L1) and second (L2) languages. Predictions were based on a bilingual cognitive advantage hypothesis, implicating cognitive control ability as the…

Allocation of Limited Cognitive Resources during Text Comprehension in a Second Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morishima, Yasunori

2013-01-01

For native (L1) comprehenders, lower-level language processes such as lexical access and parsing are considered to consume few cognitive resources. In contrast, these processes pose considerable demands for second-language (L2) comprehenders. Two reading-time experiments employing inconsistency detection found that English learners did not detect…

Beyond information access: Support for complex cognitive activities in public health informatics tools.

PubMed

Sedig, Kamran; Parsons, Paul; Dittmer, Mark; Ola, Oluwakemi

2012-01-01

Public health professionals work with a variety of information sources to carry out their everyday activities. In recent years, interactive computational tools have become deeply embedded in such activities. Unlike the early days of computational tool use, the potential of tools nowadays is not limited to simply providing access to information; rather, they can act as powerful mediators of human-information discourse, enabling rich interaction with public health information. If public health informatics tools are designed and used properly, they can facilitate, enhance, and support the performance of complex cognitive activities that are essential to public health informatics, such as problem solving, forecasting, sense-making, and planning. However, the effective design and evaluation of public health informatics tools requires an understanding of the cognitive and perceptual issues pertaining to how humans work and think with information to perform such activities. This paper draws on research that has examined some of the relevant issues, including interaction design, complex cognition, and visual representations, to offer some human-centered design and evaluation considerations for public health informatics tools.

The Path to Academic Access for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Timberlake, Maria T.

2016-01-01

Federal special education law (Individuals With Disabilities Education Act) guarantees, but does not define, access to the general education curriculum for all students with disabilities. In-depth qualitative telephone interviews were conducted with special educators (n = 33) about their academic decision making for students with significant…

Accessible Reading Assessments for Students with Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abedi, Jamal; Bayley, Robert; Ewers, Nancy; Mundhenk, Kimberly; Leon, Seth; Kao, Jenny; Herman, Joan

2012-01-01

Assessments developed and field tested for the mainstream student population may not be accessible for students with disabilities (SWDs) as a result of the impact of extraneous variables, including cognitive features, such as depth of knowledge required, grammatical and lexical complexity, lexical density, and textual/visual features. This study…

Public Budgeting: The Compromises Among the Sound Budgeting Principles in Contingency Funding

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-06-01

sound decisions (including the full financial costs and benefits of the budget decisions, and the impacts thereof) and be made accessible to all...is also seen when all relevant data and costs projections result, in a timely manner, in a budget document that is accessible by the public . A medium...include all relevant data and costs projections, and makes information accessible to the public for review in a timely manner. The budget

Creating Electronic Access to Newspaper Information in Nigeria: The Information Aid Network (IFAnet) Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ola, Christopher O.; Ojo, Reuben A.

2006-01-01

This paper highlights the value of newspaper information and the methods adopted in organizing, preserving and disseminating it. The paper dwells on the traditional ways of managing newspaper resources and the need to device a new medium of accessing the information contents of the resource. It enumerates the steps taken in conserving newspaper…

Astrocytes mediated the nootropic and neurotrophic effects of Sarsasapogenin-AA13 via upregulating brain-derived neurotrophic factor.

PubMed

Dong, Dong; Mao, Yu; Huang, Cui; Jiao, Qian; Pan, Hui; Ma, Lei; Wang, Rui

2017-01-01

Rhizoma Anemarrhena , a widely used traditional Chinese medicine, has previously been shown to have neuroprotective effect. Sarsasapogenin-AA13 (AA13) is a novel synthetic derivative of Sarsasapogenin, which is extracted from Rhizoma Anemarrhena . The aim of this study is to investigate the nootropic and neurotrophic effects of AA13 and underlying mechanisms. In vitro , cell viability of rat primary astrocytes treated with AA13 and neurons cultured with conditioned medium of AA13-treated rat primary astrocytes was tested by MTT assays. In vivo , a pharmacological model of cognitive impairment induced by scopolamine was employed and spatial memory of the mice was assessed by Morris water maze. This study found that AA13 increased cell viability of primary astrocytes and AA13-treated astrocyte-conditioned medium enhanced the survival rate of primary neurons. Interestingly, AA13 markedly enhanced the level of BDNF in astrocytes. Furthermore, AA13 (6 mg/kg) improved the cognitive deficits in animal models (p<0.05) and BDNF and PSD95 levels were increased in brain. Therefore, we hypothesize that AA13 exerts nootropic and neurotrophic activities through astrocytes mediated upregulation of BDNF secretion. The results suggest that AA13 could be a potential compound for cognitive impairment after further research.

The Quality of Toddler Child Care and Cognitive Skills at 24 Months: Propensity Score Analysis Results from the ECLS-B.

PubMed

Ruzek, Erik; Burchinal, Margaret; Farkas, George; Duncan, Greg J

2014-01-01

Over half of the toddlers in the U.S. experience routine nonparental care, but much less is known about early care than about preschool care. This study analyzed 2-year-old child care and child outcome data from the nationally representative ECLS-B sample of children born in 2001. At two-years of age, 51% of children experienced exclusive parental care, 18% relative care, 15% family child care, and 16% center care. More children in nonparental care were in medium quality care (61%) than in high quality (26%) or low quality (13%) care. Low-income children were more likely than non-low income children to be cared for by their parents and, when in care, were more often in lower quality care. The impact of toddler care quality on cognitive skills was estimated using propensity score adjustments to account for potential selection confounds due to family and child characteristics. Children's cognitive scores were higher in high or medium quality care than in low quality care, but no evidence emerged suggesting that poverty moderated the quality effects. Nevertheless, this suggests that increasing the proportion of low-income children in high quality care could reduce the achievement gap because low-income children are very unlikely to experience high quality care.

The Quality of Toddler Child Care and Cognitive Skills at 24 Months: Propensity Score Analysis Results from the ECLS-B

PubMed Central

Ruzek, Erik; Burchinal, Margaret; Farkas, George; Duncan, Greg J.

2013-01-01

Over half of the toddlers in the U.S. experience routine nonparental care, but much less is known about early care than about preschool care. This study analyzed 2-year-old child care and child outcome data from the nationally representative ECLS-B sample of children born in 2001. At two-years of age, 51% of children experienced exclusive parental care, 18% relative care, 15% family child care, and 16% center care. More children in nonparental care were in medium quality care (61%) than in high quality (26%) or low quality (13%) care. Low-income children were more likely than non-low income children to be cared for by their parents and, when in care, were more often in lower quality care. The impact of toddler care quality on cognitive skills was estimated using propensity score adjustments to account for potential selection confounds due to family and child characteristics. Children’s cognitive scores were higher in high or medium quality care than in low quality care, but no evidence emerged suggesting that poverty moderated the quality effects. Nevertheless, this suggests that increasing the proportion of low-income children in high quality care could reduce the achievement gap because low-income children are very unlikely to experience high quality care. PMID:24347815

EXTENDED ACCESS TO METHAMPHETAMINE SELF-ADMINISTRATION AFFECTS SENSORIMOTOR GATING IN RATS

PubMed Central

Hadamitzky, Martin; Markou, Athina; Kuczenski, Ronald

2010-01-01

Disturbed information processing observed in neuropsychiatric disorders is reflected by deficient sensorimotor gating, measured as prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the acoustic startle response (ASR). Long-term, higher-dose methamphetamine (METH) abuse patterns are associated with cognitive impairments, mania and/or schizophrenia-like psychosis. The present study investigated in rats METH-induced impairment of sensorimotor gating using an intravenous self-administration (IVSA) escalating dose procedure. In this procedure, rats escalated drug intake during weekly extended access periods to METH IVSA (1, 3, and 6-h), where PPI was assessed after each access period and thus at various times of drug exposure. Despite increased drug intake over the course of extended access to METH, disruption of sensorimotor gating was only seen after the access period of 6-h. The data suggest that METH-induced impairment of sensorimotor gating in IVSA-tasks is rather attributed to continuous and higher-dose exposure than to actual amounts of drug present at the time of testing. IVSA procedures, comprising stepwise stimulant escalation may serve as a useful translational model in rats that approximate important aspects of human abuse pattern in the context of stimulant-induced cognitive and behavioral deficits. PMID:21070821

Beyond localized and distributed accounts of brain functions. Comment on “Understanding brain networks and brain organization” by Pessoa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cauda, Franco; Costa, Tommaso; Tamietto, Marco

2014-09-01

Recent evidence in cognitive neuroscience lends support to the idea that network models of brain architecture provide a privileged access to the understanding of the relation between brain organization and cognitive processes [1]. The core perspective holds that cognitive processes depend on the interactions among distributed neuronal populations and brain structures, and that the impact of a given region on behavior largely depends on its pattern of anatomical and functional connectivity [2,3].

Cognitive Tools for Language Pedagogy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schoelles, Michael; Hamburger, Henry

1996-01-01

Discusses the integration of Fluent 2, a two-medium immersive conversational language learning environment, into the pedagogical environment. The article presents a strategy to provide teachers and other designers of language lessons with tools that will enable them to produce lessons they consider appropriate. (seven references) (Author/CK)

50 years of rational-emotive and cognitive-behavioral therapy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

David, Daniel; Cotet, Carmen; Matu, Silviu; Mogoase, Cristina; Stefan, Simona

2018-03-01

Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT), introduced by Albert Ellis in the late 1950s, is one of the main pillars of cognitive-behavioral therapy. Existing reviews on REBT are overdue by 10 years or more. We aimed to summarize the effectiveness and efficacy of REBT since its beginnings and investigate the alleged mechanisms of change. Systematic search identified 84 articles, out of which 68 provided data for between-group analyses and 39 for within-group analyses. We found a medium effect size of REBT compared to other interventions on outcomes (d = 0.58) and on irrational beliefs (d = 0.70), at posttest. For the within-group analyses, we obtained medium effects for both outcomes (d = 0.56) and irrational beliefs (d = 0.61). Several significant moderators emerged. REBT is a sound psychological intervention. Directions for future studies are outlined, stemming from the limitations of existing ones. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Clinical Psychology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Performance Analysis of IEEE 802.15.3 MAC Protocol with Different ACK Polices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehta, S.; Kwak, K. S.

The wireless personal area network (WPAN) is an emerging wireless technology for future short range indoor and outdoor communication applications. The IEEE 802.15.3 medium access control (MAC) is proposed, specially, for short range high data rates applications, to coordinate the access to the wireless medium among the competing devices. This paper uses analytical model to study the performance analysis of WPAN (IEEE 802.15.3) MAC in terms of throughput, efficient bandwidth utilization, and delay with various acknowledgment schemes under different parameters. Also, some important observations are obtained, which can be very useful to the protocol architectures. Finally, we come up with some important research issues to further investigate the possible improvements in the WPAN MAC.

Parallel Optical Random Access Memory (PORAM)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alphonse, G. A.

1989-01-01

It is shown that the need to minimize component count, power and size, and to maximize packing density require a parallel optical random access memory to be designed in a two-level hierarchy: a modular level and an interconnect level. Three module designs are proposed, in the order of research and development requirements. The first uses state-of-the-art components, including individually addressed laser diode arrays, acousto-optic (AO) deflectors and magneto-optic (MO) storage medium, aimed at moderate size, moderate power, and high packing density. The next design level uses an electron-trapping (ET) medium to reduce optical power requirements. The third design uses a beam-steering grating surface emitter (GSE) array to reduce size further and minimize the number of components.

Parenthood as a Terror Management Mechanism: The Moderating Role of Attachment Orientations.

PubMed

Yaakobi, Erez; Mikulincer, Mario; Shaver, Phillip R

2014-06-01

Six studies examined the hypothesis that parenthood serves a terror management function, with effects that are moderated by attachment orientations. In Studies 1 and 2, mortality salience, as compared with control conditions, increased the self-reported vividness and implicit accessibility of parenthood-related cognitions. In Studies 3 and 4, activating parenthood-related thoughts reduced death-thought accessibility and romantic intimacy following mortality salience. In Study 5, heightening the salience of parenthood-related obstacles increased death-thought accessibility. Across the five studies, the effects were significant mainly among participants who scored relatively low on avoidant attachment. In Study 6, avoidant people also reacted to mortality salience with more positive parenthood-related cognitions following an experimental manipulation that made parenthood compatible with their core strivings. Overall, the findings suggest that parenthood can have an anxiety-buffering effect that is moderated by attachment-related avoidance. © 2014 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Individual and group cognitive processing therapy: Effectiveness across two veterans affairs posttraumatic stress disorder treatment clinics.

PubMed

Lamp, Kristen E; Avallone, Kimberly M; Maieritsch, Kelly P; Buchholz, Katherine R; Rauch, Sheila A M

2018-05-14

In accordance with Veterans Affairs (VA) policy, VA posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) clinics offer evidence-based treatments including cognitive processing therapy (CPT). To facilitate access to care, CPT is offered in both group and individual formats in many VA PTSD clinics. Group and individual delivery of CPT have been directly compared in active duty samples, but these findings have not been extended to VA populations. The present article directly compares the effectiveness of group and individual CPT with a written trauma account (CPT+A) across two VA PTSD clinics. Veterans (N = 465) completed initial evaluations and enrolled in either group CPT+A (N = 146) or individual CPT+A (N = 319). Self-report measures of PTSD and depression symptoms were collected at pre-, mid-, and posttreatment; combined across treatment sites; and analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling. PTSD and depression symptoms reduced significantly over the course of group and individual CPT+A. Medium treatment effects were found for group CPT+A (d = .66 for PTSD, d = .68 for depression), and large treatment effects were found for individual CPT+A (d = .96 for PTSD, d = .79 for depression). Individual CPT+A led to significantly greater PTSD and depression symptom reduction than group CPT+A, indicating that in VA outpatient PTSD clinic settings, individual CPT+A may be a more effective approach than group CPT-A. In addition, PTSD symptoms reduced significantly more for Caucasian veterans than for African American veterans during CPT+A, indicating the importance of providing culturally competent trauma-focused care. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

A qualitative study into the perceived barriers of accessing healthcare among a vulnerable population involved with a community centre in Romania.

PubMed

George, Siân; Daniels, Katy; Fioratou, Evridiki

2018-04-03

Minority vulnerable communities, such as the European Roma, often face numerous barriers to accessing healthcare services, resulting in negative health outcomes. Both these barriers and outcomes have been reported extensively in the literature. However, reports on barriers faced by European non-Roma native communities are limited. The "Health Care Access Barriers" (HCAB) model identifies pertinent financial, structural and cognitive barriers that can be measured and potentially modified. The present study thus aims to explore the barriers to accessing healthcare for a vulnerable population of mixed ethnicity from a charity community centre in Romania, as perceived by the centre's family users and staff members, and assess whether these reflect the barriers identified from the HCAB model. Eleven community members whose children attend the centre and seven staff members working at the centre participated in face-to-face semi-structured interviews, exploring personal experiences and views on accessing healthcare. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using an initial deductive and secondary inductive approach to identify HCAB themes and other emerging themes and subthemes. Identified themes from both groups aligned with HCAB's themes of financial, structural and cognitive barriers and emergent subthemes important to the specific population were identified. Specifically, financial barriers related mostly to health insurance and bribery issues, structural barriers related mostly to service availability and accessibility, and cognitive barriers related mostly to healthcare professionals' attitudes and discrimination and the vulnerable population's lack of education and health literacy. A unique theme of psychological barriers emerged from both groups with associated subthemes of mistrust, hopelessness, fear and anxiety of this vulnerable population. The current study highlights healthcare access barriers to a vulnerable non-Roma native population involved with a charity community centre in Romania. The "Healthcare Access Barriers for Vulnerable Populations" (HABVP) model is proposed as an adaption to the existing HCAB model to account for the unique perceived barriers to healthcare for this population. Recommendations for future resolution of these identified barriers are proposed.

The Cognitive Atlas: Toward a Knowledge Foundation for Cognitive Neuroscience

PubMed Central

Poldrack, Russell A.; Kittur, Aniket; Kalar, Donald; Miller, Eric; Seppa, Christian; Gil, Yolanda; Parker, D. Stott; Sabb, Fred W.; Bilder, Robert M.

2011-01-01

Cognitive neuroscience aims to map mental processes onto brain function, which begs the question of what “mental processes” exist and how they relate to the tasks that are used to manipulate and measure them. This topic has been addressed informally in prior work, but we propose that cumulative progress in cognitive neuroscience requires a more systematic approach to representing the mental entities that are being mapped to brain function and the tasks used to manipulate and measure mental processes. We describe a new open collaborative project that aims to provide a knowledge base for cognitive neuroscience, called the Cognitive Atlas (accessible online at http://www.cognitiveatlas.org), and outline how this project has the potential to drive novel discoveries about both mind and brain. PMID:21922006

Cognitive Demand Differences in Causal Inferences: Characters' Plans Are More Difficult to Comprehend than Physical Causation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shears, Connie; Miller, Vanessa; Ball, Megan; Hawkins, Amanda; Griggs, Janna; Varner, Andria

2007-01-01

Readers may draw knowledge-based inferences to connect sentences in text differently depending on the knowledge domain being accessed. Most prior research has focused on the direction of the causal explanation (predictive vs. backward) without regard to the knowledge domain drawn on to support comprehension. We suggest that less cognitive effort…

Do English Listening Outcome and Cognitive Load Change for Different Media Delivery Modes in U-Learning?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang, Chi-Cheng; Lei, Hao; Tseng, Ju-Shih

2014-01-01

Although ubiquitous learning enhances students' access to learning materials, it is crucial to find out which media delivery modes produce the best results for English listening comprehension. The present study examined the effect of media delivery mode (sound and text vs. sound) on English listening comprehension and cognitive load. Participants…

On the Flexibility of Grammatical Advance Planning during Sentence Production: Effects of Cognitive Load on Multiple Lexical Access

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wagner, Valentin; Jescheniak, Jorg D.; Schriefers, Herbert

2010-01-01

Three picture-word interference experiments addressed the question of whether the scope of grammatical advance planning in sentence production corresponds to some fixed unit or rather is flexible. Subjects produced sentences of different formats under varying amounts of cognitive load. When speakers described 2-object displays with simple…

On the Capacity of Attention: Its Estimation and Its Role in Working Memory and Cognitive Aptitudes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cowan, N.; Elliott, E.M.; Scott Saults, J.; Morey, C.C.; Mattox, S.; Hismjatullina, A.; Conway, A.R.A.

2005-01-01

Working memory (WM) is the set of mental processes holding limited information in a temporarily accessible state in service of cognition. We provide a theoretical framework to understand the relation between WM and aptitude measures. The WM measures that have yielded high correlations with aptitudes include separate storage-and-processing task…

System and method for cognitive processing for data fusion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Duong, Tuan A. (Inventor); Duong, Vu A. (Inventor)

2012-01-01

A system and method for cognitive processing of sensor data. A processor array receiving analog sensor data and having programmable interconnects, multiplication weights, and filters provides for adaptive learning in real-time. A static random access memory contains the programmable data for the processor array and the stored data is modified to provide for adaptive learning.

Number Processing and Heterogeneity of Developmental Dyscalculia: Subtypes with Different Cognitive Profiles and Deficits

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skagerlund, Kenny; Träff, Ulf

2016-01-01

This study investigated if developmental dyscalculia (DD) in children with different profiles of mathematical deficits has the same or different cognitive origins. The defective approximate number system hypothesis and the access deficit hypothesis were tested using two different groups of children with DD (11-13 years old): a group with…

Development of Cognitive Structures about Alcoholic Beverages among Preschoolers: II.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Noll, Robert B.; And Others

Little is known about very young children's conception of alcoholic beverages and their uses. A study was conducted to determine whether preschool children's ability to correctly access a cognitive network about alcoholic beverages can be related to differences in family exposure to alcohol. Preschoolers (N=57) between the ages of 2.5 and 6 years…

Two-Day, Intensive Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Panic Disorder: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deacon, Brett

2007-01-01

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a highly effective treatment for panic disorder. However, few patients have access to this treatment, particularly those living in rural areas. In a pilot study, the author previously described the efficacy of a 2-day, intensive, exposure-based CBT intervention that was developed for the purpose of delivering…

Extending Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Late-Life Anxiety to Home Care: Program Development and Case Examples

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Diefenbach, Gretchen J.; Tolin, David F.; Gilliam, Christina M.; Meunier, Suzanne A.

2008-01-01

Data suggesting that cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is efficacious for late-life anxiety are accumulating; however, effectiveness has not been well established. Incorporating CBT for anxiety into home care is needed to facilitate access to evidenced-based treatment for a growing population of community-dwelling, functionally impaired elderly…

The impact of social activities, social networks, social support and social relationships on the cognitive functioning of healthy older adults: a systematic review.

PubMed

Kelly, Michelle E; Duff, Hollie; Kelly, Sara; McHugh Power, Joanna E; Brennan, Sabina; Lawlor, Brian A; Loughrey, David G

2017-12-19

Social relationships, which are contingent on access to social networks, promote engagement in social activities and provide access to social support. These social factors have been shown to positively impact health outcomes. In the current systematic review, we offer a comprehensive overview of the impact of social activities, social networks and social support on the cognitive functioning of healthy older adults (50+) and examine the differential effects of aspects of social relationships on various cognitive domains. We followed PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) guidelines, and collated data from randomised controlled trials (RCTs), genetic and observational studies. Independent variables of interest included subjective measures of social activities, social networks, and social support, and composite measures of social relationships (CMSR). The primary outcome of interest was cognitive function divided into domains of episodic memory, semantic memory, overall memory ability, working memory, verbal fluency, reasoning, attention, processing speed, visuospatial abilities, overall executive functioning and global cognition. Thirty-nine studies were included in the review; three RCTs, 34 observational studies, and two genetic studies. Evidence suggests a relationship between (1) social activity and global cognition and overall executive functioning, working memory, visuospatial abilities and processing speed but not episodic memory, verbal fluency, reasoning or attention; (2) social networks and global cognition but not episodic memory, attention or processing speed; (3) social support and global cognition and episodic memory but not attention or processing speed; and (4) CMSR and episodic memory and verbal fluency but not global cognition. The results support prior conclusions that there is an association between social relationships and cognitive function but the exact nature of this association remains unclear. Implications of the findings are discussed and suggestions for future research provided. PROSPERO 2012: CRD42012003248 .

Development and Validation of the Cognition Test Battery for Spaceflight.

PubMed

Basner, Mathias; Savitt, Adam; Moore, Tyler M; Port, Allison M; McGuire, Sarah; Ecker, Adrian J; Nasrini, Jad; Mollicone, Daniel J; Mott, Christopher M; McCann, Thom; Dinges, David F; Gur, Ruben C

2015-11-01

Sustained high-level cognitive performance is of paramount importance for the success of space missions, which involve environmental, physiological, and psychological stressors that may affect brain functions. Despite subjective symptom reports of cognitive fluctuations in spaceflight, the nature of neurobehavioral functioning in space has not been clarified. We developed a computerized cognitive test battery (Cognition) that has sensitivity to multiple cognitive domains and was specifically designed for the high-performing astronaut population. Cognition consists of 15 unique forms of 10 neuropsychological tests that cover a range of cognitive domains, including emotion processing, spatial orientation, and risk decision making. Cognition is based on tests known to engage specific brain regions as evidenced by functional neuroimaging. Here we describe the first normative and acute total sleep deprivation data on the Cognition test battery as well as several efforts underway to establish the validity, sensitivity, feasibility, and acceptability of Cognition. Practice effects and test-retest variability differed substantially between the 10 Cognition tests, illustrating the importance of normative data that both reflect practice effects and differences in stimulus set difficulty in the population of interest. After one night without sleep, medium to large effect sizes were observed for 3 of the 10 tests addressing vigilant attention (Cohen's d = 1.00), cognitive throughput (d = 0.68), and abstract reasoning (d = 0.65). In addition to providing neuroimaging-based novel information on the effects of spaceflight on a range of cognitive functions, Cognition will facilitate comparing the effects of ground-based analogues to spaceflight, increase consistency across projects, and thus enable meta-analyses.

Development and Validation of the Cognition Test Battery for Spaceflight

PubMed Central

Basner, Mathias; Savitt, Adam; Moore, Tyler M.; Port, Allison M.; McGuire, Sarah; Ecker, Adrian J.; Nasrini, Jad; Mollicone, Daniel J.; Mott, Christopher M.; McCann, Thom; Dinges, David F.; Gur, Ruben C.

2015-01-01

Background Sustained high-level cognitive performance is of paramount importance for the success of space missions, which involve environmental, physiological and psychological stressors that may affect brain functions. Despite subjective symptom reports of cognitive fluctuations in spaceflight, the nature of neurobehavioral functioning in space has not been clarified. Methods We developed a computerized cognitive test battery (Cognition) that has sensitivity to multiple cognitive domains and was specifically designed for the high-performing astronaut population. Cognition consists of 15 unique forms of 10 neuropsychological tests that cover a range of cognitive domains including emotion processing, spatial orientation, and risk decision making. Cognition is based on tests known to engage specific brain regions as evidenced by functional neuroimaging. Here we describe the first normative and acute total sleep deprivation data on the Cognition test battery as well as several efforts underway to establish the validity, sensitivity, feasibility, and acceptability of Cognition. Results Practice effects and test-retest variability differed substantially between the 10 Cognition tests, illustrating the importance of normative data that both reflect practice effects and differences in stimulus set difficulty in the population of interest. After one night without sleep, medium to large effect sizes were observed for 3 of the 10 tests addressing vigilant attention (Cohen’s d=1.00), cognitive throughput (d=0.68), and abstract reasoning (d=0.65). Conclusions In addition to providing neuroimaging-based novel information on the effects of spaceflight on a range of cognitive functions, Cognition will facilitate comparing the effects of ground-based analogs to spaceflight, increase consistency across projects, and thus enable meta-analyses. PMID:26564759

Musical Training and Late-Life Cognition

PubMed Central

Gooding, Lori F; Abner, Erin L; Jicha, Gregory A; Kryscio, Richard J; Schmitt, Fredrick A

2014-01-01

This study investigated effects of early- to mid-life musical training on cognition in older adults. A Musical Training Survey examined self-reported musical experience and objective knowledge in 237 cognitively intact participants. Responses were classified into Low, Medium, and High knowledge groups. Linear mixed models compared the groups’ longitudinal performance on the Animal Naming Test (ANT; semantic verbal fluency) and Logical Memory Story A Immediate Recall (LMI; episodic memory) controlling for baseline age, time since baseline, education, sex, and full-scale IQ. Results indicate that High knowledge participants had significantly higher LMI scores at baseline and over time compared to Low knowledge participants. ANT scores did not differ among the groups. Ability to read music was associated with higher mean scores for both ANT and LMI over time. Early-to mid-life musical training may be associated with improved late-life episodic and semantic memory as well as a useful marker of cognitive reserve. PMID:24375575

Making Physical Activity Accessible to Older Adults with Memory Loss: A Feasibility Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Logsdon, Rebecca G.; McCurry, Susan M.; Pike, Kenneth C.; Teri, Linda

2009-01-01

Purpose: For individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), memory loss may prevent successful engagement in exercise, a key factor in preventing additional disability. The Resources and Activities for Life Long Independence (RALLI) program uses behavioral principles to make exercise more accessible for these individuals. Exercises are broken…

Operationalization of Sign Language Phonological Similarity and Its Effects on Lexical Access

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Joshua T.; Stone, Adam; Newman, Sharlene D.

2017-01-01

Cognitive mechanisms for sign language lexical access are fairly unknown. This study investigated whether phonological similarity facilitates lexical retrieval in sign languages using measures from a new lexical database for American Sign Language. Additionally, it aimed to determine which similarity metric best fits the present data in order to…

Internet Use and Cognitive Development: A Theoretical Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Genevieve

2006-01-01

The number of children and adolescents accessing the Internet as well as the amount of time online are steadily increasing. The most common online activities include playing video games, accessing web sites, and communicating via chat rooms, email, and instant messaging. A theoretical framework for understanding the effects of Internet use on…

Social Baseline Theory: The Social Regulation of Risk and Effort

PubMed Central

Coan, James A.; Sbarra, David A.

2015-01-01

We describe Social Baseline Theory (SBT), a perspective that integrates the study of social relationships with principles of attachment, behavioral ecology, cognitive neuroscience, and perception science. SBT suggests the human brain expects access to social relationships that mitigate risk and diminish the level of effort needed to meet a variety of goals. This is accomplished in part by incorporating relational partners into neural representations of the self. By contrast, decreased access to relational partners increases cognitive and physiological effort. Relationship disruptions entail re-defining the self as independent, which implies greater risk, increased effort, and diminished well being. The ungrafting of the self and other may mediate recovery from relationship loss. PMID:25825706

Interaction Problems Accessing E-Learning Environments in Multi-Touch Mobile Devices: A Case Study in TelEduc

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

da Silva, André Constantino; Freire, Fernanda Maria Pereira; de Arruda, Alan Victor Pereira; da Rocha, Heloísa Vieira

2013-01-01

e-Learning environments offer content, such text, audio, video, animations, using the Web infrastructure and they are designed to users interacting with keyboard, mouse and a medium-sized screen. Mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, have enough computation power to render Web pages, allowing browsing the Internet and access e-Learning…

Coping with Copyright and Beyond: New Challenges as the Library Goes Digital.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hersey, Karen

1995-01-01

While college libraries embrace new technologies to provide access to a broader range of information, they must also cope with high costs, both financial and legal. In the print medium, access and distribution are governed by copyright laws; in the electronic media, they are dependent on the technology available to the library and on terms of…

Decision Making Regarding Access to Training and Development in Medium-Sized Enterprises: An Exploratory Study Using the Critical Incident Technique

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coetzer, Alan; Redmond, Janice; Sharafizad, Jalleh

2012-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop an understanding of factors that impinge on managerial decision-making processes regarding employee access to structured training and development (T&D) opportunities that are at least partially funded by the firm. Design/methodology/approach: Semi-structured interviews incorporating the Critical…

Internet Access and Usage in Improving Students' Self-Directed Learning in Indonesia Open University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rahardjo, Djoko; Sumardjo; Lubis, Djuara P.; Harijati, Sri Ir.

2016-01-01

Internet is well known nowadays, however higher distance education students who live in remote rural areas still have not been able to take advantages of this medium optimally for their learning process. For accessing the internet the students have to be available with the minimum prerequisites: the existence of adequate devices and the sufficient…

Wireless Sensor Network Radio Power Management and Simulation Models

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-01-01

The Open Electrical & Electronic Engineering Journal, 2010, 4, 21-31 21 1874-1290/10 2010 Bentham Open Open Access Wireless Sensor Network Radio...Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, USA Abstract: Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) create a new frontier in collecting and...consumption. Keywords: Wireless sensor network , power management, energy-efficiency, medium access control (MAC), simulation pa- rameters. 1

The importance of need for cognition and educational experience in enhanced and standard substance abuse treatment.

PubMed

Czuchry, Michael; Dansereau, Donald F

2004-06-01

The current study examined the relationship between need for cognition (i.e., cognitive motivation or "will") and educational experience (i.e., cognitive ability or "skill") to perceived improvements during treatment of probationers receiving residential treatment within the criminal justice system. Probationers were randomly assigned to either receive motivational activities developed by the authors (the "enhanced" condition), or treatment as usual (but with access to general reading materials in lieu of the motivational activities). Need for cognition and educational experience were assessed and used as blocking variables, and ratings of progress were assessed midway and toward the end of treatment. The results indicate that both need for cognition and educational experience are important predictors of improvement during treatment, and that the motivational activities developed by the authors were particularly valuable for clients with lower levels of need for cognition.

Screening for cognitive dysfunction in ALS: validation of the Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen (ECAS) using age and education adjusted normative data.

PubMed

Pinto-Grau, Marta; Burke, Tom; Lonergan, Katie; McHugh, Caroline; Mays, Iain; Madden, Caoifa; Vajda, Alice; Heverin, Mark; Elamin, Marwa; Hardiman, Orla; Pender, Niall

2017-02-01

Cognitive and behavioural changes are an important aspect in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen (ECAS) briefly assesses these changes in ALS. To validate the ECAS against a standardised neuropsychological battery and assess its sensitivity and specificity using age and education adjusted cut-off scores. 30 incident ALS cases were assessed on both, ECAS and neuropsychological battery. Age and education adjusted cut-off scores were created from a sample of 82 healthy controls. ECAS composite scores (Total, ALS Specific and Non-Specific) were highly correlated with battery composite scores. High correlations were also observed between ECAS and full battery cognitive domains and subtests. The ECAS Total, ALS Specific and Non-Specific scores were highly sensitive to cognitive impairment. ECAS ALS-Specific cognitive domains also evidenced high sensitivity. Individual subtest sensitivity was medium to low, suggesting that caution should be used when interpreting these scores. Low positive predictive values indicated the presence of false positives. Psychometric properties of the ECAS using age and education adjusted norms indicate that the ECAS, when used as an overall measure of cognitive decline, is highly sensitive. Further comprehensive assessment is required for patients that present as impaired on the ECAS.

A hybrid MAC protocol design for energy-efficient very-high-throughput millimeter wave, wireless sensor communication networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jian, Wei; Estevez, Claudio; Chowdhury, Arshad; Jia, Zhensheng; Wang, Jianxin; Yu, Jianguo; Chang, Gee-Kung

2010-12-01

This paper presents an energy-efficient Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol for very-high-throughput millimeter-wave (mm-wave) wireless sensor communication networks (VHT-MSCNs) based on hybrid multiple access techniques of frequency division multiplexing access (FDMA) and time division multiplexing access (TDMA). An energy-efficient Superframe for wireless sensor communication network employing directional mm-wave wireless access technologies is proposed for systems that require very high throughput, such as high definition video signals, for sensing, processing, transmitting, and actuating functions. Energy consumption modeling for each network element and comparisons among various multi-access technologies in term of power and MAC layer operations are investigated for evaluating the energy-efficient improvement of proposed MAC protocol.

Women with Cognitive Limitations Living in the Community: Evidence of Disability-Based Disparities in Health Care

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parish, Susan L.; Saville, Alison Whisnant

2006-01-01

Using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey for 2000 and 2002, we compared potential and realized use of health care for a national sample of working-age women with cognitive disabilities. Despite having similar likelihoods of potential access to health care as compared to nondisabled women, they had markedly worse rates of receiving…

Getting to the Heart of the Brain: Using Cognitive Neuroscience to Explore the Nature of Human Ability and Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kalbfleisch, M. Layne

2008-01-01

This article serves as a primer to make the neuroimaging literature more accessible to the lay reader and to increase the evaluative capability of the educated consumer of cognitive neuroscience. This special issue gives gifted education practitioners and researchers a primary source view of current neuroscience relevant to modern definitions and…

An Assessment Tool to Detect Unique Characteristics of Cognitive Deficiency

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-06-01

psychological impairment and cognitive deficiency that results from either physical trauma, emotional distress or a combination of both factors, which we...27 To fully remove the DDM, we will integrate our cloud support into the...DANA codebase. We will integrate cloud authentication into DANA to enable users to store their data on the cloud and access the data from the DANA

A Tutorial Introduction to Bayesian Models of Cognitive Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perfors, Amy; Tenenbaum, Joshua B.; Griffiths, Thomas L.; Xu, Fei

2011-01-01

We present an introduction to Bayesian inference as it is used in probabilistic models of cognitive development. Our goal is to provide an intuitive and accessible guide to the "what", the "how", and the "why" of the Bayesian approach: what sorts of problems and data the framework is most relevant for, and how and why it may be useful for…

A Systematic Review of Psychological Interventions to Alleviate Cognitive and Psychosocial Problems in Children with Acquired Brain Injury

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ross, Kimberley A.; Dorris, Liam; McMillan, Tom

2011-01-01

Aim: It is now generally accepted that paediatric acquired brain injury (ABI) can have an impact on a child's cognitive, social, and behavioural functioning. However, the lack of guidelines on effective interventions for the affected children and their families, particularly beyond the acute recovery phase, can limit access to effective support.…

RoLo: A Dictionary Interface that Minimizes Extraneous Cognitive Load of Lookup and Supports Incidental and Incremental Learning of Vocabulary

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dang, Thanh-Dung; Chen, Gwo-Dong; Dang, Giao; Li, Liang-Yi; Nurkhamid

2013-01-01

Dictionary use can improve reading comprehension and incidental vocabulary learning. Nevertheless, great extraneous cognitive load imposed by the search process may reduce or even prevent the improvement. With the help of technology, dictionary users can now instantly access the meaning list of a searched word using a mouse click. However, they…

A Probabilistic Model of Social Working Memory for Information Retrieval in Social Interactions.

PubMed

Li, Liyuan; Xu, Qianli; Gan, Tian; Tan, Cheston; Lim, Joo-Hwee

2018-05-01

Social working memory (SWM) plays an important role in navigating social interactions. Inspired by studies in psychology, neuroscience, cognitive science, and machine learning, we propose a probabilistic model of SWM to mimic human social intelligence for personal information retrieval (IR) in social interactions. First, we establish a semantic hierarchy as social long-term memory to encode personal information. Next, we propose a semantic Bayesian network as the SWM, which integrates the cognitive functions of accessibility and self-regulation. One subgraphical model implements the accessibility function to learn the social consensus about IR-based on social information concept, clustering, social context, and similarity between persons. Beyond accessibility, one more layer is added to simulate the function of self-regulation to perform the personal adaptation to the consensus based on human personality. Two learning algorithms are proposed to train the probabilistic SWM model on a raw dataset of high uncertainty and incompleteness. One is an efficient learning algorithm of Newton's method, and the other is a genetic algorithm. Systematic evaluations show that the proposed SWM model is able to learn human social intelligence effectively and outperforms the baseline Bayesian cognitive model. Toward real-world applications, we implement our model on Google Glass as a wearable assistant for social interaction.

A Spectrum Access Based on Quality of Service (QoS) in Cognitive Radio Networks.

PubMed

Zhai, Linbo; Wang, Hua; Gao, Chuangen

2016-01-01

The quality of service (QoS) is important issue for cognitive radio networks. In the cognitive radio system, the licensed users, also called primary users (PUs), are authorized to utilize the wireless spectrum, while unlicensed users, also called secondary users (SUs), are not authorized to use the wireless spectrum. SUs access the wireless spectrum opportunistically when the spectrum is idle. While SUs use an idle channel, the instance that PUs come back makes SUs terminate their communications and leave the current channel. Therefore, quality of service (QoS) is difficult to be ensured for SUs. In this paper, we first propose an analysis model to obtain QoS for cognitive radio networks such as blocking probability, completed traffic and termination probability of SUs. When the primary users use the channels frequently, QoS of SUs is difficult to be ensured, especially the termination probability. Then, we propose a channel reservation scheme to improve QoS of SUs. The scheme makes the terminated SUs move to the reserved channels and keep on communications. Simulation results show that our scheme can improve QoS of SUs especially the termination probability with a little cost of blocking probability in dynamic environment.

Caregivers in China: Knowledge of Mild Cognitive Impairment

PubMed Central

Dai, Baozhen; Mao, Zongfu; Mei, John; Levkoff, Sue; Wang, Huali; Pacheco, Misty; Wu, Bei

2013-01-01

This study aimed to examine the experience and knowledge of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) among Chinese family caregivers of individuals with MCI. The sample was recruited from memory clinics in Zhongnan Hospital in Wuhan, China. In-depth semi-structured interviews were used. Thirteen family members of individuals diagnosed with MCI participated in the study. Data analysis revealed three themes: 1) initial recognition of cognitive decline; 2) experience of the diagnosis of MCI; 3) perception of cognitive decline as a normal part of aging. While family members recognized the serious consequences of memory loss (e.g. getting lost), they would typically not take their family members to see a doctor until something specific triggered their access to the medical care system. The Chinese traditional perception of dementia as part of normal aging may serve to lessen the stigma of individuals with MCI, while the term “laonian chidai” which literally translates to “stupid, demented elderly” may exacerbate the stigma associated with individuals with MCI. It is suggested that family members’ worries may be relieved by improving their access to accurate knowledge of the disease, community-based and institutional care services, and culturally appropriately words are needed for MCI. PMID:23326541

Cost comparison of competing local distribution systems for communication satellite traffic

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dopfel, F. E.

1979-01-01

The boundaries of market areas which favor various means for distributing communications satellite traffic are considered. The distribution methods considered are: control Earth station with cable access, rooftop Earth stations, Earth station with radio access, and various combinations of these methods. The least cost system for a hypothetical region described by number of users and the average cable access mileage is discussed. The region is characterized by a function which expresses the distribution of users. The results indicate that the least cost distribution is central Earth station with cable access for medium to high density areas of a region combined with rooftop Earth stations or (for higher volumes) radio access for remote users.

Assessing the Impact of Clothing and Individual Equipment (CIE) on Soldier Physical, Biomechanical, and Cognitive Performance Part 1: Test Methodology

DTIC Science & Technology

2018-02-01

29 during Soldier Equipment Configuration Impact on Performance: Establishing a Test Methodology for the...Performance of Medium Rucksack Prototypes An investigation: Comparison of live-fire and weapon simulator test methodologies and the of three extremity armor

The Testing Effect: An Intervention on Behalf of Low-Skilled Comprehenders in General Chemistry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pyburn, Daniel T.; Pazicni, Samuel; Benassi, Victor A.; Tappin, Elizabeth M.

2014-01-01

Past work has demonstrated that language comprehension ability correlates with general chemistry course performance with medium effect sizes. We demonstrate here that language comprehension's strong cognitive grounding can be used to inform effective and equitable pedagogies, namely, instructional interventions that differentially aid low-skilled…

Bottle Caps as Prekindergarten Mathematical Tools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raisor, Jill M.; Hudson, Rick A.

2018-01-01

Early childhood provides a time of crucial growth in all developmental domains. Prekindergarten is an optimal time for young children to use objects of play as a medium to explore new cognitive concepts, including mathematical structure. Mathematical structure plays an important role in providing students a means to reason about mathematics,…

The Structure and Silence of the Cognotariat

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newfield, Christopher

2010-01-01

This paper describes the most likely social structure awaiting "knowledge workers" in the knowledge economies of high- and medium-income nations. Commentators from across the political spectrum and in diverse institutional positions have been noting that the source of new products and industries is increasingly "cognitive". They have been…

New Media Resistance: Barriers to Implementation of Computer Video Games in the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rice, John W.

2007-01-01

Computer video games are an emerging instructional medium offering strong degrees of cognitive efficiencies for experiential learning, team building, and greater understanding of abstract concepts. As with other new media adopted for use by instructional technologists for pedagogical purposes, barriers to classroom implementation have manifested…

Trident and MISTY: a universal pipeline for generating and sharing synthetic spectra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hummels, Cameron; Smith, Britton; Silvia, Devin; Peeples, Molly; Prochaska, X.; Tejos, Nicolas

2016-03-01

Astrophysical simulations are useful insofar as they aid in the interpretation of telescopic observations. Thus, a primary task in simulation analysis is in producing synthetic observations for direct comparison against observational data. Furthermore, we as a field need an effective means for storing these synthetic observable data products, such that they are accessible and searchable by the entire population of researchers. In this talk, we present Trident, a universal pipeline for producing synthetic spectra from any of the major hydrodynamics codes, and MISTY, a means of storing these spectra on the HST MAST data archive. Trident and MISTY are our attempts to solve the difficult problems of synthetic data production and publicly-accessible storage for the scientific communities studying the intergalactic medium and circumgalactic medium.

An Ultra-low-power Medium Access Control Protocol for Body Sensor Network.

PubMed

Li, Huaming; Tan, Jindong

2005-01-01

In this paper, a medium access control (MAC) protocol designed for Body Sensor Network (BSN-MAC) is proposed. BSN-MAC is an adaptive, feedback-based and IEEE 802.15.4-compatible MAC protocol. Due to the traffic coupling and sensor diversity characteristics of BSNs, common MAC protocols can not satisfy the unique requirements of the biomedical sensors in BSN. BSN-MAC exploits the feedback information from the deployed sensors to form a closed-loop control of the MAC parameters. A control algorithm is proposed to enable the BSN coordinator to adjust parameters of the IEEE 802.15.4 superframe to achieve both energy efficiency and low latency on energy critical nodes. We evaluate the performance of BSN-MAC using energy efficiency as the primary metric.

Treatment acceptability and preferences for managing severe health anxiety: Perceptions of internet-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy among primary care patients.

PubMed

Soucy, Joelle N; Hadjistavropoulos, Heather D

2017-12-01

While cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is an established treatment for health anxiety, there are barriers to service access. Internet-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy (ICBT) has demonstrated effectiveness and has the potential to improve access to treatment. Nevertheless, it is unknown how patients perceive ICBT relative to other interventions for health anxiety and what factors predict ICBT acceptability. This study investigated these questions. Primary care patients (N = 116) who reported elevated levels of health anxiety were presented three treatment vignettes that each described a different protocol for health anxiety (i.e., medication, CBT, ICBT). Acceptability and credibility of the treatments were assessed following the presentation of each vignette. Participants then ranked the three treatments and provided a rational for their preferences. The treatments were similarly rated as moderately acceptable. Relative to medication and ICBT, CBT was perceived as the most credible treatment for health anxiety. The highest preference ranks were for CBT and medication. Regression analyses indicated that lower computer anxiety, past medication use, and lower ratings of negative cognitions about difficulty coping with an illness significantly predicted greater ICBT acceptability. Health anxiety was not assessed with a diagnostic interview. Primary care patients were recruited through a Qualtrics panel. Patients did not have direct experience with treatment but learned about treatment options through vignettes. Medication and CBT are preferred over ICBT. If ICBT is to increase treatment access, methods of improving perceptions of this treatment option are needed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Native pears of Sardinia affect Penicillium expansum pathogenesis.

PubMed

Cubaiu, L; Azara, E; Ladu, G; Venditti, T; D'Hallewin, G

2013-01-01

Penicillium expansum causes blue mould rot, a serious post-harvest disease of pome fruits and is the main producer of the mycotoxin patulin. The occurrence of natural resistance against different hostpathogens, has been evidenced in some pear accessions of the Sardinian germoplasm. The aim of this research was to correlate P. expansum growth and patulin production on these indigenous pear accessions. In vitro and in vivo experiments were carried out with seven accessions ('Sarmentina', 'Vacchesa', 'De Puleu', 'De su Duca', 'Natalina', 'Oliena', 'Laconi 5') belonging to the CNR-ISPA ex situ collection and one national control cultivar ('Abate'). A wild type P. expansum from our collection was isolated from blue mould-decayed Sardinian pear fruit and selected for its aggressiveness and patulin production. The in vivo assay was carried out using 5 x 2 cm (Ø x thickness) sterilized fruit discs wounded and inoculated by a 10(5)UFC/mL concentration of P. expansum. Fruit discs were incubated at 23 degrees C for 7 days before analysis. The in vitro experiments, aimed at monitoring over time P. expansum mycelial growth and patulin accumulation, were performed with a standard medium (PDA) and a pear puree Agar Medium (PAM). Petri dishes with PDA and PAM were inoculated centrally with P. expansum conidia (10(5)UFC/ml) and then incubated at 23 degrees C for 7 days. Mycelial growth on Sardinian PAMs was inhibited in comparison to 'Abate' PAM and PDA. In particular, the accessions 'Sarmentina' and 'Vacchesa' showed the maximum inhibitory activity both in vitro and in vivo. Patulin production was detected by high-pressure liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The mycotoxin concentration in Sardinian PAMs was lower than that detected in PDA medium, pointing out a positive correlation between fungal growth inhibition and patulin production. The lowest concentration of patulin was found in 'Sarmentina' PAM. Based on these findings, some of Sardinian pear accessions seems to affect P. expansum pathogenesis and inhibit patulin production. Further researches are necessary to assess the mechanism of this biocontrol activity.

A Pilot Study of the Effects of Internet-Based Cognitive Stimulation on Neuropsychological Function in HIV Disease

PubMed Central

Becker, James T.; Dew, Mary Amanda; Aizenstein, Howard J.; Lopez, Oscar L.; Morrow, Lisa; Saxton, Judith; Tarraga, Lluis

2012-01-01

Purpose Mild cognitive deficits associated with HIV disease can affect activities of daily living, so interventions that reduce them may have a long-term effect on quality of life. We evaluated the feasibility of a cognitive stimulation program (CSP) to improve neuropsychological test performance in HIV disease. Methods 60 volunteers (30 HIV-infected) participated. The primary outcome was the change in neuropsychological test performance as indexed by the Global Impairment Rating; secondary outcomes included mood (Brief Symptom Inventory subscales) and quality of life rating (Medical Outcomes Survey-HIV) scales. Results 52 participants completed all 24 weeks of the study, and 54% of the participants in the CSP group successfully used the system via internet access from their home or other location. There was a significant interaction between usage and study visit such that the participants who used the program most frequently showed significantly greater improvements in cognitive functioning (F(3,46.4)=3.26, p =.030); none of the secondary outcomes were affected by the dose of CSP. Conclusions We found it possible to complete an internet-based CSP in HIV-infected individuals; ease of internet access was a key component for success. Participants who used the program most showed improvements in cognitive function over the 24-week period, suggesting that a larger clinical trial of CSP may be warranted. PMID:22458375

Career Decision-Making and College and Career Access among Recent African Immigrant Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wambu, Grace; Hutchison, Brian; Pietrantoni, Zachary

2017-01-01

The number of African immigrant youth in American classrooms is on the rise. School counselors are uniquely positioned to help these students to be college and career ready. Using the Social Cognitive Career Theory framework, this article aims to address the unique career development needs, college and career access challenges faced by African…

Increasing Accessibility: Using Universal Design Principles to Address Disability Impairments in the Online Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pittman, Candice N.; Heiselt, April K.

2014-01-01

With the increasing number of students enrolling in distance education, there is a need to consider the accessibility of course materials in online learning environments. Four major groups of disabilities: mobility, auditory, visual, and cognitive are explored as they relate to their implementation into instructional design and their impact on…

Telehealth Delivery of Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention to Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Anxiety: A Pilot Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hepburn, Susan L.; Blakeley-Smith, Audrey; Wolff, Brian; Reaven, Judy A.

2016-01-01

Youth with autism spectrum disorders frequently experience significant symptoms of anxiety. Empirically supported psychosocial interventions exist, yet access is limited, especially for families in rural areas. Telehealth (i.e. videoconferencing) has potential to reduce barriers to access to care; however, little is known about the feasibility or…

Phonology in Second Language Reading: Not an Optional Extra

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walter, Catherine

2008-01-01

In examining reading comprehension in a second language (L2), I have demonstrated that the prevailing metaphor of transfer of skills is misleading, and that what happens is access to an already existing general cognitive skill. There is evidence in first language (L1) and in L2 that accessing this skill when reading in an alphabetic language…

Opportunistic Access in Frequency Hopping Cognitive Radio Networks

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-03-27

thresholding MA multiple access MFSK M-ary frequency shift keying MIMO multiple-input/multiple-output OFDM orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing x...adaptive BER performance as a function of ISR with orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing ( OFDM ) interference present. . . . . . . . . . 41 4.15 Non...adaptive BER performance as a function of EB/N0 with OFDM interfer- ence present

Using Constant Time Delay to Teach Braille and the Nemeth Code for Mathematics and Science Notation to Students Making the Transition from Print to Braille

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ivy, Sarah E.; Hooper, Jonathan D.

2015-01-01

Introduction: Many students with adventitious vision loss or progressive vision loss need to transition from print to braille as a primary literacy medium. It is important that this transition is handled efficiently so that the student can have continued access to a literacy medium and make progress in the core curriculum. For this study, we used…

OPTIMIZING DIAGNOSIS AND MANANGEMENT IN MILD-TO-MODERATE ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE

PubMed Central

Galvin, James E.

2012-01-01

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by progressive declines in cognitive function and ability to carry out activities of daily living; and the emergence and worsening of behavioral/neuropsychiatric symptoms. While there is no cure for AD, non-pharmacologic interventions and medications that modulate neurotransmission can slow symptomatic progression. Medical foods may also be useful as adjuncts to pharmacologic agents in AD. Medium chain triglycerides aimed at improving cerebral metabolism significantly improve Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive scores when added to ongoing pharmacotherapy in patients with mild-to-moderate AD. Combination of interventions, such as non-pharmacologic treatments, pharmacotherapy, and medical foods, with complementary mechanisms of action may provide a rational approach that may result in maximum preservation of cognitive function in patients with AD. PMID:22973426

Can access limits on sales representatives to physicians affect clinical prescription decisions? A study of recent events with diabetes and lipid drugs.

PubMed

Chressanthis, George A; Khedkar, Pratap; Jain, Nitin; Poddar, Prashant; Seiders, Michael G

2012-07-01

The authors explored to what extent important medical decisions by practitioners can be influenced by pharmaceutical representatives and, in particular, whether restricting such access could delay appropriate changes in clinical practice. Medical practices were divided into four categories based on the degree of sales representative access to clinicians: very low, low, medium, and high from a database compiled by ZS Associates called AccessMonitor (Evanston, IL) used extensively by many pharmaceutical companies. Clinical decisions of 58,647 to 72,114 physicians were statistically analyzed using prescription data from IMS Health (Danbury, CT) in three critical areas: an innovative drug for type 2 diabetes (sitagliptin), an older diabetes drug with a new Food and Drug Administration-required black box warning for cardiovascular safety (rosiglitazone), and a combination lipid therapy that had reported negative outcomes in a clinical trial (simvastatin+ezetimbe). For the uptake of the new diabetes agent, the authors found that physicians with very low access to representatives had the lowest adoption of this new therapy and took 1.4 and 4.6 times longer to adopt than physicians in the low- and medium-access restriction categories, respectively. In responding to the black box warning for rosiglitazone, the authors found that physicians with very low access were 4.0 times slower to reduce their use of this treatment than those with low access. Likewise, there was significantly less response in terms of changing prescribing to the negative news with the lipid therapy for physicians in more access-restricted offices. Overall, cardiologists were the most responsive to information changes relative to primary care physicians. These findings emphasize that limiting access to pharmaceutical representatives can have the unintended effect of reducing appropriate responses to negative information about drugs just as much as responses to positive information about innovative drugs. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Cognitive and psychological science insights to improve climate change data visualization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harold, Jordan; Lorenzoni, Irene; Shipley, Thomas F.; Coventry, Kenny R.

2016-12-01

Visualization of climate data plays an integral role in the communication of climate change findings to both expert and non-expert audiences. The cognitive and psychological sciences can provide valuable insights into how to improve visualization of climate data based on knowledge of how the human brain processes visual and linguistic information. We review four key research areas to demonstrate their potential to make data more accessible to diverse audiences: directing visual attention, visual complexity, making inferences from visuals, and the mapping between visuals and language. We present evidence-informed guidelines to help climate scientists increase the accessibility of graphics to non-experts, and illustrate how the guidelines can work in practice in the context of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change graphics.

Social activity, cognitive decline and dementia risk: a 20-year prospective cohort study.

PubMed

Marioni, Riccardo E; Proust-Lima, Cecile; Amieva, Helene; Brayne, Carol; Matthews, Fiona E; Dartigues, Jean-Francois; Jacqmin-Gadda, Helene

2015-10-24

Identifying modifiable lifestyle correlates of cognitive decline and risk of dementia is complex, particularly as few population-based longitudinal studies jointly model these interlinked processes. Recent methodological developments allow us to examine statistically defined sub-populations with separate cognitive trajectories and dementia risks. Engagement in social, physical, or intellectual pursuits, social network size, self-perception of feeling well understood, and degree of satisfaction with social relationships were assessed in 2854 participants from the Paquid cohort (mean baseline age 77 years) and related to incident dementia and cognitive change over 20-years of follow-up. Multivariate repeated cognitive information was exploited by defining the global cognitive functioning as the latent common factor underlying the tests. In addition, three latent homogeneous sub-populations of cognitive change and dementia were identified and contrasted according to social environment variables. In the whole population, we found associations between increased engagement in social, physical, or intellectual pursuits and increased cognitive ability (but not decline) and decreased risk of incident dementia, and between feeling understood and slower cognitive decline. There was evidence for three sub-populations of cognitive aging: fast, medium, and no cognitive decline. The social-environment measures at baseline did not help explain the heterogeneity of cognitive decline and incident dementia diagnosis between these sub-populations. We observed a complex series of relationships between social-environment variables and cognitive decline and dementia. In the whole population, factors such as increased engagement in social, physical, or intellectual pursuits were related to a decreased risk of dementia. However, in a sub-population analysis, the social-environment variables were not linked to the heterogeneous patterns of cognitive decline and dementia risk that defined the sub-groups.

Inequality, Preschool Education and Cognitive Development in Ethiopia: Implication for Public Investment in Pre-Primary Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woldehanna, Tassew

2016-01-01

This study used longitudinal data from the Young Lives Project in Ethiopia to examine the main factors relating to preschool access and their potential effects on cognitive performance of children aged five and eight years. The results show that only one quarter of the preschool-aged children have the opportunity to attend this vital stage of…

Longitudinal Change in the Use of Services in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Understanding the Role of Child Characteristics, Family Demographics, and Parent Cognitions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Siller, Michael; Reyes, Nuri; Hotez, Emily; Hutman, Ted; Sigman, Marian

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to identify child characteristics, family demographics, and parent cognitions that may affect access to early intervention, special education, and related services. The sample included 70 families of young children with autism spectrum disorders. All parents were enrolled in a short education program, providing them with…

Insights into the Feelings, Thoughts, and Behaviors of Children with Visual Impairments: A Focus Group Study Prior to Adapting a Cognitive Behavior Therapy-Based Anxiety Intervention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Visagie, Lisa; Loxton, Helene; Stallard, Paul; Silverman, Wendy K.

2017-01-01

Introduction: Anxiety is the most common psychological problem reported among children with visual impairments. Although cognitive behavior therapy interventions have proven successful in treating childhood anxiety, it is unclear whether they are suitable and accessible for children who have visual impairments. This study aimed to determine if and…

A Comparison of Field-Dependence Cognitive Styles of Professionals in Purchasing and Consumer Service and Secondary Marketing Education Students, with Implications for Workforce Development.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fritz, Robert L.; Stewart, Barbara; Norwood, Marcella

2002-01-01

The field-dependent cognitive styles of 44 professionals in customer service occupations provided a benchmark to interpret data for 239 secondary marketing education students. Results suggest that males have greater access to analytic traits such as restructuring skill, problem-solving interest, and skill with abstractions. (Contains 38…

Symbol Error Rate of Underlay Cognitive Relay Systems over Rayleigh Fading Channel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ho van, Khuong; Bao, Vo Nguyen Quoc

Underlay cognitive systems allow secondary users (SUs) to access the licensed band allocated to primary users (PUs) for better spectrum utilization with the power constraint imposed on SUs such that their operation does not harm the normal communication of PUs. This constraint, which limits the coverage range of SUs, can be offset by relaying techniques that take advantage of shorter range communication for lower path loss. Symbol error rate (SER) analysis of underlay cognitive relay systems over fading channel has not been reported in the literature. This paper fills this gap. The derived SER expressions are validated by simulations and show that underlay cognitive relay systems suffer a high error floor for any modulation level.

Effects of Water Provision and Hydration on Cognitive Function among Primary-School Pupils in Zambia: A Randomized Trial

PubMed Central

Trinies, Victoria; Chard, Anna N.; Mateo, Tommy; Freeman, Matthew C.

2016-01-01

There is a well-established link between hydration and improved cognitive performance among adults, with evidence of similar findings among children. No trials have investigated the impact of water provision on cognitive performance among schoolchildren in hot and arid low-resource settings. We conducted a randomized-controlled trial in five schools with limited water access in Chipata district in Eastern province, Zambia, to assess the efficacy of water provision on cognition. Pupils in grades 3–6 were randomly assigned to either receive a bottle of drinking water that they could refill throughout the day (water group, n = 149) or only have access to drinking water that was normally available at the school (control group, n = 143). Hydration was assessed in the morning before provision of water and in the afternoon through urine specific gravity (Usg) measured with a portable refractometer. In the afternoon we administered six cognitive tests to assess short-term memory, concentration, visual attention, and visual motor skills. Morning prevalence of dehydration, defined as Usg≥1.020, was 42%. Afternoon dehydration increased to 67% among the control arm and dropped to 10% among the intervention arm. We did not find that provision of water or hydration impacted cognitive test scores, although there were suggestive relationships between both water provision and hydration and increased scores on tests measuring visual attention. We identified key improvements to the study design that are warranted to further investigate this relationship. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01924546 PMID:26950696

Pathways to fraction learning: Numerical abilities mediate the relation between early cognitive competencies and later fraction knowledge.

PubMed

Ye, Ai; Resnick, Ilyse; Hansen, Nicole; Rodrigues, Jessica; Rinne, Luke; Jordan, Nancy C

2016-12-01

The current study investigated the mediating role of number-related skills in the developmental relationship between early cognitive competencies and later fraction knowledge using structural equation modeling. Fifth-grade numerical skills (i.e., whole number line estimation, non-symbolic proportional reasoning, multiplication, and long division skills) mapped onto two distinct factors: magnitude reasoning and calculation. Controlling for participants' (N=536) demographic characteristics, these two factors fully mediated relationships between third-grade general cognitive competencies (attentive behavior, verbal and nonverbal intellectual abilities, and working memory) and sixth-grade fraction knowledge (concepts and procedures combined). However, specific developmental pathways differed by type of fraction knowledge. Magnitude reasoning ability fully mediated paths from all four cognitive competencies to knowledge of fraction concepts, whereas calculation ability fully mediated paths from attentive behavior and verbal ability to knowledge of fraction procedures (all with medium to large effect sizes). These findings suggest that there are partly overlapping, yet distinct, developmental pathways from cognitive competencies to general fraction knowledge, fraction concepts, and fraction procedures. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Confidence and Information Access in Clinical Decision-Making: An Examination of the Cognitive Processes that affect the Information-seeking Behavior of Physicians.

PubMed

Uy, Raymonde Charles; Sarmiento, Raymond Francis; Gavino, Alex; Fontelo, Paul

2014-01-01

Clinical decision-making involves the interplay between cognitive processes and physicians' perceptions of confidence in the context of their information-seeking behavior. The objectives of the study are: to examine how these concepts interact, to determine whether physician confidence, defined in relation to information need, affects clinical decision-making, and if information access improves decision accuracy. We analyzed previously collected data about resident physicians' perceptions of information need from a study comparing abstracts and full-text articles in clinical decision accuracy. We found that there is a significant relation between confidence and accuracy (φ=0.164, p<0.01). We also found various differences in the alignment of confidence and accuracy, demonstrating the concepts of underconfidence and overconfidence across years of clinical experience. Access to online literature also has a significant effect on accuracy (p<0.001). These results highlight possible CDSS strategies to reduce medical errors.

Experimental findings on God as an attachment figure: normative processes and moderating effects of internal working models.

PubMed

Granqvist, Pehr; Mikulincer, Mario; Gewirtz, Vered; Shaver, Phillip R

2012-11-01

Four studies examined implications of attachment theory for psychological aspects of religion among Israeli Jews. Study 1 replicated previous correlational findings indicating correspondence among interpersonal attachment orientations, attachment to God, and image of God. Studies 2-4 were subliminal priming experiments, which documented both normative and individual-difference effects. Regarding normative effects, findings indicated that threat priming heightened cognitive access to God-related concepts in a lexical decision task (Study 2); priming with "God" heightened cognitive access to positive, secure base-related concepts in the same task (Study 3); and priming with a religious symbol caused neutral material to be better liked (Study 4). Regarding individual differences, interpersonal attachment-related avoidance reduced the normative effects (i.e., avoidant participants had lower implicit access to God as a safe haven and secure base). Findings were mostly independent of level of religiousness. The present experiments considerably extend the psychological literature on connections between attachment constructs and aspects of religion. (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

Is Work-Related Rumination Associated with Deficits in Executive Functioning?

PubMed Central

Cropley, Mark; Zijlstra, Fred R. H.; Querstret, Dawn; Beck, Sarah

2016-01-01

Work-related rumination, that is, perseverative thinking about work during leisure time, has been associated with a range of negative health and wellbeing issues. The present paper examined the association between work-related rumination and cognitive processes centerd around the theoretical construct of executive functioning. Executive functioning is an umbrella term for high level cognitive processes such as planning, working memory, inhibition, mental flexibility; and it underlies how people manage and regulate their goal directed behavior. Three studies are reported. Study I, reports the results of a cross-sectional study of 240 employees, and demonstrates significant correlations between work-related rumination and three proxy measures of executive functioning: cognitive failures (0.33), cognitive flexibility (-0.24), and situational awareness at work (-0.28). Study II (n = 939), expands on the findings from study 1 and demonstrates that workers reporting medium and high work-related rumination were 2.8 and 5 times, respectively, more likely to report cognitive failures relative to low ruminators. High ruminators also demonstrated greater difficulties with ‘lapses of attention’ (OR = 4.8), ‘lack of focus of attention’ (OR = 3.4), and ‘absent mindedness’ (OR = 4.3). The final study, examined the association between work-related rumination and executive functioning using interview data from 2460 full time workers. Workers were divided into tertiles low, medium, and high. The findings showed that high work-related rumination was associated with deficits in starting (OR = 2.3) and finishing projects (OR = 2.4), fidgeting (OR = 1.9), memory (OR = 2.2), pursuing tasks in order (OR = 1.8), and feeling compelled to do things (OR = 2.0). It was argued that work-related rumination may not be related to work demands per se, but appears to be an executive functioning/control issue. Such findings are important for the design and delivery of intervention programes aimed at helping people to switch off and unwind from work. PMID:27746759

Is Work-Related Rumination Associated with Deficits in Executive Functioning?

PubMed

Cropley, Mark; Zijlstra, Fred R H; Querstret, Dawn; Beck, Sarah

2016-01-01

Work-related rumination, that is, perseverative thinking about work during leisure time, has been associated with a range of negative health and wellbeing issues. The present paper examined the association between work-related rumination and cognitive processes centerd around the theoretical construct of executive functioning. Executive functioning is an umbrella term for high level cognitive processes such as planning, working memory, inhibition, mental flexibility; and it underlies how people manage and regulate their goal directed behavior. Three studies are reported. Study I, reports the results of a cross-sectional study of 240 employees, and demonstrates significant correlations between work-related rumination and three proxy measures of executive functioning: cognitive failures (0.33), cognitive flexibility (-0.24), and situational awareness at work (-0.28). Study II ( n = 939), expands on the findings from study 1 and demonstrates that workers reporting medium and high work-related rumination were 2.8 and 5 times, respectively, more likely to report cognitive failures relative to low ruminators. High ruminators also demonstrated greater difficulties with 'lapses of attention' (OR = 4.8), 'lack of focus of attention' (OR = 3.4), and 'absent mindedness' (OR = 4.3). The final study, examined the association between work-related rumination and executive functioning using interview data from 2460 full time workers. Workers were divided into tertiles low, medium, and high. The findings showed that high work-related rumination was associated with deficits in starting (OR = 2.3) and finishing projects (OR = 2.4), fidgeting (OR = 1.9), memory (OR = 2.2), pursuing tasks in order (OR = 1.8), and feeling compelled to do things (OR = 2.0). It was argued that work-related rumination may not be related to work demands per se , but appears to be an executive functioning/control issue. Such findings are important for the design and delivery of intervention programes aimed at helping people to switch off and unwind from work.

Impaired Emotion Recognition in Music in Parkinson's Disease

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Tricht, Mirjam J.; Smeding, Harriet M. M.; Speelman, Johannes D.; Schmand, Ben A.

2010-01-01

Music has the potential to evoke strong emotions and plays a significant role in the lives of many people. Music might therefore be an ideal medium to assess emotion recognition. We investigated emotion recognition in music in 20 patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) and 20 matched healthy volunteers. The role of cognitive dysfunction…

Perceptions of a New Medium: Gifted Children Think About Computers

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-04-12

The purpose of this study was to begin to investigate the cognitive and affective attitudes that gifted students have about computers. As a teacher...of gifted students in the field of computer programming, I wanted to learn what these students thought about the machine as a part of their lives. I

Acetylcholine, Histamine, and Cognition: Two Sides of the Same Coin

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blandina, Patrizio; Efoudebe, Marcel; Cenni, Gabriele; Mannaioni, Pierfrancesco; Passani, Maria Beatrice

2004-01-01

The forebrain cholinergic neurons are localized in the nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NBM), the major source of cholinergic innervation to the neocortex and to the amygdala, and in the medium septum-banda diagonalis complex, which provides cholinergic inputs to the hippocampus (Mesulam et al. 1983; Woolf et al. 1984; Nicoll 1985). Basic and…

Narrative Inquiry: A Dynamic Relationship between Culture, Language and Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chan, Esther Yim Mei

2017-01-01

Human development is a cultural process, and language serves as a cultural tool is closely related to virtually all the cognitive changes. The author addresses issues of language in education, and suggests that changing the medium of instruction should not be understood as purely a pedagogical decision. The connection between culture and language…

Conceptual and Socio-Cognitive Support for Collaborative Learning in Videoconferencing Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ertl, Bernhard; Fischer, Frank; Mandl, Heinz

2006-01-01

Studies have shown that videoconferencing is an effective medium for facilitating communication between parties who are separated by distance, particularly when learners are engaged in complex collaborative learning tasks. However, as in face-to-face communication, learners benefit most when they receive additional support for such learning tasks.…

Children and Television: The Development of the Child's Understanding of the Medium.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wartella, Ellen

This review of the current state of research on how children make sense of television and its content examines age-related differences in children's interpretations of television entertainment content in general, and advertising content in particular. A brief analysis and description of the fundamental principles of cognitive development theory…

Tying Theory To Practice: Cognitive Aspects of Computer Interaction in the Design Process.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mikovec, Amy E.; Dake, Dennis M.

The new medium of computer-aided design requires changes to the creative problem-solving methodologies typically employed in the development of new visual designs. Most theoretical models of creative problem-solving suggest a linear progression from preparation and incubation to some type of evaluative study of the "inspiration." These…

Specificity, Transfer, and the Development of Expertise

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brookes, David T.; Ross, Brian H.; Mestre, Jose P.

2011-01-01

In this paper we present the results of two experiments designed to understand how physics students' learning of the concept of refraction is influenced by the cognitive phenomenon of "specificity." In both experiments participants learned why light bends as it travels from one optical medium to another with an analogy made to a car…

Improving Survey Methods with Cognitive Interviews in Small- and Medium-Scale Evaluations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ryan, Katherine; Gannon-Slater, Nora; Culbertson, Michael J.

2012-01-01

Findings derived from self-reported, structured survey questionnaires are commonly used in evaluation and applied research to inform policy-making and program decisions. Although there are a variety of issues related to the quality of survey evidence (e.g., sampling precision), the validity of response processes--how respondents process thoughts…

Improvement of Students’ Environmental Literacy by Using Integrated Science Teaching Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suryanti, D.; Sinaga, P.; Surakusumah, W.

2018-02-01

This study aims to determine the improvement of student environmental literacy through the use of integrated science teaching materials on pollution topics. The research is used weak experiment method with the one group pre-test post-test design. The sample of the study were junior high school students in Bandung amounted to 32 people of 7th grade. Data collection in the form of environmental literacy test instrument consist of four components of environmental literacy that is (1) Knowledge, (2) Competencies (Cognitive Skill), (3) Affective and (4) Environmentally Responsible Behavior. The results show that the student’s environmental literacy ability is improved after using integrated science teaching materials. An increase in the medium category is occurring in the knowledge (N-gain=46%) and cognitive skill (N-gain=31%), while the increase in the low category occurs in the affective component (N-gain=25%) and behaviour (N-gain=24%). The conclusions of this study as a whole the improvement of students’ environmental literacy by using integrated science teaching material is in the medium category (N-gain=34%).

Test Anxiety Among College Students With Specific Reading Disability (Dyslexia): Nonverbal Ability and Working Memory as Predictors.

PubMed

Nelson, Jason M; Lindstrom, Will; Foels, Patricia A

2015-01-01

Test anxiety and its correlates were examined with college students with and without specific reading disability (RD; n = 50 in each group). Results indicated that college students with RD reported higher test anxiety than did those without RD, and the magnitude of these differences was in the medium range on two test anxiety scales. Relative to college students without RD, up to 5 times as many college students with RD reported clinically significant test anxiety. College students with RD reported significantly higher cognitively based test anxiety than physically based test anxiety. Reading skills, verbal ability, and processing speed were not correlated with test anxiety. General intelligence, nonverbal ability, and working memory were negatively correlated with test anxiety, and the magnitude of these correlations was medium to large. When these three cognitive constructs were considered together in multiple regression analyses, only working memory and nonverbal ability emerged as significant predictors and varied based on the test anxiety measure. Implications for assessment and intervention are discussed. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2013.

Predictive Performance Assessment: Trait and State Dimensions Should not be Confused

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pattyn, N.; Migeotte, P.-F.; Morais, J.; Cluydts, R.; Soetens, E.; Meeusen, R.; de Schutter, G.; Nederhof, E.; Kolinsky, R.

2008-06-01

One of the major aims of performance investigation is to obtain a measure predicting real-life performance, in order to prevent consequences of a potential decrement. Whereas the predictive validity of such assessment has been extensively described for long-term outcomes, as is the case for testing in selection context, equivalent evidence is lacking regarding the short-term predictive value of cognitive testing, i.e., whether these results reflect real-life performance on an immediately subsequent task. In this series of experiments, we investigated both medium-term and short-term predictive value of psychophysiological testing with regard to real-life performance in two operational settings: military student pilots with regard to their success on an evaluation flight, and special forces candidates with regard to their performance on their training course. Our results showed some relationships between test performance and medium-term outcomes. However, no short-term predictive value could be identified for cognitive testing, despite the fact physiological data showed interesting trends. We recommend a critical distinction between "state" and "trait" dimensions of performance with regard to the predictive value of testing.

Ability or Access-Ability: Differential Item Functioning of Items on Alternate Performance-Based Assessment Tests for Students with Visual Impairments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zebehazy, Kim T.; Zigmond, Naomi; Zimmerman, George J.

2012-01-01

Introduction: This study investigated differential item functioning (DIF) of test items on Pennsylvania's Alternate System of Assessment (PASA) for students with visual impairments and severe cognitive disabilities and what the reasons for the differences may be. Methods: The Wilcoxon signed ranks test was used to analyze differences in the scores…

Implementation of an Intensive Treatment Protocol for Adolescents with Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Angelosante, Aleta G.; Pincus, Donna B.; Whitton, Sarah W.; Cheron, Daniel; Pian, Jessica

2009-01-01

New and innovative ways of implementing cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) are required to address the varied needs of youth with anxiety disorders. Brief treatment formats may be useful in assisting teens to return to healthy functioning quickly and can make treatment more accessible for those who may not have local access to providers of CBT.…

Access to Institutional Resources as a Measure of Social Exclusion: Relations with Family Process and Cognitive Development in the Context of Immigration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yoshikawa, Hirokazu; Godfrey, Erin B.; Rivera, Ann C.

2008-01-01

Few studies have examined how experiences associated with being an undocumented immigrant parent affects children's development. In this article, the authors apply social exclusion theory to examine how access to institutional resources that require identification may matter for parents and children in immigrant families. As hypothesized, groups…

An Investigation of the Individual Differences in Cognitive Factors that Contribute to Bilingual Lexical Disambiguation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Areas da Luz Fontes, Ana B.

2010-01-01

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of working memory capacity, access to subordinate meanings of L1 homonyms and degree of cross-language activation on the access to subordinate meanings of L2 homonyms. In Experiment 1, Spanish-English bilinguals completed a word recognition task which assessed how quickly and accurately…

Channel access schemes and fiber optic configurations for integrated-services local area networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nassehi, M. Mehdi

1987-03-01

Local Area Networks are in common use for data communications and have enjoyed great success. Recently, there is a growing interest in using a single network to support many applications in addition to traditional data traffic. These additional applications introduce new requirements in terms of volume of traffic and real-time delivery of data which are not met by existing networks. To satisfy these requirements, a high-bandwidth tranmission medium, such as fiber optics, and a distributed channel access scheme for the efficient sharing of the bandwidth among the various applications are needed. As far as the throughput-delay requirements of the various application are concerned, a network structure along with a distributed channel access are proposed which incorporate appropriate scheduling policies for the transmission of outstanding messages on the network. A dynamic scheduling policy was devised which outperforms all existing policies in terms of minimizing the expected cost per message. A broadcast mechanism was devised for the efficient dissemination of all relevant information. Fiber optic technology is considered for the high-bandwidth transmisison medium.

Channel access schemes and fiber optic configurations for integrated-services local area networks. Ph.D. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nassehi, M. Mehdi

1987-01-01

Local Area Networks are in common use for data communications and have enjoyed great success. Recently, there is a growing interest in using a single network to support many applications in addition to traditional data traffic. These additional applications introduce new requirements in terms of volume of traffic and real-time delivery of data which are not met by existing networks. To satisfy these requirements, a high-bandwidth tranmission medium, such as fiber optics, and a distributed channel access scheme for the efficient sharing of the bandwidth among the various applications are needed. As far as the throughput-delay requirements of the various application are concerned, a network structure along with a distributed channel access are proposed which incorporate appropriate scheduling policies for the transmission of outstanding messages on the network. A dynamic scheduling policy was devised which outperforms all existing policies in terms of minimizing the expected cost per message. A broadcast mechanism was devised for the efficient dissemination of all relevant information. Fiber optic technology is considered for the high-bandwidth transmisison medium.

Public computing options for individuals with cognitive impairments: survey outcomes.

PubMed

Fox, Lynn Elizabeth; Sohlberg, McKay Moore; Fickas, Stephen; Lemoncello, Rik; Prideaux, Jason

2009-09-01

To examine availability and accessibility of public computing for individuals with cognitive impairment (CI) who reside in the USA. A telephone survey was administered as a semi-structured interview to 145 informants representing seven types of public facilities across three geographically distinct regions using a snowball sampling technique. An Internet search of wireless (Wi-Fi) hotspots supplemented the survey. Survey results showed the availability of public computer terminals and Internet hotspots was greatest in the urban sample, followed by the mid-sized and rural cities. Across seven facility types surveyed, libraries had the highest percentage of access barriers, including complex queue procedures, login and password requirements, and limited technical support. University assistive technology centres and facilities with a restricted user policy, such as brain injury centres, had the lowest incidence of access barriers. Findings suggest optimal outcomes for people with CI will result from a careful match of technology and the user that takes into account potential barriers and opportunities to computing in an individual's preferred public environments. Trends in public computing, including the emergence of widespread Wi-Fi and limited access to terminals that permit auto-launch applications, should guide development of technology designed for use in public computing environments.

Medium-Chain Triglycerides in Combination with Leucine and Vitamin D Benefit Cognition in Frail Elderly Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

PubMed

Abe, Sakiko; Ezaki, Osamu; Suzuki, Motohisa

2017-01-01

The combined supplementation of medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), L-leucine-rich amino acids, and cholecalciferol (vitamin D 3 ) increase muscle strength and function in frail elderly individuals. However, their effects on cognition are unknown. We enrolled 38 elderly nursing home residents (mean age±SD, 86.6±4.8 y) in a 3-mo randomized, controlled, parallel group trial. The participants were randomly allocated to 3 groups: the first group received a L-leucine (1.2 g)- and cholecalciferol (20 μg)-enriched supplement with 6 g of MCT (LD+MCT); the second group received the same supplement with 6 g of long-chain triglycerides (LD+LCT); and the third group did not receive any supplements (control). Cognition was assessed at baseline and after the 3-mo intervention. The difference in changes among the groups was assessed with ANCOVA, adjusting for age and the baseline value as covariates. After 3 mo, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score in the LD+MCT group increased by 10.6% (from 16.6 to 18.4 points, p<0.05). After 3 mo, the Nishimura geriatric rating scale for mental status (NM scale) score in the LD+MCT group increased by 30.6% (from 24.6 to 32.2 points, p<0.001), whereas that in the LD+LCT and control groups decreased by 11.2% (from 31.2 to 27.7 points, p<0.05) and 26.1% (from 27.2 to 20.1 points, p<0.001), respectively. The combined supplementation of MCTs (6 g), L-leucine-rich amino acids, and cholecalciferol may improve cognitive function in frail elderly individuals.

Multiple Past Concussions Are Associated with Ongoing Post-Concussive Symptoms but Not Cognitive Impairment in Active-Duty Army Soldiers.

PubMed

Dretsch, Michael N; Silverberg, Noah D; Iverson, Grant L

2015-09-01

The extent to which multiple past concussions are associated with lingering symptoms or mental health problems in military service members is not well understood. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between lifetime concussion history, cognitive functioning, general health, and psychological health in a large sample of fit-for-duty U.S. Army soldiers preparing for deployment. Data on 458 active-duty soldiers were collected and analyzed. A computerized cognitive screening battery (CNS-Vital Signs(®)) was used to assess complex attention (CA), reaction time (RT), processing speed (PS), cognitive flexibility (CF), and memory. Health questionnaires included the Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory (NSI), PTSD Checklist-Military Version (PCL-M), Zung Depression and Anxiety Scales (ZDS; ZAS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and the Alcohol Use and Dependency Identification Test (AUDIT). Soldiers with a history of multiple concussions (i.e., three or more concussions) had significantly greater post-concussive symptom scores compared with those with zero (d=1.83, large effect), one (d=0.64, medium effect), and two (d=0.64, medium effect) prior concussions. Although the group with three or more concussions also reported more traumatic stress symptoms, the results revealed that traumatic stress was a mediator between concussions and post-concussive symptom severity. There were no significant differences on neurocognitive testing between the number of concussions. These results add to the accumulating evidence suggesting that most individuals recover from one or two prior concussions, but there is a greater risk for ongoing symptoms if one exceeds this number of injuries.

Subjective Memory Complaints in healthy older adults: Fewer complaints associated with depression and perceived health, more complaints also associated with lower memory performance.

PubMed

Montejo Carrasco, Pedro; Montenegro-Peña, Mercedes; López-Higes, Ramón; Estrada, Eduardo; Prada Crespo, David; Montejo Rubio, Christian; García Azorín, David

(i) To analyze if general cognitive performance, perceived health and depression are predictors of Subjective Memory Complaints (SMC) contrasting their effect sizes; (ii) to analyze the relationship between SMC and objective memory by comparing a test that measures memory in daily life and a classical test of associated pairs; (iii) to examine if different subgroups, formed according to the MFE score, might have different behaviors regarding the studied variables. Sample: 3921 community-dwelling people (mean age 70.41±4.70) without cognitive impairment. Consecutive non-probabilistic recruitment. Mini Cognitive Exam (MCE), daily memory Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test (RBMT), Paired Associates Learning (PAL), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), Nottingham Health Profile (NHP). Dependent variable: Memory Failures Everyday Questionnaire (MFE). Two different dimensions to explain SMC were found: One subjective (MFE, GDS, NHP) and other objective (RBMT, PAL, MCE), the first more strongly associated with SMC. SMC predictors were NHP, GDS, RBMT and PAL, in this order according to effect size. Considering MFE scores we subdivided the sample into three groups (low, medium, higher scores): low MFE group was associated with GDS; medium, with GDS, NPH and RBMT, and higher, with age as well. Effect size for every variable tended to grow as the MFE score was higher. SMC were associated with both health profile and depressive symptoms and, in a lesser degree, with memory and overall cognitive performance. In people with fewer SMC, these are only associated with depressive symptomatology. More SMC are associated with depression, poor health perception and lower memory. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Changing Drug Culture: Use and Misuse of Cognition-Enhancing Drugs.

PubMed

Albertson, Timothy E; Chenoweth, James A; Colby, Daniel K; Sutter, Mark E

2016-02-01

There has been an increase in diagnoses of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), with approximately 9% of American children now diagnosed, and a concomitant increase in the use of stimulants (eg, amphetamines, methylphenidate) to manage ADHD. Nonstimulant drugs (eg, atomoxetine, guanfacine, clonidine) also are used, but most patients are treated with stimulants. All of these drugs are effective for management of ADHD, and, overall, use in childhood does not seem to increase the risk of substance abuse later in life. However, widespread use has resulted in prescription stimulants being diverted for nonmedical uses, particularly by high school and college students seeking cognitive enhancement for improved academic performance. Studies of ADHD drugs for improving cognition in patients without ADHD have mixed results, and any improvements appear to be modest and short-term. Other substances also are used for cognitive enhancement. Drugs for Alzheimer disease are being used for mild cognitive impairment, though there is no evidence that they are effective. Creatine may have mild cognition-enhancing properties, but study results often are confounded by the addition of exercise, which by itself is thought to improve cognition. There is no evidence that other supplements, such as vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids, improve cognitive function. Written permission from the American Academy of Family Physicians is required for reproduction of this material in whole or in part in any form or medium.

The evolution of language and thought.

PubMed

Lieberman, Philip

2016-06-20

Language primarily evolved as a vocal medium that transmits the attributes of human culture and the necessities of daily communication. Human language has a long, complex evolutionary history. Language also serves as an instrument of thought since it has become evident that in the course of this process neural circuits that initially evolved to regulate motor control, motor responses to external events, and ultimately talking were recycled to serve tasks such as working memory, cognitive flexibility linguistic tasks such as comprehending distinctions in meaning conveyed by syntax. This precludes the human brain possessing an organ devoted exclusively to language, such as the Faculty of Language proposed by Chomsky (1972, 2012). In essence like Fodor's (1983) modular model, a restatement of archaic phrenological theories (Spurzheim, 1815). The subcortical basal ganglia can be traced back to early anurans. Although our knowledge of the neural circuits of the human brain is at a very early stage and incomplete, the findings of independent studies over the past 40 years, discussed here, have identified circuits linking the basal ganglia with various areas of prefrontal cortex, posterior cortical regions and other subcortical structures. These circuits are active in linguistic tasks such as lexical access, comprehending distinctions in meaning conferred by syntax and the range of higher cognitive tasks involving executive control and play a critical role in conferring cognitive flexibility. The cingulate cortex which appeared in Therapsids, transitional mammal-like reptiles who lived in age of the dinosaurs, most likely enhanced mother-infant interaction, contributing to success in the Darwinian (1859) "Struggle for Existence" - the survival of progeny. They continue to fill that role in present-day mammals as well as being involved in controlling laryngeal phonation during speech and directing attention (Newman & MacLean, 1983; Cummings, 1993". The cerebellum and hippocampus, archaic structures, play role in cognition. Natural selection acting on genetic and epigenetic events in the last 500,000 years enhanced human cognitive and linguistic capabilities. It is clear that human language did not suddenly come into being 70,000 to 100,000 years as Noam Chomsky (Bolhuis et al., 2014) and others claim. The archeological record and analyses of fossil and genetic evidence shows that Neanderthals, who diverged from the human line at least 500,000 years ago possessed some form of language. Nor did the human population suddenly acquire the capability to relate two seemingly unrelated concepts by means of associative learning 100,000 years ago, re-coined "Merge" by Chomsky and his adherents, Merge supposedly is the key to syntax but associative learning, one of the cognitive processes by which children learn languages and the myriad complexities of their cultures, is a capability present in dogs and virtually all animals.

78 FR 20918 - Consumer Advisory Committee

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-08

... Neill Call For Action--Shirley Rooker Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities--Enid Ablowitz... 005202376. To learn about the features of Accessible Event, consult its User's Guide at: http...

The Relationship between Levels of Education of Entrepreneurs and Their Business Success: A Study of the Province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peters, Ricardo M.; Brijlal, Pradeep

2011-01-01

The small, medium and micro enterprise (SMME) sector has been widely recognized as an engine of economic growth in South Africa. The implementation of the National Small Business Strategy (NSBS) in 1995 established important objectives for the sector to address such problems as lack of access to markets and procurement, lack of access to finance…

Teaching Surgical Procedures with Movies: Tips for High-quality Video Clips.

PubMed

Jacquemart, Mathieu; Bouletreau, Pierre; Breton, Pierre; Mojallal, Ali; Sigaux, Nicolas

2016-09-01

Video must now be considered as a precious tool for learning surgery. However, the medium does present production challenges, and currently, quality movies are not always accessible. We developed a series of 7 surgical videos and made them available on a publicly accessible internet website. Our videos have been viewed by thousands of people worldwide. High-quality educational movies must respect strategic and technical points to be reliable.

A review of accessibility of administrative healthcare databases in the Asia-Pacific region.

PubMed

Milea, Dominique; Azmi, Soraya; Reginald, Praveen; Verpillat, Patrice; Francois, Clement

2015-01-01

We describe and compare the availability and accessibility of administrative healthcare databases (AHDB) in several Asia-Pacific countries: Australia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, China, Thailand, and Malaysia. The study included hospital records, reimbursement databases, prescription databases, and data linkages. Databases were first identified through PubMed, Google Scholar, and the ISPOR database register. Database custodians were contacted. Six criteria were used to assess the databases and provided the basis for a tool to categorise databases into seven levels ranging from least accessible (Level 1) to most accessible (Level 7). We also categorised overall data accessibility for each country as high, medium, or low based on accessibility of databases as well as the number of academic articles published using the databases. Fifty-four administrative databases were identified. Only a limited number of databases allowed access to raw data and were at Level 7 [Medical Data Vision EBM Provider, Japan Medical Data Centre (JMDC) Claims database and Nihon-Chouzai Pharmacy Claims database in Japan, and Medicare, Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), Centre for Health Record Linkage (CHeReL), HealthLinQ, Victorian Data Linkages (VDL), SA-NT DataLink in Australia]. At Levels 3-6 were several databases from Japan [Hamamatsu Medical University Database, Medi-Trend, Nihon University School of Medicine Clinical Data Warehouse (NUSM)], Australia [Western Australia Data Linkage (WADL)], Taiwan [National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD)], South Korea [Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA)], and Malaysia [United Nations University (UNU)-Casemix]. Countries were categorised as having a high level of data accessibility (Australia, Taiwan, and Japan), medium level of accessibility (South Korea), or a low level of accessibility (Thailand, China, Malaysia, and Singapore). In some countries, data may be available but accessibility was restricted based on requirements by data custodians. Compared with previous research, this study describes the landscape of databases in the selected countries with more granularity using an assessment tool developed for this purpose. A high number of databases were identified but most had restricted access, preventing their potential use to support research. We hope that this study helps to improve the understanding of the AHDB landscape, increase data sharing and database research in Asia-Pacific countries.

Cognitive-behavioral and pharmacological interventions for premenstrual syndrome or premenstrual dysphoric disorder: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

Kleinstäuber, Maria; Witthöft, Michael; Hiller, Wolfgang

2012-09-01

The current meta-analysis investigates the efficacy of psychotherapeutic interventions and psychopharmacotherapy for premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Based on a multiple-phase literature search, controlled trials were selected according to a priori defined inclusion criteria. Data were extracted on the basis of a standardized coding scheme. The standardized weighted mean difference (random effects model) was used as effect size index. Dependent on outcome, 22 included studies obtained small to medium effect sizes for cognitive-behavioral interventions (range: d(+) = 0.24-0.70) and for serotonergic antidepressants (range: d(+) = 0.29-0.58), at post-assessment. Follow-ups were performed only in studies of cognitive-behavioral interventions (range: d(+) = 0.46-0.74). There was no evidence of a publication bias. For both cognitive-behavioral interventions and serotonergic antidepressants, efficacy in treatment of PMS was found to not be satisfactory. Future research should possibly focus more on a combination of both approaches.

Empirical assessment of published effect sizes and power in the recent cognitive neuroscience and psychology literature.

PubMed

Szucs, Denes; Ioannidis, John P A

2017-03-01

We have empirically assessed the distribution of published effect sizes and estimated power by analyzing 26,841 statistical records from 3,801 cognitive neuroscience and psychology papers published recently. The reported median effect size was D = 0.93 (interquartile range: 0.64-1.46) for nominally statistically significant results and D = 0.24 (0.11-0.42) for nonsignificant results. Median power to detect small, medium, and large effects was 0.12, 0.44, and 0.73, reflecting no improvement through the past half-century. This is so because sample sizes have remained small. Assuming similar true effect sizes in both disciplines, power was lower in cognitive neuroscience than in psychology. Journal impact factors negatively correlated with power. Assuming a realistic range of prior probabilities for null hypotheses, false report probability is likely to exceed 50% for the whole literature. In light of our findings, the recently reported low replication success in psychology is realistic, and worse performance may be expected for cognitive neuroscience.

Evidence for Cognitive Remediation Therapy in Young People with Anorexia Nervosa: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of the Literature.

PubMed

Tchanturia, Kate; Giombini, Lucia; Leppanen, Jenni; Kinnaird, Emma

2017-07-01

Cognitive remediation therapy (CRT) for eating disorders has demonstrated promising findings in adult age groups, with randomised treatment trials and systematic reviews demonstrating medium to large effect sizes in improved cognitive performance. In recent years, several case series have been conducted for young people with anorexia nervosa, but these findings have not been synthesised in the form of a systematic review. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the evidence for the efficacy of CRT in child and adolescent age groups. Nine studies were identified, with a subsequent meta-analysis suggesting improvements in cognitive performance with small effect sizes. Patient feedback was positive, with low dropout rates. These findings suggest that CRT has potential as a supplementary treatment for young people with anorexia nervosa, warranting further investigation using randomised treatment trials. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.

Cognition and Synaptic-Plasticity Related Changes in Aged Rats Supplemented with 8- and 10-Carbon Medium Chain Triglycerides.

PubMed

Wang, Dongmei; Mitchell, Ellen S

2016-01-01

Brain glucose hypometabolism is a common feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Previous studies have shown that cognition is improved by providing AD patients with an alternate energy source: ketones derived from either ketogenic diet or supplementation with medium chain triglycerides (MCT). Recently, data on the neuroprotective capacity of MCT-derived medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) suggest 8-carbon and 10-carbon MCFA may have cognition-enhancing properties which are not related to ketone production. We investigated the effect of 8 week treatment with MCT8, MCT10 or sunflower oil supplementation (5% by weight of chow diet) in 21 month old Wistar rats. Both MCT diets increased ketones plasma similarly compared to control diet, but MCT diets did not increase ketones in the brain. Treatment with MCT10, but not MCT8, significantly improved novel object recognition memory compared to control diet, while social recognition increased in both MCT groups. MCT8 and MCT10 diets decreased weight compared to control diet, where MCFA plasma levels were higher in MCT10 groups than in MCT8 groups. Both MCT diets increased IRS-1 (612) phosphorylation and decreased S6K phosphorylation (240/244) but only MCT10 increased Akt phosphorylation (473). MCT8 supplementation increased synaptophysin, but not PSD-95, in contrast MCT10 had no effect on either synaptic marker. Expression of Ube3a, which controls synaptic stability, was increased by both MCT diets. Cortex transcription via qPCR showed that immediate early genes related to synaptic plasticity (arc, plk3, junb, egr2, nr4a1) were downregulated by both MCT diets while MCT8 additionally down-regulated fosb and egr1 but upregulated grin1 and gba2. These results demonstrate that treatment of 8- and 10-carbon length MCTs in aged rats have slight differential effects on synaptic stability, protein synthesis and behavior that may be independent of brain ketone levels.

Curling Up With a Good E-Book: Mother-Child Shared Story Reading on Screen or Paper Affects Embodied Interaction and Warmth

PubMed Central

Yuill, Nicola; Martin, Alex F.

2016-01-01

This study compared changes in cognitive, affective, and postural aspects of interaction during shared mother and child book reading on screen and on paper. Readers commonly express strong preferences for reading on paper, but several studies have shown marginal, if any, effects of text medium on cognitive outcomes such as recall. Shared reading with a parent is an engaging, affective and embodied experience across time, as well as a cognitive task, so it is important to understand how paper vs. screen affects broader aspects of these shared experiences. Mid-childhood sees a steep rise in screen use alongside a shift from shared to independent reading. We assessed how the medium of paper or screen might alter children’s shared reading experiences at this transitional age. Twenty-four 7- to 9-year-old children and their mothers were videotaped sharing a story book for 8 min in each of four conditions: mother or child as reader, paper, or tablet screen as medium. We rated videotapes for interaction warmth and child engagement by minute and analyzed dyadic postural synchrony, mothers’ commentaries and quality of children’s recall, also interviewing participants about their experiences of reading and technology. We found no differences in recall quality but interaction warmth was lower for screen than for paper, and dropped over time, notably when children read on screen. Interactions also differed between mother-led and child-led reading. We propose that mother - child posture for paper reading supported more shared activity and argue that cultural affordances of screens, together with physical differences between devices, support different behaviors that affect shared engagement, with implications for the design and use of digital technology at home and at school. We advocate studying embodied and affective aspects of shared reading to understand the overall implications of screens in children’s transition to independent reading. PMID:28018283

Cognition and Synaptic-Plasticity Related Changes in Aged Rats Supplemented with 8- and 10-Carbon Medium Chain Triglycerides

PubMed Central

Wang, Dongmei; Mitchell, Ellen S.

2016-01-01

Brain glucose hypometabolism is a common feature of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Previous studies have shown that cognition is improved by providing AD patients with an alternate energy source: ketones derived from either ketogenic diet or supplementation with medium chain triglycerides (MCT). Recently, data on the neuroprotective capacity of MCT-derived medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) suggest 8-carbon and 10-carbon MCFA may have cognition-enhancing properties which are not related to ketone production. We investigated the effect of 8 week treatment with MCT8, MCT10 or sunflower oil supplementation (5% by weight of chow diet) in 21 month old Wistar rats. Both MCT diets increased ketones plasma similarly compared to control diet, but MCT diets did not increase ketones in the brain. Treatment with MCT10, but not MCT8, significantly improved novel object recognition memory compared to control diet, while social recognition increased in both MCT groups. MCT8 and MCT10 diets decreased weight compared to control diet, where MCFA plasma levels were higher in MCT10 groups than in MCT8 groups. Both MCT diets increased IRS-1 (612) phosphorylation and decreased S6K phosphorylation (240/244) but only MCT10 increased Akt phosphorylation (473). MCT8 supplementation increased synaptophysin, but not PSD-95, in contrast MCT10 had no effect on either synaptic marker. Expression of Ube3a, which controls synaptic stability, was increased by both MCT diets. Cortex transcription via qPCR showed that immediate early genes related to synaptic plasticity (arc, plk3, junb, egr2, nr4a1) were downregulated by both MCT diets while MCT8 additionally down-regulated fosb and egr1 but upregulated grin1 and gba2. These results demonstrate that treatment of 8- and 10-carbon length MCTs in aged rats have slight differential effects on synaptic stability, protein synthesis and behavior that may be independent of brain ketone levels. PMID:27517611

Curling Up With a Good E-Book: Mother-Child Shared Story Reading on Screen or Paper Affects Embodied Interaction and Warmth.

PubMed

Yuill, Nicola; Martin, Alex F

2016-01-01

This study compared changes in cognitive, affective, and postural aspects of interaction during shared mother and child book reading on screen and on paper. Readers commonly express strong preferences for reading on paper, but several studies have shown marginal, if any, effects of text medium on cognitive outcomes such as recall. Shared reading with a parent is an engaging, affective and embodied experience across time, as well as a cognitive task, so it is important to understand how paper vs. screen affects broader aspects of these shared experiences. Mid-childhood sees a steep rise in screen use alongside a shift from shared to independent reading. We assessed how the medium of paper or screen might alter children's shared reading experiences at this transitional age. Twenty-four 7- to 9-year-old children and their mothers were videotaped sharing a story book for 8 min in each of four conditions: mother or child as reader, paper, or tablet screen as medium. We rated videotapes for interaction warmth and child engagement by minute and analyzed dyadic postural synchrony, mothers' commentaries and quality of children's recall, also interviewing participants about their experiences of reading and technology. We found no differences in recall quality but interaction warmth was lower for screen than for paper, and dropped over time, notably when children read on screen. Interactions also differed between mother-led and child-led reading. We propose that mother - child posture for paper reading supported more shared activity and argue that cultural affordances of screens, together with physical differences between devices, support different behaviors that affect shared engagement, with implications for the design and use of digital technology at home and at school. We advocate studying embodied and affective aspects of shared reading to understand the overall implications of screens in children's transition to independent reading.

Longitudinal assessment of chemotherapy-induced changes in brain and cognitive functioning: A systematic review.

PubMed

Li, Mingmei; Caeyenberghs, Karen

2018-05-20

In addition to the burden of a life-threatening diagnosis, cancer patients are struggling with adverse side-effects from cancer treatment. Chemotherapy has been linked to an array of cognitive impairments and alterations in brain structure and function ("chemobrain"). In this review, we summarized the existing evidence that evaluate the changes in cognitive functioning and brain with chemotherapy, as assessed using structural and functional MRI-based techniques in a longitudinal design. This review followed the latest PRISMA guidelines using Embase, Medline, PsychINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science databases with date restrictions from 2012-2017. Fourteen research articles met the key inclusion criteria: (i) the studies involved adult cancer patients (mean age≥18); (ii) the use of chemotherapy in the treatment of cancer; (iii) pre-post assessment of behavioral and brain-based outcomes; and (iv) abstracts written in English. Effect sizes of subjective and objective cognitive impairments from the reviewed studies were estimated using Cohen's d or z-scores. We calculated percentage of mean change or effect sizes for main neuroimaging findings when data were available. Strength of the correlations between brain alterations and cognitive changes was obtained using squared correlation coefficients. We showed small to medium effect sizes on individual tests of attention, processing speed, verbal memory, and executive control; and medium effect sizes on self-report questionnaires. Neuroimaging data showed reduced grey matter density in cancer patients in frontal, parietal, and temporal regions. Changes in brain function (brain activation and cerebral blood flow) were observed with cancer across functional networks involving (pre)frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal, and cerebellar regions. Data from diffusion-weighted MRI suggested reduced white matter integrity involving the superior longitudinal fasciculus, corpus callosum, forceps major, and corona radiate, and altered structural connectivity across the whole brain network. Finally, we observed moderate-to-strong correlations between worsening cognitive function and morphological changes in frontal brain regions. While MRI is a powerful tool for detection of longitudinal brain changes in the 'chemobrain', the underlying biological mechanisms are still unclear. Continued work in this field will hopefully detect MRI metrics to be used as biomarkers to help guide cognitive treatment at the individual cancer patient level. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Perirhinal Cortex mGlu5 Receptor Activation Reduces Relapse to Methamphetamine Seeking by Restoring Novelty Salience

PubMed Central

Peters, Jamie; Scofield, Michael D; Ghee, Shannon M; Heinsbroek, Jasper A; Reichel, Carmela M

2016-01-01

Rats that have self-administered methamphetamine (meth) under long access, but not short access, conditions do not recognize novel objects. The perirhinal cortex is critical for novelty detection, and perirhinal metabotropic glutamate 5 receptors (mGlu5) are downregulated after long-access meth. The novel positive allosteric modulator (PAM) 1-(4-(2,4-difluorophenyl) piperazin-1-yl)-2-((4-fluorobenzyl)oxy)-ethanone, or DPFE, demonstrates improved solubility compared with other mGlu5 PAMs, thus allowing brain-site-specific pharmacological studies. Infusion of DPFE into perirhinal cortex restored novel object recognition in long-access meth rats. To investigate the impact of these cognitive enhancing effects on relapse, we tested the effects of DPFE infusions into perirhinal cortex on meth-seeking under two different test conditions. In the standard cue relapse test, perirhinal DPFE infusions did not alter meth-seeking in the presence of meth cues. However, in a novel cue relapse test, wherein animals were allowed to allocate responding between a novel cue and meth-conditioned cue, perirhinal DPFE infusions shifted the pattern of responding in long-access rats toward a profile resembling short-access rats, which respond equally for novel and meth cues. Perirhinal mGlu5 are thus a promising pharmacological target for the restoration of cognitive function in meth addicts. Targeting these receptors may also reduce relapse, particularly in situations where novel stimuli compete with conditioned stimuli for control over meth seeking. PMID:26365953

Citizen Science as a New Tool in Dog Cognition Research

PubMed Central

Stewart, Laughlin; MacLean, Evan L.; Ivy, David; Woods, Vanessa; Cohen, Eliot; Rodriguez, Kerri; McIntyre, Matthew; Mukherjee, Sayan; Call, Josep; Kaminski, Juliane; Miklósi, Ádám; Wrangham, Richard W.; Hare, Brian

2015-01-01

Family dogs and dog owners offer a potentially powerful way to conduct citizen science to answer questions about animal behavior that are difficult to answer with more conventional approaches. Here we evaluate the quality of the first data on dog cognition collected by citizen scientists using the Dognition.com website. We conducted analyses to understand if data generated by over 500 citizen scientists replicates internally and in comparison to previously published findings. Half of participants participated for free while the other half paid for access. The website provided each participant a temperament questionnaire and instructions on how to conduct a series of ten cognitive tests. Participation required internet access, a dog and some common household items. Participants could record their responses on any PC, tablet or smartphone from anywhere in the world and data were retained on servers. Results from citizen scientists and their dogs replicated a number of previously described phenomena from conventional lab-based research. There was little evidence that citizen scientists manipulated their results. To illustrate the potential uses of relatively large samples of citizen science data, we then used factor analysis to examine individual differences across the cognitive tasks. The data were best explained by multiple factors in support of the hypothesis that nonhumans, including dogs, can evolve multiple cognitive domains that vary independently. This analysis suggests that in the future, citizen scientists will generate useful datasets that test hypotheses and answer questions as a complement to conventional laboratory techniques used to study dog psychology. PMID:26376443

Citizen Science as a New Tool in Dog Cognition Research.

PubMed

Stewart, Laughlin; MacLean, Evan L; Ivy, David; Woods, Vanessa; Cohen, Eliot; Rodriguez, Kerri; McIntyre, Matthew; Mukherjee, Sayan; Call, Josep; Kaminski, Juliane; Miklósi, Ádám; Wrangham, Richard W; Hare, Brian

2015-01-01

Family dogs and dog owners offer a potentially powerful way to conduct citizen science to answer questions about animal behavior that are difficult to answer with more conventional approaches. Here we evaluate the quality of the first data on dog cognition collected by citizen scientists using the Dognition.com website. We conducted analyses to understand if data generated by over 500 citizen scientists replicates internally and in comparison to previously published findings. Half of participants participated for free while the other half paid for access. The website provided each participant a temperament questionnaire and instructions on how to conduct a series of ten cognitive tests. Participation required internet access, a dog and some common household items. Participants could record their responses on any PC, tablet or smartphone from anywhere in the world and data were retained on servers. Results from citizen scientists and their dogs replicated a number of previously described phenomena from conventional lab-based research. There was little evidence that citizen scientists manipulated their results. To illustrate the potential uses of relatively large samples of citizen science data, we then used factor analysis to examine individual differences across the cognitive tasks. The data were best explained by multiple factors in support of the hypothesis that nonhumans, including dogs, can evolve multiple cognitive domains that vary independently. This analysis suggests that in the future, citizen scientists will generate useful datasets that test hypotheses and answer questions as a complement to conventional laboratory techniques used to study dog psychology.

DRT accessibility tool : summary report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-01-01

Demand Response Transit (DRT) is a critical form of transportation for handicapped, low income, and small/ : medium sized communities. This type of service, which transports riders through an on-demand basis, is commonly : used in communities that ar...

Synthesis of Benzannulated Medium-ring Lactams via a Tandem Oxidative Dearomatization-Ring Expansion Reaction.

PubMed

Guney, Tezcan; Wenderski, Todd A; Boudreau, Matthew W; Tan, Derek S

2018-06-23

Medium-ring natural products exhibit diverse biological activities but such scaffolds are underrepresented in probe and drug discovery efforts due to the limitations of classical macrocyclization reactions. We report herein a tandem oxidative dearomatization-ring-expanding rearoma¬tization (ODRE) reaction that generates benzannulated medium-ring lactams directly from simple bicyclic substrates. The reaction accommodates diverse aryl substrates (haloarenes, aryl ethers, aryl amides, heterocycles) and strategic incorporation of a bridgehead alcohol generates a versatile ketone moiety in the products amenable to downstream modifications. Cheminformatic analysis indicates that these medium rings access regions of chemical space that overlap with related natural products and are distinct from synthetic drugs, setting the stage for their use in discovery screening against novel biological targets. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Undetected cognitive impairment and decision-making capacity in patients receiving hospice care.

PubMed

Burton, Cynthia Z; Twamley, Elizabeth W; Lee, Lana C; Palmer, Barton W; Jeste, Dilip V; Dunn, Laura B; Irwin, Scott A

2012-04-01

: Cognitive dysfunction is common in patients with advanced, life-threatening illness and can be attributed to a variety of factors (e.g., advanced age, opiate medication). Such dysfunction likely affects decisional capacity, which is a crucial consideration as the end-of-life approaches and patients face multiple choices regarding treatment, family, and estate planning. This study examined the prevalence of cognitive impairment and its impact on decision-making abilities among hospice patients with neither a chart diagnosis of a cognitive disorder nor clinically apparent cognitive impairment (e.g., delirium, unresponsiveness). : A total of 110 participants receiving hospice services completed a 1-hour neuropsychological battery, a measure of decisional capacity, and accompanying interviews. : In general, participants were mildly impaired on measures of verbal learning, verbal memory, and verbal fluency; 54% of the sample was classified as having significant, previously undetected cognitive impairment. These individuals performed significantly worse than the other participants on all neuropsychological and decisional capacity measures, with effect sizes ranging from medium to very large (0.43-2.70). A number of verbal abilities as well as global cognitive functioning significantly predicted decision-making capacity. : Despite an absence of documented or clinically obvious impairment, more than half of the sample had significant cognitive impairments. Assessment of cognition in hospice patients is warranted, including assessment of verbal abilities that may interfere with understanding or reasoning related to treatment decisions. Identification of patients at risk for impaired cognition and decision making may lead to effective interventions to improve decision making and honor the wishes of patients and families.

Social Desirability Bias in Smoking Cessation: Effects in the Laboratory and Field

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-16

and Child Health Journal, 2(2), 77-83. Bradburn, N., Rips, L., & Shevell, S. (1987). Answering autobiographical questions: the impact of memory ...how accessible smoking outcomes are in an individual’s memory . Research has shown that smokers tend to exhibit greater accessibility for positive...body of research that suggests that acute tobacco abstinence hinders cognitive functioning, such as attention, memory , information processing

Zap 'Em with Assistive Technology: Notetaking, Modified Materials, Assistive Writing Tools, References, Organizational Tools, Cognitive Assistance, Adapted Access.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lahm, Elizabeth A.; Morrissette, Sandra K.

This collection of materials describes different types of computer applications and software that can help students with disabilities. It contains information on: (1) Easy Access, a feature of the systems software on every Macintosh computer that allows use of the keypad instead of the mouse, options for slow keys, and options for sticky keys; (2)…

Navigating the Decision Space: Shared Medical Decision Making as Distributed Cognition.

PubMed

Lippa, Katherine D; Feufel, Markus A; Robinson, F Eric; Shalin, Valerie L

2017-06-01

Despite increasing prominence, little is known about the cognitive processes underlying shared decision making. To investigate these processes, we conceptualize shared decision making as a form of distributed cognition. We introduce a Decision Space Model to identify physical and social influences on decision making. Using field observations and interviews, we demonstrate that patients and physicians in both acute and chronic care consider these influences when identifying the need for a decision, searching for decision parameters, making actionable decisions Based on the distribution of access to information and actions, we then identify four related patterns: physician dominated; physician-defined, patient-made; patient-defined, physician-made; and patient-dominated decisions. Results suggests that (a) decision making is necessarily distributed between physicians and patients, (b) differential access to information and action over time requires participants to transform a distributed task into a shared decision, and (c) adverse outcomes may result from failures to integrate physician and patient reasoning. Our analysis unifies disparate findings in the medical decision-making literature and has implications for improving care and medical training.

A Novel Wireless Power Transfer-Based Weighed Clustering Cooperative Spectrum Sensing Method for Cognitive Sensor Networks.

PubMed

Liu, Xin

2015-10-30

In a cognitive sensor network (CSN), the wastage of sensing time and energy is a challenge to cooperative spectrum sensing, when the number of cooperative cognitive nodes (CNs) becomes very large. In this paper, a novel wireless power transfer (WPT)-based weighed clustering cooperative spectrum sensing model is proposed, which divides all the CNs into several clusters, and then selects the most favorable CNs as the cluster heads and allows the common CNs to transfer the received radio frequency (RF) energy of the primary node (PN) to the cluster heads, in order to supply the electrical energy needed for sensing and cooperation. A joint resource optimization is formulated to maximize the spectrum access probability of the CSN, through jointly allocating sensing time and clustering number. According to the resource optimization results, a clustering algorithm is proposed. The simulation results have shown that compared to the traditional model, the cluster heads of the proposed model can achieve more transmission power and there exists optimal sensing time and clustering number to maximize the spectrum access probability.

Weight Status, Parent Reaction, and Self-Concept in Five-Year-Old Girls

PubMed Central

Davison, Kirsten Krahnstoever; Birch, Leann Lipps

2008-01-01

Objective This study examined the relationship between weight status and self-concept in a sample of preschool-aged girls and whether parental concern about child overweight or restriction of access to food are associated with negative self-evaluations among girls. Method Participants were 197 5-year-old girls and their parents. Girls’ weight status (weight for height percentile) was calculated based on height and weight measurements. Girls’ self-concept was assessed using an individually administered questionnaire. Parents’ concern about their child’s weight status and restriction of their child’s access to food were assessed using a self-report questionnaire. Results Girls with higher weight status reported lower body esteem and lower perceived cognitive ability than did girls with lower weight status. Independent of girl’s weight status, higher paternal concern about child overweight was associated with lower perceived physical ability among girls; higher maternal concern about child overweight was associated with lower perceived physical and cognitive ability among girls. Finally, higher maternal restriction of girls’ access to foods was associated with lower perceived physical and cognitive ability among girls with higher weight status but not among girls with lower weight status. Conclusions At least as early as age 5 years, lower self-concept is noted among girls with higher weight status. In addition, parents’ concern about their child’s weight status and restriction of access to food are associated with negative self-evaluations among girls. Public health programs that raise parental awareness of childhood overweight without also providing constructive and blame-free alternatives for addressing child weight problems may be detrimental to children’s mental health. PMID:11134433

Lexical-Access Ability and Cognitive Predictors of Speech Recognition in Noise in Adult Cochlear Implant Users

PubMed Central

Smits, Cas; Merkus, Paul; Festen, Joost M.; Goverts, S. Theo

2017-01-01

Not all of the variance in speech-recognition performance of cochlear implant (CI) users can be explained by biographic and auditory factors. In normal-hearing listeners, linguistic and cognitive factors determine most of speech-in-noise performance. The current study explored specifically the influence of visually measured lexical-access ability compared with other cognitive factors on speech recognition of 24 postlingually deafened CI users. Speech-recognition performance was measured with monosyllables in quiet (consonant-vowel-consonant [CVC]), sentences-in-noise (SIN), and digit-triplets in noise (DIN). In addition to a composite variable of lexical-access ability (LA), measured with a lexical-decision test (LDT) and word-naming task, vocabulary size, working-memory capacity (Reading Span test [RSpan]), and a visual analogue of the SIN test (text reception threshold test) were measured. The DIN test was used to correct for auditory factors in SIN thresholds by taking the difference between SIN and DIN: SRTdiff. Correlation analyses revealed that duration of hearing loss (dHL) was related to SIN thresholds. Better working-memory capacity was related to SIN and SRTdiff scores. LDT reaction time was positively correlated with SRTdiff scores. No significant relationships were found for CVC or DIN scores with the predictor variables. Regression analyses showed that together with dHL, RSpan explained 55% of the variance in SIN thresholds. When controlling for auditory performance, LA, LDT, and RSpan separately explained, together with dHL, respectively 37%, 36%, and 46% of the variance in SRTdiff outcome. The results suggest that poor verbal working-memory capacity and to a lesser extent poor lexical-access ability limit speech-recognition ability in listeners with a CI. PMID:29205095

Teaching Surgical Procedures with Movies: Tips for High-quality Video Clips

PubMed Central

Jacquemart, Mathieu; Bouletreau, Pierre; Breton, Pierre; Mojallal, Ali

2016-01-01

Summary: Video must now be considered as a precious tool for learning surgery. However, the medium does present production challenges, and currently, quality movies are not always accessible. We developed a series of 7 surgical videos and made them available on a publicly accessible internet website. Our videos have been viewed by thousands of people worldwide. High-quality educational movies must respect strategic and technical points to be reliable. PMID:27757342

Quantum internet using code division multiple access

PubMed Central

Zhang, Jing; Liu, Yu-xi; Özdemir, Şahin Kaya; Wu, Re-Bing; Gao, Feifei; Wang, Xiang-Bin; Yang, Lan; Nori, Franco

2013-01-01

A crucial open problem inS large-scale quantum networks is how to efficiently transmit quantum data among many pairs of users via a common data-transmission medium. We propose a solution by developing a quantum code division multiple access (q-CDMA) approach in which quantum information is chaotically encoded to spread its spectral content, and then decoded via chaos synchronization to separate different sender-receiver pairs. In comparison to other existing approaches, such as frequency division multiple access (FDMA), the proposed q-CDMA can greatly increase the information rates per channel used, especially for very noisy quantum channels. PMID:23860488

Settlement Relocation Modeling: Reacting to Merapi’s Eruption Incident

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pramitasari, A.; Buchori, I.

2018-02-01

Merapi eruption has made severe damages in Central Java Province. Klaten was one of the most affected area, specifically in Balerante Village. This research is made to comprehend GIS model on finding alternative locations for impacted settlement in hazardous zones of eruption. The principal objective of the research study is to identify and analyze physical condition, community characteristics, and local government regulation related to settlements relocation plan for impacted area of eruption. The output is location map which classified into four categories, i.e. not available, available with low accessibility, available with medium accessibility, and available with high accessibility.

Neuronal medium that supports basic synaptic functions and activity of human neurons in vitro.

PubMed

Bardy, Cedric; van den Hurk, Mark; Eames, Tameji; Marchand, Cynthia; Hernandez, Ruben V; Kellogg, Mariko; Gorris, Mark; Galet, Ben; Palomares, Vanessa; Brown, Joshua; Bang, Anne G; Mertens, Jerome; Böhnke, Lena; Boyer, Leah; Simon, Suzanne; Gage, Fred H

2015-05-19

Human cell reprogramming technologies offer access to live human neurons from patients and provide a new alternative for modeling neurological disorders in vitro. Neural electrical activity is the essence of nervous system function in vivo. Therefore, we examined neuronal activity in media widely used to culture neurons. We found that classic basal media, as well as serum, impair action potential generation and synaptic communication. To overcome this problem, we designed a new neuronal medium (BrainPhys basal + serum-free supplements) in which we adjusted the concentrations of inorganic salts, neuroactive amino acids, and energetic substrates. We then tested that this medium adequately supports neuronal activity and survival of human neurons in culture. Long-term exposure to this physiological medium also improved the proportion of neurons that were synaptically active. The medium was designed to culture human neurons but also proved adequate for rodent neurons. The improvement in BrainPhys basal medium to support neurophysiological activity is an important step toward reducing the gap between brain physiological conditions in vivo and neuronal models in vitro.

Neuronal medium that supports basic synaptic functions and activity of human neurons in vitro

PubMed Central

Bardy, Cedric; van den Hurk, Mark; Eames, Tameji; Marchand, Cynthia; Hernandez, Ruben V.; Kellogg, Mariko; Gorris, Mark; Galet, Ben; Palomares, Vanessa; Brown, Joshua; Bang, Anne G.; Mertens, Jerome; Böhnke, Lena; Boyer, Leah; Simon, Suzanne; Gage, Fred H.

2015-01-01

Human cell reprogramming technologies offer access to live human neurons from patients and provide a new alternative for modeling neurological disorders in vitro. Neural electrical activity is the essence of nervous system function in vivo. Therefore, we examined neuronal activity in media widely used to culture neurons. We found that classic basal media, as well as serum, impair action potential generation and synaptic communication. To overcome this problem, we designed a new neuronal medium (BrainPhys basal + serum-free supplements) in which we adjusted the concentrations of inorganic salts, neuroactive amino acids, and energetic substrates. We then tested that this medium adequately supports neuronal activity and survival of human neurons in culture. Long-term exposure to this physiological medium also improved the proportion of neurons that were synaptically active. The medium was designed to culture human neurons but also proved adequate for rodent neurons. The improvement in BrainPhys basal medium to support neurophysiological activity is an important step toward reducing the gap between brain physiological conditions in vivo and neuronal models in vitro. PMID:25870293

Desensitization to media violence: links with habitual media violence exposure, aggressive cognitions, and aggressive behavior.

PubMed

Krahé, Barbara; Möller, Ingrid; Huesmann, L Rowell; Kirwil, Lucyna; Felber, Juliane; Berger, Anja

2011-04-01

This study examined the links between desensitization to violent media stimuli and habitual media violence exposure as a predictor and aggressive cognitions and behavior as outcome variables. Two weeks after completing measures of habitual media violence exposure, trait aggression, trait arousability, and normative beliefs about aggression, undergraduates (N = 303) saw a violent film clip and a sad or a funny comparison clip. Skin conductance level (SCL) was measured continuously, and ratings of anxious and pleasant arousal were obtained after each clip. Following the clips, participants completed a lexical decision task to measure accessibility of aggressive cognitions and a competitive reaction time task to measure aggressive behavior. Habitual media violence exposure correlated negatively with SCL during violent clips and positively with pleasant arousal, response times for aggressive words, and trait aggression, but it was unrelated to anxious arousal and aggressive responding during the reaction time task. In path analyses controlling for trait aggression, normative beliefs, and trait arousability, habitual media violence exposure predicted faster accessibility of aggressive cognitions, partly mediated by higher pleasant arousal. Unprovoked aggression during the reaction time task was predicted by lower anxious arousal. Neither habitual media violence usage nor anxious or pleasant arousal predicted provoked aggression during the laboratory task, and SCL was unrelated to aggressive cognitions and behavior. No relations were found between habitual media violence viewing and arousal in response to the sad and funny film clips, and arousal in response to the sad and funny clips did not predict aggressive cognitions or aggressive behavior on the laboratory task. This suggests that the observed desensitization effects are specific to violent content.

Desensitization to Media Violence: Links With Habitual Media Violence Exposure, Aggressive Cognitions, and Aggressive Behavior

PubMed Central

Krahé, Barbara; Möller, Ingrid; Huesmann, L. Rowell; Kirwil, Lucyna; Felber, Juliane; Berger, Anja

2015-01-01

This study examined the links between desensitization to violent media stimuli and habitual media violence exposure as a predictor and aggressive cognitions and behavior as outcome variables. Two weeks after completing measures of habitual media violence exposure, trait aggression, trait arousability, and normative beliefs about aggression, undergraduates (N = 303) saw a violent film clip and a sad or a funny comparison clip. Skin conductance level (SCL) was measured continuously, and ratings of anxious and pleasant arousal were obtained after each clip. Following the clips, participants completed a lexical decision task to measure accessibility of aggressive cognitions and a competitive reaction time task to measure aggressive behavior. Habitual media violence exposure correlated negatively with SCL during violent clips and positively with pleasant arousal, response times for aggressive words, and trait aggression, but it was unrelated to anxious arousal and aggressive responding during the reaction time task. In path analyses controlling for trait aggression, normative beliefs, and trait arousability, habitual media violence exposure predicted faster accessibility of aggressive cognitions, partly mediated by higher pleasant arousal. Unprovoked aggression during the reaction time task was predicted by lower anxious arousal. Neither habitual media violence usage nor anxious or pleasant arousal predicted provoked aggression during the laboratory task, and SCL was unrelated to aggressive cognitions and behavior. No relations were found between habitual media violence viewing and arousal in response to the sad and funny film clips, and arousal in response to the sad and funny clips did not predict aggressive cognitions or aggressive behavior on the laboratory task. This suggests that the observed desensitization effects are specific to violent content. PMID:21186935

Individual Cognitive Stimulation Therapy for dementia (iCST): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Improving the quality of care for people with dementia and their carers has become a national priority in many countries. Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) groups can be beneficial in improving cognition and quality of life for people with dementia. The aim of the current study is to develop and evaluate a home-based individual Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (iCST) programme for people with dementia which can be delivered by their family carer. Methods This multi-centre, pragmatic randomised controlled trial (RCT) will compare the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of iCST for people with dementia with a treatment as usual control group. The intervention consists of iCST sessions delivered by a carer for 30 minutes, 3 times a week over 25 weeks. For people with dementia the primary outcome measures are cognition assessed by the ADAS-Cog, and quality of life assessed by QoL-AD. For carers, quality of life using the SF-12 is the primary outcome measure. Using a 5% significance level, comparison of 306 participants will yield 80% power to detect an effect size of 0.35 for cognition as measured by the ADAS-Cog, and quality of life as measured by the QoL-AD. Quality of life for the carer will be measured using the SF-12. The trial will include a cost-effectiveness analysis from a public sector perspective. Discussion The UK Department of Health has recently stressed that improving access to psychological therapies is a national priority, but many people with dementia are unable to access psychological interventions. The development of a home-based individual version of CST will provide an easy to use, widely available therapy package that will be evaluated for effectiveness and cost-effectiveness in a multi centre RCT. PMID:22998983

The Digital Reading Path: Researching Modes and Multidirectionality with iPads

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simpson, Alyson; Walsh, Maureen; Rowsell, Jennifer

2013-01-01

This paper reports a study that examines the integration of tablet technologies such as iPads into literacy lessons to investigate how reading and meaning-making occur within this digital medium. Specifically in this paper, we discuss the concept of reading paths as applied to physical and cognitive planes of meaning-making. The paper reports on…

"The feasibility of implementing cognitive remediation for work in community based psychiatric rehabilitation programs": Correction to McGurk et al. (2017).

PubMed

2017-06-01

Reports an error in "The feasibility of implementing cognitive remediation for work in community based psychiatric rehabilitation programs" by Susan R. McGurk, Kim T. Mueser, Melanie A. Watkins, Carline M. Dalton and Heather Deutsch ( Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal , 2017[Mar], Vol 40[1], 79-86). In the article, the author order was incorrect due to a printer error. The online version of this article has been corrected. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2017-13255-004.) Objective: Adding cognitive remediation to vocational rehabilitation services improves cognitive and work functioning in people with serious mental illness, but despite interest, the uptake of cognitive programs into community services has been slow. This study evaluated the feasibility of implementing an empirically supported cognitive remediation program in routine rehabilitation services at 2 sites. The Thinking Skills for Work (TSW) program was adapted for implementation at 2 sites of a large psychiatric rehabilitation agency providing prevocational services, but not community-based vocational services, which were provided off-site. Agency staff were trained to deliver TSW to clients with work or educational goals. Cognitive assessments were conducted at baseline and posttreatment, with work and school activity tracked for 2 years. Eighty-three participants enrolled in TSW, of whom 79.5% completed at least 6 of the 24 computer cognitive exercise sessions (M = 16.7) over an average of 18 weeks. Participants improved significantly from baseline to posttreatment in verbal learning and memory, speed of processing, and overall cognitive functioning. Over the follow-up, 25.3% of participants worked and 47.0% were involved in work or school activity. Higher work rates were observed at the site where participants had easier access to vocational services. The results support the feasibility of implementing the TSW program by frontline staff in agencies providing psychiatric rehabilitation, and suggest that ease of access to vocational services may influence work outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

The use of visual and verbal means of communication across psychological distance.

PubMed

Amit, Elinor; Wakslak, Cheryl; Trope, Yaacov

2013-01-01

The current study investigated the effect of distance on medium preferences in interpersonal communication. Five experiments showed that people's preference for using pictures (vs. words) is increasingly higher when communicating with temporally, socially, or geographically proximal (vs. distal) others. In contrast, preference for words is increasingly higher when communicating with those who were distal. A sixth experiment showed that communication's medium influences distance preferences, such that people's preference for communicating a message to a distant (vs. proximal) target is greater for verbal compared with pictorial communications. A seventh experiment showed that recipients are more likely to heed a sender's suggestions when the medium and distance are congruent. These findings reflect the suitability of pictures for communication with proximal others and words with distal others. Implications of these findings for construal-level theory, perspective taking, embodied cognition, the development of language, and social skills with children are discussed.

Interaction effect of response medium and working memory capacity on creative idea generation

PubMed Central

Hao, Ning; Yuan, Huan; Cheng, Rui; Wang, Qing; Runco, Mark A.

2015-01-01

This study aimed to examine the interaction effect of response medium (i.e., write down ideas and orally report ideas) and working memory capacity (WMC) on creative idea generation. Participants (N = 90) with higher or lower WMC were asked to solve Alternative Uses Task (AUT) problems in the condition of writing down or speaking out ideas. The results showed that fluency of AUT performance was higher in the writing than in the speaking condition. Additionally, participants with higher WMC performed better on AUT fluency than those with lower WMC in the writing condition, while they showed no difference in the speaking condition. Moreover, level of cognitive demand fully mediated the effect of response medium on AUT fluency. Theoretically, these findings indicated the importance of WMC in creative idea generation, which supported the controlled-attention theory of creativity. Practical implications and future directions were discussed. PMID:26528227

Interaction effect of response medium and working memory capacity on creative idea generation.

PubMed

Hao, Ning; Yuan, Huan; Cheng, Rui; Wang, Qing; Runco, Mark A

2015-01-01

This study aimed to examine the interaction effect of response medium (i.e., write down ideas and orally report ideas) and working memory capacity (WMC) on creative idea generation. Participants (N = 90) with higher or lower WMC were asked to solve Alternative Uses Task (AUT) problems in the condition of writing down or speaking out ideas. The results showed that fluency of AUT performance was higher in the writing than in the speaking condition. Additionally, participants with higher WMC performed better on AUT fluency than those with lower WMC in the writing condition, while they showed no difference in the speaking condition. Moreover, level of cognitive demand fully mediated the effect of response medium on AUT fluency. Theoretically, these findings indicated the importance of WMC in creative idea generation, which supported the controlled-attention theory of creativity. Practical implications and future directions were discussed.

Lack of neural compensatory mechanisms of BDNF val66met met carriers and APOE E4 carriers in healthy aging, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's disease.

PubMed

Gomar, Jesus J; Conejero-Goldberg, Concepcion; Huey, Edward D; Davies, Peter; Goldberg, Terry E

2016-03-01

Compromises in compensatory neurobiologic mechanisms due to aging and/or genetic factors (i.e., APOE gene) may influence brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) val66met polymorphism effects on temporal lobe morphometry and memory performance. We studied 2 cohorts from Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative: 175 healthy subjects and 222 with prodromal and established Alzheimer's disease. Yearly structural magnetic resonance imaging and cognitive performance assessments were carried out over 3 years of follow-up. Both cohorts had similar BDNF Val/Val and Met allele carriers' (including both Val/Met and Met/Met individuals) distribution. In healthy subjects, a significant trend for thinner posterior cingulate and precuneus cortices was detected in Met carriers compared to Val homozygotes in APOE E4 carriers, with large and medium effect sizes, respectively. The mild cognitive impairment/Alzheimer's disease cohort showed a longitudinal decline in entorhinal thickness in BDNF Met carriers compared to Val/Val in APOE E4 carriers, with effect sizes ranging from medium to large. In addition, an effect of BDNF genotype was found in APOE E4 carriers for episodic memory (logical memory and ADAS-Cog) and semantic fluency measures, with Met carriers performing worse in all cases. These findings suggest a lack of compensatory mechanisms in BDNF Met carriers and APOE E4 carriers in healthy and pathological aging. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Educational Radio--Still Alive

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Engberg-Pedersen, H.

1976-01-01

Educational radio has some advantages over television--lower costs, easier accessibility for users, use as a medium for local democracy, use with separate visuals (radiovision), applicability to aural communications such as stories or music, and incorporation into multi-media projects. (LS)

Performance analysis and improvement of WPAN MAC for home networks.

PubMed

Mehta, Saurabh; Kwak, Kyung Sup

2010-01-01

The wireless personal area network (WPAN) is an emerging wireless technology for future short range indoor and outdoor communication applications. The IEEE 802.15.3 medium access control (MAC) is proposed to coordinate the access to the wireless medium among the competing devices, especially for short range and high data rate applications in home networks. In this paper we use analytical modeling to study the performance analysis of WPAN (IEEE 802.15.3) MAC in terms of throughput, efficient bandwidth utilization, and delay with various ACK policies under error channel condition. This allows us to introduce a K-Dly-ACK-AGG policy, payload size adjustment mechanism, and Improved Backoff algorithm to improve the performance of the WPAN MAC. Performance evaluation results demonstrate the impact of our improvements on network capacity. Moreover, these results can be very useful to WPAN application designers and protocol architects to easily and correctly implement WPAN for home networking.

Which benefits and limits derive from ESA membership for European Countries owning ;medium-sized; space agencies?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petroni, Giorgio; Bigliardi, Barbara; Galati, Francesco; Petroni, Alberto

2018-01-01

This study investigates the benefits and limits deriving from membership with ESA of six medium-sized space agencies in terms of strengthening and development (or not) of space technologies, as well as their contribution to the growth of productive activities and to the increase of services for citizens. This research contributes to the more general issue of the usefulness of space activities, not only for scientific or military-political purposes but also for economic and social development. Results show that, on the one hand, the membership with ESA has allowed smaller Countries to access space programs, to develop advanced technologies and to support the growth of their firms in some significant markets, but, on the other hand, the membership has also limited the access to space to few companies, without encouraging the broad dissemination of technological knowledge.

Performance Analysis and Improvement of WPAN MAC for Home Networks

PubMed Central

Mehta, Saurabh; Kwak, Kyung Sup

2010-01-01

The wireless personal area network (WPAN) is an emerging wireless technology for future short range indoor and outdoor communication applications. The IEEE 802.15.3 medium access control (MAC) is proposed to coordinate the access to the wireless medium among the competing devices, especially for short range and high data rate applications in home networks. In this paper we use analytical modeling to study the performance analysis of WPAN (IEEE 802.15.3) MAC in terms of throughput, efficient bandwidth utilization, and delay with various ACK policies under error channel condition. This allows us to introduce a K-Dly-ACK-AGG policy, payload size adjustment mechanism, and Improved Backoff algorithm to improve the performance of the WPAN MAC. Performance evaluation results demonstrate the impact of our improvements on network capacity. Moreover, these results can be very useful to WPAN application designers and protocol architects to easily and correctly implement WPAN for home networking. PMID:22319274

Dermatopathology education in the era of modern technology.

PubMed

Shahriari, Neda; Grant-Kels, Jane; Murphy, Michael J

2017-09-01

Continuing technological advances are inevitably impacting the study and practice of dermatopathology (DP). We are seeing the transition from glass slide microscopy to virtual microscopy, which is serving both as an accessible educational medium for medical students, residents and fellows in the form of online databases and atlases, as well as a research tool to better inform us regarding the development of visual diagnostic expertise. Expansion in mobile technology is simplifying slide image attainment and providing greater opportunities for phone- and tablet-based microscopy, including teledermatopathology instruction and consultation in resource-poor areas with lack of specialists. Easily accessible mobile and computer-based applications ("apps"), including myDermPath and Clearpath, are providing an interactive medium for DP instruction. The Internet and social networking sites are enabling rapid global communication of DP information and image-sharing, promoting collaborative diagnostic research and scholastic endeavors. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A Time Tree Medium Access Control for Energy Efficiency and Collision Avoidance in Wireless Sensor Networks

PubMed Central

Lee, Kilhung

2010-01-01

This paper presents a medium access control and scheduling scheme for wireless sensor networks. It uses time trees for sending data from the sensor node to the base station. For an energy efficient operation of the sensor networks in a distributed manner, time trees are built in order to reduce the collision probability and to minimize the total energy required to send data to the base station. A time tree is a data gathering tree where the base station is the root and each sensor node is either a relaying or a leaf node of the tree. Each tree operates in a different time schedule with possibly different activation rates. Through the simulation, the proposed scheme that uses time trees shows better characteristics toward burst traffic than the previous energy and data arrival rate scheme. PMID:22319270

Disparities -- Healthy People 2020

MedlinePlus

... health based on their racial or ethnic group; religion; socioeconomic status; gender; age; mental health; cognitive, sensory, ... Contact Us Site Map Accessibility Privacy Policy Disclaimers Freedom of Information Act Healthy People 2010 Archive Nondiscrimination ...

What Remains on Your Mind After You Are Done?: Flexible Regulation of Knowledge Accessibility

PubMed Central

Hedberg, Per H.; Higgins, E. Tory

2011-01-01

The accessibility of stored knowledge has been found to decline over time after activation without further stimulation. A special case is goal pursuit; goal-related knowledge remains accessible until goal completion, and then its accessibility declines rapidly. We hypothesized that after goal completion the decline in accessibility of goal-related knowledge would be especially rapid for strong promotion-focused individuals because their motivation to eagerly advance beyond the status quo would make accessibility of this knowledge an irrelevant detriment. We hypothesized an opposite effect for strongly prevention-predominant individuals because their motivation to vigilantly maintain a satisfactory state would make accessibility of this knowledge continually relevant. The results of two studies supported both these predicted moderators of accessibility change. Indeed, we found that for strongly prevention-predominant participants, knowledge accessibility actually increased over time after goal completion. We discuss how even basic cognitive mechanisms, like changes in accessibility, can be affected by general motivational concerns. PMID:21765541

Is asthma associated with cognitive impairments? A meta-analytic review.

PubMed

Irani, Farzin; Barbone, Jordan Mark; Beausoleil, Janet; Gerald, Lynn

2017-12-01

Asthma is a chronic disease with significant health burden and socioeconomic and racial/ethnic disparities related to diagnosis and treatment. Asthma primarily affects the lungs, but can impact brain function through direct and indirect mechanisms. Some studies have suggested that asthma negatively impacts cognition, while others have failed to identify asthma-related cognitive compromise. We aimed to conduct a meta-analysis of cognition in individuals with asthma compared to that in healthy controls. We also examined the impact of some key potential moderators. Data on cognitive outcome measures and sociodemographic, illness-related, and study-related variables were extracted from studies reporting cognitive test performance in individuals with asthma compared to that in controls. There was no evidence of publication bias. A random-effects model examining differences in task performance between 2017 individuals with asthma and 2131 healthy controls showed significant effects in the small to medium range. Cognitive deficits associated with asthma were global, with strongest effects on broader measures involving academic achievement and executive functioning, but with additional impact on processing speed, global intellect, attention, visuospatial functioning, language, learning, and memory. Severity of asthma was a key moderator, with greatest cognitive deficits associated with severe asthma. Cognitive burden was also greatest in asthma patients who were younger, males, from low socioeconomic backgrounds, and from racial/ethnic minorities. Effects were independent of type of population (child versus adult), type of study (norm-referenced versus control-referenced), or reported use of oral or inhaled corticosteroid medications. There is cognitive burden associated with asthma, particularly among vulnerable groups with severe asthma. This could be due to increased risk of intermittent cerebral hypoxia in severe asthma. The clinical need to assess cognition in individuals with asthma is underscored.

Preservation of cognitive and functional ability as markers of longevity.

PubMed

Schupf, Nicole; Costa, Rosann; Tang, Ming-Xin; Andrews, Howard; Tycko, Benjamin; Lee, Joseph H; Mayeux, Richard

2004-10-01

Longevity is a complex biological process for which the phenotypes have not been established. Preservation of cognitive and physical function may be important and preservation of these functions is, in part, inherited. We investigated the relation between rate of change in cognitive and functional abilities in probands and risk of death in their siblings. Probands were classified as showing no decline, slow, medium, or rapid rate of decline, based on the slope of change in cognitive and physical/functional factors over three or more assessments. Siblings of probands who did not decline on measures of memory, visuospatial/cognitive function or ADL skills were approximately half as likely to die as siblings of probands who had the most rapid decline. The reduction in risk of death in siblings of probands who did not decline in was primarily observed among siblings of probands who were older than 75 years, suggesting that genetic influences on life span may be greater at older ages. There was no association between probands' rate of change in language, IADL skills, upper or lower extremity mobility and risk of death in siblings. The results of the present study identify phenotypes associated with preserved cognitive and functional abilities which may serve as markers for longevity.

Screening of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) accessions to acidity and aluminium stresses

PubMed Central

Stoddard, Frederick L.

2017-01-01

Background Faba bean is an important starch-based protein crop produced worldwide. Soil acidity and aluminium toxicity are major abiotic stresses affecting its production, so in regions where soil acidity is a problem, there is a gap between the potential and actual productivity of the crop. Hence, we set out to evaluate acidity and aluminium tolerance in a range of faba bean germplasm using solution culture and pot experiments. Methods A set of 30 accessions was collected from regions where acidity and aluminium are or are not problems. The accessions were grown in solution culture and a subset of 10 was grown first in peat and later in perlite potting media. In solution culture, morphological parameters including taproot length, root regrowth and root tolerance index were measured, and in the pot experiments the key measurements were taproot length, plant biomass, chlorophyll concentration and stomatal conductance. Result Responses to acidity and aluminium were apparently independent. Accessions Dosha and NC 58 were tolerant to both stress. Kassa and GLA 1103 were tolerant to acidity showing less than 3% reduction in taproot length. Aurora and Messay were tolerant to aluminium. Babylon was sensitive to both, with up to 40% reduction in taproot length from acidity and no detectable recovery from Al3+ challenge. Discussion The apparent independence of the responses to acidity and aluminium is in agreement with the previous research findings, suggesting that crop accessions separately adapt to H+ and Al3+ toxicity as a result of the difference in the nature of soil parent materials where the accession originated. Differences in rankings between experiments were minor and attributable to heterogeneity of seed materials and the specific responses of accessions to the rooting media. Use of perlite as a potting medium offers an ideal combination of throughput, inertness of support medium, access to leaves for detection of their stress responses, and harvest of clean roots for evaluation of their growth. PMID:28194315

Screening of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) accessions to acidity and aluminium stresses.

PubMed

Belachew, Kiflemariam Y; Stoddard, Frederick L

2017-01-01

Faba bean is an important starch-based protein crop produced worldwide. Soil acidity and aluminium toxicity are major abiotic stresses affecting its production, so in regions where soil acidity is a problem, there is a gap between the potential and actual productivity of the crop. Hence, we set out to evaluate acidity and aluminium tolerance in a range of faba bean germplasm using solution culture and pot experiments. A set of 30 accessions was collected from regions where acidity and aluminium are or are not problems. The accessions were grown in solution culture and a subset of 10 was grown first in peat and later in perlite potting media. In solution culture, morphological parameters including taproot length, root regrowth and root tolerance index were measured, and in the pot experiments the key measurements were taproot length, plant biomass, chlorophyll concentration and stomatal conductance. Responses to acidity and aluminium were apparently independent. Accessions Dosha and NC 58 were tolerant to both stress. Kassa and GLA 1103 were tolerant to acidity showing less than 3% reduction in taproot length. Aurora and Messay were tolerant to aluminium. Babylon was sensitive to both, with up to 40% reduction in taproot length from acidity and no detectable recovery from Al 3+ challenge. The apparent independence of the responses to acidity and aluminium is in agreement with the previous research findings, suggesting that crop accessions separately adapt to H + and Al 3+ toxicity as a result of the difference in the nature of soil parent materials where the accession originated. Differences in rankings between experiments were minor and attributable to heterogeneity of seed materials and the specific responses of accessions to the rooting media. Use of perlite as a potting medium offers an ideal combination of throughput, inertness of support medium, access to leaves for detection of their stress responses, and harvest of clean roots for evaluation of their growth.

Cognitive diversity and moral enhancement.

PubMed

Gyngell, Chris; Easteal, Simon

2015-01-01

One debate in contemporary bioethics centers on whether the development of cognitive enhancement technologies (CETs) will hasten the need for moral enhancement. In this article we provide a new argument in favor of pursuing these enhancement technologies together. The widespread availability of CETs will likely increase population-level cognitive diversity. Different people will choose to enhance different aspects of their cognition, and some won't enhance themselves at all. Although this has the potential to be beneficial for society, it could also result in harms as people become more different from one another. Aspects of our moral psychology make it difficult for people to cooperate and coordinate actions with those who are very different from themselves. These moral failings could be targeted by moral enhancement technologies, which may improve cooperation among individuals. Moral enhancement technologies will therefore help society maximize the benefits, and reduce the costs, associated with widespread access to cognitive enhancements.

Adolescent Neurodevelopment of Cognitive Control and Risk-taking in Negative Family Contexts

PubMed Central

McCormick, Ethan M.; Qu, Yang; Telzer, Eva H.

2015-01-01

Adolescents have an increased need to regulate their behavior as they gain access to opportunities for risky behavior; however, cognitive control systems necessary for this regulation remain relatively immature. Parents can impact their adolescent child's abilities to regulate their behavior and engagement in risk taking. Since adolescents undergo significant neural change, negative parent-child relationship quality may impede or alter development in prefrontal regions subserving cognitive control. To test this hypothesis, 20 adolescents completed a go/nogo task during two fMRI scans occurring 1 year apart. Adolescents reporting greater family conflict and lower family cohesion showed longitudinal increases in risk-taking behavior, which was mediated by longitudinal increases in left VLPFC activation during cognitive control. These results underscore the importance of parent-child relationships during early adolescence, and the neural processes by which cognitive control may be derailed and lead to increased risk taking. PMID:26434803

Cognitive training on stroke patients via virtual reality-based serious games.

PubMed

Gamito, Pedro; Oliveira, Jorge; Coelho, Carla; Morais, Diogo; Lopes, Paulo; Pacheco, José; Brito, Rodrigo; Soares, Fabio; Santos, Nuno; Barata, Ana Filipa

2017-02-01

Use of virtual reality environments in cognitive rehabilitation offers cost benefits and other advantages. In order to test the effectiveness of a virtual reality application for neuropsychological rehabilitation, a cognitive training program using virtual reality was applied to stroke patients. A virtual reality-based serious games application for cognitive training was developed, with attention and memory tasks consisting of daily life activities. Twenty stroke patients were randomly assigned to two conditions: exposure to the intervention, and waiting list control. The results showed significant improvements in attention and memory functions in the intervention group, but not in the controls. Overall findings provide further support for the use of VR cognitive training applications in neuropsychological rehabilitation. Implications for Rehabilitation Improvements in memory and attention functions following a virtual reality-based serious games intervention. Training of daily-life activities using a virtual reality application. Accessibility to training contents.

Adolescent neurodevelopment of cognitive control and risk-taking in negative family contexts.

PubMed

McCormick, Ethan M; Qu, Yang; Telzer, Eva H

2016-01-01

Adolescents have an increased need to regulate their behavior as they gain access to opportunities for risky behavior; however, cognitive control systems necessary for this regulation remain relatively immature. Parents can impact their adolescent child's abilities to regulate their behavior and engagement in risk taking. Since adolescents undergo significant neural change, negative parent-child relationship quality may impede or alter development in prefrontal regions subserving cognitive control. To test this hypothesis, 20 adolescents completed a Go/NoGo task during two fMRI scans occurring 1year apart. Adolescents reporting greater family conflict and lower family cohesion showed longitudinal increases in risk-taking behavior, which was mediated by longitudinal increases in left VLPFC activation during cognitive control. These results underscore the importance of parent-child relationships during early adolescence, and the neural processes by which cognitive control may be derailed and may lead to increased risk taking. Published by Elsevier Inc.

The Relationship between Functional Status and Judgment/Problem Solving Among Individuals with Dementia

PubMed Central

Mayo, Ann M.; Wallhagen, Margaret; Cooper, Bruce A.; Mehta, Kala; Ross, Leslie; Miller, Bruce

2012-01-01

Objective To determine the relationship between functional status (independent activities of daily living) and judgment/problem solving and the extent to which select demographic characteristics such as dementia subtype and cognitive measures may moderate that relationship in older adult individuals with dementia. Methods The National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center Universal Data Set was accessed for a study sample of 3,855 individuals diagnosed with dementia. Primary variables included functional status, judgment/problem solving, and cognition. Results Functional status was related to judgment/problem solving (r= 0.66; p< .0005). Functional status and cognition jointly predicted 56% of the variance in judgment/problem solving (R-squared = .56, p <.0005). As cognition decreases, the prediction of poorer judgment/problem solving by functional status became stronger. Conclusions Among individuals with a diagnosis of dementia, declining functional status as well as declining cognition should raise concerns about judgment/problem solving. PMID:22786576

Factors impacting hunter access to private lands in southeast Minnesota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Walberg, Eric; Cornicelli, Louis; Fulton, David C.

2018-01-01

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) have important socioeconomic and ecological impacts in the United States. Hunting is considered to be important for the effective management of deer and relies on access to privately owned lands. In 2013, we surveyed nonindustrial private landowners in southeast Minnesota and created two logit models to examine factors that impact landowners’ decision to (a) allow public hunting access and (b) post private property. Parcel characteristics were found to impact landowner decisions to allow hunting access, particularly the size of the property and whether it was posted. Hunting access to small properties was more likely to be restricted to family, friends, and neighbors (83%) compared to medium (74%) or large properties (60%). Hunter concerns (e.g., liability) and knowledge about deer management was significant in both models, suggesting there are opportunities to educate landowners about the importance of allowing public hunting access and available liability protections.

A subjective scheduler for subjective dedicated networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suherman; Fakhrizal, Said Reza; Al-Akaidi, Marwan

2017-09-01

Multiple access technique is one of important techniques within medium access layer in TCP/IP protocol stack. Each network technology implements the selected access method. Priority can be implemented in those methods to differentiate services. Some internet networks are dedicated for specific purpose. Education browsing or tutorial video accesses are preferred in a library hotspot, while entertainment and sport contents could be subjects of limitation. Current solution may use IP address filter or access list. This paper proposes subjective properties of users or applications are used for priority determination in multiple access techniques. The NS-2 simulator is employed to evaluate the method. A video surveillance network using WiMAX is chosen as the object. Subjective priority is implemented on WiMAX scheduler based on traffic properties. Three different traffic sources from monitoring video: palace, park, and market are evaluated. The proposed subjective scheduler prioritizes palace monitoring video that results better quality, xx dB than the later monitoring spots.

Scalable Lunar Surface Networks and Adaptive Orbit Access

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Xudong

2015-01-01

Teranovi Technologies, Inc., has developed innovative network architecture, protocols, and algorithms for both lunar surface and orbit access networks. A key component of the overall architecture is a medium access control (MAC) protocol that includes a novel mechanism of overlaying time division multiple access (TDMA) and carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA), ensuring scalable throughput and quality of service. The new MAC protocol is compatible with legacy Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 networks. Advanced features include efficiency power management, adaptive channel width adjustment, and error control capability. A hybrid routing protocol combines the advantages of ad hoc on-demand distance vector (AODV) routing and disruption/delay-tolerant network (DTN) routing. Performance is significantly better than AODV or DTN and will be particularly effective for wireless networks with intermittent links, such as lunar and planetary surface networks and orbit access networks.

Cognitive Load and Self-Determination Theories Applied to E-Learning: Impact on Students' Participation and Academic Performance.

PubMed

de Araujo Guerra Grangeia, Tiago; de Jorge, Bruno; Franci, Daniel; Martins Santos, Thiago; Vellutini Setubal, Maria Silvia; Schweller, Marcelo; de Carvalho-Filho, Marco Antonio

2016-01-01

Emergency clerkships expose students to a stressful environment that require multiple tasks, which may have a direct impact on cognitive load and motivation for learning. To address this challenge, Cognitive Load Theory and Self Determination Theory provided the conceptual frameworks to the development of a Moodle-based online Emergency Medicine course, inspired by real clinical cases. Three consecutive classes (2013-2015) of sixth-year medical students (n = 304) participated in the course, during a curricular and essentially practical emergency rotation. "Virtual Rounds" provided weekly virtual patients in narrative format and meaningful schemata to chief complaints, in order to simulate real rounds at Emergency Unit. Additional activities such as Extreme Decisions, Emergency Quiz and Electrocardiographic challenge offered different views of emergency care. Authors assessed student´s participation and its correlation with their academic performance. A survey evaluated students´ opinions. Students graduating in 2015 answered an online questionnaire to investigate cognitive load and motivation. Each student produced 1965 pageviews and spent 72 hours logged on. Although Clinical Emergency rotation has two months long, students accessed the online course during an average of 5.3 months. Virtual Rounds was the most accessed activity, and there was positive correlations between the number of hours logged on the platform and final grades on Emergency Medicine. Over 90% of students felt an improvement in their clinical reasoning and considered themselves better prepared for rendering Emergency care. Considering a Likert scale from 1 (minimum load) to 7 (maximum load), the scores for total cognitive load were 4.79±2.2 for Virtual Rounds and 5.56±1.96 for real medical rounds(p<0,01). A real-world inspired online course, based on cognitive and motivational conceptual frameworks, seems to be a strong tool to engage students in learning. It may support them to manage the cognitive challenges involved in clinical care and increase their motivation for learning.

Cognitive Load and Self-Determination Theories Applied to E-Learning: Impact on Students' Participation and Academic Performance

PubMed Central

de Araujo Guerra Grangeia, Tiago; de Jorge, Bruno; Franci, Daniel; Martins Santos, Thiago; Vellutini Setubal, Maria Silvia; Schweller, Marcelo; de Carvalho-Filho, Marco Antonio

2016-01-01

Background Emergency clerkships expose students to a stressful environment that require multiple tasks, which may have a direct impact on cognitive load and motivation for learning. To address this challenge, Cognitive Load Theory and Self Determination Theory provided the conceptual frameworks to the development of a Moodle-based online Emergency Medicine course, inspired by real clinical cases. Methods Three consecutive classes (2013–2015) of sixth-year medical students (n = 304) participated in the course, during a curricular and essentially practical emergency rotation. “Virtual Rounds” provided weekly virtual patients in narrative format and meaningful schemata to chief complaints, in order to simulate real rounds at Emergency Unit. Additional activities such as Extreme Decisions, Emergency Quiz and Electrocardiographic challenge offered different views of emergency care. Authors assessed student´s participation and its correlation with their academic performance. A survey evaluated students´ opinions. Students graduating in 2015 answered an online questionnaire to investigate cognitive load and motivation. Results Each student produced 1965 pageviews and spent 72 hours logged on. Although Clinical Emergency rotation has two months long, students accessed the online course during an average of 5.3 months. Virtual Rounds was the most accessed activity, and there was positive correlations between the number of hours logged on the platform and final grades on Emergency Medicine. Over 90% of students felt an improvement in their clinical reasoning and considered themselves better prepared for rendering Emergency care. Considering a Likert scale from 1 (minimum load) to 7 (maximum load), the scores for total cognitive load were 4.79±2.2 for Virtual Rounds and 5.56±1.96 for real medical rounds(p<0,01). Conclusions A real-world inspired online course, based on cognitive and motivational conceptual frameworks, seems to be a strong tool to engage students in learning. It may support them to manage the cognitive challenges involved in clinical care and increase their motivation for learning. PMID:27031859

Cognition, interaction and ageing: an Internet workshops exploratory study.

PubMed

Xavier, André; Sales, Márcia; Ramos, Luiz; Anção, Meide; Sigulem, Daniel

2004-01-01

Gerontology is known more and more as an interdisciplinary and functional knowledge. Geriatrics as one of its branches intends to make possible longevity with health. World population ageing occurs along with important economical and social inequalities for elder people, which are likely to be more affected by deficiencies (physical and/or cognitive) than younger groups. With the purpose of minimizing these deficiencies, Internet Workshops were accomplished, with a retired group of senior persons. This research was developed to bring together principles of Human-Computer Interaction, informatics, accessibility and gerontology in order to promote Digital Inclusion to this growing population and a methodology to virtual cognitive rehabilitation.

Internet-based stress management for distressed managers: results from a randomised controlled trial

PubMed Central

Dagöö, Jesper; Fjellström, Ida; Niemi, Linnea; Hansson, Katja; Zeraati, Forough; Ziuzina, Masha; Geraedts, Anna; Ljótsson, Brjánn; Carlbring, Per; Andersson, Gerhard

2018-01-01

Objective The aim of this randomised controlled trial (RCT) was to evaluate the efficacy of a guided internet-based stress management intervention (iSMI) among distressed managers compared with a attention control group (AC) with full access to treatment-as-usual. Method A total sample of 117 distressed managers, mainly employed in the healthcare, IT, communication and educational sector, were randomised to either iSMI (n=59) or an AC group (n=58). The iSMI consisted of eight modules including cognitive behavioural stress management and positive management techniques. Participants received a minimal and weekly guidance from a psychologist or master-level psychology student focusing on support, feedback and adherence to the intervention. Self-report data were assessed at pre, post and 6 months after the intervention. The primary outcome was perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale-14). The secondary outcomes included mental and work-related health outcomes. Results Participants in the iSMI intervention reported significantly less symptoms of perceived stress (d=0.74, 95% CI 0.30 to 1.19) and burnout (d=0.95, 95% CI 0.53 to 1.37) compared with controls, at postassessment. Significant medium-to-large effect sizes were also found for depression, insomnia and job satisfaction. Long-term effects (6 months) were seen on the mental health outcomes. Conclusion This is one of the first studies showing that iSMIs can be an effective, accessible and potentially time-effective approach of reducing stress and other mental-related and work-related health symptoms among distressed managers. Future studies are needed addressing distressed managers and the potential of indirect effects on employee stress and satisfaction at work. PMID:28855344

Caught in the Web: A Review of Web-Based Suicide Prevention

PubMed Central

Lai, Mee Huong; Maniam, Thambu; Ravindran, Arun V

2014-01-01

Background Suicide is a serious and increasing problem worldwide. The emergence of the digital world has had a tremendous impact on people’s lives, both negative and positive, including an impact on suicidal behaviors. Objective Our aim was to perform a review of the published literature on Web-based suicide prevention strategies, focusing on their efficacy, benefits, and challenges. Methods The EBSCOhost (Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL), OvidSP, the Cochrane Library, and ScienceDirect databases were searched for literature regarding Web-based suicide prevention strategies from 1997 to 2013 according to the modified PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) statement. The selected articles were subjected to quality rating and data extraction. Results Good quality literature was surprisingly sparse, with only 15 fulfilling criteria for inclusion in the review, and most were rated as being medium to low quality. Internet-based cognitive behavior therapy (iCBT) reduced suicidal ideation in the general population in two randomized controlled trial (effect sizes, d=0.04-0.45) and in a clinical audit of depressed primary care patients. Descriptive studies reported improved accessibility and reduced barriers to treatment with Internet among students. Besides automated iCBT, preventive strategies were mainly interactive (email communication, online individual or supervised group support) or information-based (website postings). The benefits and potential challenges of accessibility, anonymity, and text-based communication as key components for Web-based suicide prevention strategies were emphasized. Conclusions There is preliminary evidence that suggests the probable benefit of Web-based strategies in suicide prevention. Future larger systematic research is needed to confirm the effectiveness and risk benefit ratio of such strategies. PMID:24472876

Early childhood development: impact of national human development, family poverty, parenting practices and access to early childhood education.

PubMed

Tran, T D; Luchters, S; Fisher, J

2017-05-01

This study was to describe and quantify the relationships among family poverty, parents' caregiving practices, access to education and the development of children living in low- and middle-income countries (LAMIC). We conducted a secondary analysis of data collected in UNICEF's Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS). Early childhood development was assessed in four domains: language-cognitive, physical, socio-emotional and approaches to learning. Countries were classified into three groups on the basis of the Human Development Index (HDI). Overall, data from 97 731 children aged 36 to 59 months from 35 LAMIC were included in the after analyses. The mean child development scale score was 4.93 out of a maximum score of 10 (95%CI 4.90 to 4.97) in low-HDI countries and 7.08 (95%CI 7.05 to 7.12) in high-HDI countries. Family poverty was associated with lower child development scores in all countries. The total indirect effect of family poverty on child development score via attending early childhood education, care for the child at home and use of harsh punishments at home was -0.13 SD (77.8% of the total effect) in low-HDI countries, -0.09 SD (23.8% of the total effect) in medium-HDI countries and -0.02 SD (6.9% of the total effect) in high-HDI countries. Children in the most disadvantaged position in their societies and children living in low-HDI countries are at the greatest risk of failing to reach their developmental potential. Optimizing care for child development at home is essential to reduce the adverse effects of poverty on children's early development and subsequent life. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Travel Behavior Change in Older Travelers: Understanding Critical Reactions to Incidents Encountered in Public Transport.

PubMed

Sundling, Catherine

2015-11-18

Accessibility of travel may be better understood if psychological factors underlying change in travel behavior are known. This paper examines older (65+) travelers' motives for changing their travel behavior. These changes are grounded in critical incidents earlier encountered in public-transport travel. A scientific framework is developed based on cognitive and behavioral theory. In 29 individual interviews, travelers' critical reactions (i.e., cognitive, emotional, and/or behavioral) to 77 critical incidents were examined. By applying critical incident technique (CIT), five reaction themes were identified that had generated travel-behavior change: firm restrictions, unpredictability, unfair treatment, complicated trips, and earlier adverse experiences. To improve older travelers' access to public transport, key findings were: (a) service must be designed so as to strengthen the feeling of being in control throughout the journey; (b) extended personal service would increase predictability in the travel chain and decrease travel complexity; consequently, (c) when designing new services and making effective accessibility interventions, policy makers should consider and utilize underlying psychological factors that could direct traveler behavior.

Travel Behavior Change in Older Travelers: Understanding Critical Reactions to Incidents Encountered in Public Transport

PubMed Central

Sundling, Catherine

2015-01-01

Accessibility of travel may be better understood if psychological factors underlying change in travel behavior are known. This paper examines older (65+) travelers’ motives for changing their travel behavior. These changes are grounded in critical incidents earlier encountered in public-transport travel. A scientific framework is developed based on cognitive and behavioral theory. In 29 individual interviews, travelers’ critical reactions (i.e., cognitive, emotional, and/or behavioral) to 77 critical incidents were examined. By applying critical incident technique (CIT), five reaction themes were identified that had generated travel-behavior change: firm restrictions, unpredictability, unfair treatment, complicated trips, and earlier adverse experiences. To improve older travelers’ access to public transport, key findings were: (a) service must be designed so as to strengthen the feeling of being in control throughout the journey; (b) extended personal service would increase predictability in the travel chain and decrease travel complexity; consequently, (c) when designing new services and making effective accessibility interventions, policy makers should consider and utilize underlying psychological factors that could direct traveler behavior. PMID:26593935

Gendered Distances: A Methodological Inquiry into Spatial Analysis as an Instrument for Assessing Gender Equality in Access to Secondary Schools in Mukono District, Uganda

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wawro, Patrick R.

2010-01-01

This study focused on how accessibility to secondary schools in the Mukono District of Uganda is related to the sex and gender of the student and the distance that separates the student's home from the school they attend. This research is a methodological inquiry exploring the use of spatial analysis, specifically how cognitive and metric…

Challenging the classical notion of time in cognition: a quantum perspective

PubMed Central

Yearsley, James M.; Pothos, Emmanuel M.

2014-01-01

All mental representations change with time. A baseline intuition is that mental representations have specific values at different time points, which may be more or less accessible, depending on noise, forgetting processes, etc. We present a radical alternative, motivated by recent research using the mathematics from quantum theory for cognitive modelling. Such cognitive models raise the possibility that certain possibilities or events may be incompatible, so that perfect knowledge of one necessitates uncertainty for the others. In the context of time-dependence, in physics, this issue is explored with the so-called temporal Bell (TB) or Leggett–Garg inequalities. We consider in detail the theoretical and empirical challenges involved in exploring the TB inequalities in the context of cognitive systems. One interesting conclusion is that we believe the study of the TB inequalities to be empirically more constrained in psychology than in physics. Specifically, we show how the TB inequalities, as applied to cognitive systems, can be derived from two simple assumptions: cognitive realism and cognitive completeness. We discuss possible implications of putative violations of the TB inequalities for cognitive models and our understanding of time in cognition in general. Overall, this paper provides a surprising, novel direction in relation to how time should be conceptualized in cognition. PMID:24598421

Challenging the classical notion of time in cognition: a quantum perspective.

PubMed

Yearsley, James M; Pothos, Emmanuel M

2014-04-22

All mental representations change with time. A baseline intuition is that mental representations have specific values at different time points, which may be more or less accessible, depending on noise, forgetting processes, etc. We present a radical alternative, motivated by recent research using the mathematics from quantum theory for cognitive modelling. Such cognitive models raise the possibility that certain possibilities or events may be incompatible, so that perfect knowledge of one necessitates uncertainty for the others. In the context of time-dependence, in physics, this issue is explored with the so-called temporal Bell (TB) or Leggett-Garg inequalities. We consider in detail the theoretical and empirical challenges involved in exploring the TB inequalities in the context of cognitive systems. One interesting conclusion is that we believe the study of the TB inequalities to be empirically more constrained in psychology than in physics. Specifically, we show how the TB inequalities, as applied to cognitive systems, can be derived from two simple assumptions: cognitive realism and cognitive completeness. We discuss possible implications of putative violations of the TB inequalities for cognitive models and our understanding of time in cognition in general. Overall, this paper provides a surprising, novel direction in relation to how time should be conceptualized in cognition.

Cognitively Stimulating Leisure Activity and Subsequent Cognitive Function: A SHARE-based Analysis.

PubMed

Litwin, Howard; Schwartz, Ella; Damri, Noam

2017-10-01

The aim of the inquiry was to examine whether cognitively stimulating leisure activity (CSLA) can delay or reduce cognitive decline in late life and whether its effect is moderated by education, age, or activity pattern. Employing secondary analysis of data on respondents aged 65 and older from the 4th and 5th waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (N = 16,572), the inquiry regressed cognitive function (memory, numeracy, and fluency) at Time 2 on frequency of engagement in CSLA at baseline, controlling for cognitive function scores at baseline and a range of confounders. The study also considered education by CSLA and age by CSLA interactions, as well as the effect of CSLA patterns. CSLA frequency was found to be positively related to subsequent cognitive functioning on all measures, 2 years later. The effect of CSLA on memory and fluency was stronger among those with lower education, whereas the age by CSLA interaction was not significant. Respondents who started CSLA after baseline showed better cognitive functioning at Time 2 than those who did not engage in CSLA at all and those who had engaged in such activity at baseline but stopped. The study documents that CSLAs constitute a potential source for the delay or reduction of cognitive decline, regardless of one's age. As such, practitioners should recognize the value of this medium and encourage its greater use in appropriate settings. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Using a screening tool to evaluate potential use of e-health services for older people with and without cognitive impairment.

PubMed

Malinowsky, Camilla; Nygård, Louise; Kottorp, Anders

2014-01-01

E-health services are increasingly offered to provide clients with information and a link to healthcare services. The aim of this study is to investigate the perceived access to and the potential to use technologies important for e-health services among older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) and controls. The perceived access to and perception of difficulty in the use of everyday technology (such as cell phones, coffee machines, computers) was investigated in a sample of older adults (n = 118) comprising three subsamples: adults with MCI (n = 37), with mild AD (n = 37), and controls (n = 44) using the Everyday Technology Use Questionnaire (ETUQ). The use of seven technologies important for e-health services was specifically examined for each subsample and compared between the subsamples. The findings demonstrated that the older adults in all subsamples perceive access to e-health technologies and potentially would use them competently in several e-health services. However, among persons with AD a lower proportion of perceived access to the technology was described, as well as for persons with MCI. To make the benefits of e-health services available and used by all clients, it is important to consider access to the technology required in e-health services and also to support the clients' capabilities to understand and use the technologies. Also, the potential use of the ETUQ to explore the perceived access to and competence in using e-health technologies is a vital issue in the use of e-health services.

Evaluation of genetic diversity in jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) based on amplified fragment length polymorphism markers.

PubMed

Shyamalamma, S; Chandra, S B C; Hegde, M; Naryanswamy, P

2008-07-22

Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam., commonly called jackfruit, is a medium-sized evergreen tree that bears high yields of the largest known edible fruit. Yet, it has been little explored commercially due to wide variation in fruit quality. The genetic diversity and genetic relatedness of 50 jackfruit accessions were studied using amplified fragment length polymorphism markers. Of 16 primer pairs evaluated, eight were selected for screening of genotypes based on the number and quality of polymorphic fragments produced. These primer combinations produced 5976 bands, 1267 (22%) of which were polymorphic. Among the jackfruit accessions, the similarity coefficient ranged from 0.137 to 0.978; the accessions also shared a large number of monomorphic fragments (78%). Cluster analysis and principal component analysis grouped all jackfruit genotypes into three major clusters. Cluster I included the genotypes grown in a jackfruit region of Karnataka, called Tamaka, with very dry conditions; cluster II contained the genotypes collected from locations having medium to heavy rainfall in Karnataka; cluster III grouped the genotypes in distant locations with different environmental conditions. Strong coincidence of these amplified fragment length polymorphism-based groupings with geographical localities as well as morphological characters was observed. We found moderate genetic diversity in these jackfruit accessions. This information should be useful for tree breeding programs, as part of our effort to popularize jackfruit as a commercial crop.

Integrated multi-channel vehicle-vehicle and vehicle-roadside communications for ITS

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-12-01

This research describes a medium access control (MAC) protocol to Enable multi-channel operation for dedicated short-range communication (DSRC). In particular, we focus on the challenge of supporting potentially high-bandwidth commercial or infotainm...

Memory Loss: When to Seek Help

MedlinePlus

... a set of symptoms, including impairment in memory, reasoning, judgment, language and other thinking skills. Dementia usually ... et al. Mild cognitive impairment: Epidemiology, pathology and clinical assessment. http://www.uptodate.com/home. Accessed March ...

Improving clinical cognitive testing

PubMed Central

Gale, Seth A.; Barrett, A.M.; Boeve, Bradley F.; Chatterjee, Anjan; Coslett, H. Branch; D'Esposito, Mark; Finney, Glen R.; Gitelman, Darren R.; Hart, John J.; Lerner, Alan J.; Meador, Kimford J.; Pietras, Alison C.; Voeller, Kytja S.; Kaufer, Daniel I.

2015-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the evidence basis of single-domain cognitive tests frequently used by behavioral neurologists in an effort to improve the quality of clinical cognitive assessment. Methods: Behavioral Neurology Section members of the American Academy of Neurology were surveyed about how they conduct clinical cognitive testing, with a particular focus on the Neurobehavioral Status Exam (NBSE). In contrast to general screening cognitive tests, an NBSE consists of tests of individual cognitive domains (e.g., memory or language) that provide a more comprehensive diagnostic assessment. Workgroups for each of 5 cognitive domains (attention, executive function, memory, language, and spatial cognition) conducted evidence-based reviews of frequently used tests. Reviews focused on suitability for office-based clinical practice, including test administration time, accessibility of normative data, disease populations studied, and availability in the public domain. Results: Demographic and clinical practice data were obtained from 200 respondents who reported using a wide range of cognitive tests. Based on survey data and ancillary information, between 5 and 15 tests in each cognitive domain were reviewed. Within each domain, several tests are highlighted as being well-suited for an NBSE. Conclusions: We identified frequently used single-domain cognitive tests that are suitable for an NBSE to help make informed choices about clinical cognitive assessment. Some frequently used tests have limited normative data or have not been well-studied in common neurologic disorders. Utilizing standardized cognitive tests, particularly those with normative data based on the individual's age and educational level, can enhance the rigor and utility of clinical cognitive assessment. PMID:26163433

Mindful Mood Balance: A Case Report of Web-Based Treatment of Residual Depressive Symptoms

PubMed Central

Felder, Jennifer; Dimidjian, Sona; Beck, Arne; Boggs, Jennifer M; Segal, Zindel

2014-01-01

Residual depressive symptoms are associated with increased risk for relapse and impaired functioning. Although there is no definitive treatment for residual depressive symptoms, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy has been shown to be effective, but access is limited. Mindful Mood Balance (MMB), a Web-based adaptation of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, was designed to address this care gap. In this case study, we describe a composite case that is representative of the course of intervention with MMB and its implementation in a large integrated delivery system. Specifically, we describe the content of each of eight weekly sessions, and the self-management skills developed by participating in this program. MMB may be a cost-effective and scalable option in primary care for increasing access to treatments for patients with residual depressive symptoms. PMID:25141988

Asynchronous brain-computer interface for cognitive assessment in people with cerebral palsy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alcaide-Aguirre, R. E.; Warschausky, S. A.; Brown, D.; Aref, A.; Huggins, J. E.

2017-12-01

Objective. Typically, clinical measures of cognition require motor or speech responses. Thus, a significant percentage of people with disabilities are not able to complete standardized assessments. This situation could be resolved by employing a more accessible test administration method, such as a brain-computer interface (BCI). A BCI can circumvent motor and speech requirements by translating brain activity to identify a subject’s response. By eliminating the need for motor or speech input, one could use a BCI to assess an individual who previously did not have access to clinical tests. Approach. We developed an asynchronous, event-related potential BCI-facilitated administration procedure for the peabody picture vocabulary test (PPVT-IV). We then tested our system in typically developing individuals (N  =  11), as well as people with cerebral palsy (N  =  19) to compare results to the standardized PPVT-IV format and administration. Main results. Standard scores on the BCI-facilitated PPVT-IV, and the standard PPVT-IV were highly correlated (r  =  0.95, p  <  0.001), with a mean difference of 2.0  ±  6.4 points, which is within the standard error of the PPVT-IV. Significance. Thus, our BCI-facilitated PPVT-IV provided comparable results to the standard PPVT-IV, suggesting that populations for whom standardized cognitive tests are not accessible could benefit from our BCI-facilitated approach.

Q-Learning and p-persistent CSMA based rendezvous protocol for cognitive radio networks operating with shared spectrum activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watson, Clifton L.; Biswas, Subir

2014-06-01

With an increasing demand for spectrum, dynamic spectrum access (DSA) has been proposed as viable means for providing the flexibility and greater access to spectrum necessary to meet this demand. Within the DSA concept, unlicensed secondary users temporarily "borrow" or access licensed spectrum, while respecting the licensed primary user's rights to that spectrum. As key enablers for DSA, cognitive radios (CRs) are based on software-defined radios which allow them to sense, learn, and adapt to the spectrum environment. These radios can operate independently and rapidly switch channels. Thus, the initial setup and maintenance of cognitive radio networks are dependent upon the ability of CR nodes to find each other, in a process known as rendezvous, and create a link on a common channel for the exchange of data and control information. In this paper, we propose a novel rendezvous protocol, known as QLP, which is based on Q-learning and the p-persistent CSMA protocol. With the QLP protocol, CR nodes learn which channels are best for rendezvous and thus adapt their behavior to visit those channels more frequently. We demonstrate through simulation that the QLP protocol provides a rendevous capability for DSA environments with different dynamics of PU activity, while attempting to achieve the following performance goals: (1) minimize the average time-to-rendezvous, (2) maximize system throughput, (3) minimize primary user interference, and (4) minimize collisions among CR nodes.

Communication technology adoption among older adult veterans: the interplay of social and cognitive factors.

PubMed

Leone, Cristina; Lim, Joan Soo Li; Stern, Anita; Charles, Jocelyn; Black, Sandra; Baecker, Ronald

2017-10-11

InTouch is an electronic communication platform designed to be accessible by computer-naive seniors. The present study explored the process of adoption and use of the application by seniors with and without mild cognitive impairment (MCI) through the lens of Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). We studied adoption and use of InTouch for social communication over a 12-week period in a 475-bed Veteran's care facility at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Canada. Eleven older adult veterans participated, six of whom had MCI, as indicated by their Montreal Cognitive Assessment score. Veterans were partnered with volunteers, each was provided with an iPad with the InTouch application. Qualitative data were collected through interviews, field notes, and direct observation. Quantitative data were collected from data logging of the software and medical charts. Data types and sources were triangulated and examined through the lens of SCT. A total of 2361 messages (102 videos, 359 audios, 417 photos, 1438 texts) were sent by 10 of the 11 veterans over the 12-week study period. There was no apparent difference in extent of adoption or use, between participants with and without MCI. Participants used various resources and techniques to learn, provided that they felt motivated to connect with others using the app. This pilot illustrates both the accessibility of InTouch and the promise of using extrinsic motivators such as social bonding to promote learning in institutionalized older adults with and without cognitive impairment, whose intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy may well be suffering.

Brain network: social media and the cognitive scientist.

PubMed

Stafford, Tom; Bell, Vaughan

2012-10-01

Cognitive scientists are increasingly using online social media, such as blogging and Twitter, to gather information and disseminate opinion, while linking to primary articles and data. Because of this, internet tools are driving a change in the scientific process, where communication is characterised by rapid scientific discussion, wider access to specialist debates, and increased cross-disciplinary interaction. This article serves as an introduction to and overview of this transformation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Do Effects of Center-Based Care and Education on Vocabulary and Mathematical Skills Vary with Children's Sociocultural Background? Disparities in the Use of and Effects of Early Childhood Services

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burger, Kaspar

2012-01-01

Using data from a survey on cognitive proficiency levels of first graders in Switzerland (N = 1.830), this study analyzes (1) who has access to institutional childcare, (2) whether institutional childcare affects cognitive skills of children who differ in terms of socioeconomic status, home literacy, native country, and home language, and (3) how…

Science through Drama: A Multiple Case Exploration of the Characteristics of Drama Activities Used in Secondary Science Lessons

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dorion, Kirk Robert

2009-01-01

Over 20 years of research into the use of cross-curricular drama in secondary science has indicated that this medium enables learning of affective, cognitive and procedural knowledge. To date, academic research has tended to frame successful drama pedagogy as resulting from a Drama-in-Education approach, incorporating extended role plays and…

Cognitive inflexibility in obsessive-compulsive disorder

PubMed Central

Gruner, Patricia; Pittenger, Christopher

2016-01-01

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is characterized by maladaptive patterns of repetitive, inflexible cognition and behavior that suggest a lack of cognitive flexibility. Consistent with this clinical observation, many neurocognitive studies suggest behavioral and neurobiological abnormalities in cognitive flexibility in individuals with OCD. Meta-analytic reviews support a pattern of cognitive inflexibility, with effect sizes generally in the medium range. Heterogeneity in assessments and the way underlying constructs have been operationalized point to the need for better standardization across studies, as well as more refined overarching models of cognitive flexibility and executive function. Neuropsychological assessments of cognitive flexibility include measures of attentional set shifting, reversal and alternation, cued task switching paradigms, cognitive control measures such as the Trail-Making and Stroop tasks, and several measures of motor inhibition. Differences in the cognitive constructs and neural substrates associated with these measures suggest that performance within these different domains should be examined separately. Additional factors, such as the number of consistent trials prior to a shift and whether a shift is explicitly signaled or must be inferred from a change in reward contingencies, may influence performance, and thus mask or accentuate deficits. Several studies have described abnormalities in neural activation in the absence of differences in behavioral performance, suggesting that our behavioral probes may not be adequately sensitive, but also offering important insights into potential compensatory processes. The fact that deficits of moderate effect size are seen across a broad range of classic neuropsychological tests in OCD presents a conceptual challenge, as clinical symptomatology suggests greater specificity. Traditional cognitive probes may not be sufficient to delineate specific domains of deficit in this and other neuropsychiatric disorders; a new generation of behavioral tasks that test more specific underlying constructs, supplemented by neuroimaging to provide greater insight into the underlying processes, may be needed. PMID:27491478

Prevalence and correlates of cognitive impairment in euthymic adults with bipolar disorder: A systematic review.

PubMed

Cullen, Breda; Ward, Joey; Graham, Nicholas A; Deary, Ian J; Pell, Jill P; Smith, Daniel J; Evans, Jonathan J

2016-11-15

Previous reviews have identified medium-large group differences in cognitive performance in adults with bipolar disorder (BD) compared to healthy peers, but the proportion with clinically relevant cognitive impairment has not yet been established. This review aimed to quantify the prevalence of cognitive impairment in euthymic adults with BD, and to describe sociodemographic, clinical and other factors that are significantly associated with cognitive impairment. Systematic literature review. The population was euthymic community-dwelling adults with BD, aged 18-70 years, and recruited consecutively or randomly. The outcome was cognitive impairment, relative to healthy population norms. Electronic databases and reference lists of relevant articles were searched, and authors were contacted. Original cross-sectional studies published in peer-reviewed English-language journals from January 1994 to February 2015 were included. Methodological bias and reporting bias were assessed using standard tools. A narrative synthesis is presented together with tables and forest plots. Thirty articles were included, of which 15 contributed prevalence data. At the 5th percentile impairment threshold, prevalence ranges were: executive function 5.3-57.7%; attention/working memory 9.6-51.9%; speed/reaction time 23.3-44.2%; verbal memory 8.2-42.1%; visual memory 11.5-32.9%. More severe or longstanding illness and antipsychotic medication were associated with greater cognitive impairment. The synthesis was limited by heterogeneity in cognitive measures and impairment thresholds, precluding meta-analysis. Cognitive impairment affects a substantial proportion of euthymic adults with BD. Future research with more consistent measurement and reporting will facilitate an improved understanding of cognitive impairment burden in BD. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A review of accessibility of administrative healthcare databases in the Asia-Pacific region

PubMed Central

Milea, Dominique; Azmi, Soraya; Reginald, Praveen; Verpillat, Patrice; Francois, Clement

2015-01-01

Objective We describe and compare the availability and accessibility of administrative healthcare databases (AHDB) in several Asia-Pacific countries: Australia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, China, Thailand, and Malaysia. Methods The study included hospital records, reimbursement databases, prescription databases, and data linkages. Databases were first identified through PubMed, Google Scholar, and the ISPOR database register. Database custodians were contacted. Six criteria were used to assess the databases and provided the basis for a tool to categorise databases into seven levels ranging from least accessible (Level 1) to most accessible (Level 7). We also categorised overall data accessibility for each country as high, medium, or low based on accessibility of databases as well as the number of academic articles published using the databases. Results Fifty-four administrative databases were identified. Only a limited number of databases allowed access to raw data and were at Level 7 [Medical Data Vision EBM Provider, Japan Medical Data Centre (JMDC) Claims database and Nihon-Chouzai Pharmacy Claims database in Japan, and Medicare, Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), Centre for Health Record Linkage (CHeReL), HealthLinQ, Victorian Data Linkages (VDL), SA-NT DataLink in Australia]. At Levels 3–6 were several databases from Japan [Hamamatsu Medical University Database, Medi-Trend, Nihon University School of Medicine Clinical Data Warehouse (NUSM)], Australia [Western Australia Data Linkage (WADL)], Taiwan [National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD)], South Korea [Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA)], and Malaysia [United Nations University (UNU)-Casemix]. Countries were categorised as having a high level of data accessibility (Australia, Taiwan, and Japan), medium level of accessibility (South Korea), or a low level of accessibility (Thailand, China, Malaysia, and Singapore). In some countries, data may be available but accessibility was restricted based on requirements by data custodians. Conclusions Compared with previous research, this study describes the landscape of databases in the selected countries with more granularity using an assessment tool developed for this purpose. A high number of databases were identified but most had restricted access, preventing their potential use to support research. We hope that this study helps to improve the understanding of the AHDB landscape, increase data sharing and database research in Asia-Pacific countries. PMID:27123180

Systems genetics identifies Hp1bp3 as a novel modulator of cognitive aging.

PubMed

Neuner, Sarah M; Garfinkel, Benjamin P; Wilmott, Lynda A; Ignatowska-Jankowska, Bogna M; Citri, Ami; Orly, Joseph; Lu, Lu; Overall, Rupert W; Mulligan, Megan K; Kempermann, Gerd; Williams, Robert W; O'Connell, Kristen M S; Kaczorowski, Catherine C

2016-10-01

An individual's genetic makeup plays an important role in determining susceptibility to cognitive aging. Identifying the specific genes that contribute to cognitive aging may aid in early diagnosis of at-risk patients, as well as identify novel therapeutics targets to treat or prevent development of symptoms. Challenges to identifying these specific genes in human studies include complex genetics, difficulty in controlling environmental factors, and limited access to human brain tissue. Here, we identify Hp1bp3 as a novel modulator of cognitive aging using a genetically diverse population of mice and confirm that HP1BP3 protein levels are significantly reduced in the hippocampi of cognitively impaired elderly humans relative to cognitively intact controls. Deletion of functional Hp1bp3 in mice recapitulates memory deficits characteristic of aged impaired mice and humans, further supporting the idea that Hp1bp3 and associated molecular networks are modulators of cognitive aging. Overall, our results suggest Hp1bp3 may serve as a potential target against cognitive aging and demonstrate the utility of genetically diverse animal models for the study of complex human disease. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Is excessive online usage a function of medium or activity? An empirical pilot study

PubMed Central

Griffiths, Mark D.; Szabo, Attila

2014-01-01

Aims: The purpose of the study was to seek a better insight into whether the online medium or the online activity was more important in relation to excessive online use. It is not clear whether those people who spend excessive amounts of time on the Internet are engaged in general Internet or whether excessive Internet use is linked to specific activities. Methods: Perceived changes in Internet use habits as function of hypothetical accessibility of favorite sites were investigated in young adults. University students (n = 130, mean age = 20.6 years) who had (on average) spent over 20 hours a week on the Internet for at least nine years completed a survey. The most favored online activities and expected quality of life without Internet access were also investigated. Results: Findings revealed that social networking was by far the most popular online activity, and that lack of access to their preferred online activities would drop by 65% (as measured by perceived Internet usage). Approximately one in six participants (16%) claimed they would not even switch on the computer if access to their favorite online activities were unavailable. In relation to a hypothetical question about the quality of life without Internet access, the responses were normally distributed (rather than skewed). Conclusions: These results show that time spent with Internet activity is not random and/or generalized, but appears more focused. Attraction or addiction on Internet to one or more specific behavior(s) may be a better way forward in the quest for better understanding excessive human behavior in the online environment. PMID:25215216

Cognitive-communication disorder following right hemisphere stroke: exploring rehabilitation access and outcomes.

PubMed

Hewetson, Ronelle; Cornwell, Petrea; Shum, David

2017-07-01

Rehabilitation positively influences return to activities and social roles in people with aphasia. The cognitive-communication disorder (CCD) found following a right hemisphere stroke has been less extensively researched with rehabilitation access and outcomes yet to be determined. To document rehabilitation access and outcomes for people with CCD post-stroke; and compare outcomes based on presence (viz CCD; aphasia) or absence of communication impairment. A retrospective chart audit was completed for patients with first onset unilateral stroke, with a hospital length of stay (LOS) of at least two days and a communication assessment by a speech pathologist. Data extracted included presence and severity of communication impairment, access to and LOS in a rehabilitation unit, and functional outcome measures recorded at rehabilitation discharge. The majority of the 115 patients who met inclusion criteria were living independently (n = 112, 97.4%) at the time of stroke. CCD (66%) was diagnosed with similar frequency to aphasia (68%). The presence of communication impairment did not result in significant differences in rehabilitation LOS and discharge destination when compared to hemispheric strokes without communication impairment. Severity of CCD was an independent predictor of functional gain by rehabilitation discharge. People with CCD require comparable access to rehabilitation as people with aphasia, and severity of CCD should be considered in determining rehabilitation LOS. A large number of people are discharged with ongoing CCD which warrants exploration of potential participation restrictions created by the communication impairment.

Don't know responses to cognitive and affective risk perception measures: Exploring prevalence and socio-demographic moderators.

PubMed

Janssen, Eva; Verduyn, Philippe; Waters, Erika A

2018-05-01

Many people report uncertainty when appraising their risk of cancer and other diseases, but prior research about the topic has focused solely on cognitive risk perceptions. We investigated uncertainty related to cognitive and affective risk questions. We also explored whether any differences in uncertainty between cognitive and affective questions varied in magnitude by item-specific or socio-demographic characteristics. Secondary analysis of data collected for a 2 × 2 × 3 full-factorial risk communication experiment (N = 835) that was embedded within an online survey. We investigated the frequency of 'don't know' responses (DKR) to eight perceived risk items that varied according to whether they assessed (1) cognitive versus affective perceived risk, (2) absolute versus comparative risk, and (3) colon cancer versus 'any exercise-related diseases'. Socio-demographics were as follows: sex, age, education, family history, and numeracy. We analysed the data using multilevel logistic regression. The odds of DKR were lower for affective than cognitive perceived risk (OR = 0.64, p < .001). This difference occurred for absolute but not comparative risk perceptions (interaction effect, p = .004), but no interactions for disease type or demographic characteristics were found (ps > .05). Lower uncertainty for affective (vs. cognitive) absolute perceived risk items is consistent with research stating: (1) Risk perceptions are grounded in people's feelings about a hazard, and (2) feelings are easier for people to access than facts. Including affective perceived risk items in health behaviour surveys may reduce missing data and improve data quality. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Many people report that they don't know their risk (i.e., risk uncertainty). Evidence is growing for the importance of feelings of risk in explaining health behaviour. Feelings are easier for people to access than facts. What does this study add? Don't know responding is higher for absolute cognitive than absolute affective risk questions. This difference does not vary in magnitude by demographic characteristics. Affective perceived risk questions in surveys may reduce missing data and improve data quality. © 2018 The British Psychological Society.

High speed fiber optics local area networks: Design and implementation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tobagi, Fouad A.

1988-01-01

The design of high speed local area networks (HSLAN) for communication among distributed devices requires solving problems in three areas: (1) the network medium and its topology; (2) the medium access control; and (3) the network interface. Considerable progress has been made in all areas. Accomplishments are divided into two groups according to their theoretical or experimental nature. A brief summary is given in Section 2, including references to papers which appeared in the literature, as well as to Ph.D. dissertations and technical reports published at Stanford University.

Numerical solution of inverse scattering for near-field optics.

PubMed

Bao, Gang; Li, Peijun

2007-06-01

A novel regularized recursive linearization method is developed for a two-dimensional inverse medium scattering problem that arises in near-field optics, which reconstructs the scatterer of an inhomogeneous medium located on a substrate from data accessible through photon scanning tunneling microscopy experiments. Based on multiple frequency scattering data, the method starts from the Born approximation corresponding to weak scattering at a low frequency, and each update is obtained by continuation on the wavenumber from solutions of one forward problem and one adjoint problem of the Helmholtz equation.

77 FR 3847 - Major Capital Investment Projects

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-25

... designed to achieve a ``medium'' cost effectiveness rating to remain eligible for funding while sacrificing other potentially important considerations (such as station locations and/or design features to... access to surrounding development or aesthetically-oriented design features. This would remove a...

Empirical assessment of published effect sizes and power in the recent cognitive neuroscience and psychology literature

PubMed Central

Szucs, Denes; Ioannidis, John P. A.

2017-01-01

We have empirically assessed the distribution of published effect sizes and estimated power by analyzing 26,841 statistical records from 3,801 cognitive neuroscience and psychology papers published recently. The reported median effect size was D = 0.93 (interquartile range: 0.64–1.46) for nominally statistically significant results and D = 0.24 (0.11–0.42) for nonsignificant results. Median power to detect small, medium, and large effects was 0.12, 0.44, and 0.73, reflecting no improvement through the past half-century. This is so because sample sizes have remained small. Assuming similar true effect sizes in both disciplines, power was lower in cognitive neuroscience than in psychology. Journal impact factors negatively correlated with power. Assuming a realistic range of prior probabilities for null hypotheses, false report probability is likely to exceed 50% for the whole literature. In light of our findings, the recently reported low replication success in psychology is realistic, and worse performance may be expected for cognitive neuroscience. PMID:28253258

Considerations for the composition of visual scene displays: potential contributions of information from visual and cognitive sciences.

PubMed

Wilkinson, Krista M; Light, Janice; Drager, Kathryn

2012-09-01

Aided augmentative and alternative (AAC) interventions have been demonstrated to facilitate a variety of communication outcomes in persons with intellectual disabilities. Most aided AAC systems rely on a visual modality. When the medium for communication is visual, it seems likely that the effectiveness of intervention depends in part on the effectiveness and efficiency with which the information presented in the display can be perceived, identified, and extracted by communicators and their partners. Understanding of visual-cognitive processing - that is, how a user attends, perceives, and makes sense of the visual information on the display - therefore seems critical to designing effective aided AAC interventions. In this Forum Note, we discuss characteristics of one particular type of aided AAC display, that is, Visual Scene Displays (VSDs) as they may relate to user visual and cognitive processing. We consider three specific ways in which bodies of knowledge drawn from the visual cognitive sciences may be relevant to the composition of VSDs, with the understanding the direct research with children with complex communication needs is necessary to verify or refute our speculations.

Mortality salience and the spreading activation of worldview-relevant constructs: exploring the cognitive architecture of terror management.

PubMed

Arndt, Jamie; Greenberg, Jeff; Cook, Alison

2002-09-01

Seven experiments assessed the hypothesis derived from terror management theory that reminding people of their mortality would increase accessibility of constructs central to their worldview. Experiment 1 found that mortality primes, relative to control primes, increased accessibility of nationalistic constructs for men but not for women. Experiment 2 replicated this finding and also found that mortality salience increased romantic accessibility for women but not for men. Four subsequent experiments supported the role of unconscious death-related ideation in producing these effects. A final experiment demonstrated that situational primes can increase the accessibility of nationalistic constructs for women after mortality salience. The roles of situational cues and individual differences in the effects of exposure to death-related stimuli on worldview-relevant construct accessibility are discussed.

Carbohydrates for improving the cognitive performance of independent-living older adults with normal cognition or mild cognitive impairment.

PubMed

Ooi, Cheow Peng; Loke, Seng Cheong; Yassin, Zaitun; Hamid, Tengku-Aizan

2011-04-13

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is an intermediate state between normal cognition and dementia in which daily function is largely intact. This condition may present an opportunity for research into the prevention of dementia. Carbohydrate is an essential and easily accessible macronutrient which influences cognitive performance. A better understanding of carbohydrate-driven cognitive changes in normal cognition and mild cognitive impairment may suggest ways to prevent or reduce cognitive decline. To assess the effectiveness of carbohydrates in improving cognitive function in older adults. We searched ALOIS, the Cochrane Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group Specialized Register on 22 June 2010 using the terms: carbohydrates OR carbohydrate OR monosaccharides OR disaccharides OR oligosaccharides OR polysaccharides OR CARBS. ALOIS contains records from all major healthcare databases (The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, LILACS) as well as from many trial databases and grey literature sources. All randomised controlled trials (RCT) that have examined the efficacy of any form of carbohydrates in normal cognition and MCI. One review author selected and retrieved relevant articles for further assessment. The remaining authors independently assessed whether any of the retrieved trials should be included. Disagreements were resolved by discussion.  There is no suitable RCT of any form of carbohydrates involving independent-living older adults with normal cognition or mild cognitive impairment. There are no suitable RCTs on which to base any recommendations about the use of any form of carbohydrate for enhancing cognitive performance in older adults with normal cognition or mild cognitive impairment. More studies of many different carbohydrates are needed to tease out complex nutritional issues and further evaluate memory improvement.

World Wide Webs: Crossing the Digital Divide through Promotion of Public Access

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coetzee, Liezl

“As Bill Gates and Steve Case proclaim the global omnipresence of the Internet, the majority of non-Western nations and 97 per cent of the world's population remain unconnected to the net for lack of money, access, or knowledge. This exclusion of so vast a share of the global population from the Internet sharply contradicts the claims of those who posit the World Wide Web as a ‘universal' medium of egalitarian communication.” (Trend 2001:2)

Effectiveness of cognitive-behavioural therapy on glycaemic control and psychological outcomes in adults with diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

PubMed

Uchendu, C; Blake, H

2017-03-01

Diabetes is a chronic progressive condition presenting physical, social and psychological challenges that increase the risk of comorbid mental health problems. Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is effective in treating a variety of psychological disorders, and may potentially improve glycaemic control and psychological outcomes in diabetes. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to establish the effectiveness of CBT on glycaemic control and comorbid diabetes-related distress, depression, anxiety and quality of life in the short, medium and longer term among adults with diabetes. An electronic search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Web of Knowledge, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and references in reviews. Twelve randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were identified that evaluated the effectiveness of CBT on at least one of: glycaemic control, diabetes-related distress, anxiety, depression or quality of life in adults with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. The Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool and Review Manager version 5.3 were used for risk of bias assessment and meta-analysis, respectively. CBT is effective in reducing short-term and medium-term glycaemic control, although no significant effect was found for long-term glycaemic control. CBT improved short- and medium-term anxiety and depression, and long-term depression. Mixed results were found for diabetes-related distress and quality of life. CBT is beneficial in improving depression for adults with diabetes. It may have benefits for improving glycaemic control and other aspects of psychological health, although the findings are inconclusive. © 2016 Diabetes UK.

Being There in the Midst of the Story: How Immersive Journalism Affects Our Perceptions and Cognitions.

PubMed

Sundar, S Shyam; Kang, Jin; Oprean, Danielle

2017-11-01

Immersive journalism in the form of virtual reality (VR) headsets and 360°-video is becoming more mainstream and is much touted for inducing greater "presence" than traditional text. But, does this presence influence psychological outcomes of reading news, such as memory for story content, perceptions of credibility, and empathy felt toward story characters? We propose that two key technological affordances of VR (modality and interactivity) are responsible for triggering three presence-related cognitive heuristics (being-there, interaction, and realism), which influence news readers' memory and their perceptions of credibility, empathy, and story-sharing intentions. We report a 3 (storytelling medium: VR vs. 360°-video vs. Text) × 2 (story: "The displaced" and "The click effect") mixed-factorial experiment, in which participants (N = 129) experienced two New York Times stories (that differed in their emotional intensity) using one of the three mediums (VR, 360°-video, Text). Participants who experienced the stories using VR and 360°-video outperformed those who read the same stories using text with pictures, not only on such presence-related outcomes as being-there, interaction, and realism, but also on perceived source credibility, story-sharing intention, and feelings of empathy. Moreover, we found that senses of being-there, interaction, and realism mediated the relationship between storytelling medium and reader perceptions of credibility, story recall, and story-sharing intention. These findings have theoretical implications for the psychology of virtual reality, and practical applications for immersive journalism in particular and interactive media in general.

Introducing CUBES: the Cassegrain U-band Brazil-ESO spectrograph

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bristow, Paul; Barbuy, Beatriz; Macanhan, Vanessa B.; Castilho, Bruno; Dekker, Hans; Delabre, Bernard; Diaz, Marcos; Gneiding, Clemens; Kerber, Florian; Kuntschner, Harald; La Mura, Giovanni; Reiss, Roland; Vernet, J.

2014-07-01

CUBES is a high-efficiency, medium-resolution (R ≃ 20, 000) spectrograph dedicated to the "ground based UV" (approximately the wavelength range from 300 to 400nm) destined for the Cassegrain focus of one of ESO's VLT unit telescopes in 2018/19. The CUBES project is a joint venture between ESO and Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas (IAG) at the Universidade de São Paulo and the Brazilian Laboratório Nacional de Astrofísica (LNA). CUBES will provide access to a wealth of new and relevant information for stellar as well as extra-galactic sources. Principle science cases include the study of heavy elements in metal-poor stars, the direct determination of carbon, nitrogen and oxygen abundances by study of molecular bands in the UV range and the determination of the Beryllium abundance as well as the study of active galactic nuclei and the inter-galactic medium. With a streamlined modern instrument design, high efficiency dispersing elements and UV-sensitive detectors, it will enable a significant gain in sensitivity over existing ground based medium-high resolution spectrographs enabling vastly increased sample sizes accessible to the astronomical community. We present here a brief overview of the project, introducing the science cases that drive the design and discussing the design options and technological challenges.

Mood state dependency of dysfunctional attitudes in bipolar affective disorder.

PubMed

Babakhani, Anet; Startup, Mike

2012-01-01

Studies of cognitive styles among euthymic people with bipolar affective disorder (BAD) without use of mood induction techniques to access those cognitive styles give misleading impressions of normality of those cognitions. The aim of this study was to assess dysfunctional attitudes of participants with BAD, and control participants with no previous psychiatric histories, after mood inductions. Sad and happy moods were induced within 49 BAD and 37 controls. Dysfunctional attitudes were measured following mood inductions using the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale-short form (DAS-24), which has three subscales of achievement, interpersonal, and goal attainment. It was hypothesised that within BAD the sad mood induction would help in accessing dysfunctional attitudes in all three domains relative to the happy mood induction. This was supported. It was also hypothesised that the mood inductions would not affect dysfunctional attitudes within controls. This was supported. When diagnosis was entered as a between group variable, achievement dysfunctional attitudes were significantly higher in BAD compared to controls after a happy induction. Both sad and happy moods provoked higher levels of dysfunctional attitudes within BAD. Euphoria may be related to elevated achievement dysfunctional attitudes, raising risk for mania.

Influence of education level on design-induced N170 and P300 components of event related potentials in the human brain.

PubMed

Begum, Tahamina; Reza, Faruque; Ahmed, Izmer; Abdullah, Jafri Malin

2014-03-01

Simple geometric and organic shapes and their arrangement are being used in different neuropsychology tests for the assessment of cognitive function, special memory and also for the therapy purpose in different patient groups. Until now there is no electrophysiological evidence of cognitive function determination for simple geometric, organic shapes and their arrangement. Then the main objective of this study is to know the cortical processing and amplitude, latency of visual induced N170 and P300 event related potential components on different geometric, organic shapes and their arrangement and different educational influence on it, which is worthwhile to know for the early and better treatment for those patient groups. While education influenced on cognitive function by using auditory oddball task, little is known about the influence of education on cognitive function induced by visual attention task in case of the choice of geometric, organic shapes and their arrangements. Using a 128-electrode sensor net, we studied the responses of the choice of the different geometric and organic shapes randomly in experiment 1 and their arrangements in experiment 2 in the high, medium and low education groups. In both experiments, subjects push the button "1" or "2" if like or dislike, respectively. Total 45 healthy subjects (15 in each group) were recruited. ERPs were measured from 11 electrode sites and analyzed to see the evoked N170/N240 and P300 ERP components. There were no differences between like and dislike in amplitudes even in latencies in every stimulus in both experiments. We fixed geometric shapes and organic shapes stimuli only, not like and dislike. Upon the stimulus types, N170 ERP component was found instead of N240, in occipito-temporal (T5, T6, O1 and O2) locations where the amplitude is the highest at O2 location and P300 was distributed in the central (Cz and Pz) locations in both experiments in all groups. In experiment 1, significant low amplitude and non-significant larger latency of the N170 component are found out at O1 location for both stimuli in low education group comparing medium education groups, but in experiment 2, there is no significant difference between stimuli among groups in amplitude and latency. In both experiments, P300 component was found in Cz and Pz locations though the amplitudes are higher at Cz than Pz areas. In experiment 1, medium education group evoked significantly (geometric shape stimuli, P = 0.05; organic shape stimuli, P = 0.02) higher amplitude of P300 component comparing low education group at Cz location. Whereas, there is no significant difference of amplitudes among groups across stimuli in Cz and Pz locations in experiment 2. Latencies have no significant differences in both experiments among groups also, but longer latency are found in low education group at Cz location comparing medium education group, though not significant. We conclude that simple geometric shapes, organic shapes and their arrangements evoked visual N170 component at temporo-occipital areas with right lateralization and P300 ERP component at centro-parietal areas. Significant low amplitude of N170 and P300 ERP components and longer latencies during different shape stimuli in low education group prove that, low education significantly influence on visual cognitive functions in low education group.

An evaluation of the cognitive and mood effects of an energy shot over a 6h period in volunteers: a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled, cross-over study.

PubMed

Wesnes, Keith A; Barrett, Marilyn L; Udani, Jay K

2013-08-01

Energy drinks are widely available mostly containing glucose, and several have been demonstrated to improve alertness and cognitive function; these effects generally being identified 30-60min after administration. The present study assessed whether an energy shot without carbohydrates would affect major aspects of cognitive function and also mood in volunteers over a 6h time period. This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled,crossover study compared the acute effects of the energy shot with a matching placebo in 94 healthy volunteers. Cognitive function was assessed with a widely used set of automated tests of attention and memory. Mood was assessed with the Bond-Lader, Beck Anxiety Index, Beck Depression Index, Chalder Fatigue Scales (CFS), and the POMS. The volunteers were requested to limit their sleep to between 3 and 6h the night before each testing day. Compared to the placebo, the energy shot significantly improved 6 validated composite cognitive function measures from the CDR System as well as self-rated alertness; the benefits on 4 of the cognitive measures still remaining at 6h. The overall effect sizes of the performance improvements were in the small to medium range and thus notable in this field. In conclusion, an energy shot can significantly improve important aspects of cognitive function for up to 6h compared to placebo in partially sleep-deprived healthy volunteers. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Cognitive Framework for Understanding Barriers to the Productive Use of a Diabetes Home Telemedicine System

PubMed Central

Kaufman, David R.; Starren, Justin; Patel, Vimla L.; Morin, Philip C.; Hilliman, Charlyn; Pevzner, Jenia; Weinstock, Ruth S.; Goland, Robin; Shea, Steven

2003-01-01

Telemedicine has the potential to transcend geographic and socio-cultural barriers to the delivery of high quality health care to the medically underserved populations. However, there are significant cognitive and usability barriers. This paper presents a multifaceted cognitive evaluation of the IDEATel diabetes education and telemedicine program. The evaluation included a cognitive walkthrough analysis to characterize task complexity and identify potential problems as well as field usability testing in patients’ homes. The study revealed dimensions of the interface that impeded optimal access to system resources. In addition, we found significant obstacles corresponding to perceptual-motoric skills, mental models of the system, and health literacy. The objective of this work is to contribute to a design framework so that participants with a wide range of skills can better manage their chronic illnesses. PMID:14728194

Association between Prenatal and Postnatal Psychological Distress and Toddler Cognitive Development: A Systematic Review

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Purpose Maternal psychological distress is one of the most common perinatal complications, affecting up to 25% of pregnant and postpartum women. Research exploring the association between prenatal and postnatal distress and toddler cognitive development has not been systematically compiled. The objective of this systematic review was to determine the association between prenatal and postnatal psychological distress and toddler cognitive development. Methods Articles were included if: a) they were observational studies published in English; b) the exposure was prenatal or postnatal psychological distress; c) cognitive development was assessed from 13 to 36 months; d) the sample was recruited in developed countries; and e) exposed and unexposed women were included. A university-based librarian conducted a search of electronic databases (Embase, CINAHL, Eric, PsycInfo, Medline) (January, 1990-March, 2014). We searched gray literature, reference lists, and relevant journals. Two reviewers independently evaluated titles/abstracts for inclusion, and quality using the Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network appraisal tool for observational studies. One reviewer extracted data using a standardized form. Results Thirteen of 2448 studies were included. There is evidence of an association between prenatal and postnatal distress and cognitive development. While variable effect sizes were reported for postnatal associations, most studies reported medium effect sizes for the association between prenatal psychological distress and cognitive development. Too few studies were available to determine the influence of the timing of prenatal exposure on cognitive outcomes. Conclusion Findings support the need for early identification and treatment of perinatal mental health problems as a potential strategy for optimizing toddler cognitive development. PMID:25996151

Association between Prenatal and Postnatal Psychological Distress and Toddler Cognitive Development: A Systematic Review.

PubMed

Kingston, Dawn; McDonald, Sheila; Austin, Marie-Paule; Tough, Suzanne

2015-01-01

Maternal psychological distress is one of the most common perinatal complications, affecting up to 25% of pregnant and postpartum women. Research exploring the association between prenatal and postnatal distress and toddler cognitive development has not been systematically compiled. The objective of this systematic review was to determine the association between prenatal and postnatal psychological distress and toddler cognitive development. Articles were included if: a) they were observational studies published in English; b) the exposure was prenatal or postnatal psychological distress; c) cognitive development was assessed from 13 to 36 months; d) the sample was recruited in developed countries; and e) exposed and unexposed women were included. A university-based librarian conducted a search of electronic databases (Embase, CINAHL, Eric, PsycInfo, Medline) (January, 1990-March, 2014). We searched gray literature, reference lists, and relevant journals. Two reviewers independently evaluated titles/abstracts for inclusion, and quality using the Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network appraisal tool for observational studies. One reviewer extracted data using a standardized form. Thirteen of 2448 studies were included. There is evidence of an association between prenatal and postnatal distress and cognitive development. While variable effect sizes were reported for postnatal associations, most studies reported medium effect sizes for the association between prenatal psychological distress and cognitive development. Too few studies were available to determine the influence of the timing of prenatal exposure on cognitive outcomes. Findings support the need for early identification and treatment of perinatal mental health problems as a potential strategy for optimizing toddler cognitive development.

Vestibular control of standing balance is enhanced with increased cognitive load.

PubMed

McGeehan, Michael A; Woollacott, Marjorie H; Dalton, Brian H

2017-04-01

When cognitive load is elevated during a motor task, cortical inhibition and reaction time are increased; yet, standing balance control is often unchanged. This disconnect is likely explained by compensatory mechanisms within the balance system such as increased sensitivity of the vestibulomotor pathway. This study aimed to determine the effects of increased cognitive load on the vestibular control of standing balance. Participants stood blindfolded on a force plate with their head facing left and arms relaxed at their sides for two trials while exposed to continuous electrical vestibular stimulation (EVS). Participants either stood quietly or executed a cognitive task (double-digit arithmetic). Surface electromyography (EMG) and anterior-posterior ground-body forces (APF) were measured in order to evaluate vestibular-evoked balance responses in the frequency (coherence and gain) and time (cumulant density) domains. Total distance traveled for anterior-posterior center of pressure (COP) was assessed as a metric of balance variability. Despite similar distances traveled for COP, EVS-medial gastrocnemius (MG) EMG and EVS-APF coherence and EVS-TA EMG and EVS-MG EMG gain were elevated for multiple frequencies when standing with increased cognitive load. For the time domain, medium-latency peak amplitudes increased by 13-54% for EVS-APF and EVS-EMG relationships with the cognitive task compared to without. Peak short-latency amplitudes were unchanged. These results indicate that reliance on vestibular control of balance is enhanced when cognitive load is elevated. This augmented neural strategy may act to supplement divided cortical processing resources within the balance system and compensate for the acute neuromuscular modifications associated with increased cognitive demand.

Over-the-Counter Supplement Interventions to Prevent Cognitive Decline, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Clinical Alzheimer-Type Dementia: A Systematic Review.

PubMed

Butler, Mary; Nelson, Victoria A; Davila, Heather; Ratner, Edward; Fink, Howard A; Hemmy, Laura S; McCarten, J Riley; Barclay, Terry R; Brasure, Michelle; Kane, Robert L

2018-01-02

Optimal interventions to prevent or delay cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or dementia are uncertain. To summarize the evidence on efficacy and harms of over-the-counter (OTC) supplements to prevent or delay cognitive decline, MCI, or clinical Alzheimer-type dementia in adults with normal cognition or MCI but no dementia diagnosis. Multiple electronic databases from 2009 to July 2017 and bibliographies of systematic reviews. English-language trials of at least 6 months' duration that enrolled adults without dementia and compared cognitive outcomes with an OTC supplement versus placebo or active controls. Extraction performed by a single reviewer and confirmed by a second reviewer; dual-reviewer assessment of risk of bias; consensus determination of strength of evidence. Thirty-eight trials with low to medium risk of bias compared ω-3 fatty acids, soy, ginkgo biloba, B vitamins, vitamin D plus calcium, vitamin C or β-carotene, multi-ingredient supplements, or other OTC interventions with placebo or other supplements. Few studies examined effects on clinical Alzheimer-type dementia or MCI, and those that did suggested no benefit. Daily folic acid plus vitamin B12 was associated with improvements in performance on some objectively measured memory tests that were statistically significant but of questionable clinical significance. Moderate-strength evidence showed that vitamin E had no benefit on cognition. Evidence about effects of ω-3 fatty acids, soy, ginkgo biloba, folic acid alone or with other B vitamins, β-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin D plus calcium, and multivitamins or multi-ingredient supplements was either insufficient or low-strength, suggesting that these supplements did not reduce risk for cognitive decline. Adverse events were rarely reported. Studies had high attrition and short follow-up and used a highly variable set of cognitive outcome measures. Evidence is insufficient to recommend any OTC supplement for cognitive protection in adults with normal cognition or MCI. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Does cognitive impairment impact adherence? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the association between cognitive impairment and medication non-adherence in stroke

PubMed Central

Merriman, Niamh A.; Doyle, Frank; Bennett, Kathleen; Williams, David; Hickey, Anne

2017-01-01

Background While medication adherence is essential for the secondary prevention of stroke, it is often sub-optimal, and can be compromised by cognitive impairment. This study aimed to systematically review and meta-analyse the association between cognitive impairment and medication non-adherence in stroke. Methods A systematic literature search of longitudinal and cross-sectional studies of adults with any stroke type, which reported on the association between any measure of non-adherence and cognitive impairment, was carried out according to PRISMA guidelines. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were the primary measure of effect. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Bias Methods Group's Tool to Assess Risk of Bias in Cohort Studies, with evidence quality assessed according to the GRADE approach. We conducted sensitivity analyses according to measure of cognitive impairment, measure of medication adherence, population, risk of bias and adjustment for covariates. The protocol was registered with PROSPERO. Results From 1,760 titles and abstracts, we identified 9 studies for inclusion. Measures of cognitive impairment varied from dementia diagnosis to standardised cognitive assessments. Medication adherence was assessed through self-report or administrative databases. The majority of studies were of medium risk of bias (n = 6); two studies had low risk of bias. Findings were mixed; when all studies were pooled, there was no evidence of an association between cognitive impairment and medication non-adherence post-stroke [OR (95% CI): 0.85 (0.66, 1.03)]. However, heterogeneity was substantial [I2 = 90.9%, p < .001], and the overall evidence quality was low. Conclusions Few studies have explored associations between cognitive impairment and medication adherence post-stroke, with substantial heterogeneity in study populations, and definitions and assessments of non-adherence and cognitive impairment. Further research using clear, standardised and objective assessments is needed to clarify the association between cognitive impairment and medication non-adherence in stroke. PMID:29220386

Normative data for the Digit Symbol Substitution Test in a population-based sample aged 65-79 years: Results from the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults (DEGS1).

PubMed

Gaertner, Beate; Wagner, Michael; Luck, Tobias; Buttery, Amanda K; Fuchs, Judith; Busch, Markus A

2018-06-17

To provide normative data for the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, 3rd edition (WAIS-III) in a population-based sample of community-dwelling older adults in Germany according to age, sex, and level of education. The sample comprised 1385 participants aged 65-79 years from the nationwide representative 'German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults' (DEGS1, 2008-2011). Participants with known cognitive impairment or dementia, other medical conditions affecting cognition, or currently using psychotropic drugs were excluded. Educational level was categorized as low, medium, and high according to the Comparative Analyses of Social Mobility in Industrial Nations (CASMIN) scale. Normative values for the DSST according to age, sex, and level of education were estimated by multiple linear regression using population weights. Mean age was 71.1 years, 48.6% were men and low, medium, and high education levels were 62.8, 24.6, and 12.6%, respectively. Younger age, female sex, and higher level of education were significantly associated with higher DSST scores. Regression-based normative data for the DSST is provided according to age, sex, and level of education. In addition, a normative score calculator is provided. These are the first age-, sex-, and education-specific normative data for older individuals for the DSST of the WAIS-III in Germany. These normative data will enable future population-level analyses on impaired cognitive function according to DSST.

Therapeutic Group work for People with Cognitive Losses Therapeutic Groupwork for People with Cognitive Losses Mike Bender Speechmark 288 pp £37.50 0 86388 4067 0863884067 [Formula: see text].

PubMed

2005-10-01

Mike Bender has provided a thoroughly accessible book that imparts information and guidance, and focuses effort. He quickly constructs a sound rationale for supporting therapeutic groupwork in people who experience cognitive loss. This theme runs throughout and is reinforced by positive experiences reported in the text. The author does not over-complicate or attempt to place groupwork in the hands of a skilled few; instead he shows that with planning, solid support from colleagues, attention to detail in preparation and by following some well-grounded 'rules', groupwork is available to most.

16 CFR 6.152 - Program accessibility: Electronic and information technology.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... information technology. 6.152 Section 6.152 Commercial Practices FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ORGANIZATION... information technology. (a) When developing, procuring, maintaining, or using electronic and information... electronic and information technology allows, regardless of the type of medium of the technology: (1...

16 CFR 6.152 - Program accessibility: Electronic and information technology.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... information technology. 6.152 Section 6.152 Commercial Practices FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ORGANIZATION... information technology. (a) When developing, procuring, maintaining, or using electronic and information... electronic and information technology allows, regardless of the type of medium of the technology: (1...

16 CFR 6.152 - Program accessibility: Electronic and information technology.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... information technology. 6.152 Section 6.152 Commercial Practices FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ORGANIZATION... information technology. (a) When developing, procuring, maintaining, or using electronic and information... electronic and information technology allows, regardless of the type of medium of the technology: (1...

16 CFR 6.152 - Program accessibility: Electronic and information technology.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... information technology. 6.152 Section 6.152 Commercial Practices FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ORGANIZATION... information technology. (a) When developing, procuring, maintaining, or using electronic and information... electronic and information technology allows, regardless of the type of medium of the technology: (1...

77 FR 66052 - Program Access Rules

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-31

... contracts involving cable-affiliated programming; and amendments to its rules to ensure that buying groups utilized by small and medium-sized multichannel video programming distributors (``MVPDs'') can avail...-delivered) is entitled to a standstill of an existing programming contract during the pendency of a...

Cognitive effects of methylphenidate in healthy volunteers: a review of single dose studies.

PubMed

Linssen, A M W; Sambeth, A; Vuurman, E F P M; Riedel, W J

2014-06-01

Methylphenidate (MPH), a stimulant drug with dopamine and noradrenaline reuptake inhibition properties, is mainly prescribed in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is increasingly used by the general population, intending to enhance their cognitive function. In this literature review, we aim to answer whether this is effective. We present a novel way to determine the extent to which MPH enhances cognitive performance in a certain domain. Namely, we quantify this by a percentage that reflects the number of studies showing performance enhancing effects of MPH. To evaluate whether the dose-response relationship follows an inverted-U-shaped curve, MPH effects on cognition are also quantified for low, medium and high doses, respectively. The studies reviewed here show that single doses of MPH improve cognitive performance in the healthy population in the domains of working memory (65% of included studies) and speed of processing (48%), and to a lesser extent may also improve verbal learning and memory (31%), attention and vigilance (29%) and reasoning and problem solving (18%), but does not have an effect on visual learning and memory. MPH effects are dose-dependent and the dose-response relationship differs between cognitive domains. MPH use is associated with side effects and other adverse consequences, such as potential abuse. Future studies should focus on MPH specifically to adequately asses its benefits in relation to the risks specific to this drug.

Improving clinical cognitive testing: report of the AAN Behavioral Neurology Section Workgroup.

PubMed

Daffner, Kirk R; Gale, Seth A; Barrett, A M; Boeve, Bradley F; Chatterjee, Anjan; Coslett, H Branch; D'Esposito, Mark; Finney, Glen R; Gitelman, Darren R; Hart, John J; Lerner, Alan J; Meador, Kimford J; Pietras, Alison C; Voeller, Kytja S; Kaufer, Daniel I

2015-09-08

To evaluate the evidence basis of single-domain cognitive tests frequently used by behavioral neurologists in an effort to improve the quality of clinical cognitive assessment. Behavioral Neurology Section members of the American Academy of Neurology were surveyed about how they conduct clinical cognitive testing, with a particular focus on the Neurobehavioral Status Exam (NBSE). In contrast to general screening cognitive tests, an NBSE consists of tests of individual cognitive domains (e.g., memory or language) that provide a more comprehensive diagnostic assessment. Workgroups for each of 5 cognitive domains (attention, executive function, memory, language, and spatial cognition) conducted evidence-based reviews of frequently used tests. Reviews focused on suitability for office-based clinical practice, including test administration time, accessibility of normative data, disease populations studied, and availability in the public domain. Demographic and clinical practice data were obtained from 200 respondents who reported using a wide range of cognitive tests. Based on survey data and ancillary information, between 5 and 15 tests in each cognitive domain were reviewed. Within each domain, several tests are highlighted as being well-suited for an NBSE. We identified frequently used single-domain cognitive tests that are suitable for an NBSE to help make informed choices about clinical cognitive assessment. Some frequently used tests have limited normative data or have not been well-studied in common neurologic disorders. Utilizing standardized cognitive tests, particularly those with normative data based on the individual's age and educational level, can enhance the rigor and utility of clinical cognitive assessment. © 2015 American Academy of Neurology.

Phase-resolved reflectance spectroscopy on layered turbid media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hielscher, Andreas H.; Liu, Hanli; Chance, Britton; Tittel, Frank K.; Jacques, Steven L.

1995-05-01

In this study, we investigate the influence of layered tissue structures on the phase-resolved reflectance. As a particular example, we consider the affect of the skin, skull, and meninges on noninvasive blood oxygenation determination of the brain. In this case, it's important to know how accurate one can measure the absorption coefficient of the brain through the enclosing layers of different tissues. Experiments were performed on layered gelatin tissue phantoms and the results compared to diffusion theory. It is shown that when a high absorbing medium is placed on top of a low absorbing medium, the absorption coefficient of the lower layer is accessible. In the inverse case, where a low absorbing medium is placed on top of a high absorbing medium, the absorption coefficient of the underlying medium can only be determined if the differences in the absorption coefficient are small, or the top layer is very thin. Investigations on almost absorption and scattering free layers, like the cerebral fluid filled arachnoid, reveal that the determination of the absorption coefficient is barely affected by these kinds of structures.

Interviews with low-income Pennsylvanians verify a need to enhance eating competence.

PubMed

Stotts Krall, Jodi; Lohse, Barbara

2009-03-01

Continuation of unhealthful dietary patterns and poor diet-related health outcomes among socioeconomically disadvantaged populations underscores the need to improve diet quality for this group. Enhancing eating competence, based on the Satter model of eating competence (ecSatter), may be one effective method to reach this goal, but requires substantiation in a low-income audience. This study utilized a qualitative approach to examine the congruence of the ecSatter model with the cognitive eating behaviors of a low-income audience. Structured interviews were conducted during summer of 2006 with 70 low-income adults in Pennsylvania. Themes about decisional factors that guide food selection, nutrition/health interests, and cognitive and affective responses to eating experiences were generated through content analysis. Thematic differences among eating competence levels and food security categories were examined. Nutrition information access preferences were also obtained. Eating competence, measured with the ecSatter Inventory, was low for this sample (mean 28.8+/-8.3). Convenience, mood, family, and availability of food at home, but not nutrition, were salient factors guiding meal and snack planning for both eating competent and noneating competent participants. Nearly equal proportions of persons with eating competence and without eating competence reported that they would make changes to their food purchases if they had more money to spend on food. Interestingly, for participants without eating competence, but not for those with eating competence, weight management played an important role in meal/snack planning, food purchases, and nutrition/health interests. ecSatter provided a tenable framework for rationalizing participants' cognitive and affective responses to eating experiences. Participants without eating competence were more likely to express negative thoughts and feelings associated with eating, regardless of food security status. The Internet, which was accessible to 80% (n=56) of participants, was the most frequently reported convenient method for accessing nutrition information. These findings lead us to recommend that increased attention be placed on cognitive eating behaviors of low-income adults to improve their diet quality.

Cognitive Coordination on the Network Centric Battlefield

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-03-06

access in spoken language comprehension: Evaluating a linking hypothesis between fixations and linguistic processing. Journal of Psycholinguistic ...Research, Vol 29, 557-580 56 Trueswell, J. & Tanenhaus, M (eds.) (2004). World-situated language use: Psycholinguistic , linguistic, and computational

Firearms in Frail Hands: An ADL or A Public Health Crisis!

PubMed

Patel, Dupal; Syed, Quratulain; Messinger-Rapport, Barbara J; Rader, Erin

2015-06-01

The incidence of neurocognitive disorders, which may impair the ability of older adults to perform activities of daily living (ADLs), rises with age. Depressive symptoms are also common in older adults and may affect ADLs. Safe storage and utilization of firearms are complex ADLs, which require intact judgment, executive function, and visuospatial ability, and may be affected by cognitive impairment. Depression or cognitive impairment may cause paranoia, delusions, disinhibition, apathy, or aggression and thereby limit the ability to safely utilize firearms. These problems may be superimposed upon impaired mobility, arthritis, visual impairment, or poor balance. Inadequate attention to personal protection may also cause hearing impairment and accidents. In this article, we review the data on prevalence of firearms access among older adults; safety concerns due to age-related conditions; barriers to addressing this problem; indications prompting screening for firearms access; and resources available to patients, caregivers, and health care providers. © The Author(s) 2014.

On measuring and decomposing inequality of opportunity in access to health services among Tunisian children: a new approach for public policy.

PubMed

Saidi, Anis; Hamdaoui, Mekki

2017-10-25

The early years in children's life are the key to physical, cognitive-language, and, socio-emotional skills development. So, it is of paramount importance in this period to be interested in different indicators that would influence the child's health. This paper measures inequality of opportunities among Tunisian children concerning access to nutritional and healthy services using Human Opportunity-Index and Shapely decomposition methods. Many disparities between regions have been detected since 1982 until 2012. Tunisian children face unequal opportunities to develop in terms of health, nutrition, cognitive, social, and emotional development. Likewise, we found that, parents' education, wealth, age of household head and geographic factors as key factors determining child development outcomes. Our findings suggested that childhood unequal opportunities in Tunisia are explained by pension funds deficiency and structural problem in the labor market. The results of a health care intervention on human participants "retrospectively registered".

Volunteering in the Community: Potential Benefits for Cognitive Aging.

PubMed

Guiney, Hayley; Machado, Liana

2018-03-02

This review aims to advance understanding of the potential benefits of volunteering in the community for older adults' cognitive functioning by taking an in-depth look at the relevant evidence to date. This review describes the main pathways through which volunteering could plausibly benefit cognitive functioning and critically examines research that has specifically investigated links between volunteering and cognition. Fifteen articles that assessed in adults aged ≥ 55 years the relationship between volunteering (predictor) and cognitive functioning (outcome) were identified via literature database searches. On balance, evidence from the small number of relevant studies to date supports the idea that volunteering can protect against cognitive aging with respect to global functioning and at least some specific cognitive domains. Studies that used robust designs and assessed domain-specific cognitive functioning produced the largest effect sizes. To help advance the field, this review puts forward recommendations for future research, with an emphasis on the need for robust study designs and specific investigations into the nature and extent of the cognitive benefits of volunteering. Through that work, researchers can determine how a simple and accessible activity like volunteering can best be used to help reduce the burden of age-related cognitive decline. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Meditation and Music Improve Memory and Cognitive Function in Adults with Subjective Cognitive Decline: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

PubMed

Innes, Kim E; Selfe, Terry Kit; Khalsa, Dharma Singh; Kandati, Sahiti

2017-01-01

While effective therapies for preventing or slowing cognitive decline in at-risk populations remain elusive, evidence suggests mind-body interventions may hold promise. In this study, we assessed the effects of Kirtan Kriya meditation (KK) and music listening (ML) on cognitive outcomes in adults experiencing subjective cognitive decline (SCD), a strong predictor of Alzheimer's disease. Sixty participants with SCD were randomized to a KK or ML program and asked to practice 12 minutes/day for 3 months, then at their discretion for the ensuing 3 months. At baseline, 3 months, and 6 months we measured memory and cognitive functioning [Memory Functioning Questionnaire (MFQ), Trail-making Test (TMT-A/B), and Digit-Symbol Substitution Test (DSST)]. The 6-month study was completed by 53 participants (88%). Participants performed an average of 93% (91% KK, 94% ML) of sessions in the first 3 months, and 71% (68% KK, 74% ML) during the 3-month, practice-optional, follow-up period. Both groups showed marked and significant improvements at 3 months in memory and cognitive performance (MFQ, DSST, TMT-A/B; p's≤0.04). At 6 months, overall gains were maintained or improved (p's≤0.006), with effect sizes ranging from medium (DSST, ML group) to large (DSST, KK group; TMT-A/B, MFQ). Changes were unrelated to treatment expectancies and did not differ by age, gender, baseline cognition scores, or other factors. Findings of this preliminary randomized controlled trial suggest practice of meditation or ML can significantly enhance both subjective memory function and objective cognitive performance in adults with SCD, and may offer promise for improving outcomes in this population.

Oceans of Data: In what ways can learning research inform the development of electronic interfaces and tools for use by students accessing large scientific databases?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krumhansl, R. A.; Foster, J.; Peach, C. L.; Busey, A.; Baker, I.

2012-12-01

The practice of science and engineering is being revolutionized by the development of cyberinfrastructure for accessing near real-time and archived observatory data. Large cyberinfrastructure projects have the potential to transform the way science is taught in high school classrooms, making enormous quantities of scientific data available, giving students opportunities to analyze and draw conclusions from many kinds of complex data, and providing students with experiences using state-of-the-art resources and techniques for scientific investigations. However, online interfaces to scientific data are built by scientists for scientists, and their design can significantly impede broad use by novices. Knowledge relevant to the design of student interfaces to complex scientific databases is broadly dispersed among disciplines ranging from cognitive science to computer science and cartography and is not easily accessible to designers of educational interfaces. To inform efforts at bridging scientific cyberinfrastructure to the high school classroom, Education Development Center, Inc. and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography conducted an NSF-funded 2-year interdisciplinary review of literature and expert opinion pertinent to making interfaces to large scientific databases accessible to and usable by precollege learners and their teachers. Project findings are grounded in the fundamentals of Cognitive Load Theory, Visual Perception, Schemata formation and Universal Design for Learning. The Knowledge Status Report (KSR) presents cross-cutting and visualization-specific guidelines that highlight how interface design features can address/ ameliorate challenges novice high school students face as they navigate complex databases to find data, and construct and look for patterns in maps, graphs, animations and other data visualizations. The guidelines present ways to make scientific databases more broadly accessible by: 1) adjusting the cognitive load imposed by the user interface and visualizations so that it doesn't exceed the amount of information the learner can actively process; 2) drawing attention to important features and patterns; and 3) enabling customization of visualizations and tools to meet the needs of diverse learners.

Workplace Lactation Support in Milwaukee County 5 Years After the Affordable Care Act.

PubMed

Lennon, Tyler; Willis, Earnestine

2017-02-01

Workplace lactation support has become increasingly important because returning to work is associated with discontinuing breastfeeding and women in the workforce are increasing. Research aim: This study examined workplace lactation support among Milwaukee County businesses 5 years after implementation of the Affordable Care Act's Break Time for Nursing Mothers provision. A cross-sectional survey of Milwaukee County businesses was conducted in the summer of 2015 that inquired about workplace policies, lactation spaces, and other lactation resources offered. Business supports were stratified based on employer sizes: large (> 500 employees), medium (50-499 employees), and small (20-49 employees). A lactation amenity score was calculated for each business based on lactation resources available. Three hundred surveys were distributed and 71 businesses voluntarily completed the survey. Small employers were excluded from statistical analysis due to fewer responses ( n = 8). Overall, 87.3% ( n = 55) of respondents reported providing access to a multiuser space for lactation and 65.1% ( n = 41) reported providing a designated lactation space. Large employers ( n = 30) were more likely than medium employers ( n = 33) to provide a designated lactation space for breastfeeding or expressing (86.7% vs. 45.5%, p < .001). Large employers' mean amenity score was significantly higher than that of medium employers (3.37 vs. 2.57, p = .014), and they were also more likely to offer additional supports including access to a lactation consultant, classes, and materials (46.7% vs. 12.1%, p < .01). Large employers provide more lactation support than medium employers in Milwaukee County. All employers, regardless of size, need to increase additional lactation support for women in the workplace.

Cognitive Function in a Traumatic Brain Injury Hyperbaric Oxygen Randomized Trial

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-08-07

oxygen at 2.4 atm abs. Eggum and Hunter [39] experimented with canine mesenchymal stem cells under various levels of pres- sure, oxygen, glucose...and conditioned medium. The culture system showed no cytotoxicity and was able to demonstrate that the proliferation and metabolism of mesenchymal...neurodegenerative diseases and peripheral neuropathies. He concludes that while the direct mechanisms by which transection, mechanical strain, ischemia

Optical fiber cable and wiring techniques for fiber to the home (FTTH)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takai, Hirofumi; Yamauchi, Osamu

2009-08-01

NTT group's new medium-term management strategy calls for 20 million optical subscribers by 2010, and NTT Laboratories is pushing forward to meet this goal. Before that date, an efficient optical access network must be constructed, and afterwards, when the era of mass optical communications finally arrives, the facilities and equipment supporting the network will have to be effectively operated and maintained. At NTT Access Network Service Systems Laboratories, we are developing various technologies to correspond to the massive deployment of optical broadband services. We are also developing various new technologies for efficiently operating optical access network systems that will continue to expand in the future, and to supply our customers with good services. This paper provides an overview of the new optical access network system technologies that are being developed at NTT Access Network Service Systems Laboratories to address these issues.

Association of Crossword Puzzle Participation with Memory Decline in Persons Who Develop Dementia

PubMed Central

Pillai, Jagan A.; Hall, Charles B.; Dickson, Dennis W.; Buschke, Herman; Lipton, Richard B.; Verghese, Joe

2013-01-01

Participation in cognitively stimulating leisure activities such as crossword puzzles may delay onset of the memory decline in the preclinical stages of dementia, possibly via its effect on improving cognitive reserve. We followed 488 initially cognitively intact community residing individuals with clinical and cognitive assessments every 12–18 months in the Bronx Aging Study. We assessed the influence of crossword puzzle participation on the onset of accelerated memory decline as measured by the Buschke Selective Reminding Test in 101 individuals who developed incident dementia using a change point model. Crossword puzzle participation at baseline delayed onset of accelerated memory decline by 2.54 years. Inclusion of education or participation in other cognitively stimulating activities did not significantly add to the fit of the model beyond the effect of puzzles. Our findings show that late life crossword puzzle participation, independent of education, was associated with delayed onset of memory decline in persons who developed dementia. Given the wide availability and accessibility of crossword puzzles, their role in preventing cognitive decline should be validated in future clinical trials. PMID:22040899

Output order reflects the cognitive accessibility of goals.

PubMed

Grimes, Carrie E; Nes, Lise Solberg; Waldman, Andrea; Segerstrom, Suzanne C

2012-01-01

Goal accessibility--the ease or speed with which a goal is activated--increases the likelihood that it will be acted on. The present studies validate output order as a measure of goal accessibility that can be applied to goal lists in both laboratory and naturalistic settings. In three studies, output order (the order in which goals are listed in a free-response format) was related to self-reported goal value but was not redundant with it. Furthermore, output order was affected by motivational priming whereas value was not, and order associated with typical student goals (e.g., achievement) compared with atypical goals (e.g., power). Output order is well suited to bring the study of accessibility to naturalistic studies of goals and goal pursuit.

Applied cognitive task analysis (ACTA): a practitioner's toolkit for understanding cognitive task demands.

PubMed

Militello, L G; Hutton, R J

1998-11-01

Cognitive task analysis (CTA) is a set of methods for identifying cognitive skills, or mental demands, needed to perform a task proficiently. The product of the task analysis can be used to inform the design of interfaces and training systems. However, CTA is resource intensive and has previously been of limited use to design practitioners. A streamlined method of CTA, Applied Cognitive Task Analysis (ACTA), is presented in this paper. ACTA consists of three interview methods that help the practitioner to extract information about the cognitive demands and skills required for a task. ACTA also allows the practitioner to represent this information in a format that will translate more directly into applied products, such as improved training scenarios or interface recommendations. This paper will describe the three methods, an evaluation study conducted to assess the usability and usefulness of the methods, and some directions for future research for making cognitive task analysis accessible to practitioners. ACTA techniques were found to be easy to use, flexible, and to provide clear output. The information and training materials developed based on ACTA interviews were found to be accurate and important for training purposes.

Cognitive Impairment, Alzheimer's Disease, and Other Dementias in the Lives of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Older Adults and Their Caregivers: Needs and Competencies.

PubMed

Fredriksen-Goldsen, Karen I; Jen, Sarah; Bryan, Amanda E B; Goldsen, Jayn

2018-05-01

Cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease, and other dementias are important health concerns for older adults. As a marginalized and growing segment of the older adult population, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) older adults face distinct risk factors related to cognitive impairment and dementias, including social isolation, discrimination, barriers to health care access, limited availability of and support for caregivers, and higher rates of certain chronic illnesses. We examine cognitive impairment and dementias among LGBT older adults, describe their unique risk factors, and outline key competencies for health care and human service providers to ensure culturally relevant care for LGBT older adults experiencing cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease, or other dementias, as well as their caregivers, families, and communities. Implications include developing an awareness of the context of LGBT older adults' lives and relationships, the importance of early detection and support, and the development of policies and practices that promote community-level advocacy and education.

Effects of cognitive impairment and functional limitation on depressive symptoms among community-dwelling older Korean immigrants in the U.S.

PubMed

Kim, Bum Jung; Liu, Lin; Cheung, Christabel; Ahn, Joonhee

2018-01-01

The present study examined the effects of cognitive impairment and functional limitation on depressive symptoms among older Korean American immigrants. The sample was drawn from a cross-sectional survey of 210 older Korean immigrants (aged 65 years or older) in Los Angeles County. Based on robust hierarchical regression, the study found that cognitive ability and functional status were significant explanatory factors related to depressive symptoms among older Korean immigrants. In addition, the interaction of instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) and cognitive function (MMSE) had a significant effect on depressive symptoms. This finding suggests that older Korean immigrants in the U.S. who experience deficits in cognitive function and/or IADL performance are vulnerable to psychological distress as indicated by depressive symptoms. Recommendations include implementing culturally-responsive health interventions aimed at enabling accessibility to dementia care services and supporting improvement of IADL performance among older Korean American immigrants.

A Robust and Energy-Efficient Transport Protocol for Cognitive Radio Sensor Networks

PubMed Central

Salim, Shelly; Moh, Sangman

2014-01-01

A cognitive radio sensor network (CRSN) is a wireless sensor network in which sensor nodes are equipped with cognitive radio. CRSNs benefit from cognitive radio capabilities such as dynamic spectrum access and transmission parameters reconfigurability; but cognitive radio also brings additional challenges and leads to higher energy consumption. Motivated to improve the energy efficiency in CRSNs, we propose a robust and energy-efficient transport protocol (RETP). The novelties of RETP are two-fold: (I) it combines distributed channel sensing and channel decision with centralized schedule-based data transmission; and (II) it differentiates the types of data transmission on the basis of data content and adopts different acknowledgment methods for different transmission types. To the best of our knowledge, no transport layer protocols have yet been designed for CRSNs. Simulation results show that the proposed protocol achieves remarkably longer network lifetime and shorter event-detection delay compared to those achieved with a conventional transport protocol, while simultaneously preserving event-detection reliability. PMID:25333288

Adapting cognitive behavioral therapy for psychosis for case managers: increasing access to services in a community mental health agency.

PubMed

Montesano, Vicki L; Sivec, Harry J; Munetz, Mark R; Pelton, Jeremy R; Turkington, Douglas

2014-03-01

The purpose of this article is twofold: (a) to describe the adaptation of an evidence-based practice and, (b) using a dissemination framework, to describe the process of implementing the practice at a community mental health agency. The authors describe the training concept and dissemination framework of implementing an emerging practice: high-yield cognitive behavioral techniques for psychosis, which is rooted in cognitive behavioral therapy. Thirteen case managers who represented teams from across the agency delivered the adapted practice at a community mental health agency. Implementation required buy in from all stakeholders, communication across disciplines, persistence, and flexibility. It appears that the use of a dissemination framework that is grounded in the literature, yet flexible, eases the process of implementing an adapted practice. Further research focusing on the effectiveness of this approach, along with the impact of implementing a full spectrum of cognitive behavioral therapy services for individuals with persistent psychotic symptoms, based on cognitive behavioral therapy principles, is indicated.

Cognitive Impairment, Alzheimer’s Disease, and Other Dementias in the Lives of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Older Adults and Their Caregivers: Needs and Competencies

PubMed Central

Fredriksen-Goldsen, Karen I.; Jen, Sarah; Bryan, Amanda E. B.; Goldsen, Jayn

2017-01-01

Cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease, and other dementias are important health concerns for older adults. As a marginalized and growing segment of the older adult population, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) older adults face distinct risk factors related to cognitive impairment and dementias, including social isolation, discrimination, barriers to health care access, limited availability of and support for caregivers, and higher rates of certain chronic illnesses. We examine cognitive impairment and dementias among LGBT older adults, describe their unique risk factors, and outline key competencies for health care and human service providers to ensure culturally relevant care for LGBT older adults experiencing cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease, or other dementias, as well as their caregivers, families, and communities. Implications include developing an awareness of the context of LGBT older adults’ lives and relationships, the importance of early detection and support, and the development of policies and practices that promote community-level advocacy and education. PMID:27729400

Flexibility in problem solving and tool use of kea and New Caledonian crows in a multi access box paradigm.

PubMed

Auersperg, Alice M I; von Bayern, Auguste M P; Gajdon, Gyula K; Huber, Ludwig; Kacelnik, Alex

2011-01-01

Parrots and corvids show outstanding innovative and flexible behaviour. In particular, kea and New Caledonian crows are often singled out as being exceptionally sophisticated in physical cognition, so that comparing them in this respect is particularly interesting. However, comparing cognitive mechanisms among species requires consideration of non-cognitive behavioural propensities and morphological characteristics evolved from different ancestry and adapted to fit different ecological niches. We used a novel experimental approach based on a Multi-Access-Box (MAB). Food could be extracted by four different techniques, two of them involving tools. Initially all four options were available to the subjects. Once they reached criterion for mastering one option, this task was blocked, until the subjects became proficient in another solution. The exploratory behaviour differed considerably. Only one (of six) kea and one (of five) NCC mastered all four options, including a first report of innovative stick tool use in kea. The crows were more efficient in using the stick tool, the kea the ball tool. The kea were haptically more explorative than the NCC, discovered two or three solutions within the first ten trials (against a mean of 0.75 discoveries by the crows) and switched more quickly to new solutions when the previous one was blocked. Differences in exploration technique, neophobia and object manipulation are likely to explain differential performance across the set of tasks. Our study further underlines the need to use a diversity of tasks when comparing cognitive traits between members of different species. Extension of a similar method to other taxa could help developing a comparative cognition research program.

Flexibility in Problem Solving and Tool Use of Kea and New Caledonian Crows in a Multi Access Box Paradigm

PubMed Central

Auersperg, Alice M. I.; von Bayern, Auguste M. P.; Gajdon, Gyula K.

2011-01-01

Parrots and corvids show outstanding innovative and flexible behaviour. In particular, kea and New Caledonian crows are often singled out as being exceptionally sophisticated in physical cognition, so that comparing them in this respect is particularly interesting. However, comparing cognitive mechanisms among species requires consideration of non-cognitive behavioural propensities and morphological characteristics evolved from different ancestry and adapted to fit different ecological niches. We used a novel experimental approach based on a Multi-Access-Box (MAB). Food could be extracted by four different techniques, two of them involving tools. Initially all four options were available to the subjects. Once they reached criterion for mastering one option, this task was blocked, until the subjects became proficient in another solution. The exploratory behaviour differed considerably. Only one (of six) kea and one (of five) NCC mastered all four options, including a first report of innovative stick tool use in kea. The crows were more efficient in using the stick tool, the kea the ball tool. The kea were haptically more explorative than the NCC, discovered two or three solutions within the first ten trials (against a mean of 0.75 discoveries by the crows) and switched more quickly to new solutions when the previous one was blocked. Differences in exploration technique, neophobia and object manipulation are likely to explain differential performance across the set of tasks. Our study further underlines the need to use a diversity of tasks when comparing cognitive traits between members of different species. Extension of a similar method to other taxa could help developing a comparative cognition research program. PMID:21687666

Exercise reduces diet-induced cognitive decline and increases hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor in CA3 neurons

PubMed Central

Noble, Emily E.; Mavanji, Vijayakumar; Little, Morgan R.; Billington, Charles J.; Kotz, Catherine M.; Wang, ChuanFeng

2014-01-01

Background Previous studies have shown that a western diet impairs, whereas physical exercise enhances hippocampus-dependent learning and memory. Both diet and exercise influence expression of hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is associated with improved cognition. We hypothesized that exercise reverses diet-induced cognitive decline while increasing hippocampal BDNF. Methods To test the effects of exercise on hippocampal-dependent memory, we compared cognitive scores of Sprague-Dawley rats exercised by voluntary running wheel (RW) access or forced treadmill (TM) to sedentary (Sed) animals. Memory was tested by two-way active avoidance test (TWAA), in which animals are exposed to a brief shock in a specific chamber area. When an animal avoids, escapes or has reduced latency to do either, this is considered a measure of memory. In a second experiment, rats were fed either a high-fat diet or control diet for 16 weeks, then randomly assigned to running wheel access or sedentary condition, and TWAA memory was tested once a week for seven weeks of exercise intervention. Results Both groups of exercised animals had improved memory as indicated by reduced latency to avoid and escape shock, and increased avoid and escape episodes (p<0.05). Exposure to a high-fat diet resulted in poor performance during both the acquisition and retrieval phases of the memory test as compared to controls. Exercise reversed high-fat diet-induced memory impairment, and increased brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in neurons of the hippocampal CA3 region. Conclusions These data suggest that exercise improves memory retrieval, particularly with respect to avoiding aversive stimuli, and may be beneficial in protecting against diet induced cognitive decline, likely via elevated BDNF in neurons of the CA3 region. PMID:24755094

Exercise reduces diet-induced cognitive decline and increases hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor in CA3 neurons.

PubMed

Noble, Emily E; Mavanji, Vijayakumar; Little, Morgan R; Billington, Charles J; Kotz, Catherine M; Wang, ChuanFeng

2014-10-01

Previous studies have shown that a western diet impairs, whereas physical exercise enhances hippocampus-dependent learning and memory. Both diet and exercise influence expression of hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is associated with improved cognition. We hypothesized that exercise reverses diet-induced cognitive decline while increasing hippocampal BDNF. To test the effects of exercise on hippocampal-dependent memory, we compared cognitive scores of Sprague-Dawley rats exercised by voluntary running wheel (RW) access or forced treadmill (TM) to sedentary (Sed) animals. Memory was tested by two-way active avoidance test (TWAA), in which animals are exposed to a brief shock in a specific chamber area. When an animal avoids, escapes or has reduced latency to do either, this is considered a measure of memory. In a second experiment, rats were fed either a high-fat diet or control diet for 16 weeks, then randomly assigned to running wheel access or sedentary condition, and TWAA memory was tested once a week for 7 weeks of exercise intervention. Both groups of exercised animals had improved memory as indicated by reduced latency to avoid and escape shock, and increased avoid and escape episodes (p<0.05). Exposure to a high-fat diet resulted in poor performance during both the acquisition and retrieval phases of the memory test as compared to controls. Exercise reversed high-fat diet-induced memory impairment, and increased brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in neurons of the hippocampal CA3 region. These data suggest that exercise improves memory retrieval, particularly with respect to avoiding aversive stimuli, and may be beneficial in protecting against diet induced cognitive decline, likely via elevated BDNF in neurons of the CA3 region. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Deep Unsupervised Learning on a Desktop PC: A Primer for Cognitive Scientists.

PubMed

Testolin, Alberto; Stoianov, Ivilin; De Filippo De Grazia, Michele; Zorzi, Marco

2013-01-01

Deep belief networks hold great promise for the simulation of human cognition because they show how structured and abstract representations may emerge from probabilistic unsupervised learning. These networks build a hierarchy of progressively more complex distributed representations of the sensory data by fitting a hierarchical generative model. However, learning in deep networks typically requires big datasets and it can involve millions of connection weights, which implies that simulations on standard computers are unfeasible. Developing realistic, medium-to-large-scale learning models of cognition would therefore seem to require expertise in programing parallel-computing hardware, and this might explain why the use of this promising approach is still largely confined to the machine learning community. Here we show how simulations of deep unsupervised learning can be easily performed on a desktop PC by exploiting the processors of low cost graphic cards (graphic processor units) without any specific programing effort, thanks to the use of high-level programming routines (available in MATLAB or Python). We also show that even an entry-level graphic card can outperform a small high-performance computing cluster in terms of learning time and with no loss of learning quality. We therefore conclude that graphic card implementations pave the way for a widespread use of deep learning among cognitive scientists for modeling cognition and behavior.

Deep Unsupervised Learning on a Desktop PC: A Primer for Cognitive Scientists

PubMed Central

Testolin, Alberto; Stoianov, Ivilin; De Filippo De Grazia, Michele; Zorzi, Marco

2013-01-01

Deep belief networks hold great promise for the simulation of human cognition because they show how structured and abstract representations may emerge from probabilistic unsupervised learning. These networks build a hierarchy of progressively more complex distributed representations of the sensory data by fitting a hierarchical generative model. However, learning in deep networks typically requires big datasets and it can involve millions of connection weights, which implies that simulations on standard computers are unfeasible. Developing realistic, medium-to-large-scale learning models of cognition would therefore seem to require expertise in programing parallel-computing hardware, and this might explain why the use of this promising approach is still largely confined to the machine learning community. Here we show how simulations of deep unsupervised learning can be easily performed on a desktop PC by exploiting the processors of low cost graphic cards (graphic processor units) without any specific programing effort, thanks to the use of high-level programming routines (available in MATLAB or Python). We also show that even an entry-level graphic card can outperform a small high-performance computing cluster in terms of learning time and with no loss of learning quality. We therefore conclude that graphic card implementations pave the way for a widespread use of deep learning among cognitive scientists for modeling cognition and behavior. PMID:23653617

Influences of Aerobic Dance on Cognitive Performance in Adults with Schizophrenia.

PubMed

Chen, Ming-De; Kuo, Yu-Hsin; Chang, Yen-Ching; Hsu, Su-Ting; Kuo, Chang-Chih; Chang, Jyh-Jong

2016-12-01

Cognitive impairment is one of the core features of schizophrenia. This study examined the influences of an aerobic dance programme on the cognitive functions of people with schizophrenia. A quasi-experimental matched-control design was applied. The experimental group (n = 17) participated in a 60-minute aerobic dance group class three times a week for 3 months. The control group (n = 19) participated in colouring and handwriting activities. Cognitive functions were measured before and after the interventions for both groups. The intervention group experienced significant improvements in processing speed, memory and executive function, whereas no significant changes were noted in any measures in the control group. While there were no significant between-group differences, the data showed approximately medium effect sizes that favoured the intervention group in regard to processing speed (Cohen's d = 0.51), memory (d = 0.35-0.41) and the spontaneity and fluency aspects of executive function (d = 0.51). While the small sample size and lack of randomization were the primary methodological shortcomings, this study provides preliminary results supporting aerobic dance as an adjunct activity-based intervention to improve cognitive functions in people with schizophrenia. More rigorous studies are needed to validate the findings. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

They Are Laughing at Me: Cerebral Mediation of Cognitive Biases in Social Anxiety

PubMed Central

Kreifelts, Benjamin; Brück, Carolin; Ritter, Jan; Ethofer, Thomas; Domin, Martin; Lotze, Martin; Jacob, Heike

2014-01-01

The fear of embarrassment and humiliation is the central element of social anxiety. This frequent condition is associated with cognitive biases indicating increased sensitivity to signals of social threat, which are assumed to play a causal role in the maintenance of social anxiety. Here, we employed laughter, a potent medium for the expression of acceptance and rejection, as an experimental stimulus in participants selected for varying degrees of social anxiety to identify cerebral mediators of cognitive biases in social anxiety using functional magnetic resonance imaging in combination with mediation analysis. We directly demonstrated that cerebral activation patterns within the dorsal attention network including the left dorsolateral and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex mediate the influence of social anxiety on laughter perception. This mediation proved to be specific for social anxiety after correction for measures of general state and trait anxiety and occurred most prominently under bimodal audiovisual laughter presentation when compared with monomodal auditory or visual laughter cues. Considering the possibility to modulate cognitive biases and cerebral activity by neuropsychological trainings, non-invasive electrophysiological stimulation and psychotherapy, this study represents a starting point for a whole line of translational research projects and identifies promising targets for electrophysiological interventions aiming to alleviate cognitive biases and symptom severity in social anxiety. PMID:24918625

Effects of the Red Bull energy drink on cognitive function and mood in healthy young volunteers.

PubMed

Wesnes, Keith A; Brooker, Helen; Watson, Anthony W; Bal, Wendy; Okello, Edward

2017-02-01

The present study compared the cognitive and mood effects of two commercially available products, Red Bull energy drink 250 mL and Red Bull Sugarfree energy drink 250 mL, together with a matching placebo 250 mL. Twenty-four healthy young volunteers took part in a randomised, placebo controlled, double-blind, three-way cross-over study. Cognitive function was assessed using an integrated set of nine computerised tests of attention, working and episodic memory. On each study day the volunteers received a standardised breakfast prior to completing a baseline performance on cognitive tests and mood scales, followed by the consumption of the study drink. The cognitive tests and scales were then re-administered at 30, 60 and 90 min post-dose. Red Bull was found to produce significant improvements over both the Sugarfree version and the placebo drink on two composite scores from the six working and episodic memory tests; one combining the 12 accuracy measures from the six tasks and the other the average speed of correct responses from the working memory and episodic recognition memory tasks. These improvements were in the range of a medium effect size, which reflects a substantial enhancement to memory in young volunteers.

They are laughing at me: cerebral mediation of cognitive biases in social anxiety.

PubMed

Kreifelts, Benjamin; Brück, Carolin; Ritter, Jan; Ethofer, Thomas; Domin, Martin; Lotze, Martin; Jacob, Heike; Schlipf, Sarah; Wildgruber, Dirk

2014-01-01

The fear of embarrassment and humiliation is the central element of social anxiety. This frequent condition is associated with cognitive biases indicating increased sensitivity to signals of social threat, which are assumed to play a causal role in the maintenance of social anxiety. Here, we employed laughter, a potent medium for the expression of acceptance and rejection, as an experimental stimulus in participants selected for varying degrees of social anxiety to identify cerebral mediators of cognitive biases in social anxiety using functional magnetic resonance imaging in combination with mediation analysis. We directly demonstrated that cerebral activation patterns within the dorsal attention network including the left dorsolateral and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex mediate the influence of social anxiety on laughter perception. This mediation proved to be specific for social anxiety after correction for measures of general state and trait anxiety and occurred most prominently under bimodal audiovisual laughter presentation when compared with monomodal auditory or visual laughter cues. Considering the possibility to modulate cognitive biases and cerebral activity by neuropsychological trainings, non-invasive electrophysiological stimulation and psychotherapy, this study represents a starting point for a whole line of translational research projects and identifies promising targets for electrophysiological interventions aiming to alleviate cognitive biases and symptom severity in social anxiety.

An analysis of cognitive functioning of children and youth with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) in the context of glycemic control.

PubMed

Stanisławska-Kubiak, M; Mojs, E; Wójciak, R W; Piasecki, B; Matecka, M; Sokalski, J; Kopczyński, P; Fichna, P

2018-06-01

The aim of the study was to evaluate the cognitive functioning of children and youth with type 1 diabetes (T1DM). The study included 68 children with type 1 diabetes, aged 6-17 years, divided into 3 groups according to the level of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c): group 1: HbA1c ≤ 6.0-7.5%; group 2: HbA1c 7.6-8.5%; group 3: HbA1c over 8.6%. Wechsler's intelligence scale (WISC-R), the Trail of 10 words and Brickenkamp's and Zillmer's d2 Test of Attention were used to assess cognitive functioning. The research demonstrated a significant influence of low, medium or high glycaemic control on lowering the general level of functioning in verbal intelligence, and in WISC-R subtests: information, vocabulary, comprehension, number sequencing and block design. Children with type 1 diabetes mellitus can experience difficulties in cognitive functioning, as a consequence of high HbA1c. Additional research, involving a larger group of patients and a wider age range when the disease was diagnosed, will enable further findings on the occurrence of cognitive impairment in T1DM.

Guided self-help cognitive behavioral intervention for VoicEs (GiVE): study protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Hazell, Cassie M; Hayward, Mark; Cavanagh, Kate; Jones, Anna-Marie; Strauss, Clara

2016-07-26

Cognitive behavior therapy for psychosis (CBTp) is an effective intervention for people who hear distressing voices (auditory hallucinations). However, there continues to be a problem of poor access to CBTp. Constraints on health care funding require this problem to be addressed without a substantial increase in funding. One solution is to develop guided self-help forms of CBTp to improve access, and a symptom-specific focus on, for example, distressing voices (auditory verbal hallucinations) has the potential to enhance effectiveness. We term this cognitive behavior therapy for distressing voices (CBTv). This trial is an external pilot randomized controlled trial comparing the effects of 12-week guided self-help CBTv (with eight therapist support sessions) with a wait list control condition. Informed consent will be obtained from each participant. Half of the 30 participants will be randomized to receive guided self-help CBTv immediately; the remaining half will receive the intervention after a 12-week delay. All participants will continue with their usual treatment throughout the study. Outcomes will be assessed using questionnaires completed at baseline and 12 weeks postrandomization. Interviews will be offered to all those who receive therapy immediately to explore their experiences with the intervention. The outcomes of this trial, both quantitative and qualitative, will inform the design of a definitive randomized controlled trial of guided self-help CBTv. If this intervention is effective, it could help to increase access to CBT for those who hear distressing voices. ISRCTN registration number  ISRCTN77762753 . Registered on 23 July 2015.

Medium factors on anaerobic production of rhamnolipids by Pseudomonas aeruginosa SG and a simplifying medium for in situ microbial enhanced oil recovery applications.

PubMed

Zhao, Feng; Zhou, Jidong; Han, Siqin; Ma, Fang; Zhang, Ying; Zhang, Jie

2016-04-01

Aerobic production of rhamnolipid by Pseudomonas aeruginosa was extensively studied. But effect of medium composition on anaerobic production of rhamnolipid by P. aeruginosa was unknown. A simplifying medium facilitating anaerobic production of rhamnolipid is urgently needed for in situ microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR). Medium factors affecting anaerobic production of rhamnolipid were investigated using P. aeruginosa SG (Genbank accession number KJ995745). Medium composition for anaerobic production of rhamnolipid by P. aeruginosa is different from that for aerobic production of rhamnolipid. Both hydrophobic substrate and organic nitrogen inhibited rhamnolipid production under anaerobic conditions. Glycerol and nitrate were the best carbon and nitrogen source. The commonly used N limitation under aerobic conditions was not conducive to rhamnolipid production under anaerobic conditions because the initial cell growth demanded enough nitrate for anaerobic respiration. But rhamnolipid was also fast accumulated under nitrogen starvation conditions. Sufficient phosphate was needed for anaerobic production of rhamnolipid. SO4(2-) and Mg(2+) are required for anaerobic production of rhamnolipid. Results will contribute to isolation bacteria strains which can anaerobically produce rhamnolipid and medium optimization for anaerobic production of rhamnolipid. Based on medium optimization by response surface methodology and ions composition of reservoir formation water, a simplifying medium containing 70.3 g/l glycerol, 5.25 g/l NaNO3, 5.49 g/l KH2PO4, 6.9 g/l K2HPO4·3H2O and 0.40 g/l MgSO4 was designed. Using the simplifying medium, 630 mg/l of rhamnolipid was produced by SG, and the anaerobic culture emulsified crude oil to EI24 = 82.5 %. The simplifying medium was promising for in situ MEOR applications.

49 CFR 1542.211 - Identification systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... secured area or SIDA continuously displays the identification medium issued to that individual on the... individual who has authorized unescorted access to secured areas and SIDA's to ascertain the authority of any... approved identification media. The procedure must— (1) Apply uniformly in secured areas, SIDAs, and...

Improved Mineral Nutrition for Pear Shoot Cultures

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The USDA-ARS National Clonal Germplasm Repository has over 200 pear accessions in culture, encompassing 18 species. Plant growth response on standard tissue culture medium varies widely due to the wide horticultural diversity of this collection. We used a systematic response-surface approach to eva...

Free-choice feeding of free-range meat chickens

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Alternative feeding methods should be considered for free-range, organic, and other alternative poultry production. The number of small- and medium-scale producers raising specialty chickens for local and regional markets is growing and many of these producers do not have access to the nutritional ...