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Sample records for letters automatically activates

  1. Automaticity Revisited: When Print Doesn't Activate Semantics

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    Elsa Magdalena Labuschagne

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available It is widely accepted that the presentation of a printed word automatically triggers processing that ends with full semantic activation. This processing, among other characteristics, is held to occur without intention, and cannot be stopped. The results of the present experiment show that this account is problematic in the context of a variant of the Stroop paradigm. Subjects named the print color of words that were either neutral or semantically related to color. When the letters were all colored, all spatially cued, and the spaces between letters were filled with characters from the top of the keyboard (i.e., 4, #, 5, %, 6, and *, color naming yielded a semantically based Stroop effect and a semantically based negative priming effect. In contrast, the same items yielded neither a semantic Stroop effect nor a negative priming effect when a single target letter was uniquely colored and spatially cued. These findings undermine the widespread view that lexical-semantic activation in word reading is automatic in the sense that it occurs without intention and cannot be derailed.

  2. Age-related differences in the automatic processing of single letters: implications for selective attention.

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    Daffner, Kirk R; Alperin, Brittany R; Mott, Katherine K; Holcomb, Phillip J

    2014-01-22

    Older adults exhibit diminished ability to inhibit the processing of visual stimuli that are supposed to be ignored. The extent to which age-related changes in early visual processing contribute to impairments in selective attention remains to be determined. Here, 103 adults, 18-85 years of age, completed a color selective attention task in which they were asked to attend to a specified color and respond to designated target letters. An optimal approach would be to initially filter according to color and then process letter forms in the attend color to identify targets. An asymmetric N170 ERP component (larger amplitude over left posterior hemisphere sites) was used as a marker of the early automatic processing of letter forms. Young and middle-aged adults did not generate an asymmetric N170 component. In contrast, young-old and old-old adults produced a larger N170 over the left hemisphere. Furthermore, older adults generated a larger N170 to letter than nonletter stimuli over the left, but not right hemisphere. More asymmetric N170 responses predicted greater allocation of late selection resources to target letters in the ignore color, as indexed by P3b amplitude. These results suggest that unlike their younger counterparts, older adults automatically process stimuli as letters early in the selection process, when it would be more efficient to attend to color only. The inability to ignore letters early in the processing stream helps explain the age-related increase in subsequent processing of target letter forms presented in the ignore color.

  3. How Do Movements to Produce Letters Become Automatic during Writing Acquisition? Investigating the Development of Motor Anticipation

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    Kandel, Sonia; Perret, Cyril

    2015-01-01

    Learning how to write involves the automation of grapho-motor skills. One of the factors that determine automaticity is "motor anticipation." This is the ability to write a letter while processing information on how to produce following letters. It is essential for writing fast and smoothly. We investigated how motor anticipation…

  4. Premotor activations in response to visually presented single letters depend on the hand used to write: a study on left-handers.

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    Longcamp, Marieke; Anton, Jean-Luc; Roth, Muriel; Velay, Jean-Luc

    2005-01-01

    In a previous fMRI study on right-handers (Rhrs), we reported that part of the left ventral premotor cortex (BA6) was activated when alphabetical characters were passively observed and that the same region was also involved in handwriting [Longcamp, M., Anton, J. L., Roth, M., & Velay, J. L. (2003). Visual presentation of single letters activates a premotor area involved in writing. NeuroImage, 19, 1492-1500]. We therefore suggested that letter-viewing may induce automatic involvement of handwriting movements. In the present study, in order to confirm this hypothesis, we carried out a similar fMRI experiment on a group of left-handed subjects (Lhrs). We reasoned that if the above assumption was correct, visual perception of letters by Lhrs might automatically activate cortical motor areas coding for left-handed writing movements, i.e., areas located in the right hemisphere. The visual stimuli used here were either single letters, single pseudoletters, or a control stimulus. The subjects were asked to watch these stimuli attentively, and no response was required. The results showed that a ventral premotor cortical area (BA6) in the right hemisphere was specifically activated when Lhrs looked at letters and not at pseudoletters. This right area was symmetrically located with respect to the left one activated under the same circumstances in Rhrs. This finding supports the hypothesis that visual perception of written language evokes covert motor processes. In addition, a bilateral area, also located in the premotor cortex (BA6), but more ventrally and medially, was found to be activated in response to both letters and pseudoletters. This premotor region, which was not activated correspondingly in Rhrs, might be involved in the processing of graphic stimuli, whatever their degree of familiarity.

  5. Can "CANISO" Activate "CASINO"? Transposed-Letter Similarity Effects with Nonadjacent Letter Positions

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    Perea, Manuel; Lupker, Stephen J.

    2004-01-01

    Nonwords created by transposing two "adjacent" letters (i.e., transposed-letter (TL) nonwords like "jugde") are very effective at activating the lexical representation of their base words. This fact poses problems for most computational models of word recognition (e.g., the interactive-activation model and its extensions), which assume that exact…

  6. What Automaticity Deficit? Activation of Lexical Information by Readers with Dyslexia in a Rapid Automatized Naming Stroop-Switch Task

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    Jones, Manon W.; Snowling, Margaret J.; Moll, Kristina

    2016-01-01

    Reading fluency is often predicted by rapid automatized naming (RAN) speed, which as the name implies, measures the automaticity with which familiar stimuli (e.g., letters) can be retrieved and named. Readers with dyslexia are considered to have less "automatized" access to lexical information, reflected in longer RAN times compared with…

  7. The Effect of Orthographic Depth on Letter String Processing: The Case of Visual Attention Span and Rapid Automatized Naming

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    Antzaka, Alexia; Martin, Clara; Caffarra, Sendy; Schlöffel, Sophie; Carreiras, Manuel; Lallier, Marie

    2018-01-01

    The present study investigated whether orthographic depth can increase the bias towards multi-letter processing in two reading-related skills: visual attention span (VAS) and rapid automatized naming (RAN). VAS (i.e., the number of visual elements that can be processed at once in a multi-element array) was tested with a visual 1-back task and RAN…

  8. Letters in the Forest: Global precedence effect disappears for letters but not for non-letters under reading-like conditions

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    Thomas eLachmann

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Normally-skilled reading involves special processing strategies for letters, which are habitually funneled into an abstract letter code. On the basis of previous studies we argue that this habit leads to the preferred usage of an analytic strategy for the processing of letters, while non-letters are preferably processed via a holistic strategy. The well-known Global Precedence Effect (GPE seems to contradict to this assumption, since, with compound, hierarchical figures, including letter items, faster responses are observed to the global than to the local level of the figure, as well as an asymmetric interference effect from global to local level. We argue that with letters these effects depend on presentation conditions; only when they elicit the processing strategies automatized for reading, an analytic strategy for letters in contrast to non-letters is to be expected. We compared the GPE for letters and non-letters in central viewing, with the global stimulus size close to the functional visual field in whole word reading (6.5o of visual angle and local stimuli close to the critical size for fluent reading of individual letters (.5o of visual angle. Under these conditions, the GPE remained robust for non-letters. For letters, however, it disappeared: letters showed no overall response time advantage for the global level and symmetric congruence effects (local-to-global as well as global-to local interference. We interpret these results as according to the view that reading is based on resident analytic visual processing strategies for letters.

  9. Should intellectual property be disseminated by "forwarding" rejected letters without permission?

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    Gupta, V K

    1996-08-01

    Substantive scientific letter writing is a cost-effective mode of complementing observational and experimental research. The value of such philosophically uncommitted and unsponsored well-balanced scientific activity has been relegated. Critical letter writing entails the abilities to: maintain rational scepticism; refuse to conform in order to explain data; persist in keeping common sense centre-stage; exercise logic to evaluate the biological significance of mathematical figures, including statistics, and the ability to sustain the will to share insights regarding disease mechanisms on an ostensibly lower research platform. During peer review, innovative letter writing may share the occasionally unfortunate fate of innovative research. Rejected scientific letters do not automatically lose copyright. Periodicals with high letter loads will see some valuable contributions wasted, but that is the price for maintaining autonomy in scientific publication. The scientific community is an integrated whole that must respect the rights of authors at all levels. Unauthorised forwarding of rejected letters sets the dangerous precedent of justifying unjust means.

  10. Evidence for magnocellular involvement in the identification of flanked letters

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    Omtzigt, D.; Hendriks, A.W.C.J.; Kolk, H.H.J.

    2002-01-01

    Little is known about the role of the magno system in reading. One important hypothesis is that this system is involved in the allocation of attention. We reasoned that the presentation of a single letter automatically draws attention to this letter, whereas in the case of a flanked letter, an

  11. Automaticity and localisation of concurrents predicts colour area activity in grapheme-colour synaesthesia.

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    Gould van Praag, Cassandra D; Garfinkel, Sarah; Ward, Jamie; Bor, Daniel; Seth, Anil K

    2016-07-29

    In grapheme-colour synaesthesia (GCS), the presentation of letters or numbers induces an additional 'concurrent' experience of colour. Early functional MRI (fMRI) investigations of GCS reported activation in colour-selective area V4 during the concurrent experience. However, others have failed to replicate this key finding. We reasoned that individual differences in synaesthetic phenomenology might explain this inconsistency in the literature. To test this hypothesis, we examined fMRI BOLD responses in a group of grapheme-colour synaesthetes (n=20) and matched controls (n=20) while characterising the individual phenomenology of the synaesthetes along dimensions of 'automaticity' and 'localisation'. We used an independent functional localiser to identify colour-selective areas in both groups. Activations in these areas were then assessed during achromatic synaesthesia-inducing, and non-inducing conditions; we also explored whole brain activations, where we sought to replicate the existing literature regarding synaesthesia effects. Controls showed no significant activations in the contrast of inducing > non-inducing synaesthetic stimuli, in colour-selective ROIs or at the whole brain level. In the synaesthete group, we correlated activation within colour-selective ROIs with individual differences in phenomenology using the Coloured Letters and Numbers (CLaN) questionnaire which measures, amongst other attributes, the subjective automaticity/attention in synaesthetic concurrents, and their spatial localisation. Supporting our hypothesis, we found significant correlations between individual measures of synaesthetic phenomenology and BOLD responses in colour-selective areas, when contrasting inducing against non-inducing stimuli. Specifically, left-hemisphere colour area responses were stronger for synaesthetes scoring high on phenomenological localisation and automaticity/attention, while right-hemisphere colour area responses showed a relationship with localisation

  12. Brain activation patterns resulting from learning letter forms through active self-production and passive observation in young children

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    Alyssa J Kersey

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Although previous literature suggests that writing practice facilitates neural specialization for letters, it is unclear if this facilitation is driven by the perceptual feedback from the act of writing or the actual execution of the motor act. The present study addresses this issue by measuring the change in BOLD signal in response to hand-printed letters, unlearned cursive letters, and cursive letters that 7 year-old children learned actively, by writing, and passively, by observing an experimenter write. Brain activation was assessed using fMRI while perceiving letters – in both cursive and manuscript forms. Results showed that active training led to increased recruitment of the sensori-motor network associated with letter perception as well as the insula and claustrum, but passive observation did not. This suggests that perceptual networks for newly learned cursive letters are driven by motor execution rather than by perceptual feedback.

  13. Deficits in Letter-Speech Sound Associations but Intact Visual Conflict Processing in Dyslexia: Results from a Novel ERP-Paradigm

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    Bakos, Sarolta; Landerl, Karin; Bartling, Jürgen; Schulte-Körne, Gerd; Moll, Kristina

    2017-01-01

    The reading and spelling deficits characteristic of developmental dyslexia (dyslexia) have been related to problems in phonological processing and in learning associations between letters and speech-sounds. Even when children with dyslexia have learned the letters and their corresponding speech sounds, letter-speech sound associations might still be less automatized compared to children with age-adequate literacy skills. In order to examine automaticity in letter-speech sound associations and...

  14. Letter-sound processing deficits in children with developmental dyslexia: An ERP study.

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    Moll, Kristina; Hasko, Sandra; Groth, Katharina; Bartling, Jürgen; Schulte-Körne, Gerd

    2016-04-01

    The time course during letter-sound processing was investigated in children with developmental dyslexia (DD) and typically developing (TD) children using electroencephalography. Thirty-eight children with DD and 25 TD children participated in a visual-auditory oddball paradigm. Event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited by standard and deviant stimuli in an early (100-190 ms) and late (560-750 ms) time window were analysed. In the early time window, ERPs elicited by the deviant stimulus were delayed and less left lateralized over fronto-temporal electrodes for children with DD compared to TD children. In the late time window, children with DD showed higher amplitudes extending more over right frontal electrodes. Longer latencies in the early time window and stronger right hemispheric activation in the late time window were associated with slower reading and naming speed. Additionally, stronger right hemispheric activation in the late time window correlated with poorer phonological awareness skills. Deficits in early stages of letter-sound processing influence later more explicit cognitive processes during letter-sound processing. Identifying the neurophysiological correlates of letter-sound processing and their relation to reading related skills provides insight into the degree of automaticity during letter-sound processing beyond behavioural measures of letter-sound-knowledge. Copyright © 2016 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Automatic NAA. Saturation activities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Westphal, G.P.; Grass, F.; Kuhnert, M.

    2008-01-01

    A system for Automatic NAA is based on a list of specific saturation activities determined for one irradiation position at a given neutron flux and a single detector geometry. Originally compiled from measurements of standard reference materials, the list may be extended also by the calculation of saturation activities from k 0 and Q 0 factors, and f and α values of the irradiation position. A systematic improvement of the SRM approach is currently being performed by pseudo-cyclic activation analysis, to reduce counting errors. From these measurements, the list of saturation activities is recalculated in an automatic procedure. (author)

  16. Substituted-Letter and Transposed-Letter Effects in a Masked Priming Paradigm with French Developing Readers and Dyslexics

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    Lete, Bernard; Fayol, Michel

    2013-01-01

    The aim of the study was to undertake a behavioral investigation of the development of automatic orthographic processing during reading acquisition in French. Following Castles and colleagues' 2007 study ("Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 97," 165-182) and their lexical tuning hypothesis framework, substituted-letter and…

  17. Cascading activation from lexical processing to letter-level processing in written word production.

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    Buchwald, Adam; Falconer, Carolyn

    2014-01-01

    Descriptions of language production have identified processes involved in producing language and the presence and type of interaction among those processes. In the case of spoken language production, consensus has emerged that there is interaction among lexical selection processes and phoneme-level processing. This issue has received less attention in written language production. In this paper, we present a novel analysis of the writing-to-dictation performance of an individual with acquired dysgraphia revealing cascading activation from lexical processing to letter-level processing. The individual produced frequent lexical-semantic errors (e.g., chipmunk → SQUIRREL) as well as letter errors (e.g., inhibit → INBHITI) and had a profile consistent with impairment affecting both lexical processing and letter-level processing. The presence of cascading activation is suggested by lower letter accuracy on words that are more weakly activated during lexical selection than on those that are more strongly activated. We operationalize weakly activated lexemes as those lexemes that are produced as lexical-semantic errors (e.g., lethal in deadly → LETAHL) compared to strongly activated lexemes where the intended target word (e.g., lethal) is the lexeme selected for production.

  18. Improved communication in post-ICU care by improving writing of ICU discharge letters: a longitudinal before-after study.

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    Medlock, Stephanie; Eslami, Saeid; Askari, Marjan; van Lieshout, Erik Jan; Dongelmans, Dave A; Abu-Hanna, Ameen

    2011-11-01

    The discharge letter is the primary means of communication at patient discharge, yet discharge letters are often not completed on time. A multifaceted intervention was performed to improve communication in patient hand-off from the intensive care unit (ICU) to the wards by improving the timeliness of discharge letters. A management directive was operationalised by a working group of ICU staff in a longitudinal before-after study. The intervention consisted of (a) changing policy to require a letter for use as a transfer note at the time of ICU discharge, (b) changing the assignment of responsibility to an automatic process, (c) leveraging positive peer pressure by making the list of patients in need of letters visible to colleagues and (d) provision of decision support, through automatic copying of important content from the patient record to the letter and email reminders if letters were not written on time. Statistical process control charts were used to monitor the longitudinal effect of the intervention. The intervention resulted in a 77.9% absolute improvement in the proportion of patients with a complete transfer note at the time of discharge, and an 85.2% absolute improvement in the number of discharge letters written. Statistical process control shows that the effect was sustained over time. A multifaceted intervention can be highly effective for improving discharge communication from the ICU.

  19. ERP correlates of letter identity and letter position are modulated by lexical frequency

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    Vergara-Martínez, Marta; Perea, Manuel; Gómez, Pablo; Swaab, Tamara Y.

    2013-01-01

    The encoding of letter position is a key aspect in all recently proposed models of visual-word recognition. We analyzed the impact of lexical frequency on letter position assignment by examining the temporal dynamics of lexical activation induced by pseudowords extracted from words of different frequencies. For each word (e.g., BRIDGE), we created two pseudowords: A transposed-letter (TL: BRIGDE) and a replaced-letter pseudoword (RL: BRITGE). ERPs were recorded while participants read words and pseudowords in two tasks: Semantic categorization (Experiment 1) and lexical decision (Experiment 2). For high-frequency stimuli, similar ERPs were obtained for words and TL-pseudowords, but the N400 component to words was reduced relative to RL-pseudowords, indicating less lexical/semantic activation. In contrast, TL- and RL-pseudowords created from low-frequency stimuli elicited similar ERPs. Behavioral responses in the lexical decision task paralleled this asymmetry. The present findings impose constraints on computational and neural models of visual-word recognition. PMID:23454070

  20. Changes in FDA enforcement activities following changes in federal administration: the case of regulatory letters released to pharmaceutical companies.

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    Nguyen, Diane; Seoane-Vazquez, Enrique; Rodriguez-Monguio, Rosa; Montagne, Michael

    2013-01-22

    The United States (US) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for the protection of the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness and security of human drugs and biological products through the enforcement of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) and related regulations. These enforcement activities include regulatory letters (i.e. warning letters and notice of violation) to pharmaceutical companies. A regulatory letter represents the FDA's first official notification to a pharmaceutical company that the FDA has discovered a product or activity in violation of the FDCA.This study analyzed trends in the pharmaceutical-related regulatory letters released by the FDA during the period 1997-2011 and assessed differences in the average number and type of regulatory letters released during the last four federal administrations. Data derived from the FDA webpage. Information about the FDA office releasing the letter, date, company, and drug-related violation was collected. Regulatory letters were classified by federal administration. Descriptive statistics were performed for the analysis. Between 1997 and 2011 the FDA released 2,467 regulatory letters related to pharmaceuticals. FDA headquarters offices released 50.6% and district offices 49.4% of the regulatory letters. The Office of Prescription Drug Promotion released the largest number of regulatory letters (850; 34.5% of the total), followed by the Office of Scientific Investigations (131; 5.3%), and the Office of Compliance (105; 4.3%). During the 2nd Clinton Administration (1997-2000) the average number of regulatory letters per year was 242.8 ± 45.6, during the Bush Administration (2001-2008) it was 120.4 ± 33.7, and during the first three years of the Obama administration (2009-2011) it was 177.7.0 ± 17.0. The average number of regulatory letters released by the Office of Prescription Drug Promotion also varied by administration: Clinton (122.3 ± 36.4), Bush (29.5

  1. Local Navon letter processing affects skilled behavior: a golf-putting experiment.

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    Lewis, Michael B; Dawkins, Gemma

    2015-04-01

    Expert or skilled behaviors (for example, face recognition or sporting performance) are typically performed automatically and with little conscious awareness. Previous studies, in various domains of performance, have shown that activities immediately prior to a task demanding a learned skill can affect performance. In sport, describing the to-be-performed action is detrimental, whereas in face recognition, describing a face or reading local Navon letters is detrimental. Two golf-putting experiments are presented that compare the effects that these three tasks have on experienced and novice golfers. Experiment 1 found a Navon effect on golf performance for experienced players. Experiment 2 found, for experienced players only, that performance was impaired following the three tasks described above, when compared with reading or global Navon tasks. It is suggested that the three tasks affect skilled performance by provoking a shift from automatic behavior to a more analytic style. By demonstrating similarities between effects in face recognition and sporting behavior, it is hoped to better understand concepts in both fields.

  2. Changes in FDA enforcement activities following changes in federal administration: the case of regulatory letters released to pharmaceutical companies

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    Nguyen Diane

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The United States (US Food and Drug Administration (FDA is responsible for the protection of the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness and security of human drugs and biological products through the enforcement of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA and related regulations. These enforcement activities include regulatory letters (i.e. warning letters and notice of violation to pharmaceutical companies. A regulatory letter represents the FDA’s first official notification to a pharmaceutical company that the FDA has discovered a product or activity in violation of the FDCA. This study analyzed trends in the pharmaceutical-related regulatory letters released by the FDA during the period 1997–2011 and assessed differences in the average number and type of regulatory letters released during the last four federal administrations. Methods Data derived from the FDA webpage. Information about the FDA office releasing the letter, date, company, and drug-related violation was collected. Regulatory letters were classified by federal administration. Descriptive statistics were performed for the analysis. Results Between 1997 and 2011 the FDA released 2,467 regulatory letters related to pharmaceuticals. FDA headquarters offices released 50.6% and district offices 49.4% of the regulatory letters. The Office of Prescription Drug Promotion released the largest number of regulatory letters (850; 34.5% of the total, followed by the Office of Scientific Investigations (131; 5.3%, and the Office of Compliance (105; 4.3%. During the 2nd Clinton Administration (1997–2000 the average number of regulatory letters per year was 242.8 ± 45.6, during the Bush Administration (2001–2008 it was 120.4 ± 33.7, and during the first three years of the Obama administration (2009–2011 it was 177.7.0 ± 17.0. The average number of regulatory letters released by the Office of Prescription Drug Promotion also varied by

  3. Letter Names, Letter Sounds and Phonological Awareness: An Examination of Kindergarten Children across Letters and of Letters across Children

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    Evans, Mary Ann; Bell, Michelle; Shaw, Deborah; Moretti, Shelley; Page, Jodi

    2006-01-01

    In this study 149 kindergarten children were assessed for knowledge of letter names and letter sounds, phonological awareness, and cognitive abilities. Through this it examined child and letter characteristics influencing the acquisition of alphabetic knowledge in a naturalistic context, the relationship between letter-sound knowledge and…

  4. Letter-Sound Knowledge: Exploring Gender Differences in Children When They Start School Regarding Knowledge of Large Letters, Small Letters, Sound Large Letters, and Sound Small Letters

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    Hermundur Sigmundsson

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available This study explored whether there is a gender difference in letter-sound knowledge when children start at school. 485 children aged 5–6 years completed assessment of letter-sound knowledge, i.e., large letters; sound of large letters; small letters; sound of small letters. The findings indicate a significant difference between girls and boys in all four factors tested in this study in favor of the girls. There are still no clear explanations to the basis of a presumed gender difference in letter-sound knowledge. That the findings have origin in neuro-biological factors cannot be excluded, however, the fact that girls probably have been exposed to more language experience/stimulation compared to boys, lends support to explanations derived from environmental aspects.

  5. A Letter to Ahmad Khan

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    I.M. Mirgaleev

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available We bring to attention of specialists an undated letter of Ottoman ruler Mehmed II Fatih to the Great Horde khan Ahmad from the collection of famous collector of Ottoman charters Feridun-bey [1, S. 289]. The addressee is the famous ruler of the Great Horde, khan Ahmad. Daulat Khan mentioned in the letter is Nur-Davlet. He was connected with khan Ahmad, and, as indicated by the letter, he had also set in close contact with the Ottomans whose ruler openly declares in a letter that “our sight of benevolence and patronage is directed toward him”. Thereby the Sultan made it clear to the “principal” Tatar khan Akhmad that Nur-Davlet was under the patronage of the Ottoman Empire. Considering the period of activity of Nur-Davlet in Crimea, presumably the letter was written in 1477. Famous researcher of the Crimean Khanate V.D. Smirnov had already examined the letter and the question of why Ahmad Khan was named the Crimean khan in the title of the letter [2, p. 221–222].

  6. The role of sensorimotor learning in the perception of letter-like forms: tracking the causes of neural specialization for letters.

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    James, Karin H; Atwood, Thea P

    2009-02-01

    Functional specialization in the brain is considered a hallmark of efficient processing. It is therefore not surprising that there are brain areas specialized for processing letters. To better understand the causes of functional specialization for letters, we explore the emergence of this pattern of response in the ventral processing stream through a training paradigm. Previously, we hypothesized that the specialized response pattern seen during letter perception may be due in part to our experience in writing letters. The work presented here investigates whether or not this aspect of letter processing-the integration of sensorimotor systems through writing-leads to functional specialization in the visual system. To test this idea, we investigated whether or not different types of experiences with letter-like stimuli ("pseudoletters") led to functional specialization similar to that which exists for letters. Neural activation patterns were measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) before and after three different types of training sessions. Participants were trained to recognize pseudoletters by writing, typing, or purely visual practice. Results suggested that only after writing practice did neural activation patterns to pseudoletters resemble patterns seen for letters. That is, neural activation in the left fusiform and dorsal precentral gyrus was greater when participants viewed pseudoletters than other, similar stimuli but only after writing experience. Neural activation also increased after typing practice in the right fusiform and left precentral gyrus, suggesting that in some areas, any motor experience may change visual processing. The results of this experiment suggest an intimate interaction among perceptual and motor systems during pseudoletter perception that may be extended to everyday letter perception.

  7. Re-examining the automaticity and directionality of the activation of the spatial-valence "good is up" metaphoric association.

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    Yanli Huang

    Full Text Available According to the Conceptual Metaphor Theory, people understand abstract concepts depending on the activation of more concrete concepts, but not vice versa. The present research aims to investigate the role of directionality and automaticity regarding the activation of the conceptual metaphor "good is up". Experiment 1 tested the automaticity of the spatial-to-valence metaphoric congruency effect by having participants judge the valence of a positive or negative word that appeared either at the top or at the bottom of the screen. They performed the task concurrently with a 6-digit verbal rehearsal task in the working-memory-load (WML blocks and without this task in the non-WML blocks. The spatial-to-valence metaphoric congruency effect occurred for the positive words in the non-WML blocks (i.e., positive words are judged more quickly when they appeared at the top than at the bottom of the screen, but not in the WML blocks, suggesting that this metaphoric association might not be activated automatically. Experiments 2-6 investigated the valence-to-spatial metaphoric association and its automaticity. Participants processed a positive or negative prime, which appeared at the center of the screen, and then identified a letter (p/q that subsequently appeared at the top or bottom of the screen. The valence-to-spatial metaphoric congruency effect did not occur in the WML (6-digit verbal rehearsal or non-WML blocks, whether response modality to the prime was key-press or vocal, or whether the prime was a word or a picture. The effect only unexpectedly occurred when the task was simultaneously performed with a 4-dot-position visuospatial rehearsal task. Nevertheless, the data collapsed across multiple experiments showed a null valence-to-spatial metaphoric congruency effect, suggesting the absence of the valence-to-spatial metaphoric association in general. The implications of the current findings for the Conceptual Metaphor Theory and its alternatives

  8. Written Communications Simulation: Write Me a Letter.

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    North Carolina State Dept. of Public Instruction, Raleigh. Div. of Vocational Education.

    This simulation is intended for use as a culminating activity after students have been exposed to personal and/or business letter writing, use of reference manuals, typing of letters, mailing procedures, typing of numbers, punctuation practice, and filing procedures. Stated objectives are to enable students to type a mailable letter; to inspect,…

  9. Letters From Peplau.

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    Peden, Ann R

    2018-03-01

    Dr. Hildegard Peplau, considered to be our first modern Nurse theorist and the Mother of Psychiatric Nursing, was a prolific writer, engaging in correspondence with colleagues and students who sought her professional and theoretical expertise. Through these letters, she influenced psychiatric nursing while maintaining a broad international network of professional colleagues. An analysis of letters, written between 1990 and 1998, provides insights into Peplau's last decade of professional life and a model of how to support the next generation of nurse scholars. Using content analysis, 24 letters received between 1990 and 1998 were read, reread, and coded. Recurring themes were identified. Three themes were identified. These include Peplau, the Person: Living a Life of Professional Balance; Lighting a Spark: Investing in the Next Generation; and Work in the Vineyards of Nursing: Maintaining a Life of Scholarship. The letters depict Peplau's keen intellect, her wide professional network, her leisure time spent with family and friends, and her own work to assure that her theoretical legacy continued. Peplau's insights continue to be relevant as psychiatric mental health nursing leaders engage in activities to support the next generation of scholars and leaders.

  10. Resource Letter ALIP-1: Active-Learning Instruction in Physics

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    Meltzer, David E.; Thornton, Ronald K.

    2012-06-01

    This Resource Letter provides a guide to the literature on research-based active-learning instruction in physics. These are instructional methods that are based on, assessed by, and validated through research on the teaching and learning of physics. They involve students in their own learning more deeply and more intensely than does traditional instruction, particularly during class time. The instructional methods and supporting body of research reviewed here offer potential for significantly improved learning in comparison to traditional lecture-based methods of college and university physics instruction. We begin with an introduction to the history of active learning in physics in the United States, and then discuss some methods for and outcomes of assessing pedagogical effectiveness. We enumerate and describe common characteristics of successful active-learning instructional strategies in physics. We then discuss a range of methods for introducing active-learning instruction in physics and provide references to those methods for which there is published documentation of student learning gains.

  11. Development of an automatic prompt gamma-ray activation analysis system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Osawa, Takahito

    2013-01-01

    An automatic prompt gamma-ray activation analysis system was developed and installed at the Japan Research Reactor No. 3 Modified (JRR-3M). The main control software, referred to as AutoPGA, was developed using LabVIEW 2011 and the hand-made program can control all functions of the analytical system. The core of the new system is an automatic sample exchanger and measurement system with several additional automatic control functions integrated into the system. Up to fourteen samples can be automatically measured by the system. (author)

  12. Masked Priming Effects in Aphasia: Evidence of Altered Automatic Spreading Activation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silkes, JoAnn P.; Rogers, Margaret A.

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: Previous research has suggested that impairments of automatic spreading activation may underlie some aphasic language deficits. The current study further investigated the status of automatic spreading activation in individuals with aphasia as compared with typical adults. Method: Participants were 21 individuals with aphasia (12 fluent, 9…

  13. Automatic sample changer for neutron activation analysis at CDTN, Brazil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aimore Dutra Neto; Oliveira Pelaes, Ana Clara; Jacimovic, Radojko

    2018-01-01

    An automatic sample changer was recently developed and installed in the Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) Laboratory. The certified reference material BCR-320R, Channel Sediment, was analysed in order to verify the reliability of the results obtained by NAA, k 0 -standardisation method, using this automatic system during the gamma-ray measurement step. The results were compared to those manually obtained. The values pointed out that the automatic sample changer is working properly. This changer will increase the productiveness of the neutron activation technique applied at Nuclear Technology Development Centre, CDTN/CNEN expanding its competitiveness as an analytical technique in relation to other techniques. (author)

  14. Automatically-Activated Attitudes as Mechanisms for Message Effects: The Case of Alcohol Advertisements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodall, Catherine E; Slater, Michael D

    2010-10-01

    Alcohol advertisements may influence impulsive, risky behaviors indirectly, via automatically-activated attitudes toward alcohol. Results from an experiment in which participants were exposed to either four alcohol advertisements, four control advertisements, or four drunk driving public service advertisements, suggested that alcohol advertisements had more measurable effects on implicit, than on explicit attitude measures. Moreover, there were significant indirect paths from alcohol advertisement exposure through automatically-activated alcohol attitudes on willingness to engage in risky alcohol-related behaviors, notably drinking and driving. A mechanism that may explain how these advertisements activate automatic, non-deliberative alcohol attitudes was investigated. Associative evidence was found supportive of an evaluative conditioning mechanism, in which positive responses to an alcohol advertisement may lead to more positive automatically-activated attitudes toward alcohol itself.

  15. Structured printed referral letter (form letter; saves time and improves communication

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R.P.J.C. Ramanayake

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Referral of patients to hospitals, specialists and other institutions is an essential part of primary health care. Patients are referred to specialists when investigation or therapeutic options are exhausted in primary care or when opinion or advice is needed from them. Referral has considerable implications for patients, health care system and health care costs. Good communication between primary and secondary care is essential for the smooth running of any health care system. Referral and reply letters are the sole means of communication between doctors most of the time and breakdown in communication could lead to poor continuity of care, delayed diagnoses, polypharmacy, increased litigation risk and unnecessary testing. A referral letter also helps to avoid patient dissatisfaction and loss of confidence in family physician. Studies of referral letters have reported that specialists are dissatisfied with their quality and content. Inclusion of letter writing skills in the medical curriculum, peer assessment and feedback have shown to improve the quality of referral letters. . Form letters have shown to enhance information content and communication in referral process. In Sri Lanka referral letters are usually hand written and frequent complaints are that these letters do not contain adequate information and retrieval of information is a problem due to poor legibility and clarity. Sometimes Primary care doctors refer patients to hospitals and specialists with only verbal instructions. To address these short comings this form letter was introduced. Based on the guidelines and systematic review of published articles, items of information to be included were decided. Printed forms of the letter are kept in the practice and the doctor has to just fill up relevant information under each heading. The objectives of introducing this structured referral letter was to improve the quality and standard of referral letters and save time for both general

  16. Automatic Attraction of Visual Attention by Supraletter Features of Former Target Strings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Søren eKyllingsbæk

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Observers were trained to search for a particular horizontal string of 3 capital letters presented among similar strings consisting of exactly the same letters in different orders. The training was followed by a test in which the observers searched for a new target that was identical to one of the former distractors. The new distractor set consisted of the remaining former distractors plus the former target. On each trial, three letter-strings were displayed, which included the target string with a probability of .5. In Experiment 1, the strings were centered at different locations on the circumference of an imaginary circle around the fixation point. The training phase of Experiment 2 was similar, but in the test phase of the experiment, the strings were located in a vertical array centered on fixation, and in target-present arrays, the target always appeared at fixation. In both experiments, performance (d’ degraded on trials in which former targets were present, suggesting that the former targets automatically drew processing resources away from the current targets. Apparently, the two experiments showed automatic attraction of visual attention by supraletter features of former target strings.

  17. Letter and symbol identification: No evidence for letter-specific crowding mechanisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castet, Eric; Descamps, Marine; Denis-Noël, Ambre; Colé, Pascale

    2017-09-01

    It has been proposed that letters, as opposed to symbols, trigger specialized crowding processes, boosting identification of the first and last letters of words. This hypothesis is based on evidence that single-letter accuracy as a function of within-string position has a W shape (the classic serial position function [SPF] in psycholinguistics) whereas an inverted V shape is obtained when measured with symbols. Our main goal was to test the robustness of the latter result. Our hypothesis was that any letter/symbol difference might result from short-term visual memory processes (due to the partial report [PR] procedures used in SPF studies) rather than from crowding. We therefore removed the involvement of short-term memory by precueing target-item position and compared SPFs with precueing and postcueing. Perimetric complexity was stringently matched between letters and symbols. In postcueing conditions similar to previous studies, we did not reproduce the inverted V shape for symbols: Clear-cut W shapes were observed with an overall smaller accuracy for symbols compared to letters. This letter/symbol difference was dramatically reduced in precueing conditions in keeping with our prediction. Our results are not consistent with the claim that letter strings trigger specialized crowding processes. We argue that PR procedures are not fit to isolate crowding processes.

  18. The effect of letter string length and report condition on letter recognition accuracy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raghunandan, Avesh; Karmazinaite, Berta; Rossow, Andrea S

    Letter sequence recognition accuracy has been postulated to be limited primarily by low-level visual factors. The influence of high level factors such as visual memory (load and decay) has been largely overlooked. This study provides insight into the role of these factors by investigating the interaction between letter sequence recognition accuracy, letter string length and report condition. Letter sequence recognition accuracy for trigrams and pentagrams were measured in 10 adult subjects for two report conditions. In the complete report condition subjects reported all 3 or all 5 letters comprising trigrams and pentagrams, respectively. In the partial report condition, subjects reported only a single letter in the trigram or pentagram. Letters were presented for 100ms and rendered in high contrast, using black lowercase Courier font that subtended 0.4° at the fixation distance of 0.57m. Letter sequence recognition accuracy was consistently higher for trigrams compared to pentagrams especially for letter positions away from fixation. While partial report increased recognition accuracy in both string length conditions, the effect was larger for pentagrams, and most evident for the final letter positions within trigrams and pentagrams. The effect of partial report on recognition accuracy for the final letter positions increased as eccentricity increased away from fixation, and was independent of the inner/outer position of a letter. Higher-level visual memory functions (memory load and decay) play a role in letter sequence recognition accuracy. There is also suggestion of additional delays imposed on memory encoding by crowded letter elements. Copyright © 2016 Spanish General Council of Optometry. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  19. Letters and Letter Writing in Early Modern Culture: An Introduction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriella Del Lungo Camiciotti

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available The recently renewed scholarly interest in historical letters and letter writing has given rise to several studies which explore the culture of epistolarity from different perspectives. The article offers an introduction to recent scholarship on epistolary discourse and practices in early modern culture. Given the importance of letters as data for several types of diachronic investigation, the article focuses on three points that are crucial for an understanding of the relevance of epistolary discourse itself in early modern European culture. Firstly, letters are invaluable data for historical linguistics, to which they provide information for the history of languages, and sociohistorical and sociolinguistic research. A second recent field of investigation considers letters as documents and material items; the results of research in this area have contributed to the reconstruction of official relationships and information exchanges in past cultures and shed light on social interaction. A third, more traditional area of study, deals with the letter as a form that has given rise to many different genres across the centuries, both practical and literary.

  20. Active pedestrian safety by automatic braking and evasive steering

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Keller, C.; Dang, T.; Fritz, H.; Joos, A.; Rabe, C.; Gavrila, D.M.

    2011-01-01

    Active safety systems hold great potential for reducing accident frequency and severity by warning the driver and/or exerting automatic vehicle control ahead of crashes. This paper presents a novel active pedestrian safety system that combines sensing, situation analysis, decision making, and

  1. Effect of orthographic processes on letter-identity and letter-position encoding in dyslexic children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caroline eReilhac

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available The ability to identify letters and encode their position is a crucial step of the word recognition process. However and despite their word identification problem, the ability of dyslexic children to encode letter-identity and letter-position within strings was not systematically investigated. This study aimed at filling this gap and further explored how letter identity and letter position encoding is modulated by letter context in developmental dyslexia. For this purpose, a letter-string comparison task was administered to French dyslexic children and two chronological-age (CA and reading-age (RA-matched control groups. Children had to judge whether two successively and briefly presented 4-letter-strings were identical or different. Letter-position and letter-identity were manipulated through the transposition (e.g., RTGM vs. RMGT or substitution of two letters (e.g., TSHF vs. TGHD. Non-words, pseudo-words and words were used as stimuli to investigate sub-lexical and lexical effects on letter encoding. Dyslexic children showed both substitution and transposition detection problems relative to CA controls. A substitution advantage over transpositions was only found for words in dyslexic children whereas it extended to pseudo-words in RA controls and to all type of items in CA controls. Letters were better identified in the dyslexic group when belonging to orthographically familiar strings. Letter position encoding was very impaired in dyslexic children who did not show any word context effect in contrast to CA controls. Overall, the current findings point to a strong letter identity and letter position encoding disorder in developmental dyslexia.

  2. What's in a name: Implicit self-esteem and the automatic self

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koole, S.L.; Dijksterhuis, A.; van Knippenberg, A.

    2001-01-01

    This article explores the links between implicit self-esteem and the automatic self (D. L. Paulhus, 1993). Across 4 studies, name letter evaluations were positively biased, confirming that implicit self-esteem is generally positive (A. G. Greenwald & M. R. Banaji, 1995). Study 1 found that this name

  3. Using activity-related behavioural features towards more effective automatic stress detection.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dimitris Giakoumis

    Full Text Available This paper introduces activity-related behavioural features that can be automatically extracted from a computer system, with the aim to increase the effectiveness of automatic stress detection. The proposed features are based on processing of appropriate video and accelerometer recordings taken from the monitored subjects. For the purposes of the present study, an experiment was conducted that utilized a stress-induction protocol based on the stroop colour word test. Video, accelerometer and biosignal (Electrocardiogram and Galvanic Skin Response recordings were collected from nineteen participants. Then, an explorative study was conducted by following a methodology mainly based on spatiotemporal descriptors (Motion History Images that are extracted from video sequences. A large set of activity-related behavioural features, potentially useful for automatic stress detection, were proposed and examined. Experimental evaluation showed that several of these behavioural features significantly correlate to self-reported stress. Moreover, it was found that the use of the proposed features can significantly enhance the performance of typical automatic stress detection systems, commonly based on biosignal processing.

  4. Coloured Letters and Numbers (CLaN): A reliable factor-analysis based synaesthesia questionnaire

    OpenAIRE

    Rothen Nicolas; Tsakanikos Elias; Meier Beat; Ward Jamie

    2013-01-01

    Synaesthesia is a heterogeneous phenomenon even when considering one particular sub type. The purpose of this study was to design a reliable and valid questionnaire for grapheme colour synaesthesia that captures this heterogeneity. By the means of a large sample of 628 synaesthetes and a factor analysis we created the Coloured Letters and Numbers (CLaN) questionnaire with 16 items loading on 4 different factors (i.e. localisation automaticity/attention deliberate use and longitudinal changes)...

  5. What Do Letter Migration Errors Reveal About Letter Position Coding in Visual Word Recognition?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Colin J.; Bowers, Jeffrey S.

    2004-01-01

    Dividing attention across multiple words occasionally results in misidentifications whereby letters apparently migrate between words. Previous studies have found that letter migrations preserve within-word letter position, which has been interpreted as support for position-specific letter coding. To investigate this issue, the authors used word…

  6. Analysis of reliability of professor recommendation letters based on concordance with self-introduction letter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Sang Hyun

    2013-12-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the concordance between a checklist's categories of professor recommendation letters and characteristics of the self-introduction letter. Checklists of professor recommendation letters were analyzed and classified into cognitive, social, and affective domains. Simple correlation was performed to determine whether the characteristics of the checklists were concordant with those of the self-introduction letter. The difference in ratings of the checklists by pass or fail grades was analyzed by independent sample t-test. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine whether a pass or fail grade was influenced by ratings on the checklists. The Cronbach alpha value of the checklists was 0.854. Initiative, as an affective domain, in the professor's recommendation letter was highly ranked among the six checklist categories. Self-directed learning in the self-introduction letter was influenced by a pass or fail grade by logistic regression analysis (pprofessor recommendation letters and the sum of all characteristics in the self-introduction letter.

  7. ACTIV - a program for automatic processing of gamma-ray spectra

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zlokazov, V.B.

    1982-01-01

    Program ACTIV is intended for precise analysis of γ-rays and X-ray spectra and allows the user to carry out the full cycle of automatic processing of a series of spectra, i.e. calibration, automatic peak search, determination of peak positions and areas, identification of the radioisotopes and the transformation of the areas found into masses of isotopes in the irradiated sample. ACTIV uses a complex mathematical technique and is oriented mainly to large computers, but using overlaid loading, it can be run also on small computers like the PDP 11/70. Compared with other similar programs, ACTIV has some advantages in accuracy of peak shape description and in the reliability of the peak search and its least-square analysis. The program can be used for the purpose of activation analysis. The program can analyze spectra with poor statistics and with broad and narrow peaks. (orig.)

  8. The elaboration of motor programs for the automation of letter production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thibon, Laurence Séraphin; Gerber, Silvain; Kandel, Sonia

    2018-01-01

    We investigated how children learn to write letters. Letter writing evolves from stroke-by-stroke to whole-letter programming. Children of ages 6 to 9 (N=98) wrote letters of varying complexity on a digitizer. At ages 6 and 7 movement duration, dysfluency and trajectory increased with stroke number. This indicates that the motor program they activated mainly coded information on stroke production. Stroke number affected the older children's production much less, suggesting that they programmed stroke chunks or the whole letter. The fact that movement duration and dysfluency decreased from ages 6 to 8, and remained stable at ages 8 and 9 suggests that automation of letter writing begins at age 8. Automation seems to require the elaboration of stroke chunks and/or letter-sized motor programs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Is visual attention automatically attracted to one's own name?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bundesen, C; Kyllingsbæk, Søren; Houmann, K J

    1997-01-01

    Subjects were presented with briefly exposed visual displays of words that were common first names with a length of four to six letters. In the main experiment, each display consisted of four words: two names shown in red and two shown in white. The subject's task was to report the red names (tar......, visual attention was not automatically attracted by the subject's own name....

  10. A STUDY ON LEGIBILITY OF LETTERING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Merve ERSAN,

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available In the most general sense, lettering is the art of drawing letters, in which the letter forms carry illustrtive features. In this research which is titled "An Analysis on Legibility in Letterings Used in Print Advertisements", letterings used in and specially designed for print ads are analysed and their contribution to the ads are examined. Legibility, which is the fundamental function of writing and typography is examined in the field of lettering that has an illustrative approach. Also, the article puts emphasis on the technique and form’s contribution on content in letterings. Keywords: Lettering, print advertisements, letter design, illustration, legibility.

  11. Automatic evaluation stimuli – The most frequently used words to describe physical activity and the pleasantness of physical activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amanda Lea Rebar

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Physical activity is partially regulated by non-conscious processes including automatic evaluations – the spontaneous affective reactions we have to physical activity that lead us to approach or avoid physical activity opportunities. A sound understanding of which words best represent the concepts of physical activity and pleasantness (as associated with physical activity is needed to improve the measurement of automatic evaluations and related constructs (e.g., automatic self-schemas, attentional biases. The first aim of this study was to establish population-level evidence of the most common word stimuli for physical activity and pleasantness. Given that response latency measures have been applied to assess automatic evaluations of physical activity and exercise, the second aim was to determine whether people use the same behavior and pleasant descriptors for physical activity and exercise. Australian adults (N = 1,318; 54.3% women; 48.9% aged 55 years or older were randomly assigned to one of two groups, through a computer-generated 1:1 ratio allocation, to be asked to list either five behaviors and pleasant descriptors of physical activity (n = 686 or of exercise (n = 632. The words were independently coded twice as to whether they were novel words or the same as another (i.e., same stem or same meaning. Intercoder reliability varied between moderate and strong (agreement = 50.1% to 97.8%; κ = 0.48 to 0.82. A list of the 20 most common behavior and pleasantness words were established based on how many people reported them, weighted by the ranking (1-5 people gave them. The words people described as physical activity were mostly the same as those people used to describe exercise. The most common behavior words were ‘walking,’ ‘running,’ ‘swimming,’ ‘bike riding,’ and ‘gardening’; and the most common pleasant descriptor words were ‘relaxing,’ ‘happiness,’ ‘enjoyment,’ ‘exhilarating,’ ‘exhausting,’ and

  12. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 22, Number 6, November-December 2006

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauncey, Caroline, Ed.

    2006-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) (In)formative Assessments: New Tests and Activities Can Help Teachers Guide Student Learning (Robert Rothman); (2) Recent Research on the Achievement Gap: How Lifestyle…

  13. The Neural Substrates for Letter String Readings in The Normal and Reverse Directions: An fMRI Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ge, Sheng; Saito, Takashi; Wu, Jing-Long; Ogasawara, Jun-Ichi; Yamauchi, Shuichi; Matsunaga, Naofumi; Iramina, Keiji

    In order to investigate the difference in cortical activations between reading letter strings in the normal direction and the reverse direction, an fMRI study was conducted. In this study, the cortical activations elicited by Japanese letter string reading and Chinese letter string reading were investigated. The subjects performed the normal direction reading task (read letter strings from left to right), and the reverse direction reading task (read letter strings from right to left). According to the experimental results, the activated brain regions during the normal and the reverse direction reading tasks were compared. It was found that visuospatial transformation was involved in the reverse direction reading task, while this function was not significant during the normal direction reading task. Furthermore, we found that there was no significant difference in cortical activation between Japanese and Chinese letter string readings.

  14. Understanding Performance Decrements in a Letter-Canceling Task: Overcoming Habits or Inhibition of Reading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Myers, Larry; Downie, Steven; Taylor, Grant; Marrington, Jessica; Tehan, Gerald; Ireland, Michael J

    2018-01-01

    The importance of self-regulation in human behavior is readily apparent and diverse theoretical accounts for explaining self-regulation failures have been proposed. Typically, these accounts are based on a sequential task methodology where an initial task is presented to deplete self-regulatory resources, and carryover effects are then examined on a second outcome task. In the aftermath of high profile replication failures using a popular letter-crossing task as a means of depleting self-regulatory resources and subsequent criticisms of that task, current research into self-control is currently at an impasse. This is largely due to the lack of empirical research that tests explicit assumptions regarding the initial task. One such untested assumption is that for resource depletion to occur, the initial task must first establish an habitual response and then this habitual response must be inhibited, with behavioral inhibition being the causal factor in inducing depletion. This study reports on four experiments exploring performance on a letter-canceling task, where the rules for target identification remained constant but the method of responding differed (Experiment 1) and the coherence of the text was manipulated (Experiments 1-4). Experiment 1 established that habit forming and behavioral inhibition did not produce any performance decrement when the targets were embedded in random letter strings. Experiments 2-4 established that target detection was sensitive to language characteristics and the coherence of the background text, suggesting that participants' automatic reading processes is a key driver of performance in the letter-e task.

  15. Automatic activation of exercise and sedentary stereotypes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berry, Tanya; Spence, John C

    2009-09-01

    We examined the automatic activation of "sedentary" and "exerciser" stereotypes using a social prime Stroop task. Results showed significantly slower response times between the exercise words and the exercise control words and between the sedentary words and the exercise control words when preceded by an attractive exerciser prime. Words preceded by a normal-weight exerciser prime showed significantly slower response times for sedentary words over sedentary control words and exercise words. An overweight sedentary prime resulted in significantly slower response times for sedentary words over exercise words and exercise control words. These results highlight the need for increased awareness of how active and sedentary lifestyles are portrayed in the media.

  16. Credit Card Debt Hardship Letter Samples

    OpenAIRE

    lissa coffey

    2016-01-01

    Having trouble with your credit card debt? Below you will find examples of hardship letters. There are several things to consider when writing a credit card hardship letter. A hardship letter is the first step to letting the credit card company know that things are bad. This free credit card hardship letter sample is only a guide in order to start the negotiation. Credit card debt hardship letter example, hardship letter to credit card. If you are having trouble paying off your debt and need ...

  17. Critical contrastive rhetoric: The influence of L2 letter writing instruction on L1letter writing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mehrnoosh Fakharzadeh

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available The present study employed critical contrastive rhetoric to investigate the L2 to L1 transfer of organizational pattern and directness level of speech acts in business complaint letters. By examining the L1 complaint letters of 30 tourism university students in two phases of study, pre and post instruction of English complaint letter, the study revealed that the rhetorical organization of Persian letters are in a state of hybridity. The post instruction comparison of letters, however, showed a tendency towards applying English conventions both in organization and directness level of complaint speech act in the L1 complaint letters. The results also revealed that after instruction the expert in the field of tourism viewed some letters as inappropriate in terms of politeness which is reflected through some lexical items.

  18. Letter Knowledge in Parent–Child Conversations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robins, Sarah; Treiman, Rebecca; Rosales, Nicole

    2014-01-01

    Learning about letters is an important component of emergent literacy. We explored the possibility that parent speech provides information about letters, and also that children’s speech reflects their own letter knowledge. By studying conversations transcribed in CHILDES (MacWhinney, 2000) between parents and children aged one to five, we found that alphabetic order influenced use of individual letters and letter sequences. The frequency of letters in children’s books influenced parent utterances throughout the age range studied, but children’s utterances only after age two. Conversations emphasized some literacy-relevant features of letters, such as their shapes and association with words, but not letters’ sounds. Describing these patterns and how they change over the preschool years offers important insight into the home literacy environment. PMID:25598577

  19. Letter-transposition effects are not universal: The impact of transposing letters in Hebrew.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Velan, Hadas; Frost, Ram

    2009-10-01

    We examined the effects of letter transposition in Hebrew in three masked-priming experiments. Hebrew, like English has an alphabetic orthography where sequential and contiguous letter strings represent phonemes. However, being a Semitic language it has a non-concatenated morphology that is based on root derivations. Experiment 1 showed that transposed-letter (TL) root primes inhibited responses to targets derived from the non-transposed root letters, and that this inhibition was unrelated to relative root frequency. Experiment 2 replicated this result and showed that if the transposed letters of the root created a nonsense-root that had no lexical representation, then no inhibition and no facilitation were obtained. Finally, Experiment 3 demonstrated that in contrast to English, French, or Spanish, TL nonword primes did not facilitate recognition of targets, and when the root letters embedded in them consisted of a legal root morpheme, they produced inhibition. These results suggest that lexical space in alphabetic orthographies may be structured very differently in different languages if their morphological structure diverges qualitatively. In Hebrew, lexical space is organized according to root families rather than simple orthographic structure, so that all words derived from the same root are interconnected or clustered together, independent of overall orthographic similarity.

  20. Michelangelo, a Tireless Letter Writer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adelin Charles Fiorato

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available A titan of artistic creation, the sculptor-painter-architect Michelangelo was also a tireless letter writer. Five hundred and eighteen of his letters have reached us, stretching from his youth to the eve of his death, but we know that many others have been lost. Written in a kind of familiar Florentine and in a style of minimalist ‘realism’ – which does not prevent the presence of either impetuous polemical flights or pages of literary indulgence – these letters deal mainly with everyday subjects: day-by-day relationships, either endearing or resentful, with his relatives, financial or property matters and, above all, the marriage problems which concerned his nephew Leonardo, the sole heir of the family. But one also discovers in them the artist’s warm feelings of friendship and love, his poetic and aesthetic exchanges, his relationships, often conflictual, with his fellow-artists and patrons as well as his reflections on old age and death. All in all, these letters represent a documentary chronicle of a Florentine bourgeois family and the technical hassle of an entrepreneur’s activity. If, on the one hand, the Carteggio does not shed light either on Michelangelo’s conception of art or the way in which he realized his works, on the other it illustrates certain latent aspects of his projects, as well as of his personality, which was at the same time melancholy and aggressive, surprisingly whole and manifold. This luxuriant correspondence presents, so to speak, a ‘genetic’ interest, since it reveals the hidden face of the brilliant conceiver and creator, of the artist and entrepreneur struggling with the obstacles whose overcoming makes creation possible. 

  1. [Alexithymia and automatic activation of emotional-evaluative information].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suslow, T; Arolt, V; Junghanns, K

    1998-05-01

    The emotional valence of stimuli seems to be stored in the associative network and is automatically activated on the mere observation of a stimulus. A principal characteristic of alexithymia represents the difficulty to symbolize emotions verbally. The present study examines the relationship between the dimensions of the alexithymia construct and emotional priming effects in a word-word paradigma. The 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale was administered to 32 subjects along with two word reading tasks as measures of emotional and semantic priming effects. The subscale "difficulty describing feelings" correlated as expected negatively with the negative inhibition effect. The subscale "externally oriented thinking" tended to correlate negatively with the negative facilitation effect. Thus, these dimensions of alexithymia are inversely related to the degree of automatic emotional priming. In summary, there is evidence for an impaired structural integration of emotion and language in persons with difficulties in describing feelings. Poor "symbolization" of emotions in alexithymia is discussed from a cognitive perspective.

  2. Overt use of a tactile-kinesthetic strategy shifts to covert processing in rehabilitation of letter-by-letter reading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lott, Susan Nitzberg; Carney, Aimee Syms; Glezer, Laurie S; Friedman, Rhonda B

    2010-11-01

    BACKGROUND: Letter-by-letter readers identify each letter of the word they are reading serially in left to right order before recognizing the word. When their letter naming is also impaired, letter-by-letter reading is inaccurate and can render even single word reading very poor. Tactile and/or kinesthetic strategies have been reported to improve reading in these patients, but only under certain conditions or for a limited set of stimuli. AIMS: The primary aim of the current study was to determine whether a tactile/kinesthetic treatment could significantly improve reading specifically under normal reading conditions, i.e. reading untrained words presented in free vision and read without overt use of the strategy. METHODS #ENTITYSTARTX00026; PROCEDURES: Three chronic letter-by-letter readers participated in a tactile/kinesthetic treatment aimed at first improving letter naming accuracy (phase 1) and then letter-by-letter reading speed (phase 2). In a multiple case series design, accuracy and speed of reading untrained words without overt use of the trained tactile/kinesthetic strategy was assessed before phase 1, after phase 1 and again after phase 2. OUTCOMES #ENTITYSTARTX00026; RESULTS: All three patients significantly improved both their speed and accuracy reading untrained words without overt use of the trained tactile/kinesthetic strategy. All three patients required the additional practice in phase 2 to achieve significant improvement. Treatment did not target sentence level reading, yet two of the three patients became so adept that they could read entire sentences. CONCLUSIONS: This study replicates previous findings on the efficacy of tactile/kinesthetic treatment for letter-by-letter readers with poor letter naming. It further demonstrates that this treatment can alter cognitive processing such that words never specifically trained can be read in free vision without overtly using the trained strategy. The data suggest that an important element in achieving

  3. Writing more informative letters of reference.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wright, Scott M; Ziegelstein, Roy C

    2004-05-01

    Writing a meaningful and valuable letter of reference is not an easy task. Several factors influence the quality of any letter of reference. First, the accuracy and reliability of the writer's impressions and judgment depend on how well he knows the individual being described. Second, the writer's frame of reference, which is determined by the number of persons at the same level that he has worked with, will impact the context and significance of his beliefs and estimations. Third, the letter-writing skills of the person composing the letter will naturally affect the letter. To support the other components of a candidate's application, a letter of reference should provide specific examples of how an individual's behavior or attitude compares to a reference group and should assess "intangibles" that are hard to glean from a curriculum vitae or from test scores. This report offers suggestions that should help physicians write more informative letters of reference.

  4. The legibility of letters and words

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Beier, Sofie

    2016-01-01

    The saying made famous by Mathew Carter that "type is a beautiful group of letters, not a group of beautiful letters”, highlights the fact that although a typeface consists of a number of letters it is when the letters are assembled in a word that they become type. However, research indicates...... that what makes letters legible in isolation is not necessarily the same as what makes them legible in words. Is it possible to create a typeface where both letters and words have a high level of legibility or are those factors so different that they cannot be combined? Through a literature review...... on relevant experimental investigations, I will in this talk present examples of when the legibility findings on letters and words correlate and when they differ....

  5. Cognitive-Affective Dimensions of Female Orgasm: The Role of Automatic Thoughts and Affect During Sexual Activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tavares, Inês M; Laan, Ellen T M; Nobre, Pedro J

    2017-06-01

    Cognitive-affective factors contribute to female sexual dysfunctions, defined as clinically significant difficulties in the ability to respond sexually or to experience sexual pleasure. Automatic thoughts and affect presented during sexual activity are acknowledged as maintenance factors for these difficulties. However, there is a lack of studies on the influence of these cognitive-affective dimensions regarding female orgasm. To assess the role of automatic thoughts and affect during sexual activity in predicting female orgasm occurrence and to investigate the mediator role of these variables in the relation between sexual activity and orgasm occurrence. Nine hundred twenty-six sexually active heterosexual premenopausal women reported on frequency of sexual activities and frequency of orgasm occurrence, cognitive factors, and social desirability. Participants completed the Sexual Modes Questionnaire-Automatic Thoughts Subscale, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, and the Socially Desirable Response Set. Multiple linear regressions and mediation analyses were performed, controlling for the effect of covariates such as social desirability, sociodemographic and medical characteristics, and relationship factors. The main outcome measurement was orgasm frequency as predicted and mediated by automatic thoughts and affect experienced during sexual activities. The presence of failure thoughts and lack of erotic thoughts during sexual activity significantly and negatively predicted female orgasm, whereas positive affect experienced during sexual activity significantly and positively predicted female orgasm. Moreover, negative automatic thoughts and positive affect during sexual activity were found to mediate the relation between sexual activity and female orgasm occurrence. These data suggest that the cognitive aspects of sexual involvement are critical to enhancing female orgasm experience and can aid the development of strategies that contemplate the central role

  6. Aircraft noise effects on sleep: a systematic comparison of EEG awakenings and automatically detected cardiac activations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Basner, Mathias; Müller, Uwe; Elmenhorst, Eva-Maria; Kluge, Götz; Griefahn, Barbara

    2008-01-01

    Polysomnography is the gold standard for investigating noise effects on sleep, but data collection and analysis are sumptuous and expensive. We recently developed an algorithm for the automatic identification of cardiac activations associated with cortical arousals, which uses heart rate information derived from a single electrocardiogram (ECG) channel. We hypothesized that cardiac activations can be used as estimates for EEG awakenings. Polysomnographic EEG awakenings and automatically detected cardiac activations were systematically compared using laboratory data of 112 subjects (47 male, mean ± SD age 37.9 ± 13 years), 985 nights and 23 855 aircraft noise events (ANEs). The probability of automatically detected cardiac activations increased monotonically with increasing maximum sound pressure levels of ANEs, exceeding the probability of EEG awakenings by up to 18.1%. If spontaneous reactions were taken into account, exposure–response curves were practically identical for EEG awakenings and cardiac activations. Automatically detected cardiac activations may be used as estimates for EEG awakenings. More investigations are needed to further validate the ECG algorithm in the field and to investigate inter-individual differences in its ability to predict EEG awakenings. This inexpensive, objective and non-invasive method facilitates large-scale field studies on the effects of traffic noise on sleep

  7. Language Arts/Arts: Adopt-a-Letter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soloway, Rhoda K.

    1978-01-01

    Describes a five-week project in which elementary students chose a favorite letter as the main character of a 25- to 30-page book for practice in language skills. The book each child made was composed of more than 20 learning activities that stimulated students to review and practice skills, parts of speech, synonyms, antonyms and alliteration as…

  8. The letter knowledge assessment tool.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pedro, Cassandra; Lousada, Marisa; Pereira, Rita; Hall, Andreia; Jesus, Luis M T

    2017-10-10

    There is a need to develop letter knowledge assessment tools to characterise the letter knowledge in Portuguese pre-schoolers and to compare it with pre-schoolers from other countries, but there are no tools for this purpose in Portugal. The aim of this paper is to describe the development and validation procedures of the Prova de Avaliação de Competências de Pré-Literacia (PACPL), which assesses letter knowledge. This study includes data that has been gathered in two phases: pilot and main study. In the pilot study, an expert panel of six speech and language pathologists analysed the instrument. Children (n = 216) aged 5;0-7;11 participated in the main study that reports data related to the psychometric characteristics of the PACPL. Content validity, internal consistency, reliability and contributing factors to performance were examined statistically. A modified Bland-Altman method revealed good agreement amongst evaluators. The main study showed that the PACPL has a very good internal consistency and high inter-rater (96.2% of agreement and a Cohen's k value of 0.92) and intra-rater (95.6% of agreement and a Cohen's k value of 0.91) agreement. Construct validity of the PCAPL was also assured (Cronbach's α of 0.982). Significant differences were found between age groups with children increasing their letter knowledge with age. In addition, they were better at identifying than at producing both letter names and letter sounds. The PACPL is a valid and reliable instrument to assess letter knowledge in Portuguese children.

  9. 50 CFR 216.218 - Letters of Authorization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE MARINE MAMMALS REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE TAKING AND IMPORTING OF MARINE MAMMALS Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to Explosive Severance Activities Conducted During Offshore Structure Removal Operations on the Outer Continental Shelf in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico § 216.218 Letters of...

  10. Striving to be known by significant others: automatic activation of self-verification goals in relationship contexts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kraus, Michael W; Chen, Serena

    2009-07-01

    Extending research on the automatic activation of goals associated with significant others, the authors hypothesized that self-verification goals typically pursued with significant others are automatically elicited when a significant-other representation is activated. Supporting this hypothesis, the activation of a significant-other representation through priming (Experiments 1 and 3) or through a transference encounter (Experiment 2) led participants to seek feedback that verifies their preexisting self-views. Specifically, significant-other primed participants desired self-verifying feedback, in general (Experiment 1), from an upcoming interaction partner (Experiment 2), and relative to acquaintance-primed participants and favorable feedback (Experiment 3). Finally, self-verification goals were activated, especially for relational self-views deemed high in importance to participants' self-concepts (Experiment 2) and held with high certainty (Experiment 3). Implications for research on self-evaluative goals, the relational self, and the automatic goal activation literature are discussed, as are consequences for close relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved).

  11. Should intellectual property be disseminated by "forwarding" rejected letters without permission?

    OpenAIRE

    Gupta, V K

    1996-01-01

    Substantive scientific letter writing is a cost-effective mode of complementing observational and experimental research. The value of such philosophically uncommitted and unsponsored well-balanced scientific activity has been relegated. Critical letter writing entails the abilities to: maintain rational scepticism; refuse to conform in order to explain data; persist in keeping common sense centre-stage; exercise logic to evaluate the biological significance of mathematical figures, including ...

  12. Letter-Transposition Effects Are Not Universal: The Impact of Transposing Letters in Hebrew

    Science.gov (United States)

    Velan, Hadas; Frost, Ram

    2009-01-01

    We examined the effects of letter-transposition in Hebrew in three masked-priming experiments. Hebrew, like English has an alphabetic orthography where sequential and contiguous letter strings represent phonemes. However, being a Semitic language it has a non-concatenated morphology that is based on root derivations. Experiment 1 showed that…

  13. 7 CFR 3560.709 - Demand letter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Demand letter. 3560.709 Section 3560.709 Agriculture... DIRECT MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING LOANS AND GRANTS Unauthorized Assistance § 3560.709 Demand letter. (a) If a... repayment schedule, the Agency will send the borrower a demand letter specifying: (1) The amount of...

  14. Letters of Map Change (LOMC)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Homeland Security — Documents, including different types of Letters of MAP Revision (LOMR) and Letters of Map Amendment (LOMA), which are issued by FEMA to revise or amend the flood...

  15. 31 CFR 29.511 - Demand letters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Demand letters. 29.511 Section 29.511... Overpayments § 29.511 Demand letters. Except as provided in § 29.516(e), before starting collection action to recover an overpayment, the Benefits Administrator must send a demand letter that informs the debtor in...

  16. Alignment effects in beer mugs: Automatic action activation or response competition?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roest, Sander A; Pecher, Diane; Naeije, Lilian; Zeelenberg, René

    2016-08-01

    Responses to objects with a graspable handle are faster when the response hand and handle orientation are aligned (e.g., a key press with the right hand is required and the object handle is oriented to the right) than when they are not aligned. This effect could be explained by automatic activation of specific motor programs when an object is viewed. Alternatively, the effect could be explained by competition at the response level. Participants performed a reach-and-grasp or reach-and-button-press action with their left or right hand in response to the color of a beer mug. The alignment effect did not vary as a function of the type of action. In addition, the alignment effect disappeared in a go/no-go version of the task. The same results were obtained when participants made upright/inverted decisions, so that object shape was task-relevant. Our results indicate that alignment effects are not due to automatic motor activation of the left or right limb.

  17. Letter Dice. Technical Note No. 6.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gunter, Jock

    Letter and syllable dice devised for a project in rural Ecuador provide inexpensive, easily reproducible learning materials for practice in basic literary skills. Eleven wooden cubes with six letters on each cube are cast onto a surface and the player constructs words from the letters on the top side of the dice. After a word is formed and…

  18. Letter to the parliament:

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2017-01-01

    This piece was a letter directed towards various ministers in the parliament, targeted at raising a discussion on the values in the education of architects in Denmark and various related topics.......This piece was a letter directed towards various ministers in the parliament, targeted at raising a discussion on the values in the education of architects in Denmark and various related topics....

  19. Hamlet and Japanese Men of Letters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kawachi Yoshiko

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Shakespeare has exerted a powerful influence on Japanese literature since he was accepted in the second half of the nineteenth century. Particularly Hamlet has had a strong impact on Japanese men of letters and provided them with the impetus to revive the play in contemporary literature. In this paper I discuss how they have utilized Hamlet for their creative activity and enriched Japanese literature.

  20. Resource Letter: GW-1: Global warming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Firor, John W.

    1994-06-01

    This Resource Letter provides a guide to the literature on the possibility of a human-induced climate change—a global warming. Journal articles and books are cited for the following topics: the Greenhouse Effect, sources of infrared-trapping gases, climate models and their uncertainties, verification of climate models, past climate changes, and economics, ethics, and politics of policy responses to climate change. [The letter E after an item indicates elementary level or material of general interest to persons becoming informed in the field. The letter I, for intermediate level, indicates material of somewhat more specialized nature, and the letter A indicates rather specialized or advanced material.

  1. Implied reading direction and prioritization of letter encoding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holcombe, Alex O; Nguyen, Elizabeth H L; Goodbourn, Patrick T

    2017-10-01

    Capacity limits hinder processing of multiple stimuli, contributing to poorer performance for identifying two briefly presented letters than for identifying a single letter. Higher accuracy is typically found for identifying the letter on the left, which has been attributed to a right-hemisphere dominance for selective attention. Here, we use rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) of letters in two locations at once. The letters to be identified are simultaneous and cued by rings. In the first experiment, we manipulated implied reading direction by rotating or mirror-reversing the letters to face to the left rather than to the right. The left-side performance advantage was eliminated. In the second experiment, letters were positioned above and below fixation, oriented such that they appeared to face downward (90° clockwise rotation) or upward (90° counterclockwise rotation). Again consistent with an effect of implied reading direction, performance was better for the top position in the downward condition, but not in the upward condition. In both experiments, mixture modeling of participants' report errors revealed that attentional sampling from the two locations was approximately simultaneous, ruling out the theory that the letter on one side was processed first, followed by a shift of attention to sample the other letter. Thus, the orientation of the letters apparently controls not when the letters are sampled from the scene, but rather the dynamics of a subsequent process, such as tokenization or memory consolidation. Implied reading direction appears to determine the letter prioritized at a high-level processing bottleneck. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  2. AUTOMATIC RECOGNITION OF CORONAL TYPE II RADIO BURSTS: THE AUTOMATED RADIO BURST IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM METHOD AND FIRST OBSERVATIONS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lobzin, Vasili V.; Cairns, Iver H.; Robinson, Peter A.; Steward, Graham; Patterson, Garth

    2010-01-01

    Major space weather events such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections are usually accompanied by solar radio bursts, which can potentially be used for real-time space weather forecasts. Type II radio bursts are produced near the local plasma frequency and its harmonic by fast electrons accelerated by a shock wave moving through the corona and solar wind with a typical speed of ∼1000 km s -1 . The coronal bursts have dynamic spectra with frequency gradually falling with time and durations of several minutes. This Letter presents a new method developed to detect type II coronal radio bursts automatically and describes its implementation in an extended Automated Radio Burst Identification System (ARBIS 2). Preliminary tests of the method with spectra obtained in 2002 show that the performance of the current implementation is quite high, ∼80%, while the probability of false positives is reasonably low, with one false positive per 100-200 hr for high solar activity and less than one false event per 10000 hr for low solar activity periods. The first automatically detected coronal type II radio burst is also presented.

  3. Adolescent Suidice--An Open Letter to Counselors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolfe, Jane

    1988-01-01

    A mother of a 16 year-old suicide victim writes to school counselors who let her down by not informing her of important changes in her son's activities, personality, and choice of friends at school. The letter also addresses two psychologists in a psychiatric hospital who suppressed information about the boy's suicidal intentions and his…

  4. 48 CFR 42.504 - Postaward letters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT SERVICES Postaward Orientation 42.504 Postaward letters. In some circumstances, a letter or other written form of communication to the contractor may be adequate postaward...

  5. A Stimulus Sampling Theory of Letter Identity and Order

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norris, Dennis; Kinoshita, Sachiko; van Casteren, Maarten

    2010-01-01

    Early on during word recognition, letter positions are not accurately coded. Evidence for this comes from transposed-letter (TL) priming effects, in which letter strings generated by transposing two adjacent letters (e.g., "jugde") produce large priming effects, more than primes with the letters replaced in the corresponding position (e.g.,…

  6. Launch of Zoological Letters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fukatsu, Takema; Kuratani, Shigeru

    2016-02-01

    A new open-access journal, Zoological Letters, was launched as a sister journal to Zoological Science, in January 2015. The new journal aims at publishing topical papers of high quality from a wide range of basic zoological research fields. This review highlights the notable reviews and research articles that have been published in the first year of Zoological Letters, providing an overview on the current achievements and future directions of the journal.

  7. Active Learning for Automatic Audio Processing of Unwritten Languages (ALAPUL)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-07-01

    AFRL-RH-WP-TR-2016-0074 ACTIVE LEARNING FOR AUTOMATIC AUDIO PROCESSING OF UNWRITTEN LANGUAGES (ALAPUL) Dimitra Vergyri Andreas Kathol Wen Wang...FA8650-15-C-9101 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) *Dimitra Vergyri; Andreas Kathol; Wen Wang; Chris Bartels; Julian VanHout...feature transform through deep auto-encoders for better phone recognition performance. We target iterative learning to improve the system through

  8. Letters to those who Dare Feel: Using Reflective Letter-Writing to Explore the Emotionality of Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kathleen Pithouse-Morgan

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Using reflective letter-writing as a method of generating data, a group of four researchers embarked on a collaborative autoethnographic inquiry into the emotional dimensions of researching social aspects of HIV & AIDS. In this article, we use the medium of a narrative dialogue to represent and re-examine our reflective letter-writing method. The dialogue draws attention to key features of reflective letter-writing as a collaborative autoethnographic research method and, in so doing, highlights and explores the nature, potential significance, and challenges of this method. Our discussion points to the value of a collaborative process of reflective letter-writing as a way for researchers to access and portray emotional aspects of their research experience, to deepen their engagement with these emotional dimensions, and to gain insight into their own and others' lived research experiences.

  9. On Coding Non-Contiguous Letter Combinations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frédéric eDandurand

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Starting from the hypothesis that printed word identification initially involves the parallel mapping of visual features onto location-specific letter identities, we analyze the type of information that would be involved in optimally mapping this location-specific orthographic code onto a location-invariant lexical code. We assume that some intermediate level of coding exists between individual letters and whole words, and that this involves the representation of letter combinations. We then investigate the nature of this intermediate level of coding given the constraints of optimality. This intermediate level of coding is expected to compress data while retaining as much information as possible about word identity. Information conveyed by letters is a function of how much they constrain word identity and how visible they are. Optimization of this coding is a combination of minimizing resources (using the most compact representations and maximizing information. We show that in a large proportion of cases, non-contiguous letter sequences contain more information than contiguous sequences, while at the same time requiring less precise coding. Moreover, we found that the best predictor of human performance in orthographic priming experiments was within-word ranking of conditional probabilities, rather than average conditional probabilities. We conclude that from an optimality perspective, readers learn to select certain contiguous and non-contiguous letter combinations as information that provides the best cue to word identity.

  10. Writing More Informative Letters of Reference

    OpenAIRE

    Wright, Scott M; Ziegelstein, Roy C

    2004-01-01

    Writing a meaningful and valuable letter of reference is not an easy task. Several factors influence the quality of any letter of reference. First, the accuracy and reliability of the writer's impressions and judgment depend on how well he knows the individual being described. Second, the writer's frame of reference, which is determined by the number of persons at the same level that he has worked with, will impact the context and significance of his beliefs and estimations. Third, the letter...

  11. Use of Standard Guidelines for Department of Medicine Summary Letters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fitz, Matthew; La Rochelle, Jeffrey; Lang, Valerie; DeWaay, Deborah; Adams, William; Nasraty, Farah

    2018-04-12

    Phenomenon: Fourth-year medical students obtain Department of Medicine (DOM) letters ("Chair" letters) to support their residency applications. Writing and interpreting DOM letters are challenging. There is heterogeneity in the letters that makes it difficult to both write and read these letters. The purpose of this study is to determine the value of new guidelines developed by a task force of clerkship directors and program directors in internal medicine and assess the implementation of these guidelines. The Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine performed a cross-sectional survey of internal medicine clerkship directors at U.S. and Canadian medical schools in 2014. In addition, the primary author's institution reviewed 1,347 DOM letters between 2012 and 2014 to assess the implementation of these guidelines. The survey response rate was 78%. DOM letter writers reported the guidelines were better, easier to implement, and more compatible with the purpose of DOM letters than previously. Most letter readers reported that letters using the guidelines were more credible. Writers of DOM letters in lower academic ranks rated the letters with guidelines higher in several domains than those in higher academic ranks. Readers of DOM letters in higher academic ranks rated the letters with guidelines higher in several domains than those in lower academic ranks. In the DOM letters examined, the odds of meeting each guideline increased with each additional year. However, for 3 guidelines there was an initial decline in adherence from 2012 to 2013 before increasing again in 2014-the recommended length, clerkship description, and detailed narrative guidelines. Letters solely written by a chair were less likely to incorporate the guidelines. Insights: Clerkship directors often write the DOM letters and identify with the purpose of the guidelines. As writers, lower ranking academic faculty value the guidelines more than higher ranking academic faculty. As readers of DOM letters

  12. Letter position coding across modalities: braille and sighted reading of sentences with jumbled words.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perea, Manuel; Jiménez, María; Martín-Suesta, Miguel; Gómez, Pablo

    2015-04-01

    This article explores how letter position coding is attained during braille reading and its implications for models of word recognition. When text is presented visually, the reading process easily adjusts to the jumbling of some letters (jugde-judge), with a small cost in reading speed. Two explanations have been proposed: One relies on a general mechanism of perceptual uncertainty at the visual level, and the other focuses on the activation of an abstract level of representation (i.e., bigrams) that is shared by all orthographic codes. Thus, these explanations make differential predictions about reading in a tactile modality. In the present study, congenitally blind readers read sentences presented on a braille display that tracked the finger position. The sentences either were intact or involved letter transpositions. A parallel experiment was conducted in the visual modality. Results revealed a substantially greater reading cost for the sentences with transposed-letter words in braille readers. In contrast with the findings with sighted readers, in which there is a cost of transpositions in the external (initial and final) letters, the reading cost in braille readers occurs serially, with a large cost for initial letter transpositions. Thus, these data suggest that the letter-position-related effects in visual word recognition are due to the characteristics of the visual stream.

  13. Maritime Geo-Fence Letter Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-07-01

    1 Classification | CG-926 RDC | author | audience | month year Maritime Geo-Fence Letter Report Authors: Irene Gonin and Gregory...Johnson   Distribution Statement A: Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. July 2016 Report No. CG-D-10-16 Maritime Geo-Fence...United States Coast Guard Research & Development Center 1 Chelsea Street New London, CT 06320 Maritime Geo-Fence Letter Report 1

  14. Rock 'n' Roll Heroes: Letter to President Eisenhower.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mueller, Jean W., Ed.

    1985-01-01

    This primary source document can be used to teach secondary students about the rock 'n' roll era that emerged in the 1950's. The document is a letter written in 1958 by three teenagers to President Eisenhower concerning the induction of Elvis Presley into the U.S. Army. Class activities are also suggested. (RM)

  15. Automatic Earthquake Detection by Active Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bergen, K.; Beroza, G. C.

    2017-12-01

    In recent years, advances in machine learning have transformed fields such as image recognition, natural language processing and recommender systems. Many of these performance gains have relied on the availability of large, labeled data sets to train high-accuracy models; labeled data sets are those for which each sample includes a target class label, such as waveforms tagged as either earthquakes or noise. Earthquake seismologists are increasingly leveraging machine learning and data mining techniques to detect and analyze weak earthquake signals in large seismic data sets. One of the challenges in applying machine learning to seismic data sets is the limited labeled data problem; learning algorithms need to be given examples of earthquake waveforms, but the number of known events, taken from earthquake catalogs, may be insufficient to build an accurate detector. Furthermore, earthquake catalogs are known to be incomplete, resulting in training data that may be biased towards larger events and contain inaccurate labels. This challenge is compounded by the class imbalance problem; the events of interest, earthquakes, are infrequent relative to noise in continuous data sets, and many learning algorithms perform poorly on rare classes. In this work, we investigate the use of active learning for automatic earthquake detection. Active learning is a type of semi-supervised machine learning that uses a human-in-the-loop approach to strategically supplement a small initial training set. The learning algorithm incorporates domain expertise through interaction between a human expert and the algorithm, with the algorithm actively posing queries to the user to improve detection performance. We demonstrate the potential of active machine learning to improve earthquake detection performance with limited available training data.

  16. Triggered activity and automaticity in ventricular trabeculae of failing human and rabbit hearts

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vermeulen, J. T.; McGuire, M. A.; Opthof, T.; Coronel, R.; de Bakker, J. M.; Klöpping, C.; Janse, M. J.

    1994-01-01

    The aim of the study was to assess the occurrence of triggered activity and automaticity in ventricular trabeculae from failing human hearts and normal and failing rabbit hearts during exposure to a normal and altered extracellular environment. Ventricular trabeculae were harvested from failing

  17. Episodic Short-Term Recognition Requires Encoding into Visual Working Memory: Evidence from Probe Recognition after Letter Report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poth, Christian H; Schneider, Werner X

    2016-01-01

    Human vision is organized in discrete processing episodes (e.g., eye fixations or task-steps). Object information must be transmitted across episodes to enable episodic short-term recognition: recognizing whether a current object has been seen in a previous episode. We ask whether episodic short-term recognition presupposes that objects have been encoded into capacity-limited visual working memory (VWM), which retains visual information for report. Alternatively, it could rely on the activation of visual features or categories that occurs before encoding into VWM. We assessed the dependence of episodic short-term recognition on VWM by a new paradigm combining letter report and probe recognition. Participants viewed displays of 10 letters and reported as many as possible after a retention interval (whole report). Next, participants viewed a probe letter and indicated whether it had been one of the 10 letters (probe recognition). In Experiment 1, probe recognition was more accurate for letters that had been encoded into VWM (reported letters) compared with non-encoded letters (non-reported letters). Interestingly, those letters that participants reported in their whole report had been near to one another within the letter displays. This suggests that the encoding into VWM proceeded in a spatially clustered manner. In Experiment 2, participants reported only one of 10 letters (partial report) and probes either referred to this letter, to letters that had been near to it, or far from it. Probe recognition was more accurate for near than for far letters, although none of these letters had to be reported. These findings indicate that episodic short-term recognition is constrained to a small number of simultaneously presented objects that have been encoded into VWM.

  18. Episodic Short-Term Recognition Requires Encoding into Visual Working Memory: Evidence from Probe Recognition after Letter Report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christian H. Poth

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Human vision is organized in discrete processing episodes (e.g. eye fixations or task-steps. Object information must be transmitted across episodes to enable episodic short-term recognition: recognizing whether a current object has been seen in a previous episode. We ask whether episodic short-term recognition presupposes that objects have been encoded into capacity-limited visual working memory (VWM, which retains visual information for report. Alternatively, it could rely on the activation of visual features or categories that occurs before encoding into VWM. We assessed the dependence of episodic short-term recognition on VWM by a new paradigm combining letter report and probe recognition. Participants viewed displays of ten letters and reported as many as possible after a retention interval (whole report. Next, participants viewed a probe letter and indicated whether it had been one of the ten letters (probe recognition. In Experiment 1, probe recognition was more accurate for letters that had been encoded into VWM (reported letters compared with non-encoded letters (non-reported letters. Interestingly, those letters that participants reported in their whole report had been near to one another within the letter displays. This suggests that the encoding into VWM proceeded in a spatially clustered manner. In Experiment 2 participants reported only one of ten letters (partial report and probes either referred to this letter, to letters that had been near to it, or far from it. Probe recognition was more accurate for near than for far letters, although none of these letters had to be reported. These findings indicate that episodic short-term recognition is constrained to a small number of simultaneously presented objects that have been encoded into VWM.

  19. Letter knowledge in parent-child conversations: differences between families differing in socio-economic status.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robins, Sarah; Ghosh, Dina; Rosales, Nicole; Treiman, Rebecca

    2014-01-01

    When formal literacy instruction begins, around the age of 5 or 6, children from families low in socioeconomic status (SES) tend to be less prepared than children from families of higher SES. The goal of our study is to explore one route through which SES may influence children's early literacy skills: informal conversations about letters. The study builds on previous studies (Robins and Treiman, 2009; Robins et al., 2012, 2014) of parent-child conversations that show how U. S. parents and their young children talk about writing and provide preliminary evidence about similarities and differences in parent-child conversations as a function of SES. Focusing on parents and children aged three to five, we conducted five separate analyses of these conversations, asking whether and how family SES influences the previously established patterns. Although we found talk about letters in both upper and lower SES families, there were differences in the nature of these conversations. The proportion of letter talk utterances that were questions was lower in lower SES families and, of all the letter names that lower SES families talked about, more of them were uttered in isolation rather than in sequences. Lower SES families were especially likely to associate letters with the child's name, and they placed more emphasis on sequences in alphabetic order. We found no SES differences in the factors that influenced use of particular letter names (monograms), but there were SES differences in two-letter sequences (digrams). Focusing on the alphabet and on associations between the child's name and the letters within it may help to interest the child in literacy activities, but they many not be very informative about the relationship between letters and words in general. Understanding the patterns in parent-child conversations about letters is an important first step for exploring their contribution to children's early literacy skills and school readiness.

  20. Teaching Complaint and Adjustment Letters--And Tact (My Favorite Assignment).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deimling, Paula

    1992-01-01

    Describes a three-part assignment in which each student writes a complaint letter and an adjustment letter responding to another student's complaint letter. Discusses how the third part of the assignment--journal entries--allows students to formulate their own criteria for excellent letters based upon their reactions to the letters they receive.…

  1. The temporal dynamics of implicit processing of non-letter, letter, and word-forms in the human visual cortex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lawrence Gregory Appelbaum

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available The decoding of visually presented line segments into letters, and letters into words, is critical to fluent reading abilities. Here we investigate the temporal dynamics of visual orthographic processes, focusing specifically on right hemisphere contributions and interactions between the hemispheres involved in the implicit processing of visually presented words, consonants, false fonts, and symbolic strings. High-density EEG was recorded while participants detected infrequent, simple, perceptual targets (dot strings embedded amongst a of character strings. Beginning at 130ms, orthographic and non-orthographic stimuli were distinguished by a sequence of ERP effects over occipital recording sites. These early latency occipital effects were dominated by enhanced right-sided negative-polarity activation for non-orthographic stimuli that peaked at around 180ms. This right-sided effect was followed by bilateral positive occipital activity for false-fonts, but not symbol strings. Moreover the size of components of this later positive occipital wave was inversely correlated with the right-sided ROcc180 wave, suggesting that subjects who had larger early right-sided activation for non-orthographic stimuli had less need for more extended bilateral (e.g. interhemispheric processing of those stimuli shortly later. Additional early (130-150ms negative-polarity activity over left occipital cortex and longer-latency centrally distributed responses (>300ms were present, likely reflecting implicit activation of the previously reported ‘visual-word-form’ area and N400-related responses, respectively. Collectively, these results provide a close look at some relatively unexplored portions of the temporal flow of information processing in the brain related to the implicit processing of potentially linguistic information and provide valuable information about the interactions between hemispheres supporting visual orthographic processing.

  2. Exploring Corporate Rhetoric: Metadiscourse in the CEO's Letter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hyland, Ken

    1998-01-01

    Examines how metadiscourse is used to create a positive corporate image in 137 CEOs' letters, showing how CEOs use nonpropositional material to realize rational, credible, and affective appeals. Reveals the essentially rhetorical nature of CEOs' letters by comparing the frequency and distribution of metadiscourse in their letters and directors'…

  3. Automatic activation of motor programs by object affordances in patients with Parkinson's disease

    OpenAIRE

    Oguro, Hiroaki; Ward, Robert; Bracewel, Martyn; Hindle, John; Rafal, Robert

    2009-01-01

    Clinical observations of kinesia paradoxica and freezing in patients with Parkinson's disease suggest that the automatic activation of motor programmes by visual stimuli may not require intact basal ganglia function, and that an increased sensitivity to such object affordances may contribute to some symptoms of the disease. Employing a paradigm that measures the degree of interference from object affordances on voluntary actions, we confirm that activation of object affordances are preserved ...

  4. Angles of Refraction: The Letters of Mary Delany

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eleonora Chiavetta

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Mary Delany (1700-1788 is particularly famous for her paper-cuttings or ‘mosaicks’ based on botanical subjects. A very lively woman of fashion, she was close to Queen Charlotte and one of the Bluestocking Ladies. She left a vivid portrait of life and society in eighteenth century England and Ireland in the six volumes of her Autobiography and Letters, edited in 1861 by her descendant Lady Llanover. Her autobiography is made up of 18 letters sent to her most intimate friend, Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Portland. The first letter is dated 1740, but in this, as in the following ones, Mrs. Delany narrates her past life to her friend, starting from the early years of her life, describing her unhappy marriage, financial difficulties as a widow, and family relationships. Along with these ‘autobiographical’ letters, other letters written by her to her sister Ann are introduced, which date to the periods of life Mrs. Delany is dealing with. The aim of this paper is to focus on the textual, linguistic and content differences between the two letter types, and analyse how the identity of Mary Delany is differently constructed and perceived in the explicit autobiographical letters addressed to the Duchess of Portland, and the ones written to her sister. 

  5. Student Teacher Letters of Reference: A Critical Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mason, Richard W.; Schroeder, Mark P.

    2012-01-01

    Letters of reference are commonly used in acquiring a job in education. Despite serious issues of validity and reliability in writing and evaluating letters, there is a dearth of research that systematically examines the evaluation process and defines the constructs that define high quality letters. The current study used NVivo to examine 160…

  6. Sixty-Minute Review of Letter Writing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cunningham, Donald H.; Graham, Louise

    1974-01-01

    The article describes a one-hour presentation which provides a basic stereotyped pattern of letter organization for the four types of letters (order, request, claim, and reply) the business of secretarial student is most likely to have to write. The four paragraphs of the pattern are: purpose, explanation, optional, and closing. (AG)

  7. Letter Knowledge in Parent–Child Conversations: Differences between Families Differing in Socio-Economic Status

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah eRobins

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available When formal literacy instruction begins, around the age of 5 or 6, children from families low in socioeconomic status (SES tend to be less prepared than children from families of higher SES. The goal of our study is to explore one route through which SES may influence children’s early literacy skills: informal conversations about letters. The study builds on previous studies (Robins, Treiman, & Rosales, 2014; Robins, Treiman, Rosales, & Otake, 2012; Robins & Treiman, 2009 that show how U. S. parents and their young children talk about writing and provides preliminary evidence about similarities and differences in parent–child conversations as a function of SES. Focusing on parents and children aged three to five, we conducted five separate analyses of these conversations, asking whether and how family SES influences the previously established patterns. Although we found talk about letters in both upper and lower SES families, there were differences in the nature of these conversations. The proportion of letter talk utterances that were questions was lower in lower SES families and, of all the letter names that lower SES families talked about, more of them were uttered in isolation rather than in sequences. Lower SES families were especially likely to associate letters with the child’s name, and they placed more emphasis on sequences in alphabetic order. We found no SES differences in the factors that influenced use of particular letter names (monograms, but there were SES differences in two-letter sequences (digrams. Focusing on the alphabet and on associations between the child’s name and the letters within it may help to interest the child in literacy activities, but they many not be very informative about the relationship between letters and words in general. Understanding the patterns in parent–child conversations about letters is an important first step for exploring their contribution to children’s early literacy skills and

  8. Initial and noninitial name-letter preferences as obtained through repeated letter rating tasks continue to reflect (different aspects of) self-esteem.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoorens, Vera; Takano, Keisuke; Franck, Erik; Roberts, John E; Raes, Filip

    2015-09-01

    We tested the usefulness of name-letter preference scores as indirect indicators of self-esteem by exploring whether multiple unsupervised self-administrations of letter rating tasks within a short period of time yield useful data. We also examined whether preferences for initials and noninitial name-letters tap different aspects of self-esteem. Participants from a community sample (N = 164; 58 men and 106 women, 17-67 years, Mage = 34.57, SD = 13.28) completed daily letter rating tasks and state self-esteem questionnaires for 7 consecutive days. They also completed a trait self-esteem questionnaire on the first measurement day as well as 6 months later. Preference scores for first-name initials were stronger but more unstable than preference scores for other name-letters. Preferences for first-name initials were primarily associated with directly measured state self-esteem whereas preferences for noninitials were primarily associated with directly measured trait self-esteem even if the latter was measured 6 months later. Thus, we showed that preferences for initials and noninitials are not simply interchangeable. Previous letter rating studies, which almost exclusively used initial preferences, should be interpreted in terms of state rather than trait self-esteem. In future studies, researchers should focus on the name-letter preference that reflects the aspect of self-esteem they wish to address. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

  9. Advice letter on policy instruments renewable electricity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2011-01-01

    In a letter of July 2010 the Energy Council made recommendations for a policy framework with more obligations and fewer subsidies. This included the Energy Council's advice to investigate whether the introduction of a supplier obligation could play a major role in the realisation of the CO2 emission target of the Netherlands and increase the share of renewable energy in line with European agreements. This advice letter deals with one aspect of the broader considerations: the share of renewable electricity and the kind of incentive framework that is needed to achieve the target concerned. In this letter we will examine the possibilities of the SDE+ support (financial incentive for renewable energy) scheme and the supplier obligation, the effects on the market and the consequences for achieving the target. This letter closes with conclusions and recommendations. [nl

  10. Alphabetical: How Every Letter Tells a Story

    OpenAIRE

    Rosen, Michael

    2013-01-01

    From minding your Ps and Qs to wondering why X should mark the spot, Alphabetical is a book for everyone who loves words and language. Whether it's how letters are arranged on keyboards or Viking runes, textspeak or zip codes, this book will change the way you think about letters for ever. How on Earth did we fix upon our twenty-six letters, what do they really mean, and how did we come to write them down in the first place? Michael Rosen takes you on an unforgettable adventure through the hi...

  11. Visual and Artistic Functions of Letters in Khaghani’s Poetry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohsen Zolfaghari

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The intensity of emotion and fluctuation of meaning in the poet's mind causes him to go beyond the ordinary language and convey intellectual and emotional meanings through metaphors, similes and linguistic preparations. He has sharp eyes and a sensitive spirit and creative temperament and attempts strengthening his own literary language and creating personal style by inventing novel images, showing the creativity and imagination and entering in various arenas of imagination. This point more than anything else could be done by presenting images and new figures. Perhaps in the sixth century, and especially in Azerbaijani school, more than other periods, poets have been looking for creating innovative style in eloquence. Their major attempts were mainly in imaging, a wide field that they have competed. It is obvious that in this illustration the alphabet letters would be very helpful. Khaghani's Divan of poetry, as one of the greatest poets of this school, is the perfect poetical book of paintings in which meaning has been hidden under a delicate pattern and new different scientific, cultural and religious images. Letters are a broad range of elements that put a new field in front of the poet and he is aware of the potential features of the letters, new images, and artistic creativity techniques as well. This paper shows descriptive - analytical study of various aspects of Khaghani’s poetry and frequency of letters in the alphabet letters, alphabetic-based authenticity of images, different similarity reasons, semantic and literal multi-relevance of letters in the context of poetry, producing figures of speech based on letters, sensational relationship exists between images and letters which have been shown in his poetry. Letter have a double and even multiple application in Khaghani's poetic works (divan and moreover the construction of words and conveying meaning which is the real and common usage, they were used as artistic instruments

  12. Letter position coding across modalities: the case of Braille readers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perea, Manuel; García-Chamorro, Cristina; Martín-Suesta, Miguel; Gómez, Pablo

    2012-01-01

    The question of how the brain encodes letter position in written words has attracted increasing attention in recent years. A number of models have recently been proposed to accommodate the fact that transposed-letter stimuli like jugde or caniso are perceptually very close to their base words. Here we examined how letter position coding is attained in the tactile modality via Braille reading. The idea is that Braille word recognition may provide more serial processing than the visual modality, and this may produce differences in the input coding schemes employed to encode letters in written words. To that end, we conducted a lexical decision experiment with adult Braille readers in which the pseudowords were created by transposing/replacing two letters. We found a word-frequency effect for words. In addition, unlike parallel experiments in the visual modality, we failed to find any clear signs of transposed-letter confusability effects. This dissociation highlights the differences between modalities. The present data argue against models of letter position coding that assume that transposed-letter effects (in the visual modality) occur at a relatively late, abstract locus.

  13. Digit and letter alexia in carbon monoxide poisoning

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Qingyu Shen; Xiaoming Rong; Rui Pan; Ying Peng; Wei Peng; Yamei Tang

    2012-01-01

    This study examined a 24-year-old patient with delayed encephalopathy, who was admitted to hospital with complaints of headache and visual impairment 1 week after acute carbon monoxide poisoning. The results of a visual field assessment, electroencephalography and head magnetic resonance imaging indicated damage to the cerebral cortex. After a 2-week treatment period, the patient had recovered from the visual impairment, but exhibited digit- and letter-reading difficulty. The Chinese aphasia battery and the number and letter battery supplement were conducted. The results revealed that the patient exhibited digit and letter alexia, while the ability to read Chinese characters was preserved. In contrast, the patient exhibited a deficit in Chinese character writing, while number and letter writing remained intact. Following treatment, reading and writing ability was improved and electroencephalographic abnormalities were ameliorated. Overall, our experimental findings demonstrated that delayed encephalopathy following acute carbon monoxide poisoning was characterized by digit and letter alexia.

  14. THE LETTER OF GUARANTEE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE NEW CIVIL CODE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    LUMINITA TULEASCA

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available The letter of guarantee is frequently used in the domestic and international commercial activity, first of all, for the safety offered for securing the contractual obligations without blocking the pecuniary funds and, second of all, due to the existing uniform international regulations that correspond to the needs supporting the occurrence of these types of autonomous securities.In Romania, the lack of legal policing of the letter of guarantee has created practical difficulties and offered judges the possibility to "make the law" in the litigations generated by the enforcement or by the suspension of enforcement of these contractual securities.This work analysis the regulation of the letter of guarantee provided in the New Civil Code from the perspective of its harmonization with the Uniform Rules of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris and with the Draft Common Frame of Reference in the matter of the European private law.

  15. The Indirect Empathic Approach to Claim Letters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bell, James D.

    1985-01-01

    In discussing letter-writing methods for business communication classes, the article explains that claim letter formats other than the direct approach are not only legitimate, but also effective, and suggests that the approach selected should depend upon the circumstances surrounding the claim. (CT)

  16. Culture and subculture in transactional letter writing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shaw, Philip; Okamura, Akiko

    2000-01-01

    This study examines the relative contributions of subculture membership and mother-tongue status/target culture membership in writing transactional letters. We examined the letters accompanying articles initially submitted for publication by 26 NSE and 23 NNSE academics, and compared them with ef...

  17. Fast automatic analysis of antenatal dexamethasone on micro-seizure activity in the EEG

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rastin, S.J.; Unsworth, C.P.; Bennet, L.

    2010-01-01

    Full text: In this work wc develop an automatic scheme for studying the effect of the antenatal Dexamethasone on the EEG activity. To do so an FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) based detector was designed and applied to the EEG recordings obtained from two groups of fetal sheep. Both groups received two injections with a time delay of 24 h between them. However the applied medicine was different for each group (Dex and saline). The detector developed was used to automatically identify and classify micro-seizures that occurred in the frequency bands corresponding to the EEG transients known as slow waves (2.5 14 Hz). For each second of the data recordings the spectrum was computed and the rise of the energy in each predefined frequency band then counted when the energy level exceeded a predefined corresponding threshold level (Where the threshold level was obtained from the long term average of the spectral points at each band). Our results demonstrate that it was possible to automatically count the micro-seizures for the three different bands in a time effective manner. It was found that the number of transients did not strongly depend on the nature of the injected medicine which was consistent with the results manually obtained by an EEG expert. Tn conclusion, the automatic detection scheme presented here would allow for rapid micro-seizure event identification of hours of highly sampled EEG data thus providing a valuable time-saving device.

  18. 50 CFR 216.257 - Letters of Authorization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE MARINE MAMMALS REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE TAKING AND IMPORTING OF MARINE MAMMALS Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Conducting Precision Strike Weapon Missions in the Gulf of Mexico § 216.257 Letters of Authorization. (a) A Letter of Authorization, unless suspended or revoked...

  19. Use of automated reminder letters to improve diabetes management in primary care: outcomes of a quality improvement initiative.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berryman, Sally H; Sick, Brian T; Wang, Qi; Swan, Paul J; Weber-Main, Anne Marie

    2013-01-01

    Effective management of patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) can be time-consuming and costly. One patient-centred quality improvement strategy is to generate reminder letters to prompt patient action(s), but this strategy's effect on DM outcomes is uncertain. To determine whether using the electronic medical record to automatically generate reminder letters for patients not meeting recommended DM targets is associated with improvement in practice level quality metrics for DM management. Over 15 months, letters were sent monthly to all patients with DM in a large, urban, primary care teaching practice whose records for haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or blood pressure (BP) indicated non-compliance with recommended levels and testing intervals. Logistic regression was used to analyse cross-sectional, practice-level differences in the proportion of patients meeting DM quality metrics (HbA1c < 7%, LDL < 100 mg/dl and BP < 130/80 mmHg; rates of checking each value within the last 12 months; and a composite of these five measures) across four time points: six months before the intervention, start of the intervention, end of the 15-month intervention period and six months after the intervention. The number of letters sent per month ranged from 284 to 392, representing 28-38% of all patients with DM. At the end of the intervention, patients' odds of being at goal were higher than before the intervention began for LDL < 100 mg/dl, and for HbA1c and LDL tested once within the last 12 months (or 1.24, P = 0.005; or 1.35, P = 0.03; or 1.48, P < 0.001, respectively). Post intervention, declines were seen in LDL checked within the last 12 months (or 0.76, P = 0.003) and in the composite endpoint (or 0.78, P = 0.005). The automated patient-reminder letter intervention was associated with modest improvements in several, but not all DM measures. This approach may be an effective tool for improving quality of care for patients with DM.

  20. Particles and nuclei, letters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2004-01-01

    The present collection of letters from JINR, Dubna, contains nine separate letters on data on elastic (p,n) charge exchange: compilation, the potentialities of δ-electron control of luminosity in experiments with internal targets at the Nuclotron, pion broadening and low-mass dilepton production, fluctuation of electromagnetic cascade axis in dense amorphous segmented media, the forward detector of the ANKE spectrometer. Tracking system and its use in data analysis, quantum field theory with three-dimensional vector time, curvature decomposition and the Einstein-Yang-Mills equations, an integral equation for the spinor amplitude of a massive neutral Dirac particle in a curved space time with arbitrary geometry and surprising resonances in 147 Sm(nα) 144 Nd reaction

  1. Fast automatic 3D liver segmentation based on a three-level AdaBoost-guided active shape model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    He, Baochun; Huang, Cheng; Zhou, Shoujun; Hu, Qingmao; Jia, Fucang, E-mail: fc.jia@siat.ac.cn [Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055 (China); Sharp, Gregory [Department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114 (United States); Fang, Chihua; Fan, Yingfang [Department of Hepatology (I), Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510280 (China)

    2016-05-15

    Purpose: A robust, automatic, and rapid method for liver delineation is urgently needed for the diagnosis and treatment of liver disorders. Until now, the high variability in liver shape, local image artifacts, and the presence of tumors have complicated the development of automatic 3D liver segmentation. In this study, an automatic three-level AdaBoost-guided active shape model (ASM) is proposed for the segmentation of the liver based on enhanced computed tomography images in a robust and fast manner, with an emphasis on the detection of tumors. Methods: The AdaBoost voxel classifier and AdaBoost profile classifier were used to automatically guide three-level active shape modeling. In the first level of model initialization, fast automatic liver segmentation by an AdaBoost voxel classifier method is proposed. A shape model is then initialized by registration with the resulting rough segmentation. In the second level of active shape model fitting, a prior model based on the two-class AdaBoost profile classifier is proposed to identify the optimal surface. In the third level, a deformable simplex mesh with profile probability and curvature constraint as the external force is used to refine the shape fitting result. In total, three registration methods—3D similarity registration, probability atlas B-spline, and their proposed deformable closest point registration—are used to establish shape correspondence. Results: The proposed method was evaluated using three public challenge datasets: 3Dircadb1, SLIVER07, and Visceral Anatomy3. The results showed that our approach performs with promising efficiency, with an average of 35 s, and accuracy, with an average Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) of 0.94 ± 0.02, 0.96 ± 0.01, and 0.94 ± 0.02 for the 3Dircadb1, SLIVER07, and Anatomy3 training datasets, respectively. The DSC of the SLIVER07 testing and Anatomy3 unseen testing datasets were 0.964 and 0.933, respectively. Conclusions: The proposed automatic approach

  2. Fast automatic 3D liver segmentation based on a three-level AdaBoost-guided active shape model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Baochun; Huang, Cheng; Sharp, Gregory; Zhou, Shoujun; Hu, Qingmao; Fang, Chihua; Fan, Yingfang; Jia, Fucang

    2016-05-01

    A robust, automatic, and rapid method for liver delineation is urgently needed for the diagnosis and treatment of liver disorders. Until now, the high variability in liver shape, local image artifacts, and the presence of tumors have complicated the development of automatic 3D liver segmentation. In this study, an automatic three-level AdaBoost-guided active shape model (ASM) is proposed for the segmentation of the liver based on enhanced computed tomography images in a robust and fast manner, with an emphasis on the detection of tumors. The AdaBoost voxel classifier and AdaBoost profile classifier were used to automatically guide three-level active shape modeling. In the first level of model initialization, fast automatic liver segmentation by an AdaBoost voxel classifier method is proposed. A shape model is then initialized by registration with the resulting rough segmentation. In the second level of active shape model fitting, a prior model based on the two-class AdaBoost profile classifier is proposed to identify the optimal surface. In the third level, a deformable simplex mesh with profile probability and curvature constraint as the external force is used to refine the shape fitting result. In total, three registration methods-3D similarity registration, probability atlas B-spline, and their proposed deformable closest point registration-are used to establish shape correspondence. The proposed method was evaluated using three public challenge datasets: 3Dircadb1, SLIVER07, and Visceral Anatomy3. The results showed that our approach performs with promising efficiency, with an average of 35 s, and accuracy, with an average Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) of 0.94 ± 0.02, 0.96 ± 0.01, and 0.94 ± 0.02 for the 3Dircadb1, SLIVER07, and Anatomy3 training datasets, respectively. The DSC of the SLIVER07 testing and Anatomy3 unseen testing datasets were 0.964 and 0.933, respectively. The proposed automatic approach achieves robust, accurate, and fast liver

  3. Letter position coding across modalities: the case of Braille readers.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manuel Perea

    Full Text Available The question of how the brain encodes letter position in written words has attracted increasing attention in recent years. A number of models have recently been proposed to accommodate the fact that transposed-letter stimuli like jugde or caniso are perceptually very close to their base words.Here we examined how letter position coding is attained in the tactile modality via Braille reading. The idea is that Braille word recognition may provide more serial processing than the visual modality, and this may produce differences in the input coding schemes employed to encode letters in written words. To that end, we conducted a lexical decision experiment with adult Braille readers in which the pseudowords were created by transposing/replacing two letters.We found a word-frequency effect for words. In addition, unlike parallel experiments in the visual modality, we failed to find any clear signs of transposed-letter confusability effects. This dissociation highlights the differences between modalities.The present data argue against models of letter position coding that assume that transposed-letter effects (in the visual modality occur at a relatively late, abstract locus.

  4. Experimental test of contemporary mathematical models of visual letter recognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Townsend, J T; Ashby, F G

    1982-12-01

    A letter confusion experiment that used brief durations manipulated payoffs across the four stimulus letters, which were composed of line segments equal in length. The observers were required to report the features they perceived as well as to give a letter response. The early feature-sampling process is separated from the later letter-decision process in the substantive feature models, and predictions are thus obtained for the frequencies of feature report as well as letter report. Four substantive visual feature-processing models are developed and tested against one another and against three models of a more descriptive nature. The substantive models predict the decisional letter report phase much better than they do the feature-sampling phase, but the best overall 4 X 4 letter confusion matrix fits are obtained with one of the descriptive models, the similarity choice model. The present and other recent results suggest that the assumption that features are sampled in a stochastically independent manner may not be generally valid. The traditional high-threshold conceptualization of feature sampling is also falsified by the frequent reporting by observers of features not contained in the stimulus letter.

  5. When Do First Letters Mnemonics Aid Recall?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morris, P. E.; Cook, N.

    1978-01-01

    The evidence for the effectiveness of the first letter mnemonic technique is confused. There are at least three studies showing no effect, and one where an improvement in recall occurred. Reports two experiments which attempted to locate the conditions under which the first letter mnemonic is effective. (Author/RK)

  6. Automatic Image Segmentation Using Active Contours with Univariate Marginal Distribution

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. Cruz-Aceves

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a novel automatic image segmentation method based on the theory of active contour models and estimation of distribution algorithms. The proposed method uses the univariate marginal distribution model to infer statistical dependencies between the control points on different active contours. These contours have been generated through an alignment process of reference shape priors, in order to increase the exploration and exploitation capabilities regarding different interactive segmentation techniques. This proposed method is applied in the segmentation of the hollow core in microscopic images of photonic crystal fibers and it is also used to segment the human heart and ventricular areas from datasets of computed tomography and magnetic resonance images, respectively. Moreover, to evaluate the performance of the medical image segmentations compared to regions outlined by experts, a set of similarity measures has been adopted. The experimental results suggest that the proposed image segmentation method outperforms the traditional active contour model and the interactive Tseng method in terms of segmentation accuracy and stability.

  7. Extra-large letter spacing improves reading in dyslexia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zorzi, Marco; Barbiero, Chiara; Facoetti, Andrea; Lonciari, Isabella; Carrozzi, Marco; Montico, Marcella; Bravar, Laura; George, Florence; Pech-Georgel, Catherine; Ziegler, Johannes C.

    2012-01-01

    Although the causes of dyslexia are still debated, all researchers agree that the main challenge is to find ways that allow a child with dyslexia to read more words in less time, because reading more is undisputedly the most efficient intervention for dyslexia. Sophisticated training programs exist, but they typically target the component skills of reading, such as phonological awareness. After the component skills have improved, the main challenge remains (that is, reading deficits must be treated by reading more—a vicious circle for a dyslexic child). Here, we show that a simple manipulation of letter spacing substantially improved text reading performance on the fly (without any training) in a large, unselected sample of Italian and French dyslexic children. Extra-large letter spacing helps reading, because dyslexics are abnormally affected by crowding, a perceptual phenomenon with detrimental effects on letter recognition that is modulated by the spacing between letters. Extra-large letter spacing may help to break the vicious circle by rendering the reading material more easily accessible. PMID:22665803

  8. The Predictive Validity of Teacher Candidate Letters of Reference

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mason, Richard W.; Schroeder, Mark P.

    2014-01-01

    Letters of reference are widely used as an essential part of the hiring process of newly licensed teachers. While the predictive validity of these letters of reference has been called into question it has never been empirically studied. The current study examined the predictive validity of the quality of letters of reference for forty-one student…

  9. Teaching letter sounds to kindergarten English language learners using incremental rehearsal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterson, Meredith; Brandes, Dana; Kunkel, Amy; Wilson, Jennifer; Rahn, Naomi L; Egan, Andrea; McComas, Jennifer

    2014-02-01

    Proficiency in letter-sound correspondence is important for decoding connected text. This study examined the effects of an evidence-based intervention, incremental rehearsal (IR), on the letter-sound expression of three kindergarten English language learners (ELLs) performing below the district benchmark for letter-sound fluency. Participants were native speakers of Hmong, Spanish, and Polish. A multiple-baseline design across sets of unknown letter sounds was used to evaluate the effects of IR on letter-sound expression. Visual analysis of the data showed an increase in level and trend when IR was introduced in each phase. Percentage of all non-overlapping data (PAND) ranged from 95% to 100%. All participants exceeded expected growth and reached the spring district benchmark for letter-sound fluency. Results suggest that IR is a promising intervention for increasing letter-sound expression for ELLs who evidence delays in acquiring letter sounds. Copyright © 2013 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. 40 CFR 280.99 - Letter of credit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... (UST) Financial Responsibility § 280.99 Letter of credit. (a) An owner or operator may satisfy the... brackets are to be replaced with the relevant information and the brackets deleted: Irrevocable Standby.... We certify that the wording of this letter of credit is identical to the wording specified in 40 CFR...

  11. Letter report: Cold crucible melter assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elliott, M.L.

    1996-03-01

    One of the activities of the PNL Vitrification Technology Development (PVTD) Project is to assist the Tank Waste Remediation Systems (TWRS) Program in determining which melter systems should be performance tested for potential implementation in the high-level waste (HLW) vitrification plant. The Richland Operations Office (RL) has recommended that the Cold Crucible Melter (CCM) be evaluated as a candidate ''next generation'' melter. As a result, the CCM System Evaluation cost account was established under the PVTD Project so that the CCM could be initially assessed on a high-priority basis. This letter report summarizes a brief initial review and assessment of the CCM. Using the recommendations made in this document, Westinghouse Hanford Company (WHC) and RL will make a decision regarding the urgency of performance testing the CCM. If the decision is favorable, a subcontract will be negotiated for performance testing of a CCM using Hanford HLW simulants in a pilot-scale facility. Because of the aggressive nature of the schedule, the CCM evaluation was not rigorous. The evaluation consisted of a literature review and interviews with proponents of the technology during a recent trip to France. This letter report summarizes the evaluation and makes recommendations regarding further work in this area

  12. Particles and Nuclei, Letters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2004-01-01

    The present collection of letters from JINR, Dubna, contains eight separate letters on analysis of experimental data on relativistic nuclear collisions in the Lobachevski space, relativistic contribution of the final-state interaction to deuteron photodisintegration, on the charge asymmetry of the like-sign lepton pairs induced by B - B bar - production asymmetry, limits on the ν e → ν e neutrino oscillation parameters from an experiment at the IHEP-JINR neutrino detector, excitation of high spin isomers in photonuclear reactions, study of product formation in proton-nuclear reactions on the 129 I target induced by 660-MeV protons, application of jet pumps in the cryogenic system of the Nuclotron - superconducting accelerator of relativistic particles and study of the silicon drift detector performance with inclined tracks

  13. Modes of Alphabet Letter Production during Middle Childhood and Adolescence: Interrelationships with Each Other and Other Writing Skills

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zachary Alstad

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Although handwriting is typically taught during early childhood and keyboarding may not be taught explicitly, both may be relevant to writing development in the later grades. Thus, Study 1 investigated automatic production of the ordered alphabet from memory for manuscript (unjoined, cursive (joined, keyboard letter modes (alphabet 15 sec, their relationships with each other, and spelling and composing in typically developing writers in grades 4 to 7 (n =113. Study 2 compared students with dysgraphia (impaired handwriting, n=27, dyslexia (impaired word spelling, n=40, or oral and written language learning disability (OWL LD (impaired syntax composing, n=11 or controls without specific writing disabilities (n=10 in grades 4 to 9 (n=88 on the same alphabet 15 modes, manner of copying, spelling, and sentence composing. In Study 1, sequential multilevel model regressions of predictor alphabet 15 letter production/selection modes on spelling and composition outcomes, measured annually from grade 4 to grade 7 (ages 9 to 13 years, showed that only the cursive mode uniquely, positively, and consistently predicted both spelling and composing in each grade. For composing, in grade 4 manuscript mode was positively predictive and in grades 5-7 keyboard selection was. In Study 2 all letter production modes correlated with each other and one’s best and fast sentence copying, spelling, and timed sentence composing. The groups with specific writing disabilities differed from control group on alphabet 15 manuscript mode, copy fast, and timed sentence composing. The dysgraphia and dyslexia groups differed on copying sentences in one’s best handwriting, with the dysgraphia group scoring lower. The educational and theoretical significance of the findings are discussed for multiple modes and manners of letter production/selection of the alphabet that support spelling and composing beyond the early grades in students with and without specific writing

  14. The automatic pelvic floor muscle response to the active straight leg raise in cases with pelvic girdle pain and matched controls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stuge, Britt; Sætre, Kaja; Ingeborg Hoff, Brækken

    2013-08-01

    The active straight leg raise (ASLR) test has been proposed as a clinical test for the assessment of pelvic girdle pain (PGP). Little is known about the activation of the pelvic floor muscles (PFM) during ASLR. The main aim of this study was to examine the automatic PFM contraction during ASLR. Specific aims were to compare automatic contraction to rest and to voluntary contraction, to compare PFM contraction during ASLR with and without compression and to examine whether there were any differences in PFM contraction between women with and without clinically diagnosed PGP during ASLR. Forty-nine pairs of women participated in a cross-sectional study with individual, one-to-one matched cases and controls. PFM was assessed by reliable and valid 3D ultrasound at rest, during voluntary and automatic contraction. Test-retest data for the levator hiatus during ASLR showed good repeatability. Significantly automatic PFM contractions occurred when ASLR tests were performed. There was a strong positive correlation between voluntary and automatic PFM contractions. Manual compression reduced the automatic PFM contraction during ASLR by 62-66%. There were no significant differences between cases and controls in reduction of levator hiatus or muscle length from rest to automatic contractions during ASLR. Interestingly, a significantly smaller levator hiatus was found in women with PGP than in controls, at rest, during an automatic contraction with ASLR and during voluntary contraction. In conclusion, a significant automatic PFM contraction occurred during ASLR, both in cases and in controls. Women with PGP had a significantly smaller levator hiatus than controls. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Automatically-Activated Attitudes as Mechanisms for Message Effects: The Case of Alcohol Advertisements

    OpenAIRE

    Goodall, Catherine E.; Slater, Michael D.

    2010-01-01

    Alcohol advertisements may influence impulsive, risky behaviors indirectly, via automatically-activated attitudes toward alcohol. Results from an experiment in which participants were exposed to either four alcohol advertisements, four control advertisements, or four drunk driving public service advertisements, suggested that alcohol advertisements had more measurable effects on implicit, than on explicit attitude measures. Moreover, there were significant indirect paths from alcohol advertis...

  16. Peer assessment of outpatient consultation letters – feasibility and satisfaction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dojeiji Suzan

    2007-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Written correspondence is one of the most important forms of communication between health care providers, yet there is little feedback provided to specialists. The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility and satisfaction of a peer assessment program on consultation letters and to determine inter-rater reliability between family physicians and specialists. Methods A rating scale of nine 5-point Likert scale items including specific content, style items, education value of the letter and an overall rating was developed from a previous validated tool. Nine Internal Medicine specialists/subspecialists from two tertiary care centres submitted 10 letters with patient and physician identifiers removed. Two Internal Medicine specialists, and 2 family physicians from the other centre rated each letter (to protect writer anonymity. A satisfaction survey was sent to each writer and rater after collation of the results. A follow-up survey was sent 6–8 months later. Results There was a high degree of satisfaction with the process and feedback. The rating scale information was felt to be useful and appropriate for evaluating the quality of consultation letters by 6/7 writers. 5/7 seven writers felt that the feedback they received resulted in immediate changes to their letters. Six months later, 6/9 writers indicated they had maintained changes in their letters. Raters rank ordered letters similarly (Cronbach's alpha 0.57–0.84 but mean scores were highly variant. At site 1 there were significant differences in scoring brevity (p Conclusion Most participants found peer assessment of letters feasible and beneficial and longstanding changes occurred in some individuals. Family physicians and specialists appear to have different expectations on some items. Further studies on reliability and validity, with a larger sample, are required before high stakes professional assessments include consultation letters.

  17. Dispersive-cavity actively mode-locked fiber laser for stable radio frequency delivery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dai, Yitang; Wang, Ruixin; Yin, Feifei; Xu, Kun; Li, Jianqiang; Lin, Jintong

    2013-01-01

    We report a novel technique for highly stable transfer of a radio frequency (RF) comb over long optical fiber link, which is highly dispersive and is a part of an actively mode-locked fiber laser. Phase fluctuation along the fiber link, which is mainly induced by physical vibration and temperature fluctuations, is automatically compensated by the self-adapted wavelength shifting. Without phase-locking loop or any tunable parts, stable radio frequency is transferred over a 2-km fiber link, with a time jitter suppression ratio larger than 110. (letter)

  18. Automatic activation of motor programs by object affordances in patients with Parkinson's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oguro, Hiroaki; Ward, Robert; Bracewel, Martyn; Hindle, John; Rafal, Robert

    2009-09-29

    Clinical observations of kinesia paradoxica and freezing in patients with Parkinson's disease suggest that the automatic activation of motor programmes by visual stimuli may not require intact basal ganglia function, and that an increased sensitivity to such object affordances may contribute to some symptoms of the disease. Employing a paradigm that measures the degree of interference from object affordances on voluntary actions, we confirm that activation of object affordances are preserved in Parkinson's disease, but find no evidence that there is an increased sensitivity to the effects of object affordances on voluntary action.

  19. Automatic activation of motor programs by object affordances in patients with Parkinson's disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oguro, Hiroaki; Ward, Robert; Bracewel, Martyn; Hindle, John; Rafal, Robert

    2009-01-01

    Clinical observations of kinesia paradoxica and freezing in patients with Parkinson's disease suggest that the automatic activation of motor programmes by visual stimuli may not require intact basal ganglia function, and that an increased sensitivity to such object affordances may contribute to some symptoms of the disease. Employing a paradigm that measures the degree of interference from object affordances on voluntary actions, we confirm that activation of object affordances are preserved in Parkinson's disease, but find no evidence that there is an increased sensitivity to the effects of object affordances on voluntary action. PMID:19616073

  20. Pseudo-synesthesia through reading books with colored letters.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olympia Colizoli

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Synesthesia is a phenomenon where a stimulus produces consistent extraordinary subjective experiences. A relatively common type of synesthesia involves perception of color when viewing letters (e.g. the letter 'a' always appears as light blue. In this study, we examine whether traits typically regarded as markers of synesthesia can be acquired by simply reading in color. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Non-synesthetes were given specially prepared colored books to read. A modified Stroop task was administered before and after reading. A perceptual crowding task was administered after reading. Reading one book (>49,000 words was sufficient to induce effects regarded as behavioral markers for synesthesia. The results of the Stroop tasks indicate that it is possible to learn letter-color associations through reading in color (F(1, 14 = 5.85, p = .030. Furthermore, Stroop effects correlated with subjective reports about experiencing letters in color (r(13 = 0.51, p = .05. The frequency of viewing letters is related to the level of association as seen by the difference in the Stroop effect size between upper- and lower-case letters (t(14 = 2.79, p = .014 and in a subgroup of participants whose Stroop effects increased as they continued to read in color. Readers did not show significant performance advantages on the crowding task compared to controls. Acknowledging the many differences between trainees and synesthetes, results suggest that it may be possible to acquire a subset of synesthetic behavioral traits in adulthood through training. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: To our knowledge, this is the first evidence of acquiring letter-color associations through reading in color. Reading in color appears to be a promising avenue in which we may explore the differences and similarities between synesthetes and non-synesthetes. Additionally, reading in color is a plausible method for a long-term 'synesthetic' training program.

  1. Letter of Map Revision

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The National Flood Hazard Layer (NFHL) data incorporates all Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map(DFIRM) databases published by FEMA, and any Letters Of Map Revision...

  2. Particles and nuclei, letters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2004-01-01

    The present collection of letters from JINR, Dubna, contains nine separate letters on nonlocal chiral quark model with confinement, perturbation of finite-lattice spectral levels by nearby nuclear resonances, on the application of 'Z 0 + jet' events for determining the gluon distribution in a proton at the LHC, account of light velocity constancy in the Galilean problem on the free movement of a particle and its fall onto the ground, first results of crystal deflector investigations at the Nuclotron external beams, decay parameters of K mesons, measured at proton synchrotron U-70 using 'Hyperon' set-up and modern world data, prototype of atomic-emission spectrometer on the basis of one-electrode impulse RF discharge for analytical measurements, polarimeter for Nuclotron internal beam and primordial bubbles of colour superconducting quark matter

  3. Patient information letters on nutrition: development and implementation.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Binsbergen, J.J. van; Drenthen, A.J.

    2003-01-01

    BACKGROUND: In 1998 the Dutch College of General Practitioners (NHG) began developing patient information letters (PILs), based on the practice guidelines for family physicians (FPs) (NHG standards). Five nutritional guidance letters have since been developed with the Dutch Nutrition Center.

  4. Color associations for days and letters across different languages

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rouw, Romke; Case, Laura; Gosavi, Radhika; Ramachandran, Vilayanur

    2014-01-01

    While colors are commonplace in everyday metaphors, relatively little is known about implicit color associations to linguistic or semantic concepts in a general population. In this study, we test color associations for ordered linguistic concepts (letters and days). The culture and language specificity of these effects was examined in a large group (457) of Dutch-speaking participants, 92 English-speaking participants, and 49 Hindi-speaking participants. Non-random distributions of color choices were revealed; consistencies were found across the three language groups in color preferences for both days and letters. Interestingly, while the Hindi-speaking participants were presented with letter stimuli matched on phonology, their pattern of letter-to-color preferences still showed similarities with Dutch- and English-speaking participants. Furthermore, we found that that the color preferences corresponded between participants indicating to have conscious color experiences with letters or days (putative synesthetes) and participants who do not (non-synesthetes). We also explored possible mechanisms underlying the color preferences. There were a few specific associations, including red for “A,” red for “Monday,” and white for “Sunday.” We also explored more general mechanisms, such as overall color preferences as shown by Simner et al. (2005). While certainly not all variation can be explained or predicted, the results show that regularities are present in color-to-letter or color-to-day preferences in both putative synesthetes and non-synesthetes across languages. Both letter-to-color and day-to-color preferences were influenced by multiple factors. The findings support a notion of abstract concepts (such as days and letters) that are not represented in isolation, but are connected to perceptual representational systems. Interestingly, at least some of these connections to color representations are shared across different language/cultural groups. PMID

  5. Color associations for days and letters across different languages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Romke eRouw

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available While colors are commonplace in everyday metaphors, relatively little is known about implicit color associations to linguistic or semantic concepts in a general population. In this study, we test color associations for ordered linguistic concepts (letters and days. The culture and language specificity of these effects was examined in a large group (457 of Dutch-speaking participants, 92 English-speaking participants, and 49 Hindi-speaking participants. Non-random distributions of color choices were revealed; consistencies were found across the three language groups in color preferences for both days and letters. Interestingly, while the Hindi-speaking participants were presented with letter stimuli matched on phonology, their pattern of letter-to-color preferences still showed similarities with Dutch- and English-speaking participants. Furthermore, we found that that the color preferences corresponded between participants indicating to have conscious color experiences with letters or days (putative synesthetes and participants who do not (non-synesthetes. We also explored possible mechanisms underlying the color preferences. There were a few specific associations, including red for A, red for Monday, and white for Sunday. We also explored more general mechanisms, such as overall color preferences shown by Simner et al (2005. While certainly not all variation can be explained or predicted, the results show that regularities are present in color-to-letter or color-to-day preferences in both putative synesthetes and non-synesthetes across languages. Both letter-to-color and day-to-color preferences were influenced by multiple factors. The findings support a notion of abstract concepts (such as days and letters that are not represented in isolation, but are connected to perceptual representational systems. Interestingly, at least some of these connections to color representations are shared across different language/cultural groups.

  6. How To Write a Business Letter. Power of the Printed Word.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forbes, Malcolm

    Business letters should turn people on rather than turning them off. To write a good business letter, know what the goal is before starting to write, call the reader by name, tell what the letter is about in the first paragraph, refer to dates when answering letters, and write from the reader's point of view. Be positive, be nice, and be natural.…

  7. Health smart home for elders - a tool for automatic recognition of activities of daily living.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le, Xuan Hoa Binh; Di Mascolo, Maria; Gouin, Alexia; Noury, Norbert

    2008-01-01

    Elders live preferently in their own home, but with aging comes the loss of autonomy and associated risks. In order to help them live longer in safe conditions, we need a tool to automatically detect their loss of autonomy by assessing the degree of performance of activities of daily living. This article presents an approach enabling the activities recognition of an elder living alone in a home equipped with noninvasive sensors.

  8. DOCUMENTARY LETTER OF CREDIT IN THE REGULATION OF 600-PARIS PUBLICATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    VASILE NEMES

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available In the year 2007 was adopted the Publication no. 600 of Paris regarding the Rules and the Uniform Practices for documentary letters of credit which replaced the Publication no. 500. Publication no. 600 (UCP 600 is applied to all the irrevocable documentary letters of credit when the parties make express reference to these Rules. The Publication no. 600 includes uniform rules, international practices and standards of irrevocable documentary letters of credit. The new Publication has brought a number of changes on the issues regarding the performance of the letters of credit, both in the relationship with the nonbanking institutions participants and in the relationship between the credit institutions participating in the performance of the letter of credit. This study, without being exhaustive, aims to capture the main aspects of novelty brought by the publication no. 600 and their legal approach to the new perspective of the international trade relations. It has in view, in particular, the irrevocable character of the letter of credit, the elaboration method and procedure of the letter of credit, the participants to the unfolding of the specific relationship of the letter of credit and the main duties of the involved credit institutions.

  9. Return to sender: Constantijn Huygens as a man of letters

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gosseye, L.; Blom, F.; Leerintveld, A.

    2013-01-01

    Return to Sender takes as its starting point Constantijn Huygens’ letters and shows us the author in his different guises: intimus of René Descartes, translator of John Donne, collector of art, writer of flirtatious love letters and the author of a long consolatory letter-poem for an ailing friend

  10. Letter to Carl Niigeli

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    We reproduce an english translation of one of these letters below, in which ... contemporary scientific knowledge, and that under the circumstances ... generation it became necessary to limit the numbers because of lack of space, so that, in.

  11. Letters of intent

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1993-01-01

    Thursday 5 November was another major milestone en route to the establishment of the experimental programme for CERN's LHC protonproton collider to be built in the 27- kilometre LEP tunnel. After initial discussions of 'Expressions of Interest' at the specially arranged meeting at Evian-les-Bains, France, earlier this year (May, page 1), three Letters of Intent have emerged, together involving nearly 2000 physicists from research institutes all over the world. As well as these researchers listed on the documents, the plans in fact involve many additional technical specialists who work behind the scenes. It was a historic moment as these three detector proposals were aired at the first open meeting of the new LHC Experiments Committee. CERN's main auditorium and a large overflow room receiving relayed video pictures were both packed. From these three schemes - ATLAS, CMS and L3P - and the first reactions to their letters of intent, eventually two projects will emerge, for which full technical proposals will be prepared, including construction plans and credible costings

  12. Cognitive-Affective Dimensions of Female Orgasm: The Role of Automatic Thoughts and Affect During Sexual Activity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tavares, Inês M.; Laan, Ellen T. M.; Nobre, Pedro J.

    2017-01-01

    Cognitive-affective factors contribute to female sexual dysfunctions, defined as clinically significant difficulties in the ability to respond sexually or to experience sexual pleasure. Automatic thoughts and affect presented during sexual activity are acknowledged as maintenance factors for these

  13. Automatic activation of word phonology from print in deep dyslexia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katz, R B; Lanzoni, S M

    1992-11-01

    The performance of deep dyslexics in oral reading and other tasks suggests that they are poor at activating the phonology of words and non-words from printed stimuli. As the tasks ordinarily used to test deep dyslexics require controlled processing, it is possible that the phonology of printed words can be better activated on an automatic basis. This study investigated this possibility by testing a deep dyslexic patient on a lexical decision task with pairs of stimuli presented simultaneously. In Experiment 1, which used content words as stimuli, the deep dyslexic, like normal subjects, showed faster reaction times on trials with rhyming, similarly spelled stimuli (e.g. bribe-tribe) than on control trials (consisting of non-rhyming, dissimilarly spelled words), but slower reaction times on trials with non-rhyming, similarly spelled stimuli (e.g. couch-touch). When the experiment was repeated using function words as stimuli, the patient no longer showed a phonological effect. Therefore, the phonological activation of printed content words by deep dyslexics may be better than would be expected on the basis of their oral reading performance.

  14. Pseudo-synesthesia through reading books with colored letters

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Colizoli, O.; Murre, J.M.J.; Rouw, R.

    2012-01-01

    Background Synesthesia is a phenomenon where a stimulus produces consistent extraordinary subjective experiences. A relatively common type of synesthesia involves perception of color when viewing letters (e.g. the letter ‘a’ always appears as light blue). In this study, we examine whether traits

  15. Letters on nuclear controversy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kafka, P.; Maier-Leibnitz, H.

    1982-01-01

    Heinz Maier-Leibnitz a well-known scientist, nuclear physicist, for 50 years, who publicily supported the idea not to overrate the dangers of peaceful utilization of nuclear energy, has grown tired of talking only to colleagues. He invites a junior fellow physicist, who held engaged speeches against the nuclear power plant Zwentendorf, to an exchange of thoughts. Peter Kafka, an astro-physicist studied the self organisation of the universe from the big bang to the economic crisis and encountered the question of which conditions have to be fulfilled to prevent progress from becoming caranogenous. He became one of the spokesmen of 'political ecology' and called for resistance again large-scale technological use of scientific knowledge. He was enthusiastic about the idea of an exchange of letters, because he - just like his partner - believes in gaining knowledge by discussion. The variety of subjects is sketched briefly in form of three lectures. In the letters both scientists discuss intensly about: - Freedom of science and responsibility of science. - Decisions on energy questions under time-pressure. - Risks of nuclear plants. - Large scale technology and large-scale research or decentralization. - Energy utilization and energy waste. - Nuclear energy and alternatives. - Sense and nonsense of detailed future planning. In the end no one has convinced the other. The reader however finds a lot of new incentives in the letters - printed in unabridged form - a lot of new and significant arguments for a discussion which has only just started. (orig.) [de

  16. Transposed-letter priming of prelexical orthographic representations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kinoshita, Sachiko; Norris, Dennis

    2009-01-01

    A prime generated by transposing two internal letters (e.g., jugde) produces strong priming of the original word (judge). In lexical decision, this transposed-letter (TL) priming effect is generally weak or absent for nonword targets; thus, it is unclear whether the origin of this effect is lexical or prelexical. The authors describe the Bayesian Reader theory of masked priming (D. Norris & S. Kinoshita, 2008), which explains why nonwords do not show priming in lexical decision but why they do in the cross-case same-different task. This analysis is followed by 3 experiments that show that priming in this task is not based on low-level perceptual similarity between the prime and target, or on phonology, to make the case that priming is based on prelexical orthographic representation. The authors then use this task to demonstrate equivalent TL priming effects for nonwords and words. The results are interpreted as the first reliable evidence based on the masked priming procedure that letter position is not coded absolutely within the prelexical, orthographic representation. The implications of the results for current letter position coding schemes are discussed.

  17. Insights from developmental and acquired letter position dyslexia on morphological decomposition in reading

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naama eFriedmann

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available We explored morphological decomposition in reading, the locus in the reading process in which it takes place and its nature, comparing different types of morphemes. We assessed these questions through the analysis of letter position errors in readers with letter position dyslexia(LPD. LPD is a selective impairment to letter position encoding in the early stage of word reading, which results in letter migrations (cloud-could. We used the fact that migrations in LPD occur mainly in word-interior letters, whereas exterior letters rarely migrate.The rationale was that if morphological decomposition occurs prior to letter position encoding and strips off affixes, word-interior letters adjacent to an affix (signs-signs would become exterior following affix-stripping and hence exhibit fewer migrations.We tested 11 Hebrew readers with developmental LPD and 1 with acquired LPD in 6 experiments of reading aloud, lexical decision, and comprehension, at the single word and sentence levels. We examined migrations next to inflectional,derivational,or bound function morphemes compared with exterior letters.Root letters adjacent to inflectional and derivational morphemes were treated like middle letters, and migrated frequently, whereas root letters adjacent to bound function morphemes patterned with exterior letters, and almost never migrated. Given that LPD is a pre-lexical deficit, these results indicate that morphological decomposition takes place in an early, pre-lexical stage. Morphologically complex nonwords showed the same pattern, indicating that this decomposition is structurally, rather than lexically, driven.We suggest that letter position encoding takes place before morphological analysis, but in some cases, as with bound function morphemes, the complex word is re-analyzed as two separate words. In this reanalysis, letter positions in each constituent word are encoded separately,and hence the exterior letters of the root are treated as exterior and

  18. Automatic prediction of rheumatoid arthritis disease activity from the electronic medical records.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chen Lin

    Full Text Available We aimed to mine the data in the Electronic Medical Record to automatically discover patients' Rheumatoid Arthritis disease activity at discrete rheumatology clinic visits. We cast the problem as a document classification task where the feature space includes concepts from the clinical narrative and lab values as stored in the Electronic Medical Record.The Training Set consisted of 2792 clinical notes and associated lab values. Test Set 1 included 1749 clinical notes and associated lab values. Test Set 2 included 344 clinical notes for which there were no associated lab values. The Apache clinical Text Analysis and Knowledge Extraction System was used to analyze the text and transform it into informative features to be combined with relevant lab values.Experiments over a range of machine learning algorithms and features were conducted. The best performing combination was linear kernel Support Vector Machines with Unified Medical Language System Concept Unique Identifier features with feature selection and lab values. The Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (AUC is 0.831 (σ = 0.0317, statistically significant as compared to two baselines (AUC = 0.758, σ = 0.0291. Algorithms demonstrated superior performance on cases clinically defined as extreme categories of disease activity (Remission and High compared to those defined as intermediate categories (Moderate and Low and included laboratory data on inflammatory markers.Automatic Rheumatoid Arthritis disease activity discovery from Electronic Medical Record data is a learnable task approximating human performance. As a result, this approach might have several research applications, such as the identification of patients for genome-wide pharmacogenetic studies that require large sample sizes with precise definitions of disease activity and response to therapies.

  19. Automatic Program Development

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Automatic Program Development is a tribute to Robert Paige (1947-1999), our accomplished and respected colleague, and moreover our good friend, whose untimely passing was a loss to our academic and research community. We have collected the revised, updated versions of the papers published in his...... honor in the Higher-Order and Symbolic Computation Journal in the years 2003 and 2005. Among them there are two papers by Bob: (i) a retrospective view of his research lines, and (ii) a proposal for future studies in the area of the automatic program derivation. The book also includes some papers...... by members of the IFIP Working Group 2.1 of which Bob was an active member. All papers are related to some of the research interests of Bob and, in particular, to the transformational development of programs and their algorithmic derivation from formal specifications. Automatic Program Development offers...

  20. 7 CFR 1737.80 - Description of characteristics letter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... the amount of the proposed loan, its purposes, rate of interest, loan security requirements, and other... SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE PRE-LOAN POLICIES AND PROCEDURES COMMON TO INSURED AND GUARANTEED TELECOMMUNICATIONS LOANS Characteristics Letter § 1737.80 Description of characteristics letter. (a) After all of the...

  1. Development and installation of an automatic sample changer for neutron activation analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Domienikan, Claudio; Lapolli, Andre L.; Schoueri, Roberto M.; Moreira, Edson G.; Vasconcellos, Marina B.A.

    2013-01-01

    A Programmable and Automatic Sample Changer was built and installed at the Neutron Activation Analysis Laboratory of the Nuclear and Energy Research Institute - IPEN-CNEN/SP, Brazil. This Automatic Sample Changer allows the fully automated measurement of up to 25 samples in one run. Basically it consists of an electronic circuit and C++ program that controls the positioning of a sample holder in two axes of motion (X and Y). Each sample is transported and positioned, one by one, inside the shielding coupled to a high-purity germanium (HPGe) radiation detector. A Canberra DSA-1000 Multichannel Analyzer coupled to the Genie 2000 software performs the data acquisition for analysis of the samples. When the counting is finished the results are saved in a hard disk of a PC computer. The sample is brought back by the sample holder to its initial position, and the next sample is carried to the shielding. The Sample Changer was designed and constructed at IPEN-CNEN/SP by employing national components and expertise. (author)

  2. Pseudo-Synesthesia through Reading Books with Colored Letters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colizoli, Olympia; Murre, Jaap M. J.; Rouw, Romke

    2012-01-01

    Background Synesthesia is a phenomenon where a stimulus produces consistent extraordinary subjective experiences. A relatively common type of synesthesia involves perception of color when viewing letters (e.g. the letter ‘a’ always appears as light blue). In this study, we examine whether traits typically regarded as markers of synesthesia can be acquired by simply reading in color. Methodology/Principal Findings Non-synesthetes were given specially prepared colored books to read. A modified Stroop task was administered before and after reading. A perceptual crowding task was administered after reading. Reading one book (>49,000 words) was sufficient to induce effects regarded as behavioral markers for synesthesia. The results of the Stroop tasks indicate that it is possible to learn letter-color associations through reading in color (F(1, 14) = 5.85, p = .030). Furthermore, Stroop effects correlated with subjective reports about experiencing letters in color (r(13) = 0.51, p = .05). The frequency of viewing letters is related to the level of association as seen by the difference in the Stroop effect size between upper- and lower-case letters (t(14) = 2.79, p = .014) and in a subgroup of participants whose Stroop effects increased as they continued to read in color. Readers did not show significant performance advantages on the crowding task compared to controls. Acknowledging the many differences between trainees and synesthetes, results suggest that it may be possible to acquire a subset of synesthetic behavioral traits in adulthood through training. Conclusion/Significance To our knowledge, this is the first evidence of acquiring letter-color associations through reading in color. Reading in color appears to be a promising avenue in which we may explore the differences and similarities between synesthetes and non-synesthetes. Additionally, reading in color is a plausible method for a long-term ‘synesthetic’ training program. PMID

  3. 30 CFR 1.3 - Use of letters and acronym MSHA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Use of letters and acronym MSHA. 1.3 Section 1.3 Mineral Resources MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR OFFICIAL EMBLEM AND...; ESTABLISHMENT AND USE OF OFFICIAL EMBLEM § 1.3 Use of letters and acronym MSHA. The letters and acronym MSHA may...

  4. Anonymous letters? DNA and fingerprints technologies combined to solve a case.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbaro, A; Cormaci, P; Teatino, A; La Marca, A; Barbaro, A

    2004-12-02

    Two brothers, living in two different cities, received two different anonymous letters. We performed latent prints development and DNA research on the letters and also on a glass used by a cousin suspected to be the letters' sender.

  5. Letters of Marcus Antonius Kappus from colonial America IV

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janez Stanonik

    1989-12-01

    Full Text Available The letter of Marcus Antonius Kappus which we publish in our present the fourth - continuation of his letters from Colonial America, is not preserved - as the first three letters are - in a manuscript. Instead we find it published in the famous contemporary collection of Jesuitic letters which appeared from 1728 till 1758 under the editorship of Joseph Stöcklein and his successors in Augsburg and Graz under the title Der neue Welt-Bott mit Allerhand Nachrichten derer Missionariorum Soc. Jesu. Kappus' letter can be found in vol. I, part II, p. 86-88 under the number 56. It has never since 1728 been reprinted in German, neither has it ever been published in an English translation. Our reprint of the German text is justified because Stöcklein's collection is generally not available even in the largest libraries, especially in America. An English translation can be useful because of the difficulties the old form of its German with its localisms can cause to its readers.

  6. Name-letter branding under scrutiny: real products, new algorithms, and the probability of buying.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stieger, Stefan

    2010-06-01

    People like letters matching their own first and last name initials more than nonname letters. This name-letter effect has also been found for brands, i.e., people like brands resembling their own name letters (initial or first three). This has been termed name-letter branding effect. In the present study of 199 participants, ages 12 to 79 years, this name-letter branding effect was found for a modified design (1) using real products, (2) concentrating on product names rather than brand names, (3) using five different products for each letter of the Roman alphabet, (4) asking for the buying probability, and (5) using recently introduced algorithms, controlling for individual response tendencies (i.e., liking all letters more or less) and general normative popularity of particular letters (i.e., some letters are generally preferred more than other letters).

  7. Automatic lung segmentation in functional SPECT images using active shape models trained on reference lung shapes from CT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheimariotis, Grigorios-Aris; Al-Mashat, Mariam; Haris, Kostas; Aletras, Anthony H; Jögi, Jonas; Bajc, Marika; Maglaveras, Nicolaos; Heiberg, Einar

    2018-02-01

    Image segmentation is an essential step in quantifying the extent of reduced or absent lung function. The aim of this study is to develop and validate a new tool for automatic segmentation of lungs in ventilation and perfusion SPECT images and compare automatic and manual SPECT lung segmentations with reference computed tomography (CT) volumes. A total of 77 subjects (69 patients with obstructive lung disease, and 8 subjects without apparent perfusion of ventilation loss) performed low-dose CT followed by ventilation/perfusion (V/P) SPECT examination in a hybrid gamma camera system. In the training phase, lung shapes from the 57 anatomical low-dose CT images were used to construct two active shape models (right lung and left lung) which were then used for image segmentation. The algorithm was validated in 20 patients, comparing its results to reference delineation of corresponding CT images, and by comparing automatic segmentation to manual delineations in SPECT images. The Dice coefficient between automatic SPECT delineations and manual SPECT delineations were 0.83 ± 0.04% for the right and 0.82 ± 0.05% for the left lung. There was statistically significant difference between reference volumes from CT and automatic delineations for the right (R = 0.53, p = 0.02) and left lung (R = 0.69, p automatic quantification of wide range of measurements.

  8. Open Letter to Religious Leaders about Sex Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    American Journal of Sexuality Education, 2011

    2011-01-01

    The "Open Letter to Religious Leaders about Sex Education" reinforces scriptural and theological commitments to truth-telling in calling for "full and honest education about sexual and reproductive health." This "Open Letter" was published in 2002, at about the midpoint of a decade-long federal government commitment to…

  9. Analyzing International Letters in a Business Communication Class.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Devet, Bonnie

    1998-01-01

    Shows how students can use persuasive principles of communication (format and writer's purpose) and of classical rhetoric (organization, ethos, pathos, logos, and style) to improve their ability to analyze business letters. Shows how applying these principles to the analysis of business letters from other countries helps students write better and…

  10. The distributed neural system for top-down letter processing: an fMRI study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jiangang; Feng, Lu; Li, Ling; Tian, Jie

    2011-03-01

    This fMRI study used Psychophysiological interaction (PPI) to investigate top-down letter processing with an illusory letter detection task. After an initial training that became increasingly difficult, participant was instructed to detect a letter from pure noise images where there was actually no letter. Such experimental paradigm allowed for isolating top-down components of letter processing and minimizing the influence of bottom-up perceptual input. A distributed cortical network of top-down letter processing was identified by analyzing the functional connectivity patterns of letter-preferential area (LA) within the left fusiform gyrus. Such network extends from the visual cortex to high level cognitive cortexes, including the left middle frontal gyrus, left medial frontal gyrus, left superior parietal gyrus, bilateral precuneus, and left inferior occipital gyrus. These findings suggest that top-down letter processing contains not only regions for processing of letter phonology and appearance, but also those involved in internal information generation and maintenance, and attention and memory processing.

  11. Developing a bone mineral density test result letter to send to patients: a mixed-methods study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edmonds SW

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Stephanie W Edmonds,1,2 Samantha L Solimeo,3 Xin Lu,1 Douglas W Roblin,4,8 Kenneth G Saag,5 Peter Cram6,7 1Department of Internal Medicine, 2College of Nursing, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA; 3Center for Comprehensive Access and Delivery Research and Evaluation, Iowa City Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Iowa City, IA, USA; 4Kaiser Permanente of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA, USA; 5Department of Rheumatology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA; 6Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; 7University Health Network and Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada; 8School of Public Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA Purpose: To use a mixed-methods approach to develop a letter that can be used to notify patients of their bone mineral density (BMD results by mail that may activate patients in their bone-related health care. Patients and methods: A multidisciplinary team developed three versions of a letter for reporting BMD results to patients. Trained interviewers presented these letters in a random order to a convenience sample of adults, aged 50 years and older, at two different health care systems. We conducted structured interviews to examine the respondents’ preferences and comprehension among the various letters. Results: A total of 142 participants completed the interview. A majority of the participants were female (64.1% and white (76.1%. A plurality of the participants identified a specific version of the three letters as both their preferred version (45.2%; P<0.001 and as the easiest to understand (44.6%; P<0.01. A majority of participants preferred that the letters include specific next steps for improving their bone health. Conclusion: Using a mixed-methods approach, we were able to develop and optimize a printed letter for communicating a complex test result (BMD to patients. Our results may offer guidance to clinicians, administrators, and researchers who are

  12. Professional Citation Practices in Child Maltreatment Forensic Letters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schryer, Catherine F.; Bell, Stephanie; Mian, Marcellina; Spafford, Marlee M.; Lingard, Lorelei

    2011-01-01

    Using rhetorical genre theory and research on reported speech, this study investigates the citation practices in 81 forensic letters written by paediatricians and nurse practitioners that provide their opinion for the courts as to whether a child has experienced maltreatment. These letters exist in a complex social situation where a lack of…

  13. Readability of "Dear Patient" device advisory notification letters created by a device manufacturer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mueller, Luke A; Sharma, Arjun; Ottenberg, Abigale L; Mueller, Paul S

    2013-04-01

    In 2006, the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) recommended that cardiovascular implantable electronic device (CIED) manufacturers use advisory notification letters to communicate with affected patients. To evaluate the readability of the HRS sample "patient device advisory notification" letter and those created by 1 CIED manufacturer. The HRS sample letter and 25 Boston Scientific Corporation letters dated from 2005 through 2011 were evaluated by using 6 readability tests. Readability (Flesch-Kincaid score) of the HRS sample letter was grade level 12.5, and median readability of the device manufacturer letters was grade level 12.8 (range 10.8-18.9). Similar results were obtained by using other readability scales. No letters had readability scores at the National Work Group on Literacy and Health's recommended reading level-fifth grade; the letters' readability exceeded this recommended level by an average of 7.7 grades (95% confidence interval 6.9-8.5; Preadability scores at the average reading level of US adults-eighth grade; the letters' readability exceeded this level by an average of 4.7 grades (95% confidence interval 3.9-5.5; Preadability of the HRS sample letter and those created by a CIED manufacturer significantly exceeded the recommended and average US adults' reading skill levels. Such letters are unlikely to be informative to many patients. CIED manufacturers should ensure that advisory letters are comprehensible to most affected patients. Copyright © 2013 Heart Rhythm Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Visual and Artistic Functions of Letters Khaghani’s Poetry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dr. M. Zolfaghari

    Full Text Available The intensity of emotion and vibration of meaning in the poet's mind causes him to go beyond the ordinary language and through metaphors, similes and linguistic preparation he conveys intellectual and emotional meanings. He has a sharp eye and a sensitive spirit and creative temprement and by inventing new images shows the creativity and imagination in various arenas and attempts in the way of literary strength and creating personal style and this point more than anything else must be done by presenting images and newness. Perhaps in the sixth century, and especially in Azerbaijani school, more than other periods, poets have been looking for creating innovative style in eloquence. Their major attempts were mainly in imaging, it was a wide field that they have competed and it is natural that in this illustration the alphabet letters would be very helpful. Khaghani poetry as one of the greatest poets of this school has the perfect poetrical book of painting and meaning, and delicated pattern in new and different scientific, cultural and religious paintings and letters are a broad range of elements that put a new field in front of the poet and he is aware of the potential features of the letters and also the new images and the artistic creativity.This paper shows descriptive - analytical study of various aspects of Khaghani’s poetry and frequency of letters in the alphabet, authentic images based on alphabet, taken at different pseudo relevance of poetry in the context of multiple semantic and literal characters, making figures of speech based on literary characters, images and characters and the sense of connection . . . which has been shown in his poetry.Letter has double and even multiple uses in Khaghani poetic works (divan and more than the construction of words which is the real and common sense that is used as an artistic. There is a world in the heart of every letter, word and morpheme lies in the poet's point of view is the last and

  15. Letter Frequency Analysis of Lithuanian and Other Languages Using the Latin Alphabet

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gintautas Grigas

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available It is important to evaluate specificities of alphabets, particularly the letter frequencies while designing keyboards, analyzing texts, designing games based on alphabets, and doing some text mining. In order to adequately compare lettter frequences of Lithuanian language to other languages in the Internet space, Wikipedia source was selected which content is common to different languages. The method of letter frequency jumps is used. The main attention is paid to the analysis of letter frequencies at the boundary between native letters and foreign letters used in Lithuanian and other languages.

  16. Letter-By-Letter Reading: Natural Recovery and Response to Treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pélagie M. Beeson

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available The present investigation provides a longitudinal study of an individual (RB with acquired alexia following left posterior cerebral artery stroke. At initial testing, RB exhibited acquired alexia characterized by letter-by-letter (LBL reading, mild anomic aphasia, and acquired agraphia. Repeated measures of reading accuracy and rate were collected for single words and text over the course of one year, along with probes of naming and spelling abilities. Improvements associated with natural recovery (i.e., without treatment were documented up to the fourth month post onset, when text reading appeared to be relatively stable. Multiple oral reading (MOR treatment was initiated at 22 weeks post-stroke, and additional improvements in reading rate and accuracy for text were documented that were greater than those expected on the basis of spontaneous recovery alone. Over the course of one year, reading reaction times for single words improved, and the word-length effect that is the hallmark of LBL reading diminished. RB's response to treatment supports the therapeutic value of MOR treatment to in LBL readers. His residual impairment of reading and spelling one-year post stroke raised the question as to whether further progress was impeded by degraded orthographic knowledge.

  17. Standardized Letter of Recommendation for Otolaryngology Residency Selection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perkins, Jonathan N.; Liang, Conan; McFann, Kim; Abaza, Mona M.; Streubel, Sven-Olrik; Prager, Jeremy D.

    2013-01-01

    Objectives/Hypothesis Develop a standardized letter of recommendation (SLOR) for otolaryngology residency application that investigates the qualities desired in residents and letter writer’s experience. Compare this SLOR to narrative letters of recommendation (NLOR). Study Design Prospective SLOR/NLOR Comparison. Methods The SLOR was sent to a NLOR writer for each applicant. The applicant’s NLOR/SLOR pair was blinded and ranked in seven categories by three reviewers. Inter-rater reliability and NLOR/SLOR rankings were compared. Means of cumulative NLOR and SLOR scores were compared to our departmental rank list. Results Thirty-one SLORs (66%) were collected. The SLORs had higher inter-rater reliability for applicant’s qualifications for otolaryngology, global assessment, summary statement, and overall letter ranking. Writer’s background, comparison to contemporaries/predecessors, and letter review ease had higher inter-rater reliability on the NLORs. Mean SLOR rankings were higher for writer’s background (p=0.0007), comparison of applicant to contemporaries/predecessors (p=0.0031), and letter review ease (p<0.0001). Mean SLOR writing time was 4.17±2.18 minutes. Mean ranking time was significantly lower (p<0.0001) for the SLORs (39.24±23.45 seconds) compared to the NLORs (70.95±40.14 seconds). Means of cumulative SLOR scores correlated with our rank list (p=0.004), whereas means of cumulative NLOR scores did not (p=0.18). Means of cumulative NLOR and SLOR scores did not correlate (p=0.26). Conclusions SLORs require little writing time, save reviewing time, and are easier to review compared to NLORs. Our SLOR had higher inter-rater reliability in 4 of 7 categories and was correlated with our rank list. This tool conveys standardized information in an efficient manner. PMID:23172646

  18. Letters to a Young Baller: Exploring Epistolary Criticism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chawansky, Megan

    2010-01-01

    This article explores the possibilities of epistolary criticism within the realm of sport studies and aspires to encourage scholars to consider the use of non-traditional sport memorabilia and source materials when telling emotive stories about sport and sport practices. The use of letters and the letter-writing format to tell a personal narrative…

  19. Melanie Klein's letters addressed to Marcelle Spira (1955-1960).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quinodoz, Jean-Michel

    2009-12-01

    Between 1955 and 1960, Melanie Klein wrote some 45 hitherto unpublished letters to Marcelle Spira, the Swiss psychoanalyst living at that time in Geneva. In 2006, after Spira's death, these letters were deposited with the Raymond de Saussure Psychoanalysis Centre in Geneva. They are the only known letters that Klein addressed to her psychoanalyst colleagues. Several topics are mentioned in them: (1) the meetings between the two women in Geneva and London; (2) Spira's contribution to Boulanger's translation into French of The Psychoanalysis of Children, which Klein herself carefully revised; (3) the papers that Klein was at that time working on, including Envy and Gratitude; (4) Spira's own work; (5) the difficulties that Spira, a Kleinian psychoanalyst who trained in Buenos Aires, was encountering in her attempt to be admitted to the Swiss Psychoanalytical Society; and (6) a few items of personal and family news. In addition to the invaluable historical information that these letters provide, they offer us a very moving epistolary self-portrait of Melanie Klein, enabling us to discover her personality in the final years of her life - she died in September 1960, just two months after writing her last letter to Spira.

  20. [Representation of letter position in visual word recognition process].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makioka, S

    1994-08-01

    Two experiments investigated the representation of letter position in visual word recognition process. In Experiment 1, subjects (12 undergraduates and graduates) were asked to detect a target word in a briefly-presented probe. Probes consisted of two kanji words. The latters which formed targets (critical letters) were always contained in probes. (e.g. target: [symbol: see text] probe: [symbol: see text]) High false alarm rate was observed when critical letters occupied the same within-word relative position (left or right within the word) in the probe words as in the target word. In Experiment 2 (subject were ten undergraduates and graduates), spaces adjacent to probe words were replaced by randomly chosen hiragana letters (e.g. [symbol: see text]), because spaces are not used to separate words in regular Japanese sentences. In addition to the effect of within-word relative position as in Experiment 1, the effect of between-word relative position (left or right across the probe words) was observed. These results suggest that information about within-word relative position of a letter is used in word recognition process. The effect of within-word relative position was explained by a connectionist model of word recognition.

  1. [Patients' letters and pre-modern medical lay-culture].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stolberg, Michael

    2007-01-01

    Consulting by letter was fairly common practice among the educated, upper classes of early modern Europe. Surviving letters of consultation written by patients, relatives or friends count among the most valuable source for the analysis of pre-modern experiences of disease and the body. This essay gives a brief overview of the various types of consultation letters and related documents which resulted from this practice before tracing the historical development of epistolary consultations from the late Middle Ages through the heyday medical correspondence in the 18th c. before its decline in the 19th c. It presents "experience", "self-fashioning" and "discourse" as three particularly fruitful levels of analysis on which patients' letters can be used within the wider framework of a cultural history of medicine. These three levels of analysis, or three distinct approaches, enable historians to access a greater awareness of the ways in which the experience of illness and the body is culturally framed with an analysis of the performative effects of patients' narratives and the influence of medical discourse among the wider society.

  2. Difficulty identifying feelings and automatic activation in the fusiform gyrus in response to facial emotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eichmann, Mischa; Kugel, Harald; Suslow, Thomas

    2008-12-01

    Difficulties in identifying and differentiating one's emotions are a central characteristic of alexithymia. In the present study, automatic activation of the fusiform gyrus to facial emotion was investigated as a function of alexithymia as assessed by the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale. During 3 Tesla fMRI scanning, pictures of faces bearing sad, happy, and neutral expressions masked by neutral faces were presented to 22 healthy adults who also responded to the Toronto Alexithymia Scale. The fusiform gyrus was selected as the region of interest, and voxel values of this region were extracted, summarized as means, and tested among the different conditions (sad, happy, and neutral faces). Masked sad facial emotions were associated with greater bilateral activation of the fusiform gyrus than masked neutral faces. The subscale, Difficulty Identifying Feelings, was negatively correlated with the neural response of the fusiform gyrus to masked sad faces. The correlation results suggest that automatic hyporesponsiveness of the fusiform gyrus to negative emotion stimuli may reflect problems in recognizing one's emotions in everyday life.

  3. Experiences with automatic N and P measurements of an activated sludge process in a research environment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Isaacs, Steven Howard; Temmink, H.

    1996-01-01

    Some of the advantages of on-line automatic measurement of ammonia, nitrate and phosphate for studying activated sludge systems are pointed out with the help of examples of batch experiments. Sample taking is performed by cross-flow filtration and measurement of all three analytes is performed by...

  4. Collected Letters of José Martí: a linguistic approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guerra, Ana Jústiz

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Any approach to José Marti’s literary production should consider the study of his collected letters, which are noticeable for its content and expressive devices. This article synthesizes the criteria of former researchers who have considered Marti’s collected letters as a privileged genre among the multiple and diverse cultivated by the Apostle (speeches, dramas, essays, journal article, short stories and literary criticism. The collected letters takes a large proportion of his prolific literary production and its expressive force has been widely recognized as a source of inspiration for other poets. His collection of letters is outstanding and lasting in time for its expressive magnificence, its depth of content and precise choice of words. Originally written for a definite addressee, the letters are currently read by new generations of readers, who rediscover a new message in each. Topic considered in this article is part of a wider range study which is been prepared as Ph. D. thesis.

  5. The Complaint Letter and Response.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shukla, P. K.

    1998-01-01

    Describes an assignment in which students write a letter of complaint, and discusses how this assignment aids students in seeing the importance of effective written communication to their daily lives. (SR)

  6. Scientific Letter: Monosymptomatic Hypochondriacal Psychosis ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Scientific Letter: Monosymptomatic Hypochondriacal Psychosis (somatic delusional disorder): A report of two cases. ... African Journal of Psychiatry. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives.

  7. Particles and nuclei, letters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2004-01-01

    The present collection of letters from JINR, Dubna, contains thirteen separate letters on start-to-end simulations of SASE FEL at the TESLA test facility, possible ways of improvement of the FEM oscillator with a Bragg resonator, the status and perspectives of the electron cooling method development, crystalline ion beams in storage rings, latest results of modeling of LHC beam injection, charge exchange injection in a synchrotron equipped with an electron cooling system, fringe and hysteresis effects in electron guns, nonstationary regimes of electron flow formation in secondary emission inverse coaxial diodes, a proposal of the experiment testing of the fine structure of the Vavilov-Cherenkov radiation, computer simulation of the electron beam dynamics at the accelerator structure and the injector of S-band linac with energies of 3 and 10 MeV, calculation of the electron beam dynamics of the accelerator LUE-200, the accelerator-accumulation facility ITEP-TWAC and accelerators-drivers of electronuclear facilities

  8. Burroughs's Postcolonial Visions in The Yage Letters

    OpenAIRE

    Keomany, Melanie

    2016-01-01

    In her article "Burroughs's Postcolonial Visions in The Yage Letters" Melanie Keomany discusses the contents of William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg's The Yage Letters which could be dismissed as openly bigoted and racist. Keomany posits that the text reveals valuable connections between the colonial expansion of the eighteenth century and 1950s USA and Latin America. By re-shaping Burroughs's lived experiences in the Amazon into a text where the narrator William Lee mimics sardonically an...

  9. Letters to a Young Writer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waldman, Anne; Becker, Robin

    2002-01-01

    Presents words of encouragement to a young poet. Includes empathetic words and motivating ideas. Presents a letter including a quote from "Tintern Abbey" by William Wordsworth and ideas about that quote. (SG)

  10. The impact of familiarization strategies on the missing-letter effect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plamondon, Andréanne; Roy-Charland, Annie; Chamberland, Justin; Quenneville, Joannie; Laforge, Christian

    2017-08-01

    When reading a text and searching for a target letter, readers make more omissions of the target letter if it is embedded in frequent function words than if it is in rare content words. While word frequency effects are consistently found, few studies have examined the impacts of passage familiarity on the missing-letter effect and studies that have present conflicting evidence. The present study examines the effects of passage familiarity, as well as the impacts of passage familiarization strategy promoting surface or deep encoding, on the missing-letter effect. Participants were familiarized with a passage by retyping a text, replacing all common nouns with synonyms, or generating a text on the same topic as that of the original text, and then completed a letter search task on the familiar passage as well as an unfamiliar passage. In Experiment 1, when both familiar and unfamiliar passages use the same words, results revealed fewer omissions for the retyping and synonyms conditions. However, in Experiment 2, when different words are used in both types of texts, no effect of familiarization strategy was observed. Furthermore, the missing-letter effect is maintained in all conditions, adding support to the robustness of the effect regardless of familiarity with the text.

  11. ABI Base Recall: Automatic Correction and Ends Trimming of DNA Sequences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elyazghi, Zakaria; Yazouli, Loubna El; Sadki, Khalid; Radouani, Fouzia

    2017-12-01

    Automated DNA sequencers produce chromatogram files in ABI format. When viewing chromatograms, some ambiguities are shown at various sites along the DNA sequences, because the program implemented in the sequencing machine and used to call bases cannot always precisely determine the right nucleotide, especially when it is represented by either a broad peak or a set of overlaying peaks. In such cases, a letter other than A, C, G, or T is recorded, most commonly N. Thus, DNA sequencing chromatograms need manual examination: checking for mis-calls and truncating the sequence when errors become too frequent. The purpose of this paper is to develop a program allowing the automatic correction of these ambiguities. This application is a Web-based program powered by Shiny and runs under R platform for an easy exploitation. As a part of the interface, we added the automatic ends clipping option, alignment against reference sequences, and BLAST. To develop and test our tool, we collected several bacterial DNA sequences from different laboratories within Institut Pasteur du Maroc and performed both manual and automatic correction. The comparison between the two methods was carried out. As a result, we note that our program, ABI base recall, accomplishes good correction with a high accuracy. Indeed, it increases the rate of identity and coverage and minimizes the number of mismatches and gaps, hence it provides solution to sequencing ambiguities and saves biologists' time and labor.

  12. Towards automatic recognition of irregular, short-open answers in Fill-in-the-blank tests

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergio A. Rojas

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Assessment of student knowledge in Learning Management Systems such as Moodle is mostly conducted using close-ended questions (e.g. multiple-choice whose answers are straightforward to grade without human intervention. FILL-IN-THE-BLANK tests are usually more challenging since they require test-takers to recall concepts and associations not available in the statement of the question itself (no choices or hints are given. Automatic assessment of the latter currently requires the test-taker to give a verbatim answer, that is, free of spelling or typographical mistakes. In this paper, we consider an adapted version of a classical text-matching algorithm that may prevent wrong grading in automatic assessment of FILL-IN-THE-BLANK questions whenever irregular (similar but not exact answers occur due to such types of error. The technique was tested in two scenarios. In the first scenario, misspelled single-word answers to an Internet security questionnaire were correctly recognized within a two letter editing tolerance (achieving 99 % accuracy. The second scenario involved short-open answers to computer programming quizzes (i.e. small blocks of code requiring a structure that conforms to the syntactic rules of the programming language. Twenty-one real-world answers written up by students, taking a computer programming course, were assessed by the method. This assessment addressed the lack of precision in terms of programmer-style artifacts (such as unfamiliar variable or function nomenclature and uses an admissible tolerance of up to 20 % letter-level typos. These scores were satisfactory corroborated by a human expert. Additional findings and potential enhancements to the technique are also discussed.

  13. Open letter to EU Commission about proposed EDC Criteria

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ågerstrand, Marlene; Bero, Lisa; Beronius, Anna

    2016-01-01

    Open letter in response to the proposed criteria for identification and regulation of endocrine disrupting chemicals, under the PPP and Biocides Regulations......Open letter in response to the proposed criteria for identification and regulation of endocrine disrupting chemicals, under the PPP and Biocides Regulations...

  14. 50 CFR 216.258 - Renewal of Letters of Authorization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE MARINE MAMMALS REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE TAKING AND IMPORTING OF MARINE MAMMALS Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Conducting Precision Strike Weapon Missions in the Gulf of Mexico § 216.258 Renewal of Letters of Authorization. (a) A Letter of Authorization...

  15. David Bohm : causality and chance, letters to three women

    CERN Document Server

    2017-01-01

    The letters transcribed in this book were written by physicist David Bohm to three close female acquaintances in the period 1950 to 1956. They provide a background to his causal interpretation of quantum mechanics and the Marxist philosophy that inspired his scientific work in quantum theory, probability and statistical mechanics. In his letters, Bohm reveals the ideas that led to his ground breaking book Causality and Chance in Modern Physics. The political arguments as well as the acute personal problems contained in these letters help to give a rounded, human picture of this leading scientist and twentieth century thinker.

  16. Contributions of Emergent Literacy Skills to Name Writing, Letter Writing, and Spelling in Preschool Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puranik, Cynthia S.; Lonigan, Christopher J.; Kim, Young-Suk

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine which emergent literacy skills contribute to preschool children’s emergent writing (name-writing, letter-writing, and spelling) skills. Emergent reading and writing tasks were administered to 296 preschool children aged 4–5 years. Print knowledge and letter-writing skills made positive contributions to name writing; whereas alphabet knowledge, print knowledge, and name writing made positive contributions to letter writing. Both name-writing and letter-writing skills made significant contributions to the prediction of spelling after controlling for age, parental education, print knowledge, phonological awareness, and letter-name and letter-sound knowledge; however, only letter-writing abilities made a significant unique contribution to the prediction of spelling when both letter-writing and name-writing skills were considered together. Name writing reflects knowledge of some letters rather than a broader knowledge of letters that may be needed to support early spelling. Children’s letter-writing skills may be a better indicator of children’s emergent literacy and developing spelling skills than are their name-writing skills at the end of the preschool year. Spelling is a developmentally complex skill beginning in preschool and includes letter writing and blending skills, print knowledge, and letter-name and letter-sound knowledge. PMID:21927537

  17. LETTERS OF MARIA KUNCEWICZOWA TO HER LATE HUSBAND

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Wzorek

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The article discusses the last book of Maria Kuncewiczowa – a set of twenty-three letters (provided with a postscript addressed to her deceased husband. The uniqueness of this correspondence, presented in literary form, lies in the fact that the recipient is dead, treated by the sender as someone constantly present in the real world and still associated with the temporality. "Listy do Jerzego" ("Letters to Jerzy" are – as Tadeusz Swat, one of the reviewers say – “an attempt at denial of death, to save Jerzy by love, memory, and literature.” The analysis of the work highlights the occurring axiological categories. It has been demonstrated that "Letters to Jerzy" is a book about eternal love reaching beyond the grave (in this respect, in stark contrast with "Tristan" 1946, felt with dignity of old age, and finally transcending into faith. "Letters to Jerzy" is also an attempt to reduce the suffering of the writer over the loss of her beloved husband. To some extent, therefore, they correspond to her earlier work "Cudzoziemka" ("Foreigner" in which Kuncewiczowa liberates from the negative emotions associated with the death of her mother.

  18. Referral letters to the psychiatrist in Nigeria: is communication ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    history, may not be elements that non-psychiatrist phy- sicians routinely collect during their examinations and, therefore, one would not expect such information to be available to be included in referral letters. Conclusion. Deficits in communication or information transfer through referral letters to the psychiatrist are common.

  19. Referral letters to the psychiatrist in Nigeria: is communication ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Result: A majority (>80%) of the referral letters had no information on the current medication list, relevant psychosocial history, outline of management to date, results of investigations to date, and known allergies. Conclusion: Deficits in communication or information transfer through referral letters to the psychiatrist are ...

  20. Love letters to the dead: resurrecting an epistolary art.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lander, Dorothy A; Graham-Pole, John R

    This article explores the art of letter-writing, specifically to our beloved dead, as a form of autoethnographic research, pedagogy, and care work. As university teachers and qualitative researchers in palliative and end-of-life care, we review the literature and history of epistolary communications with the deceased, as a prelude to writing our own letters. John writes to his long-dead mother and Dorothy to her recently deceased spouse Patrick, each letter followed by a reflective dialogue between us. Through this dialogue, we highlight the potential application of this art, or handcraft, to formal and informal palliative care, and the implications for practice, pedagogy, policy, and research. We propose that such direct, non-mediated, communications can offer a valuable form of healing for bereaved people. The therapeutic potential of letter writing and the abundance of literary and popular culture exemplars of responses from the dead are also largely unexplored in death education and research.

  1. Letters in this Issue

    Science.gov (United States)

    1998-01-01

    Reforming the General Chemistry Textbook individual letters by Edward T. Samulski; Stephen J. Hawkes; Stephen J. Fisher; J. Stephen Hartman; A. R. H. Cole; Stanley Pine, Ronald Archer, and Herbert Kaesz; Jimmy Reeves; Robert Hill; and Brock Spencer, C. Bradley Moore and Nedah Rose. Re: article by R. J. Gillespie The author replies

  2. Letter processing and font information during reading: beyond distinctiveness, where vision meets design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanocki, Thomas; Dyson, Mary C

    2012-01-01

    Letter identification is a critical front end of the reading process. In general, conceptualizations of the identification process have emphasized arbitrary sets of distinctive features. However, a richer view of letter processing incorporates principles from the field of type design, including an emphasis on uniformities across letters within a font. The importance of uniformities is supported by a small body of research indicating that consistency of font increases letter identification efficiency. We review design concepts and the relevant literature, with the goal of stimulating further thinking about letter processing during reading.

  3. The Syntax of Persuasion: Two Business Letters of Request.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Limaye, Mohan R.

    1983-01-01

    Business letter-writers are advised to develop reader empathy and benefit before they ask a favor. The author analyzed two model 16th century letters of request to determine if similar advice was given in the past, and found that the request was subordinate to building a mutually beneficial relationship. (PD)

  4. Undergraduate nursing students writing therapeutic letters to families: an educational strategy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erlingsson, Christen

    2009-02-01

    Writing therapeutic letters to families is discussed in this article as an educational strategy encouraging students to think reflectively about family nursing. At the University of Kalmar, Sweden, undergraduate nursing students in a primary care module interviewed families using the Calgary Family Assessment Model and wrote therapeutic letters to these families. This article describes (a) the examination process, which was the context for writing therapeutic letters, (b) results of analyses of the letters, and (c) student's post-examination evaluation comments. Results indicate that most students needed encouragement to focus on the family's strengths and resources instead of focusing on own feelings or problems they perceived the family as having. Students also needed support in relinquishing their hierarchical role of "expert nurse." Students' evaluation comments showed that writing therapeutic letters provided students with opportunities to reflect about the connections between family nursing theory and the family itself.

  5. A Fragmentary Archive: Migratory Feelings in Early Anglo-Saxon Women's Letters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watt, Diane

    2017-01-01

    The letters by Anglo-Saxon women in the Boniface correspondence are connected by cultural practices and emotions centered on the conversion mission that functioned to maintain connections between the Anglo-Saxon diaspora. A striking recurring focus of these letters is on loss and isolation, which connects them to the Old English elegies. Many of the letters describe the writers' traumatic experiences that result from the death or absence of kin. These are women who endured the trauma of being left behind when others migrated overseas or who, in traveling away from their homeland, found themselves isolated in an alien environment, displaced in time as well as space. This article offers an analysis of the letters, focusing on the queer temporalities they explore, the queer emotions they evoke, and the queer kinships that they forge. It argues that the women's letters represent fragments of an early queer archive of migratory feelings.

  6. Automatic activation of alcohol cues by child maltreatment related words: a replication attempt in a different treatment setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Potthast, Nadine; Neuner, Frank; Catani, Claudia

    2017-01-03

    A growing body of research attempts to clarify the underlying mechanisms of the association between emotional maltreatment and alcohol dependence (AD). In a preceding study, we found considerable support for a specific priming effect in subjects with AD and emotional abuse experiences receiving alcohol rehabilitation treatment. We concluded that maltreatment related cues can automatically activate an associative memory network comprising cues eliciting craving as well as alcohol-related responses. Generalizability of the results to other treatment settings remains unclear because of considerable differences in German treatment settings as well as insufficiently clarified influences of selection effects. As replication studies in other settings are necessary, the current study aimed to replicate the specific priming effect in a qualified detoxification sample. 22 AD subjects (n = 10 with emotional abuse vs. n = 12 without emotional abuse) participated in a priming experiment. Comparison data from 34 healthy control subjects were derived from the prior study. Contrary to our hypothesis, we did not find a specific priming effect. We could not replicate the result of an automatic network activation by maltreatment related words in a sample of subjects with AD and emotional abuse experiences receiving qualified detoxification treatment. This discrepancy might be attributed to reasons related to treatment settings as well as to methodological limitations. Future work is required to determine the generalizability of the specific priming effect before valid conclusions regarding automatic activation can be drawn.

  7. Open letter to the Vatican.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1999-01-01

    An open letter was published by Latin American and Caribbean women during the Special Session of the UN General Assembly on the International Conference on Population and Development. The letter generally focused on the Church¿s stand on women's reproductive rights. In particular, it questioned the Church on the following aspects of reproductive health, which include: 1) maternal death related to lack of access to reproductive health care; 2) Vatican representatives insisting that only parents can supervise their children education and health, which also lead to many cases of sexual abuse and incest; 3) women's sexual inequality and daily violence; 4) the Vatican delegation blocking the advances of contraception, sexual education, and HIV prevention; 5) problems of migrants and allocation of resources; and 6) the Church failing to recognize the capacity of young people to make decisions based on their own conscience.

  8. Scientific Letter: High-intent suicide and the Beck's Suicide Intent ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Scientific Letter: High-intent suicide and the Beck's Suicide Intent scale: a case report. ... African Journal of Psychiatry. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current ... Abstract. Scientific Letter - No Abstract Available ...

  9. [Changes in CIRUGIA ESPANOLA Letters to the Editor between 2000 and 2007].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosell-Pradas, Jorge; Sánchez-Cantalejo, Emilio

    2008-09-01

    To describe the frequency and bibliographic characteristics of letters to the editor in the journal, Cirugía Española published between 2000 and 2007 and to compare the differences in the periods between 2000-2003 and 2004-2007. A descriptive and cross-sectional study, using the letters to the editor published in Spanish surgery between 2000 and 2007, as observation units. The variables considered were: the number of letters according to the volume and year of publication, substantive content of the paper, text length, graphics resources use, number of signatories and their professional profile, institutions of the authors, by origin and number of Autonomous Communities and number of bibliographical references. To meet the second objective, we compared letters from the period 2000-2003 with the period 2004-2007 against the rest of variables considered as a result. We used descriptive statistics and statistical analysis for comparison of distributions (chi2), with a level of significance of p < 0.05, using the SPSS software (Version 15.0). We identified 312 documents classified as letters. Between 2002 and 2005 their number was small. Often referring to clinical cases 187 (59.9%) and related letters, 98 (31.4%). Of those, 81.1% met the standard length of the text and only 6 letters (1.9%) was the use of graphics exceeded. In 122 letters (39.1%) the permitted number of authors was exceeded. They were mostly contributed by surgeons, 238 cases (76.3%), usually a single hospital, with 294 letters (94.2%) mainly from, Catalonia, Andalusia, Madrid and Valencia. Only 58.1% of the letters complied with the permitted number of references. More related letters were published in the last period (59 letters; 42.1%) than during the years 2000-2003 (39 letters; 22.7%) (chi2 = 14.79; p < 0.001). The correct length of the text improved in the second period, 136 (97.1%), compared to the first 117 (68%) (chi2 = 42.67; p < 0.001. The graphics resources were used properly in both

  10. 32 CFR 884.17 - Commander's instruction letter to member.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... instruction letter to member. Subject: Instructions in Case of Release on Bail or Personal Recognizance 1. You... 32 National Defense 6 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Commander's instruction letter to member. 884.17... civilian custody on bail or on your own recognizance, report immediately in person or by telephone to the...

  11. A neurocomputational model of automatic sequence production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helie, Sebastien; Roeder, Jessica L; Vucovich, Lauren; Rünger, Dennis; Ashby, F Gregory

    2015-07-01

    Most behaviors unfold in time and include a sequence of submovements or cognitive activities. In addition, most behaviors are automatic and repeated daily throughout life. Yet, relatively little is known about the neurobiology of automatic sequence production. Past research suggests a gradual transfer from the associative striatum to the sensorimotor striatum, but a number of more recent studies challenge this role of the BG in automatic sequence production. In this article, we propose a new neurocomputational model of automatic sequence production in which the main role of the BG is to train cortical-cortical connections within the premotor areas that are responsible for automatic sequence production. The new model is used to simulate four different data sets from human and nonhuman animals, including (1) behavioral data (e.g., RTs), (2) electrophysiology data (e.g., single-neuron recordings), (3) macrostructure data (e.g., TMS), and (4) neurological circuit data (e.g., inactivation studies). We conclude with a comparison of the new model with existing models of automatic sequence production and discuss a possible new role for the BG in automaticity and its implication for Parkinson's disease.

  12. Lost and Found, Letters and Methods: Assessing Attitudes toward Chiropractic and Medical Care

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hannah Kern

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available Attitudes toward traditional and chiropractic medicine were compared using Milgram's lost letter technique. A total of 192 letters were placed on the windshields of vehicles in parking lots at six restaurants and department stores in each of four quadrants of a medium-sized, Southeastern city. These letters were addressed to "Admissions" at either a fictitious Institute of Medicine or Institute of Chiropractic Care. Return addresses included either a male or a female name. Thus, those who found a lost letter were faced with the option of returning or not returning a letter from either a male or a female, addressed to an Institute of traditional or non-traditional medicine. After examining previous studies which had used the lost letter technique, numerous methodological improvements were implemented. For example, letters were randomly assigned to potential drop spots for each of 24 study locations (six study locations in each of four city quadrants, and a Latin square design was used to control for possible order effects in the four study conditions that were implemented. Nearly 65% of the letters (124 of 192 were returned. We found: 1 letters addressed to a fictitious Institute of Chiropractic Care were just as likely to be returned as those addressed to a fictitious Institute of Medicine; 2 letters with female return addresses were as likely to be returned as those with male return addresses; 3 there was no interaction between study conditions; 4 based on what was essentially a replication study, a comparison of the pattern of returns using the first and second cycle of lost letters (n = 96 for each cycle revealed an equivalent pattern of no-difference findings. DOI: 10.2458/azu_jmmss.v1i1.78

  13. Contemporary trends in the research of the Letter to Philemon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bartosz Adamczewski

    2005-03-01

    Full Text Available In the period of last two or three decades interpretation of the Letter to Philemon has undergone significant changes. Exegetes applying the historical-critical method proposed recently several new ways of reconstructing the situation that occasioned Paul’s writing the letter. It has been suggested e.g. that Onesimus was no runaway, but probably an envoy from Colossae, or Philemon’s estranged brother, or a slave justifiably seeking intercession, or a roamer. Synchronic methods applied by many exegetes (structural, rhetorical, narrative and pragmatic criticism elucidate various kinds of influence of the letter upon the reader. More and more popular becomes also nowadays manifold liberationist approach. However, beyond applying these various hermeneutic procedures there is also, at least for believing exegetes, an important task of adequate explaining the significance of the Letter to Philemon as an inspired writing.

  14. A classification of marked hijaiyah letters' pronunciation using hidden Markov model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wisesty, Untari N.; Mubarok, M. Syahrul; Adiwijaya

    2017-08-01

    Hijaiyah letters are the letters that arrange the words in Al Qur'an consisting of 28 letters. They symbolize the consonant sounds. On the other hand, the vowel sounds are symbolized by harokat/marks. Speech recognition system is a system used to process the sound signal to be data so that it can be recognized by computer. To build the system, some stages are needed i.e characteristics/feature extraction and classification. In this research, LPC and MFCC extraction method, K-Means Quantization vector and Hidden Markov Model classification are used. The data used are the 28 letters and 6 harakat with the total class of 168. After several are testing done, it can be concluded that the system can recognize the pronunciation pattern of marked hijaiyah letter very well in the training data with its highest accuracy of 96.1% using the feature of LPC extraction and 94% using the MFCC. Meanwhile, when testing system is used, the accuracy decreases up to 41%.

  15. The A.I.D.A. Plan and the Writing of Sales Letters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jong, Rowena

    A study based on textual analysis of sales letters is reported that evaluates the Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action (AIDA) approach to teaching the writing of sales letters. Thirty business letters written by undergraduate business students and executives were analyzed. The forms of cohesion, voice pattern, and information focus of the…

  16. Using dual-task methodology to dissociate automatic from nonautomatic processes involved in artificial grammar learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hendricks, Michelle A; Conway, Christopher M; Kellogg, Ronald T

    2013-09-01

    Previous studies have suggested that both automatic and intentional processes contribute to the learning of grammar and fragment knowledge in artificial grammar learning (AGL) tasks. To explore the relative contribution of automatic and intentional processes to knowledge gained in AGL, we utilized dual-task methodology to dissociate automatic and intentional grammar- and fragment-based knowledge in AGL at both acquisition and at test. Both experiments used a balanced chunk strength grammar to assure an equal proportion of fragment cues (i.e., chunks) in grammatical and nongrammatical test items. In Experiment 1, participants engaged in a working memory dual-task either during acquisition, test, or both acquisition and test. The results showed that participants performing the dual-task during acquisition learned the artificial grammar as well as the single-task group, presumably by relying on automatic learning mechanisms. A working memory dual-task at test resulted in attenuated grammar performance, suggesting a role for intentional processes for the expression of grammatical learning at test. Experiment 2 explored the importance of perceptual cues by changing letters between the acquisition and test phase; unlike Experiment 1, there was no significant learning of grammatical information for participants under dual-task conditions in Experiment 2, suggesting that intentional processing is necessary for successful acquisition and expression of grammar-based knowledge under transfer conditions. In sum, it appears that some aspects of learning in AGL are indeed relatively automatic, although the expression of grammatical information and the learning of grammatical patterns when perceptual similarity is eliminated both appear to require explicit resources. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

  17. Automatic procedure go keep updated the activity levels for each radionuclide existing in a radioactivity laboratory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Los Arcos, J.M.

    1988-01-01

    An automatic procedure to keep updated the activity levels each radionuclide existing in a radioactivity laboratory, and its classification according to the Spanish Regulations on Nuclear and Radioactive Establishments is described. This procedure takes into account the mixed composition of each source and whether it is sealed or the activity and mass variation due to extraction or evaporation in non-sealed sources. For a given date and time, the procedure prints out a complete listing of the activity of each radioactive source, the accumulated activity for each radionuclide, for each kind of radionuclide and the actual classification of the laboratory according to the legal regulations above mentioned. (Author)

  18. Automatic vowels selection and ranking in Russian enciphered texts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuri I. Petrenko

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This work was developed while teaching students the cryptanalysis. The course includes the study of statistics of (Russian encrypted texts. The purpose of training is to learn how to extract redundant information of the text and to descript the cryptogram without a password. One of the most comfortable methods for learning is a simple substitution and similar encryption systems, which are presented in most courses of cryptography. This paper presents a method of automatic separation of vowels and consonants in Russian texts, which releases some of the redundancy of the cipher text. In addition, this method greatly facilitates the task of descript some other symmetric ciphers which may be reduced to simple substitution.The aim of this work is to develop and implement a method for the automatic selection of vowels in Russian texts, enciphered by a simple substitution and similar encryption systems.According to the theory of Shannon, for unambiguous decoding of the text you want the redundancy of the text that exceeds the entropy of the password. After the separation of vowels and consonants redundancy of the text increases to one bit per symbol, this allows you to open shorter encrypted texts. Moreover, the separation of vowels and consonants greatly simplifies the cryptanalysis of some ciphers. For instance, cryptanalysis of the most famous encryption method - method of simple substitution-requires selection of one of N! possible passwords (where N is the number of letters in the alphabet. For the Russian language it is 33! or nearly 2 to 123rd degrees of options. After the separation of vowels and consonants you will need a selection of 10!*23!, or nearly 2 to 96th degrees of options. The number of combinations is reduced to one hundred million times, that makes the cryptanalysis much easier. The program that implements this method first creates a matrix of the probabilities of bigrams of the text.For this matrix Markov criterion calculated

  19. 22 CFR 201.71 - Terms of letters of credit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... shall not be inconsistent with or contrary to the terms of the letter of commitment. Any such letter of credit or agreement may be modified or extended at any time in such a manner and to such extent as is acceptable to the approved applicant and the bank: Provided, That such modification or extension may not be...

  20. 24 CFR 242.49 - Funds and finances: deposits and letters of credit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... collection under the letter of credit. In the event a demand for payment thereunder is not immediately met... letters of credit. 242.49 Section 242.49 Housing and Urban Development Regulations Relating to Housing and...: deposits and letters of credit. (a) Deposits. Where HUD requires the mortgagor to make a deposit of cash or...

  1. Scientific Letter: Stabbing nails into the neck: an unusual self ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Scientific Letter: Stabbing nails into the neck: an unusual self-damaging behavior mandating neurosurgery. A Aghabiklooei, R Aghabiklooei, N Zamani. Abstract. Scientific Letter - No Abstract Available. Full Text: EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT.

  2. Solar Powered Automatic Shrimp Feeding System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dindo T. Ani

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available - Automatic system has brought many revolutions in the existing technologies. One among the technologies, which has greater developments, is the solar powered automatic shrimp feeding system. For instance, the solar power which is a renewable energy can be an alternative solution to energy crisis and basically reducing man power by using it in an automatic manner. The researchers believe an automatic shrimp feeding system may help solve problems on manual feeding operations. The project study aimed to design and develop a solar powered automatic shrimp feeding system. It specifically sought to prepare the design specifications of the project, to determine the methods of fabrication and assembly, and to test the response time of the automatic shrimp feeding system. The researchers designed and developed an automatic system which utilizes a 10 hour timer to be set in intervals preferred by the user and will undergo a continuous process. The magnetic contactor acts as a switch connected to the 10 hour timer which controls the activation or termination of electrical loads and powered by means of a solar panel outputting electrical power, and a rechargeable battery in electrical communication with the solar panel for storing the power. By undergoing through series of testing, the components of the modified system were proven functional and were operating within the desired output. It was recommended that the timer to be used should be tested to avoid malfunction and achieve the fully automatic system and that the system may be improved to handle changes in scope of the project.

  3. Involuntary attention with uncertainty: peripheral cues improve perception of masked letters, but may impair perception of low-contrast letters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerzel, Dirk; Gauch, Angélique; Buetti, Simona

    2010-10-01

    Improvements of perceptual performance following the presentation of peripheral cues have been ascribed to accelerated accrual of information, enhanced contrast perception, and decision bias. We investigated effects of peripheral cues on the perception of Gabor and letter stimuli. Non-predictive, peripheral cues improved perceptual accuracy when the stimuli were masked. In contrast, peripheral cues degraded perception of low-contrast letters and did not affect the perception of low-contrast Gabors. The results suggest that involuntary attention accelerates accrual of information but are not entirely consistent with the idea that involuntary attention enhances subjective contrast. Rather, peripheral cues may cause crowding with single letter targets of low contrast. Further, we investigated the effect of the amount of uncertainty on involuntary attention. Cueing effects were (initially) larger when there were more possible target locations. In addition, cueing effects were larger when error feedback was absent and observers had no knowledge of results. Despite these strategic factors, location uncertainty was not sufficient to produce cueing effects, showing that location uncertainty paired with non-predictive cues reveals perceptual and not (only) decisional processes.

  4. Study of structure of marine specialist activity in an ergative system on monitoring and managing automatic control parameters of safe navigation process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kholichev S. N.

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The study of structures' common features and dynamics of the technical object tuning circuit performing automatic adjustment of safe navigation options has been conducted for the first time in the theory of ergative systems. The research of the structure and process of ergative system functioning including an automatic control system with the option of safe navigation conditions has been fulfilled. The function of signals' selection performing optimal control law reconfiguration of the mentioned system has been given, and some sequence of marine specialist activities allowing solve the problem of navigation safety has been composed. The ergative system retargeted by the ship specialist has a two-tier hierarchy. The first level is an automatic control of the safe navigation parameter, and the second is the level of reconfiguration where the ship specialist changes the parameters of regulation act. The two-level hierarchical representation of the ergative navigation security settings management system makes it possible to introduce the concept of reconfiguration of regulation level as ship specialist activity which is to reduce the uncertainty in the environment in the operation of this layer. Such a reduction can be achieved as a result of exposure to the upper level associated with ideas of the ship specialist on the regulation of safe navigation parameters of the vessel on the lower level – the level of direct control automatic safe navigation option. As a result of studying the activities of the ship specialist in the ergative system on monitoring and managing automatic control parameters of safe navigation process it has been found that the main task of the ship specialist in the operation within the ergative system ensuring the navigation safety is to monitor the input and output of the automatic control system, decisions on the choice of reconfiguration laws regulating signal on the basis of information about deviations and the

  5. The Danish letters

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Beier, Sofie; Ejlers, Steen

    2011-01-01

    The talk will focus on Danish type designers and their work on Æ (AE), Ø (Oslash) and Å (Aring). These 'anomalies' found in the Danish written language, often causes difficulties for type designers. The counters of Ø/ø sometimes appear overcrowded, the uppercase Æ can result in an uncomfortably o......' attempt to create the optimal variation of these letters, we will give a brief introduction to the Danish typography tradition ranging from the early 20th Century and up until today....

  6. Letters to the Editor

    Science.gov (United States)

    1999-09-01

    All the Letters to the Editor in this issue are in the same PostScript or PDF file. Contents The imaginary Sun? Harold Aspden Energy Science Ltd, PO Box 35, Southampton SO16 7RB, UK Difficult physics? Tim Akrill Chief Examiner, A-level Physics, Edexcel Foundation Was it a dream? Bill Jarvis 6 Peggy's Mill Road, Edinburgh EH4 6JY

  7. Similarly shaped letters evoke similar colors in grapheme-color synesthesia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brang, David; Rouw, Romke; Ramachandran, V S; Coulson, Seana

    2011-04-01

    Grapheme-color synesthesia is a neurological condition in which viewing numbers or letters (graphemes) results in the concurrent sensation of color. While the anatomical substrates underlying this experience are well understood, little research to date has investigated factors influencing the particular colors associated with particular graphemes or how synesthesia occurs developmentally. A recent suggestion of such an interaction has been proposed in the cascaded cross-tuning (CCT) model of synesthesia, which posits that in synesthetes connections between grapheme regions and color area V4 participate in a competitive activation process, with synesthetic colors arising during the component-stage of grapheme processing. This model more directly suggests that graphemes sharing similar component features (lines, curves, etc.) should accordingly activate more similar synesthetic colors. To test this proposal, we created and regressed synesthetic color-similarity matrices for each of 52 synesthetes against a letter-confusability matrix, an unbiased measure of visual similarity among graphemes. Results of synesthetes' grapheme-color correspondences indeed revealed that more similarly shaped graphemes corresponded with more similar synesthetic colors, with stronger effects observed in individuals with more intense synesthetic experiences (projector synesthetes). These results support the CCT model of synesthesia, implicate early perceptual mechanisms as driving factors in the elicitation of synesthetic hues, and further highlight the relationship between conceptual and perceptual factors in this phenomenon. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Automatic sweep circuit

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keefe, Donald J.

    1980-01-01

    An automatically sweeping circuit for searching for an evoked response in an output signal in time with respect to a trigger input. Digital counters are used to activate a detector at precise intervals, and monitoring is repeated for statistical accuracy. If the response is not found then a different time window is examined until the signal is found.

  9. Analysis of letter name knowledge using Rasch measurement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bowles, Ryan P; Skibbe, Lori E; Justice, Laura M

    2011-01-01

    Letter name knowledge (LNK) is a key predictor of later reading ability and has been emphasized strongly in recent educational policy. Studies of LNK have implicitly treated it as a unidimensional construct with all letters equally relevant to its measurement. However, some empirical research suggests that contextual factors can affect the measurement of LNK. In this study, we analyze responses from 909 children on measures of LNK using the Rasch model and its extensions, and consider two contextual factors: the format of assessment and the own-name advantage, which states that children are more likely to know letters in their own first names. Results indicate that both contextual factors have important impacts on measurement and that LNK does not meet the requirements of Rasch measurement even when accounting for the contextual factors. These findings introduce philosophical concerns for measurement of constrained skills which have limited content for assessment.

  10. Automatic evaluations and exercise setting preference in frequent exercisers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antoniewicz, Franziska; Brand, Ralf

    2014-12-01

    The goals of this study were to test whether exercise-related stimuli can elicit automatic evaluative responses and whether automatic evaluations reflect exercise setting preference in highly active exercisers. An adapted version of the Affect Misattribution Procedure was employed. Seventy-two highly active exercisers (26 years ± 9.03; 43% female) were subliminally primed (7 ms) with pictures depicting typical fitness center scenarios or gray rectangles (control primes). After each prime, participants consciously evaluated the "pleasantness" of a Chinese symbol. Controlled evaluations were measured with a questionnaire and were more positive in participants who regularly visited fitness centers than in those who reported avoiding this exercise setting. Only center exercisers gave automatic positive evaluations of the fitness center setting (partial eta squared = .08). It is proposed that a subliminal Affect Misattribution Procedure paradigm can elicit automatic evaluations to exercising and that, in highly active exercisers, these evaluations play a role in decisions about the exercise setting rather than the amounts of physical exercise. Findings are interpreted in terms of a dual systems theory of social information processing and behavior.

  11. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 26, Number 4, July-August 2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauncey, Caroline T., Ed.

    2010-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Learning Progressions in Science: A New Approach Emphasizes Sustained Instruction in Big Ideas (Patti Hartigan); (2) Putting the "Boy Crisis" in…

  12. 29 CFR 1621.3 - Procedure for requesting an opinion letter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 1621.3 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION PROCEDURES-THE EQUAL PAY ACT § 1621.3 Procedure for requesting an opinion letter. (a) A request for an opinion letter should be submitted in writing to the Chairman, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...

  13. Pirates at Parties: Letter Position Processing in Developing Readers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohnen, Saskia; Castles, Anne

    2013-01-01

    There has been much recent interest in letter position coding in adults, but little is known about the development of this process in children learning to read. Here, the letter position coding abilities of 127 children in Grades 2, 3, and 4 (aged 7-10 years) were examined by comparing their performance in reading aloud "migratable" words (e.g.,…

  14. Referral letters to the emergency department: is the medication list accurate?

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    McCullagh, M

    2015-02-01

    Medication errors are common when patients transfer across healthcare boundaries. This study was designed to investigate the quality of information on medicines provided by general practitioners (GPs) on emergency department (ED) referral letters. A convenience sample of referral letters to the ED of a teaching hospital was reviewed. The medication list and\\/or patient\\'s drug allergy status were noted. Medicines reconciliation including patient (or carer) interview was conducted to determine the patient\\'s actual home medication list. This was compared with the GP list and any discrepancies were identified and addressed. A total of 92 referral letters were included in the analysis of which 60 were computer-generated and 32 were hand-written. GPs provided dose and frequency of administration information in 47 (51%) of the letters sampled i.e. 44 (71%) computer-generated versus 3 (10%) hand-written; p < 0.001. In addition, the patient was taking their medicines exactly as per the GP list in 20 (22%) of cases. The patient\\'s drug allergy status was documented in 13 (14%) of the letters.

  15. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 23, Number 1, January-February 2007

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauncey, Caroline, Ed.

    2007-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Response to Intervention: A New Approach to Reading Instruction Aims to Catch Struggling Readers Early (Nancy Walser); (2) Getting Advisory Right: Focus and…

  16. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 26, Number 2, March-April 2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauncey, Caroline T., Ed.

    2010-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Online Testing, Version 1.0: Oregon's Adaptive Computer-Based Accountability Test Offers a Peek at a Brave New Future (Robert Rothman); (2) Beyond…

  17. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 26, Number 5, September-October 2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walser, Nancy, Ed.

    2010-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Scenes from the School Turnaround Movement: Passion, Frustration, Mid-Course Corrections Mark Rapid Reforms (Laura Pappano); (2) The Media Savvy Educator:…

  18. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 28, Number 2, March-April 2012

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauncey, Caroline T., Ed.

    2012-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Course Credits on the Quick: Controversial Online Recovery Programs Speed the Path to Graduation (Andrew Brownstein); (2) Collaborating to Make Schools More Inclusive…

  19. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 27, Number 4, July-August 2011

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauncey, Caroline T., Ed.

    2011-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Integrated Data Systems Link Schools and Communities: Researchers Combine School and Non-School Data to Inform Interventions and Policy (Patti Hartigan);…

  20. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 25, Number 3, May-June 2009

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauncey, Caroline T., Ed.

    2009-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Improving Teaching and Learning through Instructional Rounds (Lee Teitel); (2) Developmentally Appropriate Practice in the Age of Testing: New Reports Outline Key Principles…

  1. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 25, Number 6, November-December 2009

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauncey, Caroline T., Ed.

    2009-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) "Platooning" Instruction: Districts Weigh Pros and Cons of Departmentalizing Elementary Schools (Lucy Hood); (2) Behind the Classroom Door: A Rare Glimpse Indicates the…

  2. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 24, Number 4, July-August 2008

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauncey, Caroline, Ed.

    2008-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Taking the Measure of New Teachers: California Shifts from Standardized Tests to Performance-Based Assessment as a Condition of Licensure (Robert Rothman);…

  3. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 27, Number 1, January-February 2011

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walser, Caroline T., Ed.

    2011-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) The Greening of Environmental Ed: Teachers Focus on Complexity, Evidence, and Letting Students Draw Their Own Conclusions (Lucy Hood); (2) Like Teacher,…

  4. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 27, Number 3, May-June 2011

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauncey, Caroline T., Ed.

    2011-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Bringing Art into School, Byte by Byte: Innovative Programs Use Technology to Expand Access to the Arts (Patti Hartigan); (2) Differentiated Instruction…

  5. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 25, Number 4, July-August 2009

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauncey, Caroline T., Ed.

    2009-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Putting the Brakes on "Summer Slide": Modified School Calendars Build in Time to Enrich Learning and Sustain Gains (Brigid Schulte); (2) Closing…

  6. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 25, Number 1, January-February 2009

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauncey, Caroline, Ed.

    2009-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Learning Across Distance: Virtual-Instruction Programs Are Growing Rapidly, but the Impact on "Brick-and-Mortar" Classrooms Is Still up in the Air…

  7. Different letter-processing strategies in diagnostic subgroups of developmental dyslexia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lachmann, Thomas; van Leeuwen, Cees

    2008-07-01

    Normally reading adults (N = 15) and primary school children (N = 24) and two diagnostic subgroups of children with developmental dyslexia (N = 21)-all native German speakers-performed a successive same-different task with pairs of letters and nonletters (pseudoletters or geometrical shapes). The first item of a pair was always presented on its own, and the second either on its own or surrounded by a congruent or incongruent nontarget shape. Adults showed congruence effects with nonletters but not with letters, and children with both types of stimuli. Frequent-word reading-impaired dyslexics (N = 11) in addition showed dramatically slower overall reaction times. Nonword reading-impaired dyslexics (N = 10) showed congruence effects with nonletters but negative congruence effects with letters. The results support the notion that normal readers have established a special visual processing strategy for letters. Processing speed rather than reading expertise seems crucial for this strategy to emerge. The contrasting effects between subgroups of dyslexics reveal specific underlying deficits.

  8. How to write effective business letters: scribing information for pharmacists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamilton, C W

    1993-11-01

    Pharmacists frequently write letters but lack specific training on how to do it well. This review summarizes strategies for improving business correspondence, emphasizes basic writing guidelines, and offers practical advice for pharmacists. The first steps for effective communication are careful planning and identifying the main message to be conveyed. The purpose for writing should be stated in the opening paragraph of the letter. To ensure a successful outcome, actions needed should be clearly summarized and visually highlighted. The tone of the letter should reflect a reasonable speech pattern, not the cryptic writing found in many scientific papers. The layout of the letter should be inviting, which is readily achievable through judicious use of word processing. Many delivery options are available, such as traditional postal services, express mail, and facsimile transmission. Readers are encouraged to test these basic writing principles and decide for themselves whether these recommendations affect the success of business correspondence.

  9. John von Neumann selected letters

    CERN Document Server

    2005-01-01

    John von Neuman was perhaps the most influential mathematician of the twentieth century, especially if his broad influence outside mathematics is included. Not only did he contribute to almost all branches of mathematics and created new fields, but he also changed post-World War II history with his work on the design of computers and with being a sought-after technical advisor to many figures in the U.S. military-political establishment in the 1940s and 1950s. The present volume is the first substantial collection of (previously mainly unpublished) letters written by von Neumann to colleagues, friends, government officials, and others. The letters give us a glimpse of the thinking of John von Neumann about mathematics, physics, computer science, science management, education, consulting, politics, and war. Readers of quite diverse backgrounds will find much of interest in this fascinating first-hand look at one of the towering figures of twentieth century science.

  10. Automatic Imitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heyes, Cecilia

    2011-01-01

    "Automatic imitation" is a type of stimulus-response compatibility effect in which the topographical features of task-irrelevant action stimuli facilitate similar, and interfere with dissimilar, responses. This article reviews behavioral, neurophysiological, and neuroimaging research on automatic imitation, asking in what sense it is "automatic"…

  11. Automatic radioxenon analyzer for CTBT monitoring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bowyer, T.W.; Abel, K.H.; Hensley, W.K.

    1996-12-01

    Over the past 3 years, with support from US DOE's NN-20 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) R ampersand D program, PNNL has developed and demonstrated a fully automatic analyzer for collecting and measuring the four Xe radionuclides, 131m Xe(11.9 d), 133m Xe(2.19 d), 133 Xe (5.24 d), and 135 Xe(9.10 h), in the atmosphere. These radionuclides are important signatures in monitoring for compliance to a CTBT. Activity ratios permit discriminating radioxenon from nuclear detonation and that from nuclear reactor operations, nuclear fuel reprocessing, or medical isotope production and usage. In the analyzer, Xe is continuously and automatically separated from the atmosphere at flow rates of about 7 m 3 /h on sorption bed. Aliquots collected for 6-12 h are automatically analyzed by electron-photon coincidence spectrometry to produce sensitivities in the range of 20-100 μBq/m 3 of air, about 100-fold better than with reported laboratory-based procedures for short time collection intervals. Spectral data are automatically analyzed and the calculated radioxenon concentrations and raw gamma- ray spectra automatically transmitted to data centers

  12. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 25, Number 5, September-October 2009

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauncey, Caroline T., Ed.

    2009-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) The Invisible Hand in Education Policy: Behind the Scenes, Economists Wield Unprecedented Influence (David McKay Wilson); (2) Bonding and Bridging: Schools Open Doors for…

  13. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 26, Number 1, January-February 2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauncey, Caroline T., Ed.

    2010-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Charters and Unions: What's the Future for This Unorthodox Relationship? (Alexander Russo); (2) From Special Ed to Higher Ed: Transition Planning for Disabled Students Focuses…

  14. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 24, Number 3, May-June 2008

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauncey, Caroline, Ed.

    2008-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) "Equity, Access, and Opportunity": Despite Challenges, More Districts Adopt One-to-One Laptop Programs (Colleen Gillard); (2) Small Kids, Big Words: Research-Based Strategies…

  15. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 26, Number 6, November-December 2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walser, Nancy, Ed.

    2010-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Video Games Take Testing to the Next Level: Researchers See Promise in Game-Like Assessments That Measure Complex Skills (Robert Rothman); (2) An Academic…

  16. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 28, Number 1, January-February 2012

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walser, Nancy, Ed.

    2012-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Using Theater to Teach Social Skills: Researchers Document Improvements for Children with Autism (Patti Hartigan); (2) The Family Model of Schooling Revisited: Few Teachers,…

  17. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 23, Number 5, September-October 2007

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauncey, Caroline, Ed.

    2007-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Confronting the Autism Epidemic: New Expectations for Children with Autism Means a New Role for Public Schools (Kate McKenna); (2) Internet Research 101:…

  18. Intertextuality in Ba's So Long a Letter and Umunnakwe's Dear ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Intertextuality takes for granted the interdependence of literary texts because every artistic creation is a re-echoing of past knowledge. Mariama Ba's So Long A Letter and Ndubisi Umunnakwe's Dear Ramatoulaye are African examples. This work examines how Ba's So Long A Letter intertextualises with Umunnakwe's Dear ...

  19. 24 CFR 200.63 - Required deposits and letters of credit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... Commissioner for collection under the letter of credit. In the event a demand for payment thereunder is not... credit. 200.63 Section 200.63 Housing and Urban Development Regulations Relating to Housing and Urban... Required deposits and letters of credit. (a) Deposits. Where the Commissioner requires the mortgagor to...

  20. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 21, Number 6, November-December 2005

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauncey, Caroline, Ed.

    2005-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Is History... History?: Standards, Accountability, and the Future of Our Nation's Past (Robert Rothman); (2) Curriculum Access for All: How Teachers Can Use Universal Design…

  1. How one can see what is not there: Neural mechanisms of grapheme-colour synasthesia

    OpenAIRE

    Van Leeuwen, T.

    2011-01-01

    People with grapheme-colour synaesthesia experience colour for letters of the alphabet or digits; A can be red and B can be green. How can it be, that people automatically see a colour where only black letters are printed on the paper? With brain scans (fMRI) I showed that (black) letters activate the colour area of the brain (V4) and also a brain area that is important for combining different types of information (SPL). We found that the location where synaesthetes subjectively experience th...

  2. Electronic Discharge Letter Mobile App

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lezcano, Leonardo; Triana, Michel; Ternier, Stefaan; Hartkopf, Kathleen; Stieger, Lina; Schroeder, Hanna; Sopka, Sasa; Drachsler, Hendrik; Maher, Bridget; Henn, Patrick; Orrego, Carola; Specht, Marcus

    2014-01-01

    The electronic discharge letter mobile app takes advantage of Near Field Communication (NFC) within the PATIENT project and a related post-doc study. NFC enabled phones to read passive RFID tags, but can also use this short-range wireless technology to exchange (small) messages. NFC in that sense

  3. Automatic spike sorting using tuning information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ventura, Valérie

    2009-09-01

    Current spike sorting methods focus on clustering neurons' characteristic spike waveforms. The resulting spike-sorted data are typically used to estimate how covariates of interest modulate the firing rates of neurons. However, when these covariates do modulate the firing rates, they provide information about spikes' identities, which thus far have been ignored for the purpose of spike sorting. This letter describes a novel approach to spike sorting, which incorporates both waveform information and tuning information obtained from the modulation of firing rates. Because it efficiently uses all the available information, this spike sorter yields lower spike misclassification rates than traditional automatic spike sorters. This theoretical result is verified empirically on several examples. The proposed method does not require additional assumptions; only its implementation is different. It essentially consists of performing spike sorting and tuning estimation simultaneously rather than sequentially, as is currently done. We used an expectation-maximization maximum likelihood algorithm to implement the new spike sorter. We present the general form of this algorithm and provide a detailed implementable version under the assumptions that neurons are independent and spike according to Poisson processes. Finally, we uncover a systematic flaw of spike sorting based on waveform information only.

  4. Automatic sweep circuit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keefe, D.J.

    1980-01-01

    An automatically sweeping circuit for searching for an evoked response in an output signal in time with respect to a trigger input is described. Digital counters are used to activate a detector at precise intervals, and monitoring is repeated for statistical accuracy. If the response is not found then a different time window is examined until the signal is found

  5. Traditions of martyrdom in the Ignatian Letters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Fuhrmann

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available The letters of Ignatius represent one of the key texts for the emergence of martyrdom during the second century AD in Christianity. This article is concerned with the question whether Ignatius contributed to a “theology of martyrdom” or whether he rather relied on previous traditions. The author argues, by undertaking an analysis of certain pragmatics and semantics, that the motif of martyrdom is solely used to buttress Ignatius’ claim for authority among his intended addressees by referring to an understanding of martyrdom that has its roots in the New Testament. An identification of the author of the letters with a historical martyr is regarded as unlikely.

  6. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 27, Number 2, March-April 2011

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walser, Nancy, Ed.

    2011-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Hybrid Schools for the iGeneration: New Schools Combine "Bricks" and "Clicks" (Brigid Schulte); (2) Dual Language Programs on the Rise: "Enrichment" Model Puts Content Learning…

  7. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 26, Number 3, May-June 2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauncey, Caroline T., Ed.

    2010-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Unleashing the "Brain Power" of Groups in the Classroom: The Neuroscience behind Collaborative Work (Nancy Walser); (2) Putting AP to the Test: New Research Assesses the…

  8. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 25, Number 2, March-April 2009

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauncey, Caroline, Ed.

    2009-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Money and Motivation: New Initiatives Rekindle Debate over the Link between Rewards and Student Achievement (David McKay Wilson); (2) An Inexact Science: What Are the Technical…

  9. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 24, Number 6, November-December 2008

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauncey, Caroline, Ed.

    2008-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) When Worlds Collide: Universal PreK Brings New Challenges for Public Elementary Schools (David McKay Wilson); (2) Answers and Questions: Schools Survey Their Students--and…

  10. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 23, Number 6, November-December 2007

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauncey, Caroline, Ed.

    2007-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Charting a New Course toward Racial Integration: Districts Seek Legal Routes to Capture the Benefits of Diversity (Brigid Schulte); (2) Voluntary Integration: Two Views--(a)…

  11. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 27, Number 6, November-December 2011

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walser, Nancy, Ed.

    2011-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) With Cheating on the Rise, Schools Respond (David McKay Wilson); (2) Waldorf Education in Public Schools: Educators Adopt--and Adapt--This Developmental, Arts-Rich Approach…

  12. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 24, Number 2, March-April 2008

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauncey, Caroline, Ed.

    2008-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Educating Teenage Immigrants: High Schools Experiment with Ways to Group New English-Language Learners (Lucy Hood); (2) Hot Topics and Key Words: Pilot Project Brings Teachers…

  13. Letter-Sound Reading: Teaching Preschool Children Print-to-Sound Processing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolf, Gail Marie

    2016-01-01

    This intervention study investigated the growth of letter sound reading and growth of consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) word decoding abilities for a representative sample of 41 US children in preschool settings. Specifically, the study evaluated the effectiveness of a 3-step letter-sound teaching intervention in teaching preschool children to…

  14. Why Doctors Do Not Answer Referral Letters | Smith | South African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: Healthcare workers at primary healthcare (PHC) clinics are frustrated by the fact that they do not receive replies to their referral letters to doctors. Referral letters act as permission slips to allow patients easy access to treatment by specialists at secondary and tertiary service levels and communicate reasons for ...

  15. 21 CFR 170.6 - Opinion letters on food additive status.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 3 2010-04-01 2009-04-01 true Opinion letters on food additive status. 170.6... (CONTINUED) FOOD FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION (CONTINUED) FOOD ADDITIVES General Provisions § 170.6 Opinion letters on food additive status. (a) Over the years the Food and Drug Administration has given informal...

  16. Teaching Braille Letters, Numerals, Punctuation, and Contractions to Sighted Individuals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Putnam, Brittany C.; Tiger, Jeffrey H.

    2015-01-01

    Braille-character recognition is one of the foundational skills required for teachers of braille. Prior research has evaluated computer programming for teaching braille-to-print letter relations (e.g., Scheithauer & Tiger, 2012). In the current study, we developed a program (the Visual Braille Trainer) to teach not only letters but also…

  17. Trends in the Employment Process: Resumes and Job Application Letters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spinks, Neld; Wells, Barron

    1999-01-01

    Surveys of Fortune 500 companies in 1978, 1985, and 1995 revealed trends and preferences in content of resumes and cover letters. Compared to earlier years, current preferences were for both letters and resumes in the initial contact, more emphasis on grammar and spelling, and acceptance of two-page resumes. (SK)

  18. Automatic classification of background EEG activity in healthy and sick neonates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Löfhede, Johan; Thordstein, Magnus; Löfgren, Nils; Flisberg, Anders; Rosa-Zurera, Manuel; Kjellmer, Ingemar; Lindecrantz, Kaj

    2010-02-01

    The overall aim of our research is to develop methods for a monitoring system to be used at neonatal intensive care units. When monitoring a baby, a range of different types of background activity needs to be considered. In this work, we have developed a scheme for automatic classification of background EEG activity in newborn babies. EEG from six full-term babies who were displaying a burst suppression pattern while suffering from the after-effects of asphyxia during birth was included along with EEG from 20 full-term healthy newborn babies. The signals from the healthy babies were divided into four behavioural states: active awake, quiet awake, active sleep and quiet sleep. By using a number of features extracted from the EEG together with Fisher's linear discriminant classifier we have managed to achieve 100% correct classification when separating burst suppression EEG from all four healthy EEG types and 93% true positive classification when separating quiet sleep from the other types. The other three sleep stages could not be classified. When the pathological burst suppression pattern was detected, the analysis was taken one step further and the signal was segmented into burst and suppression, allowing clinically relevant parameters such as suppression length and burst suppression ratio to be calculated. The segmentation of the burst suppression EEG works well, with a probability of error around 4%.

  19. Automatic reference selection for quantitative EEG interpretation: identification of diffuse/localised activity and the active earlobe reference, iterative detection of the distribution of EEG rhythms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Bei; Wang, Xingyu; Ikeda, Akio; Nagamine, Takashi; Shibasaki, Hiroshi; Nakamura, Masatoshi

    2014-01-01

    EEG (Electroencephalograph) interpretation is important for the diagnosis of neurological disorders. The proper adjustment of the montage can highlight the EEG rhythm of interest and avoid false interpretation. The aim of this study was to develop an automatic reference selection method to identify a suitable reference. The results may contribute to the accurate inspection of the distribution of EEG rhythms for quantitative EEG interpretation. The method includes two pre-judgements and one iterative detection module. The diffuse case is initially identified by pre-judgement 1 when intermittent rhythmic waveforms occur over large areas along the scalp. The earlobe reference or averaged reference is adopted for the diffuse case due to the effect of the earlobe reference depending on pre-judgement 2. An iterative detection algorithm is developed for the localised case when the signal is distributed in a small area of the brain. The suitable averaged reference is finally determined based on the detected focal and distributed electrodes. The presented technique was applied to the pathological EEG recordings of nine patients. One example of the diffuse case is introduced by illustrating the results of the pre-judgements. The diffusely intermittent rhythmic slow wave is identified. The effect of active earlobe reference is analysed. Two examples of the localised case are presented, indicating the results of the iterative detection module. The focal and distributed electrodes are detected automatically during the repeating algorithm. The identification of diffuse and localised activity was satisfactory compared with the visual inspection. The EEG rhythm of interest can be highlighted using a suitable selected reference. The implementation of an automatic reference selection method is helpful to detect the distribution of an EEG rhythm, which can improve the accuracy of EEG interpretation during both visual inspection and automatic interpretation. Copyright © 2013 IPEM

  20. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 24, Number 1, January-February 2008

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauncey, Caroline, Ed.

    2008-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Leadership Lessons From Schools Becoming "Data Wise" (Jennifer L. Steele and Kathryn Parker Boudett); (2) A Guide on the Side: Mentors Help New Leaders Prepare for Life in the…

  1. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 27, Number 5, September-October 2011

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauncey, Caroline T., Ed.

    2011-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Teaching Students to Ask Their Own Questions: One Small Change Can Yield Big Results (Dan Rothstein and Luz Santana); (2) Voice of Experience: Jerry Weast--Leading a System…

  2. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 23, Number 2, March-April 2007

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauncey, Caroline, Ed.

    2007-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) More Than "Making Nice": Getting Teachers to (Truly) Collaborate (Laura Pappano); (2) "Doing the Critical Things First": An Aligned Approach to PreK and Early Elementary Math;…

  3. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 24, Number 5, September-October 2008

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauncey, Caroline, Ed.

    2008-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Teaching 21st Century Skills: What Does It Look Like in Practice? (Nancy Walser); (2) Getting and Spending: Schools and Districts Share Lessons on the Effective Uses of…

  4. 21 CFR 570.6 - Opinion letters on food additive status.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 6 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Opinion letters on food additive status. 570.6... (CONTINUED) ANIMAL DRUGS, FEEDS, AND RELATED PRODUCTS FOOD ADDITIVES General Provisions § 570.6 Opinion letters on food additive status. (a) Over the years the Food and Drug Administration has given informal...

  5. Mud, Blood, and Bullet Holes: Teaching History with War Letters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carroll, Andrew

    2013-01-01

    From handwritten letters of the American Revolution to typed emails from Iraq and Afghanistan, correspondence from U.S. troops offers students deep insight into the specific conflicts and experiences of soldiers. Over 100,000 correspondences have been donated to the Legacy Project, a national initiative launched in 1998 to preserve war letters by…

  6. 46 CFR 308.522 - Collateral deposit fund, letter of transmittal, Form MA-302.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 8 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Collateral deposit fund, letter of transmittal, Form MA... Collateral deposit fund, letter of transmittal, Form MA-302. The standard form of letter of transmittal for use in establishing a collateral deposit fund, may be obtained from the American War Risk Agency or...

  7. FY1987 report on the result of the R and D of an automatic sewing system. System management/control technology; 1987 nendo jido hosei system no kenkyu kaihatsu seika hokokusho. System kanri seigyo gijutsu

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1988-03-01

    The paper summarized the R and D of system management/control technology which is an element technology of an automatic sewing system by the Automatic Sewing System Technology Research Association. The effects were confirmed by experiments such as the inspection of dimensions of sewing parts using image processing technology, inspection of the surface state to examine if or not there are darts and pintucks, making and demonstration of the recognition treatment software for fitting patterns on the pocket with big cross stripes, strengthening of the function to determine processing position, etc. Improvement was added to 7 segment letters which becomes ID information so that 8mm letters could be read at a recognition rate of more than 95%. The information required for production plan was summarized after making it mutually connected. Further, a method was worked out for estimation of the standard time required for making the day schedule. Files for drawing-up the optimum process and for process control simulator were made by the expression peculiar to apparel. The framework of the interface was prepared to make the following clear: the integration of the process control use computer into the microcomputer for control of automatic machines such as devices and presses for sewing preparation, multi-functional sewing, assembly sewing, cloth handling/positioning, and the sharing of functions. (NEDO)

  8. Resource Letter MP-3: The Manhattan Project and Related Nuclear Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reed, B. Cameron

    2016-10-01

    This Resource Letter is a supplement to the earlier Resource Letters MP-1 and MP-2, and provides further sources on the Manhattan Project and related research. Books, review papers, journal articles, videos, and websites are cited for the following topics: general works, technical works, biographical and autobiographical works, foreign wartime nuclear programs and related allied intelligence, the use of the bombs against Hiroshima and Nagasaki, technical papers of historical interest, postwar policy and technical developments, and educational materials. Together, these three Resource Letters describe nearly 400 sources of information on the Manhattan Project.

  9. Dear Hacker Letters to the Editor of 2600

    CERN Document Server

    Goldstein, Emmanuel

    2010-01-01

    Actual letters written to the leading hackers' magazine. For 25 years, 2600: The Hacker Quarterly has given voice to the hacker community in all its manifestations. This collection of letters to the magazine reveals the thoughts and viewpoints of hackers, both white and black hat, as well as hacker wannabes, technophiles, and people concerned about computer security. Insightful and entertaining, the exchanges illustrate 2600 's vast readership, from teenage rebels, anarchists, and survivalists to law enforcement, consumer advocates, and worried parents.: 2600: The Hacker Quarterly has been the

  10. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 23, Number 3, May-June 2007

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauncey, Caroline, Ed.

    2007-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) The Road to School Improvement: It's Hard, It's Bumpy, and It Takes as Long as It Takes (Richard F. Elmore and Elizabeth A. City); (2) Better Teaching with Web Tools: How…

  11. Harvard Education Letter. Volume 23, Number 4, July-August 2007

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauncey, Caroline, Ed.

    2007-01-01

    "Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Meeting of the Minds: The Parent-Teacher Conference Is the Cornerstone of School-Home Relations. How Can It Work for All Families? (Laura Pappano); (2) In Search of That "Third…

  12. Composing chaotic music from the letter m

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sotiropoulos, Anastasios D.

    Chaotic music is composed from a proposed iterative map depicting the letter m, relating the pitch, duration and loudness of successive steps. Each of the two curves of the letter m is based on the classical logistic map. Thus, the generating map is xn+1 = r xn(1/2 - xn) for xn between 0 and 1/2 defining the first curve, and xn+1 = r (xn - 1/2)(1 - xn) for xn between 1/2 and 1 representing the second curve. The parameter r which determines the height(s) of the letter m varies from 2 to 16, the latter value ensuring fully developed chaotic solutions for the whole letter m; r = 8 yielding full chaotic solutions only for its first curve. The m-model yields fixed points, bifurcation points and chaotic regions for each separate curve, as well as values of the parameter r greater than 8 which produce inter-fixed points, inter-bifurcation points and inter-chaotic regions from the interplay of the two curves. Based on this, music is composed from mapping the m- recurrence model solutions onto actual notes. The resulting musical score strongly depends on the sequence of notes chosen by the composer to define the musical range corresponding to the range of the chaotic mathematical solutions x from 0 to 1. Here, two musical ranges are used; one is the middle chromatic scale and the other is the seven- octaves range. At the composer's will and, for aesthetics, within the same composition, notes can be the outcome of different values of r and/or shifted in any octave. Compositions with endings of non-repeating note patterns result from values of r in the m-model that do not produce bifurcations. Scores of chaotic music composed from the m-model and the classical logistic model are presented.

  13. Verse Letter from Gregory of Nazianzus to Vitalianus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erika Brodňanská

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The article offers a complex view of the poetic letter of Gregory of Nazianzus II, II, 3 Ad Vitalianum, which has not yet been the subject of modern criticism. The letter is a plea by Vitalianus’ banished sons for their father to take them back. Based on the manuscript tradition, the article’s author concludes that the fictional author of the letter is the son Phocas rather than Peter. The disrupted relationship between father and sons is reflected in both the content of the poem and the forms of salutations used: the seemingly positive epithets φέριστε, μακάρτατε, and φίλε; forms of address which directly express a certain distance and coldness (μέγα φέρτατε, ὦ ἄνα, or even animosity towards the father (ὀλοώτατε δαῖμον, ὦ κακόβουλε. The poetic letter has a concentric structure (A; B; C; D; E; F; G; F´; E´; D´; C´; B´; A´, with individual com­ponents linked for the most part thematically. The letter is written in dactylic hexameter. The most frequently used metre in the verses is the holodactyl, and the most frequent caesura is the caesura post tertium trochaeum. As far as the breach of Hermann’s bridge in verses is concerned, and based on the understanding of the term ‘word’ in metrics, the author of the article concludes that in the majority of cases the breach is only ‘visual’, and cannot be detected when listened to. Gregory did not avoid three true hiatuses; and in two verses, in order to keep the rhythm of dactylic hexameter, it is essential to measure a long syllable as a short one. However, metric errors may be related to prosodic licence.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2018-04-23

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

  15. On the Functional Neuroanatomy of Visual Word Processing: Effects of Case and Letter Deviance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kronbichler, Martin; Klackl, Johannes; Richlan, Fabio; Schurz, Matthias; Staffen, Wolfgang; Ladurner, Gunther; Wimmer, Heinz

    2009-01-01

    This functional magnetic resonance imaging study contrasted case-deviant and letter-deviant forms with familiar forms of the same phonological words (e.g., "TaXi" and "Taksi" vs. "Taxi") and found that both types of deviance led to increased activation in a left occipito-temporal region, corresponding to the visual word form area (VWFA). The…

  16. Open letter to Mr Christian Bataille, Deputy of Nord region, France. Open letter on nuclear energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Delacroix P

    2007-02-01

    The author, by means of a letter to the deputy Christian Bataille, presents arguments to the shutdown of old nuclear power plants. He points out the environmental and economical arguments in favor of a decrease of the nuclear power use in France. (A.L.B.)

  17. 50 CFR 216.219 - Renewal and modifications of Letters of Authorization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE MARINE MAMMALS REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE TAKING AND IMPORTING OF MARINE MAMMALS Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to Explosive Severance.... Gulf of Mexico § 216.219 Renewal and modifications of Letters of Authorization. (a) A Letter of...

  18. Letter: Meyerhofer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mackinnon, A.J.

    2011-01-01

    This letter confirms that the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) was an important part of the FY10 NIF Polar Drive Exploding Pusher experiments on the National Ignition Facility (NIF). These experiments were designed by LLE to produce requested neutron yields to calibrate and qualify nuclear diagnostics. LLE built a deuterium-tritium filling system for the glass shells and provided them to LLNL for mounting. In FY10, four exploding pusher implosions were performed with measured neutron yields within a factor of two of requested and ion temperatures within 20% of requested. These implosions are proving to be an ideal platform for commissioning the nuclear diagnostic suite on the NIF and are achieving all of the objectives planned for this campaign.

  19. SiD Letter of Intent

    CERN Document Server

    Aihara, H.; Oreglia, M.; Berger, E.L.; Guarino, V.; Repond, J.; Weerts, H.; Xia, L.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, Q.; Srivastava, A.; Butler, J.M.; Goldstein, Joel; Velthuis, J.; Radeka, V.; Zhu, R.-Y.; Lutz, P.; de Roeck, A.; Elsener, K.; Gaddi, A.; Gerwig, H.; Grefe, C.; Klempt, W.; Linssen, L.; Schlatter, D.; Speckmayer, P.; Thom, J.; Yang, J.; Christian, D.C.; Cihangir, S.; Cooper, W.E.; Demarteau, M.; Fisk, H.E.; Garren, L.A.; Krempetz, K.; Kutschke, R.K.; Lipton, R.; Para, A.; Tschirhart, R.; Wenzel, H.; Yarema, R.; Grunewald, M.; Pankov, A.; U., Gomel State Tech.; Dutta, T.; Dauncey, P.D.; Balbuena, J.P.; Fleta, C.; Lozano, M.; Ullan, M.; Christian, G.B.; Faus-Golfe, A.; Fuster, J.; Lacasta, C.; Marinnas, C.; Vos, M.; Duarte, J.; Fernandez, M.; Gonzalez, J.; Jaramillo, R.; Lopez, Virto A.; Martinez-Eivero, C.; Moya, D.; Ruiz-Mimeno, A.; Vila, I.; Colledani, C.; Dorokhov, A.; Hu-Guo, C.; Winter, M.; Moortgat-Pick, G.; Onoprienko, D.V.; Kim, G.N.; Park, H.; Adloff, C.; Blaha, J.; Blaising, J.-J.; Cap, S.; Chefdeville, M.; Drancourt, C.; Espargiliare, A.; Gaglione, R.; Geffroy, N.; Jacquemier, J.; Karyotakis, Y.; Prast, J.; Vouters, G.; Gronberg, J.; Walston, S.; Wright, D.; Sawyer, L.; Laloum, M.; Ciobanu, C.; Chauveau, J.; Savoy-Navarro, A.; Andricek, L.; Moser, H.-G.; Cowan, R.f.; Fisher, P.; Yamamoto, R.K.; Kenney, ClMl; Boos, E.E.; Merkin, M.; Chen, S.; Chakraborty, D.; Dyshkant, A.; Hedin, D.; Zutshi, V.; Galkin, V.; D'Ascenzo, N.; Ossetski, D.; Saveliev, V.; Kapusta, F.; De Masi, R.; Vrba, V.; Lu, C.; McDonald, K.T.; Smith, A.J.S.; Bortoletto, D.; Coath, R.; Crooks, J.; Damerell, C.; Gibson, M.; Nichols, A.; Stanitzki, M.; Strube, J.; Turchetta, R.; Tyndel, M.; Weber, M.; Worm, S.; Zhang, Z.; Barklow, T.L.; Belymam, A.; Breidenbach, M.; Cassell, R.; Craddock, W.; Deaconu, C.; Dragone, A.; Graf, N.A.; Haller, G.; Herbst, R.; Hewett, J.L.; Jaros, J.A.; Johnson, A.S.; Kim, P.C.; MacFarlane, D.B.; Markiewicz, T.; Maruyama, T.; McCormick, J.; Moffeit, K.; Neal, H.A.; Nelson, T.K.; Oriunno, M.; Partridge, R.; Peskin, M.E.; Rizzo, T.G.; Rowson, P.; Su, D.; Woods, M.; Chakrabarti, S.; Dieguez, A.; Garrido, Ll.; Kaminski, J.; Conway, J.S.; Chertok, M.; Gunion, J.; Holbrook, B.; Lander, R.L.; Tripathi, S.M.; Fadeyev, V.; Schumm, B.A.; Oreglia, M.; Gill, J.; Nauenberg, U.; Oleinik, G.; Wagner, S.R.; Ranjan, K.; Shivpuri, R.; Varner, G.S.; Orava, R.; Van Kooten, R.; Bilki, B.; Charles, M.; Kim, T.J.; Mallik, U.; Norbeck, E.; Onel, Y.; Brau, B.P.; Willocq, S.; Taylor, G.N.; Riles, Keith; Yang, H.-J.; Kriske, R.; Cremaldi, L.; Rahmat, R.; Lastovicka-Medin, G.; Seidel, S.; Hildreth, M.D.; Wayne, M.; Brau, J.E.; Frey, R.; Sinev, N.; Strom, D.M.; Torrence, E.; Banda, Y.; Burrows, P.N.; Devetak, E.; Foster, B.; Lastovicka, T.; Li, Y.-M.; Nomerotski, A.; Riera-Babures, J.; Vilasis-Cardona, X.; Manly, S.; Adeva, B.; Iglesias Escudero, C.; Vazquez Regueiro, P.; Saborido Silva, J.J.; Gallas Torreira, A.; Gao, D.; Jie, W.; Jungfeng, Y.; Li, C.; Liu, S.; Liu, Y.; Sun, Y.; Wang, Q.; Yi, J.; Yonggang, W.; Zhao, Z.; De, K.; Farbin, A.; Park, S.; Smith, J.; White, A.P.; Yu, J.; Lou, X.C.; Abe, T.; Iwasaki, M.; Lubatti, H.J.; Band, H.R.; Feyzi, F.; Prepost, R.; Karchin, P.E.; Milstene, C.; Baltay, C.; Dhawan, S.; Kwon, Y.-J.

    2009-01-01

    Letter of intent describing SiD (Silicon Detector) for consideration by the International Linear Collider IDAG panel. This detector concept is founded on the use of silicon detectors for vertexing, tracking, and electromagnetic calorimetry. The detector has been cost-optimized as a general-purpose detector for a 500 GeV electron-positron linear collider.

  20. The development of an automatic sample-changer and control instrumentation for isotope-source neutron-activation analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andeweg, A.H.; Watterson, J.I.W.

    1983-01-01

    An automatic sample-changer was developed at the Council for Mineral Technology for use in isotope-source neutron-activation analysis. Tests show that the sample-changer can transfer a sample of up to 3 kg in mass over a distance of 3 m within 5 s. In addition, instrumentation in the form of a three-stage sequential timer was developed to control the sequence of irradiation transfer and analysis

  1. ERP Indices of Stimulus Prediction in Letter Sequences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edith Kaan

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Given the current focus on anticipation in perception, action and cognition, including language processing, there is a need for a method to tap into predictive processing in situations in which cue and feedback stimuli are not explicitly marked as such. To this aim, event related potentials (ERPs were obtained while participants viewed alphabetic letter sequences (“A”, “B”, “C”, “D”, “E”, …, in which the letters were highly predictable, and random sequences (“S”, “B”, “A”, “I”, “F”, “M”, …, without feedback. Occasionally, the presentation of a letter in a sequence was delayed by 300 ms. During this delay period, an increased negativity was observed for predictive versus random sequences. In addition, the early positivity following the delay was larger for predictive compared with random sequences. These results suggest that expectation-sensitive ERP modulations can be elicited in anticipation of stimuli that are not explicit targets, rewards, feedback or instructions, and that a delay can strengthen the prediction for a particular stimulus. Applications to language processing will be discussed.

  2. Measuring Young Children's Alphabet Knowledge: Development and Validation of Brief Letter-Sound Knowledge Assessments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piasta, Shayne B.; Phillips, Beth M.; Williams, Jeffrey M.; Bowles, Ryan P.; Anthony, Jason L.

    2016-01-01

    Early childhood teachers are increasingly encouraged to support children's development of letter-sound abilities. Assessment of letter-sound knowledge is key in planning for effective instruction, yet the letter-sound knowledge assessments currently available and suitable for preschool-age children demonstrate significant limitations. The purpose…

  3. Application of semi-active RFID power meter in automatic verification pipeline and intelligent storage system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Xiangqun; Huang, Rui; Shen, Liman; chen, Hao; Xiong, Dezhi; Xiao, Xiangqi; Liu, Mouhai; Xu, Renheng

    2018-03-01

    In this paper, the semi-active RFID watt-hour meter is applied to automatic test lines and intelligent warehouse management, from the transmission system, test system and auxiliary system, monitoring system, realize the scheduling of watt-hour meter, binding, control and data exchange, and other functions, make its more accurate positioning, high efficiency of management, update the data quickly, all the information at a glance. Effectively improve the quality, efficiency and automation of verification, and realize more efficient data management and warehouse management.

  4. Sense-Making and Map-Making: War Letters as Personal Geographies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christina Knopf

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Structured in three parts, this article will briefly review David Herman’s idea of “spatial reference” in narrative, particularly in epistolary form, and explain the research method used in this project; introduce military geographies and demonstrate how various spatial references function in war letters; and, lastly, illustrate the value of war letters as spatial artifacts and subjective cartography.

  5. A Novel Handwritten Letter Recognizer Using Enhanced Evolutionary Neural Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahmoudi, Fariborz; Mirzashaeri, Mohsen; Shahamatnia, Ehsan; Faridnia, Saed

    This paper introduces a novel design for handwritten letter recognition by employing a hybrid back-propagation neural network with an enhanced evolutionary algorithm. Feeding the neural network consists of a new approach which is invariant to translation, rotation, and scaling of input letters. Evolutionary algorithm is used for the global search of the search space and the back-propagation algorithm is used for the local search. The results have been computed by implementing this approach for recognizing 26 English capital letters in the handwritings of different people. The computational results show that the neural network reaches very satisfying results with relatively scarce input data and a promising performance improvement in convergence of the hybrid evolutionary back-propagation algorithms is exhibited.

  6. Some Influences of Greek and Roman Rhetoric on Early Letter Writing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hildebrandt, Herbert W.

    1988-01-01

    Describes how letter writing, especially business letters, was influenced by Greek and Roman oral rhetoricians. Discusses three precepts of oral rhetoric--inventio, dispositio, and style--and notes that the classical theories' reflection in written communication can be seen in selected Italian, German, and English epistolographic works. (MM)

  7. Automatic and Deliberate Affective Associations with Sexual Stimuli in Women with Superficial Dyspareunia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brauer, Marieke; de Jong, Peter J.; Huijding, Jorg; Laan, Ellen; ter Kuile, Moniek M.

    Current views suggest that in women with superficial dyspareunia the prospect of penile-vaginal intercourse automatically activates fear-related associations. The automatic activation of negative associations is assumed to interfere with the development of sexual arousal. In turn, this may further

  8. Philosophical Intelligence: Letters, Print, and Experiment during Napoleon's Continental Blockade.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watts, Iain P

    2015-12-01

    This essay investigates scientific exchanges between Britain and France from 1806 to 1814, at the height of the Napoleonic Wars. It argues for a picture of scientific communication that sees letters and printed texts not as separate media worlds, but as interconnected bearers of time-critical information within a single system of intelligence gathering and experimental practice. During this period, Napoleon Bonaparte's Continental System blockade severed most links between Britain and continental Europe, yet scientific communications continued--particularly on electrochemistry, a subject of fierce rivalry between Britain and France. The essay traces these exchanges using the archive of a key go-between, the English man of science Sir Charles Blagden. The first two sections look at Blagden's letter-writing operation, reconstructing how he harnessed connections with neutral American diplomats, merchants, and the State to get scientific intelligence between London and Paris. The third section, following Blagden's words from Britain to France to America, looks at how information in letters cross-fertilized with information in print. The final section considers how letters and print were used together to solve the difficult practical problem of replicating experiments across the blockade.

  9. Automatic video surveillance of outdoor scenes using track before detect

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Morten; Sørensen, Helge Bjarup Dissing; Birkemark, Christian M.

    2005-01-01

    This paper concerns automatic video surveillance of outdoor scenes using a single camera. The first step in automatic interpretation of the video stream is activity detection based on background subtraction. Usually, this process will generate a large number of false alarms in outdoor scenes due...

  10. Politeness Strategies in Good-news Business Letters

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    毕争; 李纳

    2008-01-01

    This paper analyzes the presentation of politeness in good-news business letters at the lexical,syntactic,and discourse levels based on Leech's Politeness Principle and Brown and Levinson's Face-saving Theory.

  11. Development of motion-defined figure-ground segregation in preschool and older children, using a letter-identification task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giaschi, D; Regan, D

    1997-09-01

    Three-month-old infants can discriminate motion-defined (MD) form, but we do not know the age at which this ability reaches adult levels. Previous psychophysical evidence suggests that different neural mechanisms are involved in the processing of luminance-defined (LD) and MD spatial form in adults. This difference may be reflected in the development of LD versus MD form identification in children. We measured speed threshold for identifying MD letters, letter-chart (i.e, Snellen) acuity for high-contrast LD letters and single-letter acuity for high- and low-contrast LD letters. Forty-seven children between 3 and 12 years of age and 20 adult subjects were tested. Development to the adult level was observed as follows: low-contrast single-letter acuity before 3 years; high-contrast single-letter acuity by 5 to 6 years; the ability to identify MD letters by 7 to 8 years; letter-chart acuity by 9 to 10 years. MD form identification continues to mature in preschool children. LD form identification also matures in this age group but with a different time course. MD letters are not equivalent to low-contrast letters developmentally. Our findings provide further support for the hypothesis that the spatial aspects of MD and LD form are processed separately to some extent.

  12. 'Becquerel screening' device to automatically measure activity level of contaminated soil in flexible containers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Okada, Hisashi; Yamaguchi, Yoshihisa; Yamamoto, Shuji

    2014-01-01

    Contaminated soil and incineration ash collected during offsite decontamination work following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station of Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc. is being stored in flexible containers. These containers are managed taking their activity level into account in accordance with the Decontamination Guidelines issued by the Ministry of the Environment. Toshiba has developed the 'Becquerel Screening' device that can automatically measure the activity level of the contents of each flexible container simply by placing the container on a palette, without the need to take samples for analysis from the container. The Becquerel Screening device is expected to contribute not only to improved operational efficiency but also to reduced exposure of operators to radiation, because it eliminates the need for direct contact with contaminated soil and ash. (author)

  13. Y2K affiliation, immediate pedestrian density, and helping responses to lost letters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bridges, F S; Thompson, P C

    2001-06-01

    Of 75 letters "lost" in Florida, 41 were returned in the mail (the helpful response). Immediate pedestrian density was significantly related to nonhelping responses. The greater the number of subjects passing by a lost letter, the less likely any one of them would respond to it. The rates of return did vary with the addressees' affiliations. Returned responses for the affiliates, Y2K Arkbuilders and the Believers of God's Judgement Against Homosexuals: Y2K Millennium Bug, were substantially lower than for the affiliate, Y2K Computer Repair & Programming, Inc. Returns for the Believers of God's Judgement Against Homosexuals: Y2K Millennium Bug affiliate were significantly lower than for the Y2K Arkbuilders affiliate. Variables such as sex, race, and estimated age of subjects were not associated with helping to return a lost letter. The rate of return of lost letters is not the only important measure to be examined in studies using lost letters.

  14. Letters from a Nightingale nurse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denny, E

    1996-01-01

    Mary Cadbury was one of six daughters in a wealthy Birmingham family, all of whom took up professional or unpaid philanthropic work. In 1873 Mary began nurse training at the Nightingale School, St Thomas's Hospital, and regularly sent letters to family and friends, which provide a graphic account of the experience of a nurse in the latter half of the nineteenth century.

  15. Magnocellular involvement in flanked-letter identification relates to the allocation of attention

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Omtzigt, D.; Hendriks, A.W.C.J.

    2004-01-01

    To verify the hypothesis that the magnocellular system is important to flanked-letter identification [Neuropsychologia 40 (2002) 1881] because it subserves attention allocation, we conducted three letter-naming experiments in which we manipulated magnocellular involvement (colour vs. luminance

  16. Samuel Hartlib on the death of Descartes: a rediscovered letter to Henry More

    Science.gov (United States)

    Penman, Leigh T. I.

    2015-01-01

    This paper discloses the content of a previously overlooked epistle by the Anglo-Prussian intelligencer Samuel Hartlib to Henry More concerning the death of René Descartes. After a discussion situating the letter within the sequence of the More–Hartlib correspondence, an analysis of the rhetorical structure of the epistle is offered, followed by a brief assessment of Hartlib's attitude towards Descartes, and the identification of his source concerning the news of the philosopher's death. An account of the transmission of the letter via a nineteenth-century periodical is also provided. The text of Hartlib's letter and an overlooked passage of Hartlib's diary concerning Descartes's death, which draws on the content of the More letter, are presented as appendixes.

  17. Re-Audit of the Contents of GP Referral letters to General Adult Community Psychiatrists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Odelola, Catherine; Jabbar, Farid

    2017-09-01

    The quality of information provided by referring general practitioners to secondary care mental health services are crucial elements in the effective management of patients. In order to establish effective communication, both primary and secondary care health professionals should contribute to planning and organising this process taking into account their different opinions and views. Anonymous questionnaire was designed to collect information on items that GPs and psychiatrist rated as most important items in GP referral letters to psychiatrists. The questionnaires were sent out electronically. Each item was scored using a rating scale where 0 was least important and 10 was most important. Items that scored 8 and above were agreed by all as the most important items. 76 GP letters were audited using a devised checklist of the identified most important items. Data was collected and analysed using a devised data collection tool. A re-audit was done 6months later. A response rate of 70% was obtained for both psychiatrists and GPs. Reasons for referral were described in almost all GP referral letters (95%). Only 24% referral letters had details about current physical health which improved to 59%. Concerns about risk were described in only 47% of letters and treatment provided by GP in 50% of letters. These improved in 79% and 71% of letters respectively in the re-audit. The involvement of professionals in devising a standardised approach for referral letters has improved communication in this re-audit between GPs and Psychiatrists. This is evident in the improvement in key aspects of the referral letters: past medical history, past psychiatric history, current physical health, treatment provided by GP. Efficient communication between GPs and psychiatrists improves the quality of health care for patients.

  18. 42 CFR 93.202 - Charge letter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Charge letter. 93.202 Section 93.202 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HEALTH ASSESSMENTS AND HEALTH EFFECTS STUDIES OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES RELEASES AND FACILITIES PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE POLICIES ON RESEARCH...

  19. Letter-case information and the identification of brand names.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perea, Manuel; Jiménez, María; Talero, Fernanda; López-Cañada, Soraya

    2015-02-01

    A central tenet of most current models of visual-word recognition is that lexical units are activated on the basis of case-invariant abstract letter representations. Here, we examined this assumption by using a unique type of words: brand names. The rationale of the experiments is that brand names are archetypically printed either in lowercase (e.g., adidas) or uppercase (e.g., IKEA). This allows us to present the brand names in their standard or non-standard case configuration (e.g., adidas, IKEA vs. ADIDAS, ikea, respectively). We conducted two experiments with a brand-decision task ('is it a brand name?'): a single-presentation experiment and a masked priming experiment. Results in the single-presentation experiment revealed faster identification times of brand names in their standard case configuration than in their non-standard case configuration (i.e., adidas faster than ADIDAS; IKEA faster than ikea). In the masked priming experiment, we found faster identification times of brand names when they were preceded by an identity prime that matched its standard case configuration than when it did not (i.e., faster response times to adidas-adidas than to ADIDAS-adidas). Taken together, the present findings strongly suggest that letter-case information forms part of a brand name's graphemic information, thus posing some limits to current models of visual-word recognition. © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

  20. Particles and nuclei, letters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2000-01-01

    The present collection of letters from JINR, Dubna, contains six separate records on the DELPHI experiment at LEP, the Fermi-surface dynamics of rotating nuclei, production of large samples of the silica dioxide aerogel in the 37-litre autoclave and test of its optical properties, preliminary radiation resource results on scintillating fibers, a new algorithm for the direct transformation method of time to digital with the high time resolution and development and design of analogue read-out electronics for HADES drift chamber system

  1. Michael Maier--nine newly discovered letters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lenke, Nils; Roudet, Nicolas; Tilton, Hereward

    2014-02-01

    The authors provide a transcription, translation, and evaluation of nine newly discovered letters from the alchemist Michael Maier (1568-1622) to Gebhardt Johann von Alvensleben (1576-1631), a noble landholder in the vicinity of Magdeburg. Stemming from the final year of his life, this correspondence casts new light on Maier's biography, detailing his efforts to secure patronage amid the financial crisis of the early Thirty Years' War. While his ill-fated quest to perfect potable gold continued to form the central focus of his patronage suits, Maier also offered his services in several arts that he had condemned in his printed works, namely astrology and "supernatural" magic. Remarks concerning his previously unknown acquaintance with Heinrich Khunrath call for a re-evaluation of Maier's negotiation of the discursive boundaries between Lutheran orthodoxy and Paracelsianism. The letters also reveal Maier's substantial contribution to a work previously ascribed solely to the English alchemist Francis Anthony.

  2. Preventing SQL Injection through Automatic Query Sanitization with ASSIST

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raymond Mui

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Web applications are becoming an essential part of our everyday lives. Many of our activities are dependent on the functionality and security of these applications. As the scale of these applications grows, injection vulnerabilities such as SQL injection are major security challenges for developers today. This paper presents the technique of automatic query sanitization to automatically remove SQL injection vulnerabilities in code. In our technique, a combination of static analysis and program transformation are used to automatically instrument web applications with sanitization code. We have implemented this technique in a tool named ASSIST (Automatic and Static SQL Injection Sanitization Tool for protecting Java-based web applications. Our experimental evaluation showed that our technique is effective against SQL injection vulnerabilities and has a low overhead.

  3. Justification and authority in institutional review board decision letters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clapp, Justin T; Gleason, Katharine A; Joffe, Steven

    2017-12-01

    While ethnographic study has described the discussions that occur during human subjects research ethics review, investigators have minimal access to the interactions of ethics oversight committees. They instead receive letters stipulating changes to their proposed studies. Ethics committee letters are central to the practice of research ethics: they change the nature of research, alter the knowledge it produces, and in doing so construct what ethical research is and how it is pursued. However, these letters have rarely been objects of analysis. Accordingly, we conducted a qualitative analysis of letters written by American institutional review boards (IRBs) overseeing biomedical and health behavioral research. We sought to clarify how IRBs exercise their authority by assessing the frequency with which they provided reasons for their stipulations as well as the nature of these reasons. We found that IRBs frequently do not justify their stipulations; rather, they often leave ethical or regulatory concerns implicit or frame their comments as boilerplate language replacements, procedural instructions, or demands for missing information. When they do provide justifications, their rationales exhibit substantial variability in explicitness and clarity. These rhetorical tendencies indicate that the authority of IRBs is grounded primarily in their role as bureaucratic gatekeepers. We conclude by suggesting that greater attention to justification could help shift the basis of the IRB-researcher relationship from compliance to mutual accountability. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  4. A full automatic system controlled with IBM-PC/XT micro-computer for neutron activation analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Song Quanxun

    1992-01-01

    A full automatic system controlled with micro-computers for NAA is described. All processes are automatically completed with an IBM-PC/XT micro-computer. The device is stable, reliable, flexible and convenient for use and has many functions and applications in automatical analysis of long, middle and short lived nuclides. Due to a high working efficiency of the instrument and micro-computers, both time and power can be saved. This method can be applied in other nuclear analysis techniques

  5. Suggestopaedia-Canada. Information Letter, No. 4.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Racle, Gabriel

    This issue of the information letter consists of two articles, "Music Therapy" and "Research and Applications of Psychomusical Techniques"; a review of the book, "La musicotherapie et les methods nouvelles d'association des techniques" by Guilhot and Cecourt, and a bibliography of books on music therapy written in…

  6. Automatic differentiation bibliography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Corliss, G.F. [comp.

    1992-07-01

    This is a bibliography of work related to automatic differentiation. Automatic differentiation is a technique for the fast, accurate propagation of derivative values using the chain rule. It is neither symbolic nor numeric. Automatic differentiation is a fundamental tool for scientific computation, with applications in optimization, nonlinear equations, nonlinear least squares approximation, stiff ordinary differential equation, partial differential equations, continuation methods, and sensitivity analysis. This report is an updated version of the bibliography which originally appeared in Automatic Differentiation of Algorithms: Theory, Implementation, and Application.

  7. RISK DECREASE PROBLEM WITH MAKING ERRORS IN ACTIVITY OF OPERATORS DEALING WITH AUTOMATIC CONTROL SYSTEMS OF GAS-DISTRIBUTION STATIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. V. Egorov

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper contains an analysis of specific features pertaining to the activity of operators dealing with automatic control systems of gas-distribution stations. The professional operator’s activity is presented in the form of the developed data model. Possible conceptual approaches to the research are analyzed in the paper. The paper describes an author’s approach to studying a risk decrease problem in the activity of operators on the basis of the analytical research results. Technology for obtaining  research results is cited in the paper. 

  8. [Letters to the editor published in Peruvian biomedical journals indexed in SciELO-Peru 2006-2013].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montenegro-Idrogo, Juan José; Mejía-Dolores, Jhon William; Chalco-Huamán, Joel L

    2015-01-01

    This bibliometric study describes the characteristics of letters to the editor published between 2006-2013 in biomedical journals indexed in SciELO-Peru.253 letters (10.3% of total publications) were collected. Most letters (139) were in the Peruvian Journal of Experimental Medicine and Public Health, with marked increase throughout those years. 25% of letters submitted included medical student participation. 14% of authors presented with international affiliations and 27% with endogenous affiliation - common in university journals (Anales de la Facultad de Medicina, Revista Médica Herediana).The usual criteria justifying the publication of letters were: opinion of medical fact or public domain (35.6%) and discussion of results, methodological flaws or interpretation (22.9%). In biomedical journals indexed in SciELO Peru the letters to the editor comprise a percentage of publications that has increased in recent years, with low publication of letters of findings or primary data, compared with opinion or criticism.

  9. Automatic interpretation and writing report of the adult waking electroencephalogram.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shibasaki, Hiroshi; Nakamura, Masatoshi; Sugi, Takenao; Nishida, Shigeto; Nagamine, Takashi; Ikeda, Akio

    2014-06-01

    Automatic interpretation of the EEG has so far been faced with significant difficulties because of a large amount of spatial as well as temporal information contained in the EEG, continuous fluctuation of the background activity depending on changes in the subject's vigilance and attention level, the occurrence of paroxysmal activities such as spikes and spike-and-slow-waves, contamination of the EEG with a variety of artefacts and the use of different recording electrodes and montages. Therefore, previous attempts of automatic EEG interpretation have been focussed only on a specific EEG feature such as paroxysmal abnormalities, delta waves, sleep stages and artefact detection. As a result of a long-standing cooperation between clinical neurophysiologists and system engineers, we report for the first time on a comprehensive, computer-assisted, automatic interpretation of the adult waking EEG. This system analyses the background activity, intermittent abnormalities, artefacts and the level of vigilance and attention of the subject, and automatically presents its report in written form. Besides, it also detects paroxysmal abnormalities and evaluates the effects of intermittent photic stimulation and hyperventilation on the EEG. This system of automatic EEG interpretation was formed by adopting the strategy that the qualified EEGers employ for the systematic visual inspection. This system can be used as a supplementary tool for the EEGer's visual inspection, and for educating EEG trainees and EEG technicians. Copyright © 2014 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Robot-assisted automatic ultrasound calibration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aalamifar, Fereshteh; Cheng, Alexis; Kim, Younsu; Hu, Xiao; Zhang, Haichong K; Guo, Xiaoyu; Boctor, Emad M

    2016-10-01

    Ultrasound (US) calibration is the process of determining the unknown transformation from a coordinate frame such as the robot's tooltip to the US image frame and is a necessary task for any robotic or tracked US system. US calibration requires submillimeter-range accuracy for most applications, but it is a time-consuming and repetitive task. We provide a new framework for automatic US calibration with robot assistance and without the need for temporal calibration. US calibration based on active echo (AE) phantom was previously proposed, and its superiority over conventional cross-wire phantom-based calibration was shown. In this work, we use AE to guide the robotic arm motion through the process of data collection; we combine the capability of the AE point to localize itself in the frame of the US image with the automatic motion of the robotic arm to provide a framework for calibrating the arm to the US image automatically. We demonstrated the efficacy of the automated method compared to the manual method through experiments. To highlight the necessity of frequent ultrasound calibration, it is demonstrated that the calibration precision changed from 1.67 to 3.20 mm if the data collection is not repeated after a dismounting/mounting of the probe holder. In a large data set experiment, similar reconstruction precision of automatic and manual data collection was observed, while the time was reduced by 58 %. In addition, we compared ten automatic calibrations with ten manual ones, each performed in 15 min, and showed that all the automatic ones could converge in the case of setting the initial matrix as identity, while this was not achieved by manual data sets. Given the same initial matrix, the repeatability of the automatic was [0.46, 0.34, 0.80, 0.47] versus [0.42, 0.51, 0.98, 1.15] mm in the manual case for the US image four corners. The submillimeter accuracy requirement of US calibration makes frequent data collections unavoidable. We proposed an automated

  11. Bayesian Action–Perception Computational Model: Interaction of Production and Recognition of Cursive Letters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilet, Estelle; Diard, Julien; Bessière, Pierre

    2011-01-01

    In this paper, we study the collaboration of perception and action representations involved in cursive letter recognition and production. We propose a mathematical formulation for the whole perception–action loop, based on probabilistic modeling and Bayesian inference, which we call the Bayesian Action–Perception (BAP) model. Being a model of both perception and action processes, the purpose of this model is to study the interaction of these processes. More precisely, the model includes a feedback loop from motor production, which implements an internal simulation of movement. Motor knowledge can therefore be involved during perception tasks. In this paper, we formally define the BAP model and show how it solves the following six varied cognitive tasks using Bayesian inference: i) letter recognition (purely sensory), ii) writer recognition, iii) letter production (with different effectors), iv) copying of trajectories, v) copying of letters, and vi) letter recognition (with internal simulation of movements). We present computer simulations of each of these cognitive tasks, and discuss experimental predictions and theoretical developments. PMID:21674043

  12. Reply to letter to the editor

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Woelders, H.

    2006-01-01

    In response to the letter by Dr. Amir Arav I would like to mention the following. The application of the principle of directional solidification to cryopreservation of living cells was, as far as I am aware, not the invention of Dr. Arav. It was first published and patented by Rubinsky (Berkeley,

  13. 31 CFR 500.406 - Drafts under irrevocable letters of credit; documentary drafts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Drafts under irrevocable letters of credit; documentary drafts. 500.406 Section 500.406 Money and Finance: Treasury Regulations Relating to... ASSETS CONTROL REGULATIONS Interpretations § 500.406 Drafts under irrevocable letters of credit...

  14. 31 CFR 515.406 - Drafts under irrevocable letters of credit; documentary drafts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Drafts under irrevocable letters of credit; documentary drafts. 515.406 Section 515.406 Money and Finance: Treasury Regulations Relating to... CONTROL REGULATIONS Interpretations § 515.406 Drafts under irrevocable letters of credit; documentary...

  15. Why doctors do not answer referral letters

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Referral letters act as permission slips to allow patients easy access to ... Methods: A qualitative study method was used, as the purpose of this study was to .... The total list of topics ..... Research design: qualitative and quantitative approaches.

  16. When abuse primes addiction - automatic activation of alcohol concepts by child maltreatment related cues in emotionally abused alcoholics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Potthast, Nadine; Neuner, Frank; Catani, Claudia

    2015-09-01

    Recent research indicates that there is a link between emotional maltreatment and alcohol dependence (AD), but the underlying mechanisms still need to be clarified. There is reason to assume that maltreatment related cues automatically activate an associative memory network comprising cues eliciting craving as well as alcohol-related responses. The current study aimed to examine this network in AD patients who experienced emotional abuse using a priming paradigm. A specific priming effect in emotionally abused AD subjects was hypothesized for maltreatment related words that preceded alcohol related words. 49 AD subjects (n=14 with emotional abuse vs. n=35 without emotional abuse) and 34 control subjects performed a priming task with maltreatment related and neutral prime words combined with alcohol related and neutral target words. Maltreatment related words consisted of socially and physically threatening words. As hypothesized, a specific priming effect for socially threatening and physically threatening cues was found only in AD subjects with emotional abuse. The present data are the first to provide evidence that child maltreatment related cues automatically activate an associative memory network in alcoholics with emotional abuse experiences. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Classification of the Correct Quranic Letters Pronunciation of Male and Female Reciters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khairuddin, Safiah; Ahmad, Salmiah; Embong, Abdul Halim; Nur Wahidah Nik Hashim, Nik; Altamas, Tareq M. K.; Nuratikah Syd Badaruddin, Syarifah; Shahbudin Hassan, Surul

    2017-11-01

    Recitation of the Holy Quran with the correct Tajweed is essential for every Muslim. Islam has encouraged Quranic education since early age as the recitation of the Quran correctly will represent the correct meaning of the words of Allah. It is important to recite the Quranic verses according to its characteristics (sifaat) and from its point of articulations (makhraj). This paper presents the identification and classification analysis of Quranic letters pronunciation for both male and female reciters, to obtain the unique representation of each letter by male as compared to female expert reciters. Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) was used as the classifier to classify the data with Formants and Power Spectral Density (PSD) as the acoustic features. The result shows that linear classifier of PSD with band 1 and band 2 power spectral combinations gives a high percentage of classification accuracy for most of the Quranic letters. It is also shown that the pronunciation by male reciters gives better result in the classification of the Quranic letters.

  18. 46 CFR 28.60 - Exemption letter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... VESSELS General Provisions § 28.60 Exemption letter. (a) Types of exemptions. (1) Specific exemption means... for an exemption of either type must be in writing, have specific reasons for the request, and be sent... vessel to which any exemption applies. (e) Right of appeal. Any person directly affected by a decision or...

  19. Decoding English Alphabet Letters Using EEG Phase Information

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    YiYan Wang

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Increasing evidence indicates that the phase pattern and power of the low frequency oscillations of brain electroencephalograms (EEG contain significant information during the human cognition of sensory signals such as auditory and visual stimuli. Here, we investigate whether and how the letters of the alphabet can be directly decoded from EEG phase and power data. In addition, we investigate how different band oscillations contribute to the classification and determine the critical time periods. An English letter recognition task was assigned, and statistical analyses were conducted to decode the EEG signal corresponding to each letter visualized on a computer screen. We applied support vector machine (SVM with gradient descent method to learn the potential features for classification. It was observed that the EEG phase signals have a higher decoding accuracy than the oscillation power information. Low-frequency theta and alpha oscillations have phase information with higher accuracy than do other bands. The decoding performance was best when the analysis period began from 180 to 380 ms after stimulus presentation, especially in the lateral occipital and posterior temporal scalp regions (PO7 and PO8. These results may provide a new approach for brain-computer interface techniques (BCI and may deepen our understanding of EEG oscillations in cognition.

  20. Particles and nuclei, letters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-01-01

    The present collection of letters from JINR, Dubna, contains seven separate records on physics from extra dimensions, new physics in the new millennium with GENIUS: double beta decay, dark matter, solar neutrinos, the (μ - , e + ) conversion in nuclei mediated by light Majorana neutrinos, exotic muon-to-positron conversion in nuclei: partial transition sum evaluation by using shell model, solar neutrino problem accounting for self consistent magnetohydrodynamics solution for solar magnetic fields, first neutrino observations from the Sudbury neutrino observatory and status report on BOREXINO and results of the muon-background measurements at CERN

  1. Particles and nuclei, letters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2002-01-01

    The present collection of letters from JINR, Dubna, contains seven separate records on kinematic separation and mass analysis of heavy recoiling nuclei, dynamical effects prior to heavy ion fusion, VACTIV-DELPHI graphical dialog based program for the analysis of gamma-ray spectra, irradiation of nuclear emulsions in relativistic beams of 6 He and 3 H nuclei, optical and structural investigations of PLZT x/65/35 (x = 4, 8 %) ferroelectric ceramics irradiated by a high-current pulsed electron beam, the oscillating charge and first evidence for neutrinoless double beta decay

  2. Standardized letters of recommendation and successful match into otolaryngology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kimple, Adam J; McClurg, Stanley W; Del Signore, Anthony G; Tomoum, Mohamed O; Lin, Feng-Chang; Senior, Brent A

    2016-05-01

    Historically, narrative letters of recommendation have been utilized in the selection of applicants for otolaryngology residency programs. In the last two application cycles, our specialty adopted a standardized letter of recommendation (SLOR). The intent was to decrease time burden for letter writers and to provide readers with an objective evaluation of applicants. The objective of this study was to determine attributes in the SLOR that correlate with matching into a residency program. We performed a retrospective study using SLOR, United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) step 1 scores, and matched outcomes of applicants who applied to our institution for the 2013 and 2014 match cycle. We included the following variables from the SLOR in the statistical analysis to determine which ones were associated with matching: patient care, medical knowledge, communication skills, procedural skills, research, initiative and drive, commitment to otolaryngology, commitment to academic medicine, match potential, and USMLE1 scores. We identified 532 applicants and 963 SLOR. In successful applicants, scores for patient care, medical knowledge, communication skills, initiative and drive, and match potential were statistically higher (P otolaryngology, commitment to academic medicine, and USMLE step 1 scores were not higher among successfully matched applicants. Although SLOR can save time for letter writers and provide an objective description of applicants, the utility of individual domains within the SLOR is questionable. Additionally, it is concerning that applicants' professionalism and procedural skills are not correlated with matching in our specialty. NA. Laryngoscope, 126:1071-1076, 2016. © 2016 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

  3. Neural network for automatic analysis of motility data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jakobsen, Erik; Kruse-Andersen, S; Kolberg, Jens Godsk

    1994-01-01

    comparable. However, the neural network recognized pressure peaks clearly generated by muscular activity that had escaped detection by the conventional program. In conclusion, we believe that neurocomputing has potential advantages for automatic analysis of gastrointestinal motility data.......Continuous recording of intraluminal pressures for extended periods of time is currently regarded as a valuable method for detection of esophageal motor abnormalities. A subsequent automatic analysis of the resulting motility data relies on strict mathematical criteria for recognition of pressure...

  4. African Journals Online: Browse Alphabetically -- letter T

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Items 1 - 19 of 19 ... African Journals Online: Browse Alphabetically -- letter T ... and economic aspects of management and conservation of tropical flora and fauna. ... Les principaux thèmes qui y sont abordés recouvrent les axes de recherche ...

  5. Increasing Word-Reading Speed in Poor Readers: No Additional Benefits of Explicit Letter-Cluster Training

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marinus, Eva; de Jong, Peter; van der Leij, Aryan

    2012-01-01

    The present study examined whether explicit training of letter-clusters leads to more gains in word-reading speed than training of the separate letters of the same clusters. Ninety-nine poor reading second-grade children were randomly assigned to a cluster-training, a parallel letter-training, or a no-training condition. The cluster-training…

  6. The New Scarlet Letter: Student Perceptions of the Accounting Profession after Enron

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coleman, Mimi; Kreuze, Jerry; Langsam, Sheldon

    2004-01-01

    Recent scandals have tarnished the integrity of the accounting profession, marking it with a modern version of the scarlet letter "A," which represented disgrace in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter." In this study, the authors surveyed college business students on their perceptions of the accounting profession and examined how it can…

  7. Analysis and synthesis of nuclear medical letters in the field of nephrological diseases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kley, K.H.

    1979-01-01

    The task of this study consisted in providing the conditions for the automized issue of nuclear nephrological medical letters based on the nuclear medical polyclinic Marburg Selex system working for 8 years now. Part of the task was to develop the structure and coding of the medical letter content appropriately for EDP documentation, as in the Selex system all data for medical letter acquisition are simultaneously acquired on a data carrier for EDP documentation. The analysis of commonly provided medical letters also exhibited in this field the known weaknesses: especially insufficient systematics and the all-over information of interfering redundances. The work describes in detail how the required thesaurus has been worked out and structured into obligatory and optional rough and detailed components. A general form was developed for the findings of paired organs and the special form for nuclear nephrological medical letters was adapted to it. Of the auxiliaries worked out for the doctor in setting up the working instructions to operate the Selex system, scriptate leaflet, short vocabulary album; the two former are presented fully and the latter with typical examples. The result of this work can basically also be applied to other hardware. (orig.) [de

  8. Lexical semantic access and letter access are involved in different aspects of reading

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Poulsen, Mads

    ). In this subset sample, both letter access and lexical access accounted for unique variance in reading fluency. The pattern of effects for lexical access did not change by controlling for serial rapid naming (RAN). Conclusions: The results suggest that letter access and lexical access are important for different......Purpose: This study investigated the effects of lexical access speed and letter access speed on reading fluency and reading comprehension. We hypothesized that 1) letter access speed would correlate with reading fluency but not comprehension, while 2) lexical access speed would influence reading...... comprehension. For readers who are struggling with recoding, most of the reading effort is probably tied up with recoding, leaving little to be explained by lexical access. Therefore we expected that 3) lexical access speed would primarily predict reading fluency for readers who were no longer struggling...

  9. Automatic assessment of cardiac perfusion MRI

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ólafsdóttir, Hildur; Stegmann, Mikkel Bille; Larsson, Henrik B.W.

    2004-01-01

    In this paper, a method based on Active Appearance Models (AAM) is applied for automatic registration of myocardial perfusion MRI. A semi-quantitative perfusion assessment of the registered image sequences is presented. This includes the formation of perfusion maps for three parameters; maximum up...

  10. Study of EEG during Sternberg Tasks with Different Direction of Arrangement for Letters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamihoriuchi, Kenji; Nuruki, Atsuo; Matae, Tadashi; Kurono, Asutsugu; Yunokuchi, Kazutomo

    In previous study, we recorded electroencephalogram (EEG) of patients with dementia and healthy subjects during Sternberg task. But, only one presentation method of Sternberg task was considered in previous study. Therefore, we examined whether the EEG was different in two different presentation methods wrote letters horizontally and wrote letters vertically in this study. We recorded EEG of six healthy subjects during Sternberg task using two different presentation methods. The result was not different in EEG topography of all subjects. In all subjects, correct rate increased in case of vertically arranged letters.

  11. "Physical Review Letters" in the Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angiolillo, Paul J.; Lynch, Jonathan

    2010-01-01

    Ask any physicist what the preeminent journal in the field is, and I think the almost unanimous answer will be "Physical Review Letters" ("PRL"). This weekly journal of the American Physical Society publishes high-impact research from all the major subdisciplines of physics. This journal is not the one you would think is the first place a high…

  12. Suspending Damage: A Letter to Communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tuck, Eve

    2009-01-01

    In this open letter, Eve Tuck calls on communities, researchers, and educators to reconsider the long-term impact of "damage-centered" research--research that intends to document peoples' pain and brokenness to hold those in power accountable for their oppression. This kind of research operates with a flawed theory of change: it is often used to…

  13. An Analysis of English Business Letters from the Perspective of Interpersonal Function

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Bo

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of the present study is to find out the features of English business letters. Halliday's systemic functional linguistics is used as the theoretical framework, mainly, interpersonal fucntion. The English business letter (EBL) is an important written text used for international business communication and it has its own features of text.…

  14. medication history documentation in referral letters of children

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    CHILDREN PRESENTING AT THE EMERGENCY UNIT OF A TEACHING. HOSPITAL IN LAGOS ... infrequently reported in referral letters to a tertiary care hospital in Lagos,. Nigeria. .... researcher, a pharmacist and clinical pharmacologist.

  15. The influence of reading expertise in mirror-letter perception: Evidence from beginning and expert readers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duñabeitia, Jon Andoni; Dimitropoulou, María; Estévez, Adelina; Carreiras, Manuel

    2013-01-01

    The visual word recognition system recruits neuronal systems originally developed for object perception which are characterized by orientation insensitivity to mirror reversals. It has been proposed that during reading acquisition beginning readers have to “unlearn” this natural tolerance to mirror reversals in order to efficiently discriminate letters and words. Therefore, it is supposed that this unlearning process takes place in a gradual way and that reading expertise modulates mirror-letter discrimination. However, to date no supporting evidence for this has been obtained. We present data from an eye-movement study that investigated the degree of sensitivity to mirror-letters in a group of beginning readers and a group of expert readers. Participants had to decide which of the two strings presented on a screen corresponded to an auditorily presented word. Visual displays always included the correct target word and one distractor word. Results showed that those distractors that were the same as the target word except for the mirror lateralization of two internal letters attracted participants’ attention more than distractors created by replacement of two internal letters. Interestingly, the time course of the effects was found to be different for the two groups, with beginning readers showing a greater tolerance (decreased sensitivity) to mirror-letters than expert readers. Implications of these findings are discussed within the framework of preceding evidence showing how reading expertise modulates letter identification. PMID:24273596

  16. CLG for Automatic Image Segmentation

    OpenAIRE

    Christo Ananth; S.Santhana Priya; S.Manisha; T.Ezhil Jothi; M.S.Ramasubhaeswari

    2017-01-01

    This paper proposes an automatic segmentation method which effectively combines Active Contour Model, Live Wire method and Graph Cut approach (CLG). The aim of Live wire method is to provide control to the user on segmentation process during execution. Active Contour Model provides a statistical model of object shape and appearance to a new image which are built during a training phase. In the graph cut technique, each pixel is represented as a node and the distance between those nodes is rep...

  17. The Presentation of Self in Letters of Application: A Mixed-Method Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soroko, Emilia

    2012-01-01

    The application letter, as the first phase of employment-seeking, is an opportunity for a job applicant to make a favorable impression on a potential employer. In the current study, the author used a mixed-method approach to empirically explore strategies for self-presentation in job application letters and determine the methods used in the…

  18. Automatic Fiscal Stabilizers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Narcis Eduard Mitu

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Policies or institutions (built into an economic system that automatically tend to dampen economic cycle fluctuations in income, employment, etc., without direct government intervention. For example, in boom times, progressive income tax automatically reduces money supply as incomes and spendings rise. Similarly, in recessionary times, payment of unemployment benefits injects more money in the system and stimulates demand. Also called automatic stabilizers or built-in stabilizers.

  19. 12 CFR 614.4720 - Letters of credit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM LOAN POLICIES AND OPERATIONS Banks for Cooperatives and Agricultural Credit Banks Financing International Trade § 614.4720 Letters of credit. Banks for cooperatives and agricultural credit banks, under policies adopted by their boards of directors...

  20. Physics of Automatic Target Recognition

    CERN Document Server

    Sadjadi, Firooz

    2007-01-01

    Physics of Automatic Target Recognition addresses the fundamental physical bases of sensing, and information extraction in the state-of-the art automatic target recognition field. It explores both passive and active multispectral sensing, polarimetric diversity, complex signature exploitation, sensor and processing adaptation, transformation of electromagnetic and acoustic waves in their interactions with targets, background clutter, transmission media, and sensing elements. The general inverse scattering, and advanced signal processing techniques and scientific evaluation methodologies being used in this multi disciplinary field will be part of this exposition. The issues of modeling of target signatures in various spectral modalities, LADAR, IR, SAR, high resolution radar, acoustic, seismic, visible, hyperspectral, in diverse geometric aspects will be addressed. The methods for signal processing and classification will cover concepts such as sensor adaptive and artificial neural networks, time reversal filt...

  1. The influence of visual and phonological features on the hemispheric processing of hierarchical Navon letters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aiello, Marilena; Merola, Sheila; Lasaponara, Stefano; Pinto, Mario; Tomaiuolo, Francesco; Doricchi, Fabrizio

    2018-01-31

    The possibility of allocating attentional resources to the "global" shape or to the "local" details of pictorial stimuli helps visual processing. Investigations with hierarchical Navon letters, that are large "global" letters made up of small "local" ones, consistently demonstrate a right hemisphere advantage for global processing and a left hemisphere advantage for local processing. Here we investigated how the visual and phonological features of the global and local components of Navon letters influence these hemispheric advantages. In a first study in healthy participants, we contrasted the hemispheric processing of hierarchical letters with global and local items competing for response selection, to the processing of hierarchical letters in which a letter, a false-letter conveying no phonological information or a geometrical shape presented at the unattended level did not compete for response selection. In a second study, we investigated the hemispheric processing of hierarchical stimuli in which global and local letters were both visually and phonologically congruent (e.g. large uppercase G made of smaller uppercase G), visually incongruent and phonologically congruent (e.g. large uppercase G made of small lowercase g) or visually incongruent and phonologically incongruent (e.g. large uppercase G made of small lowercase or uppercase M). In a third study, we administered the same tasks to a right brain damaged patient with a lesion involving pre-striate areas engaged by global processing. The results of the first two experiments showed that the global abilities of the left hemisphere are limited because of its strong susceptibility to interference from local letters even when these are irrelevant to the task. Phonological features played a crucial role in this interference because the interference was entirely maintained also when letters at the global and local level were presented in different uppercase vs. lowercase formats. In contrast, when local features

  2. Mixture Growth Models of RAN and RAS Row by Row: Insight into the Reading System at Work over Time

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amtmann, Dagmar; Abbott, Robert D.; Berninger, V. W.

    2007-01-01

    Children (n = 122) and adults (n = 200) with dyslexia completed rapid automatic naming (RAN) letters, rapid automatic switching (RAS) letters and numbers, executive function (inhibition, verbal fluency), and phonological working memory tasks. Typically developing 3rd (n = 117) and 5th (n = 103) graders completed the RAS task. Instead of analyzing…

  3. Christmas, consumption and materialism: discourse analysis of children’s Christmas letters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Georgiana Luna Batinga

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Purpose – This article reports the results of an empirical research that sought to understand the many meanings referring to Christmas that appear in letters written by children and sent to Santa Claus. It is based on the idea that, by means of a playful activity such as writing Christmas letters, children would be able to bring up a variety of issues referring to their daily lives. Design/methodology/approach – This research, which is of interpretative nature, made use of elements belonging to discourse analysis. Discourse analysis is a theoretical and methodological field linked to Linguistics, which studies language in movement, producing meaning since it is a social practice. Findings – The results point to discursive marks that suggest traces of materialism and secularism in the narratives and stories created by children concerning Christmas. Moreover, Santa Claus is directly associated with the date and stands out as an emblematic figure in children’s imagination. Originality/value – Reporting Christmas imagery and the creation of its meanings by children can help unveil essential issues, or at least point out “clues” referring to the degree of symbolism that is present in the various social and cultural manifestations of contemporary society

  4. Particles and nuclei, letters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2002-01-01

    The present collection of letters from JINR, Dubna, contains eight separate records on the role of the complanar emission of particles in nuclear interaction for E 0 >10 16 eV detected in the stratosphere, 10 B nucleus fragment yields, nuclear teleportation (proposal for an experiment), invisible 'glue' bosons in model field theory, calculation of the ionization differential effective cross sections in fast ion-atom collisions, interactions of ultracold neutrons near surface of solids, g factors as a probe for high-spin structure of neutron-rich Dy isotopes, search for periodicities in experimental data by the autoregressive model methods

  5. Particles and nuclei, letters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2000-01-01

    The present collection of letters from JINR, Dubna, contains eight separate records on quantum field theory and symmetries in nuclear physics, multifractal analysis of AFM images of Nb thin film surfaces, the fast-acting memory for multichannel converters of time to digital, an analysis of the anomalous Cherenkov radiation obtained in the relativistic lead ion beam at CERN SPS, the problem of consistency of the thermal-spike model with experimentally determined electron temperature, ATLAS calorimeter performance for charged pion as well as on collective flow in multifragmentation induced by relativistic helium and carbon ions variation of the coulomb repulsion in multifragmentation

  6. The "One-Letter-War"

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gammeltoft, Peder

    2017-01-01

    The resolve of the naming dispute between Denmark, Norway and Sweden over the sea name Skagerrak has always been hailed as a prime example of how a naming dispute between countries over joint geographical name features should be handled and solved. This is a search into the story behind the scenes...... by the national mapping agencies. Practical Implications: Useful for institutions seeking name dispute resolution. Building on the extensive correspondence of almost fifty letters in the Danish Place-Name Commission’s journal archive, this naming dispute is shown to be of a rather different nature and resolve...

  7. 75 FR 75453 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Technical Data Letter of Explanation

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-03

    ... Request; Technical Data Letter of Explanation AGENCY: Bureau of Industry and Security. ACTION: Notice....gov . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Abstract These technical data letters of explanation will assure the Bureau of Industry and Security that U.S.-origin technical data will be exported only for...

  8. Blindness and the age of enlightenment: Diderot's letter on the blind.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Margo, Curtis E; Harman, Lynn E; Smith, Don B

    2013-01-01

    Several months after anonymously publishing an essay in 1749 with the title "Letter on the Blind for the Use of Those Who Can See," the chief editor of the French Encyclopédie was arrested and taken to the prison fortress of Vincennes just east of Paris, France. The correctly assumed author, Denis Diderot, was 35 years old and had not yet left his imprint on the Age of Enlightenment. His letter, which recounted the life of Nicolas Saunderson, a blind mathematician, was intended to advance secular empiricism and disparage the religiously tinged rationalism put forward by Rene Descartes. The letter's discussion of sensory perception in men born blind dismissed the supposed primacy of visual imagery in abstract thinking. The essay did little to resolve any philosophical controversy, but it marked a turning point in Western attitudes toward visual disability.

  9. African Journals Online: Browse Alphabetically -- letter D

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Dar Es Salaam Medical Students' Journal. The journal publishes original research, case report/case series, letter to the editor, reviews of health related issues in medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, nursing, public and allied health sciences. Furthermore the DMSJ endeavours to disseminate research findings mainly of medical ...

  10. 15 CFR 700.63 - Letters of Understanding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Letters of Understanding. 700.63 Section 700.63 Commerce and Foreign Trade Regulations Relating to Commerce and Foreign Trade (Continued) BUREAU OF INDUSTRY AND SECURITY, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE NATIONAL SECURITY INDUSTRIAL BASE REGULATIONS...

  11. Una lettera a Sylos Labini. (A letter to Sylos Labini

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Franco Modigliani

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The letter, dated 14 September 1956, starts a decade long correspondence between Franco Modigliani and Paolo Sylos Labini. Here Modigliani discusses at length a first draft of Sylos Labini’s book on oligopoly theory. Differently from Modigliani’s well known 1958 review of the book, Modigliani focuses here not mainly on the structure of oligopoly industries, but especially on the macroeconomic implications of Sylos Labini’s model. The letter is reproduced with Sylos Labini’s annotated comments on Modigliani’s remarks. JEL codes: B31, D43, E13

  12. Teaching braille letters, numerals, punctuation, and contractions to sighted individuals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Putnam, Brittany C; Tiger, Jeffrey H

    2015-01-01

    Braille-character recognition is one of the foundational skills required for teachers of braille. Prior research has evaluated computer programming for teaching braille-to-print letter relations (e.g., Scheithauer & Tiger, 2012). In the current study, we developed a program (the Visual Braille Trainer) to teach not only letters but also numerals, punctuation, symbols, and contractions; we evaluated this program with 4 sighted undergraduate participants. Exposure to this program resulted in mastery of all braille-to-print relations for each participant. © Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

  13. A letter signed: the very beginnings of Dalton's atomic theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pratt, Herbert T

    2010-11-01

    This paper explores the provenance and content of a previously unknown personal letter by John Dalton (1766-1844), which is dated 12 April 1803. It relates to a startling breakthrough in Dalton's research, which pre-dates by five months the earliest date in his laboratory notebook, namely, 6 September 1803. The author acquired the letter about thirty years ago, and now offers it to the public. He makes no attempt to explain how it contributes to--or even changes--our understanding of Dalton, but leaves that privilege to Dalton scholars.

  14. Do means-end chains exist? Experimental tests of their hierarchicity, automatic spreading activation, directionality, and self-relevance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Scholderer, Joachim; Grunert, Klaus G.

    2004-01-01

    , bidirectionality, and self-relevance. The predictions were tested in altogether six experiments, using the same basic methodology. Two sessions were held with each participant. In a pilot session, a set of conventional MEC representations was elicited from each participant using the laddering technique. From......Despite its popularity in consumer research, means-end chain (MEC) theory suffers from problems of unconfirmed validity. Theoretically, MECs can be cast as associative networks with a three-layered structure that should exhibit four properties: hierarchicity, automatic spreading activation...

  15. Letter of Polish Hetman Jan Zamoyski “About Passage of Tatars through Pokuttya in 1594”.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roman Hautala

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The present article contains the text of the letter sent by Polish hetman Jan Zamoyski to Cardinal Cinzio Aldobrandini August 12, 1594 describing the circumstances of the recent invasion of Tatar troops in Hungary. Judging by contents of the letter, Zamoyski did not hide his desire to be justified in the eyes of the Roman Curia for the ineffectiveness of his actions, which would have to prevent Tatars to invade Hungary through Ukrainian territory that was subordinated to Rzeczpospolita. Thus, this letter is interesting for two reasons. In the first place, Zamoyski’s letter contains detailed information about movement of Tartar troops to the west and stratagemme of khan Ghazi Giray, which allowed Tatars to lull Polish hetman and painlessly penetrate into Hungarian territory. On the other hand, the letter contains somewhat clumsy attempts of Zamoyski to justify his unsuccessful actions, which represent a particular interest. This article, therefore, contains the Latin text of the letter and its Russian translation as well as the preface and necessary comments to the text explaining the reasons and the very course of Tatar invasion of the Kingdom of Hungary. In addition, the authors placed facsimiles of two handwritten copies of the letter from the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan at the end of the article.

  16. 39 CFR 320.4 - Suspension for certain letters of college and university organizations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... universities to carry in their internal mail systems the letters of their bona fide student or faculty... university. Colleges and universities choosing to provide their student or faculty organizations access to their internal mail systems are responsible for assuring that only letters of bona fide student or...

  17. Referral letter with an attached structured reply form: Is it a solution for not getting replies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. P. J. C. Ramanayake

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Communication between primary care doctors and specialists/hospital doctors is vital for smooth functioning of a health care system. In many instances referral and reply letters are the sole means of communication between general practitioners and hospital doctors/specialists. Despite the obvious benefits to patient care, answers to referral letters are the exception worldwide. In Sri Lanka hand written conventional letters are used to refer patients and replies are scarce. Materials and Methods: This interventional study was designed to assess if attaching a structured reply form with the referral letter would increase the rate of replies/back-referrals. It was conducted at the Family Medicine Clinic of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya. A structured referral letter (form was designed based on guide lines and literature and it was used for referral of patients for a period of six months. Similarly a structured reply form was also designed and both the referral letter and the reply letter were printed on A4 papers side by side and these were used for the next six months for referrals. Both letters had headings and space underneath to write details pertaining to the patient. A register was maintained to document the number of referrals and replies received during both phases. Patents were asked to return the reply letters if specialists/hospital doctors obliged to reply. Results: Total of 90 patients were referred using the structured referral form during 1st phase. 80 letters (with reply form attached were issued during the next six months. Patients were referred to eight different specialties. Not a single reply during the 1 st phase and there were six 6 (7.5% replies during the 2 nd phase. Discussion: This was an attempt to improve communication between specialists/hospital doctors and primary care doctors. Even though there was some improvement it was not satisfactory. A multicenter island wide study should be

  18. A study to assess the quality of information in referral letters to the orthodontic department at Kingston Hospital, Surrey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Izadi, Maryam; Gill, Daljit S; Naini, Farhad B

    2010-04-01

    To assess the quality of information included in referral letters sent to the orthodontic department at Kingston Hospital, Surrey, UK. Referral letters sent by both general dental practitioners (GDPs) and specialist orthodontists were analysed retrospectively in order to ascertain the percentage meeting the inclusion criteria as suggested by Mossey (2006) and the British Orthodontic Society (2008) for the quality of information included in an ideal orthodontic referral letter. Thirty-five consecutive letters sent between May and September 2005 and 206 letters sent in the same period in 2008 were collected by hand and analysed against the inclusion criteria. The numbers of referral letters received from GDPs, specialist orthodontists, and others sources were also determined. Most of the referrals sent in 2005 and 2008 included 40-50% of the referral inclusion points. This was despite an almost twofold increase in the number of referral letters received from specialist orthodontic practitioners in 2008. The majority of the letters, from both GDPs and specialists, did not include details of the oral hygiene or caries status of the patient, or an indication of their motivation towards treatment. None of the referral letters included a plaque score. The main weaknesses in the quality of information provided in referral letters were that in more than 80% of the letters there was no mention of the patient's medical history and no comment on caries status, the standard of oral hygiene, patient motivation for treatment, or an Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need score. The quality of information included in referral letters sent to Kingston Hospital orthodontic department needs to be improved.

  19. Rene Descartes’ letter to abbot Mersenne. November, 20, 1629. Translation from English

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Goncharova Alina Alekseevna

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available This letter is of value for lingua-philosophical and linguistic researches. Rene Descartes’ remarks about the first proposal for the universal language are expounded in it. Descartes was considered as a pioneer in linguistic constructions due to these remarks. This letter contains philosopher’s conclusions about the universal language’s grammar and use, as well as project’s implementation obstacles.

  20. Consideration of the linguistic characteristics of letters makes the universal model of reading more universal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Kyungil; Lee, Chang H; Lee, Yoonhyoung

    2012-10-01

    We suggest that the linguistic characteristics of letters also need to be considered to fully understand how a reader processes printed words. For example, studies in Korean showed that unambiguity in the assignment of letters to their appropriate onset, vowel, or coda slot is one of the main sources of the letter-transposition effect. Indeed, the cognitive system that processes Korean is tuned to the structure of the Korean writing system.

  1. Crossmodal deficit in dyslexic children: practice affects the neural timing of letter-speech sound integration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gojko eŽarić

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available A failure to build solid letter-speech sound associations may contribute to reading impairments in developmental dyslexia. Whether this reduced neural integration of letters and speech sounds changes over time within individual children and how this relates to behavioral gains in reading skills remains unknown. In this research, we examined changes in event-related potential (ERP measures of letter-speech sound integration over a 6-month period during which 9-year-old dyslexic readers (n=17 followed a training in letter-speech sound coupling next to their regular reading curriculum. We presented the Dutch spoken vowels /a/ and /o/ as standard and deviant stimuli in one auditory and two audiovisual oddball conditions. In one audiovisual condition (AV0, the letter ‘a’ was presented simultaneously with the vowels, while in the other (AV200 it was preceding vowel onset for 200 ms. Prior to the training (T1, dyslexic readers showed the expected pattern of typical auditory mismatch responses, together with the absence of letter-speech sound effects in a late negativity (LN window. After the training (T2, our results showed earlier (and enhanced crossmodal effects in the LN window. Most interestingly, earlier LN latency at T2 was significantly related to higher behavioral accuracy in letter-speech sound coupling. On a more general level, the timing of the earlier mismatch negativity (MMN in the simultaneous condition (AV0 measured at T1, significantly related to reading fluency at both T1 and T2 as well as with reading gains. Our findings suggest that the reduced neural integration of letters and speech sounds in dyslexic children may show moderate improvement with reading instruction and training and that behavioral improvements relate especially to individual differences in the timing of this neural integration.

  2. 48 CFR 49.601-2 - Letter notice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Letter notice. 49.601-2 Section 49.601-2 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION CONTRACT MANAGEMENT... immediate complete spoilage of work-in-process having a definite commercial value, or (D) to prevent any...

  3. An Invitation to between-Session Change: The Use of Therapeutic Letters in Couples and Family Counseling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kindsvatter, Aaron; Nelson, Jill R.; Desmond, Kimberly J.

    2009-01-01

    Therapeutic letters (i.e., brief therapeutic messages that are sent to clients between counseling sessions) have been used since the days of Freud and have been shown to have beneficial therapeutic impacts. This article describes the use of therapeutic letters in couples and family counseling. The use of three types of therapeutic letter (letters…

  4. Scientific Letter: Self-inflicted bilateral orchidectomy precipitated by ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Scientific Letter: Self-inflicted bilateral orchidectomy precipitated by erotic bizarre delusions: a case report. ... African Journal of Psychiatry. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home ...

  5. 14 CFR 21.617 - Issue of letters of TSO design approval: import appliances.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ...: import appliances. 21.617 Section 21.617 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... Order Authorizations § 21.617 Issue of letters of TSO design approval: import appliances. (a) A letter of TSO design approval may be issued for an appliance that is manufactured in a foreign country with...

  6. Resource Letter MP-2: The Manhattan project and related nuclear research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reed, B. Cameron

    2011-02-01

    This Resource Letter is a supplement to my earlier Resource Letter MP-1 and provides further sources on the Manhattan Project and related nuclear research. Books and journal articles are cited for the following topics: General works, technical works, biographical and autobiographical works, foreign wartime programs and allied intelligence, technical papers of historical interest, and postwar policy and technical developments. I also give a list of videos and websites dealing with the Manhattan Project, nuclear weapons, and nuclear issues.

  7. Valued Components of a Consultant Letter from Referring Physicians' Perspective: a Systematic Literature Synthesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rash, Arjun H; Sheldon, Robert; Donald, Maoliosa; Eronmwon, Cindy; Kuriachan, Vikas P

    2018-03-05

    Effective communication between the consultants and physicians form an integral foundation of effective and expert patient care. A broad review of the literature has not been undertaken to determine the components of a consultant's letter of most value to the referring physician. We aimed to identify the components of a consultant's letter preferred by referring physicians. We searched Embase and MEDLINE (OVID) Medicine (EBM) Reviews and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews for English articles with no restriction on initial date to January 6, 2017. Articles containing letters from specialists to referring physicians regarding outpatient assessments with either an observational or experimental design were included. Studies were excluded if they pertained to communications from referring physicians to consultant specialists, or pertained to allied health professionals, inpatient documents, or opinion articles. We enumerated the frequencies with which three common themes were addressed, and the positive or negative nature of the comments. The three themes were the structure of consultant letters, their contents, and whether referring physicians and consultants shared a common opinion about the items. Eighteen articles were included in our synthesis. In 11 reports, 91% of respondents preferred structured formats. Other preferred structural features were problem lists and brevity (four reports each). The most preferred contents were oriented to insight: diagnosis, prognosis, and management plan (16/21 mentions in the top tertile). Data items such as history, physical examination, and medication lists were less important (1/23 mentions in the top tertile). Reports varied as to whether referring physicians and consultants shared common opinions about letter features. Referring physicians prefer brief, structured letters from consultants that feature diagnostic and prognostic opinions and management plans over unstructured letters that emphasize data elements such as

  8. Retraining of automatic action tendencies in individuals with obesity : A randomized controlled trial

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ferentzi, H.; Scheibner, H.; Wiers, R.; Becker, E.S.; Lindenmeyer, J.; Beisel, S.; Rinck, M.

    2018-01-01

    Obesity is a major health concern, characterized by an automatically activated tendency to (over)-eat. Recent research suggests that an effective way to counteract automatic approach tendencies in unhealthy consumption behavior might be approach bias modification. Therefore, we investigated an

  9. "Letter-Space": Typographic Translations of Urban Place

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naismith, Jacqueline; O'Sullivan, Annette

    2011-01-01

    This article discusses a Bachelor of Design honours year typography project in the medium of letterpress. The "Letter-space" project positioned letterpress as a textual, spatial and structural visual language, through which the experiences and meanings of a local urban place were translated, mapped and given form through typographic design. We…

  10. Readerly and Writerly "Letters from the Park."

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conde, Susana

    1993-01-01

    Discusses in depth the film "Cartas del parque" ("Letters from the Park"), the first of six films in the "Amores Dificiles" series. Notes that the film is pervaded by the traditional overdetermination of gender roles. Suggests that an intrusive and authoritative narrator makes of this both a "readerly" and a…

  11. Analysis of automobile’s automatic control systems for the hill climbing start

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valeriy I. Klimenko

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available To improve road safety while driving on the rise, facilitating the driver’s activity the automobile industry leaders are introducing automatic hill-hold control systems into the car design. This study purpose relates to the existing automatic start control systems’ design analysis. Analyzed are the existing design developments of automatic hill start assist control systems applied for driving at the start of the climbing. The effected research allows to select the scheme for further development of start driving automatic control systems. Further improvement of driving control systems and primarily the driver assistance hill-hold control systems is necessary to increase both the driving comfort and the traffic safety.

  12. Documentary Letters of Credit, Legal Nature and Sources of Law

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alavi Hamed

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available There is no doubt about risky nature of international trade. Such risk can be conceptualized as country risk, transportation risk, customer risk and etc. Documentary Letters of Credit (LC are used as a method of payment in international business for many centuries in order to reduce risk of trade specially when parties are located in different countries and do not have precise information from financial standing of each other. In such occasion LC will reduce the risk of trade by shifting payment obligation from buyer as an individual to a payment guarantee of a bank as a legal entity in return for presentation of complying documents with terms of credit by seller. Familiarity with legal nature and different legal frameworks which govern the international operation of documentary letters of credit can facilitate the process of international trade for businessmen and boost national economies. However, lack of knowledge about them can impose huge losses on international traders. Situation will be more complicated when we understand that there are many internationally recognized legal frameworks which can affect the operation of LC and they get frequently updated in order to address technological and economic developments in global market. In this paper, author tries to answer questions regarding (i what are international legal frameworks governing operation of documentary letters of credit? (ii which areas of LC operation has been covered by them and (iii how do they address the legal questions regarding international operation of documentary letters of credit?

  13. Particles and nuclei, letters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-01-01

    The present collection of letters from JINR, Dubna, contains eight separate records on the interaction of high energy Λ 6 He hypernuclear beams with atomic nuclei, the position-sensitive detector of a high spatial resolution on the basis of a multiwire gas electron multiplier, pseudorapidity hadron density at the LHC energy, high precision laser control of the ATLAS tile-calorimeter module mass production at JINR, a new approach to ECG's features recognition involving neural network, subcriticity of a uranium target enriched in 235 U, beam space charge effects in high-current cyclotron injector CI-5, a homogeneous static gravitational field and the principle of equivalence

  14. Very Portable Remote Automatic Weather Stations

    Science.gov (United States)

    John R. Warren

    1987-01-01

    Remote Automatic Weather Stations (RAWS) were introduced to Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management field units in 1978 following development, test, and evaluation activities conducted jointly by the two agencies. The original configuration was designed for semi-permanent installation. Subsequently, a need for a more portable RAWS was expressed, and one was...

  15. Letters from Augustin Hallerstein, an eighteenth century Jesuit astronomer in Beijing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juznic, Stanislav

    2008-11-01

    Augustin Hallerstein (1703-1774) was the last astronomer sent to Beijing by the Society of Jesus. He left Europe for China in his mid-thirties, and continued to send letters back home until he died thirty-five years later. These letters and reports contained important information on Chinese astronomy, and were read in the courts of Europe; many were also published. Hallerstein was one of the most important European astronomers in Beijing, his European publications surpassing those of his predecessors.

  16. Finding weak points automatically

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Archinger, P.; Wassenberg, M.

    1999-01-01

    Operators of nuclear power stations have to carry out material tests at selected components by regular intervalls. Therefore a full automaticated test, which achieves a clearly higher reproducibility, compared to part automaticated variations, would provide a solution. In addition the full automaticated test reduces the dose of radiation for the test person. (orig.) [de

  17. Stable and variable affordances are both automatic and flexible

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna M Borghi

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The mere observation of pictures or words referring to manipulable objects is sufficient to evoke their affordances since objects and their nouns elicit components of appropriate motor programs associated with object interaction. While nobody doubts that objects actually evoke motor information, the degree of automaticity of this activation has been recently disputed. Recent evidence has indeed revealed that affordances activation is flexibly modulated by the task and by the physical and social context. It is therefore crucial to understand whether these results challenge previous evidence showing that motor information is activated independently from the task. The context and the task can indeed act as an early or late filter. We will review recent data consistent with the notion that objects automatically elicit multiple affordances and that top-down processes select among them probably inhibiting motor information that is not consistent with behaviour goals. We will therefore argue that automaticity and flexibility of affordances are not in conflict. We will also discuss how language can incorporate affordances showing similarities, but also differences, between the motor information elicited by vision and language. Finally we will show how the distinction between stable and variable affordances can accommodate all these effects.

  18. A Deep Learning Model of Perception in Color-Letter Synesthesia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joel R. Bock

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Synesthesia is a psychological phenomenon where sensory signals become mixed. Input to one sensory modality produces an experience in a second, unstimulated modality. In “grapheme-color synesthesia”, viewed letters and numbers evoke mental imagery of colors. The study of this condition has implications for increasing our understanding of brain architecture and function, language, memory and semantics, and the nature of consciousness. In this work, we propose a novel application of deep learning to model perception in grapheme-color synesthesia. Achromatic letter images, taken from database of handwritten characters, are used to train the model, and to induce computational synesthesia. Results show the model learns to accurately create a colored version of the inducing stimulus, according to a statistical distribution from experiments on a sample population of grapheme-color synesthetes. To the author’s knowledge, this work represents the first model that accurately produces spontaneous, creative mental imagery characteristic of the synesthetic perceptual experience. Experiments in cognitive science have contributed to our understanding of some of the observable behavioral effects of synesthesia, and previous models have outlined neural mechanisms that may account for these observations. A model of synesthesia that generates testable predictions on brain activity and behavior is needed to complement large scale data collection efforts in neuroscience, especially when articulating simple descriptions of cause (stimulus and effect (behavior. The research and modeling approach reported here provides a framework that begins to address this need.

  19. Letters persistence after physical offset: visual word form area and left planum temporale. An fMRI study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barban, Francesco; Zannino, Gian Daniele; Macaluso, Emiliano; Caltagirone, Carlo; Carlesimo, Giovanni A

    2013-06-01

    Iconic memory is a high-capacity low-duration visual memory store that allows the persistence of a visual stimulus after its offset. The categorical nature of this store has been extensively debated. This study provides functional magnetic resonance imaging evidence for brain regions underlying the persistence of postcategorical representations of visual stimuli. In a partial report paradigm, subjects matched a cued row of a 3 × 3 array of letters (postcategorical stimuli) or false fonts (precategorical stimuli) with a subsequent triplet of stimuli. The cued row was indicated by two visual flankers presented at the onset (physical stimulus readout) or after the offset of the array (iconic memory readout). The left planum temporale showed a greater modulation of the source of readout (iconic memory vs. physical stimulus) when letters were presented compared to false fonts. This is a multimodal brain region responsible for matching incoming acoustic and visual patterns with acoustic pattern templates. These findings suggest that letters persist after their physical offset in an abstract postcategorical representation. A targeted region of interest analysis revealed a similar pattern of activation in the Visual Word Form Area. These results suggest that multiple higher-order visual areas mediate iconic memory for postcategorical stimuli. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  20. The automatic component of habit in health behavior: habit as cue-contingent automaticity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orbell, Sheina; Verplanken, Bas

    2010-07-01

    Habit might be usefully characterized as a form of automaticity that involves the association of a cue and a response. Three studies examined habitual automaticity in regard to different aspects of the cue-response relationship characteristic of unhealthy and healthy habits. In each study, habitual automaticity was assessed by the Self-Report Habit Index (SRHI). In Study 1 SRHI scores correlated with attentional bias to smoking cues in a Stroop task. Study 2 examined the ability of a habit cue to elicit an unwanted habit response. In a prospective field study, habitual automaticity in relation to smoking when drinking alcohol in a licensed public house (pub) predicted the likelihood of cigarette-related action slips 2 months later after smoking in pubs had become illegal. In Study 3 experimental group participants formed an implementation intention to floss in response to a specified situational cue. Habitual automaticity of dental flossing was rapidly enhanced compared to controls. The studies provided three different demonstrations of the importance of cues in the automatic operation of habits. Habitual automaticity assessed by the SRHI captured aspects of a habit that go beyond mere frequency or consistency of the behavior. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

  1. The Quasi-Business Letter: Passport to Foreign Culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lalande, John F.

    1979-01-01

    Suggests having foreign language students write business letters to stimulate interest in developing writing skills. This project gives the students the opportunity of travelling abroad vicariously and to collect souvenirs while improving their communication skills in the foreign language. (CFM)

  2. Post eLetter Solutions: Healthy Results for Improving Patient Communication Processes at the Royal Hobart Hospital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boulter, Rhonda

    2009-06-01

    The primary objective of the Australia Post eLetter project 1 was to determine the feasibility of using the eLetter service with the Patient Administration System Appointment Scheduling Module to provide a fully automated mailing function that would eliminate the need for manual processing of mail delivery. Issues with timely delivery of letters throughout all outpatient sites at the Royal Hobart Hospital (RHH) have been identified as being mainly due to limited human resources being available to perform mailing duties and the like. This new desktop service enables staff to transmit data electronically in conjunction with the appointment software for large quantity mail postings to Australia Post via a secure line. Australia Post then validates the address, appends a barcode, prints the letter, envelopes it and inserts it into the mail distribution network in the state of the recipient. This article depicts the process that has eliminated the manual processing of a letter via the traditional Microsoft application, Wordmate, a system at RHH that was always difficult to use. With the introduction of eLetter, the RHH's Specialist Clinics have significantly improved the timeliness and quality of communication with patients as well as reducing administration tasks for staff.

  3. What can we learn from learning models about sensitivity to letter-order in visual word recognition?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lerner, Itamar; Armstrong, Blair C.; Frost, Ram

    2014-01-01

    Recent research on the effects of letter transposition in Indo-European Languages has shown that readers are surprisingly tolerant of these manipulations in a range of tasks. This evidence has motivated the development of new computational models of reading that regard flexibility in positional coding to be a core and universal principle of the reading process. Here we argue that such approach does not capture cross-linguistic differences in transposed-letter effects, nor do they explain them. To address this issue, we investigated how a simple domain-general connectionist architecture performs in tasks such as letter-transposition and letter substitution when it had learned to process words in the context of different linguistic environments. The results show that in spite of of the neurobiological noise involved in registering letter-position in all languages, flexibility and inflexibility in coding letter order is also shaped by the statistical orthographic properties of words in a language, such as the relative prevalence of anagrams. Our learning model also generated novel predictions for targeted empirical research, demonstrating a clear advantage of learning models for studying visual word recognition. PMID:25431521

  4. Semi-Automatic Rating Method for Neutrophil Alkaline Phosphatase Activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sugano, Kanae; Hashi, Kotomi; Goto, Misaki; Nishi, Kiyotaka; Maeda, Rie; Kono, Keigo; Yamamoto, Mai; Okada, Kazunori; Kaga, Sanae; Miwa, Keiko; Mikami, Taisei; Masauzi, Nobuo

    2017-01-01

    The neutrophil alkaline phosphatase (NAP) score is a valuable test for the diagnosis of myeloproliferative neoplasms, but it has still manually rated. Therefore, we developed a semi-automatic rating method using Photoshop ® and Image-J, called NAP-PS-IJ. Neutrophil alkaline phosphatase staining was conducted with Tomonaga's method to films of peripheral blood taken from three healthy volunteers. At least 30 neutrophils with NAP scores from 0 to 5+ were observed and taken their images. From which the outer part of neutrophil was removed away with Image-J. These were binarized with two different procedures (P1 and P2) using Photoshop ® . NAP-positive area (NAP-PA) and granule (NAP-PGC) were measured and counted with Image-J. The NAP-PA in images binarized with P1 significantly (P < 0.05) differed between images with NAP scores from 0 to 3+ (group 1) and those from 4+ to 5+ (group 2). The original images in group 1 were binarized with P2. NAP-PGC of them significantly (P < 0.05) differed among all four NAP score groups. The mean NAP-PGC with NAP-PS-IJ indicated a good correlation (r = 0.92, P < 0.001) to results by human examiners. The sensitivity and specificity of NAP-PS-IJ were 60% and 92%, which might be considered as a prototypic method for the full-automatic rating NAP score. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. Automatic prejudice in childhood and early adolescence

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Degner, J.; Wentura, D.

    2010-01-01

    Four cross-sectional studies are presented that investigated the automatic activation of prejudice in children and adolescents (aged 9 years to 15 years). Therefore, 4 different versions of the affective priming task were used, with pictures of ingroup and outgroup members being presented as

  6. Letters of credit getting more expensive.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nemes, J

    1991-09-02

    Hospital executives who haven't been in the market recently for a new or renewed letter of credit will find it a more expensive way to back their variable-rate debt. Annual fees are surging, for reasons ranging from an international banking agreement that goes into effect next year to more conservative fee structures being instituted because of bad loans made by some banks in the past decade.

  7. LIPS TRACKING IDENTIFICATION OF A CORRECT QURANIC LETTERS PRONUNCIATION FOR TAJWEED TEACHING AND LEARNING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tareq Altalmas

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Mastering the recitation of the holy Quran is an obligation among Muslims. It is an important task to fulfill other Ibadat like prayer, pilgrimage and zikr. However, the traditional way of teaching Quran recitation is a hard task due to the extensive training time and effort required from both teacher and learner. In fact, learning the correct pronunciation of the Quranic letters is the first step in mastering Tajweed (Rules and Guidance in Quranic recitation. The pronunciation of Arabic letters is based on its points of articulation and the characteristics of a particular letter. In this paper we implement the lip identification technique from video signal acquired from expert to extract the movement data of the lips while pronouncing the correct Quranic letters. The extracted lip movement data from expert helps in categorizing the letters into 5 groups and in deciding the final shape of the lips. Later the technique was then tested among a public reciter and then compared for similarity verification between the public and the professional reciter. The system is able to extract the lips movement of the random user and draw the displacement graph and compared with the pronunciation of the expert. The error will be shown if the user has mistakenly pronounced the letter and suggested for improvement. More subjects with different background will be tested in very near future with feedback instructions. Machine learning techniques will be implemented at later stage for the real time application for learning process.

  8. The anthrax letters: a medical detective story

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Cole, Leonard A

    2003-01-01

    .... Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cole, Leonard A., 1933The anthrax letters : a medical detective story / Leonard A. Cole. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-309-08881-X - ISBN 0-309-52584-5 (PDF) 1. Bioterrorism- United States. 2. Anthrax- United States. 3. Postal service- United States. 4. Victims of...

  9. Specific predictive power of automatic spider-related affective associations for controllable and uncontrollable fear responses toward spiders

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Huijdlng, J; de Jong, PJ; Huijding, J.

    This study examined the predictive power of automatically activated spider-related affective associations for automatic and controllable fear responses. The Extrinsic Affective Simon Task (EAST; De Houwer, 2003) was used to indirectly assess automatic spider fear-related associations. The EAST and

  10. Letter report: Evaluation of dryer/calciner technologies for testing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sevigny, G.

    1996-02-01

    This letter report describes some past experiences on the drying and calcination of radioactive materials or corresponding simulants; and the information needed from testing. The report also includes an assessment of informational needs including possible impacts to a full-scale plant. This includes reliability, maintenance, and overall size versus throughput. Much of the material was previously compiled and reported by Mike Elliott of PNL open-quotes Melter Performance Assessmentclose quotes and Larry Eisenstatt of SEG on contract to WHC in a letter to Rod Powell. Also, an annotated bibliography was prepared by Reagan Seymour of WHC. Descriptions of the drying and calciner technologies, development status, advantages and disadvantages of using a WFE or calciner, and recommendations for future testing are discussed in this report

  11. I like Cities; Do You like Letters? Introducing Urban Typography in Art Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huerta, Ricard

    2010-01-01

    This article proposes a study of the letters and graphics found in the city, while at the same time opening up unusual spaces linked to the cultural arena and visual geographies for the creation of learning spaces in art education, introducing urban typography for training teachers. The letters in urban spaces can help us reinterpret the…

  12. A 2004 unanswered letter to the Economist magazine requesting a retraction (and apology).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ling, Gilbert N

    2012-01-01

    This is a copy of (the bulk of) a letter I mailed on May 13, 2004 to Sir Robert P. Wilson, President, and three editors of the magazine, the Economist. With the letter, I also sent each recipient a copy of my latest book, "Life at the Cell and Below-Cell Level" as a gesture of good will.

  13. Final environmental impact statement: US Spent Fuel Policy. Comment letters on draft statements and major comments with DOE responses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1980-05-01

    Notice of availability of the draft environmental impact statement for storage of US spent power reactor fuel was published by DOE in the Federal Register on September 6, 1978. A subsequent notice was published in the Federal Register on December 14, 1978, on the availability of the draft EISs on storage of foreign fuel, on charge for spent fuel storage, and a supplement to the draft EIS on storage of US fuel. Copies of the draft EISs were distributed for review and comment by appropriate Federal agencies, state governments, and other organizations and individuals who were known to have an interest in spent fuel storage activities and those who requested them. Comments and views concerning the draft EISs were requested from other interested agencies, organizations, and individuals by means of the Federal Register notices. Approximately 1600 copies each of the draft Domestic, Foreign, and Charge EISs were distributed for comment. The closing date for comments to be received on the draft EISs was February 15, 1979. Copies of the EISs (upon publication) and comment letters received were placed for public inspection in DOE public document rooms at 10 locations throughout the country. To the extent practicable, comments received after the closing date were also considered in the preparation of the final EIS. A total of 78 comment letters (some with supplements) were received. These comment letters are reproduced in their entirety in Section I of this volume. Approximately 600 specific comments were identified in these letters

  14. Neural Correlates of Automatic and Controlled Auditory Processing in Schizophrenia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morey, Rajendra A.; Mitchell, Teresa V.; Inan, Seniha; Lieberman, Jeffrey A.; Belger, Aysenil

    2009-01-01

    Individuals with schizophrenia demonstrate impairments in selective attention and sensory processing. The authors assessed differences in brain function between 26 participants with schizophrenia and 17 comparison subjects engaged in automatic (unattended) and controlled (attended) auditory information processing using event-related functional MRI. Lower regional neural activation during automatic auditory processing in the schizophrenia group was not confined to just the temporal lobe, but also extended to prefrontal regions. Controlled auditory processing was associated with a distributed frontotemporal and subcortical dysfunction. Differences in activation between these two modes of auditory information processing were more pronounced in the comparison group than in the patient group. PMID:19196926

  15. THE SPIRITUALITY OF THE LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    attention. In fact, I am aware of only two studies that focus on Galatians in .... does not explicitly use the term “coming age” here or elsewhere in his letters, .... framework according to which history is divided into the period before and the.

  16. To Domingos: letters, friends, literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laíse Ribas Bastos

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The object for studying and analysis in this work is a set of letters received by Domingos Carvalho da Silva, which points to the constitution of a scene consisted of friendship and dissidences around a common literary and intellectual perspective. The objective of this work is to map the heterogeneity of the group as well as the problematic project involving the literary production in that moment, in order to find, thus, the means and ways of permanence of literature as it was configured between the 1940s and the 1960s.

  17. Microprocessor controlled system for automatic and semi-automatic syntheses of radiopharmaceuticals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ruth, T.J.; Adam, M.J.; Morris, D.; Jivan, S.

    1986-01-01

    A computer based system has been constructed to control the automatic synthesis of 2-deoxy-2-( 18 F)fluoro-D-glucose and is also being used in the development of an automatic synthesis of L-6-( 18 F)fluorodopa. (author)

  18. Resource letter SH-1: superfluid helium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hallock, R.B.

    1982-01-01

    The resource letter covers the general subject of superfluid helium and treats 3 He and 3 He-- 4 He mixtures as well as 4 He. No effort has been made to include the fascinating experiments on either solid helium or the equally fascinating work on adsorbed helium where the helium coverage is below that necessary for superfluidity. An earlier resource letter by C. T. Lane [Am. J. Phys. 35, 367 (1967)] may be consulted for additional comments on some of the cited earlier manuscripts, but the present work is self-contained and may be used independently. Many high-quality research reports have not been cited here. Rather, the author has tried in most cases to include works particularly readable or relevant. There is a relatively heavy emphasis on experimental references. The primary reason is that these works tend to be more generally readable. No doubt some works that might have been included, have not, and for this the author takes responsibility with apology. Articles selected for incorporation in a reprint volume (to be published separately by the American Association of Physics Teachers) are marked with an asterisk(*). Following each referenced work the general level of difficulty is indicated by E, I, or A for elementary, intermediate, or advanced

  19. [Relapse prevention program consisting of coping skills training, cue exposure treatment, and letter therapy for Japanese alcoholic men who relapsed after standard cognitive-behavioral therapy].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yokoyama, Akira; Matsushita, Sachio; Toyama, Tomomi; Nakayama, Hideki; Takimura, Tsuyoshi; Kimura, Mitsuru; Yoneda, Junichi; Maesato, Hitoshi; Mizukami, Takeshi; Higuchi, Susumu; Yokoyama, Tetsuji

    2015-04-01

    Coping skills training (CST) and cue exposure treatment (CET) have yielded favorable outcomes when used to treat alcoholics. We conducted 6-week inpatient programs that consisted of 9 CST group sessions (n = 117) during 2005-2009 and 9 CST group sessions plus 4 CET group sessions (n = 49) during 2009-2011 and subsequent 1-year letter therapy for Japanese alcoholic men who had relapsed and been readmitted after standard cognitive-behavioral inpatient therapy. When patients received a letter containing encouraging words every 2 weeks, they were asked to reread their CST and CET records and to respond to the letter by marking drinking days on a calendar and naming the skills on a list of the 9 CST themes and CET that were useful for maintaining abstinence during that 2-week period. The estimated percentages of achievement of 30 or fewer drinking days during the one year of letter therapy were 36.1 - 45.8%. 'Non-smoking', '2nd admission', and 'After age-limit job retirement' were significant factors in achieving good outcomes. The 'usefulness' responses for 'Increasing pleasant activities', 'CET', 'Anger management', ' Managing negative thinking', 'Problem solving', and ' Seemingly irrelevant decisions' as percentages of overall responses to the letters were significantly higher, in order of decreasing percentages, in the achiever group than in the non-achiever group, but the differences between the groups in ' Managing urges to drink', ' Drink refusal skills', ' Planning for emergencies', and ' Receiving criticism about drinking' were not significant. The odds ratios for achievement of 30 or fewer drinking days during the 1-year period increased significantly by 1.15 -1.31 fold per 10% increment in the 'usefulness' ratio for 'Increasing pleasant activities'. The difference in percentage achievement between the group treated by CST alone and the group treated by CST plus CET was not significant. In conclusion, some coping skills were more useful for relapse prevention

  20. Automatic Camera Control

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Burelli, Paolo; Preuss, Mike

    2014-01-01

    Automatically generating computer animations is a challenging and complex problem with applications in games and film production. In this paper, we investigate howto translate a shot list for a virtual scene into a series of virtual camera configurations — i.e automatically controlling the virtual...

  1. Letter to Congressional Leaders on Top Defense Management Challenges

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    2000-01-01

    ... Budget Committee and you on Department of Defense (DoD) management challenges. The joint letter requested that we update our previous assessments of the most significant management problems facing the DoD...

  2. Geophysical Research Letters: New policies improve top-cited geosciences journal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calais, Eric; Diffenbaugh, Noah; D'Odorico, Paolo; Harris, Ruth; Knorr, Wolfgang; Lavraud, Benoit; Mueller, Anne; Peterson, William; Rignot, Eric; Srokosz, Meric; Strutton, Peter; Tyndall, Geoff; Wysession, Michael; Williams, Paul

    2010-01-01

    Geophysical Research Letters (GRL) is the American Geophysical Union's premier journal of fast, groundbreaking communication. It rapidly publishes high- impact,letter-length articles, and it is the top-cited multidisciplinary geosciences journal over the past 10 years, with an impact factor that increased again in 2009, to 3.204. For manuscripts submitted to GRL, the median time to first and final decision is 23 and 27 days, respectively—a 35% improvement since 2007—and the median time from submission to publication is 13 weeks for 90% of GRL papers—a 25% improvement since 2007. Among high-impact publications in the geosciences, GRL has the fastest turnaround.

  3. Particles and nuclei, letters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2000-01-01

    The present collection of letters from JINR, Dubna, contains nine separate records on the new results on simulation of the nuclotron beam extraction with a bent crystal, the Ehrenfest force in inhomogeneous magnetic field, the e/h ratio of the electromagnetic calorimeter, a new approach to develop hadronic event generators in HEP, an algebraic description of multilayer systems with resonances, a high-voltage module for photomultipliers, an estimation of the spin-flip contribution to the np→pn process from the charge exchange reaction on the deuteron, a measurement of the tensor analyzing powers in the dd→ 3 Hp reactions at RIKEN as well as on calibration of SPES4-π set-up in experiments on SATURNE-II

  4. Particles and nuclei, letters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2000-01-01

    The present collection of letters from JINR, Dubna, contains seven separate records on the integral representation for structure functions and target mass effects, multiscale properties of DNA primary structure including cross-scale correlations, dissipative evolution of the elementary act, the fine structure of the M T =1 Gamow-Teller resonance in 147g Tb→ 147 Gd β + /EC decay, the behaviour of the TVO temperature sensors in the magnetic fields, a fast method for searching for tracks in multilayer drift chambers of HADES spectrometer, a novel approach to particle track etching including surfactant enhanced control of pore morphology, azimuthal correlations of secondary particles in 32 S induced interactions with Ag(Br) nuclei at 4.5 GeV/ c/ nucleon

  5. 11th Portuguese Conference on Automatic Control

    CERN Document Server

    Matos, Aníbal; Veiga, Germano

    2015-01-01

    During the last 20 years the Portuguese association of automatic control, Associação Portuguesa de Controlo Automático, with the sponsorship of IFAC have established the CONTROLO conference as a reference international forum where an effective exchange of knowledge and experience amongst researchers active in various theoretical and applied areas of systems and control can take place, always including considerable space for promoting new technical applications and developments, real-world challenges and success stories. In this 11th edition the CONTROLO conference evolved by introducing two strategic partnerships with Spanish and Brazilian associations in automatic control, Comité Español de Automática and Sociedade Brasileira de Automatica, respectively.

  6. Letter to Congressional Leaders on Top Defense Management Challenges

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    2000-01-01

    This is in reply to the joint letter of October 12, 2000, from the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on the Budget and Committee on Governmental Affairs, the House Government Reform Committee, House...

  7. Scientific Letter: Gestalt psychotherapy in the outpatient treatment of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Scientific Letter: Gestalt psychotherapy in the outpatient treatment of borderline personality disorder: a case report. ... African Journal of Psychiatry. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives.

  8. Can Governments Use Get Out the Vote Letters to Solve Europe’s Turnout Crisis?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bhatti, Yosef; Dahlgaard, Jens Olav; Hansen, Jonas Hedegaard

    2018-01-01

    to vote in an upcoming Danish election is delivered to more than 60,000 first-time voters using direct personal letters. Eight different letters are designed, based on the calculus of voting and prospect theory. The sample is randomly divided into treatment groups or the control group. Using validated...

  9. Letter to the Editor: Re: A Five-year Survey of Cesarean Delivery at a ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Letter to the Editor: Re: A Five-year Survey of Cesarean Delivery at a Nigerian Tertiary Hospital. VO Ajuzieogu, AO Amucheazi. Abstract. Letter to the editor - no abstract. Full Text: EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT. Article Metrics. Metrics Loading .

  10. Automatic production of Iodine-123 with PLC 135/U

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moghaddam-Banaem, L.; Afarideh, H.

    2004-01-01

    In this project, the automatic system for production of Iodine-123 with PLC/135μ Siemens, which is designed and installed for the first time in Iran, is discussed. The PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) is used to control industrial processing, which is similar to a computer and consists of central processing unit and memory and Input/Output units. PLC receives input information from auxiliary units such as sensors, switches, etc. and software processes data in memory and then sends commands to output units such as relays, motors, etc.The target section in Iodine production consists of 8 stages. In order to be sure automation works properly the system can be operated both manually and automatically. First PLC checks Manual/Automatic switch and in the case of automatic mode, PLC runs the program in memory and processing is done automatically. For this purpose, PLC takes the value of pressures and temperatures from analog inputs and after processing them it sends commands to digital output to activate valves or vacuum pumps or heaters. In this paper the following subjects are discussed: 1) Production of Iodine 123 2) PLC structure and auxiliary boards 3) Sensors and actuators and their connection to PLC 4) Software flowchart

  11. Motor automaticity in Parkinson’s disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Tao; Hallett, Mark; Chan, Piu

    2017-01-01

    Bradykinesia is the most important feature contributing to motor difficulties in Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, the pathophysiology underlying bradykinesia is not fully understood. One important aspect is that PD patients have difficulty in performing learned motor skills automatically, but this problem has been generally overlooked. Here we review motor automaticity associated motor deficits in PD, such as reduced arm swing, decreased stride length, freezing of gait, micrographia and reduced facial expression. Recent neuroimaging studies have revealed some neural mechanisms underlying impaired motor automaticity in PD, including less efficient neural coding of movement, failure to shift automated motor skills to the sensorimotor striatum, instability of the automatic mode within the striatum, and use of attentional control and/or compensatory efforts to execute movements usually performed automatically in healthy people. PD patients lose previously acquired automatic skills due to their impaired sensorimotor striatum, and have difficulty in acquiring new automatic skills or restoring lost motor skills. More investigations on the pathophysiology of motor automaticity, the effect of L-dopa or surgical treatments on automaticity, and the potential role of using measures of automaticity in early diagnosis of PD would be valuable. PMID:26102020

  12. Parent-administered computer-assisted tutoring targeting letter-sound knowledge: Evaluation via multiple-baseline across three preschool students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DuBois, Matthew R; Volpe, Robert J; Burns, Matthew K; Hoffman, Jessica A

    2016-12-01

    Knowledge of letters sounds has been identified as a primary objective of preschool instruction and intervention. Despite this designation, large disparities exist in the number of letter sounds children know at school entry. Enhancing caregivers' ability to teach their preschool-aged children letter sounds may represent an effective practice for reducing this variability and ensuring that more children are prepared to experience early school success. This study used a non-concurrent multiple-baseline-across-participants design to evaluate the effectiveness of caregivers (N=3) delivering a computer-assisted tutoring program (Tutoring Buddy) targeting letter sound knowledge to their preschool-aged children. Visual analyses and effect size estimates derived from Percentage of All Non-Overlapping Data (PAND) statistics indicated consistent results for letter sound acquisition, as 6weeks of intervention yielded large effects for letter sound knowledge (LSK) across all three children. Large effect sizes were also found for letter sound fluency (LSF) and nonsense word fluency (NWF) for two children. All three caregivers rated the intervention as highly usable and were able to administer it with high levels of fidelity. Taken together, the results of the present study found Tutoring Buddy to be an effective, simple, and usable way for the caregivers to support their children's literacy development. Copyright © 2016 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. «Strange bread has more than bitter»...Letters from Archimandrite Theodosius (Melnik to Archimandrite Anthony (Sinkevich

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kostriukov Andrei

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Archimandrite Theodosius (Melnik was the cellarer of Metropolitan Anthonii (Khrapovitskii who was the head of the Russian Church Abroad. Archimandrite Theodosius was with his spiritual father and his teacher, Metropolitan Anthonii and shared all the sorrows that have fallen in exile. They lived in Serbia. Then Sremski Karlovci was the center of life of the Russian Orthodox Church. Archimandrite Theodosius become a witness of the important events taking place in Russian Church Abroad and the Serbian Orthodox Church. Letters written by Archimandrite Theodosius in 1933 — 1938 years are published here. The last letter was written after the death of Metropolitan Anthonii. The letters contained information about the life of Metropolitan Anthonii. In his letters, Archimandrite Theodosius assess a personality — Metropolitan Anastasii (Gribanovskii, Metropolitan Nestor (Anisimov, Archpriest Michael Polsky, Yuriy Grabbe, Peter Lopuchin. The letters describe important events in the life of the Russian Orthodox Church, for example, in 1921 Karlovci Council; in 1936 the reconciliation of the Russian Church Abroad with Metropolitan Evlogii (Georgievskii and with Metropolitan Platon (Rozhdestvenskii; in 1938 the preparation of the Second Karlovci Council. All the letters are written to Archimandrite Anthonii (Sinkevich who served in the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem. In 1951 Archimandrite Anthony became Archbishop Los Angeles and West American. These letters are kept in the archives of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem (Moscow Patriarchate.

  14. Neural Dissociation of Number from Letter Recognition and Its Relationship to Parietal Numerical Processing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Joonkoo; Hebrank, Andrew; Polk, Thad A.; Park, Denise C.

    2012-01-01

    The visual recognition of letters dissociates from the recognition of numbers at both the behavioral and neural level. In this article, using fMRI, we investigate whether the visual recognition of numbers dissociates from letters, thereby establishing a double dissociation. In Experiment 1, participants viewed strings of consonants and Arabic…

  15. Pre-notification letter type and response rate to a postal survey among women who have recently given birth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Todd, Angela L; Porter, Maree; Williamson, Jennifer L; Patterson, Jillian A; Roberts, Christine L

    2015-12-01

    Surveys are commonly used in health research to assess patient satisfaction with hospital care. Achieving an adequate response rate, in the face of declining trends over time, threatens the quality and reliability of survey results. This paper evaluates a strategy to increase the response rate in a postal satisfaction survey with women who had recently given birth. A sample of 2048 Australian women who had recently given birth at seven maternity units in New South Wales were invited to participate in a postal survey about their recent experiences with maternity care. The study design included a randomised controlled trial that tested two types of pre-notification letter (with or without the option of opting out of the survey). The study also explored the acceptability of a request for consent to link survey data with existing routinely collected health data (omitting the latter data items from the survey reduced survey length and participant burden). This consent was requested of all women. The survey had an overall response rate of 46% (913 completed surveys returned, total sample 1989). Women receiving the pre-notification letter with the option of opting out of the survey were more likely to actively decline to participate than women receiving the letter without this option, although the overall numbers of women declining were small (27 versus 12). Letter type was not significantly associated with the return of a completed survey. Among women who completed the survey, 97% gave consent to link their survey data with existing health data. The two types of pre-notification letters used in our study did not influence the survey response rate. However, seeking consent for record linkage was highly acceptable to women who completed the survey, and represents an important strategy to add to the arsenal for designing and implementing effective surveys. In addition to aspects of survey design, future research should explore how to more effectively influence personal

  16. Semi-Automatic Evaluation of Intrasubject Variability and Inter-session of Cerebral Activation Areas by Neuro functional Magnetic Resonance (FMRI)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rascovsky, Simon; Delgado, Jorge Andres; Sanz, Alexander

    2008-01-01

    To verify the reproducibility of word generation, text comprehension, antonyms generation and motor/somatosensory RMF protocols in a test-retest evaluation through a semiautomatic stereotaxical localization method for activation comparison. Methods: Word generation, text comprehension, antonyms generation and motor/somatosensory FMRI paradigms were applied on 8 healthy subjects on two separate sessions, performing the evaluation of inter-session activations through conjunction and cluster analysis. Results: Activations according to Brodmann areas were reproducible in 50%, 62.5% and 75% for word generation, text comprehension and antonyms generation respectively. For the motor paradigms, right motor conjoined activations were found in 86% of subjects and in 100% of subjects for left conjoined activations. Conclusions: The semi-automatic method of determining inter-session areas of common activation allows its use for functional cytoarchitectonic localization of fMRI activations with minimal intervention, and can be used as a quality control measure of the different paradigms used in RMF, minimizing observer bias.

  17. The visibility of The lettered city Angel Rama in mainstream literature (WOS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Exequiel Aarón Fontans Alvarez

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Angel Rama (1926-1986 is noted by some specialized as one of the precursors of the current cultural studies in Latin authors; The lettered city is one of the most cited works and has written stating this influence. However it has not been approached from the Metric Information Studies. The aim of this paper is to highlight the visibility of the lettered city in mainstream literature collected by the Web based of Science (WOS, Thomson Reuters. A brief introduction to the British Cultural Studies (Birmingham School is performed, with the understanding that they represent a history of Latin American Cultural Studies, where this work is framed. Areas, institutions and sources where this work is cited and co-cited authors are presented. Finally low visibility reflected WOS noted in the Latin American production considering that "lettered city" is a theoretical concept coined in the region.

  18. Acquisition of automatic imitation is sensitive to sensorimotor contingency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, Richard; Press, Clare; Dickinson, Anthony; Heyes, Cecilia

    2010-08-01

    The associative sequence learning model proposes that the development of the mirror system depends on the same mechanisms of associative learning that mediate Pavlovian and instrumental conditioning. To test this model, two experiments used the reduction of automatic imitation through incompatible sensorimotor training to assess whether mirror system plasticity is sensitive to contingency (i.e., the extent to which activation of one representation predicts activation of another). In Experiment 1, residual automatic imitation was measured following incompatible training in which the action stimulus was a perfect predictor of the response (contingent) or not at all predictive of the response (noncontingent). A contingency effect was observed: There was less automatic imitation indicative of more learning in the contingent group. Experiment 2 replicated this contingency effect and showed that, as predicted by associative learning theory, it can be abolished by signaling trials in which the response occurs in the absence of an action stimulus. These findings support the view that mirror system development depends on associative learning and indicate that this learning is not purely Hebbian. If this is correct, associative learning theory could be used to explain, predict, and intervene in mirror system development.

  19. Varsity letters documenting modern colleges and universities

    CERN Document Server

    Samuels, Helen Willa

    1998-01-01

    A study of the functions of colleges and universities, Varsity Letters is intended to aid those responsible for the documentation of these institutions. Samuels offers specific advice about the records of modern colleges and universities and proposes a method to ensure their adequate documentation. She also offers a method to analyze and plan the preservation of records for any type of institution.

  20. Transcribing and digitizing eighteenth- and nineteenth-century letters for a historical digital repository.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunster, Emily S; Kipnis, Daniel G; Angelo, F Michael

    2014-01-01

    In fall 2011, the Scott Memorial Library purchased 53 letters belonging to an 1841 graduate of Jefferson Medical College, John Plimpton Green. The library staff transcribed and digitized the letters, creating an online collection in the university's institutional repository, Jefferson Digital Commons. This article will detail the process of transcribing and digitizing the collection along with sharing statistics and the benefits of this project to global researchers.

  1. Automatic Photoelectric Telescope Service

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Genet, R.M.; Boyd, L.J.; Kissell, K.E.; Crawford, D.L.; Hall, D.S.; BDM Corp., McLean, VA; Kitt Peak National Observatory, Tucson, AZ; Dyer Observatory, Nashville, TN)

    1987-01-01

    Automatic observatories have the potential of gathering sizable amounts of high-quality astronomical data at low cost. The Automatic Photoelectric Telescope Service (APT Service) has realized this potential and is routinely making photometric observations of a large number of variable stars. However, without observers to provide on-site monitoring, it was necessary to incorporate special quality checks into the operation of the APT Service at its multiple automatic telescope installation on Mount Hopkins. 18 references

  2. Automatic imitation: A meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cracco, Emiel; Bardi, Lara; Desmet, Charlotte; Genschow, Oliver; Rigoni, Davide; De Coster, Lize; Radkova, Ina; Deschrijver, Eliane; Brass, Marcel

    2018-05-01

    Automatic imitation is the finding that movement execution is facilitated by compatible and impeded by incompatible observed movements. In the past 15 years, automatic imitation has been studied to understand the relation between perception and action in social interaction. Although research on this topic started in cognitive science, interest quickly spread to related disciplines such as social psychology, clinical psychology, and neuroscience. However, important theoretical questions have remained unanswered. Therefore, in the present meta-analysis, we evaluated seven key questions on automatic imitation. The results, based on 161 studies containing 226 experiments, revealed an overall effect size of g z = 0.95, 95% CI [0.88, 1.02]. Moderator analyses identified automatic imitation as a flexible, largely automatic process that is driven by movement and effector compatibility, but is also influenced by spatial compatibility. Automatic imitation was found to be stronger for forced choice tasks than for simple response tasks, for human agents than for nonhuman agents, and for goalless actions than for goal-directed actions. However, it was not modulated by more subtle factors such as animacy beliefs, motion profiles, or visual perspective. Finally, there was no evidence for a relation between automatic imitation and either empathy or autism. Among other things, these findings point toward actor-imitator similarity as a crucial modulator of automatic imitation and challenge the view that imitative tendencies are an indicator of social functioning. The current meta-analysis has important theoretical implications and sheds light on longstanding controversies in the literature on automatic imitation and related domains. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  3. Automatic α-spectrometry using surface barrier detectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Czarwinski, R.; Loessner, V.; Klucke, H.; Krause, J.

    1984-01-01

    A measurement system has been developed for the routine determination of transuranics in biosamples by α-spectrometry. It employs high-resolution surface-barrier detectors and can be operated automatically by means of an integrated CAMAC system. For 241 Am, the minimum detectable activity is 2.4 x 10 -3 Bq. (author)

  4. Beginners Remember Orthography when They Learn to Read Words: The Case of Doubled Letters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wright, Donna-Marie; Ehri, Linnea C.

    2007-01-01

    Sight word learning and memory were studied to clarify how early during development readers process visual letter patterns that are not dictated by phonology, and whether their word learning is influenced by the legality of letter patterns. Forty kindergartners and first graders were taught to read 12 words containing either single consonants…

  5. Morphology and Spelling in French Students with Dyslexia: The Case of Silent Final Letters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quémart, Pauline; Casalis, Séverine

    2017-01-01

    Spelling is a challenge for individuals with dyslexia. Phoneme-to-grapheme correspondence rules are highly inconsistent in French, which make them very difficult to master, in particular for dyslexics. One recurrent manifestation of this inconsistency is the presence of silent letters at the end of words. Many of these silent letters perform a…

  6. Impaired Letter-String Processing in Developmental Dyslexia: What Visual-to-Phonology Code Mapping Disorder?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valdois, Sylviane; Lassus-Sangosse, Delphine; Lobier, Muriel

    2012-01-01

    Poor parallel letter-string processing in developmental dyslexia was taken as evidence of poor visual attention (VA) span, that is, a limitation of visual attentional resources that affects multi-character processing. However, the use of letter stimuli in oral report tasks was challenged on its capacity to highlight a VA span disorder. In…

  7. When do letter features migrate? A boundary condition for feature-integration theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butler, B E; Mewhort, D J; Browse, R A

    1991-01-01

    Feature-integration theory postulates that a lapse of attention will allow letter features to change position and to recombine as illusory conjunctions (Treisman & Paterson, 1984). To study such errors, we used a set of uppercase letters known to yield illusory conjunctions in each of three tasks. The first, a bar-probe task, showed whole-character mislocations but not errors based on feature migration and recombination. The second, a two-alternative forced-choice detection task, allowed subjects to focus on the presence or absence of subletter features and showed illusory conjunctions based on feature migration and recombination. The third was also a two-alternative forced-choice detection task, but we manipulated the subjects' knowledge of the shape of the stimuli: In the case-certain condition, the stimuli were always in uppercase, but in the case-uncertain condition, the stimuli could appear in either upper- or lowercase. Subjects in the case-certain condition produced illusory conjunctions based on feature recombination, whereas subjects in the case-uncertain condition did not. The results suggest that when subjects can view the stimuli as feature groups, letter features regroup as illusory conjunctions; when subjects encode the stimuli as letters, whole items may be mislocated, but subletter features are not. Thus, illusory conjunctions reflect the subject's processing strategy, rather than the architecture of the visual system.

  8. Automatic fuel exchanging device

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takahashi, Fuminobu.

    1984-01-01

    Purpose: To enable to designate the identification number of a fuel assembly in a nuclear reactor pressure vessel thereby surely exchanging the designated assembly within a short time. Constitution: Identification number (or letter) pressed on a grip of a fuel assembly is to be detected by a two-dimensional ultrasonic probe of a pull-up mechanism. When the detected number corresponds with the designated number, a control signal is outputted, whereby the pull-up drive control mechanism or pull-up mechanism responds to pull-up and exchange the fuel assembly of the identified number. With such a constitution, the fuel assembly can rapidly and surely be recognized even if pressed letters deviate to the left or right of the probe, and further, the hinge portion and the signal processing portion can be simplified. (Horiuchi, T.)

  9. Responses to lost letters about a 2000 General Election amendment to abolish prohibition of interracial marriages in Alabama.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bridges, F Stephen; Keeton, Kato B; Clark, L Nicholle

    2002-12-01

    A field study using 621 "lost" letters was conducted in the city of Mobile and in small towns in mostly rural Baldwin County, Alabama. Milgram's lost letter technique was validated against the actual votes cast during the November 7, 2000 General Election. The technique was successful as an unobtrusive measure useful for predicting patterns of voting behavior. Rates of return of lost letters "in favor of and opposed to legalizing interracial marriage" agreed with the actual election returns (chi-square "goodness of fit"). Community size seemed associated with return of lost letters.

  10. Automatic behavior - its social embedding and individual consequences

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jonas, K.J.

    2013-01-01

    Automatic behavior, that is, the non-conscious activation of perceiver behavior by social category priming, has undergone considerable development in the recent years. While initial effects pointed to often rather surprising effects that could be characterized as imitation of the behavior of the

  11. Particles and nuclei, letters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2002-01-01

    The present collection of letters from JINR, Dubna, contains ten separate records on Wien filter using in exploring on low-energy radioactive nuclei, memory effects in dissipative nucleus-nucleus collision, topological charge and topological susceptibility in connection with translation and gauge invariance, solutions of the multitime Dirac equation, the maximum entropy technique. System's statistical description, the charged conductor inside dielectric. Solution of boundary condition by means of auxiliary charges and the method of linear algebraic equations, optical constants of the TGS single crystal irradiated by power pulsed electron beam, interatomic pair potential and n-e amplitude from slow neutron scattering by noble gases, the two-coordinate multiwire proportional chamber of the high spatial resolution and neutron drip line in the region of O-Mg isotopes

  12. Taxation in France / Letter from the French “Direction générale des finances publiques” / New form

    CERN Multimedia

    Staff Association and GAC-EPA

    2017-01-01

    Under this title, the CERN Management published, in the last issue of the Bulletin (52-4/2017, on 18 January 2017), a notice to active and retired members of personnel who have received a letter with a form from the French tax authorities. This notice was provided without prior concertation with the representatives of the personnel and the pensioners. A good example of a missed opportunity in our opinion: there was certainly a better way to defend the interests of the Organization and its personnel, both active and retired! Here is our position on this matter. This form shall be used to update the civil information that the French tax authorities have on taxpayers. This update is not obligatory, but it is likely in your best interest that your civil status and contact information are up to date in their database. Still, it is up to you to decide whether or not you want to return this form. Even if the letter cites the introduction of a direct income tax deduction from revenue in France as of 2018, we consider...

  13. Disabled vs nondisabled readers: perceptual vs higher-order processing of one vs three letters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allegretti, C L; Puglisi, J T

    1986-10-01

    12 disabled and 12 nondisabled readers (mean age, 11 yr.) were compared on a letter-search task which separated perceptual processing from higher-order processing. Participants were presented a first stimulus (for 200 msec. to minimize eye movements) followed by a second stimulus immediately to estimate the amount of information initially perceived or after a 3000-msec. interval to examine information more permanently stored. Participants were required to decide whether any letter present in the first stimulus was also present in the second. Two processing loads (1 and 3 letters) were examined. Disabled readers showed more pronounced deficits when they were given very little time to process information or more information to process.

  14. Early Automatic Detection of Parkinson's Disease Based on Sleep Recordings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kempfner, Jacob; Sorensen, Helge B D; Nikolic, Miki

    2014-01-01

    SUMMARY: Idiopathic rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) is most likely the earliest sign of Parkinson's Disease (PD) and is characterized by REM sleep without atonia (RSWA) and consequently increased muscle activity. However, some muscle twitching in normal subjects occurs...... during REM sleep. PURPOSE: There are no generally accepted methods for evaluation of this activity and a normal range has not been established. Consequently, there is a need for objective criteria. METHOD: In this study we propose a full-automatic method for detection of RSWA. REM sleep identification...... the number of outliers during REM sleep was used as a quantitative measure of muscle activity. RESULTS: The proposed method was able to automatically separate all iRBD test subjects from healthy elderly controls and subjects with periodic limb movement disorder. CONCLUSION: The proposed work is considered...

  15. Letter of 5 December 1991 to the Director General from the Resident Representative of Iraq to the Agency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-01-01

    The document reproduces a letter dated 5 December 1991 to the Director General of the IAEA from the Resident Representative of Iraq to the International Atomic Energy Agency concerning the presentation of a Distinguished Service Award to Mr. David Kay for his activity in the Safeguard inspections in Iraq (Attachment 1). The Director General's reply is reproduced in Attachment 2

  16. Automatic indexing, compiling and classification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andreewsky, Alexandre; Fluhr, Christian.

    1975-06-01

    A review of the principles of automatic indexing, is followed by a comparison and summing-up of work by the authors and by a Soviet staff from the Moscou INFORM-ELECTRO Institute. The mathematical and linguistic problems of the automatic building of thesaurus and automatic classification are examined [fr

  17. Asset securitization and rate of return: A study on letters of guarantee

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Binghui

    2018-01-01

    Using the theory of asset securitization, we analyze the feasibility of the securitization of letters of guarantee in theory. In the process of constructing the model of rate of return of securities backed by letters of guarantee, we propose two indices: the risk probability of asset-backed securities and the loss rate of asset-backed securities to analyze the cash flow of securities. On the basis of no arbitrage principle, the expression of rate of return of securities backed by letters of guarantee is put forward. In order to study the relationship between the rate of return of securities and other influential factor in the model, a simulation experiment is designed. The experiment results show that (i) an increasing risk probability of cash flow or a short maturity date also make the return rate of securities increase and (ii) the return rate of securities is higher in economic boom than that in economic recession when other parameters remain unchanged.

  18. Region 6: Texas Austin Adequate Letter (11/23/2016)

    Science.gov (United States)

    EPA letter approves the Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets contained in the latest revision to Dallas/Fort Worth 2008 8-hour Ozone State Implementation Plan, finding them adequate for transportation conformity purposes to be announced in the Federal Register.

  19. Automatic processing of unattended lexical information in visual oddball presentation: neurophysiological evidence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yury eShtyrov

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Previous electrophysiological studies of automatic language processing revealed early (100-200 ms reflections of access to lexical characteristics of speech signal using the so-called mismatch negativity (MMN, a negative ERP deflection elicited by infrequent irregularities in unattended repetitive auditory stimulation. In those studies, lexical processing of spoken stimuli became manifest as an enhanced ERP in response to unattended real words as opposed to phonologically matched but meaningless pseudoword stimuli. This lexical ERP enhancement was explained by automatic activation of word memory traces realised as distributed strongly intra-connected neuronal circuits, whose robustness guarantees memory trace activation even in the absence of attention on spoken input. Such an account would predict the automatic activation of these memory traces upon any presentation of linguistic information, irrespective of the presentation modality. As previous lexical MMN studies exclusively used auditory stimulation, we here adapted the lexical MMN paradigm to investigate early automatic lexical effects in the visual modality. In a visual oddball sequence, matched short word and pseudoword stimuli were presented tachistoscopically in perifoveal area outside the visual focus of attention, as the subjects’ attention was concentrated on a concurrent non-linguistic visual dual task in the centre of the screen. Using EEG, we found a visual analogue of the lexical ERP enhancement effect, with unattended written words producing larger brain response amplitudes than matched pseudowords, starting at ~100 ms. Furthermore, we also found significant visual MMN, reported here for the first time for unattended lexical stimuli presented perifoveally. The data suggest early automatic lexical processing of visually presented language outside the focus of attention.

  20. A Study of the Effect of Letter Spacing on the Reading Speed of Young Readers with Low Vision

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLeish, Eve

    2007-01-01

    The aims of this study were two-fold: firstly, to establish a method of applying consistent letter spacing to documents using MS Word, and secondly, to investigate the effect of increased letter spacing on the reading speeds of readers with low vision. Tests on 14 readers with low vision showed that increased letter spacing benefited their reading…

  1. The publication lapse of papers in Radiochemical and Radioanalytical Letters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Braun, T.; Nagydiosi-Kocsis, Gy.

    1982-01-01

    The time needed for passing through journal editorial and publication processing has been examined for the papers published in Radiochemical and Radioanalytical Letters for the years 1969-1981. (author)

  2. George gives to geology Jane : the name letter effect and incidental similarity cues in fundraising

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bekkers, René H.F.P.

    2010-01-01

    - People tend to like others with attributes similar to their own (the similarity principle) and favor products with names similar to their own (the name letter effect). - In the present field experiment, the name letter effect and similarity principle are tested in a phonaton among alumni of

  3. The Wartime Success of Karl Shapiro's V-Letter

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oostdijk, D.M.

    2006-01-01

    The American soldier-poet Karl Shapiro won the Pulitzer Prize for V-Letter and Other Poems (1944), making him an instant celebrity. The volume was written while he was stationed in Australia and New Guinea during World War II. Shaprio sent the completed poems to his fiancée, Evalyn Katz, who edited

  4. 12 CFR 614.4810 - Standby letters of credit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... party in the performance of an obligation. (b) As a matter of sound banking practice, banks for... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Standby letters of credit. 614.4810 Section 614.4810 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM LOAN POLICIES AND OPERATIONS Banks...

  5. George gives to geology Jane: The name letter effect and incidental similarity cues in fundraising

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bekkers, R.H.F.P.

    2010-01-01

    People tend to like others with attributes similar to their own (the similarity principle) and favor products with names similar to their own (the name letter effect). In the present field experiment, the name letter effect and similarity principle are tested in a phonaton among alumni of Utrecht

  6. Unsolicited information letters to increase awareness of Lynch syndrome and familial colorectal cancer: reactions and attitudes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petersen, Helle Vendel; Frederiksen, Birgitte Lidegaard; Lautrup, Charlotte Kvist; Lindberg, Lars Joachim; Ladelund, Steen; Nilbert, Mef

    2018-04-12

    Dissemination of information on a genetically increased risk should according to guidelines primarily be family-mediated. Incomplete and incorrect information spread has, however, been documented and implies missed possibilities for prevention. In Denmark, the national HNPCC register has been granted an exception to send unsolicited letters with information on hereditary colorectal cancer and an invitation to genetic counseling to members of families with familial and hereditary colorectal cancer. To evaluate this approach, we investigated reactions and attitudes to unsolicited letters in 708 members of families with genetic predisposition and in 1600 individuals from the general population. Support for information letters was expressed by 78% of the family members and by 82% of the general population. Regarding route of information, 90% of family members preferred a letter to no information, 66% preferred information from the hospital rather than from family members and 40% preferred to obtain information from a close family member. Our results suggest that use of unsolicited information letters from the health care system may be a feasible and highly acceptable strategy to disseminate information to families at high risk of colorectal cancer.

  7. A computer program for automatic gamma-ray spectra analysis with isotope identification for the purpose of activation analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weigel, H.; Dauk, J.

    1974-01-01

    A FORTRAN IV program for a PDP-9 computer, with 16K storage capacity, is developed performing automatic analysis of complex gamma-spectra, taken with Ge/Li/ detectors. It searches for full energy peaks and evaluates the peak areas. The program features and automatically performed isotope identifiaction. It is written in such a flexible manner that after reactor irradiation, spectra from samples of any composition can be evaluated for activation analysis. The peak search rutin is based on the following criteria: the counting rate has to increase for two succesive channels; and the amplitude of the corresponding maximum has to be greater than/or equal to F 1 times the statistical error of the counting rate in the valley just before the maximum. In order to detect superimposed peaks, it is assumed that the dependence of FWHM on channel number is roughly approximated by a linear function, and the actual and''theoretical''FWHM values are compared. To determine the net peak area a Gaussian based function is fitted to each peak. The isotope identification is based on the procedure developed by ADAMS and DAMS. (T.G.)

  8. Automatic sets and Delone sets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barbe, A; Haeseler, F von

    2004-01-01

    Automatic sets D part of Z m are characterized by having a finite number of decimations. They are equivalently generated by fixed points of certain substitution systems, or by certain finite automata. As examples, two-dimensional versions of the Thue-Morse, Baum-Sweet, Rudin-Shapiro and paperfolding sequences are presented. We give a necessary and sufficient condition for an automatic set D part of Z m to be a Delone set in R m . The result is then extended to automatic sets that are defined as fixed points of certain substitutions. The morphology of automatic sets is discussed by means of examples

  9. 50 CFR 216.256 - Applications for Letters of Authorization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE MARINE MAMMALS REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE TAKING AND IMPORTING OF MARINE MAMMALS Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Conducting Precision Strike Weapon Missions in the Gulf of Mexico § 216.256 Applications for Letters of Authorization. To incidentally take...

  10. 76 FR 57767 - Proposed Generic Communication; Draft NRC Generic Letter 2011-XX: Seismic Risk Evaluations for...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-16

    ... NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC-2011-0204] Proposed Generic Communication; Draft NRC Generic Letter 2011-XX: Seismic Risk Evaluations for Operating Reactors AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission... FR 54507), that requested public comment on Draft NRC Generic Letter 2011- XX: Seismic Risk...

  11. Objectifying user critique. A means of continuous quality assurance for physician discharge letter composition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oschem, M; Mahler, V; Prokosch, H U

    2011-01-01

    The aim of this study is to objectify user critique rendering it usable for quality assurance. Based on formative and summative evaluation results we strive to promote software improvements; in our case, the physician discharge letter composition process at the Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Erlangen, Germany. We developed a novel six-step approach to objectify user critique: 1) acquisition of user critique using subjectivist methods, 2) creation of a workflow model, 3) definition of hypothesis and indicators, 4) measuring of indicators, 5) analyzing results, 6) optimization of the system regarding both subjectivist and objectivist evaluation results. In particular, we derived indicators and workflows directly from user critique/narratives. The identified indicators were mapped onto workflow activities, creating a link between user critique and the evaluated system. Users criticized a new discharge letter system as "too slow" and "too labor-intensive" in comparison with the previously used system. In a stepwise approach we collected subjective user critique, derived a comprehensive process model including deviations and deduced a set of five indicators for objectivist evaluation: processing time, system-related waiting time, number of mouse clicks, number of keyboard inputs, and throughput time. About 3500 measurements have been performed to compare the workflow-steps of both systems, regarding 20 discharge letters. Although the difference of the mean total processing time between both systems was statistically insignificant (2011.7 s vs. 1971.5 s; p = 0.457), we detected a significant difference in waiting times (101.8 s vs. 37.2 s; p quality assurance. To our knowledge no previous study in medical informatics mapped user critique onto workflow steps. Subjectivist analysis prompted us to use the indicator system-related waiting time for the objectivist study, which was rarely done before. We consider combining subjectivist and objectivist methods

  12. A letter of Marcus Antonius Kappus to Eusebius Franciscus Kino (Sonora in 1690

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tomaž Nabergoj

    1998-12-01

    Full Text Available The life and work of the Slovene Jesuit, Marcus Antonius Kappus (1657 -1717 who, three centuries ago, worked as a missionary in Sonora, north-west Mexico, has, in recent years, been the subject of several short studies in Slovenia. In this journal, Professor Janez Stanonik has, so far, published five letters which Kappus sent home to his relatives and friends, and one letter which he sent to hi s friend in Vienna, as well as a study on the collection of poems (276 chronograms in Latin, which Kappus published in Mexico City, in 1708, entitled IHS. Enthusiasmus sive solemnes ludi poetici. Prompted by the above publications, the author of this paper spent a month in Sonora while journeying in Mexico in 1991. In Archivo General de la Nación (the general Mexican archives in Mexico City, he happened to find another letter written by Marcus Antonius Kappus.

  13. Open Letter Regarding the University of Minnesota's Program on Human Sexuality and Sexual Attitude Reassessment Seminars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunt, William C.; Nelson, James

    1976-01-01

    This article contains a letter which questions the value and ethics of the Program on Human Sexuality (University of Minnesota) and also contains the response to the letter by a member of the Theological-Ethical Task Force which sponsors the program. (Author)

  14. 50 CFR 216.259 - Modifications to Letters of Authorization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE MARINE MAMMALS REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE TAKING AND IMPORTING OF MARINE MAMMALS Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Conducting Precision Strike Weapon Missions in the Gulf of Mexico § 216.259 Modifications to Letters of Authorization. (a) Except as provided in...

  15. Letter to Dimitrie Gusti (21.10.1938

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ŞTEFANIA CRISTESCU

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available This section contains two important documents here published for the first time. The first is the text of a paper presented by St.C.-G. in 1939 at the Romanian Institute for Social Research and meant to accompany 12 sociological maps on the practices and interdictions concerning confined women in 35 villages of Țara Oltului (Olt county. This paper will allow us to reconstruct the lost maps in the near future. The second document consists of three completed forms of the social inquiry conducted by Șt. C.-G. concerning the everyday lives of students in an industrial College of Bucharest during World War II. The Report prepared by D. Gusti in view of awarding the Vernescu Academy prize to Șt. C.-G. for her book The Household in the Beliefs and Magic Rituals of the Women of Drăguș (Făgăraș, an activity report by Șt. C. and two letters (one by D. Gusti and the other by a former student teaching in her turn complete the picture of Șt. C.-G. at a professional and a personal level.

  16. Automatisms: bridging clinical neurology with criminal law.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rolnick, Joshua; Parvizi, Josef

    2011-03-01

    The law, like neurology, grapples with the relationship between disease states and behavior. Sometimes, the two disciplines share the same terminology, such as automatism. In law, the "automatism defense" is a claim that action was involuntary or performed while unconscious. Someone charged with a serious crime can acknowledge committing the act and yet may go free if, relying on the expert testimony of clinicians, the court determines that the act of crime was committed in a state of automatism. In this review, we explore the relationship between the use of automatism in the legal and clinical literature. We close by addressing several issues raised by the automatism defense: semantic ambiguity surrounding the term automatism, the presence or absence of consciousness during automatisms, and the methodological obstacles that have hindered the study of cognition during automatisms. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. WORDS FROM "ACTS AND EPISTLES OF THE APOSTLES" IN ANTON CHEKHOV'S LETTERS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olga Ivanovna Rodionova

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Chekhov was born in a very religious family and since early childhood became familiar with church practice. In the letters he wrote as a middle-aged man, he called himself an unbeliever. However, a lack of faith did not prevent him from using the Biblical words in his letters and works. This paper examines using the words from Acts and Epistles of the Apostles in Chekhov’s letters. We consider all the forms of this use: quotes, reminiscences, allusions, idioms of the New Testament’s origin, etc. The research enables us to evaluate the degree of Chekhov’s familiarity with Acts and Epistles of the Apostles, as well as the frequency and the context of his references to them. We also try to answer the question why Chekhov, being an unbeliever, uses the scriptural words so often, and we make a conclusion that scriptural words formed an integral part of his thesaurus. This, therefore, leads us to a conclusion that the researchers and readers of Chekhov need to know the Bible to understand the writer’s language.

  18. SECRETARIAT AND TEXTUAL PRODUCTION: ARGUMENTATION IN THE TEXTUAL GENRE LETTER OF DECLARATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erivaldo Pereira do Nascimento

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available This article aims at describing the semantic argumentative structure of the textual/discursive genre Letter of Declaration, one of the documents with which the executive secretary frequently deals. This investigation is based on the Argumention Theory in the Language proposed by Ducrot (1988,1987. We also used the studies about Discursive Modalization proposed by Koch (2002, Castilho e Castilho (1993, Nascimento (2005, among others. Modalization is considered here as a semantic argumentative strategy, as it enables the speaker to make a statement or to express a point of view about the content of his/her enunciation, according to the interlocution. This study about the previously mentioned gender is qualitative, quantitative and descriptive. The corpus used is composed of 20 (twenty Letters of Declaration issued by different organizations or private and public institutions. We perceived that in the Letters of Declaration analysed argumentation is achieved by the use of modalizers and argumentative operators, used by the speaker to produce different effects of meaning in the texts.

  19. Automatic quantitative renal scintigraphy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Valeyre, J.; Deltour, G.; Delisle, M.J.; Bouchard, A.

    1976-01-01

    Renal scintigraphy data may be analyzed automatically by the use of a processing system coupled to an Anger camera (TRIDAC-MULTI 8 or CINE 200). The computing sequence is as follows: normalization of the images; background noise subtraction on both images; evaluation of mercury 197 uptake by the liver and spleen; calculation of the activity fractions on each kidney with respect to the injected dose, taking into account the kidney depth and the results referred to normal values; edition of the results. Automation minimizes the scattering parameters and by its simplification is a great asset in routine work [fr

  20. Algoritmi matematici nelle lettere di Gerbert

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rossi, P.

    The content of Gerbert's "scientific" letters is analyzed in detail, with special emphasis on arithmetical and geometrical issues, such as multiplication and division rules related to the use of abacus, superparticular numbers and evaluation of the area of an equilateral triangle. It is shown that Gerbert's area formula, albeit based on rational fractions, could hardly be conceived without knowledge of Pythagoras' theorem. This fact casts a light also on the astronomical tools created by Gerbert, where the didactical aspect cannot be separated from the accuracy of the demonstrations and of the measurements.

  1. A case study in unethical transgressive bioethics: "Letter of concern from bioethicists" about the prenatal administration of dexamethasone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCullough, Laurence B; Chervenak, Frank A; Brent, Robert L; Hippen, Benjamin

    2010-09-01

    On February 3, 2010, a "Letter of Concern from Bioethicists," organized by fetaldex.org, was sent to report suspected violations of the ethics of human subjects research in the off-label use of dexamethasone during pregnancy by Dr. Maria New. Copies of this letter were submitted to the FDA Office of Pediatric Therapeutics, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office for Human Research Protections, and three universities where Dr. New has held or holds appointments. We provide a critical appraisal of the Letter of Concern and show that it makes false claims, misrepresents scientific publications and websites, fails to meet standards of evidence-based reasoning, makes undocumented claims, treats as settled matters what are, instead, ongoing controversies, offers "mere opinion" as a substitute for argument, and makes contradictory claims. The Letter of Concern is a case study in unethical transgressive bioethics. We call on fetaldex.org to withdraw the letter and for co-signatories to withdraw their approval of it.

  2. Orthographic Reading Deficits in Dyslexic Japanese Children: Examining the Transposed-Letter Effect in the Color-Word Stroop Paradigm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ogawa, Shino; Shibasaki, Masahiro; Isomura, Tomoko; Masataka, Nobuo

    2016-01-01

    In orthographic reading, the transposed-letter effect (TLE) is the perception of a transposed-letter position word such as "cholocate" as the correct word "chocolate." Although previous studies on dyslexic children using alphabetic languages have reported such orthographic reading deficits, the extent of orthographic reading impairment in dyslexic Japanese children has remained unknown. This study examined the TLE in dyslexic Japanese children using the color-word Stroop paradigm comprising congruent and incongruent Japanese hiragana words with correct and transposed-letter positions. We found that typically developed children exhibited Stroop effects in Japanese hiragana words with both correct and transposed-letter positions, thus indicating the presence of TLE. In contrast, dyslexic children indicated Stroop effects in correct letter positions in Japanese words but not in transposed, which indicated an absence of the TLE. These results suggest that dyslexic Japanese children, similar to dyslexic children using alphabetic languages, may also have a problem with orthographic reading.

  3. What is the importance of the referral letter in the patient journey? A pilot survey in Western Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiwa, Moyez; Arnet, Hayley; Bulsara, Max; Ee, Hooi C; Harwood, Abby

    2009-01-01

    Access to specialists is mediated by general practitioners in many countries. In these settings, specialists rely on information in referral letters when deciding which cases to schedule for their clinics. Two-hundred and seven consecutive referral letters to gastroenterologists were scored for the amount of information relayed to the specialist, using a published schedule. The 'quality' scores for these referral letters were compared for four groups of patients: patients diagnosed with histological lesion, those with no histological lesion, those who failed to attend clinic, or those who had a diagnosis unknown. Forty-two referral letters were generated with a range of quality scores. Four gastroenterologists were asked to identify which letters described patients 'likely' to have a significant or benign colorectal condition, and whether they could triage the cases for their clinic given only the information in the letters. It was not possible to differentiate which letters related to patients in each of the four categories (P = 0.6). Patients who failed to attend were more symptomatic than those with a histological lesion (35.4 versus 28.2, mean difference 7.14, 95% confidence interval (CI) 14.1 to 0.15, P = 0.045). Patients referred 'urgently' were not, on the basis of the referral letters, the most symptomatic group (29.7 versus 27, mean difference 2.7, 95% CI -3.4 to 8.8, P = 0.38). The specialists failed to agree on the proportion of cases that could be triaged for their clinics. The cases that could be triaged contained more information (mean 66.38 versus 49.86, mean difference 16, 95% CI 1.3-31.7, P information relayed and the diagnosis of a histological lesion. However, more information was helpful when deciding which patients to schedule first. By corollary, patients referred with lesser documentation of their clinical presentation may be denied 'urgent' access to the gastroenterology clinic.

  4. Generic and robust method for automatic segmentation of PET images using an active contour model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhuang, Mingzan [Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, 9700 RB Groningen (Netherlands)

    2016-08-15

    Purpose: Although positron emission tomography (PET) images have shown potential to improve the accuracy of targeting in radiation therapy planning and assessment of response to treatment, the boundaries of tumors are not easily distinguishable from surrounding normal tissue owing to the low spatial resolution and inherent noisy characteristics of PET images. The objective of this study is to develop a generic and robust method for automatic delineation of tumor volumes using an active contour model and to evaluate its performance using phantom and clinical studies. Methods: MASAC, a method for automatic segmentation using an active contour model, incorporates the histogram fuzzy C-means clustering, and localized and textural information to constrain the active contour to detect boundaries in an accurate and robust manner. Moreover, the lattice Boltzmann method is used as an alternative approach for solving the level set equation to make it faster and suitable for parallel programming. Twenty simulated phantom studies and 16 clinical studies, including six cases of pharyngolaryngeal squamous cell carcinoma and ten cases of nonsmall cell lung cancer, were included to evaluate its performance. Besides, the proposed method was also compared with the contourlet-based active contour algorithm (CAC) and Schaefer’s thresholding method (ST). The relative volume error (RE), Dice similarity coefficient (DSC), and classification error (CE) metrics were used to analyze the results quantitatively. Results: For the simulated phantom studies (PSs), MASAC and CAC provide similar segmentations of the different lesions, while ST fails to achieve reliable results. For the clinical datasets (2 cases with connected high-uptake regions excluded) (CSs), CAC provides for the lowest mean RE (−8.38% ± 27.49%), while MASAC achieves the best mean DSC (0.71 ± 0.09) and mean CE (53.92% ± 12.65%), respectively. MASAC could reliably quantify different types of lesions assessed in this work

  5. The Philosophical and Mathematical Context of two Gerbert's Musical Letters to Constantine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Otisk, Marek

    2015-04-01

    The paper deals with two letters written by Gerbert of Aurillac to Constantine of Fleury. In these letters Gerbert points out some passages from Boethius’s Introduction to Music (II, 10; respectively IV, 2 and II, 21) concerning mathematical operations (multiplication and subtraction) with superparticular ratios i.e. ratios of the type (n+1) : n. The musical harmonies rule the Cosmos and the Celestial Spheres according to Martianus Capella De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii; Music is the basis for understanting Astronomy. This paper follows two main aims: philosophical importance of music as liberal art and mathematical basis of the Pythagorean tuning.

  6. Adolescent Sexual Initiation through the Lens of Letters to the Editor Published in Polish Teenage Magazines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kopacz, Marek S.; Bajka-Kopacz, Aleksandra

    2012-01-01

    Almost all teenage magazines invite readers to submit questions concerning relationships, published as letters to the editor, popularly called "advice columns," often containing explicit questions about sexuality. This study aims to examine, firstly, how themes related to sexual initiation are presented in letters to the editor published…

  7. Thomas Birch's 'Weekly Letter' (1741-66): correspondence and history in the mid-eighteenth-century Royal Society.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellis, Markman

    2014-09-20

    Thomas Birch (1705-66), Secretary of the Royal Society from 1752 to 1765, and Philip Yorke, second Earl of Hardwicke (1720-90), wrote a 'Weekly Letter' from 1741 to 1766, an unpublished correspondence of 680 letters now housed in the British Library (Additional Mss 35396-400). The article examines the dimensions and purposes of this correspondence, an important conduit of information for the influential coterie of the 'Hardwicke circle' gathered around Yorke in the Royal Society. It explores the writers' self-conception of the correspondence, which was expressed in deliberately archaic categories of seventeenth-century news exchange, such as the newsletter, aviso and a-la-main. It shows how the letter writers negotiated their difference in status through the discourse of friendship, and concludes that the 'Weekly Letter' constituted for the correspondents a form of private knowledge, restricted in circulation to their discrete group, and as such unlike the open and networked model of Enlightenment science.

  8. Model business letters, emails and other business documents

    CERN Document Server

    Taylor, Shirley

    2012-01-01

    For anyone who wants to communicate effectively in business, this is your complete reference guide for any form of written communication. Packed with over 500 sample documents, over 100 tips for better business writing and useful templates you can apply to your writing immediately, Model Business Letters will help you put the key rules of good business writing into action.

  9. Using stochastic activity networks to study the energy feasibility of automatic weather stations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cassano, Luca [Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informatica e Bioingegneria, Politecnico di Milano (Italy); Cesarini, Daniel [Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa (Italy); Avvenuti, Marco [Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell’Informazione, University of Pisa (Italy)

    2015-03-10

    Automatic Weather Stations (AWSs) are systems equipped with a number of environmental sensors and communication interfaces used to monitor harsh environments, such as glaciers and deserts. Designing such systems is challenging, since designers have to maximize the amount of sampled and transmitted data while considering the energy needs of the system that, in most cases, is powered by rechargeable batteries and exploits energy harvesting, e.g., solar cells and wind turbines. To support designers of AWSs in the definition of the software tasks and of the hardware configuration of the AWS we designed and implemented an energy-aware simulator of such systems. The simulator relies on the Stochastic Activity Networks (SANs) formalism and has been developed using the Möbius tool. In this paper we first show how we used the SAN formalism to model the various components of an AWS, we then report results from an experiment carried out to validate the simulator against a real-world AWS and we finally show some examples of usage of the proposed simulator.

  10. Discourse Strategies of Italian and English Sales Promotion Letters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vergaro, Carla

    2004-01-01

    This article describes a contrastive study on rhetorical differences between Italian and English sales promotion letters. It is assumed that cultural differences affect discourse genres traditionally considered as standardized, ritual or even formulaic, written business communication being a case in point. It was our goal to investigate how…

  11. Letters and Viewpoints Planning Education in Africa: Towards the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Letters and Viewpoints Planning Education in Africa: Towards the 21st Century. George N. Ngugi ... The relevance of planning education is questioned from the theoretical and philosophical perspectives on one hand, the professional and practical stance on the other. Its goals are scrutinized and its structure argued about.

  12. The Use of Profanity During Letter Fluency Tasks in Frontotemporal Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ringman, John M.; Kwon, Eunice; Flores, Deborah L.; Rotko, Carol; Mendez, Mario F.; Lu, Po

    2012-01-01

    Objective To assess whether the production of profanity during letter fluency testing distinguishes frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. Background Alterations in language and social behavior typify FTD spectrum disorders. Nonetheless, in can be difficult to distinguish pathologically-defined frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) from AD clinically. Assessing verbal fluency by having patients generate as many words as they can beginning with specific letters in a given period of time can yield diverse information of diagnostic utility. Method Words produced during FAS letter fluency testing were reviewed and instances of the use of "f*ck", "*ss", and "sh*t" and other words felt to be inappropriate were sought. The frequency of these words was compared between clinically diagnosed FTD and AD patients using chi-square tests. Results We found that 6/32 (18.8%) patients with FTD generated the word "f*ck" during the "F" trial as opposed to none of 38 patients with AD (p = 0.007). Patients who said "f*ck" had diagnoses of either behavioral variant FTD (3/15), progressive non-fluent aphasia (2/8), or semantic dementia (1/3). Conclusions Though the specific neuropathology in these cases is uncertain, generation of "f*ck" during letter fluency testing appears to have utility in differentiating FTD from AD. PMID:20829665

  13. Applications for approval to market a new drug; complete response letter; amendments to unapproved applications. Final rule.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2008-07-10

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending its regulations on new drug applications (NDAs) and abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) for approval to market new drugs and generic drugs (drugs for which approval is sought in an ANDA). The final rule discontinues FDA's use of approvable letters and not approvable letters when taking action on marketing applications. Instead, we will send applicants a complete response letter to indicate that the review cycle for an application is complete and that the application is not ready for approval. We are also revising the regulations on extending the review cycle due to the submission of an amendment to an unapproved application and starting a new review cycle after the resubmission of an application following receipt of a complete response letter. In addition, we are adding to the regulations on biologics license applications (BLAs) provisions on the issuance of complete response letters to BLA applicants. We are taking these actions to implement the user fee performance goals referenced in the Prescription Drug User Fee Amendments of 2002 (PDUFA III) that address procedures and establish target timeframes for reviewing human drug applications.

  14. Barriers, Challenges, and Decision-Making in the Letter Writing Process for Gender Transition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Budge, Stephanie L; Dickey, Lore M

    2017-03-01

    This article addresses the challenges that clinicians face in writing letters of support for transgender and gender-diverse clients. It addresses common but challenging clinical representations to help the reader understand the nuances associated with writing letters. Three cases are presented. The first addresses systemic challenges, the second addresses management of care, and the third addresses co-occurring mental health concerns. Recommendations for practice are provided based on the experiences included within the 3 case examples. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Toward a noninvasive automatic seizure control system in rats with transcranial focal stimulations via tripolar concentric ring electrodes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makeyev, Oleksandr; Liu, Xiang; Luna-Munguía, Hiram; Rogel-Salazar, Gabriela; Mucio-Ramirez, Samuel; Liu, Yuhong; Sun, Yan L; Kay, Steven M; Besio, Walter G

    2012-07-01

    Epilepsy affects approximately 1% of the world population. Antiepileptic drugs are ineffective in approximately 30% of patients and have side effects. We are developing a noninvasive, or minimally invasive, transcranial focal electrical stimulation system through our novel tripolar concentric ring electrodes to control seizures. In this study, we demonstrate feasibility of an automatic seizure control system in rats with pentylenetetrazole-induced seizures through single and multiple stimulations. These stimulations are automatically triggered by a real-time electrographic seizure activity detector based on a disjunctive combination of detections from a cumulative sum algorithm and a generalized likelihood ratio test. An average seizure onset detection accuracy of 76.14% was obtained for the test set (n = 13). Detection of electrographic seizure activity was accomplished in advance of the early behavioral seizure activity in 76.92% of the cases. Automatically triggered stimulation significantly (p = 0.001) reduced the electrographic seizure activity power in the once stimulated group compared to controls in 70% of the cases. To the best of our knowledge this is the first closed-loop automatic seizure control system based on noninvasive electrical brain stimulation using tripolar concentric ring electrode electrographic seizure activity as feedback.

  16. Automatic media-adventitia IVUS image segmentation based on sparse representation framework and dynamic directional active contour model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zakeri, Fahimeh Sadat; Setarehdan, Seyed Kamaledin; Norouzi, Somayye

    2017-10-01

    Segmentation of the arterial wall boundaries from intravascular ultrasound images is an important image processing task in order to quantify arterial wall characteristics such as shape, area, thickness and eccentricity. Since manual segmentation of these boundaries is a laborious and time consuming procedure, many researchers attempted to develop (semi-) automatic segmentation techniques as a powerful tool for educational and clinical purposes in the past but as yet there is no any clinically approved method in the market. This paper presents a deterministic-statistical strategy for automatic media-adventitia border detection by a fourfold algorithm. First, a smoothed initial contour is extracted based on the classification in the sparse representation framework which is combined with the dynamic directional convolution vector field. Next, an active contour model is utilized for the propagation of the initial contour toward the interested borders. Finally, the extracted contour is refined in the leakage, side branch openings and calcification regions based on the image texture patterns. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated by comparing the results to those manually traced borders by an expert on 312 different IVUS images obtained from four different patients. The statistical analysis of the results demonstrates the efficiency of the proposed method in the media-adventitia border detection with enough consistency in the leakage and calcification regions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. 78 FR 7784 - Health Information Technology Policy Committee Nomination Letters

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-04

    ... GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE Health Information Technology Policy Committee Nomination Letters.... SUMMARY: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) established the Health Information Technology Policy Committee (Health IT Policy Committee) and gave the Comptroller General responsibility for...

  18. Neural Bases of Automaticity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Servant, Mathieu; Cassey, Peter; Woodman, Geoffrey F.; Logan, Gordon D.

    2018-01-01

    Automaticity allows us to perform tasks in a fast, efficient, and effortless manner after sufficient practice. Theories of automaticity propose that across practice processing transitions from being controlled by working memory to being controlled by long-term memory retrieval. Recent event-related potential (ERP) studies have sought to test this…

  19. On Which Abilities Are Category Fluency and Letter Fluency Grounded A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of 53 Alzheimer's Dementia Patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ilaria Bizzozero

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Background/Aims: In Alzheimer's dementia (AD, letter fluency is less impaired than category fluency. To check whether category fluency and letter fluency depend differently on semantics and attention, 53 mild AD patients were given animal and letter fluency tasks, two semantic tests (the Verbal Semantic Questionnaire and the BORB Association Match test, and two attentional tests (the Stroop Colour-Word Interference test and the Digit Cancellation test. Methods: We conducted a LISREL confirmatory factor analysis to check the extent to which category fluency and letter fluency tasks were related to semantics and attention, viewed as latent variables. Results: Both types of fluency tasks were related to the latent variable Semantics but not to the latent variable Attention. Conclusions: Our findings warn against interpreting the disproportionate impairment of AD patients on category and letter fluency as a contrast between semantics and attention.

  20. Letters of Second Lieutenant Charles Wesley Chapman, Jr. December 19, 1894 - May 3, 1918

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-04-01

    that every possible channel of communication will be utilized to ascertain the whereabouts of your son. The personal effects of 2nd. Lieut. Charles W...AIR UNIVERSITY AIR FORCE RESEARCH INSTITUTE Letters of Second Lieutenant Charles Wesley Chapman, Jr. December 19, 1894–May 3, 1918 Air Force...in-Publication Data Chapman, Charles Wesley, Jr., 1894–1918. Letters of Second Lieutenant Charles Wesley Chapman, Jr., December 19, 1894–May 3, 1918