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Sample records for performing mental arithmetic

  1. High-performers use the phonological loop less to process mental arithmetic during working memory tasks.

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    Otsuka, Yuki; Osaka, Naoyuki

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated the effects of three working memory components-the central executive, phonological loop, and visuospatial sketchpad-on performance differences in complex mental arithmetic between individuals. Using the dual-task method, we examined how performance during two-digit addition was affected by load on the central executive (random tapping condition), phonological loop (articulatory suppression condition), and visuospatial sketchpad (spatial tapping condition) compared to that under no load (control condition) in high- and low-performers of complex mental arithmetic in Experiment 1. Low-performers showed an increase in errors under the random tapping and articulatory suppression conditions, whereas high-performers showed an increase of errors only under the random tapping condition. In Experiment 2, we conducted similar experiments on only the high-performers but used a shorter presentation time of each number. We found the same pattern for performing complex mental arithmetic as seen in Experiment 1. These results indicate that high-performers might reduce their dependence on the phonological loop, because the central executive enables them to choose a strategy in which they use less working memory capacity.

  2. Knowing right from wrong in mental arithmetic judgments: calibration of confidence predicts the development of accuracy.

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    Rinne, Luke F; Mazzocco, Michèle M M

    2014-01-01

    Does knowing when mental arithmetic judgments are right--and when they are wrong--lead to more accurate judgments over time? We hypothesize that the successful detection of errors (and avoidance of false alarms) may contribute to the development of mental arithmetic performance. Insight into error detection abilities can be gained by examining the "calibration" of mental arithmetic judgments-that is, the alignment between confidence in judgments and the accuracy of those judgments. Calibration may be viewed as a measure of metacognitive monitoring ability. We conducted a developmental longitudinal investigation of the relationship between the calibration of children's mental arithmetic judgments and their performance on a mental arithmetic task. Annually between Grades 5 and 8, children completed a problem verification task in which they rapidly judged the accuracy of arithmetic expressions (e.g., 25 + 50 = 75) and rated their confidence in each judgment. Results showed that calibration was strongly related to concurrent mental arithmetic performance, that calibration continued to develop even as mental arithmetic accuracy approached ceiling, that poor calibration distinguished children with mathematics learning disability from both low and typically achieving children, and that better calibration in Grade 5 predicted larger gains in mental arithmetic accuracy between Grades 5 and 8. We propose that good calibration supports the implementation of cognitive control, leading to long-term improvement in mental arithmetic accuracy. Because mental arithmetic "fluency" is critical for higher-level mathematics competence, calibration of confidence in mental arithmetic judgments may represent a novel and important developmental predictor of future mathematics performance.

  3. Memory updating and mental arithmetic

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    Cheng-Ching eHan

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Is domain-general memory updating ability predictive of calculation skills or are such skills better predicted by the capacity for updating specifically numerical information? Here, we used multidigit mental multiplication (MMM as a measure for calculating skill as this operation requires the accurate maintenance and updating of information in addition to skills needed for arithmetic more generally. In Experiment 1, we found that only individual differences with regard to a task updating numerical information following addition (MUcalc could predict the performance of MMM, perhaps owing to common elements between the task and MMM. In Experiment 2, new updating tasks were designed to clarify this: a spatial updating task with no numbers, a numerical task with no calculation, and a word task. The results showed that both MUcalc and the spatial task were able to predict the performance of MMM but only with the more difficult problems, while other updating tasks did not predict performance. It is concluded that relevant processes involved in updating the contents of working memory support mental arithmetic in adults.

  4. How to be Brilliant at Mental Arithmetic

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    Webber, Beryl

    2010-01-01

    How to be Brilliant at Mental Arithmetic addresses the twin pillars of mental arithmetic - mental recall and mental agility. Mental recall depends on familiarity with number bonds and plenty of opportunity to practise. Mental agility depends more on confidence with the number system and the four operations. Using the worksheets in this book, students will learn about: tens and units; addition, subtraction, multiplication and division; addition shortcuts; product squares; quick recall; number se

  5. Enhancing performance in numerical magnitude processing and mental arithmetic using transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS

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    Tobias U. Hauser

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available The ability to accurately process numerical magnitudes and solve mental arithmetic is of highest importance for schooling and professional career. Although impairments in these domains in disorders such as developmental dyscalculia (DD are highly detrimental, remediation is still sparse. In recent years, transcranial brain stimulation methods such as transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS have been suggested as a treatment for various neurologic and neuropsychiatric disorders. The posterior parietal cortex (PPC is known to be crucially involved in numerical magnitude processing and mental arithmetic. In this study, we evaluated whether tDCS has a beneficial effect on numerical magnitude processing and mental arithmetic. Due to the unclear lateralization, we stimulated the left, right as well as both hemispheres simultaneously in two experiments. We found that left anodal tDCS significantly enhanced performance in a number comparison and a subtraction task, while bilateral and right anodal tDCS did not induce any improvements compared to sham. Our findings demonstrate that the left PPC is causally involved in numerical magnitude processing and mental arithmetic. Furthermore, we show that these cognitive functions can be enhanced by means of tDCS. These findings encourage to further investigate the beneficial effect of tDCS in the domain of mathematics in healthy and impaired humans.

  6. Interactivity And Mental Arithmetic: Coupling Mind And World Transforms And Enhances Performance

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    Guthrie Lisa G.

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Interactivity has been linked to better performance in problem solving, due in part to a more efficient allocation of attentional resources, a better distribution of cognitive load, but perhaps more important by enabling the reasoner to shape and reshape the physical problem presentation to promote the development of the problem solution. Interactivity in solving quotidian arithmetic problems involves gestures, pointing, and the recruitment of artefacts to facilitate computation and augment efficiency. In the experiment reported here, different types of interactivity were examined with a series of mental arithmetic problems. Using a repeated-measures design, participants solved series of five 11-digit sums in four conditions that varied in the type of interactivity: (i no interactivity (participants solved the problems with their hands on the table top, (ii pointing (participants could point at the numbers, (iii pen and paper (participants could note interim totals with a pen, and (iv tokens (the sums were presented as 11 numbered tokens the arrangement of which participants were free to modify as they proceeded to the solution. Performance in the four conditions was measured in terms of accuracy, calculation error, and efficiency (a ratio composed of the proportion correct over the proportion of time invested in working on the sums. These quantitative analyses were supplemented by a detailed qualitative examination of a participant’s actions in the different conditions. The integration of artefacts, such as tokens or a pen, offered reasoners the opportunity to reconfigure the physical presentation of the problem, enacting different arithmetic strategies: the affordance landscape shifts as the problem trajectory is enacted through interactivity, and this generally produced better “mental” arithmetic performance. Participants also felt more positive about and better engaged with the task when they could reconfigure the problem presentation

  7. Numbers in action: individual differences and interactivity in mental arithmetic.

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    Guthrie, Lisa G; Vallée-Tourangeau, Frédéric

    2018-02-03

    Previous research indicates that interactive arithmetic tasks may alleviate the deleterious impact of maths anxiety on arithmetic performance. Our aim here was to further test the impact of interactivity on maths-anxious individuals and those with poorer numeracy skills. In the experiment reported here participants completed sums in two interactivity contexts. In a low-interactivity condition, sums were completed with hands down. In a second, high-interactivity condition, participants used moveable number tokens. As anticipated, accuracy and efficiency were greater in the high compared to the low-interactivity condition. Correlational analyses indicated that maths anxiety, objective numeracy, measures of maths expertise and working memory were stronger predictors of performance in the low- than in the high-interactivity conditions. Interactivity transformed the deployment of arithmetic skills, improved performance, and reduced the gap between high- and low-ability individuals. These findings suggest that traditional psychometric efforts that identify the cognitive capacities and dispositions involved in mental arithmetic should take into account the degree of interactivity afforded by the task environment.

  8. Temporal Comparison Between NIRS and EEG Signals During a Mental Arithmetic Task Evaluated with Self-Organizing Maps.

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    Oyama, Katsunori; Sakatani, Kaoru

    2016-01-01

    Simultaneous monitoring of brain activity with near-infrared spectroscopy and electroencephalography allows spatiotemporal reconstruction of the hemodynamic response regarding the concentration changes in oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin that are associated with recorded brain activity such as cognitive functions. However, the accuracy of state estimation during mental arithmetic tasks is often different depending on the length of the segment for sampling of NIRS and EEG signals. This study compared the results of a self-organizing map and ANOVA, which were both used to assess the accuracy of state estimation. We conducted an experiment with a mental arithmetic task performed by 10 participants. The lengths of the segment in each time frame for observation of NIRS and EEG signals were compared with the 30-s, 1-min, and 2-min segment lengths. The optimal segment lengths were different for NIRS and EEG signals in the case of classification of feature vectors into the states of performing a mental arithmetic task and being at rest.

  9. Sex differences in prefrontal hemodynamic response to mental arithmetic as assessed by near-infrared spectroscopy.

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    Yang, Hongyu; Wang, Ying; Zhou, Zhenyu; Gong, Hui; Luo, Qingming; Wang, Yiwen; Lu, Zuhong

    2009-12-01

    Sex differences in cognitive tasks have been widely investigated. With brain-imaging techniques, the functions of the brain during the performance of tasks can be examined. Mental arithmetic and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) were used to assess sex differences in prefrontal area activation in a functional brain study. Healthy college students were recruited to perform 2 mental arithmetic tasks. In the first (easy) task, students had to subtract a 1-digit number from a 3-digit number. In the second (difficult) task, they had to subtract a 2-digit number from a 3-digit number. Changes in the concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hgb) in the prefrontal area during the tasks were measured with NIRS. Thirty students (15 men, 15 women; mean [SD] age: 24.9 [2.2] and 24.3 [2.6] years, respectively) were recruited from Southeast University, Nanjing, China, to participate in the study. The concentration of oxy-Hgb increased during both mental arithmetic tasks (difficult task vs easy task, mean [SD] % arbitrary units: 4.36 [4.38] vs 2.26 [2.82]; F(1,28) = 222.80; P men and women were observed in the mean (SD) response time (men vs women, sec: 3.60 [0.74] vs 3.56 [0.49] for the easy task, 6.55 [0.77] vs 6.44 [0.75] for the difficult task; F(1,28) = 0.67; P = NS) or accuracy rate (men vs women, %: 95.33 [7.40] vs 92.77 [8.80] for the easy task, 62.67 [28.56] vs 54.67 [18.75] for the difficult task; F(1,28) = 0.54; P = NS). Male students showed neural efficiency (less prefrontal activation in subjects with better performance) during the difficult task. In these subjects, sex differences in prefrontal response when performing mental arithmetic were associated with the intensity of the task. Compared with men, women had greater efficiency in task performance (ie, less activation or oxygen consumption for equal performance). Copyright 2009 Excerpta Medica Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Sex Differences in Mental Arithmetic, Digit Span, and "g" Defined as Working Memory Capacity

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    Lynn, Richard; Irwing, Paul

    2008-01-01

    Meta-analyses are presented of sex differences in (1) the (mental) arithmetic subtest of the Wechsler intelligence tests for children and adolescents (the WISC and WPPSI tests), showing that boys obtained a mean advantage of 0.11d; (2) the (mental) arithmetic subtest of the Wechsler intelligence tests for adults (the WAIS tests) showing a mean…

  11. Competing Biases in Mental Arithmetic: When Division Is More and Multiplication Is Less.

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    Shaki, Samuel; Fischer, Martin H

    2017-01-01

    Mental arithmetic exhibits various biases. Among those is a tendency to overestimate addition and to underestimate subtraction outcomes. Does such "operational momentum" (OM) also affect multiplication and division? Twenty-six adults produced lines whose lengths corresponded to the correct outcomes of multiplication and division problems shown in symbolic format. We found a reliable tendency to over-estimate division outcomes, i.e., reverse OM. We suggest that anchoring on the first operand (a tendency to use this number as a reference for further quantitative reasoning) contributes to cognitive biases in mental arithmetic.

  12. Cognitive Processes that Account for Mental Addition Fluency Differences between Children Typically Achieving in Arithmetic and Children At-Risk for Failure in Arithmetic

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    Berg, Derek H.; Hutchinson, Nancy L.

    2010-01-01

    This study investigated whether processing speed, short-term memory, and working memory accounted for the differential mental addition fluency between children typically achieving in arithmetic (TA) and children at-risk for failure in arithmetic (AR). Further, we drew attention to fluency differences in simple (e.g., 5 + 3) and complex (e.g., 16 +…

  13. Functional Neuroanatomy Involved in Automatic order Mental Arithmetic and Recitation of the Multiplication Table

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    Wang, Li-Qun; Saito, Masao

    We used 1.5T functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to explore that which brain areas contribute uniquely to numeric computation. The BOLD effect activation pattern of metal arithmetic task (successive subtraction: actual calculation task) was compared with multiplication tables repetition task (rote verbal arithmetic memory task) response. The activation found in right parietal lobule during metal arithmetic task suggested that quantitative cognition or numeric computation may need the assistance of sensuous convert, such as spatial imagination and spatial sensuous convert. In addition, this mechanism may be an ’analog algorithm’ in the simple mental arithmetic processing.

  14. Effects of cold-pressor and mental arithmetic on pupillary light reflex

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    Davis, B C; Daluwatte, C; Colona, N C; Yao, D G

    2013-01-01

    Dynamic pupillary light reflex (PLR) is a simple neurological test that can be useful for assessment of autonomic disorders. In this study, we investigated the changes in PLR induced by mental arithmetic task and cold pressor trials which are often applied in research as model systems to elicit autonomic responses. PLR was recorded before, during and after mental arithmetic and cold pressor tasks in 20 healthy adults (ten males and ten females). Stress-induced sympathetic activation was evident as shown in the increased blood pressure during both tasks. Although the pupillary constriction amplitude did not show significant changes, both constriction time and redilation time changed during the tasks. A significant gender effect was observed in cold pressor that suggested more sympathetic activation in males and faster parasympathetic activation in females in response to light stimulation under cold pressor. (paper)

  15. Heart rate variability response to mental arithmetic stress in patients with schizophrenia Autonomic response to stress in schizophrenia

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    Castro, Mariana N.; Vigo, Daniel E.; Weidema, Hylke; Fahrer, Rodolfo D.; Chu, Elvina M.; De Achaval, Delfina; Nogues, Martin; Leiguarda, Ramon C.; Cardinali, Daniel P.; Guinjoan, Salvador N.

    Background: The vulnerability-stress hypothesis is an established model of schizophrenia symptom formation. We sought to characterise the pattern of the cardiac autonomic response to mental arithmetic stress in patients with stable schizophrenia. Methods: We performed heart rate variability (HRV)

  16. The Influence of verbalization on the pattern of cortical activation during mental arithmetic

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    Zarnhofer Sabrina

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The aim of the present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI study at 3 T was to investigate the influence of the verbal-visual cognitive style on cerebral activation patterns during mental arithmetic. In the domain of arithmetic, a visual style might for example mean to visualize numbers and (intermediate results, and a verbal style might mean, that numbers and (intermediate results are verbally repeated. In this study, we investigated, first, whether verbalizers show activations in areas for language processing, and whether visualizers show activations in areas for visual processing during mental arithmetic. Some researchers have proposed that the left and right intraparietal sulcus (IPS, and the left angular gyrus (AG, two areas involved in number processing, show some domain or modality specificity. That is, verbal for the left AG, and visual for the left and right IPS. We investigated, second, whether the activation in these areas implied in number processing depended on an individual's cognitive style. Methods 42 young healthy adults participated in the fMRI study. The study comprised two functional sessions. In the first session, subtraction and multiplication problems were presented in an event-related design, and in the second functional session, multiplications were presented in two formats, as Arabic numerals and as written number words, in an event-related design. The individual's habitual use of visualization and verbalization during mental arithmetic was assessed by a short self-report assessment. Results We observed in both functional sessions that the use of verbalization predicts activation in brain areas associated with language (supramarginal gyrus and auditory processing (Heschl's gyrus, Rolandic operculum. However, we found no modulation of activation in the left AG as a function of verbalization. Conclusions Our results confirm that strong verbalizers use mental speech as a form of mental

  17. Brain potentials during mental arithmetic: effects of extensive practice and problem difficulty

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    Pauli, Paul; Lutzenberger, W.; Rau, H.; Birbaumer, N.; Rickard, T. C.; Yaroush, R. A.; Bourne, L. E. J.

    2011-01-01

    Recent behavioral investigations indicate that the processes underlying mental arithmetic change systematically with practice from deliberate, conscious calculation to automatic, direct retrieval of answers from memory [Bourne, L.E.Jr. and Rickard, T.C., Mental calculation: The development of a cognitive skill, Paper presented at the Interamerican Congress of Psychology, San Jose, Costa Rica, 1991; Psychol. Rev., 95 (1988) 492-527]. Results reviewed by Moscovitch and Winocur [In: The handbook...

  18. Using Mouse and Keyboard Dynamics to Detect Cognitive Stress During Mental Arithmetic

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    Ayesh, Aladdin, 1972-; Stacey, Martin; Lim, Yee Mei

    2015-01-01

    To build a personalized e-learning system that can deliver adaptive learning content based on student’s cognitive effort and efficiency, it is important to develop a construct that can help measuring perceived mental state, such as stress and cognitive load. The construct must be able to be quantified, computerized and automated. Our research investigates how mouse and keyboard dynamics analyses could be used to detect cognitive stress, which is induced by high mental arithmetic demand with t...

  19. Brain potentials during mental arithmetic: effects of extensive practice and problem difficulty.

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    Pauli, P; Lutzenberger, W; Rau, H; Birbaumer, N; Rickard, T C; Yaroush, R A; Bourne, L E

    1994-07-01

    Recent behavioral investigations indicate that the processes underlying mental arithmetic change systematically with practice from deliberate, conscious calculation to automatic, direct retrieval of answers from memory [Bourne, L.E.Jr. and Rickard, T.C., Mental calculation: The development of a cognitive skill, Paper presented at the Interamerican Congress of Psychology, San Jose, Costa Rica, 1991: Psychol. Rev., 95 (1988) 492-527]. Results reviewed by Moscovitch and Winocur [In: The handbook of aging and cognition, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, 1992, pp. 315-372] suggest that consciously controlled processes are more dependent on frontal lobe function than are automatic processes. It is appropriate, therefore to determine whether transitions in the locus of primary brain activity occur with practice on mental calculation. In this experiment, we examine the relationship between characteristics of event-related brain potentials (ERPs) and mental arithmetic. Single-digit mental multiplication problems varying in difficulty (problem size) were used, and subjects were trained on these problems for four sessions. Problem-size and practice effects were reliably found in behavioral measures (RT). The ERP was characterized by a pronounced late positivity after task presentation followed by a slow wave, and a negativity during response indication. These components responded differentially to the practice and problem-size manipulations. Practice mainly affected topography of the amplitude of positivity and offset latency of slow wave, and problem-size mainly offset latency of slow wave and pre-response negativity. Fronto-central positivity diminished from session to session, and the focus of positivity centered finally at centro-parietal regions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

  20. Approximate Arithmetic Training Improves Informal Math Performance in Low Achieving Preschoolers

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    Emily Szkudlarek

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Recent studies suggest that practice with approximate and non-symbolic arithmetic problems improves the math performance of adults, school aged children, and preschoolers. However, the relative effectiveness of approximate arithmetic training compared to available educational games, and the type of math skills that approximate arithmetic targets are unknown. The present study was designed to (1 compare the effectiveness of approximate arithmetic training to two commercially available numeral and letter identification tablet applications and (2 to examine the specific type of math skills that benefit from approximate arithmetic training. Preschool children (n = 158 were pseudo-randomly assigned to one of three conditions: approximate arithmetic, letter identification, or numeral identification. All children were trained for 10 short sessions and given pre and post tests of informal and formal math, executive function, short term memory, vocabulary, alphabet knowledge, and number word knowledge. We found a significant interaction between initial math performance and training condition, such that children with low pretest math performance benefited from approximate arithmetic training, and children with high pretest math performance benefited from symbol identification training. This effect was restricted to informal, and not formal, math problems. There were also effects of gender, socio-economic status, and age on post-test informal math score after intervention. A median split on pretest math ability indicated that children in the low half of math scores in the approximate arithmetic training condition performed significantly better than children in the letter identification training condition on post-test informal math problems when controlling for pretest, age, gender, and socio-economic status. Our results support the conclusion that approximate arithmetic training may be especially effective for children with low math skills, and that

  1. Approximate Arithmetic Training Improves Informal Math Performance in Low Achieving Preschoolers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szkudlarek, Emily; Brannon, Elizabeth M

    2018-01-01

    Recent studies suggest that practice with approximate and non-symbolic arithmetic problems improves the math performance of adults, school aged children, and preschoolers. However, the relative effectiveness of approximate arithmetic training compared to available educational games, and the type of math skills that approximate arithmetic targets are unknown. The present study was designed to (1) compare the effectiveness of approximate arithmetic training to two commercially available numeral and letter identification tablet applications and (2) to examine the specific type of math skills that benefit from approximate arithmetic training. Preschool children ( n = 158) were pseudo-randomly assigned to one of three conditions: approximate arithmetic, letter identification, or numeral identification. All children were trained for 10 short sessions and given pre and post tests of informal and formal math, executive function, short term memory, vocabulary, alphabet knowledge, and number word knowledge. We found a significant interaction between initial math performance and training condition, such that children with low pretest math performance benefited from approximate arithmetic training, and children with high pretest math performance benefited from symbol identification training. This effect was restricted to informal, and not formal, math problems. There were also effects of gender, socio-economic status, and age on post-test informal math score after intervention. A median split on pretest math ability indicated that children in the low half of math scores in the approximate arithmetic training condition performed significantly better than children in the letter identification training condition on post-test informal math problems when controlling for pretest, age, gender, and socio-economic status. Our results support the conclusion that approximate arithmetic training may be especially effective for children with low math skills, and that approximate arithmetic

  2. THE EFFECT OF PLAYING SNAKE AND LADDER TOWARD THE RESULT STUDY OF ARITHMETIC ADDITION FOR STUDENT WITH MENTALLY RETARDED STUDENT

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    Arianti Iman Sari

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this research were to describe: (1 the study result of arithmetic addition operation for fourth grade student with mentally retarded in SDLB before playing the Snake and Ladder activity (2 the study result of arithmetic addition operation for fourth grade student with mentally retarded in SDLB after playing the Snake and Ladder activity (3 the effect of Snake and Ladder playing toward the result study of arithmetic addition for fourth grade student with mentally retarded SDLB. This research used SSR (Single Subject Research with A-B-A design. Collecting the data was done by using assessment instrument, tests and observations. The result of this research showed that playing Snake and Ladder affected the study result of arithmetic addition operation for fourth-grade children with mentally retarded student in SDLB. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah mendeskripsikan (1 Hasil belajar penjumlahan siswa kelas 4 SDLB sebelum melakukan kegiatan bermain Ular Tangga (2 Hasil belajar penjumlahan siswa kelas 4 SDLB sesudah melakukan kegiatan bermain Ular Tangga (3 Pengaruh bermain Ular Tangga terhadap hasil belajar penjumlahan siswa kelas 4 SDLB. Penelitian ini menggunakan rancangan penelitian SSR (Single Subject Research dengan desain A-B-A. Pengumpulan data menggunakan instrumen assesmen, tes dan observasi. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bermain ular tangga berpengaruh terhadap hasil belajar penjumlahan siswa tunagrahita kelas 4 SDLB.

  3. Desynchronization of Theta-Phase Gamma-Amplitude Coupling during a Mental Arithmetic Task in Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

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    Jun Won Kim

    Full Text Available Theta-phase gamma-amplitude coupling (TGC measurement has recently received attention as a feasible method of assessing brain functions such as neuronal interactions. The purpose of this electroencephalographic (EEG study is to understand the mechanisms underlying the deficits in attentional control in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD by comparing the power spectra and TGC at rest and during a mental arithmetic task.Nineteen-channel EEGs were recorded from 97 volunteers (including 53 subjects with ADHD from a camp for hyperactive children under two conditions (rest and task performance. The EEG power spectra and the TGC data were analyzed. Correlation analyses between the Intermediate Visual and Auditory (IVA continuous performance test (CPT scores and EEG parameters were performed.No significant difference in the power spectra was detected between the groups at rest and during task performance. However, TGC was reduced during the arithmetic task in the ADHD group compared with the normal group (F = 16.70, p < 0.001. The TGC values positively correlated with the IVA CPT scores but negatively correlated with theta power.Our findings suggest that desynchronization of TGC occurred during the arithmetic task in ADHD children. TGC in ADHD children is expected to serve as a promising neurophysiological marker of network deactivation during attention-demanding tasks.

  4. Desynchronization of Theta-Phase Gamma-Amplitude Coupling during a Mental Arithmetic Task in Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

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    Kim, Jun Won; Kim, Bung-Nyun; Lee, Jaewon; Na, Chul; Kee, Baik Seok; Min, Kyung Joon; Han, Doug Hyun; Kim, Johanna Inhyang; Lee, Young Sik

    2016-01-01

    Theta-phase gamma-amplitude coupling (TGC) measurement has recently received attention as a feasible method of assessing brain functions such as neuronal interactions. The purpose of this electroencephalographic (EEG) study is to understand the mechanisms underlying the deficits in attentional control in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by comparing the power spectra and TGC at rest and during a mental arithmetic task. Nineteen-channel EEGs were recorded from 97 volunteers (including 53 subjects with ADHD) from a camp for hyperactive children under two conditions (rest and task performance). The EEG power spectra and the TGC data were analyzed. Correlation analyses between the Intermediate Visual and Auditory (IVA) continuous performance test (CPT) scores and EEG parameters were performed. No significant difference in the power spectra was detected between the groups at rest and during task performance. However, TGC was reduced during the arithmetic task in the ADHD group compared with the normal group (F = 16.70, p attention-demanding tasks.

  5. Predicting Arithmetical Achievement from Neuro-Psychological Performance: A Longitudinal Study.

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    Fayol, Michel; Barrouillet, Pierre; Marinthe, Catherine

    1998-01-01

    Assessed whether performances of 5- and 6-year olds in arithmetic tests can be predicted from their performances in neuropsychological tests. Participants completed neuropsychological, drawing, and arithmetic tests at 5 and 6 years of age. Findings at older age were correctly assumed by conclusions of first evaluation. (LBT)

  6. Effects of cognitive appraisal and mental workload factors on performance in an arithmetic task.

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    Galy, Edith; Mélan, Claudine

    2015-12-01

    We showed in a previous study an additive interaction between intrinsic and extraneous cognitive loads and of participants' alertness in an 1-back working memory task. The interaction between intrinsic and extraneous cognitive loads was only observed when participants' alertness was low (i.e. in the morning). As alertness is known to reflect an individual's general functional state, we suggested that the working memory capacity available for germane cognitive load depends on a participant's functional state, in addition to intrinsic and extraneous loads induced by the task and task conditions. The relationships between the different load types and their assessment by specific load measures gave rise to a modified cognitive load model. The aim of the present study was to complete the model by determining to what extent and at what processing level an individual's characteristics intervene in order to implement efficient strategies in a working memory task. Therefore, the study explored participants' cognitive appraisal of the situation in addition to the load factors considered previously-task difficulty, time pressure and alertness. Each participant performed a mental arithmetic task in four different cognitive load conditions (crossover of two task difficulty conditions and of two time pressure conditions), both while their alertness was low (9 a.m.) and high (4 p.m.). Results confirmed an additive effect of task difficulty and time pressure, previously reported in the 1-back memory task, thereby lending further support to the modified cognitive load model. Further, in the high intrinsic and extraneous load condition, performance was reduced on the morning session (i.e. when alertness was low) on one hand, and in those participants' having a threat appraisal of the situation on the other hand. When these factors were included into the analysis, a performance drop occurred in the morning irrespective of cognitive appraisal, and with threat appraisal in the

  7. Arithmetic Training Does Not Improve Approximate Number System Acuity

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    Marcus Lindskog

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The Approximate Number System (ANS is thought to support non-symbolic representations of numerical magnitudes in humans. Recently much debate has focused on the causal direction for an observed relation between ANS acuity and arithmetic fluency. Here we investigate if arithmetic training can improve ANS acuity. We show with an experimental training study consisting of six 45-minute training sessions that although feedback during arithmetic training improves arithmetic performance substantially, it does not influence ANS acuity. Hence, we find no support for a causal link where symbolic arithmetic training influences the ANS acuity. Further, although short-term number memory is likely involved in arithmetic tasks we did not find that short-term memory capacity for numbers, measured by a digit-span test, was effected by arithmetic training. This suggests that the improvement in arithmetic fluency may have occurred independent of short-term memory efficiency, but rather due to long-term memory processes and/or mental calculation strategy development. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.

  8. Number comparison and number ordering as predictors of arithmetic performance in adults: Exploring the link between the two skills, and investigating the question of domain-specificity.

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    Morsanyi, Kinga; O'Mahony, Eileen; McCormack, Teresa

    2017-12-01

    Recent evidence has highlighted the important role that number-ordering skills play in arithmetic abilities, both in children and adults. In the current study, we demonstrated that number comparison and ordering skills were both significantly related to arithmetic performance in adults, and the effect size was greater in the case of ordering skills. Additionally, we found that the effect of number comparison skills on arithmetic performance was mediated by number-ordering skills. Moreover, performance on comparison and ordering tasks involving the months of the year was also strongly correlated with arithmetic skills, and participants displayed similar (canonical or reverse) distance effects on the comparison and ordering tasks involving months as when the tasks included numbers. This suggests that the processes responsible for the link between comparison and ordering skills and arithmetic performance are not specific to the domain of numbers. Finally, a factor analysis indicated that performance on comparison and ordering tasks loaded on a factor that included performance on a number line task and self-reported spatial thinking styles. These results substantially extend previous research on the role of order processing abilities in mental arithmetic.

  9. Influence of mental abacus calculation practice on mental arithmetic in children: a fMRI study

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    Long Jinfeng; Zhao Kunyuan; Wang Bin; Li Lixin; Shen Xiaojun

    2009-01-01

    Objective: To investigate the influence of mental abacus calculation practice on mental arithmetic in children with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Methods: Twelve children who had practiced mental abacus calculation for 3 years and 12 untrained children (The two groups were matched in terms of age, handedness and education) underwent fMRI during mental calculation tasks. The related behavior data were recorded at the same time. All data were analyzed with statistical parametric mapping 2. Results: The calculation accuracy was significantly higher [(95.00±7.16)% vs.(74.26±16.07)%. t=-4.084, P<0.01]; and the reaction time was significantly shorter [(597.91±124.05) ms vs. (770.07± 148.54) ms, t=3.082, P<0.01] in trained group than untrained group. The extent and magnitude of the activated areas were significantly increased in the untrained group compared with the trained group. The activated areas mainly localized in the frontal and parietal lobes in untrained group, while the brain activated areas were few and mainly localized in occipital and parietal lobes in the trained group. Conclusion: Mental abacus calculation can enhance the information processing m some brain areas, and improve the utilization efficiency of neural resources. (authors)

  10. Tower of London test performance in children with poor arithmetic skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sikora, M Darryn; Haley, Pat; Edwards, Jay; Butler, Robert W

    2002-01-01

    The Tower of London (TOL) has been used to assess executive functions in both children and adults with documented brain dysfunction. Like many other measures of executive function, it has not been widely used in the assessment of learning disabilities in children. However, if performance on the TOL discriminated among groups of children with different academic strengths and weaknesses, then it may be useful in identifying learning disability subtypes. The purpose of this study was to determine whether performance on the TOL would differ among 3 groups of children: those with arithmetic difficulties, those with reading difficulties, and those with no academic difficulties. The group with arithmetic difficulties exhibited significantly greater impairment on the TOL than either the group with reading difficulties or the group with no difficulties. The latter 2 groups performed similarly. The clinical utility of the TOL, as well as the relation between arithmetic deficits and executive functions, are discussed.

  11. Common brain regions underlying different arithmetic operations as revealed by conjunct fMRI-BOLD activation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fehr, Thorsten; Code, Chris; Herrmann, Manfred

    2007-10-03

    The issue of how and where arithmetic operations are represented in the brain has been addressed in numerous studies. Lesion studies suggest that a network of different brain areas are involved in mental calculation. Neuroimaging studies have reported inferior parietal and lateral frontal activations during mental arithmetic using tasks of different complexities and using different operators (addition, subtraction, etc.). Indeed, it has been difficult to compare brain activation across studies because of the variety of different operators and different presentation modalities used. The present experiment examined fMRI-BOLD activity in participants during calculation tasks entailing different arithmetic operations -- addition, subtraction, multiplication and division -- of different complexities. Functional imaging data revealed a common activation pattern comprising right precuneus, left and right middle and superior frontal regions during all arithmetic operations. All other regional activations were operation specific and distributed in prominently frontal, parietal and central regions when contrasting complex and simple calculation tasks. The present results largely confirm former studies suggesting that activation patterns due to mental arithmetic appear to reflect a basic anatomical substrate of working memory, numerical knowledge and processing based on finger counting, and derived from a network originally related to finger movement. We emphasize that in mental arithmetic research different arithmetic operations should always be examined and discussed independently of each other in order to avoid invalid generalizations on arithmetics and involved brain areas.

  12. Arithmetic Abilities in Children with Developmental Dyslexia: Performance on French ZAREKI-R Test

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Clercq-Quaegebeur, Maryse; Casalis, Séverine; Vilette, Bruno; Lemaitre, Marie-Pierre; Vallée, Louis

    2018-01-01

    A high comorbidity between reading and arithmetic disabilities has already been reported. The present study aims at identifying more precisely patterns of arithmetic performance in children with developmental dyslexia, defined with severe and specific criteria. By means of a standardized test of achievement in mathematics ("Calculation and…

  13. High performance integer arithmetic circuit design on FPGA architecture, implementation and design automation

    CERN Document Server

    Palchaudhuri, Ayan

    2016-01-01

    This book describes the optimized implementations of several arithmetic datapath, controlpath and pseudorandom sequence generator circuits for realization of high performance arithmetic circuits targeted towards a specific family of the high-end Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). It explores regular, modular, cascadable, and bit-sliced architectures of these circuits, by directly instantiating the target FPGA-specific primitives in the HDL. Every proposed architecture is justified with detailed mathematical analyses. Simultaneously, constrained placement of the circuit building blocks is performed, by placing the logically related hardware primitives in close proximity to one another by supplying relevant placement constraints in the Xilinx proprietary “User Constraints File”. The book covers the implementation of a GUI-based CAD tool named FlexiCore integrated with the Xilinx Integrated Software Environment (ISE) for design automation of platform-specific high-performance arithmetic circuits from us...

  14. Math anxiety differentially affects WAIS-IV arithmetic performance in undergraduates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buelow, Melissa T; Frakey, Laura L

    2013-06-01

    Previous research has shown that math anxiety can influence the math performance level; however, to date, it is unknown whether math anxiety influences performance on working memory tasks during neuropsychological evaluation. In the present study, 172 undergraduate students completed measures of math achievement (the Math Computation subtest from the Wide Range Achievement Test-IV), math anxiety (the Math Anxiety Rating Scale-Revised), general test anxiety (from the Adult Manifest Anxiety Scale-College version), and the three Working Memory Index tasks from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV Edition (WAIS-IV; Digit Span [DS], Arithmetic, Letter-Number Sequencing [LNS]). Results indicated that math anxiety predicted performance on Arithmetic, but not DS or LNS, above and beyond the effects of gender, general test anxiety, and math performance level. Our findings suggest that math anxiety can negatively influence WAIS-IV working memory subtest scores. Implications for clinical practice include the utilization of LNS in individuals expressing high math anxiety.

  15. Effect of preceding exercise on cerebral and splanchnic vascular responses to mental task

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Someya Nami

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background To investigate the effect of preceding acute exercise on the peripheral vascular response to a mental task, we measured splanchnic and cerebral blood flow responses to performing a mental task after exercise and resting. Methods In the exercise trial, 11 males exercised for 30 min on a cycle ergometer with a workload set at 70% of the age-predicted maximal heart rate for each individual. After a 15-min recovery period, the subjects rested for 5 min for pre-task baseline measurement and then performed mental arithmetic for 5 min followed by 5 min of post-task measurement. In the resting trial, they rested for 45 min and pre-task baseline data was obtained for 5 min. Then mental arithmetic was performed for 5 min followed by post-task measurement. We measured the mean blood velocity in the middle cerebral artery and superior mesenteric artery and the mean arterial pressure. Results Mean arterial pressure and mean blood velocity in the middle cerebral artery were significantly higher than the baseline during mental arithmetic in both exercise and resting trials. Mean blood velocity in the middle cerebral artery during mental arithmetic was greater in the control trial than the exercise trial. Mean blood velocity in the superior mesenteric artery showed no significant change during mental arithmetic from baseline in both trials. Conclusion These results suggest that acute exercise can moderate the increase in cerebral blood flow induced by a mental task.

  16. Why does placing the question before an arithmetic word problem improve performance? A situation model account.

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    Thevenot, Catherine; Devidal, Michel; Barrouillet, Pierre; Fayol, Michel

    2007-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to investigate the controversial issue of the nature of the representation constructed by individuals to solve arithmetic word problems. More precisely, we consider the relevance of two different theories: the situation or mental model theory (Johnson-Laird, 1983; Reusser, 1989) and the schema theory (Kintsch & Greeno, 1985; Riley, Greeno, & Heller, 1983). Fourth-graders who differed in their mathematical skills were presented with problems that varied in difficulty and with the question either before or after the text. We obtained the classic effect of the position of the question, with better performance when the question was presented prior to the text. In addition, this effect was more marked in the case of children who had poorer mathematical skills and in the case of more difficult problems. We argue that this pattern of results is compatible only with the situation or mental model theory, and not with the schema theory.

  17. The effects of auditory stimulation on the arithmetic performance of children with ADHD and nondisabled children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abikoff, H; Courtney, M E; Szeibel, P J; Koplewicz, H S

    1996-05-01

    This study evaluated the impact of extra-task stimulation on the academic task performance of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Twenty boys with ADHD and 20 nondisabled boys worked on an arithmetic task during high stimulation (music), low stimulation (speech), and no stimulation (silence). The music "distractors" were individualized for each child, and the arithmetic problems were at each child's ability level. A significant Group x Condition interaction was found for number of correct answers. Specifically, the nondisabled youngsters performed similarly under all three auditory conditions. In contrast, the children with ADHD did significantly better under the music condition than speech or silence conditions. However, a significant Group x Order interaction indicated that arithmetic performance was enhanced only for those children with ADHD who received music as the first condition. The facilitative effects of salient auditory stimulation on the arithmetic performance of the children with ADHD provide some support for the underarousal/optimal stimulation theory of ADHD.

  18. Assessing Adult Learner’s Numeracy as Related to Gender and Performance in Arithmetic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adeneye O. A. Awofala

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The study investigated adult learner numeracy as related to gender and performance in arithmetic among 32 Nigerian adult learners from one government accredited adult literacy centre in Lagos State using the quantitative research method within the blueprint of descriptive survey design. Data collected were analysed using the descriptive statistics of percentages, mean, and standard deviation and inferential statistics of factor analysis, independent samples t-test, and multiple regression analysis. Findings revealed that numeracy skill assessed by the numeracy self-assessment scale was a multi-dimensional construct (numeracy in everyday life, numeracy in workplace, and numeracy in mathematical tasks. Adult learners showed average numeracy strength as gender differences in perception of numeracy skills and performance in arithmetic among adult learners reached zero-tolerance level. Numeracy in workplace and numeracy in mathematical tasks made statistically significant contributions to the variance in adult learners’ performance in arithmetic. Based on this base line study, it was thus, recommended that future studies in Nigeria should investigate adult learners’ numeracy skills using more robust and psychometrically sound instruments such as the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALLS and the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS.

  19. From numeracy to arithmetic: Precursors of arithmetic performance in children with cerebral palsy from 6 till 8 years of age

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rooijen, M. van; Verhoeven, L.T.W.; Steenbergen, B.

    2015-01-01

    Children with cerebral palsy (CP) are generally delayed in arithmetic compared to their peers. The development of early numeracy performance in children with CP is not yet evident, nor have the factors associated with change over time been identified. Therefore, we examined the development of

  20. Retrieval or nonretrieval strategies in mental arithmetic? An operand recognition paradigm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thevenot, Catherine; Fanget, Muriel; Fayol, Michel

    2007-09-01

    According to LeFevre, Sadesky, and Bisanz, averaging solution latencies in order to study individuals' arithmetic strategies can result in misleading conclusions. Therefore, in addition to classical chronometric data, they collected verbal reports and challenged the assumption that adults rely systematically on retrieval of arithmetic facts from memory to solve simple addition problems. However, Kirk and Ashcraft questioned the validity of such a methodology and concluded that a more appropriate method has to be found. Thus, we developed an operand recognition paradigm that does not rely on verbal reports or on solution latencies. In accordance with LeFevre et al., we show in a first experiment that adults resort to nonretrieval strategies to solve addition problems involving medium numbers. However, in a second experiment, we show that high-skilled individuals can solve the same problems using a retrieval strategy. The benefits of our paradigm to the study of arithmetic strategies are discussed.

  1. ASIC For Complex Fixed-Point Arithmetic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petilli, Stephen G.; Grimm, Michael J.; Olson, Erlend M.

    1995-01-01

    Application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) performs 24-bit, fixed-point arithmetic operations on arrays of complex-valued input data. High-performance, wide-band arithmetic logic unit (ALU) designed for use in computing fast Fourier transforms (FFTs) and for performing ditigal filtering functions. Other applications include general computations involved in analysis of spectra and digital signal processing.

  2. The association between arithmetic and reading performance in school: A meta-analytic study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singer, Vivian; Strasser, Kathernie

    2017-12-01

    Many studies of school achievement find a significant association between reading and arithmetic achievement. The magnitude of the association varies widely across the studies, but the sources of this variation have not been identified. The purpose of this paper is to examine the magnitude and determinants of the relation between arithmetic and reading performance during elementary and middle school years. We meta-analyzed 210 correlations between math and reading measures, coming from 68 independent samples (the overall sample size was 58923 participants). The meta-analysis yielded an average correlation of 0.55 between math and reading measures. Among the moderators tested, only transparency of orthography and use of timed or untimed tests were significant in explaining the size of the correlation, with the largest correlations observed between timed measures of arithmetic and reading and between math and reading in opaque orthographies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  3. Towards an arithmetical logic the arithmetical foundations of logic

    CERN Document Server

    Gauthier, Yvon

    2015-01-01

    This book offers an original contribution to the foundations of logic and mathematics, and focuses on the internal logic of mathematical theories, from arithmetic or number theory to algebraic geometry. Arithmetical logic is the term used to refer to the internal logic of classical arithmetic, here called Fermat-Kronecker arithmetic, and combines Fermat’s method of infinite descent with Kronecker’s general arithmetic of homogeneous polynomials. The book also includes a treatment of theories in physics and mathematical physics to underscore the role of arithmetic from a constructivist viewpoint. The scope of the work intertwines historical, mathematical, logical and philosophical dimensions in a unified critical perspective; as such, it will appeal to a broad readership from mathematicians to logicians, to philosophers interested in foundational questions. Researchers and graduate students in the fields of philosophy and mathematics will benefit from the author’s critical approach to the foundations of l...

  4. Assessing Adult Learner's Numeracy as Related to Gender and Performance in Arithmetic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Awofala, Adeneye O. A.; Anyikwa, Blessing E.

    2014-01-01

    The study investigated adult learner numeracy as related to gender and performance in arithmetic among 32 Nigerian adult learners from one government accredited adult literacy centre in Lagos State using the quantitative research method within the blueprint of descriptive survey design. Data collected were analysed using the descriptive statistics…

  5. Age-Related Differences of Individuals' Arithmetic Strategy Utilization with Different Level of Math Anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Si, Jiwei; Li, Hongxia; Sun, Yan; Xu, Yanli; Sun, Yu

    2016-01-01

    The present study used the choice/no-choice method to investigate the effect of math anxiety on the strategy used in computational estimation and mental arithmetic tasks and to examine age-related differences in this regard. Fifty-seven fourth graders, 56 sixth graders, and 60 adults were randomly selected to participate in the experiment. Results showed the following: (1) High-anxious individuals were more likely to use a rounding-down strategy in the computational estimation task under the best-choice condition. Additionally, sixth-grade students and adults performed faster than fourth-grade students on the strategy execution parameter. Math anxiety affected response times (RTs) and the accuracy with which strategies were executed. (2) The execution of the partial-decomposition strategy was superior to that of the full-decomposition strategy on the mental arithmetic task. Low-math-anxious persons provided more accurate answers than did high-math-anxious participants under the no-choice condition. This difference was significant for sixth graders. With regard to the strategy selection parameter, the RTs for strategy selection varied with age.

  6. Age-Related Differences of Individuals’ Arithmetic Strategy Utilization with Different Level of Math Anxiety

    Science.gov (United States)

    Si, Jiwei; Li, Hongxia; Sun, Yan; Xu, Yanli; Sun, Yu

    2016-01-01

    The present study used the choice/no-choice method to investigate the effect of math anxiety on the strategy used in computational estimation and mental arithmetic tasks and to examine age-related differences in this regard. Fifty-seven fourth graders, 56 sixth graders, and 60 adults were randomly selected to participate in the experiment. Results showed the following: (1) High-anxious individuals were more likely to use a rounding-down strategy in the computational estimation task under the best-choice condition. Additionally, sixth-grade students and adults performed faster than fourth-grade students on the strategy execution parameter. Math anxiety affected response times (RTs) and the accuracy with which strategies were executed. (2) The execution of the partial-decomposition strategy was superior to that of the full-decomposition strategy on the mental arithmetic task. Low-math-anxious persons provided more accurate answers than did high-math-anxious participants under the no-choice condition. This difference was significant for sixth graders. With regard to the strategy selection parameter, the RTs for strategy selection varied with age. PMID:27803685

  7. Age-related Differences of Individuals’ Arithmetic Strategy Utilization with Different Level of Math Anxiety

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiwei Si

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The present study used the choice/no-choice method to investigate the effect of math anxiety on the strategy used in computational estimation and mental arithmetic tasks and to examine age-related differences in this regard. 57 fourth graders, 56 sixth graders, and 60 adults were randomly selected to participate in the experiment. Results showed the following: (1 High-anxious individuals were more likely to use a rounding-down strategy in the computational estimation task under the best-choice condition. Additionally, sixth-grade students and adults performed faster than fourth-grade students on the strategy execution parameter. Math anxiety affected response times (RTs and the accuracy with which strategies were executed. (2 The execution of the partial-decomposition strategy was superior to that of the full-decomposition strategy on the mental arithmetic task. Low-math-anxious persons provided more accurate answers than did high-math-anxious participants under the no-choice condition. This difference was significant for sixth graders. With regard to the strategy selection parameter, the RTs for strategy selection varied with age.

  8. Personal Experience and Arithmetic Meaning in Semantic Dementia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Julien, Camille L.; Neary, David; Snowden, Julie S.

    2010-01-01

    Arithmetic skills are generally claimed to be preserved in semantic dementia (SD), suggesting functional independence of arithmetic knowledge from other aspects of semantic memory. However, in a recent case series analysis we showed that arithmetic performance in SD is not entirely normal. The finding of a direct association between severity of…

  9. The Role of Gesture in Supporting Mental Representations: The Case of Mental Abacus Arithmetic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brooks, Neon B.; Barner, David; Frank, Michael; Goldin-Meadow, Susan

    2018-01-01

    People frequently gesture when problem-solving, particularly on tasks that require spatial transformation. Gesture often facilitates task performance by interacting with internal mental representations, but how this process works is not well understood. We investigated this question by exploring the case of mental abacus (MA), a technique in which…

  10. Arithmetic noncommutative geometry

    CERN Document Server

    Marcolli, Matilde

    2005-01-01

    Arithmetic noncommutative geometry denotes the use of ideas and tools from the field of noncommutative geometry, to address questions and reinterpret in a new perspective results and constructions from number theory and arithmetic algebraic geometry. This general philosophy is applied to the geometry and arithmetic of modular curves and to the fibers at archimedean places of arithmetic surfaces and varieties. The main reason why noncommutative geometry can be expected to say something about topics of arithmetic interest lies in the fact that it provides the right framework in which the tools of geometry continue to make sense on spaces that are very singular and apparently very far from the world of algebraic varieties. This provides a way of refining the boundary structure of certain classes of spaces that arise in the context of arithmetic geometry, such as moduli spaces (of which modular curves are the simplest case) or arithmetic varieties (completed by suitable "fibers at infinity"), by adding boundaries...

  11. Number line estimation and complex mental calculation: Is there a shared cognitive process driving the two tasks?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montefinese, Maria; Semenza, Carlo

    2018-05-17

    It is widely accepted that different number-related tasks, including solving simple addition and subtraction, may induce attentional shifts on the so-called mental number line, which represents larger numbers on the right and smaller numbers on the left. Recently, it has been shown that different number-related tasks also employ spatial attention shifts along with general cognitive processes. Here we investigated for the first time whether number line estimation and complex mental arithmetic recruit a common mechanism in healthy adults. Participants' performance in two-digit mental additions and subtractions using visual stimuli was compared with their performance in a mental bisection task using auditory numerical intervals. Results showed significant correlations between participants' performance in number line bisection and that in two-digit mental arithmetic operations, especially in additions, providing a first proof of a shared cognitive mechanism (or multiple shared cognitive mechanisms) between auditory number bisection and complex mental calculation.

  12. Interference and problem size effect in multiplication fact solving: Individual differences in brain activations and arithmetic performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Visscher, Alice; Vogel, Stephan E; Reishofer, Gernot; Hassler, Eva; Koschutnig, Karl; De Smedt, Bert; Grabner, Roland H

    2018-05-15

    In the development of math ability, a large variability of performance in solving simple arithmetic problems is observed and has not found a compelling explanation yet. One robust effect in simple multiplication facts is the problem size effect, indicating better performance for small problems compared to large ones. Recently, behavioral studies brought to light another effect in multiplication facts, the interference effect. That is, high interfering problems (receiving more proactive interference from previously learned problems) are more difficult to retrieve than low interfering problems (in terms of physical feature overlap, namely the digits, De Visscher and Noël, 2014). At the behavioral level, the sensitivity to the interference effect is shown to explain individual differences in the performance of solving multiplications in children as well as in adults. The aim of the present study was to investigate the individual differences in multiplication ability in relation to the neural interference effect and the neural problem size effect. To that end, we used a paradigm developed by De Visscher, Berens, et al. (2015) that contrasts the interference effect and the problem size effect in a multiplication verification task, during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) acquisition. Forty-two healthy adults, who showed high variability in an arithmetic fluency test, participated in our fMRI study. In order to control for the general reasoning level, the IQ was taken into account in the individual differences analyses. Our findings revealed a neural interference effect linked to individual differences in multiplication in the left inferior frontal gyrus, while controlling for the IQ. This interference effect in the left inferior frontal gyrus showed a negative relation with individual differences in arithmetic fluency, indicating a higher interference effect for low performers compared to high performers. This region is suggested in the literature to be

  13. Multiple Skills Underlie Arithmetic Performance: A Large-Scale Structural Equation Modeling Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarit Ashkenazi

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Current theoretical approaches point to the importance of several cognitive skills not specific to mathematics for the etiology of mathematics disorders (MD. In the current study, we examined the role of many of these skills, specifically: rapid automatized naming, attention, reading, and visual perception, on mathematics performance among a large group of college students (N = 1,322 with a wide range of arithmetic proficiency. Using factor analysis, we discovered that our data clustered to four latent variables 1 mathematics, 2 perception speed, 3 attention and 4 reading. In subsequent structural equation modeling, we found that the latent variable perception speed had a strong and meaningful effect on mathematics performance. Moreover, sustained attention, independent from the effect of the latent variable perception speed, had a meaningful, direct effect on arithmetic fact retrieval and procedural knowledge. The latent variable reading had a modest effect on mathematics performance. Specifically, reading comprehension, independent from the effect of the latent variable reading, had a meaningful direct effect on mathematics, and particularly on number line knowledge. Attention, tested by the attention network test, had no effect on mathematics, reading or perception speed. These results indicate that multiple factors can affect mathematics performance supporting a heterogeneous approach to mathematics. These results have meaningful implications for the diagnosis and intervention of pure and comorbid learning disorders.

  14. Adelic divisors on arithmetic varieties

    CERN Document Server

    Moriwaki, Atsushi

    2016-01-01

    In this article, the author generalizes several fundamental results for arithmetic divisors, such as the continuity of the volume function, the generalized Hodge index theorem, Fujita's approximation theorem for arithmetic divisors, Zariski decompositions for arithmetic divisors on arithmetic surfaces and a special case of Dirichlet's unit theorem on arithmetic varieties, to the case of the adelic arithmetic divisors.

  15. Baby Arithmetic: One Object Plus One Tone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kobayashi, Tessei; Hiraki, Kazuo; Mugitani, Ryoko; Hasegawa, Toshikazu

    2004-01-01

    Recent studies using a violation-of-expectation task suggest that preverbal infants are capable of recognizing basic arithmetical operations involving visual objects. There is still debate, however, over whether their performance is based on any expectation of the arithmetical operations, or on a general perceptual tendency to prefer visually…

  16. Real-time Continuous Assessment Method for Mental and Physiological Condition using Heart Rate Variability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoshida, Yutaka; Yokoyama, Kiyoko; Ishii, Naohiro

    It is necessary to monitor the daily health condition for preventing stress syndrome. In this study, it was proposed the method assessing the mental and physiological condition, such as the work stress or the relaxation, using heart rate variability at real time and continuously. The instantanuous heart rate (HR), and the ratio of the number of extreme points (NEP) and the number of heart beats were calculated for assessing mental and physiological condition. In this method, 20 beats heart rate were used to calculate these indexes. These were calculated in one beat interval. Three conditions, which are sitting rest, performing mental arithmetic and watching relaxation movie, were assessed using our proposed algorithm. The assessment accuracies were 71.9% and 55.8%, when performing mental arithmetic and watching relaxation movie respectively. In this method, the mental and physiological condition was assessed using only 20 regressive heart beats, so this method is considered as the real time assessment method.

  17. Development of Working Memory and Performance in Arithmetic: A Longitudinal Study with Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    López, Magdalena

    2014-01-01

    Introduction: This study has aimed to investigate the relationship between the development of working memory and performance on arithmetic activities. Method: We conducted a 3-year longitudinal study of a sample of 90 children, that was followed during the first, second and third year of primary school. All children were tested on measures of WM…

  18. Reversible arithmetic logic unit for quantum arithmetic

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thomsen, Michael Kirkedal; Glück, Robert; Axelsen, Holger Bock

    2010-01-01

    This communication presents the complete design of a reversible arithmetic logic unit (ALU) that can be part of a programmable reversible computing device such as a quantum computer. The presented ALU is garbage free and uses reversible updates to combine the standard reversible arithmetic...... and logical operations in one unit. Combined with a suitable control unit, the ALU permits the construction of an r-Turing complete computing device. The garbage-free ALU developed in this communication requires only 6n elementary reversible gates for five basic arithmetic-logical operations on two n......-bit operands and does not use ancillae. This remarkable low resource consumption was achieved by generalizing the V-shape design first introduced for quantum ripple-carry adders and nesting multiple V-shapes in a novel integrated design. This communication shows that the realization of an efficient reversible...

  19. EEG correlates of a mental arithmetic task in patients with first episode schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garakh, Zhanna; Zaytseva, Yuliya; Kapranova, Alexandra; Fiala, Ondrej; Horacek, Jiri; Shmukler, Alexander; Gurovich, Isaac Ya; Strelets, Valeria B

    2015-11-01

    To evaluate the spectral power of the cortical bands in patients with first episode schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder at rest and during the performance of a mental arithmetic task. We analyzed EEG spectral power (SP) in the resting state and subsequently while counting down from 200 in steps of 7, in 32 first episode schizophrenia patients (SZ), 32 patients with first episode schizoaffective disorder (SA) and healthy controls (HC, n=40). Behavioral parameters such as accuracy and counting speed were also evaluated. Both SZ and SA patients were slower in counting than HC, no difference was obtained in the accuracy and counting speed in the patient groups. In the resting state patients showed elevated midline theta power, off-midline anterior beta 2 power and decreased central/posterior alpha power. The SA group occupied an intermediate position between the schizophrenia patients and controls. In task performance patients lacked a typical increase of midline theta, left anterior beta 2, and anterior gamma power; however, schizoaffective patients demonstrated a growing trend of power in the gamma band in left anterior off-midline sites similar to HC. Moreover, alpha power was less inhibited in schizoaffective patients and more pronounced in schizophrenia patients indicating distinct inhibitory mechanisms in these psychotic disorders. Patients with SA demonstrate less alteration in the spectral power of bands at rest than SZ, and present spectral power changes during cognitive task performance close to the controls. Our study contributes to the present evidence on the neurophysiological distinction between schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. Copyright © 2015 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Arithmetic learning in advanced age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zamarian, Laura; Scherfler, Christoph; Kremser, Christian; Pertl, Marie-Theres; Gizewski, Elke; Benke, Thomas; Delazer, Margarete

    2018-01-01

    Acquisition of numerical knowledge and understanding of numerical information are crucial for coping with the changing demands of our digital society. In this study, we assessed arithmetic learning in older and younger individuals in a training experiment including brain imaging. In particular, we assessed age-related effects of training intensity, prior arithmetic competence, and neuropsychological variables on the acquisition of new arithmetic knowledge and on the transfer to new, unknown problems. Effects were assessed immediately after training and after 3 months. Behavioural results showed higher training effects for younger individuals than for older individuals and significantly better performance after 90 problem repetitions than after 30 repetitions in both age groups. A correlation analysis indicated that older adults with lower memory and executive functions at baseline could profit more from intensive training. Similarly, training effects in the younger group were higher for those individuals who had lower arithmetic competence and executive functions prior to intervention. In younger adults, successful transfer was associated with higher executive functions. Memory and set-shifting emerged as significant predictors of training effects in the older group. For the younger group, prior arithmetic competence was a significant predictor of training effects, while cognitive flexibility was a predictor of transfer effects. After training, a subgroup of participants underwent an MRI assessment. A voxel-based morphometry analysis showed a significant interaction between training effects and grey matter volume of the right middle temporal gyrus extending to the angular gyrus for the younger group relative to the older group. The reverse contrast (older group vs. younger group) did not yield any significant results. These results suggest that improvements in arithmetic competence are supported by temporo-parietal areas in the right hemisphere in younger

  1. A structural equation modeling of executive functions, IQ and mathematical skills in primary students: Differential effects on number production, mental calculus and arithmetical problems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arán Filippetti, Vanessa; Richaud, María Cristina

    2017-10-01

    Though the relationship between executive functions (EFs) and mathematical skills has been well documented, little is known about how both EFs and IQ differentially support diverse math domains in primary students. Inconsistency of results may be due to the statistical techniques employed, specifically, if the analysis is conducted with observed variables, i.e., regression analysis, or at the latent level, i.e., structural equation modeling (SEM). The current study explores the contribution of both EFs and IQ in mathematics through an SEM approach. A total of 118 8- to 12-year-olds were administered measures of EFs, crystallized (Gc) and fluid (Gf) intelligence, and math abilities (i.e., number production, mental calculus and arithmetical problem-solving). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) offered support for the three-factor solution of EFs: (1) working memory (WM), (2) shifting, and (3) inhibition. Regarding the relationship among EFs, IQ and math abilities, the results of the SEM analysis showed that (i) WM and age predict number production and mental calculus, and (ii) shifting and sex predict arithmetical problem-solving. In all of the SEM models, EFs partially or totally mediated the relationship between IQ, age and math achievement. These results suggest that EFs differentially supports math abilities in primary-school children and is a more significant predictor of math achievement than IQ level.

  2. Learning Arithmetic Outdoors in Junior High School--Influence on Performance and Self-Regulating Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fägerstam, Emilia; Samuelsson, Joakim

    2014-01-01

    This study aims to explore the influence of outdoor teaching among students, aged 13, on arithmetic performance and self-regulation skills as previous research concerning outdoor mathematics learning is limited. This study had a quasi-experimental design. An outdoor and a traditional group answered a test and a self-regulation skills questionnaire…

  3. Cognitive precursors of arithmetic development in primary school children with cerebral palsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Rooijen, M; Verhoeven, L; Smits, D W; Dallmeijer, A J; Becher, J G; Steenbergen, B

    2014-04-01

    The aim of this study was to examine the development of arithmetic performance and its cognitive precursors in children with CP from 7 till 9 years of age. Previous research has shown that children with CP are generally delayed in arithmetic performance compared to their typically developing peers. In children with CP, the developmental trajectory of the ability to solve addition- and subtraction tasks has, however, rarely been studied, as well as the cognitive factors affecting this trajectory. Sixty children (M=7.2 years, SD=.23 months at study entry) with CP participated in this study. Standardized tests were administered to assess arithmetic performance, word decoding skills, non-verbal intelligence, and working memory. The results showed that the ability to solve addition- and subtraction tasks increased over a two year period. Word decoding skills were positively related to the initial status of arithmetic performance. In addition, non-verbal intelligence and working memory were associated with the initial status and growth rate of arithmetic performance from 7 till 9 years of age. The current study highlights the importance of non-verbal intelligence and working memory to the development of arithmetic performance of children with CP. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Development of arithmetical abilities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatjana Levstek

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Arithmetic (from the word 'arithmos' which means 'numbers' is an elementary branch of mathematics. Numeracy is essential for understanding mathematics, so the development of arithmetic abilities has been an area of scientific research for a long time. Recent research has shown that the development of arithmetic abilities is not based only on gaining experience and learning. Some arithmetic abilities, especially the sense of quantity, are innate. Even babies are able to distinguish between groups with different number of elements and they perceive numeracy amodally. Six-month-olds distinguish between two groups with the numeracy ratio of 1 : 2. With age this ratio improves rapidly. Five-year-old children already distinguish between groups with the number ratio 7 : 8. The ability to compare two quantities begins to develop after 15 months of age and children learn how to count spontaneously, together with the acquisition of language. Speech enables children to understand number in its abstract, symbolic sense, thus opening the way to symbolic arithmetic. During the preschool period children use intuition when doing calculations, but in school the arithmetic is based on the knowledge of arithmetical algorithms. So, in order to acquire mathematical knowledge, it is necessary to incorporate memory and automate arithmetical processes, without the use of intuition. However, research has shown that intuition is very important and is even a predictive factor for the development of mathematical abilities throughout the schooling process.

  5. Early but not late blindness leads to enhanced arithmetic and working memory abilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dormal, Valérie; Crollen, Virginie; Baumans, Christine; Lepore, Franco; Collignon, Olivier

    2016-10-01

    Behavioural and neurophysiological evidence suggest that vision plays an important role in the emergence and development of arithmetic abilities. However, how visual deprivation impacts on the development of arithmetic processing remains poorly understood. We compared the performances of early (EB), late blind (LB) and sighted control (SC) individuals during various arithmetic tasks involving addition, subtraction and multiplication of various complexities. We also assessed working memory (WM) performances to determine if they relate to a blind person's arithmetic capacities. Results showed that EB participants performed better than LB and SC in arithmetic tasks, especially in conditions in which verbal routines and WM abilities are needed. Moreover, EB participants also showed higher WM abilities. Together, our findings demonstrate that the absence of developmental vision does not prevent the development of refined arithmetic skills and can even trigger the refinement of these abilities in specific tasks. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. [Acquisition of arithmetic knowledge].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fayol, Michel

    2008-01-01

    The focus of this paper is on contemporary research on the number counting and arithmetical competencies that emerge during infancy, the preschool years, and the elementary school. I provide a brief overview of the evolution of children's conceptual knowledge of arithmetic knowledge, the acquisition and use of counting and how they solve simple arithmetic problems (e.g. 4 + 3).

  7. RSFQ logic arithmetic

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mukhanov, O.A.; Rylov, S.V.; Semenov, V.K.; Vyshenskii, S.V.

    1989-01-01

    Several ways of local timing of the Josephson-junction RSFQ (Rapid Single Flux Quantum) logic elements are proposed, and their peculiarities are discussed. Several examples of serial and parallel pipelined arithmetic blocks using various types of timing are suggested and their possible performance is discussed. Serial devices enable one to perform n-bit functions relatively slowly but using integrated circuits of a moderate integration scale, while parallel pipelined devices are more hardware-wasteful but promise extremely high productivity

  8. Perceiving fingers in single-digit arithmetic problems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berteletti, Ilaria; Booth, James R

    2015-01-01

    In this study, we investigate in children the neural underpinnings of finger representation and finger movement involved in single-digit arithmetic problems. Evidence suggests that finger representation and finger-based strategies play an important role in learning and understanding arithmetic. Because different operations rely on different networks, we compared activation for subtraction and multiplication problems in independently localized finger somatosensory and motor areas and tested whether activation was related to skill. Brain activations from children between 8 and 13 years of age revealed that only subtraction problems significantly activated finger motor areas, suggesting reliance on finger-based strategies. In addition, larger subtraction problems yielded greater somatosensory activation than smaller problems, suggesting a greater reliance on finger representation for larger numerical values. Interestingly, better performance in subtraction problems was associated with lower activation in the finger somatosensory area. Our results support the importance of fine-grained finger representation in arithmetical skill and are the first neurological evidence for a functional role of the somatosensory finger area in proficient arithmetical problem solving, in particular for those problems requiring quantity manipulation. From an educational perspective, these results encourage investigating whether different finger-based strategies facilitate arithmetical understanding and encourage educational practices aiming at integrating finger representation and finger-based strategies as a tool for instilling stronger numerical sense.

  9. Arithmetic circuits for DSP applications

    CERN Document Server

    Stouraitis, Thanos

    2017-01-01

    Arithmetic Circuits for DSP Applications is a complete resource on arithmetic circuits for digital signal processing (DSP). It covers the key concepts, designs and developments of different types of arithmetic circuits, which can be used for improving the efficiency of implementation of a multitude of DSP applications. Each chapter includes various applications of the respective class of arithmetic circuits along with information on the future scope of research. Written for students, engineers, and researchers in electrical and computer engineering, this comprehensive text offers a clear understanding of different types of arithmetic circuits used for digital signal processing applications. The text includes contributions from noted researchers on a wide range of topics, including a review o circuits used in implementing basic operations like additions and multiplications; distributed arithmetic as a technique for the multiplier-less implementation of inner products for DSP applications; discussions on look ...

  10. Optimal Design of Fixed-Point and Floating-Point Arithmetic Units for Scientific Applications

    OpenAIRE

    Pongyupinpanich, Surapong

    2012-01-01

    The challenge in designing a floating-point arithmetic co-processor/processor for scientific and engineering applications is to improve the performance, efficiency, and computational accuracy of the arithmetic unit. The arithmetic unit should efficiently support several mathematical functions corresponding to scientific and engineering computation demands. Moreover, the computations should be performed as fast as possible with a high degree of accuracy. Thus, this thesis proposes algorithm, d...

  11. Simple arithmetic: not so simple for highly math anxious individuals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Hyesang; Sprute, Lisa; Maloney, Erin A; Beilock, Sian L; Berman, Marc G

    2017-12-01

    Fluency with simple arithmetic, typically achieved in early elementary school, is thought to be one of the building blocks of mathematical competence. Behavioral studies with adults indicate that math anxiety (feelings of tension or apprehension about math) is associated with poor performance on cognitively demanding math problems. However, it remains unclear whether there are fundamental differences in how high and low math anxious individuals approach overlearned simple arithmetic problems that are less reliant on cognitive control. The current study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the neural correlates of simple arithmetic performance across high and low math anxious individuals. We implemented a partial least squares analysis, a data-driven, multivariate analysis method to measure distributed patterns of whole-brain activity associated with performance. Despite overall high simple arithmetic performance across high and low math anxious individuals, performance was differentially dependent on the fronto-parietal attentional network as a function of math anxiety. Specifically, low-compared to high-math anxious individuals perform better when they activate this network less-a potential indication of more automatic problem-solving. These findings suggest that low and high math anxious individuals approach even the most fundamental math problems differently. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press.

  12. Nutrition and Mental Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stein, Zena; And Others

    1972-01-01

    Prenatal exposure to the Dutch famine of 1944-45 had no detectable effects on the adult mental performance of surviving male offspring; birth weight was not related to mental performance; and the association of social class with mental performance was strong. (AL)

  13. Learning Mathematics in a Visuospatial Format: A Randomized, Controlled Trial of Mental Abacus Instruction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barner, David; Alvarez, George; Sullivan, Jessica; Brooks, Neon; Srinivasan, Mahesh; Frank, Michael C.

    2016-01-01

    Mental abacus (MA) is a technique of performing fast, accurate arithmetic using a mental image of an abacus; experts exhibit astonishing calculation abilities. Over 3 years, 204 elementary school students (age range at outset: 5-7 years old) participated in a randomized, controlled trial to test whether MA expertise (a) can be acquired in standard…

  14. Strategy Choice in Solving Arithmetic Word Problems: Are There Differences between Students with Learning Disabilities, G-V Poor Performance, and Typical Achievement Students?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonzalez, Juan E. Jimenez; Espinel, Ana Isabel Garcia

    2002-01-01

    A study was designed to test whether there are differences between Spanish children (ages 7-9) with arithmetic learning disabilities (n=60), garden-variety (G-V) poor performance (n=44), and typical children (n=44) in strategy choice when solving arithmetic word problems. No significant differences were found between children with dyscalculia and…

  15. Working Memory in Dutch Children with Reading- and Arithmetic-Related LD

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Sluis, Sophie; van der Leij, Aryan; de Jong, Peter F.

    2005-01-01

    The aim of the two studies presented in this article was to examine working memory performance in Dutch children with various subtypes of learning disabilities. The performance of children with reading disabilities (RD) was compared to that of children with arithmetic disabilities (AD), children with both reading and arithmetic disabilities (RAD),…

  16. Individual differences in children's understanding of inversion and arithmetical skill.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilmore, Camilla K; Bryant, Peter

    2006-06-01

    Background and aims. In order to develop arithmetic expertise, children must understand arithmetic principles, such as the inverse relationship between addition and subtraction, in addition to learning calculation skills. We report two experiments that investigate children's understanding of the principle of inversion and the relationship between their conceptual understanding and arithmetical skills. A group of 127 children from primary schools took part in the study. The children were from 2 age groups (6-7 and 8-9 years). Children's accuracy on inverse and control problems in a variety of presentation formats and in canonical and non-canonical forms was measured. Tests of general arithmetic ability were also administered. Children consistently performed better on inverse than control problems, which indicates that they could make use of the inverse principle. Presentation format affected performance: picture presentation allowed children to apply their conceptual understanding flexibly regardless of the problem type, while word problems restricted their ability to use their conceptual knowledge. Cluster analyses revealed three subgroups with different profiles of conceptual understanding and arithmetical skill. Children in the 'high ability' and 'low ability' groups showed conceptual understanding that was in-line with their arithmetical skill, whilst a 3rd group of children had more advanced conceptual understanding than arithmetical skill. The three subgroups may represent different points along a single developmental path or distinct developmental paths. The discovery of the existence of the three groups has important consequences for education. It demonstrates the importance of considering the pattern of individual children's conceptual understanding and problem-solving skills.

  17. Perceiving fingers in single-digit arithmetic problems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ilaria eBerteletti

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available In this study, we investigate in children the neural underpinnings of finger representation and finger movement involved in single-digit arithmetic problems. Evidence suggests that finger representation and finger-based strategies play an important role in learning and understanding arithmetic. Because different operations rely on different networks, we compared activation for subtraction and multiplication problems in independently localized finger somatosensory and motor areas and tested whether activation was related to skill. Brain activations from children between 8 and 13 years of age revealed that only subtraction problems significantly activated finger motor areas, suggesting reliance on finger-based strategies. In addition, larger subtraction problems yielded greater somatosensory activation than smaller problems, suggesting a greater reliance on finger representation for larger numerical values. Interestingly, better performance in subtraction problems was associated with lower activation in the finger somatosensory area. Our results support the importance of fine-grained finger representation in arithmetical skill and are the first neurological evidence for a functional role of the somatosensory finger area in proficient arithmetical problem solving, in particular for those problems requiring quantity manipulation. From an educational perspective, these results encourage investigating whether different finger-based strategies facilitate arithmetical understanding and encourage educational practices aiming at integrating finger representation and finger-based strategies as a tool for instilling stronger numerical sense.

  18. Training of Attention in Children With Low Arithmetical Achievement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Guarnera

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available This study focuses on the role of attentional processes in arithmetical skills and examines if training of basic attentive skills may improve also working memory abilities reducing arithmetic difficulties. In order to study the efficacy of attentional treatment in arithmetic achievement and in enhancing working memory abilities a test-treatment-retest quasi experimental design was adopted. The research involved 14 children, attending fourth and fifth grades, with Arithmetical Learning Disabilities (ALD assigned to experimental and control conditions. The numerical comprehension and calculation processes were assessed using the ABCA battery (Lucangeli, Tressoldi, & Fiore, 1998. Attentional abilities were evaluated using a multitask computerized assessment battery Attenzione e Concentrazione (Di Nuovo, 2000. WM abilities were evaluated by Listening span task, Digit span backward, Making verbal trails and Making colour trails. The results showed that intensive computerized attention training increased basic attentive skills and arithmetical performances with respect to numeric system in children with ALD. No effect on working memory abilities was found. Results are also important from a clinical perspective, since they may suggest strategies for planning individualized training programs.

  19. A novel chaotic encryption scheme based on arithmetic coding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mi Bo; Liao Xiaofeng; Chen Yong

    2008-01-01

    In this paper, under the combination of arithmetic coding and logistic map, a novel chaotic encryption scheme is presented. The plaintexts are encrypted and compressed by using an arithmetic coder whose mapping intervals are changed irregularly according to a keystream derived from chaotic map and plaintext. Performance and security of the scheme are also studied experimentally and theoretically in detail

  20. Sets with Prescribed Arithmetic Densities

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Luca, F.; Pomerance, C.; Porubský, Štefan

    2008-01-01

    Roč. 3, č. 2 (2008), s. 67-80 ISSN 1336-913X R&D Projects: GA ČR GA201/07/0191 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10300504 Keywords : generalized arithmetic density * generalized asymptotic density * generalized logarithmic density * arithmetical semigroup * weighted arithmetic mean * ratio set * R-dense set * Axiom A * delta-regularly varying function Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics

  1. Number processing and arithmetic skills in children with cochlear implants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvia ePixner

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Though previous findings report that hearing impaired children exhibit impaired language and arithmetic skills, our current understanding of how hearing and the associated language impairments may influence the development of arithmetic skills is still limited. In the current study numerical/arithmetic performance of 45 children with a cochlea implant were compared to that of controls matched for hearing age, intelligence and sex. Our main results were twofold disclosing that children with CI show general as well as specific numerical/arithmetic impairments. On the one hand, we found an increased percentage of children with CI with an indication of dyscalculia symptoms, a general slowing in multiplication and subtraction as well as less accurate number line estimations. On the other hand, however, children with CI exhibited very circumscribed difficulties associated with place-value processing. Performance declined specifically when subtraction required a borrow procedure and number line estimation required the integration of units, tens, and hundreds instead of only units and tens. Thus, it seems that despite initially atypical language development, children with CI are able to acquire arithmetic skills in a qualitatively similar fashion as their normal hearing peers. Nonetheless, when demands on place-value understanding, which has only recently been proposed to be language mediated, hearing impaired children experience specific difficulties.

  2. Arithmetic soft-core accelerators

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Calderon Rocabado, D.R.H.

    2007-01-01

    In this dissertation, we address the design of multi-functional arithmetic units working with the most common fixed-point number representations, namely: unsigned, sign-magnitude, fractional, ten's and two's complement notations. The main design goal is to collapse multiple complex arithmetic

  3. Bit-wise arithmetic coding for data compression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiely, A. B.

    1994-01-01

    This article examines the problem of compressing a uniformly quantized independent and identically distributed (IID) source. We present a new compression technique, bit-wise arithmetic coding, that assigns fixed-length codewords to the quantizer output and uses arithmetic coding to compress the codewords, treating the codeword bits as independent. We examine the performance of this method and evaluate the overhead required when used block-adaptively. Simulation results are presented for Gaussian and Laplacian sources. This new technique could be used as the entropy coder in a transform or subband coding system.

  4. Language, arithmetic word problems, and deaf students: Linguistic strategies used to solve tasks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zevenbergen, Robyn; Hyde, Merv; Power, Des

    2001-12-01

    There has been limited examination of the intersection between language and arithmetic in the performance of deaf students, although some previous research has shown that deaf and hearing-impaired1 students are delayed in both their language acquisition and arithmetic performance. This paper examines the performance of deaf and hearing-impaired students in South-East Queensland, Australia, in solving arithmetic word problems. It was found that the subjects' solutions of word problems confirmed trends for hearing students, but that their performance was delayed in comparison. The results confirm other studies where deaf and hearing-impaired students are delayed in their language acquisition and this impacts on their capacity to successfully undertake the resolution of word problems.

  5. Fractionating the neural correlates of individual working memory components underlying arithmetic problem solving skills in children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Metcalfe, Arron W. S.; Ashkenazi, Sarit; Rosenberg-Lee, Miriam; Menon, Vinod

    2013-01-01

    Baddeley and Hitch’s multi-component working memory (WM) model has played an enduring and influential role in our understanding of cognitive abilities. Very little is known, however, about the neural basis of this multi-component WM model and the differential role each component plays in mediating arithmetic problem solving abilities in children. Here, we investigate the neural basis of the central executive (CE), phonological (PL) and visuo-spatial (VS) components of WM during a demanding mental arithmetic task in 7–9 year old children (N=74). The VS component was the strongest predictor of math ability in children and was associated with increased arithmetic complexity-related responses in left dorsolateral and right ventrolateral prefrontal cortices as well as bilateral intra-parietal sulcus and supramarginal gyrus in posterior parietal cortex. Critically, VS, CE and PL abilities were associated with largely distinct patterns of brain response. Overlap between VS and CE components was observed in left supramarginal gyrus and no overlap was observed between VS and PL components. Our findings point to a central role of visuo-spatial WM during arithmetic problem-solving in young grade-school children and highlight the usefulness of the multi-component Baddeley and Hitch WM model in fractionating the neural correlates of arithmetic problem solving during development. PMID:24212504

  6. Identifying Strategies in Arithmetic with the Operand Recognition Paradigm: A Matter of Switch Cost?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thevenot, Catherine; Castel, Caroline; Danjon, Juliette; Fayol, Michel

    2015-01-01

    Determining adults' and children's strategies in mental arithmetic constitutes a central issue in the domain of numerical cognition. However, despite the considerable amount of research on this topic, the conclusions in the literature are not always coherent. Therefore, there is a need to carry on the investigation, and this is the reason why we…

  7. An Asynchronous IEEE Floating-Point Arithmetic Unit

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joel R. Noche

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available An asynchronous floating-point arithmetic unit is designed and tested at the transistor level usingCadence software. It uses CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor and DCVS (differentialcascode voltage switch logic in a 0.35 µm process using a 3.3 V supply voltage, with dual-rail data andsingle-rail control signals using four-phase handshaking.Using 17,085 transistors, the unit handles single-precision (32-bit addition/subtraction, multiplication,division, and remainder using the IEEE 754-1985 Standard for Binary Floating-Point Arithmetic, withrounding and other operations to be handled by separate hardware or software. Division and remainderare done using a restoring subtractive algorithm; multiplication uses an additive algorithm. Exceptionsare noted by flags (and not trap handlers and the output is in single-precision.Previous work on asynchronous floating-point arithmetic units have mostly focused on single operationssuch as division. This is the first work to the authors' knowledge that can perform floating-point addition,multiplication, division, and remainder using a common datapath.

  8. The effect of defined auditory conditions versus mental loading on the laparoscopic motor skill performance of experts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conrad, Claudius; Konuk, Yusuf; Werner, Paul; Cao, Caroline G; Warshaw, Andrew; Rattner, David; Jones, Daniel B; Gee, Denise

    2010-06-01

    Music and noise are frequent occurrences in the operating room. To date, the effects of these auditory conditions on the performance of laparoscopic surgery experts have not been evaluated. Eight internationally recognized experts were recruited for a crossover study. The experts were randomized to perform three simple tasks on a laparoscopic simulator, SurgicalSIM VR. The tasks were equal in difficulty and performed under the following conditions: silence, dichaotic music (auditory stress), classical music (auditory relaxation), and mental loading (mental arithmetic tasks). Permutations of the conditions were created to account for a learning effect. The tasks were performed twice to test for memory consolidation and to accommodate baseline variability. Time until task completion and task accuracy via instrument tip trajectory (path of the tip through space) were recorded. Performance was correlated with responses on the Brief Musical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ). The study demonstrated that dichaotic music has a negative impact on time until task completion but not on task accuracy. In addition, memory consolidation of accuracy is negatively influenced. Classical music has a variable effect on experts' time until task completion, yet all the experts performed the tasks more accurately. Classical music had no effect on recall of a procedure. Mental loading increased time until completion, but did not affect accuracy or recall. The experience of music varied among experts and influenced how each of the conditions affected their performance. The study demonstrated that, contrary to common belief, proficiency in surgery does not protect against stressful auditory influences or the influence of mental preoccupation. Interestingly, relaxing auditory influences such as classical music can even have a positive impact on the accuracy of experts. Previous musical experience could help to identify surgeons whose performance may be specifically affected by music or noise.

  9. Optimized 4-bit Quantum Reversible Arithmetic Logic Unit

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ayyoub, Slimani; Achour, Benslama

    2017-08-01

    Reversible logic has received a great attention in the recent years due to its ability to reduce the power dissipation. The main purposes of designing reversible logic are to decrease quantum cost, depth of the circuits and the number of garbage outputs. The arithmetic logic unit (ALU) is an important part of central processing unit (CPU) as the execution unit. This paper presents a complete design of a new reversible arithmetic logic unit (ALU) that can be part of a programmable reversible computing device such as a quantum computer. The proposed ALU based on a reversible low power control unit and small performance parameters full adder named double Peres gates. The presented ALU can produce the largest number (28) of arithmetic and logic functions and have the smallest number of quantum cost and delay compared with existing designs.

  10. A functional interpretation for nonstandard arithmetic

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van den Berg, B.; Briseid, E.; Safarik, P.

    2012-01-01

    We introduce constructive and classical systems for nonstandard arithmetic and show how variants of the functional interpretations due to Gödel and Shoenfield can be used to rewrite proofs performed in these systems into standard ones. These functional interpretations show in particular that our

  11. Domain-General Factors Influencing Numerical and Arithmetic Processing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    André Knops

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This special issue contains 18 articles that address the question how numerical processes interact with domain-general factors. We start the editorial with a discussion of how to define domain-general versus domain-specific factors and then discuss the contributions to this special issue grouped into two core numerical domains that are subject to domain-general influences (see Figure 1. The first group of contributions addresses the question how numbers interact with spatial factors. The second group of contributions is concerned with factors that determine and predict arithmetic understanding, performance and development. This special issue shows that domain-general (Table 1a as well as domain-specific (Table 1b abilities influence numerical and arithmetic performance virtually at all levels and make it clear that for the field of numerical cognition a sole focus on one or several domain-specific factors like the approximate number system or spatial-numerical associations is not sufficient. Vice versa, in most studies that included domain-general and domain-specific variables, domain-specific numerical variables predicted arithmetic performance above and beyond domain-general variables. Therefore, a sole focus on domain-general aspects such as, for example, working memory, to explain, predict and foster arithmetic learning is also not sufficient. Based on the articles in this special issue we conclude that both domain-general and domain-specific factors contribute to numerical cognition. But the how, why and when of their contribution still needs to be better understood. We hope that this special issue may be helpful to readers in constraining future theory and model building about the interplay of domain-specific and domain-general factors.

  12. Arithmetic the foundation of mathematics

    CERN Document Server

    2015-01-01

    Arithmetic factors into our lives on a daily basis, so it's hard to imagine a world without the six basic operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, raising to powers, and finding roots. Readers will get a solid overview of arithmetic, while offering useful examples of how they are used in routine activities, such as social media applications. It reinforces Common Core math standards, including understanding basic math concepts and how they apply to students' daily lives and challenges. A history of arithmetic helps provide a contextual framework for the course of its develop

  13. Curiosities of arithmetic gases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bakas, I.; Bowick, M.J.

    1991-01-01

    Statistical mechanical systems with an exponential density of states are considered. The arithmetic analog of parafermions of arbitrary order is constructed and a formula for boson-parafermion equivalence is obtained using properties of the Riemann zeta function. Interactions (nontrivial mixing) among arithmetic gases using the concept of twisted convolutions are also introduced. Examples of exactly solvable models are discussed in detail

  14. Fractionating the neural correlates of individual working memory components underlying arithmetic problem solving skills in children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Metcalfe, Arron W S; Ashkenazi, Sarit; Rosenberg-Lee, Miriam; Menon, Vinod

    2013-10-01

    Baddeley and Hitch's multi-component working memory (WM) model has played an enduring and influential role in our understanding of cognitive abilities. Very little is known, however, about the neural basis of this multi-component WM model and the differential role each component plays in mediating arithmetic problem solving abilities in children. Here, we investigate the neural basis of the central executive (CE), phonological (PL) and visuo-spatial (VS) components of WM during a demanding mental arithmetic task in 7-9 year old children (N=74). The VS component was the strongest predictor of math ability in children and was associated with increased arithmetic complexity-related responses in left dorsolateral and right ventrolateral prefrontal cortices as well as bilateral intra-parietal sulcus and supramarginal gyrus in posterior parietal cortex. Critically, VS, CE and PL abilities were associated with largely distinct patterns of brain response. Overlap between VS and CE components was observed in left supramarginal gyrus and no overlap was observed between VS and PL components. Our findings point to a central role of visuo-spatial WM during arithmetic problem-solving in young grade-school children and highlight the usefulness of the multi-component Baddeley and Hitch WM model in fractionating the neural correlates of arithmetic problem solving during development. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Rapid mental computation system as a tool for algorithmic thinking of elementary school students development

    OpenAIRE

    Ziatdinov, Rushan; Musa, Sajid

    2013-01-01

    In this paper, we describe the possibilities of using a rapid mental computation system in elementary education. The system consists of a number of readily memorized operations that allow one to perform arithmetic computations very quickly. These operations are actually simple algorithms which can develop or improve the algorithmic thinking of pupils. Using a rapid mental computation system allows forming the basis for the study of computer science in secondary school.

  16. Transcranial direct current stimulation of the posterior parietal cortex modulates arithmetic learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grabner, Roland H; Rütsche, Bruno; Ruff, Christian C; Hauser, Tobias U

    2015-07-01

    The successful acquisition of arithmetic skills is an essential step in the development of mathematical competencies and has been associated with neural activity in the left posterior parietal cortex (PPC). It is unclear, however, whether this brain region plays a causal role in arithmetic skill acquisition and whether arithmetic learning can be modulated by means of non-invasive brain stimulation of this key region. In the present study we addressed these questions by applying transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the left PPC during a short-term training that simulates the typical path of arithmetic skill acquisition (specifically the transition from effortful procedural to memory-based problem-solving strategies). Sixty participants received either anodal, cathodal or sham tDCS while practising complex multiplication and subtraction problems. The stability of the stimulation-induced learning effects was assessed in a follow-up test 24 h after the training. Learning progress was modulated by tDCS. Cathodal tDCS (compared with sham) decreased learning rates during training and resulted in poorer performance which lasted over 24 h after stimulation. Anodal tDCS showed an operation-specific improvement for subtraction learning. Our findings extend previous studies by demonstrating that the left PPC is causally involved in arithmetic learning (and not only in arithmetic performance) and that even a short-term tDCS application can modulate the success of arithmetic knowledge acquisition. Moreover, our finding of operation-specific anodal stimulation effects suggests that the enhancing effects of tDCS on learning can selectively affect just one of several cognitive processes mediated by the stimulated area. © 2015 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. Handbook of floating-point arithmetic

    CERN Document Server

    Muller, Jean-Michel; de Dinechin, Florent; Jeannerod, Claude-Pierre; Joldes, Mioara; Lefèvre, Vincent; Melquiond, Guillaume; Revol, Nathalie; Torres, Serge

    2018-01-01

    This handbook is a definitive guide to the effective use of modern floating-point arithmetic, which has considerably evolved, from the frequently inconsistent floating-point number systems of early computing to the recent IEEE 754-2008 standard. Most of computational mathematics depends on floating-point numbers, and understanding their various implementations will allow readers to develop programs specifically tailored for the standard’s technical features. Algorithms for floating-point arithmetic are presented throughout the book and illustrated where possible by example programs which show how these techniques appear in actual coding and design. The volume itself breaks its core topic into four parts: the basic concepts and history of floating-point arithmetic; methods of analyzing floating-point algorithms and optimizing them; implementations of IEEE 754-2008 in hardware and software; and useful extensions to the standard floating-point system, such as interval arithmetic, double- and triple-word arithm...

  18. The effect of illustrations in arithmetic problem-solving: Effects of increased cognitive load

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Berends, I.E.; van Lieshout, E.C.D.M.

    2009-01-01

    Arithmetic word problems are often presented accompanied by illustrations. The present study examined how different types of illustrations influence the speed and accuracy of performance of both good (n = 67) and poor arithmeticians (n = 63). Twenty-four arithmetic word problems were presented with

  19. PaCAL: A Python Package for Arithmetic Computations with Random Variables

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcin Korze?

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we present PaCAL, a Python package for arithmetical computations on random variables. The package is capable of performing the four arithmetic operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, as well as computing many standard functions of random variables. Summary statistics, random number generation, plots, and histograms of the resulting distributions can easily be obtained and distribution parameter ?tting is also available. The operations are performed numerically and their results interpolated allowing for arbitrary arithmetic operations on random variables following practically any probability distribution encountered in practice. The package is easy to use, as operations on random variables are performed just as they are on standard Python variables. Independence of random variables is, by default, assumed on each step but some computations on dependent random variables are also possible. We demonstrate on several examples that the results are very accurate, often close to machine precision. Practical applications include statistics, physical measurements or estimation of error distributions in scienti?c computations.

  20. Reading instead of reasoning? Predictors of arithmetic skills in children with cochlear implants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huber, Maria; Kipman, Ulrike; Pletzer, Belinda

    2014-07-01

    The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether the arithmetic achievement of children with cochlear implants (CI) was lower or comparable to that of their normal hearing peers and to identify predictors of arithmetic achievement in children with CI. In particular we related the arithmetic achievement of children with CI to nonverbal IQ, reading skills and hearing variables. 23 children with CI (onset of hearing loss in the first 24 months, cochlear implantation in the first 60 months of life, atleast 3 years of hearing experience with the first CI) and 23 normal hearing peers matched by age, gender, and social background participated in this case control study. All attended grades two to four in primary schools. To assess their arithmetic achievement, all children completed the "Arithmetic Operations" part of the "Heidelberger Rechentest" (HRT), a German arithmetic test. To assess reading skills and nonverbal intelligence as potential predictors of arithmetic achievement, all children completed the "Salzburger Lesetest" (SLS), a German reading screening, and the Culture Fair Intelligence Test (CFIT), a nonverbal intelligence test. Children with CI did not differ significantly from hearing children in their arithmetic achievement. Correlation and regression analyses revealed that in children with CI, arithmetic achievement was significantly (positively) related to reading skills, but not to nonverbal IQ. Reading skills and nonverbal IQ were not related to each other. In normal hearing children, arithmetic achievement was significantly (positively) related to nonverbal IQ, but not to reading skills. Reading skills and nonverbal IQ were positively correlated. Hearing variables were not related to arithmetic achievement. Children with CI do not show lower performance in non-verbal arithmetic tasks, compared to normal hearing peers. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  1. The unique and shared contributions of arithmetic operation understanding and numerical magnitude representation to children's mathematics achievement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Terry Tin-Yau

    2017-12-01

    The current study examined the unique and shared contributions of arithmetic operation understanding and numerical magnitude representation to children's mathematics achievement. A sample of 124 fourth graders was tested on their arithmetic operation understanding (as reflected by their understanding of arithmetic principles and the knowledge about the application of arithmetic operations) and their precision of rational number magnitude representation. They were also tested on their mathematics achievement and arithmetic computation performance as well as the potential confounding factors. The findings suggested that both arithmetic operation understanding and numerical magnitude representation uniquely predicted children's mathematics achievement. The findings highlight the significance of arithmetic operation understanding in mathematics learning. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. How are things adding up? Neural differences between arithmetic operations are due to general problem solving strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tschentscher, Nadja; Hauk, Olaf

    2014-05-15

    A number of previous studies have interpreted differences in brain activation between arithmetic operation types (e.g. addition and multiplication) as evidence in favor of distinct cortical representations, processes or neural systems. It is still not clear how differences in general task complexity contribute to these neural differences. Here, we used a mental arithmetic paradigm to disentangle brain areas related to general problem solving from those involved in operation type specific processes (addition versus multiplication). We orthogonally varied operation type and complexity. Importantly, complexity was defined not only based on surface criteria (for example number size), but also on the basis of individual participants' strategy ratings, which were validated in a detailed behavioral analysis. We replicated previously reported operation type effects in our analyses based on surface criteria. However, these effects vanished when controlling for individual strategies. Instead, procedural strategies contrasted with memory retrieval reliably activated fronto-parietal and motor regions, while retrieval strategies activated parietal cortices. This challenges views that operation types rely on partially different neural systems, and suggests that previously reported differences between operation types may have emerged due to invalid measures of complexity. We conclude that mental arithmetic is a powerful paradigm to study brain networks of abstract problem solving, as long as individual participants' strategies are taken into account. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. A pilot study of a new method of cognitive stimulation using abacus arithmetic in healthy and cognitively impaired elderly subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matías-Guiu, J A; Pérez-Martínez, D A; Matías-Guiu, J

    2016-06-01

    This study explores the applicability of a cognitive stimulation method based on abacus arithmetic in elderly people with and without cognitive impairment. This observational and prospective pilot study was performed in 2 hospitals. The study assessed the applicability of a programme of arithmetic training developed for use in the elderly population. The primary endpoint was an evaluation of the stimulation programme, in terms of usability, satisfaction, and participation, in healthy elderly controls and elderly patients with mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer disease. Secondary endpoints were family satisfaction, caregiver burden, and the behaviour and cognition of patients. Usability, satisfaction, and degree of participation were high. The Mini-Mental State Examination showed significant changes (23.1±4.8 before the intervention vs 24.9±4.2 afterwards, P=.002); there were no changes on the Trail Making Test parts A and B, Yesavage Geriatric Depression scale, and Zarit caregiver burden scale. The study suggests that cognitive stimulation with abacus arithmetic may be used in elderly people with and without cognitive impairment. Further studies will be needed to evaluate the efficacy of this kind of programmes. Copyright © 2014 Sociedad Española de Neurología. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  4. Effects of Classification Exposure upon Numerical Achievement of Educable Mentally Retarded Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Funk, Kerri L.; Tseng, M. S.

    Two groups of 32 educable mentally retarded children (ages 7 to 14 years) were compared as to their arithmetic and classification performances attributable to the presence or absence of a 4 1/2 week exposure to classification tasks. The randomized block pretest-posttest design was used. The experimental group and the control group were matched on…

  5. Knowing, Applying, and Reasoning about Arithmetic: Roles of Domain-General and Numerical Skills in Multiple Domains of Arithmetic Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xiao; Räsänen, Pekka; Koponen, Tuire; Aunola, Kaisa; Lerkkanen, Marja-Kristiina; Nurmi, Jari-Erik

    2017-01-01

    The longitudinal relations of domain-general and numerical skills at ages 6-7 years to 3 cognitive domains of arithmetic learning, namely knowing (written computation), applying (arithmetic word problems), and reasoning (arithmetic reasoning) at age 11, were examined for a representative sample of 378 Finnish children. The results showed that…

  6. Conceptual Knowledge of Fraction Arithmetic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siegler, Robert S.; Lortie-Forgues, Hugues

    2015-01-01

    Understanding an arithmetic operation implies, at minimum, knowing the direction of effects that the operation produces. However, many children and adults, even those who execute arithmetic procedures correctly, may lack this knowledge on some operations and types of numbers. To test this hypothesis, we presented preservice teachers (Study 1),…

  7. The Cognitive Correlates of Third-Grade Skill in Arithmetic, Algorithmic Computation, and Arithmetic Word Problems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuchs, Lynn S.; Fuchs, Douglas; Compton, Donald L.; Powell, Sarah R.; Seethaler, Pamela M.; Capizzi, Andrea M.; Schatschneider, Christopher; Fletcher, Jack M.

    2006-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the cognitive correlates of RD-grade skill in arithmetic, algorithmic computation, and arithmetic word problems. Third graders (N = 312) were measured on language, nonverbal problem solving, concept formation, processing speed, long-term memory, working memory, phonological decoding, and sight word…

  8. Prospective relations between resting-state connectivity of parietal subdivisions and arithmetic competence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Price, Gavin R; Yeo, Darren J; Wilkey, Eric D; Cutting, Laurie E

    2018-04-01

    The present study investigates the relation between resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) of cytoarchitectonically defined subdivisions of the parietal cortex at the end of 1st grade and arithmetic performance at the end of 2nd grade. Results revealed a dissociable pattern of relations between rsFC and arithmetic competence among subdivisions of intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and angular gyrus (AG). rsFC between right hemisphere IPS subdivisions and contralateral IPS subdivisions positively correlated with arithmetic competence. In contrast, rsFC between the left hIP1 and the right medial temporal lobe, and rsFC between the left AG and left superior frontal gyrus, were negatively correlated with arithmetic competence. These results suggest that strong inter-hemispheric IPS connectivity is important for math development, reflecting either neurocognitive mechanisms specific to arithmetic processing, domain-general mechanisms that are particularly relevant to arithmetic competence, or structural 'cortical maturity'. Stronger connectivity between IPS, and AG, subdivisions and frontal and temporal cortices, however, appears to be negatively associated with math development, possibly reflecting the ability to disengage suboptimal problem-solving strategies during mathematical processing, or to flexibly reorient task-based networks. Importantly, the reported results pertain even when controlling for reading, spatial attention, and working memory, suggesting that the observed rsFC-behavior relations are specific to arithmetic competence. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  9. Trinary signed-digit arithmetic using an efficient encoding scheme

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salim, W. Y.; Alam, M. S.; Fyath, R. S.; Ali, S. A.

    2000-09-01

    The trinary signed-digit (TSD) number system is of interest for ultrafast optoelectronic computing systems since it permits parallel carry-free addition and borrow-free subtraction of two arbitrary length numbers in constant time. In this paper, a simple coding scheme is proposed to encode the decimal number directly into the TSD form. The coding scheme enables one to perform parallel one-step TSD arithmetic operation. The proposed coding scheme uses only a 5-combination coding table instead of the 625-combination table reported recently for recoded TSD arithmetic technique.

  10. Magnitude Representation and Working Memory Updating in Children With Arithmetic and Reading Comprehension Disabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pelegrina, Santiago; Capodieci, Agnese; Carretti, Barbara; Cornoldi, Cesare

    2015-01-01

    It has been argued that children with learning disabilities (LD) encounter severe problems in working memory (WM) tasks, especially when they need to update information stored in their WM. It is not clear, however, to what extent this is due to a generally poor updating ability or to a difficulty specific to the domain to be processed. To examine this issue, two groups of children with arithmetic or reading comprehension LD and a group of typically developing children (9 to 10 years old) were assessed using two updating tasks requiring to select the smallest numbers or objects presented. The results showed that children with an arithmetic disability failed in a number updating task, but not in the object updating task. The opposite was true for the group with poor reading comprehension, whose performance was worse in the object than in the number updating task. It may be concluded that the problem of WM updating in children with LD is also due to a poor representation of the material to be updated. In addition, our findings suggest that the mental representation of the size of objects relates to the semantic representation of the objects' properties and differs from the quantitative representation of numbers. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2014.

  11. An Arithmetic-Algebraic Work Space for the Promotion of Arithmetic and Algebraic Thinking: Triangular Numbers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hitt, Fernando; Saboya, Mireille; Cortés Zavala, Carlos

    2016-01-01

    This paper presents an experiment that attempts to mobilise an arithmetic-algebraic way of thinking in order to articulate between arithmetic thinking and the early algebraic thinking, which is considered a prelude to algebraic thinking. In the process of building this latter way of thinking, researchers analysed pupils' spontaneous production…

  12. Conceptual Knowledge of Decimal Arithmetic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lortie-Forgues, Hugues; Siegler, Robert S.

    2017-01-01

    In 2 studies (Ns = 55 and 54), the authors examined a basic form of conceptual understanding of rational number arithmetic, the direction of effect of decimal arithmetic operations, at a level of detail useful for informing instruction. Middle school students were presented tasks examining knowledge of the direction of effects (e.g., "True or…

  13. A Unified Formal Description of Arithmetic and Set Theoretical Data Types

    OpenAIRE

    Tarau, Paul

    2010-01-01

    We provide a "shared axiomatization" of natural numbers and hereditarily finite sets built around a polymorphic abstraction of bijective base-2 arithmetics. The "axiomatization" is described as a progressive refinement of Haskell type classes with examples of instances converging to an efficient implementation in terms of arbitrary length integers and bit operations. As an instance, we derive algorithms to perform arithmetic operations efficiently directly with hereditarily finite sets. The s...

  14. Rapid Mental Сomputation System as a Tool for Algorithmic Thinking of Elementary School Students Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rushan Ziatdinov

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we describe the possibilities of using a rapid mental computation system in elementary education. The system consists of a number of readily memorized operations that allow one to perform arithmetic computations very quickly. These operations are actually simple algorithms which can develop or improve the algorithmic thinking of pupils. Using a rapid mental computation system allows forming the basis for the study of computer science in secondary school.

  15. Quality of Arithmetic Education for Children with Cerebral Palsy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jenks, Kathleen M.; de Moor, Jan; van Lieshout, Ernest C. D. M.; Withagen, Floortje

    2010-01-01

    The aim of this exploratory study was to investigate the quality of arithmetic education for children with cerebral palsy. The use of individual educational plans, amount of arithmetic instruction time, arithmetic instructional grouping, and type of arithmetic teaching method were explored in three groups: children with cerebral palsy (CP) in…

  16. Children learn spurious associations in their math textbooks: Examples from fraction arithmetic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braithwaite, David W; Siegler, Robert S

    2018-04-26

    Fraction arithmetic is among the most important and difficult topics children encounter in elementary and middle school mathematics. Braithwaite, Pyke, and Siegler (2017) hypothesized that difficulties learning fraction arithmetic often reflect reliance on associative knowledge-rather than understanding of mathematical concepts and procedures-to guide choices of solution strategies. They further proposed that this associative knowledge reflects distributional characteristics of the fraction arithmetic problems children encounter. To test these hypotheses, we examined textbooks and middle school children in the United States (Experiments 1 and 2) and China (Experiment 3). We asked the children to predict which arithmetic operation would accompany a specified pair of operands, to generate operands to accompany a specified arithmetic operation, and to match operands and operations. In both countries, children's responses indicated that they associated operand pairs having equal denominators with addition and subtraction, and operand pairs having a whole number and a fraction with multiplication and division. The children's associations paralleled the textbook input in both countries, which was consistent with the hypothesis that children learned the associations from the practice problems. Differences in the effects of such associative knowledge on U.S. and Chinese children's fraction arithmetic performance are discussed, as are implications of these differences for educational practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  17. Digital Arithmetic: Division Algorithms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Montuschi, Paolo; Nannarelli, Alberto

    2017-01-01

    Division is one of the basic arithmetic operations supported by every computer system. The operation can be performed and implemented by either hardware or software, or by a combination of the two. Although division is not as frequent as addition and multiplication, nowadays, most processors impl...... significant hardware resources and is more suitable for software implementation on the existing multiply units. The purpose of this entry is to provide an introductory survey using a presentation style suitable for the interested non-specialist readers as well....

  18. Oscillatory EEG correlates of arithmetic strategies: A training study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roland H. Grabner

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available There has been a long tradition of research on mathematics education showing that children and adults use different strategies to solve arithmetic problems. Neurophysiological studies have recently begun to investigate the brain correlates of these strategies. The existing body of data, however, reflect static end points of the learning process and do not provide information on how brain activity changes in response to training or intervention. In this study, we explicitly address this issue by training participants in using fact retrieval strategies. We also investigate whether brain activity related to arithmetic fact learning is domain-specific or whether this generalizes to other learning materials, such as the solution of figural-spatial problems. Twenty adult students were trained on sets of two-digit multiplication problems and figural-spatial problems. After the training, they were presented with the trained and untrained problems while their brain activity was recorded by means of electroencephalography (EEG . In both problem types, the training resulted in accuracies over 90 % and significant decreases in solution times. Analyses of the oscillatory EEG data also revealed training effects across both problem types. Specifically, we observed training-related activity increases in the theta band (3-6 Hz and decreases in the lower alpha band (8-10 Hz, especially over parieto-occipital and parietal brain regions. These results provide the first evidence that a short term fact retrieval training results in significant changes in oscillatory EEG activity. These findings further corroborate the role of the theta band in the retrieval of semantic information from memory and suggest that theta activity is not only sensitive to fact retrieval in mental arithmetic but also in other domains.

  19. When problem size matters: differential effects of brain stimulation on arithmetic problem solving and neural oscillations.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bruno Rütsche

    Full Text Available The problem size effect is a well-established finding in arithmetic problem solving and is characterized by worse performance in problems with larger compared to smaller operand size. Solving small and large arithmetic problems has also been shown to involve different cognitive processes and distinct electroencephalography (EEG oscillations over the left posterior parietal cortex (LPPC. In this study, we aimed to provide further evidence for these dissociations by using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS. Participants underwent anodal (30min, 1.5 mA, LPPC and sham tDCS. After the stimulation, we recorded their neural activity using EEG while the participants solved small and large arithmetic problems. We found that the tDCS effects on performance and oscillatory activity critically depended on the problem size. While anodal tDCS improved response latencies in large arithmetic problems, it decreased solution rates in small arithmetic problems. Likewise, the lower-alpha desynchronization in large problems increased, whereas the theta synchronization in small problems decreased. These findings reveal that the LPPC is differentially involved in solving small and large arithmetic problems and demonstrate that the effects of brain stimulation strikingly differ depending on the involved neuro-cognitive processes.

  20. Arithmetic difficulties in children with cerebral palsy are related to executive function and working memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jenks, Kathleen M; de Moor, Jan; van Lieshout, Ernest C D M

    2009-07-01

    Although it is believed that children with cerebral palsy are at high risk for learning difficulties and arithmetic difficulties in particular, few studies have investigated this issue. Arithmetic ability was longitudinally assessed in children with cerebral palsy in special (n = 41) and mainstream education (n = 16) and controls in mainstream education (n = 16). Second grade executive function and working memory scores were used to predict third grade arithmetic accuracy and response time. Children with cerebral palsy in special education were less accurate and slower than their peers on all arithmetic tests, even after controlling for IQ, whereas children with cerebral palsy in mainstream education performed as well as controls. Although the performance gap became smaller over time, it did not disappear. Children with cerebral palsy in special education showed evidence of executive function and working memory deficits in shifting, updating, visuospatial sketchpad and phonological loop (for digits, not words) whereas children with cerebral palsy in mainstream education only had a deficit in visuospatial sketchpad. Hierarchical regression revealed that, after controlling for intelligence, components of executive function and working memory explained large proportions of unique variance in arithmetic accuracy and response time and these variables were sufficient to explain group differences in simple, but not complex, arithmetic. Children with cerebral palsy are at risk for specific executive function and working memory deficits that, when present, increase the risk for arithmetic difficulties in these children.

  1. Lossless Image Compression Based on Multiple-Tables Arithmetic Coding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rung-Ching Chen

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper is intended to present a lossless image compression method based on multiple-tables arithmetic coding (MTAC method to encode a gray-level image f. First, the MTAC method employs a median edge detector (MED to reduce the entropy rate of f. The gray levels of two adjacent pixels in an image are usually similar. A base-switching transformation approach is then used to reduce the spatial redundancy of the image. The gray levels of some pixels in an image are more common than those of others. Finally, the arithmetic encoding method is applied to reduce the coding redundancy of the image. To promote high performance of the arithmetic encoding method, the MTAC method first classifies the data and then encodes each cluster of data using a distinct code table. The experimental results show that, in most cases, the MTAC method provides a higher efficiency in use of storage space than the lossless JPEG2000 does.

  2. Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices Regarding the Role of Executive Functions in Reading and Arithmetic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shirley Rapoport

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The current study investigated early elementary school teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding the role of Executive Functions in reading and arithmetic. A new research questionnaire was developed and judged by professionals in the academia and the field. Reponses were obtained from 144 teachers from Israel. Factor analysis divided the questionnaire into three valid and reliable subscales, reflecting (1 beliefs regarding the contribution of executive functions to reading and arithmetic, (2 pedagogical practices, and (3 a connection between the cognitive mechanisms of reading and arithmetic. Findings indicate that teachers believe executive functions affect students’ performance in reading and arithmetic. These beliefs were also correlated with pedagogical practices. Additionally, special education teachers’ scored higher on the different subscales compared to general education teachers. These findings shed light on the way teachers perceive the cognitive foundations of reading and arithmetic and indicate to which extent these perceptions guide their teaching practices.

  3. Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices Regarding the Role of Executive Functions in Reading and Arithmetic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rapoport, Shirley; Rubinsten, Orly; Katzir, Tami

    2016-01-01

    The current study investigated early elementary school teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding the role of Executive Functions (EFs) in reading and arithmetic. A new research questionnaire was developed and judged by professionals in the academia and the field. Reponses were obtained from 144 teachers from Israel. Factor analysis divided the questionnaire into three valid and reliable subscales, reflecting (1) beliefs regarding the contribution of EFs to reading and arithmetic, (2) pedagogical practices, and (3) a connection between the cognitive mechanisms of reading and arithmetic. Findings indicate that teachers believe EFs affect students’ performance in reading and arithmetic. These beliefs were also correlated with pedagogical practices. Additionally, special education teachers’ scored higher on the different subscales compared to general education teachers. These findings shed light on the way teachers perceive the cognitive foundations of reading and arithmetic and indicate to which extent these perceptions guide their teaching practices. PMID:27799917

  4. Teachers' Beliefs and Practices Regarding the Role of Executive Functions in Reading and Arithmetic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rapoport, Shirley; Rubinsten, Orly; Katzir, Tami

    2016-01-01

    The current study investigated early elementary school teachers' beliefs and practices regarding the role of Executive Functions (EFs) in reading and arithmetic. A new research questionnaire was developed and judged by professionals in the academia and the field. Reponses were obtained from 144 teachers from Israel. Factor analysis divided the questionnaire into three valid and reliable subscales, reflecting (1) beliefs regarding the contribution of EFs to reading and arithmetic, (2) pedagogical practices, and (3) a connection between the cognitive mechanisms of reading and arithmetic. Findings indicate that teachers believe EFs affect students' performance in reading and arithmetic. These beliefs were also correlated with pedagogical practices. Additionally, special education teachers' scored higher on the different subscales compared to general education teachers. These findings shed light on the way teachers perceive the cognitive foundations of reading and arithmetic and indicate to which extent these perceptions guide their teaching practices.

  5. Guest Editors' Introduction: Special Section on Computer Arithmetic

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nannarelli, Alberto; Seidel, Peter-Michael; Tang, Ping Tak Peter

    2014-01-01

    and their subsequent testing and verification. Many practitioners of the field also focus on the art and science of using computer arithmetic to carry out scientific and engineering computations. Computer arithmetic is therefore an interdisciplinary field that draws upon mathematics, computer science and electrical......The articles in this special issue focus on current trends and developments in the field of computer arithmetic. This is a field that encompasses the definition and standardization of arithmetic system for computers. The field also deals with issues of hardware and software implementations...

  6. Numerical Magnitude Representations Influence Arithmetic Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Booth, Julie L.; Siegler, Robert S.

    2008-01-01

    This study examined whether the quality of first graders' (mean age = 7.2 years) numerical magnitude representations is correlated with, predictive of, and causally related to their arithmetic learning. The children's pretest numerical magnitude representations were found to be correlated with their pretest arithmetic knowledge and to be…

  7. Age-related changes in strategic variations during arithmetic problem solving: The role of executive control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hinault, T; Lemaire, P

    2016-01-01

    In this review, we provide an overview of how age-related changes in executive control influence aging effects in arithmetic processing. More specifically, we consider the role of executive control in strategic variations with age during arithmetic problem solving. Previous studies found that age-related differences in arithmetic performance are associated with strategic variations. That is, when they accomplish arithmetic problem-solving tasks, older adults use fewer strategies than young adults, use strategies in different proportions, and select and execute strategies less efficiently. Here, we review recent evidence, suggesting that age-related changes in inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and working memory processes underlie age-related changes in strategic variations during arithmetic problem solving. We discuss both behavioral and neural mechanisms underlying age-related changes in these executive control processes. © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. A Computational Model of Fraction Arithmetic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braithwaite, David W.; Pyke, Aryn A.; Siegler, Robert S.

    2017-01-01

    Many children fail to master fraction arithmetic even after years of instruction, a failure that hinders their learning of more advanced mathematics as well as their occupational success. To test hypotheses about why children have so many difficulties in this area, we created a computational model of fraction arithmetic learning and presented it…

  9. Quantum arithmetic with the Quantum Fourier Transform

    OpenAIRE

    Ruiz-Perez, Lidia; Garcia-Escartin, Juan Carlos

    2014-01-01

    The Quantum Fourier Transform offers an interesting way to perform arithmetic operations on a quantum computer. We review existing Quantum Fourier Transform adders and multipliers and propose some modifications that extend their capabilities. Among the new circuits, we propose a quantum method to compute the weighted average of a series of inputs in the transform domain.

  10. Specificity and Overlap in Skills Underpinning Reading and Arithmetical Fluency

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Daal, Victor; van der Leij, Aryan; Ader, Herman

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this study was to examine unique and common causes of problems in reading and arithmetic fluency. 13- to 14-year-old students were placed into one of five groups: reading disabled (RD, n = 16), arithmetic disabled (AD, n = 34), reading and arithmetic disabled (RAD, n = 17), reading, arithmetic, and listening comprehension disabled…

  11. Positive and Negative Consequences in Contingency Contracts: Their Relative Effectiveness on Arithmetic Performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kidd, Teresa A.; Saudargas, Richard A.

    1988-01-01

    The study with two elementary students who had low levels of completion and accuracy on daily arithmetic assignments found that a negative consequence was not necessary and that use of a positive component alone was sufficient to maintain high levels of completion and accuracy. (Author/DB)

  12. Arithmetic functions in torus and tree networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhanot, Gyan; Blumrich, Matthias A.; Chen, Dong; Gara, Alan G.; Giampapa, Mark E.; Heidelberger, Philip; Steinmacher-Burow, Burkhard D.; Vranas, Pavlos M.

    2007-12-25

    Methods and systems for performing arithmetic functions. In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, methods and apparatus are provided, working in conjunction of software algorithms and hardware implementation of class network routing, to achieve a very significant reduction in the time required for global arithmetic operation on the torus. Therefore, it leads to greater scalability of applications running on large parallel machines. The invention involves three steps in improving the efficiency and accuracy of global operations: (1) Ensuring, when necessary, that all the nodes do the global operation on the data in the same order and so obtain a unique answer, independent of roundoff error; (2) Using the topology of the torus to minimize the number of hops and the bidirectional capabilities of the network to reduce the number of time steps in the data transfer operation to an absolute minimum; and (3) Using class function routing to reduce latency in the data transfer. With the method of this invention, every single element is injected into the network only once and it will be stored and forwarded without any further software overhead. In accordance with a second aspect of the invention, methods and systems are provided to efficiently implement global arithmetic operations on a network that supports the global combining operations. The latency of doing such global operations are greatly reduced by using these methods.

  13. Arithmetic groups and their generalizations what, why, and how

    CERN Document Server

    Ji, Lizhen

    2010-01-01

    In one guise or another, many mathematicians are familiar with certain arithmetic groups, such as \\mathbf{Z} or \\mathrm{SL}(n,\\mathbf{Z}). Yet, many applications of arithmetic groups and many connections to other subjects within mathematics are less well known. Indeed, arithmetic groups admit many natural and important generalizations. The purpose of this expository book is to explain, through some brief and informal comments and extensive references, what arithmetic groups and their generalizations are, why they are important to study, and how they can be understood and applied to many fields, such as analysis, geometry, topology, number theory, representation theory, and algebraic geometry. It is hoped that such an overview will shed a light on the important role played by arithmetic groups in modern mathematics.

  14. One-step trinary signed-digit arithmetic using an efficient encoding scheme

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salim, W. Y.; Fyath, R. S.; Ali, S. A.; Alam, Mohammad S.

    2000-11-01

    The trinary signed-digit (TSD) number system is of interest for ultra fast optoelectronic computing systems since it permits parallel carry-free addition and borrow-free subtraction of two arbitrary length numbers in constant time. In this paper, a simple coding scheme is proposed to encode the decimal number directly into the TSD form. The coding scheme enables one to perform parallel one-step TSD arithmetic operation. The proposed coding scheme uses only a 5-combination coding table instead of the 625-combination table reported recently for recoded TSD arithmetic technique.

  15. Entropy Analysis of RR and QT Interval Variability during Orthostatic and Mental Stress in Healthy Subjects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mathias Baumert

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Autonomic activity affects beat-to-beat variability of heart rate and QT interval. The aim of this study was to explore whether entropy measures are suitable to detect changes in neural outflow to the heart elicited by two different stress paradigms. We recorded short-term ECG in 11 normal subjects during an experimental protocol that involved head-up tilt and mental arithmetic stress and computed sample entropy, cross-sample entropy and causal interactions based on conditional entropy from RR and QT interval time series. Head-up tilt resulted in a significant reduction in sample entropy of RR intervals and cross-sample entropy, while mental arithmetic stress resulted in a significant reduction in coupling directed from RR to QT. In conclusion, measures of entropy are suitable to detect changes in neural outflow to the heart and decoupling of repolarisation variability from heart rate variability elicited by orthostatic or mental arithmetic stress.

  16. New technological design of arithmetics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hanitriarivo, R.

    2008-01-01

    There are illogical and irrational rules in numbers writing and pronunciation in almost of languages. A part of the aim is to show the electronic applications possibility of logical and systematic rules which are proposed by Raoelina Andriambololona to write and pronounce numbers; we had studied and created the arithmetic operations representation corresponding in binary basis and in hexadecimal basis. The brand new found concept corresponds as well as the method which uses the matrix product calculation, in according with the writing and the pronunciation of numbers. It was shown how to concept the arithmetic operators in digital electronics; and we proposed and assumed to make headway and to do amelioration for technical conception of calculator and arithmetic unite those are at the basic function of all computers and almost domestic sophisticated machine. The left hand side- right hand side and increasing order writing of number is exploited to build a new computer programming for a scientific calculator. [fr

  17. Investigating neural efficiency of elite karate athletes during a mental arithmetic task using EEG.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duru, Adil Deniz; Assem, Moataz

    2018-02-01

    Neural efficiency is proposed as one of the neural mechanisms underlying elite athletic performances. Previous sports studies examined neural efficiency using tasks that involve motor functions. In this study we investigate the extent of neural efficiency beyond motor tasks by using a mental subtraction task. A group of elite karate athletes are compared to a matched group of non-athletes. Electroencephalogram is used to measure cognitive dynamics during resting and increased mental workload periods. Mainly posterior alpha band power of the karate players was found to be higher than control subjects under both tasks. Moreover, event related synchronization/desynchronization has been computed to investigate the neural efficiency hypothesis among subjects. Finally, this study is the first study to examine neural efficiency related to a cognitive task, not a motor task, in elite karate players using ERD/ERS analysis. The results suggest that the effect of neural efficiency in the brain is global rather than local and thus might be contributing to the elite athletic performances. Also the results are in line with the neural efficiency hypothesis tested for motor performance studies.

  18. Cross-cultural investigation into cognitive underpinnings of individual differences in early arithmetic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodic, Maja; Zhou, Xinlin; Tikhomirova, Tatiana; Wei, Wei; Malykh, Sergei; Ismatulina, Victoria; Sabirova, Elena; Davidova, Yulia; Tosto, Maria Grazia; Lemelin, Jean-Pascal; Kovas, Yulia

    2015-01-01

    The present study evaluated 626 5-7-year-old children in the UK, China, Russia, and Kyrgyzstan on a cognitive test battery measuring: (1) general skills; (2) non-symbolic number sense; (3) symbolic number understanding; (4) simple arithmetic - operating with numbers; and (5) familiarity with numbers. Although most inter-population differences were small, 13% of the variance in arithmetic skills could be explained by the sample, replicating the pattern, previously found with older children in PISA. Furthermore, the same cognitive skills were related to early arithmetic in these diverse populations. Only understanding of symbolic number explained variation in mathematical performance in all samples. We discuss the results in terms of potential influences of socio-demographic, linguistic and genetic factors on individual differences in mathematics. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  19. Assessment of Mental Status.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finney, Glen R; Minagar, Alireza; Heilman, Kenneth M

    2016-02-01

    Assessing the mental status of patients with a neurobehavioral disorder is a critical element in the diagnosis and treatment of these patients. This assessment should always be performed after the patient's history it taken and a general physical as well as a neurologic examination is completed. The mental status examination commences with observing the patient's appearance and level of consciousness. The examiner should also pay attention to patient's social behavior, emotional state and mood. There are 3 major means of assessing a patient's mental status. One type attempts to determine if the patient is demented and the severity of the dementia as it pertains to their ability to perform activities of daily living as well as instrumental activities. A second type of assessment utilizes what may be termed as "screening tests" or "omnibus tests". These brief tests are performed independent of the patient's history and examination. The two most frequently used screening tests are the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). The third means of assessing a patient's mental status is by using specific neuropsychological tests that focus on specific domains of cognition, such as frontal executive functions, attention, episodic verbal and visuospatial memory, declarative knowledge such as language (speech, reading and writing) and arithmetical, as well as visuospatial and perceptual abilities. These neurobehavioral, neuropsychiatric and neuropsychological assessments of patients with a cognitive decline and behavioral abnormalities should often be accompanied by laboratory tests, and neuroimaging that can help determine the underlying pathologic process so that effective therapeutic and management approaches can be provided. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Attention Contributes to Arithmetic Deficits in New-Onset Childhood Absence Epilepsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Dazhi; Yan, Xiuxian; Gao, Zhijie; Xu, Keming; Chen, Qian

    2017-01-01

    Neuropsychological studies indicate that new-onset childhood absence epilepsy (CAE) is associated with deficits in attention and executive functioning. However, the contribution of these deficits to impaired academic performance remains unclear. We aimed to examine whether attention and executive functioning deficits account for the academic difficulties prevalent in patients with new-onset CAE. We analyzed cognitive performance in several domains, including language, mathematics, psychomotor speed, spatial ability, memory, general intelligence, attention, and executive functioning, in 35 children with new-onset CAE and 33 control participants. Patients with new-onset CAE exhibited deficits in mathematics, general intelligence, attention, and executive functioning. Furthermore, attention deficits, as measured by a visual tracing task, accounted for impaired arithmetic performance in the new-onset CAE group. Therefore, attention deficits, rather than impaired general intelligence or executive functioning, may be responsible for arithmetic performance deficits in patients with new-onset CAE.

  1. Black tea aroma inhibited increase of salivary chromogranin-A after arithmetic tasks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoto, Ai; Fukui, Natsuki; Kaneda, Chisa; Torita, Shoko; Goto, Keiichi; Nanjo, Fumio; Yokogoshi, Hidehiko

    2018-01-24

    Growing attention has been paid to the effects of food flavor components on alleviating negative brain functions caused by stressful lifestyles. In this study, we investigated the alleviating effect of two kinds of black tea aromas on physical and psychological stress induced by the Uchida-Kraepelin test, based on salivary chromogranin-A (CgA) levels as a stress marker and subjective evaluations (Profile of Mood States). Compared with the water exposure control, inhaling black tea aroma (Darjeeling and Assam in this study) induced lower salivary CgA concentration levels after 30 min of mental stress load tasks. This anti-stress effect of black tea aroma did not differ between the two tea types even though the concentration of the anti-stress components in the Darjeeling tea aroma was higher than that in the Assam aroma. However, Darjeeling tea aroma tended to decrease the tension and/or anxiety score immediately after the first exposure. Inhaling black tea aroma may diminish stress levels caused by arithmetic mental stress tasks, and Darjeeling tea aroma tended to improve mood before mental stress load.

  2. Trace formulae for arithmetical systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bogomolny, E.B.; Georgeot, B.; Giannoni, M.J.; Schmit, C.

    1992-09-01

    For quantum problems on the pseudo-sphere generated by arithmetic groups there exist special trace formulae, called trace formulae for Hecke operators, which permit the reconstruction of wave functions from the knowledge of periodic orbits. After a short discussion of this subject, the Hecke operators trace formulae are presented for the Dirichlet problem on the modular billiard, which is a prototype of arithmetical systems. The results of numerical computations for these semiclassical type relations are in good agreement with the directly computed eigenfunctions. (author) 23 refs.; 2 figs

  3. How Do Different Aspects of Spatial Skills Relate to Early Arithmetic and Number Line Estimation?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Véronique Cornu

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The present study investigated the predictive role of spatial skills for arithmetic and number line estimation in kindergarten children (N = 125. Spatial skills are known to be related to mathematical development, but due to the construct’s non-unitary nature, different aspects of spatial skills need to be differentiated. In the present study, a spatial orientation task, a spatial visualization task and visuo-motor integration task were administered to assess three different aspects of spatial skills. Furthermore, we assessed counting abilities, knowledge of Arabic numerals, quantitative knowledge, as well as verbal working memory and verbal intelligence in kindergarten. Four months later, the same children performed an arithmetic and a number line estimation task to evaluate how the abilities measured at Time 1 predicted early mathematics outcomes. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that children’s performance in arithmetic was predicted by their performance on the spatial orientation and visuo-motor integration task, as well as their knowledge of the Arabic numerals. Performance in number line estimation was significantly predicted by the children’s spatial orientation performance. Our findings emphasize the role of spatial skills, notably spatial orientation, in mathematical development. The relation between spatial orientation and arithmetic was partially mediated by the number line estimation task. Our results further show that some aspects of spatial skills might be more predictive of mathematical development than others, underlining the importance to differentiate within the construct of spatial skills when it comes to understanding numerical development.

  4. Number word structure in first and second language influences arithmetic skills

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anat ePrior

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Languages differ in how they represent numerical information, and specifically whether the verbal notation of numbers follows the same order as the symbolic notation (in non-inverted languages, e.g. Hebrew, 25, twenty-five or whether the two notations diverge (in inverted languages, e.g. Arabic, 25, five-and-twenty. We examined how the structure of number-words affects how arithmetic operations are processed by bilingual speakers of an inverted and a non-inverted language. We examined Arabic-Hebrew bilinguals' performance in the first language, L1 (inverted and in the second language, L2 (non-inverted. Their performance was compared to that of Hebrew L1 speakers, who do not speak an inverted language. Participants judged the accuracy of addition problems presented aurally in L1, aurally in L2 or in visual symbolic notation. Problems were presented such that they matched or did not match the structure of number words in the language. Arabic-Hebrew bilinguals demonstrated both flexibility in processing and adaptation to the language of aural-verbal presentation – they were more accurate for the inverted order of presentation in Arabic, but more accurate for non-inverted order of presentation in Hebrew, thus exhibiting the same pattern found for native Hebrew speakers. In addition, whereas native Hebrew speakers preferred the non-inverted order in visual symbolic presentation as well, the Arabic-Hebrew bilinguals showed enhanced flexibility, without a significant preference for one order over the other, in either speed or accuracy. These findings suggest that arithmetic processing is sensitive to the linguistic representations of number words. Moreover, bilinguals exposed to inverted and non-inverted languages showed influence of both systems, and enhanced flexibility in processing. Thus, the L1 does not seem to have exclusive power in shaping numerical mental representations, but rather the system remains open to influences from a later learned

  5. Differential effects of mental stress on plasma homovanillic acid in schizophrenia and normal controls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sumiyoshi, T; Saitoh, O; Yotsutsuji, T; Itoh, H; Kurokawa, K; Kurachi, M

    1999-04-01

    We previously reported that mental stress by Kraepelin's arithmetic test decreases plasma homovanillic acid (pHVA) levels in psychiatrically normal healthy human subjects. The present study was undertaken to determine whether this pattern of changes in pHVA concentrations resulting from mental stress is altered in patients with schizophrenia. Fourteen male patients with schizophrenia including those under ongoing neuroleptic treatment and 14 normal male volunteers participated in the study. Following overnight fast and restricted physical activity, the subjects performed Kraepelin's arithmetic test for 30 minutes. Plasma samples were collected immediately before and after the test for measurement of pHVA levels. A significant diagnosis by Kraepelin's test effect was observed due to a decrease in pHVA levels by the Kraepelin test in control subjects but not in patients with schizophrenia. Changes in pHVA levels during the Kraepelin test positively correlated with pre-test pHVA levels in control subjects, while this correlation was not observed in patients with schizophrenia. These results may be further support for the presence of a dopamine-dependent restitutive system in the brain. The absence of response of pHVA levels to mental stress in patients with schizophrenia may indicate that the dopamine restitutive system in these patients is disrupted or already down-regulated, as previously predicted.

  6. RAID-6 reed-solomon codes with asymptotically optimal arithmetic complexities

    KAUST Repository

    Lin, Sian-Jheng

    2016-12-24

    In computer storage, RAID 6 is a level of RAID that can tolerate two failed drives. When RAID-6 is implemented by Reed-Solomon (RS) codes, the penalty of the writing performance is on the field multiplications in the second parity. In this paper, we present a configuration of the factors of the second-parity formula, such that the arithmetic complexity can reach the optimal complexity bound when the code length approaches infinity. In the proposed approach, the intermediate data used for the first parity is also utilized to calculate the second parity. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first approach supporting the RAID-6 RS codes to approach the optimal arithmetic complexity.

  7. Face Recognition using Approximate Arithmetic

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Marso, Karol

    Face recognition is image processing technique which aims to identify human faces and found its use in various different fields for example in security. Throughout the years this field evolved and there are many approaches and many different algorithms which aim to make the face recognition as effective...... processing applications the results do not need to be completely precise and use of the approximate arithmetic can lead to reduction in terms of delay, space and power consumption. In this paper we examine possible use of approximate arithmetic in face recognition using Eigenfaces algorithm....

  8. Specificity and overlap in skills underpinning reading and arithmetical fluency

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Daal, V.; van der Leij, A.; Adèr, H.

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this study was to examine unique and common causes of problems in reading and arithmetic fluency. 13- to 14-year-old students were placed into one of five groups: reading disabled (RD, n = 16), arithmetic disabled (AD, n = 34), reading and arithmetic disabled (RAD, n = 17), reading,

  9. If Gravity is Geometry, is Dark Energy just Arithmetic?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Czachor, Marek

    2017-04-01

    Arithmetic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division), as well as the calculus they imply, are non-unique. The examples of four-dimensional spaces, R+4 and (- L/2, L/2)4, are considered where different types of arithmetic and calculus coexist simultaneously. In all the examples there exists a non-Diophantine arithmetic that makes the space globally Minkowskian, and thus the laws of physics are formulated in terms of the corresponding calculus. However, when one switches to the `natural' Diophantine arithmetic and calculus, the Minkowskian character of the space is lost and what one effectively obtains is a Lorentzian manifold. I discuss in more detail the problem of electromagnetic fields produced by a pointlike charge. The solution has the standard form when expressed in terms of the non-Diophantine formalism. When the `natural' formalsm is used, the same solution looks as if the fields were created by a charge located in an expanding universe, with nontrivially accelerating expansion. The effect is clearly visible also in solutions of the Friedman equation with vanishing cosmological constant. All of this suggests that phenomena attributed to dark energy may be a manifestation of a miss-match between the arithmetic employed in mathematical modeling, and the one occurring at the level of natural laws. Arithmetic is as physical as geometry.

  10. Unpacking symbolic number comparison and its relation with arithmetic in adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sasanguie, Delphine; Lyons, Ian M; De Smedt, Bert; Reynvoet, Bert

    2017-08-01

    Symbolic number - or digit - comparison has been a central tool in the domain of numerical cognition for decades. More recently, individual differences in performance on this task have been shown to robustly relate to individual differences in more complex math processing - a result that has been replicated across many different age groups. In this study, we 'unpack' the underlying components of digit comparison (i.e. digit identification, digit to number-word matching, digit ordering and general comparison) in a sample of adults. In a first experiment, we showed that digit comparison performance was most strongly related to digit ordering ability - i.e., the ability to judge whether symbolic numbers are in numerical order. Furthermore, path analyses indicated that the relation between digit comparison and arithmetic was partly mediated by digit ordering and fully mediated when non-numerical (letter) ordering was also entered into the model. In a second experiment, we examined whether a general order working memory component could account for the relation between digit comparison and arithmetic. It could not. Instead, results were more consistent with the notion that fluent access and activation of long-term stored associations between numbers explains the relation between arithmetic and both digit comparison and digit ordering tasks. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Hippocampal spatial mechanisms relate to the development of arithmetic symbol processing in children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathieu, Romain; Epinat-Duclos, Justine; Léone, Jessica; Fayol, Michel; Thevenot, Catherine; Prado, Jérôme

    2017-06-13

    Understanding the meaning of abstract mathematical symbols is a cornerstone of arithmetic learning in children. Studies have long focused on the role of spatial intuitions in the processing of numerals. However, it has been argued that such intuitions may also underlie symbols that convey fundamental arithmetic concepts, such as arithmetic operators. In the present cross-sectional study, we used fMRI to investigate how and when associations between arithmetic operators and brain regions processing spatial information emerge in children from 3 rd to 10 th grade. We found that the mere perception of a '+' sign elicited grade-related increases of spatial activity in the right hippocampus. That is, merely perceiving '+' signs - without any operands - elicited enhanced hippocampal activity after around 7 th grade (12-13 years old). In these children, hippocampal activity in response to a '+' sign was further correlated with the degree to which calculation performance was facilitated by the preview of that sign before an addition problem, an effect termed operator-priming. Grade-related increases of hippocampal spatial activity were operation-specific because they were not observed with '×' signs, which might evoke rote retrieval rather than numerical manipulation. Our study raises the possibility that hippocampal spatial mechanisms help build associations between some arithmetic operators and space throughout age and/or education. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  12. Striving for Excellence Sometimes Hinders High Achievers: Performance-Approach Goals Deplete Arithmetical Performance in Students with High Working Memory Capacity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crouzevialle, Marie; Smeding, Annique; Butera, Fabrizio

    2015-01-01

    We tested whether the goal to attain normative superiority over other students, referred to as performance-approach goals, is particularly distractive for high-Working Memory Capacity (WMC) students—that is, those who are used to being high achievers. Indeed, WMC is positively related to high-order cognitive performance and academic success, a record of success that confers benefits on high-WMC as compared to low-WMC students. We tested whether such benefits may turn out to be a burden under performance-approach goal pursuit. Indeed, for high achievers, aiming to rise above others may represent an opportunity to reaffirm their positive status—a stake susceptible to trigger disruptive outcome concerns that interfere with task processing. Results revealed that with performance-approach goals—as compared to goals with no emphasis on social comparison—the higher the students’ WMC, the lower their performance at a complex arithmetic task (Experiment 1). Crucially, this pattern appeared to be driven by uncertainty regarding the chances to outclass others (Experiment 2). Moreover, an accessibility measure suggested the mediational role played by status-related concerns in the observed disruption of performance. We discuss why high-stake situations can paradoxically lead high-achievers to sub-optimally perform when high-order cognitive performance is at play. PMID:26407097

  13. From algorithmic computing to direct retrieval: evidence from number and alphabetic arithmetic in children and adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barrouillet, P; Fayol, M

    1998-03-01

    A number of theories of mental arithmetic suggest that the ability to solve simple addition and subtraction problems develops from an algorithmic strategy toward a strategy based on the direct retrieval of the result from memory. In the experiment presented here, 2nd and 12th graders were asked to solve two tasks of number and alphabet arithmetic. The subjects transformed series of 1 to 4 numbers or letters (item span) by adding or subtracting an operand varying from 1 to 4 (operation span). Although both the item and operation span were associated with major and identical effects in the case of both numbers and letters at 2nd grade, such effects were clearly observable only in the case of letters for the adult subjects. This suggests the use of an algorithmic strategy for both types of material in the case of the children and for the letters only in the case of the adults, who retrieved numerical results directly from memory.

  14. Arithmetic geometry over global function fields

    CERN Document Server

    Longhi, Ignazio; Trihan, Fabien

    2014-01-01

    This volume collects the texts of five courses given in the Arithmetic Geometry Research Programme 2009–2010 at the CRM Barcelona. All of them deal with characteristic p global fields; the common theme around which they are centered is the arithmetic of L-functions (and other special functions), investigated in various aspects. Three courses examine some of the most important recent ideas in the positive characteristic theory discovered by Goss (a field in tumultuous development, which is seeing a number of spectacular advances): they cover respectively crystals over function fields (with a number of applications to L-functions of t-motives), gamma and zeta functions in characteristic p, and the binomial theorem. The other two are focused on topics closer to the classical theory of abelian varieties over number fields: they give respectively a thorough introduction to the arithmetic of Jacobians over function fields (including the current status of the BSD conjecture and its geometric analogues, and the con...

  15. Vestibulosympathetic reflex during mental stress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, Jason R.; Ray, Chester A.; Cooke, William H.

    2002-01-01

    Increases in sympathetic neural activity occur independently with either vestibular or mental stimulation, but it is unknown whether sympathetic activation is additive or inhibitive when both stressors are combined. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the combined effects of vestibular and mental stimulation on sympathetic neural activation and arterial pressure in humans. Muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA), arterial pressure, and heart rate were recorded in 10 healthy volunteers in the prone position during 1) head-down rotation (HDR), 2) mental stress (MS; using arithmetic), and 3) combined HDR and MS. HDR significantly (P < 0.05) increased MSNA (9 +/- 2 to 13 +/- 2 bursts/min). MS significantly increased MSNA (8 +/- 2 to 13 +/- 2 bursts/min) and mean arterial pressure (87 +/- 2 to 101 +/- 2 mmHg). Combined HDR and MS significantly increased MSNA (9 +/- 1 to 16 +/- 2 bursts/min) and mean arterial pressure (89 +/- 2 to 100 +/- 3 mmHg). Increases in MSNA (7 +/- 1 bursts/min) during the combination trial were not different from the algebraic sum of each trial performed alone (8 +/- 2 bursts/min). We conclude that the interaction for MSNA and arterial pressure is additive during combined vestibular and mental stimulation. Therefore, vestibular- and stress-mediated increases of MSNA appear to occur independently in humans.

  16. Arithmetical meadows

    OpenAIRE

    Bergstra, J.A.; Middelburg, C.A.

    2009-01-01

    An inversive meadow is a commutative ring with identity equipped with a multiplicative inverse operation made total by choosing 0 as its value at 0. Previously, inversive meadows were shortly called meadows. A divisive meadow is an inversive meadows with the multiplicative inverse operation replaced by a division operation. In the spirit of Peacock's arithmetical algebra, we introduce variants of inversive and divisive meadows without an additive identity element and an additive inverse opera...

  17. Arithmetic differential equations on $GL_n$, I: differential cocycles

    OpenAIRE

    Buium, Alexandru; Dupuy, Taylor

    2013-01-01

    The theory of differential equations has an arithmetic analogue in which derivatives are replaced by Fermat quotients. One can then ask what is the arithmetic analogue of a linear differential equation. The study of usual linear differential equations is the same as the study of the differential cocycle from $GL_n$ into its Lie algebra given by the logarithmic derivative. However we prove here that there are no such cocycles in the context of arithmetic differential equations. In sequels of t...

  18. When is working memory important for arithmetic? The impact of strategy and age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cragg, Lucy; Richardson, Sophie; Hubber, Paula J; Keeble, Sarah; Gilmore, Camilla

    2017-01-01

    Our ability to perform arithmetic relies heavily on working memory, the manipulation and maintenance of information in mind. Previous research has found that in adults, procedural strategies, particularly counting, rely on working memory to a greater extent than retrieval strategies. During childhood there are changes in the types of strategies employed, as well as an increase in the accuracy and efficiency of strategy execution. As such it seems likely that the role of working memory in arithmetic may also change, however children and adults have never been directly compared. This study used traditional dual-task methodology, with the addition of a control load condition, to investigate the extent to which working memory requirements for different arithmetic strategies change with age between 9-11 years, 12-14 years and young adulthood. We showed that both children and adults employ working memory when solving arithmetic problems, no matter what strategy they choose. This study highlights the importance of considering working memory in understanding the difficulties that some children and adults have with mathematics, as well as the need to include working memory in theoretical models of mathematical cognition.

  19. Interactive Realizability and the elimination of Skolem functions in Peano Arithmetic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Federico Aschieri

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available We present a new syntactical proof that first-order Peano Arithmetic with Skolem axioms is conservative over Peano Arithmetic alone for arithmetical formulas. This result – which shows that the Excluded Middle principle can be used to eliminate Skolem functions – has been previously proved by other techniques, among them the epsilon substitution method and forcing. In our proof, we employ Interactive Realizability, a computational semantics for Peano Arithmetic which extends Kreisel's modified realizability to the classical case.

  20. Mental Toughness Moderates Social Loafing in Cycle Time-Trial Performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haugen, Tommy; Reinboth, Michael; Hetlelid, Ken J; Peters, Derek M; Høigaard, Rune

    2016-09-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine if mental toughness moderated the occurrence of social loafing in cycle time-trial performance. Twenty-seven men (Mage = 17.7 years, SD = 0.6) completed the Sport Mental Toughness Questionnaire prior to completing a 1-min cycling trial under 2 conditions: once with individual performance identified, and once in a group with individual performance not identified. Using a median split of the mental toughness index, participants were divided into high and low mental toughness groups. Cycling distance was compared using a 2 (trial) × 2 (high-low mental toughness) analysis of variance. We hypothesized that mentally tough participants would perform equally well under both conditions (i.e., no indication of social loafing) compared with low mentally tough participants, who would perform less well when their individual performance was not identifiable (i.e., demonstrating the anticipated social loafing effect). The high mental toughness group demonstrated consistent performance across both conditions, while the low mental toughness group reduced their effort in the non-individually identifiable team condition. The results confirm that (a) clearly identifying individual effort/performance is an important situational variable that may impact team performance and (b) higher perceived mental toughness has the ability to negate the tendency to loaf.

  1. Cognitive mechanisms underlying third graders' arithmetic skills: Expanding the pathways to mathematics model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Träff, Ulf; Olsson, Linda; Skagerlund, Kenny; Östergren, Rickard

    2018-03-01

    A modified pathways to mathematics model was used to examine the cognitive mechanisms underlying arithmetic skills in third graders. A total of 269 children were assessed on tasks tapping the four pathways and arithmetic skills. A path analysis showed that symbolic number processing was directly supported by the linguistic and approximate quantitative pathways. The direct contribution from the four pathways to arithmetic proficiency varied; the linguistic pathway supported single-digit arithmetic and word problem solving, whereas the approximate quantitative pathway supported only multi-digit calculation. The spatial processing and verbal working memory pathways supported only arithmetic word problem solving. The notion of hierarchical levels of arithmetic was supported by the results, and the different levels were supported by different constellations of pathways. However, the strongest support to the hierarchical levels of arithmetic were provided by the proximal arithmetic skills. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Studi Kompresi Data dengan Metode Arithmetic Coding

    OpenAIRE

    Santoso, Petrus

    2001-01-01

    In Bahasa Indonesia : Ada banyak sekali metode kompresi data yang ada saat ini. Sebagian besar metode tersebut bisa dikelompokkan ke dalam salah satu dari dua kelompok besar, statistical based dan dictionary based. Contoh dari dictionary based coding adalah Lempel Ziv Welch dan contoh dari statistical based coding adalah Huffman Coding dan Arithmetic Coding yang merupakan algoritma terbaru. Makalah ini mengulas prinsip-prinsip dari Arithmetic Coding serta keuntungan-keuntungannya dibandi...

  3. Operator Arithmetic-Harmonic Mean Inequality on Krein Spaces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Dehghani

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available We prove an operator arithmetic-harmonic mean type inequality in Krein space setting, by using some block matrix techniques of indefinite type. We also give an example which shows that the operator arithmetic-geometric-harmonic mean inequality for two invertible selfadjoint operators on Krein spaces is not valid, in general.

  4. Emotion and affect in mental imagery: Do fear and anxiety manipulate mental rotation performance?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandra eKaltner

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Little is known about the effects of fear as a basic emotion on mental rotation performance. We expected that the emotional arousal evoked by fearful stimuli presented prior to each mental rotation trial would enhance mental rotation performance. Regarding the influence of anxiety, high anxious participants are supposed to show slower responses and higher error rates in this specific visuo-spatial ability. Furthermore, with respect to the embodied cognition viewpoint we wanted to investigate if the influence of fear on mental rotation performance is the same for egocentric and object-based transformations. Results show that fear enhances mental rotation performance, expressed by a higher mental rotation speed. Interestingly, this influence is stimulus-specific: it is restricted to egocentric transformations. Both observation of emotional stimuli and egocentric strategies are associated with left hemisphere activation which could explain a stronger influence on this type of transformation during observation. Another possible notion is the conceptual link between visuo-spatial perspective taking and empathy based on the co-activation of parietal areas. Stronger responses in egocentric transformations could result from this specific link. Regarding the influence of anxiety, participants with high scores on the trait-anxiety scale showed poor results in both reaction time and mental rotation speed. Findings of impoverished recruitment of prefrontal attentional control in patients with high scores in trait anxiety could be the explanation for this reduced performance.

  5. Optoelectronic switch matrix as a look-up table for residue arithmetic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macdonald, R I

    1987-10-01

    The use of optoelectronic matrix switches to perform look-up table functions in residue arithmetic processors is proposed. In this application, switchable detector arrays give the advantage of a greatly reduced requirement for optical sources by comparison with previous optoelectronic residue processors.

  6. Digital speech processing arithmetic and its realization on ADSP-2191 system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Wansheng; Wang Yonggang

    2005-01-01

    The paper reports the realization of LPC arithmetic in fixed-point DSP system. First we introduce the theory of LPC arithmetic and describe the chip (ADSP-2191)'s structure and function relating to the LPC arithmetic; emphasized on the realization process of LPC in ADSP-2191 and its result. (authors)

  7. Matrix inequalities for the difference between arithmetic mean and harmonic mean

    OpenAIRE

    Liao, Wenshi; Wu, Junliang

    2015-01-01

    Motivated by the refinements and reverses of arithmetic-geometric mean and arithmetic-harmonic mean inequalities for scalars and matrices, in this article, we generalize the scalar and matrix inequalities for the difference between arithmetic mean and harmonic mean. In addition, relevant inequalities for the Hilbert-Schmidt norm and determinant are established.

  8. Some studies on arithmetical chaos in classical and quantum mechanics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bolte, J.

    1993-04-01

    Several aspects of classical and quantum mechanics applied to a class of strongly chaotic systems are studied. The latter consists of single particles moving without external forces on surfaces of constant negative Gaussian curvature whose corresponding fundamental groups are supplied with an arithmetic structure. It is shown that the arithmetical features of the considered systems lead to exceptional properties of the corresponding spectra of lengths of closed geodesics (periodic orbits). The most significant one is an exponential growth of degeneracies in these geodesic length spectra. Furthermore, the arithmetical systems are distinguished by a structure that appears as a generalization of geometric symmetries. These pseudosymmetries occur in the quantization of the classical arithmetic systems as Hecke operators, which form an infinite algebra of self-adjoint operators commuting with the Hamiltonian. The statistical properties of quantum energies in the arithmetical systems have previously been identified as exceptional. They do not fit into the general scheme of random matrix theory. It is shown with the help of a simplified model for the spectral form factor how the spectral statistics in arithmetical quantum chaos can be understood by the properties of the corresponding classical geodesic length spectra. A decisive role is played by the exponentially increasing multiplicities of lengths. The model developed for the level spacings distribution and for the number variance is compared to the corresponding quantities obtained from quantum energies for a specific arithmetical system. Finally, the convergence properties of a representation for the Selberg zeta function as a Dirichlet series are studied. It turns out that the exceptional classical and quantum mechanical properties shared by the arithmetical systems prohibit a convergence of this important function in the physically interesting domain. (orig.)

  9. Mental Fatigue Impairs Soccer-Specific Physical and Technical Performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Mitchell R; Coutts, Aaron J; Merlini, Michele; Deprez, Dieter; Lenoir, Matthieu; Marcora, Samuele M

    2016-02-01

    To investigate the effects of mental fatigue on soccer-specific physical and technical performance. This investigation consisted of two separate studies. Study 1 assessed the soccer-specific physical performance of 12 moderately trained soccer players using the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test, Level 1 (Yo-Yo IR1). Study 2 assessed the soccer-specific technical performance of 14 experienced soccer players using the Loughborough Soccer Passing and Shooting Tests (LSPT, LSST). Each test was performed on two occasions and preceded, in a randomized, counterbalanced order, by 30 min of the Stroop task (mentally fatiguing treatment) or 30 min of reading magazines (control treatment). Subjective ratings of mental fatigue were measured before and after treatment, and mental effort and motivation were measured after treatment. Distance run, heart rate, and ratings of perceived exertion were recorded during the Yo-Yo IR1. LSPT performance time was calculated as original time plus penalty time. LSST performance was assessed using shot speed, shot accuracy, and shot sequence time. Subjective ratings of mental fatigue and effort were higher after the Stroop task in both studies (P motivation was similar between conditions. This mental fatigue significantly reduced running distance in the Yo-Yo IR1 (P performance time were not different between conditions; however, penalty time significantly increased in the mental fatigue condition (P = 0.015). Mental fatigue also impaired shot speed (P = 0.024) and accuracy (P performance.

  10. Prior Mental Fatigue Impairs Marksmanship Decision Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James Head

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: Mental fatigue has been shown to impair subsequent physical performance in continuous and discontinuous exercise. However, its influence on subsequent fine-motor performance in an applied setting (e.g., marksmanship for trained soldiers is relatively unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether prior mental fatigue influences subsequent marksmanship performance as measured by shooting accuracy and judgment of soldiers in a live-fire scenario.Methods: Twenty trained infantry soldiers engaged targets after completing either a mental fatigue or control intervention in a repeated measure design. Heart rate variability and the NASA-TLX were used to gauge physiological and subjective effects of the interventions. Target hit proportion, projectile group accuracy, and precision were used to measure marksmanship accuracy. Marksmanship accuracy was assessed by measuring bullet group accuracy (i.e., how close a group of shots are relative to center of mass and bullet group precision (i.e., how close are each individual shot to each other. Additionally, marksmanship decision accuracy (correctly shooting vs. correctly withholding shot when engaging targets was used to examine marksmanship performance.Results: Soldiers rated the mentally fatiguing task (59.88 ± 23.7 as having greater mental workload relative to the control intervention [31.29 ± 12.3, t(19 = 1.72, p < 0.001]. Additionally, soldiers completing the mental fatigue intervention (96.04 ± = 37.1 also had lower time-domain (standard deviation of normal to normal R-R intervals heart rate variability relative to the control [134.39 ± 47.4, t(18 = 3.59, p < 0.001]. Projectile group accuracy and group precision failed to show differences between interventions [t(19 = 0.98, p = 0.34, t(19 = 0.18, p = 0.87, respectively]. Marksmanship decision errors significantly increased after soldiers completed the mental fatigue intervention (48% ± 22.4 relative to the control

  11. Learning, Realizability and Games in Classical Arithmetic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aschieri, Federico

    2010-12-01

    In this dissertation we provide mathematical evidence that the concept of learning can be used to give a new and intuitive computational semantics of classical proofs in various fragments of Predicative Arithmetic. First, we extend Kreisel modified realizability to a classical fragment of first order Arithmetic, Heyting Arithmetic plus EM1 (Excluded middle axiom restricted to Sigma^0_1 formulas). We introduce a new realizability semantics we call "Interactive Learning-Based Realizability". Our realizers are self-correcting programs, which learn from their errors and evolve through time. Secondly, we extend the class of learning based realizers to a classical version PCFclass of PCF and, then, compare the resulting notion of realizability with Coquand game semantics and prove a full soundness and completeness result. In particular, we show there is a one-to-one correspondence between realizers and recursive winning strategies in the 1-Backtracking version of Tarski games. Third, we provide a complete and fully detailed constructive analysis of learning as it arises in learning based realizability for HA+EM1, Avigad's update procedures and epsilon substitution method for Peano Arithmetic PA. We present new constructive techniques to bound the length of learning processes and we apply them to reprove - by means of our theory - the classic result of Godel that provably total functions of PA can be represented in Godel's system T. Last, we give an axiomatization of the kind of learning that is needed to computationally interpret Predicative classical second order Arithmetic. Our work is an extension of Avigad's and generalizes the concept of update procedure to the transfinite case. Transfinite update procedures have to learn values of transfinite sequences of non computable functions in order to extract witnesses from classical proofs.

  12. Frege, Dedekind, and Peano on the foundations of arithmetic

    CERN Document Server

    Gillies, Donald

    2013-01-01

    First published in 1982, this reissue contains a critical exposition of the views of Frege, Dedekind and Peano on the foundations of arithmetic. The last quarter of the 19th century witnessed a remarkable growth of interest in the foundations of arithmetic. This work analyses both the reasons for this growth of interest within both mathematics and philosophy and the ways in which this study of the foundations of arithmetic led to new insights in philosophy and striking advances in logic. This historical-critical study provides an excellent introduction to the problems of the philosop

  13. Patterns of problem-solving in children's literacy and arithmetic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farrington-Flint, Lee; Vanuxem-Cotterill, Sophie; Stiller, James

    2009-11-01

    Patterns of problem-solving among 5-to-7 year-olds' were examined on a range of literacy (reading and spelling) and arithmetic-based (addition and subtraction) problem-solving tasks using verbal self-reports to monitor strategy choice. The results showed higher levels of variability in the children's strategy choice across Years I and 2 on the arithmetic (addition and subtraction) than literacy-based tasks (reading and spelling). However, across all four tasks, the children showed a tendency to move from less sophisticated procedural-based strategies, which included phonological strategies for reading and spelling and counting-all and finger modellingfor addition and subtraction, to more efficient retrieval methods from Years I to 2. Distinct patterns in children's problem-solving skill were identified on the literacy and arithmetic tasks using two separate cluster analyses. There was a strong association between these two profiles showing that those children with more advanced problem-solving skills on the arithmetic tasks also showed more advanced profiles on the literacy tasks. The results highlight how different-aged children show flexibility in their use of problem-solving strategies across literacy and arithmetical contexts and reinforce the importance of studying variations in children's problem-solving skill across different educational contexts.

  14. Classified one-step high-radix signed-digit arithmetic units

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cherri, Abdallah K.

    1998-08-01

    High-radix number systems enable higher information storage density, less complexity, fewer system components, and fewer cascaded gates and operations. A simple one-step fully parallel high-radix signed-digit arithmetic is proposed for parallel optical computing based on new joint spatial encodings. This reduces hardware requirements and improves throughput by reducing the space-bandwidth produce needed. The high-radix signed-digit arithmetic operations are based on classifying the neighboring input digit pairs into various groups to reduce the computation rules. A new joint spatial encoding technique is developed to present both the operands and the computation rules. This technique increases the spatial bandwidth product of the spatial light modulators of the system. An optical implementation of the proposed high-radix signed-digit arithmetic operations is also presented. It is shown that our one-step trinary signed-digit and quaternary signed-digit arithmetic units are much simpler and better than all previously reported high-radix signed-digit techniques.

  15. The relation between language and arithmetic in bilinguals: insights from different stages of language acquisition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amandine eVan Rinsveld

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Solving arithmetic problems is a cognitive task that heavily relies on language processing. One might thus wonder whether this language-reliance leads to qualitative differences (e.g. greater difficulties, error types, etc. in arithmetic for bilingual individuals who frequently have to solve arithmetic problems in more than one language. The present study investigated how proficiency in two languages interacts with arithmetic problem solving throughout language acquisition in adolescents and young adults. Additionally, we examined whether the number word structure that is specific to a given language plays a role in number processing over and above bilingual proficiency. We addressed these issues in a German-French educational bilingual setting, where there is a progressive transition from German to French as teaching language. Importantly, German and French number naming structures differ clearly, as two-digit number names follow a unit-ten order in German, but a ten-unit order in French. We implemented a transversal developmental design in which bilingual pupils from grades 7, 8, 10, 11, and young adults were asked to solve simple and complex additions in both languages. The results confirmed that language proficiency is crucial especially for complex addition computation. Simple additions in contrast can be retrieved equally well in both languages after extended language practice. Additional analyses revealed that over and above language proficiency, language-specific number word structures (e.g. unit-ten vs. ten-unit also induced significant modulations of bilinguals’ arithmetic performances. Taken together, these findings support the view of a strong relation between language and arithmetic in bilinguals.

  16. Confidence mediates the sex difference in mental rotation performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Estes, Zachary; Felker, Sydney

    2012-06-01

    On tasks that require the mental rotation of 3-dimensional figures, males typically exhibit higher accuracy than females. Using the most common measure of mental rotation (i.e., the Mental Rotations Test), we investigated whether individual variability in confidence mediates this sex difference in mental rotation performance. In each of four experiments, the sex difference was reliably elicited and eliminated by controlling or manipulating participants' confidence. Specifically, confidence predicted performance within and between sexes (Experiment 1), rendering confidence irrelevant to the task reliably eliminated the sex difference in performance (Experiments 2 and 3), and manipulating confidence significantly affected performance (Experiment 4). Thus, confidence mediates the sex difference in mental rotation performance and hence the sex difference appears to be a difference of performance rather than ability. Results are discussed in relation to other potential mediators and mechanisms, such as gender roles, sex stereotypes, spatial experience, rotation strategies, working memory, and spatial attention.

  17. Arithmetic learning with the use of graphic organiser

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sai, F. L.; Shahrill, M.; Tan, A.; Han, S. H.

    2018-01-01

    For this study, Zollman’s four corners-and-a-diamond mathematics graphic organiser embedded with Polya’s Problem Solving Model was used to investigate secondary school students’ performance in arithmetic word problems. This instructional learning tool was used to help students break down the given information into smaller units for better strategic planning. The participants were Year 7 students, comprised of 21 male and 20 female students, aged between 11-13 years old, from a co-ed secondary school in Brunei Darussalam. This study mainly adopted a quantitative approach to investigate the types of differences found in the arithmetic word problem pre- and post-tests results from the use of the learning tool. Although the findings revealed slight improvements in the overall comparisons of the students’ test results, the in-depth analysis of the students’ responses in their activity worksheets shows a different outcome. Some students were able to make good attempts in breaking down the key points into smaller information in order to solve the word problems.

  18. Neurocognitive Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Arithmetic Learning and Performance: A Simultaneous tDCS-fMRI Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hauser, Tobias U; Rütsche, Bruno; Wurmitzer, Karoline; Brem, Silvia; Ruff, Christian C; Grabner, Roland H

    A small but increasing number of studies suggest that non-invasive brain stimulation by means of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can modulate arithmetic processes that are essential for higher-order mathematical skills and that are impaired in dyscalculic individuals. However, little is known about the neural mechanisms underlying such stimulation effects, and whether they are specific to cognitive processes involved in different arithmetic tasks. We addressed these questions by applying tDCS during simultaneous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while participants were solving two types of complex subtraction problems: repeated problems, relying on arithmetic fact learning and problem-solving by fact retrieval, and novel problems, requiring calculation procedures. Twenty participants receiving left parietal anodal plus right frontal cathodal stimulation were compared with 20 participants in a sham condition. We found a strong cognitive and neural dissociation between repeated and novel problems. Repeated problems were solved more accurately and elicited increased activity in the bilateral angular gyri and medial plus lateral prefrontal cortices. Solving novel problems, in contrast, was accompanied by stronger activation in the bilateral intraparietal sulci and the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. Most importantly, tDCS decreased the activation of the right inferior frontal cortex while solving novel (compared to repeated) problems, suggesting that the cathodal stimulation rendered this region unable to respond to the task-specific cognitive demand. The present study revealed that tDCS during arithmetic problem-solving can modulate the neural activity in proximity to the electrodes specifically when the current demands lead to an engagement of this area. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Children's Acquisition of Arithmetic Principles: The Role of Experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prather, Richard; Alibali, Martha W.

    2011-01-01

    The current study investigated how young learners' experiences with arithmetic equations can lead to learning of an arithmetic principle. The focus was elementary school children's acquisition of the Relation to Operands principle for subtraction (i.e., for natural numbers, the difference must be less than the minuend). In Experiment 1, children…

  20. Weak task-related modulation and stimulus representations during arithmetic problem solving in children with developmental dyscalculia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashkenazi, Sarit; Rosenberg-Lee, Miriam; Tenison, Caitlin; Menon, Vinod

    2012-02-15

    Developmental dyscalculia (DD) is a disability that impacts math learning and skill acquisition in school-age children. Here we investigate arithmetic problem solving deficits in young children with DD using univariate and multivariate analysis of fMRI data. During fMRI scanning, 17 children with DD (ages 7-9, grades 2 and 3) and 17 IQ- and reading ability-matched typically developing (TD) children performed complex and simple addition problems which differed only in arithmetic complexity. While the TD group showed strong modulation of brain responses with increasing arithmetic complexity, children with DD failed to show such modulation. Children with DD showed significantly reduced activation compared to TD children in the intraparietal sulcus, superior parietal lobule, supramarginal gyrus and bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in relation to arithmetic complexity. Critically, multivariate representational similarity revealed that brain response patterns to complex and simple problems were less differentiated in the DD group in bilateral anterior IPS, independent of overall differences in signal level. Taken together, these results show that children with DD not only under-activate key brain regions implicated in mathematical cognition, but they also fail to generate distinct neural responses and representations for different arithmetic problems. Our findings provide novel insights into the neural basis of DD. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Processing the Order of Symbolic Numbers: A Reliable and Unique Predictor of Arithmetic Fluency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephan E. Vogel

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available A small but growing body of evidence suggests a link between individual differences in processing the order of numerical symbols (e.g., deciding whether a set of digits is arranged in ascending/descending order or not and arithmetic achievement. However, the reliability of behavioral correlates measuring symbolic and non-symbolic numerical order processing and their relationship to arithmetic abilities remain poorly understood. The present study aims to fill this knowledge gap by examining the behavioral correlates of numerical and non-numerical order processing and their unique associations with arithmetic fluency at two different time points within the same sample of individuals. Thirty-two right-handed adults performed three order judgment tasks consisting of symbolic numbers (i.e., digits, non-symbolic numbers (i.e., dots, and letters of the alphabet. Specifically, participants had to judge as accurately and as quickly as possible whether stimuli were ordered correctly (in ascending/descending order, e.g., 2-3-4; ●●●●-●●●-●●; B-C-D or not (e.g., 4-5-3; ●●●●-●●●●●-●●●; D-E-C. Results of this study demonstrate that numerical order judgments are reliable measurements (i.e., high test-retest reliability, and that the observed relationship between symbolic number processing and arithmetic fluency accounts for a unique and reliable portion of variance over and above the non-symbolic number and the letter conditions. The differential association of symbolic and non-symbolic numbers with arithmetic support the view that processing the order of symbolic and non-symbolic numbers engages different cognitive mechanisms, and that the ability to process ordinal relationships of symbolic numbers is a reliable and unique predictor of arithmetic fluency.

  2. Design of Improved Arithmetic Logic Unit in Quantum-Dot Cellular Automata

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heikalabad, Saeed Rasouli; Gadim, Mahya Rahimpour

    2018-06-01

    The quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA) can be replaced to overcome the limitation of CMOS technology. An arithmetic logic unit (ALU) is a basic structure of any computer devices. In this paper, design of improved single-bit arithmetic logic unit in quantum dot cellular automata is presented. The proposed structure for ALU has AND, OR, XOR and ADD operations. A unique 2:1 multiplexer, an ultra-efficient two-input XOR and a low complexity full adder are used in the proposed structure. Also, an extended design of this structure is provided for two-bit ALU in this paper. The proposed structure of ALU is simulated by QCADesigner and simulation result is evaluated. Evaluation results show that the proposed design has best performance in terms of area, complexity and delay compared to the previous designs.

  3. Workload assessment for mental arithmetic tasks using the task-evoked pupillary response

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gerhard Marquart

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Pupillometry is a promising method for assessing mental workload and could be helpful in the optimization of systems that involve human–computer interaction. The present study focuses on replicating the studies by Ahern (1978 and Klingner (2010, which found that for three levels of difficulty of mental multiplications, the more difficult multiplications yielded larger dilations of the pupil. Using a remote eye tracker, our research expands upon these two previous studies by statistically testing for each 1.5 s interval of the calculation period (1 the mean absolute pupil diameter (MPD, (2 the mean pupil diameter change (MPDC with respect to the pupil diameter during the pre-stimulus accommodation period, and (3 the mean pupil diameter change rate (MPDCR. An additional novelty of our research is that we compared the pupil diameter measures with a self-report measure of workload, the NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX, and with the mean blink rate (MBR. The results showed that the findings of Ahern and Klingner were replicated, and that the MPD and MPDC discriminated just as well between the lowest and highest difficulty levels as did the NASA-TLX. The MBR, on the other hand, did not differentiate between the difficulty levels. Moderate to strong correlations were found between the MPDC and the proportion of incorrect responses, indicating that the MPDC was higher for participants with a poorer performance. For practical applications, validity could be improved by combining pupillometry with other physiological techniques.

  4. Effects of user mental state on EEG-BCI performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew eMyrden

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Changes in psychological state have been proposed as a cause of variation in brain-computer interface performance, but little formal analysis has been conducted to support this hypothesis. In this study, we investigated the effects of three mental states - fatigue, frustration, and attention - on BCI performance. Twelve able-bodied participants were trained to use a two-class EEG-BCI based on the performance of user-specific mental tasks. Following training, participants completed three testing sessions, during which they used the BCI to play a simple maze navigation game while periodically reporting their perceived levels of fatigue, frustration, and attention. Statistical analysis indicated that there is a significant relationship between frustration and BCI performance while the relationship between fatigue and BCI performance approached significance. BCI performance was 7% lower than average when self-reported fatigue was low and 10% lower than average when self-reported frustration was low. A multivariate analysis of mental state revealed the presence of contiguous regions in mental state space where BCI performance was more accurate than average, suggesting the importance of moderate fatigue for achieving effortless focus on BCI control, frustration as a potential motivating factor, and attention as a compensatory mechanism to increasing frustration. Finally, a visual analysis showed the sensitivity of underlying class distributions to changes in mental state. Collectively, these results indicate that mental state is closely related to BCI performance, encouraging future development of psychologically adaptive BCIs.

  5. Hybrid content addressable memory MSD arithmetic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yao; Kim, Dai Hyun; Kostrzewski, Andrew A.; Eichmann, George

    1990-07-01

    The modified signed-digit (MSD) number system, because of its inherent weak interdigit dependance, has been suggested as a useful means for a fast and parallel digital arithmetic. To maintain a fast processing speed, a single-stage holographic optical content-addressable memory (CAM) based MSD algorithm was suggested. In this paper, a novel non-holographic opto-electronic CAM based fast MSD addition processing architecture is proposed. The proposed concept has been verified with our first-order proof-of-principle experiments. A figure of merit comparison of this and other existing approaches is also presented. Based on this key opto-electronic CAM element, implementation of more sophisticated I'VISD arithmetic, such as optical MSD subtraction and multiplication operations, are proposed.

  6. Cryptanalysis of a chaos-based cryptosystem with an embedded adaptive arithmetic coder

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Xing-Yuan; Xie Yi-Xin

    2011-01-01

    In this paper, we analyse a new chaos-based cryptosystem with an embedded adaptive arithmetic coder, which was proposed by Li Heng-Jian and Zhang J S (Li H J and Zhang J S 2010 Chin. Phys. B 19 050508). Although this new method has a better compression performance than its original version, it is found that there are some problems with its security and decryption processes. In this paper, it is shown how to obtain a great deal of plain text from the cipher text without prior knowledge of the secret key. After discussing the security and decryption problems of the Li Heng-Jian et al. algorithm, we propose an improved chaos-based cryptosystem with an embedded adaptive arithmetic coder that is more secure. (general)

  7. Fleeting footsteps tracing the conception of arithmetic and algebra in ancient China

    CERN Document Server

    Yong, Lam Lay

    2004-01-01

    The Hindu-Arabic numeral system (1, 2, 3,...) is one of mankind''sgreatest achievements and one of its most commonly usedinventions. How did it originate? Those who have written about thenumeral system have hypothesized that it originated in India; however,there is little evidence to support this claim. This book provides considerable evidence to show that theHindu-Arabic numeral system, despite its commonly accepted name,has its origins in the Chinese rod numeral system. This system waswidely used in China from antiquity till the 16th century. It was usedby officials, astronomers, traders and others to perform addition,subtraction, multiplication, division and other arithmetic operations,and also used by mathematicians to develop arithmetic andalgebra. Based on this system, numerous mathematical treatises werewritten.

  8. Rewrite systems for integer arithmetic

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    H.R. Walters (Pum); H. Zantema (Hans)

    1995-01-01

    textabstractWe present three term rewrite systems for integer arithmetic with addition, multiplication, and, in two cases, subtraction. All systems are ground confluent and terminating; termination is proved by semantic labelling and recursive path order. The first system represents numbers by

  9. The Effects of Mental Fatigue on Physical Performance: A Systematic Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Cutsem, Jeroen; Marcora, Samuele; De Pauw, Kevin; Bailey, Stephen; Meeusen, Romain; Roelands, Bart

    2017-08-01

    Mental fatigue is a psychobiological state caused by prolonged periods of demanding cognitive activity. It has recently been suggested that mental fatigue can affect physical performance. Our objective was to evaluate the literature on impairment of physical performance due to mental fatigue and to create an overview of the potential factors underlying this effect. Two electronic databases, PubMed and Web of Science (until 28 April 2016), were searched for studies designed to test whether mental fatigue influenced performance of a physical task or influenced physiological and/or perceptual responses during the physical task. Studies using short (mental fatigue. Maximal strength, power, and anaerobic work were not affected by mental fatigue. The duration and intensity of the physical task appear to be important factors in the decrease in physical performance due to mental fatigue. The most important factor responsible for the negative impact of mental fatigue on endurance performance is a higher perceived exertion.

  10. Investigation of an American Arithmetic Text Book (I)

    OpenAIRE

    植村, 憲治; UEMURA, Kenji

    2006-01-01

    The teaching method of mathematics and/or arithmetic essentially does not depend on language or culture. In this paper we introduce and investigate an American arithmetic text book and teacher's book of kindergarten, named "Mathematics" published by McGraw-Hill Company. And we point out the difference of Japanese teaching methods from those of the U.S. especially from the point of the Problem Solving Method which is still not taught in Japan as a system.

  11. Higher arithmetic an algorithmic introduction to number theory

    CERN Document Server

    Edwards, Harold M

    2008-01-01

    Although number theorists have sometimes shunned and even disparaged computation in the past, today's applications of number theory to cryptography and computer security demand vast arithmetical computations. These demands have shifted the focus of studies in number theory and have changed attitudes toward computation itself. The important new applications have attracted a great many students to number theory, but the best reason for studying the subject remains what it was when Gauss published his classic Disquisitiones Arithmeticae in 1801: Number theory is the equal of Euclidean geometry--some would say it is superior to Euclidean geometry--as a model of pure, logical, deductive thinking. An arithmetical computation, after all, is the purest form of deductive argument. Higher Arithmetic explains number theory in a way that gives deductive reasoning, including algorithms and computations, the central role. Hands-on experience with the application of algorithms to computational examples enables students to m...

  12. Relating arithmetical techniques of proportion to geometry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wijayanti, Dyana

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to investigate how textbooks introduce and treat the theme of proportion in geometry (similarity) and arithmetic (ratio and proportion), and how these themes are linked to each other in the books. To pursue this aim, we use the anthropological theory of the didactic....... Considering 6 common Indonesian textbooks in use, we describe how proportion is explained and appears in examples and exercises, using an explicit reference model of the mathematical organizations of both themes. We also identify how the proportion themes of the geometry and arithmetic domains are linked. Our...

  13. Rewrite systems for integer arithmetic

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Walters, H.R.; Zantema, H.

    1994-01-01

    We present three term rewrite systems for integer arithmetic with addition, multiplication, and, in two cases, subtraction. All systems are ground con uent and terminating; termination is proved by semantic labelling and recursive path order. The first system represents numbers by successor and

  14. A Ternary Hybrid EEG-NIRS Brain-Computer Interface for the Classification of Brain Activation Patterns during Mental Arithmetic, Motor Imagery, and Idle State.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shin, Jaeyoung; Kwon, Jinuk; Im, Chang-Hwan

    2018-01-01

    The performance of a brain-computer interface (BCI) can be enhanced by simultaneously using two or more modalities to record brain activity, which is generally referred to as a hybrid BCI. To date, many BCI researchers have tried to implement a hybrid BCI system by combining electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to improve the overall accuracy of binary classification. However, since hybrid EEG-NIRS BCI, which will be denoted by hBCI in this paper, has not been applied to ternary classification problems, paradigms and classification strategies appropriate for ternary classification using hBCI are not well investigated. Here we propose the use of an hBCI for the classification of three brain activation patterns elicited by mental arithmetic, motor imagery, and idle state, with the aim to elevate the information transfer rate (ITR) of hBCI by increasing the number of classes while minimizing the loss of accuracy. EEG electrodes were placed over the prefrontal cortex and the central cortex, and NIRS optodes were placed only on the forehead. The ternary classification problem was decomposed into three binary classification problems using the "one-versus-one" (OVO) classification strategy to apply the filter-bank common spatial patterns filter to EEG data. A 10 × 10-fold cross validation was performed using shrinkage linear discriminant analysis (sLDA) to evaluate the average classification accuracies for EEG-BCI, NIRS-BCI, and hBCI when the meta-classification method was adopted to enhance classification accuracy. The ternary classification accuracies for EEG-BCI, NIRS-BCI, and hBCI were 76.1 ± 12.8, 64.1 ± 9.7, and 82.2 ± 10.2%, respectively. The classification accuracy of the proposed hBCI was thus significantly higher than those of the other BCIs ( p < 0.005). The average ITR for the proposed hBCI was calculated to be 4.70 ± 1.92 bits/minute, which was 34.3% higher than that reported for a previous binary hBCI study.

  15. Relations between mental health team characteristics and work role performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleury, Marie-Josée; Grenier, Guy; Bamvita, Jean-Marie; Farand, Lambert

    2017-01-01

    Effective mental health care requires a high performing, interprofessional team. Among 79 mental health teams in Quebec (Canada), this exploratory study aims to 1) determine the association between work role performance and a wide range of variables related to team effectiveness according to the literature, and to 2) using structural equation modelling, assess the covariance between each of these variables as well as the correlation with other exogenous variables. Work role performance was measured with an adapted version of a work role questionnaire. Various independent variables including team manager characteristics, user characteristics, team profiles, clinical activities, organizational culture, network integration strategies and frequency/satisfaction of interactions with other teams or services were analyzed under the structural equation model. The later provided a good fit with the data. Frequent use of standardized procedures and evaluation tools (e.g. screening and assessment tools for mental health disorders) and team manager seniority exerted the most direct effect on work role performance. While network integration strategies had little effect on work role performance, there was a high covariance between this variable and those directly affecting work role performance among mental health teams. The results suggest that the mental healthcare system should apply standardized procedures and evaluation tools and, to a lesser extent, clinical approaches to improve work role performance in mental health teams. Overall, a more systematic implementation of network integration strategies may contribute to improved work role performance in mental health care.

  16. PandA : pairings and arithmetic

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Chuengsatiansup, C.; Naehrig, M.; Ribarski, P.; Schwabe, P.; Cao, Z.; Zhang, F.

    2014-01-01

    This paper introduces PandA, a software framework for Pairings and Arithmetic. It is designed to bring together advances in the efficient computation of cryptographic pairings and the development and implementation of pairing-based protocols. The intention behind the PandA framework is to give

  17. General and Specific Contributions of RAN to Reading and Arithmetic Fluency in First Graders: A Longitudinal Latent Variable Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caroline Hornung

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available In the present study, we opted for a longitudinal design and examined rapid automatized naming (RAN performance from two perspectives. In a first step, we examined the structure of RAN performance from a general cognitive perspective. We investigated whether rapid naming measures (e.g., digit RAN and color RAN reflect a mainly domain-general factor or domain-specific factors. In a second step, we examined how the best fitting RAN model was related to reading and arithmetic outcomes, assessed several months later. Finally in a third step we took a clinical perspective and investigated specific contributions of RAN measures to reading and arithmetic outcomes. While RAN has emerged as a promising predictor of reading, the relationship between RAN and arithmetic has been less examined in the past. Hundred and twenty-two first graders completed seven RAN tasks, each comprising visually familiar stimuli such as digits, vowels, consonants, dice, finger-numeral configurations, objects, and colors. Four months later the same children completed a range of reading and arithmetic tasks. From a general descriptive perspective, structural equation modeling supports a one-dimensional RAN factor in 6- to -7-year-old children. However, from a clinical perspective, our findings emphasize the specific contributions of RANs. Interestingly, alphanumeric RANs (i.e., vowel RAN were most promising when predicting reading skills and number-specific RANs (i.e., finger-numeral configuration RAN were most promising when predicting arithmetic fluency. The implications for clinical and educational practices will be discussed.

  18. General and Specific Contributions of RAN to Reading and Arithmetic Fluency in First Graders: A Longitudinal Latent Variable Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hornung, Caroline; Martin, Romain; Fayol, Michel

    2017-01-01

    In the present study, we opted for a longitudinal design and examined rapid automatized naming (RAN) performance from two perspectives. In a first step, we examined the structure of RAN performance from a general cognitive perspective. We investigated whether rapid naming measures (e.g., digit RAN and color RAN) reflect a mainly domain-general factor or domain-specific factors. In a second step, we examined how the best fitting RAN model was related to reading and arithmetic outcomes, assessed several months later. Finally in a third step we took a clinical perspective and investigated specific contributions of RAN measures to reading and arithmetic outcomes. While RAN has emerged as a promising predictor of reading, the relationship between RAN and arithmetic has been less examined in the past. Hundred and twenty-two first graders completed seven RAN tasks, each comprising visually familiar stimuli such as digits, vowels, consonants, dice, finger-numeral configurations, objects, and colors. Four months later the same children completed a range of reading and arithmetic tasks. From a general descriptive perspective, structural equation modeling supports a one-dimensional RAN factor in 6- to -7-year-old children. However, from a clinical perspective, our findings emphasize the specific contributions of RANs. Interestingly, alphanumeric RANs (i.e., vowel RAN) were most promising when predicting reading skills and number-specific RANs (i.e., finger-numeral configuration RAN) were most promising when predicting arithmetic fluency. The implications for clinical and educational practices will be discussed.

  19. Lógica y Pensamiento Aritmético (Logic and Arithmetic Thinking

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alfonso Ortiz

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Presentamos los resultados obtenidos en una prueba sobre razonamiento inductivo numérico finito y unas entrevistas clínicas posteriores realizadas a escolares de educación primaria. La primera fue respondida por 400 escolares. Con base en los resultados obtenidos, se seleccionaron 28 alumnos para realizarles entrevistas clínicas individualizadas con el fin de determinar la evolución de las relaciones lógicas que estos escolares pueden establecer en el campo de los números naturales finitos. El origen de este estudio está en problemas históricos sobre los fundamentos lógicos de la aritmética. Buscamos determinar de forma empírica hasta qué punto la lógica juega un papel determinante en el origen de la aritmética o, por el contrario, si los orígenes de la lógica están predeterminados por la aritmética y otros conocimientos. We present the results of two tests performed by primary school students. The first one was on finite numeric inductive reasoning and was performed by 400 students. According to its results, we selected 28 students to whom we clinically interviewed aiming to determine the evolution of the logic relations that they can establish in the field of finite natural numbers. This study originates on historic problems of the logical foundation of arithmetic. We aim to empirically determine the extent to which logic plays a key role in the origin of arithmetic or, on the contrary, if the origins of logic are predetermined by arithmetic and other fields.

  20. Pricing and hedging of arithmetic Asian options via the Edgeworth series expansion approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weiping Li

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we derive a pricing formula for arithmetic Asian options by using the Edgeworth series expansion. Our pricing formula consists of a Black-Scholes-Merton type formula and a finite sum with the estimation of the remainder term. Moreover, we present explicitly a method to compute each term in our pricing formula. The hedging formulas (greek letters for the arithmetic Asian options are obtained as well. Our formulas for the long lasting question on pricing and hedging arithmetic Asian options are easy to implement with enough accuracy. Our numerical illustration shows that the arithmetic Asian options worths less than the European options under the standard Black-Scholes assumptions, verifies theoretically that the volatility of the arithmetic average is less than the one of the underlying assets, and also discovers an interesting phenomena that the arithmetic Asian option for large fixed strikes such as stocks has higher volatility (elasticity than the plain European option. However, the elasticity of the arithmetic Asian options for small fixed strikes as trading in currencies and commodity products is much less than the elasticity of the plain European option. These findings are consistent with the ones from the hedgings with respect to the time to expiration, the strike, the present underlying asset price, the interest rate and the volatility.

  1. Examining the relationship between rapid automatized naming and arithmetic fluency in Chinese kindergarten children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Jiaxin; Georgiou, George K; Zhang, Yiyun; Li, Yixun; Shu, Hua; Zhou, Xinlin

    2017-02-01

    Rapid automatized naming (RAN) has been found to predict mathematics. However, the nature of their relationship remains unclear. Thus, the purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to examine how RAN (numeric and non-numeric) predicts a subdomain of mathematics (arithmetic fluency) and (b) to examine what processing skills may account for the RAN-arithmetic fluency relationship. A total of 160 third-year kindergarten Chinese children (83 boys and 77 girls, mean age=5.11years) were assessed on RAN (colors, objects, digits, and dice), nonverbal IQ, visual-verbal paired associate learning, phonological awareness, short-term memory, speed of processing, approximate number system acuity, and arithmetic fluency (addition and subtraction). The results indicated first that RAN was a significant correlate of arithmetic fluency and the correlations did not vary as a function of type of RAN or arithmetic fluency tasks. In addition, RAN continued to predict addition and subtraction fluency even after controlling for all other processing skills. Taken together, these findings challenge the existing theoretical accounts of the RAN-arithmetic fluency relationship and suggest that, similar to reading fluency, multiple processes underlie the RAN-arithmetic fluency relationship. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Neuroanthropological Understanding of Complex Cognition – Numerosity and Arithmetics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zarja Mursic

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Humankind has a long evolutionary history. When we are trying to understand human complex cognition, it is as well important to look back to entire evolution. I will present the thesis that our biological predispositions and culture, together with natural and social environment, are tightly connected. During ontogenetically development we are shaped by various factors, and they enabled humans to develop some aspects of complex cognition, such as mathematics.In the beginning of the article I present the importance of natural and cultural evolution in other animals. In the following part, I briefly examine the field of mathematics – numerosity and arithmetic. Presentation of comparative animal studies, mainly made on primates, provides some interesting examples in animals’ abilities to separate between different quantities. From abilities for numerosity in animals I continue to neuroscientific studies of humans and our ability to solve simple arithmetic tasks. I also mention cross-cultural studies of arithmetic skills. In the final part of the text I present the field neuroanthropology as a possible new pillar of cognitive science. Finally, it is important to connect human evolution and development with animal cognition studies, but as well with cross-cultural studies in shaping of human ability for numerosity and arithmetic.

  3. Torsionfree Sheaves over a Nodal Curve of Arithmetic Genus One

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    We classify all isomorphism classes of stable torsionfree sheaves on an irreducible nodal curve of arithmetic genus one defined over C C . Let be a nodal curve of arithmetic genus one defined over R R , with exactly one node, such that does not have any real points apart from the node. We classify all isomorphism ...

  4. Computer arithmetic and validity theory, implementation, and applications

    CERN Document Server

    Kulisch, Ulrich

    2013-01-01

    This is the revised and extended second edition of the successful basic book on computer arithmetic. It is consistent with the newest recent standard developments in the field. The book shows how the arithmetic capability of the computer can be enhanced. The work is motivated by the desire and the need to improve the accuracy of numerical computing and to control the quality of the computed results (validity). The accuracy requirements for the elementary floating-point operations are extended to the customary product spaces of computations including interval spaces. The mathematical properties

  5. The fMRI study on the front-parietal activation in abacus mental calculation trained children

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao Kunyuan; Wang Bin; Long Jinfeng; Li Lixin; Shen Xiaojun

    2010-01-01

    Objective: To investigate the difference in front-parietal activation between the trained and untrained children engaged in addition and multiplication with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and to explore the role of abacus mental calculation in brain development. Methods: Twenty-four children trained with abacus mental calculation and twelve untrained children performed mental calculation tasks including addition, multiplication and number-object control judging tasks. Blood oxygenation level dependence (BOLD) fMRI was performed when they were calculating. All data were analyzed by SPM2 (statistical parametric mapping 2) to generate the brain activation map. Results: The performance of the trained group had better correctness and shorter reaction time than that of the untrained group. The front-parietal activation between two groups had obvious difference. The activation involved less prefrontal cortex in the trained group than in the untrained group (P<0.05). The parietal activation in the trained group was mainly in the posterior superior parietal lobe/ precuneus, whereas the activation areas focused on the inferior parietal lobule in the untrained group. Conclusion: Abacus mental calculation involves multiple functional areas. and these areas may work together as a whole in processing arithmetic problems. Abacus mental calculation not only enhances the information processing in some brain areas and improves the utilization efficiency of neural resources, but also plays an important role in developing brain. (authors)

  6. Groups and fields in arithmetic

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kosters, Michiel F.

    2014-01-01

    This thesis consists of 8 chapters in which we discuss various aspects of arithmetic. In the first chapter, we give an introduction to the algebraic theory of valued fields. In the second chapter, we give an introduction to the theory of normal projective curves. In particular, we study curves over

  7. Cardiorespiratory dynamic response to mental stress: a multivariate time-frequency analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Widjaja, Devy; Orini, Michele; Vlemincx, Elke; Van Huffel, Sabine

    2013-01-01

    Mental stress is a growing problem in our society. In order to deal with this, it is important to understand the underlying stress mechanisms. In this study, we aim to determine how the cardiorespiratory interactions are affected by mental arithmetic stress and attention. We conduct cross time-frequency (TF) analyses to assess the cardiorespiratory coupling. In addition, we introduce partial TF spectra to separate variations in the RR interval series that are linearly related to respiration from RR interval variations (RRV) that are not related to respiration. The performance of partial spectra is evaluated in two simulation studies. Time-varying parameters, such as instantaneous powers and frequencies, are derived from the computed spectra. Statistical analysis is carried out continuously in time to evaluate the dynamic response to mental stress and attention. The results show an increased heart and respiratory rate during stress and attention, compared to a resting condition. Also a fast reduction in vagal activity is noted. The partial TF analysis reveals a faster reduction of RRV power related to (3 s) than unrelated to (30 s) respiration, demonstrating that the autonomic response to mental stress is driven by mechanisms characterized by different temporal scales.

  8. Sabrewing: A lightweight architecture for combined floating-point and integer arithmetic

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bruintjes, Tom; Walters, K.H.G.; Gerez, Sabih H.; Molenkamp, Egbert; Smit, Gerardus Johannes Maria

    In spite of the fact that floating-point arithmetic is costly in terms of silicon area, the joint design of hardware for floating-point and integer arithmetic is seldom considered. While components like multipliers and adders can potentially be shared, floating-point and integer units in

  9. Visuo–spatial working memory is an important source of domain-general vulnerability in the development of arithmetic cognition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashkenazi, Sarit; Rosenberg-Lee, Miriam; Metcalfe, Arron W.S.; Swigart, Anna G.; Menon, Vinod

    2014-01-01

    The study of developmental disorders can provide a unique window into the role of domain-general cognitive abilities and neural systems in typical and atypical development. Mathematical disabilities (MD) are characterized by marked difficulty in mathematical cognition in the presence of preserved intelligence and verbal ability. Although studies of MD have most often focused on the role of core deficits in numerical processing, domain-general cognitive abilities, in particular working memory (WM), have also been implicated. Here we identify specific WM components that are impaired in children with MD and then examine their role in arithmetic problem solving. Compared to typically developing (TD) children, the MD group demonstrated lower arithmetic performance and lower visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM) scores with preserved abilities on the phonological and central executive components of WM. Whole brain analysis revealed that, during arithmetic problem solving, left posterior parietal cortex, bilateral dorsolateral and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, cingulate gyrus and precuneus, and fusiform gyrus responses were positively correlated with VSWM ability in TD children, but not in the MD group. Additional analyses using a priori posterior parietal cortex regions previously implicated in WM tasks, demonstrated a convergent pattern of results during arithmetic problem solving. These results suggest that MD is characterized by a common locus of arithmetic and VSWM deficits at both the cognitive and functional neuroanatomical levels. Unlike TD children, children with MD do not use VSWM resources appropriately during arithmetic problem solving. This work advances our understanding of VSWM as an important domain-general cognitive process in both typical and atypical mathematical skill development. PMID:23896444

  10. Dictionary of algebra, arithmetic, and trigonometry

    CERN Document Server

    Krantz, Steven G

    2000-01-01

    Clear, rigorous definitions of mathematical terms are crucial to good scientific and technical writing-and to understanding the writings of others. Scientists, engineers, mathematicians, economists, technical writers, computer programmers, along with teachers, professors, and students, all have the need for comprehensible, working definitions of mathematical expressions. To meet that need, CRC Press proudly introduces its Dictionary of Algebra, Arithmetic, and Trigonometry- the second published volume in the CRC Comprehensive Dictionary of Mathematics. More than three years in development, top academics and professionals from prestigious institutions around the world bring you more than 2,800 detailed definitions, written in a clear, readable style, complete with alternative meanings, and related references.From Abelian cohomology to zero ring and from the very basic to the highly advanced, this unique lexicon includes terms associated with arithmetic, algebra, and trigonometry, with natural overlap into geom...

  11. The influence of music on mental effort and driving performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ünal, Ayça Berfu; Steg, Linda; Epstude, Kai

    2012-09-01

    The current research examined the influence of loud music on driving performance, and whether mental effort mediated this effect. Participants (N=69) drove in a driving simulator either with or without listening to music. In order to test whether music would have similar effects on driving performance in different situations, we manipulated the simulated traffic environment such that the driving context consisted of both complex and monotonous driving situations. In addition, we systematically kept track of drivers' mental load by making the participants verbally report their mental effort at certain moments while driving. We found that listening to music increased mental effort while driving, irrespective of the driving situation being complex or monotonous, providing support to the general assumption that music can be a distracting auditory stimulus while driving. However, drivers who listened to music performed as well as the drivers who did not listen to music, indicating that music did not impair their driving performance. Importantly, the increases in mental effort while listening to music pointed out that drivers try to regulate their mental effort as a cognitive compensatory strategy to deal with task demands. Interestingly, we observed significant improvements in driving performance in two of the driving situations. It seems like mental effort might mediate the effect of music on driving performance in situations requiring sustained attention. Other process variables, such as arousal and boredom, should also be incorporated to study designs in order to reveal more on the nature of how music affects driving. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Self-reference in Arithmetic I

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Halbach, Volker; Visser, Albert|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/068579985

    2014-01-01

    A Gödel sentence is often described as a sentence saying about itself that it is not provable, and a Henkin sentence as a sentence stating its own provability. We discuss what it could mean for a sentence of arithmetic to ascribe to itself a property such as provability or unprovability. The

  13. Optical modular arithmetic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pavlichin, Dmitri S.; Mabuchi, Hideo

    2014-06-01

    Nanoscale integrated photonic devices and circuits offer a path to ultra-low power computation at the few-photon level. Here we propose an optical circuit that performs a ubiquitous operation: the controlled, random-access readout of a collection of stored memory phases or, equivalently, the computation of the inner product of a vector of phases with a binary selector" vector, where the arithmetic is done modulo 2pi and the result is encoded in the phase of a coherent field. This circuit, a collection of cascaded interferometers driven by a coherent input field, demonstrates the use of coherence as a computational resource, and of the use of recently-developed mathematical tools for modeling optical circuits with many coupled parts. The construction extends in a straightforward way to the computation of matrix-vector and matrix-matrix products, and, with the inclusion of an optical feedback loop, to the computation of a weighted" readout of stored memory phases. We note some applications of these circuits for error correction and for computing tasks requiring fast vector inner products, e.g. statistical classification and some machine learning algorithms.

  14. Individual structural differences in left inferior parietal area are associated with schoolchildrens’ arithmetic scores

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yongxin eLi

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Arithmetic skill is of critical importance for academic achievement, professional success and everyday life, and childhood is the key period to acquire this skill. Neuroimaging studies have identified that left parietal regions are a key neural substrate for representing arithmetic skill. Although the relationship between functional brain activity in left parietal regions and arithmetic skill has been studied in detail, it remains unclear about the relationship between arithmetic achievement and structural properties in left inferior parietal area in schoolchildren. The current study employed a combination of voxel-based morphometry (VBM for high-resolution T1-weighted images and fiber tracking on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI to examine the relationship between structural properties in the inferior parietal area and arithmetic achievement in 10-year-old schoolchildren. VBM of the T1-weighted images revealed that individual differences in arithmetic scores were significantly and positively correlated with the grey matter (GM volume in the left intraparietal sulcus (IPS. Fiber tracking analysis revealed that the forceps major, left superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF, bilateral inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF and inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF were the primary pathways connecting the left IPS with other brain areas. Furthermore, the regression analysis of the probabilistic pathways revealed a significant and positive correlation between the fractional anisotropy (FA values in the left SLF, ILF and bilateral IFOF and arithmetic scores. The brain structure-behavior correlation analyses indicated that the GM volumes in the left IPS and the FA values in the tract pathways connecting left IPS were both related to children’s arithmetic achievement. The present findings provide evidence that individual structural differences in the left IPS are associated with arithmetic scores in schoolchildren.

  15. Equations for arithmetic pointed tori

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sijsling, J.R.

    2010-01-01

    In 1983, Kisao Takeuchi enumerated all 71 arithmetic (1;e)-groups. This is a special set of discrete subgroups of SL(2,R) of finite covolume and signature (1;e). The corresponding quotients of the upper half plane (called (1;e)-curves) have genus equal to 1 and a single elliptic point of order e.

  16. Solutions to Arithmetic Convolution Equations

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Glöckner, H.; Lucht, L.G.; Porubský, Štefan

    2007-01-01

    Roč. 135, č. 6 (2007), s. 1619-1629 ISSN 0002-9939 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA201/04/0381 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10300504 Keywords : arithmetic functions * Dirichlet convolution * polynomial equations * analytic equations * topological algebras * holomorphic functional calculus Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 0.520, year: 2007

  17. Language-specific memory for everyday arithmetic facts in Chinese-English bilinguals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yalin; Yanke, Jill; Campbell, Jamie I D

    2016-04-01

    The role of language in memory for arithmetic facts remains controversial. Here, we examined transfer of memory training for evidence that bilinguals may acquire language-specific memory stores for everyday arithmetic facts. Chinese-English bilingual adults (n = 32) were trained on different subsets of simple addition and multiplication problems. Each operation was trained in one language or the other. The subsequent test phase included all problems with addition and multiplication alternating across trials in two blocks, one in each language. Averaging over training language, the response time (RT) gains for trained problems relative to untrained problems were greater in the trained language than in the untrained language. Subsequent analysis showed that English training produced larger RT gains for trained problems relative to untrained problems in English at test relative to the untrained Chinese language. In contrast, there was no evidence with Chinese training that problem-specific RT gains differed between Chinese and the untrained English language. We propose that training in Chinese promoted a translation strategy for English arithmetic (particularly multiplication) that produced strong cross-language generalization of practice, whereas training in English strengthened relatively weak, English-language arithmetic memories and produced little generalization to Chinese (i.e., English training did not induce an English translation strategy for Chinese language trials). The results support the existence of language-specific strengthening of memory for everyday arithmetic facts.

  18. Eating breakfast enhances the efficiency of neural networks engaged during mental arithmetic in school-aged children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pivik, R T; Tennal, Kevin B; Chapman, Stephen D; Gu, Yuyuan

    2012-06-25

    To determine the influence of a morning meal on complex mental functions in children (8-11 y), time-frequency analyses were applied to electroencephalographic (EEG) activity recorded while children solved simple addition problems after an overnight fast and again after having either eaten or skipped breakfast. Power of low frequency EEG activity [2 Hertz (Hz) bands in the 2-12 Hz range] was determined from recordings over frontal and parietal brain regions associated with mathematical thinking during mental calculation of correctly answered problems. Analyses were adjusted for background variables known to influence or reflect the development of mathematical skills, i.e., age and measures of math competence and math fluency. Relative to fed children, those who continued to fast showed greater power increases in upper theta (6-8 Hz) and both alpha bands (8-10 Hz; 10-12 Hz) across sites. Increased theta suggests greater demands on working memory. Increased alpha may facilitate task-essential activity by suppressing non-task-essential activity. Fasting children also had greater delta (2-4 Hz) and greater lower-theta (4-6 Hz) power in left frontal recordings-indicating a region-specific emphasis on both working memory for mental calculation (theta) and activation of processes that suppress interfering activity (delta). Fed children also showed a significant increase in correct responses while children who continued to fast did not. Taken together the findings suggest that neural network activity involved in processing numerical information is functionally enhanced and performance is improved in children who have eaten breakfast, whereas greater mental effort is required for this mathematical thinking in children who skip breakfast. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Short-term memory impairment and arithmetical ability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butterworth, B; Cipolotti, L; Warrington, E K

    1996-02-01

    We document the dissociation of preserved calculation skills in a patient with impaired auditory short-term memory. The patient (MRF) had a memory span of three digits. Furthermore, he showed rapid decrement in performance of single digits and letters with both auditory and visual presentation in the Brown-Peterson forgetting task. Analysis of his calculation skills revealed a normal ability to solve auditorily presented multidigit addition and subtraction problems such as 173 + 68 and to execute the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (Sampson, 1956, 1958; Gronwall, 1977). In addition, his performance on other tests, including arithmetic manipulation of natural numbers, decimals and fractions, approximation, magnitude, ratio, and percentage, appeared to be normal (Hitch, 1978b). It is argued that these findings require a revision of Baddeley and Hitch's (1974) concept of the function of working memory.

  20. Some arithmetically symmetrical bandpass filters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paranasi, P.; Roy, S. C. D.

    1981-01-01

    A combination of the conventional and Matthaei lowpass-bandpass transformations is shown to result in some bandpass filters having very good arithmetic symmetry. The technique presented is applicable to the Butterworth and inverse Chebyshev types of magnitude approximations and the Bessel type of delay approximations. It is not valid, however, for the Chebyshev and elliptic varieties of filters.

  1. Instrument for bone mineral measurement using a microprocessor as the control and arithmetic element

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alberi, J.L.; Hardy, W.H. II.

    1975-11-01

    A self-contained instrument for the determination of bone mineral content by photon absorptometry is described. A high-resolution detection system allows measurements to be made at up to 16 photon energies. Control and arithmetic functions are performed by a microprocessor. Analysis capability and limitations are discussed

  2. Realization of two-dimensional transformations by the arithmetical module of an intelligent graphics terminal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leich, A.; Polyntsev, A.D.

    1982-01-01

    The structure and software of the arithmetical module for the multi-microprocessor intelligent graphics terminal designed for realization of the world coordinate two-dimensional transformation are described. The module performs the operations like coordinate system displacement, scaling and rotation as well as transformations for window/viewport separation

  3. EEG Correlates of the Flow State: A Combination of Increased Frontal Theta and Moderate Frontocentral Alpha Rhythm in the Mental Arithmetic Task

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kenji Katahira

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Flow experience is a subjective state experienced during holistic involvement in a certain activity, which has been reported to function as a factor promoting motivation, skill development, and better performance in the activity. To verify the positive effects of flow and develop a method to utilize it, the establishment of a reliable measurement of the flow state is essential. The present study utilized an electroencephalogram (EEG during an experimentally evoked flow state and examined the possibility of objective measurement of immediate flow. A total of 16 participants (10 males, 6 females participated in the experiment that employed a mental arithmetic task developed in a previous study. Post-trial self-report of the flow state and EEG during task execution were measured and compared among three conditions (Boredom, Flow, and Overload that had different levels of task difficulty. Furthermore, the correlations between subjective flow items and EEG activity were examined. As expected, the ratings on the subjective evaluation items representing the flow state were the highest in the Flow condition. Regarding the EEG data, theta activities in the frontal areas were higher in the Flow and the Overload conditions than in the Boredom condition, and alpha activity in the frontal areas and the right central area gradually increased depending on the task difficulty. These EEG activities correlated with self-reported flow experience, especially items related to the concentration on the task and task difficulty. From the results, the flow state was characterized by increased theta activities in the frontal areas and moderate alpha activities in the frontal and central areas. The former may be related to a high level of cognitive control and immersion in task, and the latter suggests that the load on the working memory was not excessive. The findings of this study suggest the possibility of distinguishing the flow state from other states using multiple

  4. EEG Correlates of the Flow State: A Combination of Increased Frontal Theta and Moderate Frontocentral Alpha Rhythm in the Mental Arithmetic Task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katahira, Kenji; Yamazaki, Yoichi; Yamaoka, Chiaki; Ozaki, Hiroaki; Nakagawa, Sayaka; Nagata, Noriko

    2018-01-01

    Flow experience is a subjective state experienced during holistic involvement in a certain activity, which has been reported to function as a factor promoting motivation, skill development, and better performance in the activity. To verify the positive effects of flow and develop a method to utilize it, the establishment of a reliable measurement of the flow state is essential. The present study utilized an electroencephalogram (EEG) during an experimentally evoked flow state and examined the possibility of objective measurement of immediate flow. A total of 16 participants (10 males, 6 females) participated in the experiment that employed a mental arithmetic task developed in a previous study. Post-trial self-report of the flow state and EEG during task execution were measured and compared among three conditions (Boredom, Flow, and Overload) that had different levels of task difficulty. Furthermore, the correlations between subjective flow items and EEG activity were examined. As expected, the ratings on the subjective evaluation items representing the flow state were the highest in the Flow condition. Regarding the EEG data, theta activities in the frontal areas were higher in the Flow and the Overload conditions than in the Boredom condition, and alpha activity in the frontal areas and the right central area gradually increased depending on the task difficulty. These EEG activities correlated with self-reported flow experience, especially items related to the concentration on the task and task difficulty. From the results, the flow state was characterized by increased theta activities in the frontal areas and moderate alpha activities in the frontal and central areas. The former may be related to a high level of cognitive control and immersion in task, and the latter suggests that the load on the working memory was not excessive. The findings of this study suggest the possibility of distinguishing the flow state from other states using multiple EEG activities

  5. A hand full of numbers: a role for offloading in arithmetics learning?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Annelise Júlio Costa

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Finger counting has been associated to arithmetic learning in children. We examined children with (n = 14 and without (n = 84 mathematics learning difficulties with ages between 8 to 11 years. Deficits in finger gnosia were found in association to mathematical difficulties. Finger gnosia is particularly relevant for the performance in word problems requiring active manipulation of small magnitudes in the range between 1 and 10. Moreover, the deficits in finger gnosia cannot be attributed to a shortage in working memory capacity but rather to a specific inability to use fingers to transiently represent magnitudes, tagging to be counted objects and reducing the cognitive load necessary to solve arithmetic problems. Since finger gnosia is more related to symbolic than to nonsymbolic magnitude processing, finger-related representation of magnitude seems to be an important link for learning the mapping of analog onto discrete symbolic magnitudes.

  6. Executive function in relation to arithmetic development in children with cerebral palsy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jenks, K.M.; de Moor, J.; van Lieshout, E.C.D.M.

    2009-01-01

    Background: Although it is believed that children with cerebral palsy are at high risk for learning difficulties and arithmetic difficulties in particular, few studies have investigated this issue. Methods: Arithmetic ability was longitudinally assessed in children with cerebral palsy in special (n

  7. Visuo-spatial working memory is an important source of domain-general vulnerability in the development of arithmetic cognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashkenazi, Sarit; Rosenberg-Lee, Miriam; Metcalfe, Arron W S; Swigart, Anna G; Menon, Vinod

    2013-09-01

    The study of developmental disorders can provide a unique window into the role of domain-general cognitive abilities and neural systems in typical and atypical development. Mathematical disabilities (MD) are characterized by marked difficulty in mathematical cognition in the presence of preserved intelligence and verbal ability. Although studies of MD have most often focused on the role of core deficits in numerical processing, domain-general cognitive abilities, in particular working memory (WM), have also been implicated. Here we identify specific WM components that are impaired in children with MD and then examine their role in arithmetic problem solving. Compared to typically developing (TD) children, the MD group demonstrated lower arithmetic performance and lower visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM) scores with preserved abilities on the phonological and central executive components of WM. Whole brain analysis revealed that, during arithmetic problem solving, left posterior parietal cortex, bilateral dorsolateral and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, cingulate gyrus and precuneus, and fusiform gyrus responses were positively correlated with VSWM ability in TD children, but not in the MD group. Additional analyses using a priori posterior parietal cortex regions previously implicated in WM tasks, demonstrated a convergent pattern of results during arithmetic problem solving. These results suggest that MD is characterized by a common locus of arithmetic and VSWM deficits at both the cognitive and functional neuroanatomical levels. Unlike TD children, children with MD do not use VSWM resources appropriately during arithmetic problem solving. This work advances our understanding of VSWM as an important domain-general cognitive process in both typical and atypical mathematical skill development. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Lattice for FPGAs using logarithmic arithmetic

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Kadlec, Jiří; Matoušek, Rudolf; Heřmánek, Antonín; Líčko, Miroslav; Tichý, Milan

    2002-01-01

    Roč. 74, č. 906 (2002), s. 53-56 ISSN 0013-4902 Grant - others: ESPRIT (XE) 33544 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z1075907 Keywords : lattice Rls algorithm * FPGA * logarithmic arithmetic Subject RIV: JC - Computer Hardware ; Software Impact factor: 0.039, year: 2002

  9. Non-commutative arithmetic circuits with division

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Hrubeš, Pavel; Wigderson, A.

    2015-01-01

    Roč. 11, Article 14 (2015), s. 357-393 ISSN 1557-2862 EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 339691 - FEALORA Institutional support: RVO:67985840 Keywords : arithmetic circuits * non-commutative rational function * skew field Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics http://theoryofcomputing.org/articles/v011a014/

  10. Relational thinking: The bridge between arithmetic and algebra

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ayhan Kızıltoprak

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to investigate the development of relational thinking skill, which is an important component of the transition from arithmetic to algebra, of 5th grade students. In the study, the qualitative research method of teaching experiment was used. The research data were collected from six secondary school 5th grade students by means of clinical interviews and teaching episodes. For observing the development of relational thinking, pre and post clinical interviews were also conducted before and after the eight-session teaching experiment. Qualitative analysis of the research data revealed that the relational thinking skills of all the students developed. It was also found that there was an interaction between the development of fundamental arithmetic concepts and relational thinking; that the students developed concepts related to arithmetical operations such as addend and sum; minuend, subtrahend and difference; multiplicator and product; and dividend, divisor and quotient. Moreover, students were able to use these concepts effectivelyalthough they failed to provide formal explanations about the relations between them. In addition, the students perceived the equal sign not only finding a result but also as a symbol used to establish a relation between operations and expressions.

  11. Floating-point geometry: toward guaranteed geometric computations with approximate arithmetics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bajard, Jean-Claude; Langlois, Philippe; Michelucci, Dominique; Morin, Géraldine; Revol, Nathalie

    2008-08-01

    Geometric computations can fail because of inconsistencies due to floating-point inaccuracy. For instance, the computed intersection point between two curves does not lie on the curves: it is unavoidable when the intersection point coordinates are non rational, and thus not representable using floating-point arithmetic. A popular heuristic approach tests equalities and nullities up to a tolerance ɛ. But transitivity of equality is lost: we can have A approx B and B approx C, but A not approx C (where A approx B means ||A - B|| < ɛ for A,B two floating-point values). Interval arithmetic is another, self-validated, alternative; the difficulty is to limit the swell of the width of intervals with computations. Unfortunately interval arithmetic cannot decide equality nor nullity, even in cases where it is decidable by other means. A new approach, developed in this paper, consists in modifying the geometric problems and algorithms, to account for the undecidability of the equality test and unavoidable inaccuracy. In particular, all curves come with a non-zero thickness, so two curves (generically) cut in a region with non-zero area, an inner and outer representation of which is computable. This last approach no more assumes that an equality or nullity test is available. The question which arises is: which geometric problems can still be solved with this last approach, and which cannot? This paper begins with the description of some cases where every known arithmetic fails in practice. Then, for each arithmetic, some properties of the problems they can solve are given. We end this work by proposing the bases of a new approach which aims to fulfill the geometric computations requirements.

  12. Achievement and Intelligence in Primary and Elementary Classes for the Educable Mentally Retarded

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sundean, David A.; Salopek, Thomas F.

    1971-01-01

    The Wide Range Achievement Test scores of educable mentally handicapped children in primary and elementary classes were correlated with their Binet or Wechsler IQ scores. It was found that the WISC was a better differential predictor of achievement in reading, spelling and arithmetic at the elementary level only. (Author)

  13. Children Learn Spurious Associations in Their Math Textbooks: Examples from Fraction Arithmetic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braithwaite, David W.; Siegler, Robert S.

    2018-01-01

    Fraction arithmetic is among the most important and difficult topics children encounter in elementary and middle school mathematics. Braithwaite, Pyke, and Siegler (2017) hypothesized that difficulties learning fraction arithmetic often reflect reliance on associative knowledge--rather than understanding of mathematical concepts and procedures--to…

  14. Arithmetic of Complex Manifolds

    CERN Document Server

    Lange, Herbert

    1989-01-01

    It was the aim of the Erlangen meeting in May 1988 to bring together number theoretists and algebraic geometers to discuss problems of common interest, such as moduli problems, complex tori, integral points, rationality questions, automorphic forms. In recent years such problems, which are simultaneously of arithmetic and geometric interest, have become increasingly important. This proceedings volume contains 12 original research papers. Its main topics are theta functions, modular forms, abelian varieties and algebraic three-folds.

  15. Should we naturalize mind, or should we arithmetize matter?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marchal Bruno

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available We provide an argument showing that once we assume the mechanist hypothesis in the cognitive science then we have to explain physics from intensional number theory and/or mathematical computer science alone. The proof is constructive. It shows how to derive the physical laws from elementary arithmetic. It makes the computationalist thesis empirically refutable, by comparing the physics extracted from numbers and the inferred physics from observation. The proof shows that if mechanism is true, we cannot naturalize the mind, and we have to arithmetize matter, or beliefs in matter, instead.

  16. Circuit lower bounds in bounded arithmetics

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Pich, Ján

    2015-01-01

    Roč. 166, č. 1 (2015), s. 29-45 ISSN 0168-0072 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA100190902 Keywords : bounded arithmetic * circuit lower bounds Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 0.582, year: 2015 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168007214000888

  17. Fuzzy Logic and Arithmetical Hierarchy III

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Hájek, Petr

    2001-01-01

    Roč. 68, č. 1 (2001), s. 129-142 ISSN 0039-3215 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA1030004 Institutional research plan: AV0Z1030915 Keywords : fuzzy logic * basic fuzzy logic * Lukasiewicz logic * Godel logic * product logic * arithmetical hierarchy Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics

  18. The effects of low frequency noise on mental performance and annoyance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alimohammadi, Iraj; Sandrock, Stephan; Gohari, Mahmoud Reza

    2013-08-01

    Low frequency noise (LFN) as background noise in urban and work environments is emitted from many artificial sources such as road vehicles, aircraft, and air movement machinery including wind turbines, compressors, and ventilation or air conditioning units. In addition to objective effects, LFN could also cause noise annoyance and influence mental performance; however, there are no homogenous findings regarding this issue. The purpose of this research was to study the effects of LFN on mental performance and annoyance, as well as to consider the role of extraversion and neuroticism on the issue. This study was conducted on 90 students of Iran University of Medical Sciences (54 males and 36 females). The mean age of the students was 23.46 years (SD = 1.97). Personality traits and noise annoyance were measured by using Eysenck Personality Inventory and a 12-scale self-reported questionnaire, respectively. Stroop and Cognitrone computerized tests measured mental performance of participants each exposed to 50 and 70 dBA of LFN and silence. LFNs were produced by Cool Edit Pro 2.1 software. There was no significant difference between mental performance parameters under 50 and 70 dBA of LFN, whereas there were significant differences between most mental performance parameters in quiet and under LFN (50 and 70 dBA). This research showed that LFN, compared to silence, increased the accuracy and the test performance speed (p  0.01). Introverts conducted the tests faster than extraverts (p mental performance. It seems that LFN has increased arousal level of participants, and extraversion has a considerable impact on mental performance.

  19. Inhibition and Shifting in Children with Learning Deficits in Arithmetic and Reading

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Sluis, Sophie; de Jong, Peter F.; van der Leij, Aryan

    2004-01-01

    The executive functions of inhibition and shifting were studied in arithmetic-disabled children, reading-disabled children, reading plus arithmetic-disabled children, and controls (N = 74). Measures involved the rapid naming of objects, digits, letters, or quantities with or without additional task requirements that reflected inhibition or…

  20. Mental Fatigue: Impairment of Technical Performance in Small-Sided Soccer Games.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Badin, Oliver O; Smith, Mitchell R; Conte, Daniele; Coutts, Aaron J

    2016-11-01

    To assess the effects of mental fatigue on physical and technical performance in small-sided soccer games. Twenty soccer players (age 17.8 ± 1.0 y, height 179 ± 5 cm, body mass 72.4 ± 6.8 kg, playing experience 8.3 ± 1.4 y) from an Australian National Premier League soccer club volunteered to participate in this randomized crossover investigation. Participants played 15-min 5-vs-5 small-sided games (SSGs) without goalkeepers on 2 occasions separated by 1 wk. Before the SSG, 1 team watched a 30-min emotionally neutral documentary (control), while the other performed 30 min of a computer-based Stroop task (mental fatigue). Subjective ratings of mental and physical fatigue were recorded before and after treatment and after the SSG. Motivation was assessed before treatment and SSG; mental effort was assessed after treatment and SSG. Player activity profiles and heart rate (HR) were measured throughout the SSG, whereas ratings of perceived exertion (RPEs) were recorded before the SSG and immediately after each half. Video recordings of the SSG allowed for notational analysis of technical variables. Subjective ratings of mental fatigue and effort were higher after the Stroop task, whereas motivation for the upcoming SSG was similar between conditions. HR during the SSG was possibly higher in the control condition, whereas RPE was likely higher in the mental-fatigue condition. Mental fatigue had an unclear effect on most physical-performance variables but impaired most technical-performance variables. Mental fatigue impairs technical but not physical performance in small-sided soccer games.

  1. Optical Topography of Evoked Brain Activity during Mental Tasks Involving Whole Number Operations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ortiz, Enrique

    2014-01-01

    Students start to memorize arithmetic facts from early elementary school mathematics activities. Their fluency or lack of fluency with these facts could affect their efforts as they carry out mental calculations as adults. This study investigated participants' levels of brain activation and possible reasons for these levels as they solved…

  2. A Non-Arithmetical Gödel Logic

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Hájek, Petr

    2005-01-01

    Roč. 13, č. 4 (2005), s. 435-441 ISSN 1367-0751 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA100300503 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10300504 Keywords : fuzzy logic * Gödel logic * arithmetical hierarchy Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 0.382, year: 2005

  3. Design and evaluation of online arithmetic for signal processing applications on FPGAs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galli, Reto; Tenca, Alexandre F.

    2001-11-01

    This paper shows the design and the evaluation of on-line arithmetic modules for the most common operators used in DSP applications, using FPGAs as the target technology. The designs are highly optimized for the target technology and the common range of precision in DSP. The results are based on experimental data collected using CAD tools. All designs are synthesized for the same type of devices (Xilinx XC4000) for comparison, avoiding rough estimates of the system performance, and generating a more reliable and detailed comparison of on-line signal processing solutions with other state of the art approaches, such as distributed arithmetic. We show that on-line designs have a hard stand for basic DSP applications that use only addition and multiplication. However, we also show that on-line designs are able to overtake other approaches as the applications become more sophisticated, e.g. when data dependencies exist, or when non constant multiplicands restrict the use of other approaches.

  4. Quantile arithmetic methodology for uncertainty propagation in fault trees

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abdelhai, M.; Ragheb, M.

    1986-01-01

    A methodology based on quantile arithmetic, the probabilistic analog to interval analysis, is proposed for the computation of uncertainties propagation in fault tree analysis. The basic events' continuous probability density functions (pdf's) are represented by equivalent discrete distributions by dividing them into a number of quantiles N. Quantile arithmetic is then used to performthe binary arithmetical operations corresponding to the logical gates in the Boolean expression of the top event expression of a given fault tree. The computational advantage of the present methodology as compared with the widely used Monte Carlo method was demonstrated for the cases of summation of M normal variables through the efficiency ratio defined as the product of the labor and error ratios. The efficiency ratio values obtained by the suggested methodology for M = 2 were 2279 for N = 5, 445 for N = 25, and 66 for N = 45 when compared with the results for 19,200 Monte Carlo samples at the 40th percentile point. Another advantage of the approach is that the exact analytical value of the median is always obtained for the top event

  5. Binary Arithmetic From Hariot (CA, 1600 A.D.) to the Computer Age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glaser, Anton

    This history of binary arithmetic begins with details of Thomas Hariot's contribution and includes specific references to Hariot's manuscripts kept at the British Museum. A binary code developed by Sir Francis Bacon is discussed. Briefly mentioned are contributions to binary arithmetic made by Leibniz, Fontenelle, Gauss, Euler, Benzout, Barlow,…

  6. An efficient adaptive arithmetic coding image compression technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Xing-Yuan; Yun Jiao-Jiao; Zhang Yong-Lei

    2011-01-01

    This paper proposes an efficient lossless image compression scheme for still images based on an adaptive arithmetic coding compression algorithm. The algorithm increases the image coding compression rate and ensures the quality of the decoded image combined with the adaptive probability model and predictive coding. The use of adaptive models for each encoded image block dynamically estimates the probability of the relevant image block. The decoded image block can accurately recover the encoded image according to the code book information. We adopt an adaptive arithmetic coding algorithm for image compression that greatly improves the image compression rate. The results show that it is an effective compression technology. (electromagnetism, optics, acoustics, heat transfer, classical mechanics, and fluid dynamics)

  7. A CABAC codec of H.264AVC with secure arithmetic coding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neji, Nihel; Jridi, Maher; Alfalou, Ayman; Masmoudi, Nouri

    2013-02-01

    This paper presents an optimized H.264/AVC coding system for HDTV displays based on a typical flow with high coding efficiency and statics adaptivity features. For high quality streaming, the codec uses a Binary Arithmetic Encoding/Decoding algorithm with high complexity and a JVCE (Joint Video compression and encryption) scheme. In fact, particular attention is given to simultaneous compression and encryption applications to gain security without compromising the speed of transactions [1]. The proposed design allows us to encrypt the information using a pseudo-random number generator (PRNG). Thus we achieved the two operations (compression and encryption) simultaneously and in a dependent manner which is a novelty in this kind of architecture. Moreover, we investigated the hardware implementation of CABAC (Context-based adaptive Binary Arithmetic Coding) codec. The proposed architecture is based on optimized binarizer/de-binarizer to handle significant pixel rates videos with low cost and high performance for most frequent SEs. This was checked using HD video frames. The obtained synthesis results using an FPGA (Xilinx's ISE) show that our design is relevant to code main profile video stream.

  8. Studying the impact of mental health on job performance of managers and staff

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Parviz Ahmadi

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of present research is to study the relationship between job performance and employees’ mental health in one of Iranian natural gas refinery located in city of Jam, Iran. Data collection was conducted based on two major characteristics of job performance and mental health based on questionnaire methods among 42 people. The methodology is descriptive and correlation – type and to analyze the data, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, variances equality tests as well as t-student were utilized. The findings show that there was a significant relationship between employees’ job performance and mental health and any increase in mental health aspects promotes job performance proportionally. In the meantime, there was no significant relationship between employees’ job performance and their gender and there was no significant difference on mental health status between male and female staff. Based on the results, one can conclude that low mental health level among employees can reduce their performance. Managers should use proper methods to decrease the negative consequences resulted from the lack of mental health in workplaces.

  9. Performance analysis of Arithmetic Mean method in determining peak junction temperature of semiconductor device

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohana Sundaram Muthuvalu

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available High reliability users of microelectronic devices have been derating junction temperature and other critical stress parameters to improve device reliability and extend operating life. The reliability of a semiconductor is determined by junction temperature. This paper gives a useful analysis on mathematical approach which can be implemented to predict temperature of a silicon die. The problem could be modeled as heat conduction equation. In this study, numerical approach based on implicit scheme and Arithmetic Mean (AM iterative method will be applied to solve the governing heat conduction equation. Numerical results are also included in order to assert the effectiveness of the proposed technique.

  10. Mental Fatigue and Spatial References Impair Soccer Players' Physical and Tactical Performances

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diogo Coutinho

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available This study examined the effects of mental fatigue and additional corridor and pitch sector lines on players' physical and tactical performances during soccer small-sided games. Twelve youth players performed four Gk+6vs6+Gk small-sided games. Prior to the game, one team performed a motor coordination task to induce mental fatigue, while the other one performed a control task. A repeated measures design allowed to compare players' performances across four conditions: (a with mental fatigue against opponents without mental fatigue in a normal pitch (MEN, (b with mental fatigue on a pitch with additional reference lines (#MEN; (c without mental fatigue against mentally fatigued opponents on a normal pitch (CTR; and (d without mental fatigue on a pitch with reference lines (#CTR. Player's physical performance was assessed by the distance covered per minute and the number of accelerations and decelerations (0.5–3.0 m/s2; > −3.0 m/s2. Positional data was used to determine individual (spatial exploration index, time synchronized in longitudinal and lateral directions and team-related variables (length, width, speed of dispersion and contraction. Unclear effects were found for the physical activity measures in most of the conditions. There was a small decrease in time spent laterally synchronized and a moderate decrease in the contraction speed when MEN compared to the CTR. Also, there was a small decrease in the time spent longitudinally synchronized during the #MEN condition compared to MEN. The results showed that mental fatigue affects the ability to use environmental information and players' positioning, while the additional reference lines may have enhanced the use of less relevant information to guide their actions during the #MEN condition. Overall, coaches could manipulate the mental fatigue and reference lines to induce variability and adaptation in young soccer players' behavior.

  11. Nonverbal arithmetic in humans: light from noise.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cordes, Sara; Gallistel, C R; Gelman, Rochel; Latham, Peter

    2007-10-01

    Animal and human data suggest the existence of a cross-species system of analog number representation (e.g., Cordes, Gelman, Gallistel, & Whalen, 2001; Meeck & Church, 1983), which may mediate the computation of statistical regularities in the environment (Gallistel, Gelman, & Cordes, 2006). However, evidence of arithmetic manipulation of these nonverbal magnitude representations is sparse and lacking in depth. This study uses the analysis of variability as a tool for understanding properties of these combinatorial processes. Human subjects participated in tasks requiring responses dependent upon the addition, subtraction, or reproduction of nonverbal counts. Variance analyses revealed that the magnitude of both inputs and answer contributed to the variability in the arithmetic responses, with operand variability dominating. Other contributing factors to the observed variability and implications for logarithmic versus scalar models of magnitude representation are discussed in light of these results.

  12. An arithmetic transference proof of a relative Szemer\\'edi theorem

    OpenAIRE

    Zhao, Yufei

    2013-01-01

    Recently Conlon, Fox, and the author gave a new proof of a relative Szemer\\'edi theorem, which was the main novel ingredient in the proof of the celebrated Green-Tao theorem that the primes contain arbitrarily long arithmetic progressions. Roughly speaking, a relative Szemer\\'edi theorem says that if S is a set of integers satisfying certain conditions, and A is a subset of S with positive relative density, then A contains long arithmetic progressions, and our recent results show that S only ...

  13. Effects of Panax ginseng, consumed with and without glucose, on blood glucose levels and cognitive performance during sustained 'mentally demanding' tasks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reay, Jonathon L; Kennedy, David O; Scholey, Andrew B

    2006-11-01

    Single doses of the traditional herbal treatment Panax ginseng have recently been shown to lower blood glucose levels and elicit cognitive improvements in healthy, overnight-fasted volunteers. The specific mechanisms responsible for these effects are not known. However, cognitive improvements may be related to the glycaemic properties of Panax ginseng. Using a double-blind, placebo-controlled, balanced-crossover design, 27 healthy young adults completed a 10 minute "cognitive demand" test battery at baseline. They then consumed capsules containing either ginseng (extract G115) or a placebo and 30 minutes later a drink containing glucose or placebo. A further 30 minutes later (i.e. 60 minutes post-baseline/capsules) they completed the "cognitive demand" battery six times in immediate succession. Depending on the condition to which the participant was allocated on that particular day, the combination of capsules/drink treatments corresponded to a dose of: 0mg G115/0 mg glucose (placebo); 200mg G115/0 mg glucose (ginseng); 0 mg G115/25 g glucose (glucose) or 200 mg G115/25 g glucose (ginseng/glucose combination). The 10 minute "cognitive demand" battery comprised a Serial Threes subtraction task (2 min); a Serial Sevens subtraction task (2 min); a Rapid Visual Information Processing task (5 min); and a "mental fatigue" visual analogue scale. Blood glucose levels were measured prior to the day's treatment, and before and after the post-dose completions of the battery. The results showed that both Panax ginseng and glucose enhanced performance of a mental arithmetic task and ameliorated the increase in subjective feelings of mental fatigue experienced by participants during the later stages of the sustained, cognitively demanding task performance. Accuracy of performing the Rapid Visual Information Processing task (RVIP) was also improved following the glucose load. There was no evidence of a synergistic relationship between Panax ginseng and exogenous glucose ingestion

  14. Relationship between mental toughness, stress appraisal, and innovation performance of R&D personnel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Feng Jin

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Four hundred and two R&D personnel were surveyed through questionnaires to study the relationship between mental toughness, stress appraisal (including experience of stress and stress control, and innovation performance. The findings reveal a significant negative correlation between mental toughness and stress experience and a significant positive correlation between mental toughness and both stress control and innovation performance. Furthermore, although the experience of stress was negatively correlated with innovation performance, stress control had the opposite effect. Experience of stress and stress control were the mediating variables for mental toughness and innovation performance, respectively. There was also a significant interaction effect between stress appraisal and mental toughness.

  15. Motor skills, cognition, and work performance of people with severe mental illness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lipskaya-Velikovsky, Lena; Elgerisi, Dikla; Easterbrook, Adam; Ratzon, Navah Z

    2018-01-12

    Employment offers many benefits to people with mental illness, yet their employment rate is much lower than that of the general population. We investigated the effect of work-related motor skills, neurocognition, and job attitudes on the work performance of people with mental illness, comparing those working in sheltered workshops, with controls working in similar jobs. Twenty-nine adults with severe mental illness and 27 controls matched by gender and age were enrolled into the study using convenience sampling. They were assessed for gross and fine motor hand functioning, job attitudes, work performance, and cognition. People with mental illness scored lower on work performance, cognitive functioning, and hand dexterity while sitting and working with tools. They were assigned lower job loads than were controls, and perceived the physical environment at work as more constraining than did controls. Assembling motor skills significantly explained the work performance of people with mental illness. The results expand our understanding of the complexities involved in the employment of people with severe mental illness, and point to new paths for improving vocational outcomes of people with severe mental illness, taking into account their motor skills and job attitudes. Implications for rehabilitation Therapists should be aware that employed people with severe mental illness may have various unmet needs, affecting their work performance and experience of stress. This study results demonstrate importance of motor skills and perception of the work environment for the promotion of vocational outcomes among individuals with severe mental illness. Employment of people with severe mental illness should be viewed from holistic perspective as with general population, rather than focused on traditionally illness-related factors.

  16. A codesign case study: implementing arithmetic functions in FPGAs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Klotchkov, I. V.; Pedersen, Steen

    1996-01-01

    Different ways of implementing and designing arithmetic functions for 16/32 bit integers in FPGA technology are studied. A comparison of four different design methods is also included. The results are used to increase the overall system performance in a dedicated 3D image analysis prototype system...... by moving a vector length calculation from software to hardware. The conclusion is that by adding one relatively simple board containing two FPGAs in the prototype setup, the total computing time is reduced by 30%. The total amount of image data, in this case 300 Mbyte, which has to be transmitted via...

  17. Sensory trigeminal ULF-TENS stimulation reduces HRV response to experimentally induced arithmetic stress: A randomized clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monaco, Annalisa; Cattaneo, Ruggero; Ortu, Eleonora; Constantinescu, Marian Vladimir; Pietropaoli, Davide

    2017-05-01

    Ultra Low Frequency Transcutaneous Electric Nervous Stimulation (ULF-TENS) is extensively used for pain relief and for the diagnosis and treatment of temporomandibular disorders (TMD). In addition to its local effects, ULF-TENS acts on the autonomic nervous system (ANS), with particular reference to the periaqueductal gray (PAG), promoting the release of endogenous opioids and modulating descending pain systems. It has been suggested that the PAG participates in the coupling between the emotional stimulus and the appropriate behavioral autonomic response. This function is successfully investigated by HRV. Therefore, our goal is to investigate the effects of trigeminal ULF-TENS stimulation on autonomic behavior in terms of HRV and respiratory parameters during an experimentally-induced arithmetic stress test in healthy subjects. Thirty healthy women between 25 and 35years of age were enrolled and randomly assigned to either the control (TENS stimulation off) or test group (TENS stimulation on). Heart (HR, LF, HF, LF/HF ratio, DET, RMSSD, PNN50, RR) and respiratory (BR) rate were evaluated under basal, T1 (TENS off/on), and stress (mathematical task) conditions. Results showed that HRV parameters and BR significantly changed during the arithmetic stress paradigm (pTENS and control group could be discriminated only by non-linear HRV data, namely RR and DET (p=0.038 and p=0.027, respectively). During the arithmetic task, LF/HF ratio was the most sensitive parameter to discriminate between groups (p=0.019). Our data suggest that trigeminal sensory ULF-TENS reduces the autonomic response in terms of HRV and BR during acute mental stress in healthy subjects. Future directions of our work aim at applying the HRV and BR analysis, with and without TENS stimulation, to individuals with dysfunctional ANS among those with TMD. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Different Mental Rotation Performance in Students of Music, Sport and Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pietsch, Stefanie; Jansen, Petra

    2012-01-01

    In this study the effect of long-term physical and musical activity on spatial cognitive performance, measured by mental rotation performance, is investigated in detail. Mental rotation performance is the ability to rotate a three-dimensional object using the imagination. Three groups, each consisting of 40 students, and divided by the subjects,…

  19. Secret Codes, Remainder Arithmetic, and Matrices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peck, Lyman C.

    This pamphlet is designed for use as enrichment material for able junior and senior high school students who are interested in mathematics. No more than a clear understanding of basic arithmetic is expected. Students are introduced to ideas from number theory and modern algebra by learning mathematical ways of coding and decoding secret messages.…

  20. Less adrenergic response to mental task during verapamil compared to amlodipine treatment in hypertensive subjects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sevre, K; Lefrandt, JD; Eide, [No Value; Smit, AJ; Rostrup, M

    2001-01-01

    We compared the effects of amlodipine and verapamil slow release on autonomic responses to a 5-min mental arithmetic test (MST) in patients with mild to moderate hypertension. Twenty subjects received 8 weeks of verapamil slow release 240 mg or amlodipine 10 mg in a double-blind crossover design,

  1. The Arithmetic Project Course for Teachers - 8. Topic: Lower Brackets and Upper Brackets. Supplement: Arithmetic With Frames.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Education Development Center, Inc., Newton, MA.

    This is one of a series of 20 booklets designed for participants in an in-service course for teachers of elementary mathematics. The course, developed by the University of Illinois Arithmetic Project, is designed to be conducted by local school personnel. In addition to these booklets, a course package includes films showing mathematics being…

  2. Workload assessment for mental arithmetic tasks using the task-evoked pupillary response

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Marquart, G.; de Winter, J.C.F.

    2015-01-01

    Pupillometry is a promising method for assessing mental workload and could
    be helpful in the optimization of systems that involve human–computer
    interaction. The present study focuses on replicating the studies by Ahern
    (1978) and Klingner (2010), which found that for three levels of

  3. Segment LLL Reduction of Lattice Bases Using Modular Arithmetic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sanjay Mehrotra

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available The algorithm of Lenstra, Lenstra, and Lovász (LLL transforms a given integer lattice basis into a reduced basis. Storjohann improved the worst case complexity of LLL algorithms by a factor of O(n using modular arithmetic. Koy and Schnorr developed a segment-LLL basis reduction algorithm that generates lattice basis satisfying a weaker condition than the LLL reduced basis with O(n improvement than the LLL algorithm. In this paper we combine Storjohann’s modular arithmetic approach with the segment-LLL approach to further improve the worst case complexity of the segment-LLL algorithms by a factor of n0.5.

  4. Influence of mental workload on muscle endurance, fatigue, and recovery during intermittent static work.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mehta, Ranjana K; Agnew, Michael J

    2012-08-01

    Most occupational tasks involve some level of mental/cognitive processing in addition to physical work; however, the etiology of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) due to these demands remains unclear. The aim of this study was to quantify the interactive effects of physical and mental workload on muscle endurance, fatigue, and recovery during intermittent work. Twelve participants, balanced by gender, performed intermittent static shoulder abductions to exhaustion at 15, 35, and 55% of individual maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), in the absence (control) and presence (concurrent) of a mental arithmetic task. Changes in muscular capacity were determined using endurance time, strength decline, electromyographic (EMG) fatigue indicators, muscle oxygenation, and heart rate measures. Muscular recovery was quantified through changes in strength and physiological responses. Mental workload was associated with shorter endurance times, specifically at 35% MVC, and greater strength decline. EMG and oxygenation measures showed similar changes during fatigue manifestation during concurrent conditions compared to the control, despite shorter endurance times. Moreover, decreased heart rate variability during concurrent demand conditions indicated increased mental stress. Although strength recovery was not influenced by mental workload, a slower heart rate recovery was observed after concurrent demand conditions. The findings from this study provide fundamental evidence that physical capacity (fatigability and recovery) is adversely affected by mental workload. Thus, it is critical to determine or evaluate occupational demands based on modified muscular capacity (due to mental workload) to reduce risk of WMSD development.

  5. Mental Strategies Predict Performance and Satisfaction with Performance among Soccer Players.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kruk, Magdalena; Blecharz, Jan; Boberska, Monika; Zarychta, Karolina; Luszczynska, Aleksandra

    2017-10-01

    This study investigated the changes in mental strategies across the season and their effects on performance and satisfaction with individual performance. Data were collected three times: at the pre-season at Time 1 (T1; baseline), in the mid-season at Time 2 (T2; two-month follow-up), and at the end-of-season at Time 3 (T3; nine-month follow-up) among male soccer players (N = 97) aged 16-27. Athletes completed the questionnaires assessing the use of nine psychological strategies in competition and the level of satisfaction with individual performance. Endurance performance was measured objectively with a 300 m run. A high level of relaxation (T1) explained better 300 m run performance (T3) and a high level of self-talk explained a higher satisfaction with individual performance (T3). A rare use of distractibility and emotional control (T1) predicted a higher level of satisfaction with individual performance (T3). No predictive role of other psychological strategies was found. The use of emotional control, relaxation, and distractibility increased over the season, whereas the use of imagery and negative thinking declined. Besides the roles of self-talk, imagery, relaxation and goal-setting, the effects of distractibility and emotional control should be taken into account when considering athletes' mental training programs.

  6. Mental toughness in sport: motivational antecedents and associations with performance and psychological health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahoney, John W; Gucciardi, Daniel F; Ntoumanis, Nikos; Mallett, Cliff J; Mallet, Cliff J

    2014-06-01

    We argue that basic psychological needs theory (BPNT) offers impetus to the value of mental toughness as a mechanism for optimizing human functioning. We hypothesized that psychological needs satisfaction (thwarting) would be associated with higher (lower) levels of mental toughness, positive affect, and performance and lower (higher) levels of negative affect. We also expected that mental toughness would be associated with higher levels of positive affect and performance and lower levels of negative affect. Further, we predicted that coaching environments would be related to mental toughness indirectly through psychological needs and that psychological needs would indirectly relate with performance and affect through mental toughness. Adolescent cross-country runners (136 male and 85 female, M(age) = 14.36) completed questionnaires pertaining to BPNT variables, mental toughness, and affect. Race times were also collected. Our findings supported our hypotheses. We concluded that BPNT is generative in understanding some of the antecedents and consequences of mental toughness and is a novel framework useful for understanding mental toughness.

  7. Mathematical learning disabilities and attention deficit and/or hyperactivity disorder: A study of the cognitive processes involved in arithmetic problem solving.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iglesias-Sarmiento, Valentín; Deaño, Manuel; Alfonso, Sonia; Conde, Ángeles

    2017-02-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the contribution of cognitive functioning to arithmetic problem solving and to explore the cognitive profiles of children with attention deficit and/or hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and with mathematical learning disabilities (MLD). The sample was made up of a total of 90 students of 4th, 5th, and 6th grade organized in three: ADHD (n=30), MLD (n=30) and typically achieving control (TA; n=30) group. Assessment was conducted in two sessions in which the PASS processes and arithmetic problem solving were evaluated. The ADHD group's performance in planning and attention was worse than that of the control group. Children with MLD obtained poorer results than the control group in planning and simultaneous and successive processing. Executive processes predicted arithmetic problem solving in the ADHD group whereas simultaneous processing was the unique predictor in the MLD sample. Children with ADHD and with MLD showed characteristic cognitive profiles. Groups' problem-solving performance can be predicted from their cognitive functioning. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. On the form of the forgetting function: the effects of arithmetic and logarithmic distributions of delays.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sargisson, Rebecca J; White, K Geoffrey

    2003-11-01

    Forgetting functions with 18 delay intervals were generated for delayed matching-to-sample performance in pigeons. Delay interval variation was achieved by arranging five different sets of five delays across daily sessions. In different conditions, the delays were distributed in arithmetic or logarithmic series. There was no convincing evidence for different effects on discriminability of the distributions of different delays. The mean data were better fitted by some mathematical functions than by others, but the best-fitting functions depended on the distribution of delays. In further conditions with a fixed set of five delays, discriminability was higher with a logarithmic distribution of delays than with an arithmetic distribution. This result is consistent with the treatment of the forgetting function in terms of generalization decrement.

  9. Sigh rate and respiratory variability during mental load and sustained attention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vlemincx, Elke; Taelman, Joachim; De Peuter, Steven; Van Diest, Ilse; Van den Bergh, Omer

    2011-01-01

    Spontaneous breathing consists of substantial correlated variability: Parameters characterizing a breath are correlated with parameters characterizing previous and future breaths. On the basis of dynamic system theory, negative emotion states are predicted to reduce correlated variability whereas sustained attention is expected to reduce total respiratory variability. Both are predicted to evoke sighing. To test this, respiratory variability and sighing were assessed during a baseline, stressful mental arithmetic task, nonstressful sustained attention task, and recovery in between tasks. For respiration rate (excluding sighs), reduced total variability was found during the attention task, whereas correlated variation was reduced during mental load. Sigh rate increased during mental load and during recovery from the attention task. It is concluded that mental load and task-related attention show specific patterns in respiratory variability and sigh rate. Copyright © 2010 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

  10. Laterality-Specific Training Improves Mental Rotation Performance in Young Soccer Players.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pietsch, Stefanie; Jansen, Petra

    2018-01-01

    This study investigates the influence of specific soccer training with the non-dominant leg on mental rotation performance of 20 adolescent soccer players between 10 and 11 years of age. While the experimental group performed soccer specific tasks only with the non-dominant foot once a week for 10 weeks, the control group absolved the same exercises with the dominant foot for the same period of time. Both groups performed a mental rotation task and shot, dribbling and ball control tests before and after the 10 week intervention. The most relevant result was that the experimental group showed a significantly larger increase in mental rotation ability than the control group.

  11. A Hypergraph and Arithmetic Residue-based Probabilistic Neural Network for classification in Intrusion Detection Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raman, M R Gauthama; Somu, Nivethitha; Kirthivasan, Kannan; Sriram, V S Shankar

    2017-08-01

    Over the past few decades, the design of an intelligent Intrusion Detection System (IDS) remains an open challenge to the research community. Continuous efforts by the researchers have resulted in the development of several learning models based on Artificial Neural Network (ANN) to improve the performance of the IDSs. However, there exists a tradeoff with respect to the stability of ANN architecture and the detection rate for less frequent attacks. This paper presents a novel approach based on Helly property of Hypergraph and Arithmetic Residue-based Probabilistic Neural Network (HG AR-PNN) to address the classification problem in IDS. The Helly property of Hypergraph was exploited for the identification of the optimal feature subset and the arithmetic residue of the optimal feature subset was used to train the PNN. The performance of HG AR-PNN was evaluated using KDD CUP 1999 intrusion dataset. Experimental results prove the dominance of HG AR-PNN classifier over the existing classifiers with respect to the stability and improved detection rate for less frequent attacks. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Introduction to cardinal arithmetic

    CERN Document Server

    Holz, M; Weitz, E

    1999-01-01

    This book is an introduction into modern cardinal arithmetic in the frame of the axioms of Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory together with the axiom of choice (ZFC). A first part describes the classical theory developed by Bernstein, Cantor, Hausdorff, König and Tarski between 1870 and 1930. Next, the development in the 1970s led by Galvin, Hajnal and Silver is characterized. The third part presents the fundamental investigations in pcf theory which have been worked out by Shelah to answer the questions left open in the 1970s.Reviews:'The authors aim their text at beginners in set theory. They start

  13. Physical Exertion and Immediate Classroom Mental Performance Among Elementary School Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gabbard, Carl

    This study was designed (1) to investigate the relationship between physical exertion and mental performance in elementary school children and (2) to determine if male or female mental performances are more affected by physical exertion. A total of 95 second graders participated in six treatments of induced physical exertion during their regularly…

  14. Arithmetic of quantum entropy function

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sen, Ashoke

    2009-01-01

    Quantum entropy function is a proposal for computing the entropy associated with the horizon of a black hole in the extremal limit, and is related via AdS/CFT correspondence to the dimension of the Hilbert space in a dual quantum mechanics. We show that in N = 4 supersymmetric string theories, quantum entropy function formalism naturally explains the origin of the subtle differences between the microscopic degeneracies of quarter BPS dyons carrying different torsion, i.e. different arithmetical properties. These arise from additional saddle points in the path integral - whose existence depends on the arithmetical properties of the black hole charges - constructed as freely acting orbifolds of the original AdS 2 x S 2 near horizon geometry. During this analysis we demonstrate that the quantum entropy function is insensitive to the details of the infrared cutoff used in the computation, and the details of the boundary terms added to the action. We also discuss the role of the asymptotic symmetries of AdS 2 in carrying out the path integral in the definition of quantum entropy function. Finally we show that even though quantum entropy function is expected to compute the absolute degeneracy in a given charge and angular momentum sector, it can also be used to compute the index. This can then be compared with the microscopic computation of the index.

  15. Key performance indicators for Australian mental health court liaison services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davidson, Fiona; Heffernan, Ed; Greenberg, David; Butler, Tony; Burgess, Philip

    2017-12-01

    The aim of this paper is to describe the development and technical specifications of a framework and national key performance indicators (KPIs) for Australian mental health Court Liaison Services (CLSs) by the National Mental Health Court Liaison Performance Working Group (Working Group). Representatives from each Australian State and Territory were invited to form a Working Group. Through a series of national workshops and meetings, a framework and set of performance indicators were developed using a review of literature and expert opinion. A total of six KPIs for CLSs have been identified and a set of technical specifications have been formed. This paper describes the process and outcomes of a national collaboration to develop a framework and KPIs. The measures have been developed to support future benchmarking activities and to assist services to identify best practice in this area of mental health service delivery.

  16. Arithmetic convergent sequence space defined by modulus function

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Taja Yaying

    2019-10-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this article is to introduce the sequence spaces $AC(f$ and $AS(f$ using arithmetic convergence and modulus function, and study algebraic and topological properties of this space, and certain inclusion results.

  17. Laterality-Specific Training Improves Mental Rotation Performance in Young Soccer Players

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefanie Pietsch

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available This study investigates the influence of specific soccer training with the non-dominant leg on mental rotation performance of 20 adolescent soccer players between 10 and 11 years of age. While the experimental group performed soccer specific tasks only with the non-dominant foot once a week for 10 weeks, the control group absolved the same exercises with the dominant foot for the same period of time. Both groups performed a mental rotation task and shot, dribbling and ball control tests before and after the 10 week intervention. The most relevant result was that the experimental group showed a significantly larger increase in mental rotation ability than the control group.

  18. A sorting network in bounded arithmetic

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Jeřábek, Emil

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 162, č. 4 (2011), s. 341-355 ISSN 0168-0072 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA1019401; GA MŠk(CZ) 1M0545 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10190503 Keywords : bounded arithmetic * sorting network * proof complexity * monotone sequent calculus Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 0.450, year: 2011 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168007210001272

  19. Philosophy of arithmetic psychological and logical investigations with supplementary texts from 1887–1901

    CERN Document Server

    Husserl, Edmund

    2003-01-01

    In his first book, Philosophy of Arithmetic, Edmund Husserl provides a carefully worked out account of number as a categorial or formal feature of the objective world, and of arithmetic as a symbolic technique for mastering the infinite field of numbers for knowledge. It is a realist account of numbers and number relations that interweaves them into the basic structure of the universe and into our knowledge of reality. It provides an answer to the question of how arithmetic applies to reality, and gives an account of how, in general, formalized systems of symbols work in providing access to the world. The "appendices" to this book provide some of Husserl's subsequent discussions of how formalisms work, involving David Hilbert's program of completeness for arithmetic. "Completeness" is integrated into Husserl's own problematic of the "imaginary", and allows him to move beyond the analysis of "representations" in his understanding of the logic of mathematics. Husserl's work here provides an alternative model of...

  20. Improved iodine status is associated with improved mental performance of schoolchildren in Benin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van den Briel, T; West, C E; Bleichrodt, N; van de Vijver, F J; Ategbo, E A; Hautvast, J G

    2000-11-01

    An adequate iodine supply in utero and shortly after birth is known to be crucial to an individual's physical and mental development. The question of whether iodine supplementation later in life can exert a favorable influence on the mental performance of iodine-deficient populations was addressed in various studies, but with contradictory results. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of an improvement in iodine status on mental and psychomotor performance of schoolchildren (7-11 y) who were moderately to severely iodine deficient. The study, which was originally planned as a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled intervention, was carried out in an iodine-deficient population of schoolchildren (n = 196) in northern Benin. As the population began to have access to iodized salt during the 1-y intervention period, the study population was split post hoc-on the basis of urinary iodine concentrations-into a group with improved iodine status and a group with unchanged iodine status. Changes in mental and psychomotor performance over the intervention period were compared. Children with increased urinary iodine concentrations had a significantly greater increase in performance on the combination of mental tests than did the group with no change in urinary iodine concentrations. An improvement in iodine status, rather than iodine status itself, determined mental performance in this population, which was initially iodine deficient. These findings suggest a "catch-up" effect in terms of mental performance.

  1. Symbolic Numerical Magnitude Processing Is as Important to Arithmetic as Phonological Awareness Is to Reading.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kiran Vanbinst

    Full Text Available In this article, we tested, using a 1-year longitudinal design, whether symbolic numerical magnitude processing or children's numerical representation of Arabic digits, is as important to arithmetic as phonological awareness is to reading. Children completed measures of symbolic comparison, phonological awareness, arithmetic, reading at the start of third grade and the latter two were retested at the start of fourth grade. Cross-sectional and longitudinal correlations indicated that symbolic comparison was a powerful domain-specific predictor of arithmetic and that phonological awareness was a unique predictor of reading. Crucially, the strength of these independent associations was not significantly different. This indicates that symbolic numerical magnitude processing is as important to arithmetic development as phonological awareness is to reading and suggests that symbolic numerical magnitude processing is a good candidate for screening children at risk for developing mathematical difficulties.

  2. Nutrition and mental performance in children - The NUTRIMENTHE project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horton, Claire

    2013-01-01

    The Nutrition And Mental Performance In Children project of the European Union (NUTRIMENTHE) has added to the evidence that maternal diet influences mental performance in childhood. The biological mechanisms have been shown to be complex and to involve genetic variation, as indicated by the work linking genetic variation in the fatty acid desaturase gene cluster to the processing of fatty acids. The role played by a child's diet also needs to be considered and this question is being addressed through the inclusion of post-natal intervention studies in the NUTRIMENTHE project's research plan. This paper summarises progress. © The Author(s) 2013.

  3. GDI based full adders for energy efficient arithmetic applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohan Shoba

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Addition is a vital arithmetic operation and acts as a building block for synthesizing all other operations. A high-performance adder is one of the key components in the design of application specific integrated circuits. In this paper, three low power full adders are designed with full swing AND, OR and XOR gates to alleviate threshold voltage problem which is commonly encountered in Gate Diffusion Input (GDI logic. This problem usually does not allow the full adder circuits to operate without additional inverters. However, the three full adders are successfully realized using full swing gates with the significant improvement in their performance. The performance of the proposed designs is compared with the other full adder designs, namely CMOS, CPL, hybrid and GDI through SPICE simulations using 45 nm technology models. Simulation results reveal that proposed designs have lower energy consumption among all the conventional designs taken for comparison.

  4. Spatial transformation abilities and their relation to later mathematics performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frick, Andrea

    2018-04-10

    Using a longitudinal approach, this study investigated the relational structure of different spatial transformation skills at kindergarten age, and how these spatial skills relate to children's later mathematics performance. Children were tested at three time points, in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade (N = 119). Exploratory factor analyses revealed two subcomponents of spatial transformation skills: one representing egocentric transformations (mental rotation and spatial scaling), and one representing allocentric transformations (e.g., cross-sectioning, perspective taking). Structural equation modeling suggested that egocentric transformation skills showed their strongest relation to the part of the mathematics test tapping arithmetic operations, whereas allocentric transformations were strongly related to Numeric-Logical and Spatial Functions as well as geometry. The present findings point to a tight connection between early mental transformation skills, particularly the ones requiring a high level of spatial flexibility and a strong sense for spatial magnitudes, and children's mathematics performance at the beginning of their school career.

  5. Abacus in the brain: a longitudinal functional MRI study of a skilled abacus user with a right hemispheric lesion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanaka, Satoshi; Seki, Keiko; Hanakawa, Takashi; Harada, Madoka; Sugawara, Sho K; Sadato, Norihiro; Watanabe, Katsumi; Honda, Manabu

    2012-01-01

    The abacus, a traditional physical calculation device, is still widely used in Asian countries. Previous behavioral work has shown that skilled abacus users perform rapid and precise mental arithmetic by manipulating a mental representation of an abacus, which is based on visual imagery. However, its neurophysiological basis remains unclear. Here, we report the case of a patient who was a good abacus user, but transiently lost her "mental abacus" and superior arithmetic performance after a stroke owing to a right hemispheric lesion including the dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) and inferior parietal lobule (IPL). Functional magnetic resonance imaging experiments were conducted 6 and 13 months after her stroke. In the mental calculation task, her brain activity was shifted from the language-related areas, including Broca's area and the left dorsolateral prefrontal and IPLs, to the visuospatial-related brain areas including the left superior parietal lobule (SPL), according to the recovery of her arithmetic abilities. In the digit memory task, activities in the bilateral SPL, and right visual association cortex were also observed after recovery. The shift of brain activities was consistent with her subjective report that she was able to shift the calculation strategy from linguistic to visuospatial as her mental abacus became stable again. In a behavioral experiment using an interference paradigm, a visual presentation of an abacus picture, but not a human face picture, interfered with the performance of her digit memory, confirming her use of the mental abacus after recovery. This is the first case report on the impairment of the mental abacus by a brain lesion and on recovery-related brain activity. We named this rare case "abacus-based acalculia." Together with previous neuroimaging studies, the present result suggests an important role for the PMd and parietal cortex in the superior arithmetic ability of abacus users.

  6. Arithmetic difficulties in children with cerebral palsy are related to executive function and working memory

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jenks, K.M.; Moor, J.M.H. de; Lieshout, E.C.D.M. van

    2009-01-01

    Background - Although it is believed that children with cerebral palsy are at high risk for learning difficulties and arithmetic difficulties in particular, few studies have investigated this issue. Methods - Arithmetic ability was longitudinally assessed in children with cerebral palsy in special

  7. File compression and encryption based on LLS and arithmetic coding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Changzhi; Li, Hengjian; Wang, Xiyu

    2018-03-01

    e propose a file compression model based on arithmetic coding. Firstly, the original symbols, to be encoded, are input to the encoder one by one, we produce a set of chaotic sequences by using the Logistic and sine chaos system(LLS), and the values of this chaotic sequences are randomly modified the Upper and lower limits of current symbols probability. In order to achieve the purpose of encryption, we modify the upper and lower limits of all character probabilities when encoding each symbols. Experimental results show that the proposed model can achieve the purpose of data encryption while achieving almost the same compression efficiency as the arithmetic coding.

  8. Partial sums of arithmetical functions with absolutely convergent ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    For an arithmetical function f with absolutely convergent Ramanujan expansion, we derive an asymptotic formula for the ∑ n ≤ N f(n)$ with explicit error term. As a corollary we obtain new results about sum-of-divisors functions and Jordan's totient functions.

  9. Arithmetic difficulties in children with cerebral palsy are related to executive function and working memory.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jenks, K.M.; Moor, J.M.H. de; Lieshout, E.C. van

    2009-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Although it is believed that children with cerebral palsy are at high risk for learning difficulties and arithmetic difficulties in particular, few studies have investigated this issue. METHODS: Arithmetic ability was longitudinally assessed in children with cerebral palsy in special (n

  10. Randomized clinical trial to evaluate mental practice in enhancing advanced laparoscopic surgical performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Louridas, M; Bonrath, E M; Sinclair, D A; Dedy, N J; Grantcharov, T P

    2015-01-01

    Mental practice, the cognitive rehearsal of a task without physical movement, is known to enhance performance in sports and music. Investigation of this technique in surgery has been limited to basic operations. The purpose of this study was to develop mental practice scripts, and to assess their effect on advanced laparoscopic skills and surgeon stress levels in a crisis scenario. Twenty senior surgical trainees were randomized to either conventional training or mental practice groups, the latter being trained by an expert performance psychologist. Participants' skills were assessed while performing a porcine laparoscopic jejunojejunostomy as part of a crisis scenario in a simulated operating room, using the Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill (OSATS) and bariatric OSATS (BOSATS) instruments. Objective and subjective stress parameters were measured, as well as non-technical skills using the Non-Technical Skills for Surgeons rating tool. An improvement in OSATS (P = 0.003) and BOSATS (P = 0.003) scores was seen in the mental practice group compared with the conventional training group. Seven of ten trainees improved their technical performance during the crisis scenario, whereas four of the ten conventionally trained participants deteriorated. Mental imagery ability improved significantly following mental practice training (P = 0.011), but not in the conventional group (P = 0.083). No differences in objective or subjective stress levels or non-technical skills were evident. Mental practice improves technical performance for advanced laparoscopic tasks in the simulated operating room, and allows trainees to maintain or improve their performance despite added stress. © 2014 BJS Society Ltd. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. Deficits in working memory, reading comprehension and arithmetic skills in children with mouth breathing syndrome: analytical cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuroishi, Rita Cristina Sadako; Garcia, Ricardo Basso; Valera, Fabiana Cardoso Pereira; Anselmo-Lima, Wilma Terezinha; Fukuda, Marisa Tomoe Hebihara

    2015-01-01

    Mouth breathing syndrome is very common among school-age children, and it is possibly related to learning difficulties and low academic achievement. In this study, we investigated working memory, reading comprehension and arithmetic skills in children with nasal and mouth breathing. Analytical cross-sectional study with control group conducted in a public university hospital. 42 children (mean age = 8.7 years) who had been identified as mouth breathers were compared with a control group (mean age = 8.4 years) matched for age and schooling. All the participants underwent a clinical interview, tone audiometry, otorhinolaryngological evaluation and cognitive assessment of phonological working memory (numbers and pseudowords), reading comprehension and arithmetic skills. Children with mouth breathing had poorer performance than controls, regarding reading comprehension (P = 0.006), arithmetic (P = 0.025) and working memory for pseudowords (P = 0.002), but not for numbers (P = 0.76). Children with mouth breathing have low academic achievement and poorer phonological working memory than controls. Teachers and healthcare professionals should be aware of the association of mouth breathing with children's physical and cognitive health.

  12. Surface EEG Shows that Functional Segregation via Phase Coupling Contributes to the Neural Substrate of Mental Calculations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dimitriadis, Stavros I.; Kanatsouli, Kassiani; Laskaris, Nikolaos A.; Tsirka, Vasso; Vourkas, Michael; Micheloyannis, Sifis

    2012-01-01

    Multichannel EEG traces from healthy subjects are used to investigate the brain's self-organisation tendencies during two different mental arithmetic tasks. By making a comparison with a control-state in the form of a classification problem, we can detect and quantify the changes in coordinated brain activity in terms of functional connectivity.…

  13. A case study of arithmetic facts dyscalculia caused by a hypersensitivity-to-interference in memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Visscher, Alice; Noël, Marie-Pascale

    2013-01-01

    While the heterogeneity of developmental dyscalculia is increasingly recognized, the different profiles have not yet been clearly established. Among the features underpinning types of developmental dyscalculia suggested in the literature, an impairment in arithmetic fact retrieval is particularly prominent. In this paper, we present a case study of an adult woman (DB) with very good cognitive capacities suffering from a specific and developmental arithmetic fact retrieval deficit. We test the main hypotheses about developmental dyscalculia derived from literature. We first explore the influential hypothesis of an approximate number system deficit, through estimation tasks, comparison tasks and a priming comparison task. Secondly, we evaluate whether DB's mathematical deficiencies are caused by a rote verbal memory deficit, using tasks involving completion of expressions, and reciting automatic series such as the alphabet and the months of the year. Alternatively, taking into account the extreme similarity of the arithmetic facts, we propose that a heightened sensitivity to interference could have prevented DB from memorizing the arithmetic facts. The pattern of DB's results on different tasks supports this hypothesis. Our findings identify a new etiology of a specific impairment of arithmetic facts storage, namely a hypersensitivity-to-interference. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Keep calm! Gender differences in mental rotation performance are modulated by habitual expressive suppression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fladung, Anne-Katharina; Kiefer, Markus

    2016-11-01

    Men have been frequently found to perform more accurately than women in mental rotation tasks. However, men and women also differ with regard to the habitual use of emotion regulation strategies, particularly with regard to expressive suppression, i.e., the suppression of emotional expression in behavior. As emotional suppression is more often used by men, emotion regulation strategies might be a variable modulating gender differences in mental rotation performance. The present study, therefore, examined the influences of gender and emotion regulation strategies on mental rotation performance accuracy and feedback processing. Twenty-eight men and 28 women matched for relevant demographic variables performed mental rotation tasks of varying difficulty over a prolonged time. Emotional feedback was given immediately after each trial. Results showed that women reported to use expressive suppression less frequently than men. Women made more errors in the mental rotation task than men confirming earlier demonstrations of gender differences. Furthermore, women were more impaired by the negative feedback as indicated by the increased likelihood of subsequent errors compared with men. Task performance of women not habitually using expressive suppression was most inferior and most strongly influenced by failure feedback compared with men. Women using expressive suppression more habitually did not significantly differ in mental rotation accuracy and feedback processing from men. Hence, expressive suppression reduces gender differences in mental rotation accuracy by improving cognitive performance following failure feedback.

  15. The Duality Principle in Teaching Arithmetic and Geometric Series

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeshurun, Shraga

    1978-01-01

    The author discusses the use of the duality principle in combination with the hierarchy of algebraic operations in helping students to retain and use definitions and rules for arithmetic and geometric sequences and series. (MN)

  16. Verification of Linear (In)Dependence in Finite Precision Arithmetic

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Rohn, Jiří

    2014-01-01

    Roč. 8, č. 3-4 (2014), s. 323-328 ISSN 1661-8289 Institutional support: RVO:67985807 Keywords : linear dependence * linear independence * pseudoinverse matrix * finite precision arithmetic * verification * MATLAB file Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics

  17. Coherent states, pseudodifferential analysis and arithmetic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Unterberger, André

    2012-06-01

    Basic questions regarding families of coherent states include describing some constructions of such and the way they can be applied to operator theory or partial differential equations. In both questions, pseudodifferential analysis is important. Recent developments indicate that they can contribute to methods in arithmetic, especially modular form theory. This article is part of a special issue of Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical devoted to ‘Coherent states: mathematical and physical aspects’.

  18. Mental Health and Academic Performance of First-Year College Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wyatt, Tammy Jordan; Oswalt, Sara B.; Ochoa, Yesenia

    2017-01-01

    The prevalence and severity of mental health issues are increasing among college students, and such issues pose a threat to health and academic performance. Purpose: The primary purpose of the study is to examine differences in mental health diagnoses and their related academic impact with a special focus on classification year in college.…

  19. Effects of caffeine, time of day and user history on study-related performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, P J; Redman, J R

    1992-01-01

    The individual and interactive effects of caffeine, time of day and history of caffeine consumption on several study-related tasks were investigated in 25 subjects (6 males, 19 females). Performance was measured on short term memory (STM), mental arithmetic (MA), reading comprehension, serial search (SS) and verbal reasoning (VR). Subjects attended eight experimental sessions, at four times of day (0100, 0700, 1300 and 1900 hours), after ingesting caffeine (4 mg/kg) or placebo. Subjects were assigned to a low, moderate or high user group on the basis of a caffeine consumption questionnaire. Reading comprehension was affected by time of day, while caffeine improved performance on all mental speed-related tasks. High caffeine users performed more poorly than other groups on the verbal reasoning task. Several interactions between the three independent variables were observed on a number of tasks, supporting the contention that different processes underlying various types of cognitive performance are differentially, and often jointly, affected by caffeine, time of day and user history. Implications of caffeine usage on academic performance were discussed.

  20. Mental Toughness Moderates Social Loafing in Cycle Time-Trial Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haugen, Tommy; Reinboth, Michael; Hetlelid, Ken J.; Peters, Derek M.; Høigaard, Rune

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if mental toughness moderated the occurrence of social loafing in cycle time-trial performance. Method: Twenty-seven men (M[subscript age] = 17.7 years, SD = 0.6) completed the Sport Mental Toughness Questionnaire prior to completing a 1-min cycling trial under 2 conditions: once with individual…

  1. Heuristics and representational change in two-move matchstick arithmetic tasks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Öllinger

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Insight problems are problems where the problem solver struggles to find a solution until * aha! * the solution suddenly appears. Two contemporary theories suggest that insight problems are difficult either because problem solvers begin with an incorrect representation of the problem, or that problem solvers apply inappropriate heuristics to the problem. The relative contributions of representational change and inappropriate heuristics on the process of insight problem solving was studied with a task that required the problem solver to move two matchsticks in order to transform an incorrect arithmetic statement into a correct one. Problem solvers (N = 120 worked on two different types of two-move matchstick arithmetic problems that both varied with respect to the effectiveness of heuristics and to the degree of a necessary representational change of the problem representation. A strong influence of representational change on solution rates was found whereas the influence of heuristics hadminimal effects on solution rates. That is, the difficulty of insight problems within the two-move matchstick arithmetic domain is governed by the degree of representational change required. A model is presented that details representational change as the necessary condition for ensuring that appropriate heuristics can be applied on the proper problem representation.

  2. Spatio-temporal models of mental processes from fMRI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janoos, Firdaus; Machiraju, Raghu; Singh, Shantanu; Morocz, Istvan Ákos

    2011-07-15

    Understanding the highly complex, spatially distributed and temporally organized phenomena entailed by mental processes using functional MRI is an important research problem in cognitive and clinical neuroscience. Conventional analysis methods focus on the spatial dimension of the data discarding the information about brain function contained in the temporal dimension. This paper presents a fully spatio-temporal multivariate analysis method using a state-space model (SSM) for brain function that yields not only spatial maps of activity but also its temporal structure along with spatially varying estimates of the hemodynamic response. Efficient algorithms for estimating the parameters along with quantitative validations are given. A novel low-dimensional feature-space for representing the data, based on a formal definition of functional similarity, is derived. Quantitative validation of the model and the estimation algorithms is provided with a simulation study. Using a real fMRI study for mental arithmetic, the ability of this neurophysiologically inspired model to represent the spatio-temporal information corresponding to mental processes is demonstrated. Moreover, by comparing the models across multiple subjects, natural patterns in mental processes organized according to different mental abilities are revealed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Assessment of mental training in improving performance serve in volleyball

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Maria Montiel

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available This article aimed to investigate the effects of mental training on volleyball players service performance. Six male volleyball players aged from 18 to 25 years old of a team from the interior of São Paulo’s state were studied. The service performance was evaluated in three different championships of the same season. The services were scored in game situations at the same time of the intervention process. The measure means indicated service performance increased with the mental training practice, with more services performed correctly and less mistakes at the end of the intervention process. The mistakes dimished significantly from the baseline to the final of the intervention process and from the start of the intervention process to its final.

  4. Model Theory in Algebra, Analysis and Arithmetic

    CERN Document Server

    Dries, Lou; Macpherson, H Dugald; Pillay, Anand; Toffalori, Carlo; Wilkie, Alex J

    2014-01-01

    Presenting recent developments and applications, the book focuses on four main topics in current model theory: 1) the model theory of valued fields; 2) undecidability in arithmetic; 3) NIP theories; and 4) the model theory of real and complex exponentiation. Young researchers in model theory will particularly benefit from the book, as will more senior researchers in other branches of mathematics.

  5. Alzheimer's Dementia: Performance on the Mini-Mental State Examination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teng, Evelyn Lee; And Others

    1987-01-01

    Analyzed the performance of Alzheimer's patients (N=141) on the Mini-Mental State Examination. Performance on all items showed significant negative correlation with the duration of the illness. The most difficult item was "recall," and the improvement in recall was obtained with cuing. (Author/ABB)

  6. The Effects of Physical Conditioning on Mental Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    1984-10-04

    Effect of one-minute and five-minute step-ups on performance of simple addition. Research Quarterly 39: 81-85, 1968. Halberg, F. Chronobiology . Annual... performance , vol.8: 73-80, 1955. Terjung, R.L., and W.W. Winder. Exercise and thyroid function. Med. Sci. Sports 7: 20, 1975. Thompson, E.G., I.T...MEDICAL CENTER WILFORD HALL AIR FORCE MEDICAL CENTER Title of Thesis: "The Effects of Physical Conditioning on Mental Performance " Name of

  7. Strategies of solving arithmetic word problems in students with learning difficulties in mathematics

    OpenAIRE

    Kalan, Marko

    2015-01-01

    Problem solving as an important skill is, beside arithmetic, measure and algebra, included in standards of school mathematics (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) (NCTM, 2000) and needed as a necessary skill for successfulness in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) (National Mathematics Advisory Panel, 2008). Since solving of human problems is connected to the real life, the arithmetic word problems (in short AWP) are an important kind of mathematics tasks in scho...

  8. Effects of caffeine ingestion on endurance performance in mentally fatigued individuals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azevedo, Rafael; Silva-Cavalcante, Marcos David; Gualano, Bruno; Lima-Silva, Adriano E; Bertuzzi, Romulo

    2016-12-01

    To examine the effects of caffeine ingestion on physiological and perceptual responses in mentally fatigued individuals. Eight male physically active subjects completed four cycling constant-workload tests in four experimental conditions at 80 % of maximal power output: control (C), mental fatigue (MF), mental fatigue plus caffeine ingestion (5 mg/kg) (MF-CAF), and mental fatigue plus placebo (MF-PLA). The mental fatigue was induced by a continuous performance task A-X version (AX-CPT). Before and after the AX-CPT, the profile of mood state (POMS) and blood samples for lactate measurement were collected. Oxygen consumption ([Formula: see text]), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), and electromyography (EMG) activity were measured during the cycling test. The time to exhaustion in C, MF, MF-PLA, and MF-CAF were 251 ± 30, 222 ± 23, 248 ± 28, and 285 ± 42 s, respectively. Delta values (corrected by C condition) were higher in MF-CAF than MF (P = 0.031). MF-CAF reported higher Vigor scores when compared with C (P = 0.046) and MF (P = 0.020). RPE at the first minute was significantly higher in MF-PLA than in C (P = 0.050); at the second minute, RPE was higher in MF-PLA than in C (P = 0.049) and MF-CAF (P = 0.048). EMG activity was not different between the conditions. Caffeine ingestion increased approximately 14 % endurance performance after the induction of mental fatigue. This effect was accompanied by a tendency to improvement in mood state (i.e., vigor). Therefore, caffeine ingestion can promote a beneficial effect on endurance performance in mentally fatigued individuals.

  9. Nonlinear dynamics of electroencephalography study in schizophrenic patients

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    CHEN Xing-shi; XU Yi-feng; TANG Yun-xiang; FANG Yi-ru; ZHANG Chen; ZHANG Ming-dao; LOU Fei-ying

    2013-01-01

    Background Few characteristic changes of linear electroencephalograph (EEG) have been reported in schizophrenia.The aim of the present study was to investigate the changes in temporal-spatial dimensional properties of EEG under different cognitive tasks in patients with schizophrenia.Methods EEG was recorded by using EEG-1518K system and mapping system (Nihon Kohden Tomioka Corporation,Japan) in 45 schizophrenic patients and 47 healthy adults (normal control,NC) under five states:eyes closed,eyes open,mental arithmetic test with eyes closed,memory test with eyes open,and number cancellation test.Correlation dimension (D2) and point-wise correlation dimension (PD2) were calculated for all EEG analyses.Results (1) There were no significant differences of D2 and PD2 between NC and schizophrenic patients under states of eyes open and closed.(2) Compared with NC,schizophrenic patients showed decreased performance of D2 in mental arithmetic test with eyes closed and number cancellation test (mental arithmetic test with eyes closed:Nc 5.9±0.6,Sch 3.0±0.8; number cancellation test:Nc 6.0±0.6,Sch 4.4±0.7; P <0.05 or P <0.01).(3) Schizophrenic patients also showed decrease performance of PD2 in mental arithmetic test with eyes closed,memory test with eyes open,and number cancellation test (mental arithmetic test with eyes closed:Nc 6.9±0.7,Sch 4.0±0.8; memory test with eyes open:Nc 6.6±0.8,Sch 5.0±0.9; number cancellation test:Nc 7.1±0.7,Sch 4.8±0.9; P <0.05 or P <0.01).Conclusions Nonlinear dynamic analysis provided a new approach in clinical investigation of EEG signals.It was helpful to further understand the cerebral mechanism in schizophrenic cognitive process.

  10. Implementation of a digital optical matrix-vector multiplier using a holographic look-up table and residue arithmetic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Habiby, Sarry F.

    1987-01-01

    The design and implementation of a digital (numerical) optical matrix-vector multiplier are presented. The objective is to demonstrate the operation of an optical processor designed to minimize computation time in performing a practical computing application. This is done by using the large array of processing elements in a Hughes liquid crystal light valve, and relying on the residue arithmetic representation, a holographic optical memory, and position coded optical look-up tables. In the design, all operations are performed in effectively one light valve response time regardless of matrix size. The features of the design allowing fast computation include the residue arithmetic representation, the mapping approach to computation, and the holographic memory. In addition, other features of the work include a practical light valve configuration for efficient polarization control, a model for recording multiple exposures in silver halides with equal reconstruction efficiency, and using light from an optical fiber for a reference beam source in constructing the hologram. The design can be extended to implement larger matrix arrays without increasing computation time.

  11. Variables associated with work performance in multidisciplinary mental health teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleury, Marie-Josée; Grenier, Guy; Bamvita, Jean-Marie; Chiocchio, François

    2017-01-01

    This study investigates work performance among 79 mental health teams in Quebec (Canada). We hypothesized that work performance was positively associated with the use of standardized clinical tools and clinical approaches, integration strategies, "clan culture," and mental health funding per capita. Work performance was measured using an adapted version of the Work Role Questionnaire. Variables were organized into four key areas: (1) team attributes, (2) organizational culture, (3) inter-organizational interactions, and (4) external environment. Work performance was associated with two types of organizational culture (clan and hierarchy) and with two team attributes (use of standardized clinical tools and approaches). This study was innovative in identifying associations between work performance and best practices, justifying their implementation. Recommendations are provided to develop organizational cultures promoting a greater focus on the external environment and integration strategies that strengthen external focus, service effectiveness, and innovation.

  12. Multiple Paths to Mathematics Practice in Al-Kashi's Key to Arithmetic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taani, Osama

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, I discuss one of the most distinguishing features of Jamshid al-Kashi's pedagogy from his Key to Arithmetic, a well-known Arabic mathematics textbook from the fifteenth century. This feature is the multiple paths that he includes to find a desired result. In the first section light is shed on al-Kashi's life and his contributions to mathematics and astronomy. Section 2 starts with a brief discussion of the contents and pedagogy of the Key to Arithmetic. Al-Kashi's multiple approaches are discussed through four different examples of his versatility in presenting a topic from multiple perspectives. These examples are multiple definitions, multiple algorithms, multiple formulas, and multiple methods for solving word problems. Section 3 is devoted to some benefits that can be gained by implementing al-Kashi's multiple paths approach in modern curricula. For this discussion, examples from two teaching modules taken from the Key to Arithmetic and implemented in Pre-Calculus and mathematics courses for preservice teachers are discussed. Also, the conclusions are supported by some aspects of these modules. This paper is an attempt to help mathematics educators explore more benefits from reading from original sources.

  13. Bi-amalgamations subject to the arithmetical property

    OpenAIRE

    Kabbaj, S.; Mahdou, N.; Moutui, M. A. S.

    2016-01-01

    This paper establishes necessary and sufficient conditions for a bi-amalgamation to inherit the arithmetical property, with applications on the weak global dimension and transfer of the semihereditary property. The new results compare to previous works carried on various settings of duplications and amalgamations, and capitalize on recent results on bi-amalgamations. All results are backed with new and illustrative examples arising as bi-amalgamations.

  14. Profiles of mental health care professionals based on work role performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markon, Marie-Pierre; Bamvita, Jean-Marie; Chiocchio, François; Fleury, Marie-Josée

    2017-12-01

    The worldwide burden of mental disorders is considerable, and on the rise, putting pressure on health care systems. Current reforms aim to improve the efficiency of mental health care systems by increasing service integration in communities and strengthening primary mental health care. In this context, mental health care professionals (MHPs) are increasingly required to work on interdisciplinary teams in a variety of settings. Little is known, however, about the profiles of MHPs in relation to their perceived work role performance. MHPs in Quebec (N = 315) from four local service networks completed a self-administered questionnaire eliciting information on individual and team characteristics, as well as team processes and states. Profiles of MHPs were created using a two-step cluster analysis. Five profiles were generated. MHPs belonging to profiles labelled senior medical outpatient specialized care MHPs and senior psychosocial outpatient specialized care MHPs perceived themselves as more performing than MHPs in other profiles. The profile labelled low-collaborators was significantly less performing than all other groups. Two other profiles were identified, positioned between the aforementioned groups in terms of the perceived performance of MHPs: the junior primary care MHPs and the diversified specialized care MHPs. Seniority within the team, delivering specialized type of care, and positive team processes were all features associated with profiles where perceived work performance was high. Overall, this study supports the case for initiatives aimed at improving stability and interdisciplinary collaboration in health teams, especially in primary care.

  15. A quality improvement study on avoidable stressors and countermeasures affecting surgical motor performance and learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conrad, Claudius; Konuk, Yusuf; Werner, Paul D; Cao, Caroline G; Warshaw, Andrew L; Rattner, David W; Stangenberg, Lars; Ott, Harald C; Jones, Daniel B; Miller, Diane L; Gee, Denise W

    2012-06-01

    To explore how the 2 most important components of surgical performance--speed and accuracy-are influenced by different forms of stress and what the impact of music is on these factors. On the basis of a recently published pilot study on surgical experts, we designed an experiment examining the effects of auditory stress, mental stress, and music on surgical performance and learning and then correlated the data psychometric measures to the role of music in a novice surgeon's life. Thirty-one surgeons were recruited for a crossover study. Surgeons were randomized to 4 simple standardized tasks to be performed on the SurgicalSIM VR laparoscopic simulator (Medical Education Technologies, Inc, Sarasota, FL), allowing exact tracking of speed and accuracy. Tasks were performed under a variety of conditions, including silence, dichotic music (auditory stress), defined classical music (auditory relaxation), and mental loading (mental arithmetic tasks). Tasks were performed twice to test for memory consolidation and to accommodate for baseline variability. Performance was correlated to the brief Musical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ). Mental loading influences performance with respect to accuracy, speed, and recall more negatively than does auditory stress. Defined classical music might lead to minimally worse performance initially but leads to significantly improved memory consolidation. Furthermore, psychologic testing of the volunteers suggests that surgeons with greater musical commitment, measured by the MEQ, perform worse under the mental loading condition. Mental distraction and auditory stress negatively affect specific components of surgical learning and performance. If used appropriately, classical music may positively affect surgical memory consolidation. It also may be possible to predict surgeons' performance and learning under stress through psychological tests on the role of music in a surgeon's life. Further investigation is necessary to determine the

  16. Deficits in working memory, reading comprehension and arithmetic skills in children with mouth breathing syndrome: analytical cross-sectional study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rita Cristina Sadako Kuroishi

    Full Text Available CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Mouth breathing syndrome is very common among school-age children, and it is possibly related to learning difficulties and low academic achievement. In this study, we investigated working memory, reading comprehension and arithmetic skills in children with nasal and mouth breathing. DESIGN AND SETTING: Analytical cross-sectional study with control group conducted in a public university hospital. METHODS: 42 children (mean age = 8.7 years who had been identified as mouth breathers were compared with a control group (mean age = 8.4 years matched for age and schooling. All the participants underwent a clinical interview, tone audiometry, otorhinolaryngological evaluation and cognitive assessment of phonological working memory (numbers and pseudowords, reading comprehension and arithmetic skills. RESULTS: Children with mouth breathing had poorer performance than controls, regarding reading comprehension (P = 0.006, arithmetic (P = 0.025 and working memory for pseudowords (P = 0.002, but not for numbers (P = 0.76. CONCLUSION: Children with mouth breathing have low academic achievement and poorer phonological working memory than controls. Teachers and healthcare professionals should be aware of the association of mouth breathing with children's physical and cognitive health.

  17. Mental Health and Academic Performance among Associate Degree Nursing Students at a Technical College

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kliminski, Kerri

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this non-experimental cross-sectional quantitative study was to examine the relationship between mental health and academic performance among associate degree nursing (ADN) students at a Midwest technical college by identifying incidence of positive mental health, mental illness symptoms/distress, and mental illness; the…

  18. The influence of shyness on children's test performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crozier, W Ray; Hostettler, Kirsten

    2003-09-01

    Research has shown that shy children differ from their peers not only in their use of language in routine social encounters but also in formal assessments of their language development, including psychometric tests of vocabulary. There has been little examination of factors contributing to these individual differences. To investigate cognitive-competence and social anxiety interpretations of differences in children's performance on tests of vocabulary. To examine the performance of shy and less shy children under different conditions of test administration, individually with an examiner or among their peers within the familiar classroom setting. The sample consisted of 240 Year 5 pupils (122 male, 118 female) from 24 primary schools. Shy and less shy children, identified by teacher nomination and checklist ratings, completed vocabulary and mental arithmetic tests in one of three conditions, in a between-subjects design. The conditions varied individual and group administration, and oral and written responses. The conditions of test administration influenced the vocabulary test performance of shy children. They performed significantly more poorly than their peers in the two face-to-face conditions but not in the group test condition. A comparable trend for the arithmetic test was not statistically significant. Across the sample as a whole, shyness correlated significantly with test scores. Shyness does influence children's cognitive test performance and its impact is larger when children are tested face-to-face rather than in a more anonymous group setting. The results are of significance for theories of shyness and have implications for the assessment of schoolchildren.

  19. Cognitive Motor Coordination Training Improves Mental Rotation Performance in Primary School-Aged Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pietsch, Stefanie; Böttcher, Caroline; Jansen, Petra

    2017-01-01

    The long-term physical activity in specific sport activities can change the quality of mental rotation performance. This study investigates the influence of "Life Kinetik"--a motion program with tasks of cognition and motor coordination--on mental rotation performance of 44 primary school-aged children. While the experimental group…

  20. Impact of mental disorders on work performance in a community sample of workers in Japan: the World Mental Health Japan Survey 2002-2005.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsuchiya, Masao; Kawakami, Norito; Ono, Yutaka; Nakane, Yoshibumi; Nakamura, Yosikazu; Fukao, Akira; Tachimori, Hisateru; Iwata, Noboru; Uda, Hidenori; Nakane, Hideyuki; Watanabe, Makoto; Oorui, Masashi; Naganuma, Yoichi; Furukawa, Toshiaki A; Kobayashi, Masayo; Ahiko, Tadayuki; Takeshima, Tadashi; Kikkawa, Takehiko

    2012-06-30

    Most studies that investigate the impact of mental disorders on work performance have been conducted in Western countries, but this study examines the impact of common mental disorders on sick leave and on-the-job work performance in a community sample of Japanese workers. Data from the World Mental Health Japan survey were analyzed. A subsample of 530 workers aged 20-60years were interviewed using the WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview 3.0. The WHO Health and Work Performance Questionnaire, was used to assess sick days and on-the-job work performance for the previous 30days. Linear regression was used to estimate the impact of mental disorders on these indicators of work performance over 12months. Mood disorders, including major depressive disorder, and alcohol abuse/dependence were significantly associated with decreased on-the-job performance. There were no significant associations between mental disorders and sick/absent days. Consistent with previous studies, major depression has a great impact on on-the-job work performance in Japan. The lost productivity was estimated at approximately 28-30 lost days per year. A similar decrease in on-the-job work performance was found for alcohol abuse/dependence, which is stronger than that in other countries, probably attributable to greater tolerance of problematic drinking at Japanese worksites. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Multistate Memristive Tantalum Oxide Devices for Ternary Arithmetic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Wonjoo; Chattopadhyay, Anupam; Siemon, Anne; Linn, Eike; Waser, Rainer; Rana, Vikas

    2016-11-01

    Redox-based resistive switching random access memory (ReRAM) offers excellent properties to implement future non-volatile memory arrays. Recently, the capability of two-state ReRAMs to implement Boolean logic functionality gained wide interest. Here, we report on seven-states Tantalum Oxide Devices, which enable the realization of an intrinsic modular arithmetic using a ternary number system. Modular arithmetic, a fundamental system for operating on numbers within the limit of a modulus, is known to mathematicians since the days of Euclid and finds applications in diverse areas ranging from e-commerce to musical notations. We demonstrate that multistate devices not only reduce the storage area consumption drastically, but also enable novel in-memory operations, such as computing using high-radix number systems, which could not be implemented using two-state devices. The use of high radix number system reduces the computational complexity by reducing the number of needed digits. Thus the number of calculation operations in an addition and the number of logic devices can be reduced.

  2. The effects of mental fatigue on cricket-relevant performance among elite players.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veness, Darren; Patterson, Stephen David; Jeffries, Owen; Waldron, Mark

    2017-12-01

    This study investigated the effects of a mentally fatiguing test on physical tasks among elite cricketers. In a cross-over design, 10 elite male cricket players from a professional club performed a cricket run-two test, a Batak Lite reaction time test and a Yo-Yo-Intermittent Recovery Level 1 (Yo-Yo-IR1) test, providing a rating of perceived exertion (RPE) after completing a 30-min Stroop test (mental fatigue condition) or 30-min control condition. Perceived fatigue was assessed before and after the two conditions and motivation was measured before testing. There were post-treatment differences in the perception of mental fatigue (P performance.

  3. Simplification of integrity constraints with aggregates and arithmetic built-ins

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Martinenghi, Davide

    2004-01-01

    Both aggregates and arithmetic built-ins are widely used in current database query languages: Aggregates are second-order constructs such as CNT and SUM of SQL; arithmetic built-ins include relational and other mathematical operators that apply to numbers, such as < and +. These features are also...... time, simplified versions of such integrity constraints that can be tested before the execution of any update. In this way, virtually no time is spent for optimization or rollbacks at run time. Both set and bag semantics are considered....... of interest in the context of database integrity constraints: correct and efficient integrity checking is crucial, as, without any guarantee of data consistency, the answers to queries cannot be trusted. In this paper we propose a method of practical relevance that can be used to derive, at database design...

  4. Bit-Wise Arithmetic Coding For Compression Of Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiely, Aaron

    1996-01-01

    Bit-wise arithmetic coding is data-compression scheme intended especially for use with uniformly quantized data from source with Gaussian, Laplacian, or similar probability distribution function. Code words of fixed length, and bits treated as being independent. Scheme serves as means of progressive transmission or of overcoming buffer-overflow or rate constraint limitations sometimes arising when data compression used.

  5. EFFECTIVE INDICES FOR MONITORING MENTAL WORKLOAD WHILE PERFORMING MULTIPLE TASKS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsu, Bin-Wei; Wang, Mao-Jiun J; Chen, Chi-Yuan; Chen, Fang

    2015-08-01

    This study identified several physiological indices that can accurately monitor mental workload while participants performed multiple tasks with the strategy of maintaining stable performance and maximizing accuracy. Thirty male participants completed three 10-min. simulated multitasks: MATB (Multi-Attribute Task Battery) with three workload levels. Twenty-five commonly used mental workload measures were collected, including heart rate, 12 HRV (heart rate variability), 10 EEG (electroencephalography) indices (α, β, θ, α/θ, θ/β from O1-O2 and F4-C4), and two subjective measures. Analyses of index sensitivity showed that two EEG indices, θ and α/θ (F4-C4), one time-domain HRV-SDNN (standard deviation of inter-beat intervals), and four frequency-domain HRV: VLF (very low frequency), LF (low frequency), %HF (percentage of high frequency), and LF/HF were sensitive to differentiate high workload. EEG α/θ (F4-C4) and LF/HF were most effective for monitoring high mental workload. LF/HF showed the highest correlations with other physiological indices. EEG α/θ (F4-C4) showed strong correlations with subjective measures across different mental workload levels. Operation strategy would affect the sensitivity of EEG α (F4-C4) and HF.

  6. Non-Archimedean L-functions and arithmetical Siegel modular forms

    CERN Document Server

    1991-01-01

    This book is devoted to the arithmetical theory of Siegel modular forms and their L-functions. The central object are L-functions of classical Siegel modular forms whose special values are studied using the Rankin-Selberg method and the action of certain differential operators on modular forms which have nice arithmetical properties. A new method of p-adic interpolation of these critical values is presented. An important class of p-adic L-functions treated in the present book are p-adic L-functions of Siegel modular forms having logarithmic growth (which were first introduced by Amice, Velu and Vishik in the elliptic modular case when they come from a good supersingular reduction of ellptic curves and abelian varieties). The given construction of these p-adic L-functions uses precise algebraic properties of the arihmetical Shimura differential operator. The book could be very useful for postgraduate students and for non-experts giving a quick access to a rapidly developping domain of algebraic number theory: ...

  7. Work-Related Mental Health and Job Performance: Can Mindfulness Help?

    OpenAIRE

    Van Gordon, W; Shonin, E; Zangeneh, M; Griffiths, MD

    2014-01-01

    Work-related mental health issues such as work-related stress and addiction to work impose a significant health and economic burden to the employee, the employing organization, and the country of work more generally. Interventions that can be empirically shown to improve levels of work-related mental health – especially those with the potential to concurrently improve employee levels of work performance – are of particular interest to occupational stakeholders. One such broad-application inte...

  8. Implementation of a fast digital optical matrix-vector multiplier using a holographic look-up table and residue arithmetic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Habiby, Sarry F.; Collins, Stuart A., Jr.

    1987-01-01

    The design and implementation of a digital (numerical) optical matrix-vector multiplier are presented. A Hughes liquid crystal light valve, the residue arithmetic representation, and a holographic optical memory are used to construct position coded optical look-up tables. All operations are performed in effectively one light valve response time with a potential for a high information density.

  9. Age-Related Changes in Brain Activation Underlying Single- and Dual-Task Performance: Visuomanual Drawing and Mental Arithmetic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Impe, A.; Coxon, J. P.; Goble, D. J.; Wenderoth, N.; Swinnen, S. P.

    2011-01-01

    Depending on task combination, dual-tasking can either be performed successfully or can lead to performance decrements in one or both tasks. Interference is believed to be caused by limitations in central processing, i.e. structural interference between the neural activation patterns associated with each task. In the present study, single- and…

  10. RAID-6 reed-solomon codes with asymptotically optimal arithmetic complexities

    KAUST Repository

    Lin, Sian-Jheng; Alloum, Amira; Al-Naffouri, Tareq Y.

    2016-01-01

    present a configuration of the factors of the second-parity formula, such that the arithmetic complexity can reach the optimal complexity bound when the code length approaches infinity. In the proposed approach, the intermediate data used for the first

  11. Why Is Learning Fraction and Decimal Arithmetic so Difficult?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lortie-Forgues, Hugues; Tian, Jing; Siegler, Robert S.

    2015-01-01

    Fraction and decimal arithmetic are crucial for later mathematics achievement and for ability to succeed in many professions. Unfortunately, these capabilities pose large difficulties for many children and adults, and students' proficiency in them has shown little sign of improvement over the past three decades. To summarize what is known about…

  12. A wild model of linear arithmetic and discretely ordered modules

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Glivický, Petr; Pudlák, Pavel

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 63, č. 6 (2017), s. 501-508 ISSN 0942-5616 EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 339691 - FEALORA Institutional support: RVO:67985840 Keywords : linear arithmetics Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics OBOR OECD: Pure mathematics Impact factor: 0.250, year: 2016

  13. Weak Arithmetic Completeness of Object-Oriented First-Order Assertion Networks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    C.P.T. de Gouw (Stijn); F.S. de Boer (Frank); W. Ahrendt (Wolfgang); R. Bubel (Richard); P. van Emde Boas; F.C.A. Groen; G.F. Italiano; J.R. Nawrocki; H. Sack

    2013-01-01

    htmlabstractWe present a completeness proof of the inductive assertion method for object-oriented programs extended with auxiliary variables. The class of programs considered are assumed to compute over structures which include the standard interpretation of Presburger arithmetic. Further, the

  14. Embedded systems design with special arithmetic and number systems

    CERN Document Server

    Sousa, Leonel; Chang, Chip-Hong

    2017-01-01

    This book introduces readers to alternative approaches to designing efficient embedded systems using unconventional number systems. The authors describe various systems that can be used for designing efficient embedded and application-specific processors, such as Residue Number System, Logarithmic Number System, Redundant Binary Number System Double-Base Number System, Decimal Floating Point Number System and Continuous Valued Number System. Readers will learn the strategies and trade-offs of using unconventional number systems in application-specific processors and be able to apply and design appropriate arithmetic operations from these number systems to boost the performance of digital systems. • Serves as a single-source reference to designing embedded systems with unconventional number systems • Covers theory as well as implementation on application-specific processors • Explains mathematical concepts in a manner accessible to readers with diverse backgrounds.

  15. Emotional, neurohormonal, and hemodynamic responses to mental stress in Tako-Tsubo cardiomyopathy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smeijers, Loes; Szabó, Balázs M; van Dammen, Lotte; Wonnink, Wally; Jakobs, Bernadette S; Bosch, Jos A; Kop, Willem J

    2015-06-01

    Tako-Tsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC) is characterized by apical ballooning of the left ventricle and symptoms and signs mimicking acute myocardial infarction. The high catecholamine levels in the acute phase of TTC and common emotional triggers suggest a dysregulated stress response system. This study examined whether patients with TTC show exaggerated emotional, neurohormonal, and hemodynamic responses to mental stress. Patients with TTC (n = 18; mean age 68.3 ± 11.7, 78% women) and 2 comparison groups (healthy controls, n = 19; mean age 60.0 ± 7.6, 68% women; chronic heart failure, n = 19; mean age 68.8 ± 10.1, 68% women) performed a structured mental stress task (anger recall and mental arithmetic) and low-grade exercise with repeated assessments of negative emotions, neurohormones (catecholamines: norepinephrine, epinephrine, dopamine, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis hormones: adrenocorticotropic hormone [ACTH], cortisol), echocardiography, blood pressure, and heart rate. TTC was associated with higher norepinephrine (520.7 ± 125.5 vs 407.9 ± 155.3 pg/ml, p = 0.021) and dopamine (16.2 ± 10.3 vs 10.3 ± 3.9 pg/ml, p = 0.027) levels during mental stress and relatively low emotional arousal (p stress and exercise were elevated in TTC compared with healthy controls. No evidence was found for a dysregulated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis or hemodynamic responses. Patients with TTC showed blunted emotional arousal to mental stress. This study suggests that catecholamine hyper-reactivity and not emotional hyper-reactivity to stress is likely to play a role in myocardial vulnerability in TTC. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Self-Steem and changes in heart rate during laboratory-based stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brian M. Hughes

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available The relationship between self-esteem (SE, type of stressor, and fluctuations in heart rate was assessed in a sample of 59 college students (40 females, 19 males; with a mean age of 23.98 years (SEM = 1.0. SE was measured using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. The study assessed whether SE buffers the cardiovascular response to stress by comparing responses to two types of stressor: mental arithmetic and verbal memory. As predicted, an SE x stressor interaction was found (p = 0.039. High-SE participants found both stressors moderately stressful but low-SE participants found the mental arithmetic task particularly stressful. This is consistent with the view that mental arithmetic elicits a specific fear that exceeds that associated with other domains of performance. The present study suggests that such fear affects low-SE participants more strongly than high-SE participants. The interaction was statistically independent of potential physiological contaminants such as gender, age, smoking, and caffeine consumption.

  17. The arithmetic of supersymmetric vacua

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bourget, Antoine; Troost, Jan [Laboratoire de Physique Théorique de l’École Normale Supérieure, CNRS, PSL Research University, Sorbonne Universités,75005 Paris (France)

    2016-07-07

    We provide explicit formulas for the number of vacua of four-dimensional pure N=1 super Yang-Mills theories on a circle, with any simple gauge algebra and any choice of center and spectrum of line operators. The formula for the (SU(N)/ℤ{sub m}){sub n} theory is a key ingredient in the semi-classical calculation of the number of massive vacua of N=1{sup ∗} gauge theories with gauge algebra su(n), compactified on a circle. Using arithmetic, we express that number in an SL(2,ℤ) duality invariant manner. We confirm our tally of massive vacua of the N=1{sup ∗} theories by a count of inequivalent extrema of the exact superpotential.

  18. Criteria for performance evaluation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David J. Weiss

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available Using a cognitive task (mental calculation and a perceptual-motor task (stylized golf putting, we examined differential proficiency using the CWS index and several other quantitative measures of performance. The CWS index (Weiss and Shanteau, 2003 is a coherence criterion that looks only at internal properties of the data without incorporating an external standard. In Experiment 1, college students (n = 20 carried out 2- and 3-digit addition and multiplication problems under time pressure. In Experiment 2, experienced golfers (n = 12, also college students, putted toward a target from nine different locations. Within each experiment, we analyzed the same responses using different methods. For the arithmetic tasks, accuracy information (mean absolute deviation from the correct answer, MAD using a coherence criterion was available; for golf, accuracy information using a correspondence criterion (mean deviation from the target, also MAD was available. We ranked the performances of the participants according to each measure, then compared the orders using Spearman's rextsubscript{s}. For mental calculation, the CWS order correlated moderately (rextsubscript{s} =.46 with that of MAD. However, a different coherence criterion, degree of model fit, did not correlate with either CWS or accuracy. For putting, the ranking generated by CWS correlated .68 with that generated by MAD. Consensual answers were also available for both experiments, and the rankings they generated correlated highly with those of MAD. The coherence vs. correspondence distinction did not map well onto criteria for performance evaluation.

  19. 0011-0030.Data Representation amp Computer Arithmetic6 IEEE ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; public; Volumes; reso; 021; 01; 0011-0030.Data Representation amp Computer Arithmetic6 IEEE Standard Double Precision FormatIn.pdf. 404! error. The page your are looking for can not be found! Please check the link or use the navigation bar at the top. YouTube; Twitter; Facebook; Blog. Academy News.

  20. Supertracker: A Programmable Parallel Pipeline Arithmetic Processor For Auto-Cueing Target Processing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mack, Harold; Reddi, S. S.

    1980-04-01

    Supertracker represents a programmable parallel pipeline computer architecture that has been designed to meet the real time image processing requirements of auto-cueing target data processing. The prototype bread-board currently under development will be designed to perform input video preprocessing and processing for 525-line and 875-line TV formats FLIR video, automatic display gain and contrast control, and automatic target cueing, classification, and tracking. The video preprocessor is capable of performing operations full frames of video data in real time, e.g., frame integration, storage, 3 x 3 convolution, and neighborhood processing. The processor architecture is being implemented using bit-slice microprogrammable arithmetic processors, operating in parallel. Each processor is capable of up to 20 million operations per second. Multiple frame memories are used for additional flexibility.

  1. Numeral words and arithmetic operations in the Alor-Pantar languages

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schapper, Antoinette; Holton, Gary; Klamer, Marian; Kratochvíl, František; Robinson, Laura; Klamer, Marian

    2014-01-01

    The indigenous numerals of the AP languages, as well as the indigenous structures for arithmetic operations are currently under pressure from Indonesian, and will inevitably be replaced with Indonesian forms and structures. This chapter presents a documentary record of the forms and patterns

  2. A Learning Trajectory for Teaching Social Arithmetic using RME Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fauzan, A.; Armiati, A.; Ceria, C.

    2018-04-01

    This paper discusses the role of a learning trajectory (LT) in promoting students’ reasoning when they learn social arithmetic using Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) approach. In our LT, we built the intertwining of the concepts such as profit, loss, percentage, discount, and interest rate, so that the students understand the relations among them. The LT was developed through a design research that consisted of a cyclic process of preparing for the experiment, conducting the experiment, and retrospective analysis. The research’s subject was 32 students at grade 7 MTsN Sintoga, Pariaman, Indonesia. Data were collected through observations, interviews, checklist, videotaping, and analyzing the students' works. The results showed that the LT could help the students to reinvent the concepts in social arithmetic. The students had more confidence to use their own strategies in solving contextual problems. The most important thing, we discovered the growth in the students’ mathematical reasoning.

  3. Basic math in monkeys and college students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cantlon, Jessica F; Brannon, Elizabeth M

    2007-12-01

    Adult humans possess a sophisticated repertoire of mathematical faculties. Many of these capacities are rooted in symbolic language and are therefore unlikely to be shared with nonhuman animals. However, a subset of these skills is shared with other animals, and this set is considered a cognitive vestige of our common evolutionary history. Current evidence indicates that humans and nonhuman animals share a core set of abilities for representing and comparing approximate numerosities nonverbally; however, it remains unclear whether nonhuman animals can perform approximate mental arithmetic. Here we show that monkeys can mentally add the numerical values of two sets of objects and choose a visual array that roughly corresponds to the arithmetic sum of these two sets. Furthermore, monkeys' performance during these calculations adheres to the same pattern as humans tested on the same nonverbal addition task. Our data demonstrate that nonverbal arithmetic is not unique to humans but is instead part of an evolutionarily primitive system for mathematical thinking shared by monkeys.

  4. School violence, mental health, and educational performance in Uganda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Devries, Karen M; Child, Jennifer C; Allen, Elizabeth; Walakira, Eddy; Parkes, Jenny; Naker, Dipak

    2014-01-01

    Violence against children from school staff is anecdotally common in low- and middle-income countries, but data on prevalence and associations with mental health and educational outcomes are lacking. We report data from a cross-sectional survey conducted in June and July 2012 in Luwero District, Uganda. Forty-two primary schools representing 80% of students in the district were randomly selected; 100% agreed to participate. The International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect Child Abuse Screening Tool-Child Institutional; Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; and reading, spelling, and math tests were administered. We present descriptive statistics and logistic regression models, accounting for the complex sampling scheme used in the survey. We surveyed 3706 students and 577 school staff members; 93.3% (SE 1.0%) of boys and 94.2% (SE 1.6%) of girls attending primary school reported lifetime experience of physical violence from a school staff member, and >50% reported experience in the past week. Past-week physical violence was associated with increased odds of poor mental health and, for girls, double the odds of poor educational performance (adjusted odds ratio = 1.78, 95% confidence interval = 1.19-2.66). For boys, significant interactions were present. Despite a ban on corporal punishment in Ugandan schools since 1997, the use of violence against students is widespread and associated with poor mental health and educational performance. School violence may be an important but overlooked contributor to disease burden and poor educational performance in low- and middle-income settings.

  5. Electro-encephalogram based brain-computer interface: improved performance by mental practice and concentration skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahmoudi, Babak; Erfanian, Abbas

    2006-11-01

    Mental imagination is the essential part of the most EEG-based communication systems. Thus, the quality of mental rehearsal, the degree of imagined effort, and mind controllability should have a major effect on the performance of electro-encephalogram (EEG) based brain-computer interface (BCI). It is now well established that mental practice using motor imagery improves motor skills. The effects of mental practice on motor skill learning are the result of practice on central motor programming. According to this view, it seems logical that mental practice should modify the neuronal activity in the primary sensorimotor areas and consequently change the performance of EEG-based BCI. For developing a practical BCI system, recognizing the resting state with eyes opened and the imagined voluntary movement is important. For this purpose, the mind should be able to focus on a single goal for a period of time, without deviation to another context. In this work, we are going to examine the role of mental practice and concentration skills on the EEG control during imaginative hand movements. The results show that the mental practice and concentration can generally improve the classification accuracy of the EEG patterns. It is found that mental training has a significant effect on the classification accuracy over the primary motor cortex and frontal area.

  6. Decidable and undecidable arithmetic functions in actin filament networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schumann, Andrew

    2018-01-01

    The plasmodium of Physarum polycephalum is very sensitive to its environment, and reacts to stimuli with appropriate motions. Both the sensory and motor stages of these reactions are explained by hydrodynamic processes, based on fluid dynamics, with the participation of actin filament networks. This paper is devoted to actin filament networks as a computational medium. The point is that actin filaments, with contributions from many other proteins like myosin, are sensitive to extracellular stimuli (attractants as well as repellents), and appear and disappear at different places in the cell to change aspects of the cell structure—e.g. its shape. By assembling and disassembling actin filaments, some unicellular organisms, like Amoeba proteus, can move in response to various stimuli. As a result, these organisms can be considered a simple reversible logic gate—extracellular signals being its inputs and motions its outputs. In this way, we can implement various logic gates on amoeboid behaviours. These networks can embody arithmetic functions within p-adic valued logic. Furthermore, within these networks we can define the so-called diagonalization for deducing undecidable arithmetic functions.

  7. Brauer groups and obstruction problems moduli spaces and arithmetic

    CERN Document Server

    Hassett, Brendan; Várilly-Alvarado, Anthony; Viray, Bianca

    2017-01-01

    The contributions in this book explore various contexts in which the derived category of coherent sheaves on a variety determines some of its arithmetic. This setting provides new geometric tools for interpreting elements of the Brauer group. With a view towards future arithmetic applications, the book extends a number of powerful tools for analyzing rational points on elliptic curves, e.g., isogenies among curves, torsion points, modular curves, and the resulting descent techniques, as well as higher-dimensional varieties like K3 surfaces. Inspired by the rapid recent advances in our understanding of K3 surfaces, the book is intended to foster cross-pollination between the fields of complex algebraic geometry and number theory. Contributors: · Nicolas Addington · Benjamin Antieau · Kenneth Ascher · Asher Auel · Fedor Bogomolov · Jean-Louis Colliot-Thélène · Krishna Dasaratha · Brendan Hassett · Colin Ingalls · Martí Lahoz · Emanuele Macrì · Kelly McKinnie · Andrew Obus · Ekin Ozman · Raman...

  8. Assessing flood forecast uncertainty with fuzzy arithmetic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    de Bruyn Bertrand

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Providing forecasts for flow rates and water levels during floods have to be associated with uncertainty estimates. The forecast sources of uncertainty are plural. For hydrological forecasts (rainfall-runoff performed using a deterministic hydrological model with basic physics, two main sources can be identified. The first obvious source is the forcing data: rainfall forecast data are supplied in real time by meteorological forecasting services to the Flood Forecasting Service within a range between a lowest and a highest predicted discharge. These two values define an uncertainty interval for the rainfall variable provided on a given watershed. The second source of uncertainty is related to the complexity of the modeled system (the catchment impacted by the hydro-meteorological phenomenon, the number of variables that may describe the problem and their spatial and time variability. The model simplifies the system by reducing the number of variables to a few parameters. Thus it contains an intrinsic uncertainty. This model uncertainty is assessed by comparing simulated and observed rates for a large number of hydro-meteorological events. We propose a method based on fuzzy arithmetic to estimate the possible range of flow rates (and levels of water making a forecast based on possible rainfalls provided by forcing and uncertainty model. The model uncertainty is here expressed as a range of possible values. Both rainfall and model uncertainties are combined with fuzzy arithmetic. This method allows to evaluate the prediction uncertainty range. The Flood Forecasting Service of Oise and Aisne rivers, in particular, monitors the upstream watershed of the Oise at Hirson. This watershed’s area is 310 km2. Its response time is about 10 hours. Several hydrological models are calibrated for flood forecasting in this watershed and use the rainfall forecast. This method presents the advantage to be easily implemented. Moreover, it permits to be carried out

  9. Hysteresis in Mental Workload and Task Performance: The Influence of Demand Transitions and Task Prioritization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jansen, Reinier J; Sawyer, Ben D; van Egmond, René; de Ridder, Huib; Hancock, Peter A

    2016-12-01

    We examine how transitions in task demand are manifested in mental workload and performance in a dual-task setting. Hysteresis has been defined as the ongoing influence of demand levels prior to a demand transition. Authors of previous studies predominantly examined hysteretic effects in terms of performance. However, little is known about the temporal development of hysteresis in mental workload. A simulated driving task was combined with an auditory memory task. Participants were instructed to prioritize driving or to prioritize both tasks equally. Three experimental conditions with low, high, and low task demands were constructed by manipulating the frequency of lane changing. Multiple measures of subjective mental workload were taken during experimental conditions. Contrary to our prediction, no hysteretic effects were found after the high- to low-demand transition. However, a hysteretic effect in mental workload was found within the high-demand condition, which degraded toward the end of the high condition. Priority instructions were not reflected in performance. Online assessment of both performance and mental workload demonstrates the transient nature of hysteretic effects. An explanation for the observed hysteretic effect in mental workload is offered in terms of effort regulation. An informed arrival at the scene is important in safety operations, but peaks in mental workload should be avoided to prevent buildup of fatigue. Therefore, communication technologies should incorporate the historical profile of task demand. © 2016, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

  10. Early language and executive skills predict variations in number and arithmetic skills in children at family-risk of dyslexia and typically developing controls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moll, Kristina; Snowling, Margaret J; Göbel, Silke M; Hulme, Charles

    2015-08-01

    Two important foundations for learning are language and executive skills. Data from a longitudinal study tracking the development of 93 children at family-risk of dyslexia and 76 controls was used to investigate the influence of these skills on the development of arithmetic. A two-group longitudinal path model assessed the relationships between language and executive skills at 3-4 years, verbal number skills (counting and number knowledge) and phonological processing skills at 4-5 years, and written arithmetic in primary school. The same cognitive processes accounted for variability in arithmetic skills in both groups. Early language and executive skills predicted variations in preschool verbal number skills, which in turn, predicted arithmetic skills in school. In contrast, phonological awareness was not a predictor of later arithmetic skills. These results suggest that verbal and executive processes provide the foundation for verbal number skills, which in turn influence the development of formal arithmetic skills. Problems in early language development may explain the comorbidity between reading and mathematics disorder.

  11. Alternating minima and maxima, Nash equilibria and bounded arithmetic

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Pudlák, Pavel; Thapen, Neil

    2012-01-01

    Roč. 163, č. 5 (2012), s. 604-614 ISSN 0168-0072 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA100190902 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10190503 Keywords : proof complexity * bounded arithmetic * search problems Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 0.504, year: 2012 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016800721100090X

  12. The Lanczos and Conjugate Gradient Algorithms in Finite Precision Arithmetic

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Meurant, G.; Strakoš, Zdeněk

    2006-01-01

    Roč. 15, - (2006), s. 471-542 ISSN 0962-4929 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR 1ET400300415 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10300504 Keywords : Lanczos method * conjugate gradient method * finite precision arithmetic * numerical stability * iterative methods Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics

  13. The animacy advantage for free-recall performance is not attributable to greater mental arousal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Popp, Earl Y; Serra, Michael J

    2018-01-01

    People often demonstrate better memory for animate concepts (e.g., lion and sailor) than for inanimate concepts (e.g., hammer and mountain). Researchers have attributed this effect to an adaptive memory mechanism that favours information relevant for survival, including information about living things. In the present experiment, we examined the hypothesis that people demonstrate better free-recall performance for animate than inanimate words because animate words tend to be associated with greater mental arousal than inanimate words, a factor that was not controlled for in previous experiments on this topic. To this end, we matched animate and inanimate word lists on mental arousal (and several other factors), and compared participants' free-recall performance for the two word types. We were able to replicate past findings that participants' free-recall of animate words exceeds their free-recall of inanimate words, but we found no support for the possibility that the effect stems from differences in mental arousal between animate and inanimate concepts, as this effect maintained even when the word lists were matched on mental arousal. The present results therefore indicate that mental arousal cannot explain the effects of animacy on free-recall performance.

  14. General and Specific Contributions of RAN to Reading and Arithmetic Fluency in First Graders: A Longitudinal Latent Variable Approach

    OpenAIRE

    Caroline Hornung; Romain Martin; Michel Fayol; Michel Fayol

    2017-01-01

    In the present study, we opted for a longitudinal design and examined rapid automatized naming (RAN) performance from two perspectives. In a first step, we examined the structure of RAN performance from a general cognitive perspective. We investigated whether rapid naming measures (e.g., digit RAN and color RAN) reflect a mainly domain-general factor or domain-specific factors. In a second step, we examined how the best fitting RAN model was related to reading and arithmetic outcomes, assesse...

  15. Students creative thinking skills in solving two dimensional arithmetic series through research-based learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tohir, M.; Abidin, Z.; Dafik; Hobri

    2018-04-01

    Arithmetics is one of the topics in Mathematics, which deals with logic and detailed process upon generalizing formula. Creativity and flexibility are needed in generalizing formula of arithmetics series. This research aimed at analyzing students creative thinking skills in generalizing arithmetic series. The triangulation method and research-based learning was used in this research. The subjects were students of the Master Program of Mathematics Education in Faculty of Teacher Training and Education at Jember University. The data was collected by giving assignments to the students. The data collection was done by giving open problem-solving task and documentation study to the students to arrange generalization pattern based on the dependent function formula i and the function depend on i and j. Then, the students finished the next problem-solving task to construct arithmetic generalization patterns based on the function formula which depends on i and i + n and the sum formula of functions dependent on i and j of the arithmetic compiled. The data analysis techniques operative in this study was Miles and Huberman analysis model. Based on the result of data analysis on task 1, the levels of students creative thinking skill were classified as follows; 22,22% of the students categorized as “not creative” 38.89% of the students categorized as “less creative” category; 22.22% of the students categorized as “sufficiently creative” and 16.67% of the students categorized as “creative”. By contrast, the results of data analysis on task 2 found that the levels of students creative thinking skills were classified as follows; 22.22% of the students categorized as “sufficiently creative”, 44.44% of the students categorized as “creative” and 33.33% of the students categorized as “very creative”. This analysis result can set the basis for teaching references and actualizing a better teaching model in order to increase students creative thinking skills.

  16. Arithmetic properties of $\\ell$-regular overpartition pairs

    OpenAIRE

    NAIKA, MEGADAHALLI SIDDA MAHADEVA; SHIVASHANKAR, CHANDRAPPA

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, we investigate the arithmetic properties of $\\ell$-regular overpartition pairs. Let $\\overline{B}_{\\ell}(n)$ denote the number of $\\ell$-regular overpartition pairs of $n$. We will prove the number of Ramanujan-like congruences and infinite families of congruences modulo 3, 8, 16, 36, 48, 96 for $\\overline{B}_3(n)$ and modulo 3, 16, 64, 96 for $\\overline{B}_4(n)$. For example, we find that for all nonnegative integers $\\alpha$ and $n$, $\\overline{B}_{3}(3^{\\alpha}(3n+2))\\equiv ...

  17. Fourier transforms on Cantor sets: A study in non-Diophantine arithmetic and calculus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aerts, Diederik; Czachor, Marek; Kuna, Maciej

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Fractal arithmetic allows to define Fourier transforms on Cantor-like sets. • General construction is illustrated on the example of a sawtooth signal. • The formalism is much simpler than the approaches discussed so far in the literature. - Abstract: Fractals equipped with intrinsic arithmetic lead to a natural definition of differentiation, integration, and complex structure. Applying the formalism to the problem of a Fourier transform on fractals we show that the resulting transform has all the required basic properties. As an example we discuss a sawtooth signal on the ternary middle-third Cantor set. The formalism works also for fractals that are not self-similar.

  18. Rate of rise in diastolic blood pressure influences vascular sympathetic response to mental stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    El Sayed, Khadigeh; Macefield, Vaughan G; Hissen, Sarah L; Joyner, Michael J; Taylor, Chloe E

    2016-12-15

    Research indicates that individuals may experience a rise (positive responders) or fall (negative responders) in muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) during mental stress. In this study, we examined the early blood pressure responses (including the peak, time of peak and rate of rise in blood pressure) to mental stress in positive and negative responders. Negative MSNA responders to mental stress exhibit a more rapid rise in diastolic pressure at the onset of the stressor, suggesting a baroreflex-mediated suppression of MSNA. In positive responders there is a more sluggish rise in blood pressure during mental stress, which appears to be MSNA-driven. This study suggests that whether MSNA has a role in the pressor response is dependent upon the reactivity of blood pressure early in the task. Research indicates that individuals may experience a rise (positive responders) or fall (negative responders) in muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) during mental stress. The aim was to examine the early blood pressure response to stress in positive and negative responders and thus its influence on the direction of change in MSNA. Blood pressure and MSNA were recorded continuously in 21 healthy young males during 2 min mental stressors (mental arithmetic, Stroop test) and physical stressors (cold pressor, handgrip exercise, post-exercise ischaemia). Participants were classified as negative or positive responders according to the direction of the mean change in MSNA during the stressor tasks. The peak changes, time of peak and rate of changes in blood pressure were compared between groups. During mental arithmetic negative responders experienced a significantly greater rate of rise in diastolic blood pressure in the first minute of the task (1.3 ± 0.5 mmHg s -1 ) compared with positive responders (0.4 ± 0.1 mmHg s -1 ; P = 0.03). Similar results were found for the Stroop test. Physical tasks elicited robust parallel increases in blood pressure and MSNA across

  19. Schema Knowledge for Solving Arithmetic Story Problems: Some Affective Components.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marshall, Sandra P.

    This report discusses the role of affect in cognitive processing. The importance of affect in processing mathematical information is described in the context of solving arithmetic story problems. Some ideas are offered about the way affective responses to mathematical problem solving situations influence the development, maintenance, and retrieval…

  20. Prospective demonstration of brain plasticity after intensive abacus-based mental calculation training: An fMRI study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, C.L.; Wu, T.H.; Cheng, M.C.; Huang, Y.H.; Sheu, C.Y.; Hsieh, J.C.; Lee, J.S.

    2006-01-01

    Abacus-based mental calculation is a unique Chinese culture. The abacus experts can perform complex computations mentally with exceptionally fast speed and high accuracy. However, the neural bases of computation processing are not yet clearly known. This study used a BOLD contrast 3T fMRI system to explore the brain activation differences between abacus experts and non-expert subjects. All the acquired data were analyzed using SPM99 software. From the results, different ways of performing calculations between the two groups were seen. The experts tended to adopt efficient visuospatial/visuomotor strategy (bilateral parietal/frontal network) to process and retrieve all the intermediate and final results on the virtual abacus during calculation. By contrast, coordination of several networks (verbal, visuospatial processing and executive function) was required in the normal group to carry out arithmetic operations. Furthermore, more involvement of the visuomotor imagery processing (right dorsal premotor area) for imagining bead manipulation and low level use of the executive function (frontal-subcortical area) for launching the relatively time-consuming sequentially organized process was noted in the abacus expert group than in the non-expert group. We suggest that these findings may explain why abacus experts can reveal the exceptional computational skills compared to non-experts after intensive training

  1. Prospective demonstration of brain plasticity after intensive abacus-based mental calculation training: An fMRI study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, C. L.; Wu, T. H.; Cheng, M. C.; Huang, Y. H.; Sheu, C. Y.; Hsieh, J. C.; Lee, J. S.

    2006-12-01

    Abacus-based mental calculation is a unique Chinese culture. The abacus experts can perform complex computations mentally with exceptionally fast speed and high accuracy. However, the neural bases of computation processing are not yet clearly known. This study used a BOLD contrast 3T fMRI system to explore the brain activation differences between abacus experts and non-expert subjects. All the acquired data were analyzed using SPM99 software. From the results, different ways of performing calculations between the two groups were seen. The experts tended to adopt efficient visuospatial/visuomotor strategy (bilateral parietal/frontal network) to process and retrieve all the intermediate and final results on the virtual abacus during calculation. By contrast, coordination of several networks (verbal, visuospatial processing and executive function) was required in the normal group to carry out arithmetic operations. Furthermore, more involvement of the visuomotor imagery processing (right dorsal premotor area) for imagining bead manipulation and low level use of the executive function (frontal-subcortical area) for launching the relatively time-consuming sequentially organized process was noted in the abacus expert group than in the non-expert group. We suggest that these findings may explain why abacus experts can reveal the exceptional computational skills compared to non-experts after intensive training.

  2. The role of rotational hand movements and general motor ability in children’s mental rotation performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Petra eJansen

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Mental rotation of visual images of body parts and abstract shapes can be influenced by simultaneous motor activity. Children in particular seem to have a strong coupling between motor and cognitive processes. We investigated the influence of a rotational hand movement performed by rotating a knob on mental rotation performance in primary school-age children (N= 83; Age range: 7.0-8.3 and 9.0-10.11 years. In addition, we assessed the role of motor ability in this relationship. Boys in the 7-8-year-old group were faster when mentally and manually rotating in the same direction than in the opposite direction. For girls and older children this effect was not found. A positive relationship was found between motor ability and accuracy on the mental rotation task: stronger motor ability related to improved mental rotation performance. In both age groups, children with more advanced motor abilities were more likely to adopt motor processes to solve mental rotation tasks if the mental rotation task was primed by a motor task. Our evidence supports the idea that an overlap between motor and visual cognitive processes in children is influenced by motor ability.

  3. Early Exercise in the Burn Intensive Care Unit Decreases Hospital Stay, Improves Mental Health, and Physical Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-10-01

    Decreases Hospital Stay, Improves Mental Health , and Physical Performance 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) Oscar E. Suman, PhD...Multicenter Study of the Effect of In-Patient Exercise Training on Length of Hospitalization, Mental Health , and Physical Performance in Burned...Intensive Care Unit Decreases Hospital Stay, Improves Mental Health , and Physical Performance,” Proposal Log Number 13214039, Award Number W81XWH-14

  4. On the arithmetic of fractal dimension using hyperhelices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Toledo-Suarez, Carlos D.

    2009-01-01

    A hyperhelix is a fractal curve generated by coiling a helix around a rect line, then another helix around the first one, a third around the second... an infinite number of times. A way to generate hyperhelices with any desired fractal dimension is presented, leading to the result that they have embedded an algebraic structure that allows making arithmetic with fractal dimensions and to the idea of an infinitesimal of fractal dimension

  5. An algorithm for the arithmetic classification of multilattices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Indelicato, Giuliana

    2013-01-01

    A procedure for the construction and the classification of monoatomic multilattices in arbitrary dimension is developed. The algorithm allows one to determine the location of the points of all monoatomic multilattices with a given symmetry, or to determine whether two assigned multilattices are arithmetically equivalent. This approach is based on ideas from integral matrix theory, in particular the reduction to the Smith normal form, and can be coded to provide a classification software package.

  6. Spatial complexity of character based writing systems and arithmetic in primary school: a longitudinal study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maja eRodic

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Previous research has consistently found an association between spatial and mathematical abilities. We hypothesised that this link may partially explain the consistently observed advantage in mathematics demonstrated by Asian children. Spatial complexity of the character-based writing systems may reflect or lead to a cognitive advantage relevant to mathematics. 721 6-9 -year old children from the UK and Russia were assessed on a battery of cognitive skills and arithmetic. The Russian children were recruited from specialist linguistic schools and divided into 4 different language groups, based on the second language they were learning (i.e. English, Spanish, Chinese and Japanese. The UK children attended regular schools and were not learning any second language. The testing took place twice across the school year, once at the beginning, before the start of the second language acquisition, and once at the end of the year. The study had two aims: (1 to test whether spatial ability predicts mathematical ability in 7-9 year old children across the samples; (2 to test whether acquisition and usage of a character-based writing system leads to an advantage in performance in arithmetic and related cognitive tasks. The longitudinal link from spatial ability to mathematics was found only in the Russian sample. The effect of second language acquisition on mathematics or other cognitive skills was negligible, although some effect of Chinese language on mathematical reasoning was suggested. Overall, the findings suggest that although spatial ability is related to mathematics at this age, one academic year of exposure to spatially complex writing systems is not enough to provide a mathematical advantage. Other educational and socio-cultural factors might play a greater role in explaining individual and cross-cultural differences in arithmetic at this age.

  7. Spatial complexity of character-based writing systems and arithmetic in primary school: a longitudinal study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodic, Maja; Tikhomirova, Tatiana; Kolienko, Tatiana; Malykh, Sergey; Bogdanova, Olga; Zueva, Dina Y; Gynku, Elena I; Wan, Sirui; Zhou, Xinlin; Kovas, Yulia

    2015-01-01

    Previous research has consistently found an association between spatial and mathematical abilities. We hypothesized that this link may partially explain the consistently observed advantage in mathematics demonstrated by East Asian children. Spatial complexity of the character-based writing systems may reflect or lead to a cognitive advantage relevant to mathematics. Seven hundered and twenty one 6-9-year old children from the UK and Russia were assessed on a battery of cognitive skills and arithmetic. The Russian children were recruited from specialist linguistic schools and divided into four different language groups, based on the second language they were learning (i.e., English, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese). The UK children attended regular schools and were not learning any second language. The testing took place twice across the school year, once at the beginning, before the start of the second language acquisition, and once at the end of the year. The study had two aims: (1) to test whether spatial ability predicts mathematical ability in 7-9 year-old children across the samples; (2) to test whether acquisition and usage of a character-based writing system leads to an advantage in performance in arithmetic and related cognitive tasks. The longitudinal link from spatial ability to mathematics was found only in the Russian sample. The effect of second language acquisition on mathematics or other cognitive skills was negligible, although some effect of Chinese language on mathematical reasoning was suggested. Overall, the findings suggest that although spatial ability is related to mathematics at this age, one academic year of exposure to spatially complex writing systems is not enough to provide a mathematical advantage. Other educational and socio-cultural factors might play a greater role in explaining individual and cross-cultural differences in arithmetic at this age.

  8. Spatial complexity of character-based writing systems and arithmetic in primary school: a longitudinal study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodic, Maja; Tikhomirova, Tatiana; Kolienko, Tatiana; Malykh, Sergey; Bogdanova, Olga; Zueva, Dina Y.; Gynku, Elena I.; Wan, Sirui; Zhou, Xinlin; Kovas, Yulia

    2015-01-01

    Previous research has consistently found an association between spatial and mathematical abilities. We hypothesized that this link may partially explain the consistently observed advantage in mathematics demonstrated by East Asian children. Spatial complexity of the character-based writing systems may reflect or lead to a cognitive advantage relevant to mathematics. Seven hundered and twenty one 6–9-year old children from the UK and Russia were assessed on a battery of cognitive skills and arithmetic. The Russian children were recruited from specialist linguistic schools and divided into four different language groups, based on the second language they were learning (i.e., English, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese). The UK children attended regular schools and were not learning any second language. The testing took place twice across the school year, once at the beginning, before the start of the second language acquisition, and once at the end of the year. The study had two aims: (1) to test whether spatial ability predicts mathematical ability in 7–9 year-old children across the samples; (2) to test whether acquisition and usage of a character-based writing system leads to an advantage in performance in arithmetic and related cognitive tasks. The longitudinal link from spatial ability to mathematics was found only in the Russian sample. The effect of second language acquisition on mathematics or other cognitive skills was negligible, although some effect of Chinese language on mathematical reasoning was suggested. Overall, the findings suggest that although spatial ability is related to mathematics at this age, one academic year of exposure to spatially complex writing systems is not enough to provide a mathematical advantage. Other educational and socio-cultural factors might play a greater role in explaining individual and cross-cultural differences in arithmetic at this age. PMID:25859235

  9. Alternative proposal of arithmetic and image operations in optical parallel computation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghosh, Partha; Das, Partha P.; Mukhopadhay, Sourangshu

    2001-10-01

    Here, we refer our new proposal of applying multi-valued logic (particularly tristate logic) to develop logic gates and systems for arithmetic operation. Space-variant approach is used here to implement the functioning. Also triple input image detection is done here.

  10. Early language and executive skills predict variations in number and arithmetic skills in children at family-risk of dyslexia and typically developing controls

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moll, Kristina; Snowling, Margaret J.; Göbel, Silke M.; Hulme, Charles

    2015-01-01

    Two important foundations for learning are language and executive skills. Data from a longitudinal study tracking the development of 93 children at family-risk of dyslexia and 76 controls was used to investigate the influence of these skills on the development of arithmetic. A two-group longitudinal path model assessed the relationships between language and executive skills at 3–4 years, verbal number skills (counting and number knowledge) and phonological processing skills at 4–5 years, and written arithmetic in primary school. The same cognitive processes accounted for variability in arithmetic skills in both groups. Early language and executive skills predicted variations in preschool verbal number skills, which in turn, predicted arithmetic skills in school. In contrast, phonological awareness was not a predictor of later arithmetic skills. These results suggest that verbal and executive processes provide the foundation for verbal number skills, which in turn influence the development of formal arithmetic skills. Problems in early language development may explain the comorbidity between reading and mathematics disorder. PMID:26412946

  11. Relational Thinking: Learning Arithmetic in Order to Promote Algebraic Thinking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Napaphun, Vishnu

    2012-01-01

    Trends in the curriculum reform propose that algebra should be taught throughout the grades, starting in elementary school. The aim should be to decrease the discontinuity between the arithmetic in elementary school and the algebra in upper grades. This study was conducted to investigate and characterise upper elementary school students…

  12. Algebra 1 groups, rings, fields and arithmetic

    CERN Document Server

    Lal, Ramji

    2017-01-01

    This is the first in a series of three volumes dealing with important topics in algebra. It offers an introduction to the foundations of mathematics together with the fundamental algebraic structures, namely groups, rings, fields, and arithmetic. Intended as a text for undergraduate and graduate students of mathematics, it discusses all major topics in algebra with numerous motivating illustrations and exercises to enable readers to acquire a good understanding of the basic algebraic structures, which they can then use to find the exact or the most realistic solutions to their problems.

  13. Arithmetic fundamental groups and moduli of curves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Makoto Matsumoto

    2000-01-01

    This is a short note on the algebraic (or sometimes called arithmetic) fundamental groups of an algebraic variety, which connects classical fundamental groups with Galois groups of fields. A large part of this note describes the algebraic fundamental groups in a concrete manner. This note gives only a sketch of the fundamental groups of the algebraic stack of moduli of curves. Some application to a purely topological statement, i.e., an obstruction to the subjectivity of Johnson homomorphisms in the mapping class groups, which comes from Galois group of Q, is explained. (author)

  14. The Structure of Models of Peano Arithmetic

    CERN Document Server

    Kossak, Roman

    2006-01-01

    Aimed at graduate students and research logicians and mathematicians, this much-awaited text covers over forty years of work on relative classification theory for non-standard models of arithmetic. With graded exercises at the end of each chapter, the book covers basic isomorphism invariants: families of types realized in a model, lattices of elementary substructures and automorphism groups. Many results involve applications of the powerful technique of minimal types due to HaimGaifman, and some of the results are classical but have never been published in a book form before.

  15. A quantitative measure for degree of automation and its relation to system performance and mental load.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Z G; Macwan, A P; Wieringa, P A

    1998-06-01

    In this paper we quantitatively model degree of automation (DofA) in supervisory control as a function of the number and nature of tasks to be performed by the operator and automation. This model uses a task weighting scheme in which weighting factors are obtained from task demand load, task mental load, and task effect on system performance. The computation of DofA is demonstrated using an experimental system. Based on controlled experiments using operators, analyses of the task effect on system performance, the prediction and assessment of task demand load, and the prediction of mental load were performed. Each experiment had a different DofA. The effect of a change in DofA on system performance and mental load was investigated. It was found that system performance became less sensitive to changes in DofA at higher levels of DofA. The experimental data showed that when the operator controlled a partly automated system, perceived mental load could be predicted from the task mental load for each task component, as calculated by analyzing a situation in which all tasks were manually controlled. Actual or potential applications of this research include a methodology to balance and optimize the automation of complex industrial systems.

  16. Algorithmic solution of arithmetic problems and operands-answer associations in long-term memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thevenot, C; Barrouillet, P; Fayol, M

    2001-05-01

    Many developmental models of arithmetic problem solving assume that any algorithmic solution of a given problem results in an association of the two operands and the answer in memory (Logan & Klapp, 1991; Siegler, 1996). In this experiment, adults had to perform either an operation or a comparison on the same pairs of two-digit numbers and then a recognition task. It is shown that unlike comparisons, the algorithmic solution of operations impairs the recognition of operands in adults. Thus, the postulate of a necessary and automatic storage of operands-answer associations in memory when young children solve additions by algorithmic strategies needs to be qualified.

  17. Effects of ParentCorps in Prekindergarten on Child Mental Health and Academic Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brotman, Laurie Miller; Dawson-McClure, Spring; Kamboukos, Dimitra; Huang, Keng-Yen; Calzada, Esther J.; Goldfeld, Keith; Petkova, Eva

    2017-01-01

    IMPORTANCE Low-income minority children living in urban neighborhoods are at high risk for mental health problems and underachievement. ParentCorps, a family-centered, school-based intervention in prekindergarten, improves parenting and school readiness (ie, self-regulation and preacademic skills) in 2 randomized clinical trials. The longer-term effect on child mental health and academic performance is not known. OBJECTIVE To examine whether ParentCorps delivered as an enhancement to prekindergarten programs in high-poverty urban schools leads to fewer mental health problems and increased academic performance in the early elementary school years. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This is a 3-year follow-up study of a cluster randomized clinical trial of ParentCorps in public schools with prekindergarten programs in New York City. Ten elementary schools serving a primarily low-income, black student population were randomized in 2005, and 4 consecutive cohorts of prekindergarten students were enrolled from September 12, 2005, through December 31, 2008. We report follow-up for the 3 cohorts enrolled after the initial year of implementation. Data analysis was performed from September 1, 2014, to December 31, 2015. INTERVENTIONS ParentCorps included professional development for prekindergarten and kindergarten teachers and a program for parents and prekindergarten students (13 two-hour group sessions delivered after school by teachers and mental health professionals). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Annual teacher ratings of mental health problems and academic performance and standardized tests of academic achievement in kindergarten and second grade by testers masked to the intervention or control group randomization. RESULTS A total of 1050 children (4 years old; 518 boys [49.3%] and 532 girls [50.7%]) in 99 prekindergarten classrooms participated in the trial (88.1% of the prekindergarten population), with 792 students enrolled from 2006 to 2008. Most families in the

  18. Task Monotony and Performance Efficacy of Mentally Retarded Young Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Locke, Bill J.; And Others

    1982-01-01

    Thirty-six mildly mentally retarded young adults were exposed to one of three training arrangements for vigilance performance, a monitoring task that some professionals consider uniquely appropriate for such persons because they are assumed to be less susceptible to boredom. (Author)

  19. Automatically Proving Termination and Memory Safety for Programs with Pointer Arithmetic

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ströder, Thomas; Giesl, Jürgen; Brockschmidt, Marc

    2017-01-01

    While automated verification of imperative programs has been studied intensively, proving termination of programs with explicit pointer arithmetic fully automatically was still an open problem. To close this gap, we introduce a novel abstract domain that can track allocated memory in detail. We use...

  20. Arithmetic Facts Storage Deficit: The Hypersensitivity-to-Interference in Memory Hypothesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Visscher, Alice; Noël, Marie-Pascale

    2014-01-01

    Dyscalculia, or mathematics learning disorders, is currently known to be heterogeneous (Wilson & Dehaene, 2007). While various profiles of dyscalculia coexist, a general and persistent hallmark of this math learning disability is the difficulty in memorizing arithmetic facts (Geary, Hoard & Hamson, 1999; Jordan & Montani, 1997; Slade…

  1. High School Students' Performance on Vandenberg's Mental Rotations Test: Art Ability, Gender, Activities, Academic Performance, Strategies, and Ease of Taking the Test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gurny, Helen Graham

    This study tested whether mental rotation performance of 186 high school students (80 males and 106 females) in grades 9 through 12 in art and nonart classes on Vandenbergs Mental Rotations test (S. Vandenberg and Kuse, 1978) was affected by gender, visual-spatial activities, strategies used while performing the test, and the ease of test taking.…

  2. Comparing and Transforming: An Application of Piaget's Morphisms Theory to the Development of Class Inclusion and Arithmetic Problem Solving.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barrouillet, Pierre; Poirier, Louise

    1997-01-01

    Outlines Piaget's late ideas on categories and morphisms and the impact of these ideas on the comprehension of the inclusion relationship and the solution of arithmetic problems. Reports a study in which fourth through sixth graders were given arithmetic problems involving two known quantities associated with changes rather than states. Identified…

  3. (ReDiscovering the Body in Mentalism. Journal of Performance Magic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dean, Edward

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper argues that despite contemporary discoveries disproving Cartesian mind-body dualism – which falsely presupposed a separation between mind and body – contemporary performances of mentalism are still vastly impacted by this belief. I further argue that the long-supposed divide between mind and body has led many contemporary mentalists to underexplore and underemphasize bodies in performance, particularly their own. In the exploration of this topic, I examine notions of psychophysical acting and post-Cartesian character – in relation to the personas cultivated and projected by mentalists – proposing the terms metamentalism, inverse method acting, quasi-character, and anti-character to better capture the forms of role play and persona variously taken on and projected by mentalists. I next examine the archetype of the trickster as it relates to mentalists, including associations with shamans and buffoons. I conclude with an examination of the material properties of mentalism.

  4. Design of arithmetic circuits in quantum dot cellular automata nanotechnology

    CERN Document Server

    Sridharan, K

    2015-01-01

    This research monograph focuses on the design of arithmetic circuits in Quantum Dot Cellular Automata (QCA). Using the fact that the 3-input majority gate is a primitive in QCA, the book sets out to discover hitherto unknown properties of majority logic in the context of arithmetic circuit designs. The pursuit for efficient adders in QCA takes two forms. One involves application of the new results in majority logic to existing adders. The second involves development of a custom adder for QCA technology. A QCA adder named as hybrid adder is proposed and it is shown that it outperforms existing multi-bit adders with respect to area and delay. The work is extended to the design of a low-complexity multiplier for signed numbers in QCA. Furthermore the book explores two aspects unique to QCA technology, namely thermal robustness and the role of interconnects. In addition, the book introduces the reader to QCA layout design and simulation using QCADesigner. Features & Benefits: This research-based book: ·  �...

  5. Online EEG-Based Workload Adaptation of an Arithmetic Learning Environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walter, Carina; Rosenstiel, Wolfgang; Bogdan, Martin; Gerjets, Peter; Spüler, Martin

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, we demonstrate a closed-loop EEG-based learning environment, that adapts instructional learning material online, to improve learning success in students during arithmetic learning. The amount of cognitive workload during learning is crucial for successful learning and should be held in the optimal range for each learner. Based on EEG data from 10 subjects, we created a prediction model that estimates the learner's workload to obtain an unobtrusive workload measure. Furthermore, we developed an interactive learning environment that uses the prediction model to estimate the learner's workload online based on the EEG data and adapt the difficulty of the learning material to keep the learner's workload in an optimal range. The EEG-based learning environment was used by 13 subjects to learn arithmetic addition in the octal number system, leading to a significant learning effect. The results suggest that it is feasible to use EEG as an unobtrusive measure of cognitive workload to adapt the learning content. Further it demonstrates that a promptly workload prediction is possible using a generalized prediction model without the need for a user-specific calibration.

  6. The effect of acute physical and mental stress on soluble cellular adhesion molecule concentration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crabb, E Blake; Franco, R Lee; Caslin, Heather L; Blanks, Anson M; Bowen, Mary K; Acevedo, Edmund O

    2016-07-15

    This study investigated the impact of acute physical and mental stress on serum concentrations of vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1 and CX3CL1/fractalkine. Male volunteers (n=20; 21.3±0.55years of age) completed a graded treadmill test to exhaustion and a 20-minute mental stress task (Stroop Color-Word Test, mental arithmetic) on separate, non-consecutive days. Heart rate (HR) was measured at baseline and throughout exercise and mental stress. Blood was collected at baseline (PRE), immediately following (POST) and 30min after (POST30) exercise and mental stress. Soluble VCAM-1 and fractalkine were quantified in participant serum via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Both treadmill exercise and the mental stress task significantly increased participant HR; although, exercise resulted in a substantially greater increase in participant HR compared to mental stress (197.82±11.99 vs. 38.67±3.10% [pstress task did not significantly alter serum VCAM-1 or fractalkine at any time point. In conclusion, maximal aerobic exercise results in a significant elevation of the soluble adhesion molecules VCAM-1 and fractalkine in the serum of adult males that does not occur following laboratory-induced mental stress. The findings of the current investigation may suggest a novel protective role for acute aerobic exercise in vascular health via exercise-induced CAM proteolysis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. What's Behind a "+" Sign? Perceiving an Arithmetic Operator Recruits Brain Circuits for Spatial Orienting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathieu, Romain; Epinat-Duclos, Justine; Sigovan, Monica; Breton, Audrey; Cheylus, Anne; Fayol, Michel; Thevenot, Catherine; Prado, Jérôme

    2018-05-01

    Do mathematical symbols evoke spatial representations? Although behavioral studies have long demonstrated interactions between space and the processing of Arabic digits, how to interpret these results remains controversial. Here, we tested whether activity in regions supporting spatial processing contributes to the processing of symbols conveying fundamental arithmetic concepts-such as operation signs-even in the absence of associated digits. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we show that merely perceiving a "+" sign triggers activity in brain regions that support the orienting of spatial attention in adults. Activity in these regions was greater for "+" than for "×" signs, indicating that it is modulated by whether an operator reflects an operation that evokes numerical manipulation (rather than rote memorization). Finally, the degree to which subjects activated a spatial region in response to a "+" sign was correlated with the degree to which subjects benefited from being briefly presented with that sign before having to calculate a single-digit addition problem, an effect termed operator-priming. Therefore, not only are some arithmetic operators linked to spatial intuitions, but such intuitions might also have an important role during arithmetic calculation. More generally, our findings support the view that mathematical symbols inherently evoke spatial representations.

  8. Measuring cognitive load: performance, mental effort and simulation task complexity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haji, Faizal A; Rojas, David; Childs, Ruth; de Ribaupierre, Sandrine; Dubrowski, Adam

    2015-08-01

    Interest in applying cognitive load theory in health care simulation is growing. This line of inquiry requires measures that are sensitive to changes in cognitive load arising from different instructional designs. Recently, mental effort ratings and secondary task performance have shown promise as measures of cognitive load in health care simulation. We investigate the sensitivity of these measures to predicted differences in intrinsic load arising from variations in task complexity and learner expertise during simulation-based surgical skills training. We randomly assigned 28 novice medical students to simulation training on a simple or complex surgical knot-tying task. Participants completed 13 practice trials, interspersed with computer-based video instruction. On trials 1, 5, 9 and 13, knot-tying performance was assessed using time and movement efficiency measures, and cognitive load was assessed using subjective rating of mental effort (SRME) and simple reaction time (SRT) on a vibrotactile stimulus-monitoring secondary task. Significant improvements in knot-tying performance (F(1.04,24.95)  = 41.1, p cognitive load (F(2.3,58.5)  = 57.7, p load among novices engaged in simulation-based learning. These measures can be used to track cognitive load during skills training. Mental effort ratings are also sensitive to small differences in intrinsic load arising from variations in the physical complexity of a simulation task. The complementary nature of these subjective and objective measures suggests their combined use is advantageous in simulation instructional design research. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. Performance measurement for co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pincus Harold A

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders (COD are the norm rather than the exception. It is therefore critical that performance measures are developed to assess the quality of care for individuals with COD irrespective of whether they seek care in mental health systems or substance abuse systems or both. Methods We convened an expert panel and asked them to rate a series of structure, process, and outcomes measures for COD using a structured evaluation tool with domains for importance, usefulness, validity, and practicality. Results We chose twelve measures that demonstrated promise for future pilot testing and refinement. The criteria that we applied to select these measures included: balance across structure, process, and outcome measures, quantitative ratings from the panelists, narrative comments from the panelists, and evidence the measure had been tested in a similar form elsewhere. Conclusion To be successful performance measures need to be developed in such a way that they align with needs of administrators and providers. Policymakers need to work with all stakeholders to establish a concrete agenda for developing, piloting and implementing performance measures that include COD. Future research could begin to consider strategies that increase our ability to use administrative coding in mental health and substance use disorder systems to efficiently capture quality relevant clinical data.

  10. The geometric and arithmetic volume of Shimura varieties of orthogonal type

    CERN Document Server

    Hörmann, Fritz

    2015-01-01

    This book outlines a functorial theory of integral models of (mixed) Shimura varieties and of their toroidal compactifications, for odd primes of good reduction. This is the integral version, developed in the author's thesis, of the theory invented by Deligne and Pink in the rational case. In addition, the author develops a theory of arithmetic Chern classes of integral automorphic vector bundles with singular metrics using the work of Burgos, Kramer and Kühn. The main application is calculating arithmetic volumes or "heights" of Shimura varieties of orthogonal type using Borcherds' famous modular forms with their striking product formula-an idea due to Bruinier-Burgos-Kühn and Kudla. This should be seen as an Arakelov analogue of the classical calculation of volumes of orthogonal locally symmetric spaces by Siegel and Weil. In the latter theory, the volumes are related to special values of (normalized) Siegel Eisenstein series. In this book, it is proved that the Arakelov analogues are related to special d...

  11. The Arithmetic of Elliptic Fibrations in Gauge Theories on a Circle

    CERN Document Server

    Grimm, Thomas W.; Klevers, Denis

    2016-01-01

    The geometry of elliptic fibrations translates to the physics of gauge theories in F-theory. We systematically develop the dictionary between arithmetic structures on elliptic curves as well as desingularized elliptic fibrations and symmetries of gauge theories on a circle. We show that the Mordell-Weil group law matches integral large gauge transformations around the circle in Abelian gauge theories and explain the significance of Mordell-Weil torsion in this context. We also use Higgs transitions and circle large gauge transformations to introduce a group law for genus-one fibrations with multi-sections. Finally, we introduce a novel arithmetic structure on elliptic fibrations with non-Abelian gauge groups in F-theory. It is defined on the set of exceptional divisors resolving the singularities and divisor classes of sections of the fibration. This group structure can be matched with certain integral non-Abelian large gauge transformations around the circle when studying the theory on the lower-dimensional ...

  12. General Dirichlet Series, Arithmetic Convolution Equations and Laplace Transforms

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Glöckner, H.; Lucht, L.G.; Porubský, Štefan

    2009-01-01

    Roč. 193, č. 2 (2009), s. 109-129 ISSN 0039-3223 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA201/07/0191 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10300504 Keywords : arithmetic function * Dirichlet convolution * polynomial equation * analytic equation * topological algebra * holomorphic functional calculus * implicit function theorem * Laplace transform * semigroup * complex measure Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 0.645, year: 2009 http://arxiv.org/abs/0712.3172

  13. To what extent are stochastic the arithmetical progressions of the fractional parts?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arnold, V.

    2008-01-01

    For the residues of the division of the n members of an arithmetical progression by a real number N is proved the tending to 0 of the Kolmogorov's stochasticity parameter λ n , when n tends to infinity, providing that the progression step is commensurable with N. On the contrary, when the step is incommensurable with N, the paper describes some examples, where the stochasticity parameter λ n does not tend to zero, and even attains (infrequently) some arbitrary large values. Both the too small and the too large values of the stochasticity parameter show the small probability of the randomness of the sequence, for which they have been counted. Thus, the long arithmetical progressions' stochasticity degree is much smaller than that of the geometrical progressions (which provide temperate values of the stochasticity parameter, similarly to its value for the genuinely random sequences). (author)

  14. The influence of training and mental skills preparation on injury incidence and performance in marathon runners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamstra-Wright, Karrie L; Coumbe-Lilley, John E; Kim, Hajwa; McFarland, Jose A; Huxel Bliven, Kellie C

    2013-10-01

    There has been a considerable increase in the number of participants running marathons over the past several years. The 26.2-mile race requires physical and mental stamina to successfully complete it. However, studies have not investigated how running and mental skills preparation influence injury and performance. The purpose of our study was to describe the training and mental skills preparation of a typical group of runners as they began a marathon training program, assess the influence of training and mental skills preparation on injury incidence, and examine how training and mental skills preparation influence marathon performance. Healthy adults (N = 1,957) participating in an 18-week training program for a fall 2011 marathon were recruited for the study. One hundred twenty-five runners enrolled and received 4 surveys: pretraining, 6 weeks, 12 weeks, posttraining. The pretraining survey asked training and mental skills preparation questions. The 6- and 12-week surveys asked about injury incidence. The posttraining survey asked about injury incidence and marathon performance. Tempo runs during training preparation had a significant positive relationship to injury incidence in the 6-week survey (ρ[93] = 0.26, p = 0.01). The runners who reported incorporating tempo and interval runs, running more miles per week, and running more days per week in their training preparation ran significantly faster than did those reporting less tempo and interval runs, miles per week, and days per week (p ≤ 0.05). Mental skills preparation did not influence injury incidence or marathon performance. To prevent injury, and maximize performance, while marathon training, it is important that coaches and runners ensure that a solid foundation of running fitness and experience exists, followed by gradually building volume, and then strategically incorporating runs of various speeds and distances.

  15. Mental workload and motor performance dynamics during practice of reaching movements under various levels of task difficulty.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shuggi, Isabelle M; Oh, Hyuk; Shewokis, Patricia A; Gentili, Rodolphe J

    2017-09-30

    The assessment of mental workload can inform attentional resource allocation during task performance that is essential for understanding the underlying principles of human cognitive-motor behavior. While many studies have focused on mental workload in relation to human performance, a modest body of work has examined it in a motor practice/learning context without considering individual variability. Thus, this work aimed to examine mental workload by employing the NASA TLX as well as the changes in motor performance resulting from the practice of a novel reaching task. Two groups of participants practiced a reaching task at a high and low nominal difficulty during which a group-level analysis assessed the mental workload, motor performance and motor improvement dynamics. A secondary cluster analysis was also conducted to identify specific individual patterns of cognitive-motor responses. Overall, both group- and cluster-level analyses revealed that: (i) all participants improved their performance throughout motor practice, and (ii) an increase in mental workload was associated with a reduction of the quality of motor performance along with a slower rate of motor improvement. The results are discussed in the context of the optimal challenge point framework and in particular it is proposed that under the experimental conditions employed here, functional task difficulty: (i) would possibly depend on an individuals' information processing capabilities, and (ii) could be indexed by the level of mental workload which, when excessively heightened can decrease the quality of performance and more generally result in delayed motor improvements. Copyright © 2017 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Neurological surgery: the influence of physical and mental demands on humans performing complex operations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bourne, Sarah K; Walcott, Brian P; Sheth, Sameer A; Coumans, Jean-Valery C E

    2013-03-01

    Performing neurological surgery is an inherently demanding task on the human body, both physically and mentally. Neurosurgeons routinely perform "high stakes" operations in the setting of mental and physical fatigue. These conditions may be not only the result of demanding operations, but also influential to their outcome. Similar to other performance-based endurance activities, training is paramount to successful outcomes. The inflection point, where training reaches the point of diminishing returns, is intensely debated. For the neurosurgeon, this point must be exploited to the maximum, as patients require both the best-trained and best-performing surgeon. In this review, we explore the delicate balance of training and performance, as well as some routinely used adjuncts to improve human performance. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Changes of brain response induced by simulated weightlessness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Jinhe; Yan, Gongdong; Guan, Zhiqiang

    The characteristics change of brain response was studied during 15° head-down tilt (HDT) comparing with 45° head-up tilt (HUT). The brain responses evaluated included the EEG power spectra change at rest and during mental arithmetic, and the event-related potentials (ERPs) of somatosensory, selective attention and mental arithmetic activities. The prominent feature of brain response change during HDT revealed that the brain function was inhibited to some extent. Such inhibition included that the significant increment of "40Hz" activity during HUT arithmetic almost disappeared during HDT arithmetic, and that the positive-potential effect induced by HDT presented in all kinds of ERPs measured, but the slow negative wave reflecting mental arithmetic and memory process was elongated. These data suggest that the brain function be affected profoundly by the simulated weightlessness, therefore, the brain function change during space flight should be studied systematically.

  18. You Should Be the Specialist! Weak Mental Rotation Performance in Aviation Security Screeners - Reduced Performance Level in Aviation Security with No Gender Effect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krüger, Jenny K; Suchan, Boris

    2016-01-01

    Aviation security screeners analyze a large number of X-ray images per day and seem to be experts in mentally rotating diverse kinds of visual objects. A robust gender-effect that men outperform women in the Vandenberg & Kuse mental rotation task has been well documented over the last years. In addition it has been shown that training can positively influence the overall task-performance. Considering this, the aim of the present study was to investigate whether security screeners show better performance in the Mental Rotation Test (MRT) independently of gender. Forty-seven security screeners of both sexes from two German airports were examined with a computer based MRT. Their performance was compared to a large sample of control subjects. The well-known gender-effect favoring men on mental rotation was significant within the control group. However, the security screeners did not show any sex differences suggesting an effect of training and professional performance. Surprisingly this specialized group showed a lower level of overall MRT performance than the control participants. Possible aviation related influences such as secondary effects of work-shift or expertise which can cumulatively cause this result are discussed.

  19. Using the Binomial Series to Prove the Arithmetic Mean-Geometric Mean Inequality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Persky, Ronald L.

    2003-01-01

    In 1968, Leon Gerber compared (1 + x)[superscript a] to its kth partial sum as a binomial series. His result is stated and, as an application of this result, a proof of the arithmetic mean-geometric mean inequality is presented.

  20. Abelian groups and quadratic residues in weak arithmetic

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Jeřábek, Emil

    2010-01-01

    Roč. 56, č. 3 (2010), s. 262-278 ISSN 0942-5616 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA1019401; GA MŠk(CZ) 1M0545 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10190503 Keywords : bounded arithmetic * abelian group * Fermat's little theorem * quadratic reciprocity Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 0.361, year: 2010 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/malq.200910009/abstract;jsessionid=9F636FFACB84C025FD90C7E6880350DD.f03t03

  1. Effects of Relaxing Music on Mental Fatigue Induced by a Continuous Performance Task: Behavioral and ERPs Evidence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Wei; Ren, Jie; Wang, Biye; Zhu, Qin

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate whether listening to relaxing music would help reduce mental fatigue and to maintain performance after a continuous performance task. The experiment involved two fatigue evaluation phases carried out before and after a fatigue inducing phase. A 1-hour AX-continuous performance test was used to induce mental fatigue in the fatigue-inducing phase, and participants' subjective evaluation on the mental fatigue, as well as their neurobehavioral performance in a Go/NoGo task, were measured before and after the fatigue-inducing phase. A total of 36 undergraduate students (18-22 years) participated in the study and were randomly assigned to the music group and control group. The music group performed the fatigue-inducing task while listening to relaxing music, and the control group performed the same task without any music. Our results revealed that after the fatigue-inducing phase, (a) the music group demonstrated significantly less mental fatigue than control group, (b) reaction time significantly increased for the control group but not for the music group, (c) larger Go-P3 and NoGo-P3 amplitudes were observed in the music group, although larger NoGo-N2 amplitudes were detected for both groups. These results combined to suggest that listening to relaxing music alleviated the mental fatigue associated with performing an enduring cognitive-motor task.

  2. Costs and Performance of English Mental Health Providers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moran, Valerie; Jacobs, Rowena

    2017-06-01

    Despite limited resources in mental health care, there is little research exploring variations in cost performance across mental health care providers. In England, a prospective payment system for mental health care based on patient needs has been introduced with the potential to incentivise providers to control costs. The units of payment under the new system are 21 care clusters. Patients are allocated to a cluster by clinicians, and each cluster has a maximum review period. The aim of this research is to explain variations in cluster costs between mental health providers using observable patient demographic, need, social and treatment variables. We also investigate if provider-level variables explain differences in costs. The residual variation in cluster costs is compared across providers to provide insights into which providers may gain or lose under the new financial regime. The main data source is the Mental Health Minimum Data Set (MHMDS) for England for the years 2011/12 and 2012/13. Our unit of observation is the period of time spent in a care cluster and costs associated with the cluster review period are calculated from NHS Reference Cost data. Costs are modelled using multi-level log-linear and generalised linear models. The residual variation in costs at the provider level is quantified using Empirical Bayes estimates and comparative standard errors used to rank and compare providers. There are wide variations in costs across providers. We find that variables associated with higher costs include older age, black ethnicity, admission under the Mental Health Act, and higher need as reflected in the care clusters. Provider type, size, occupancy and the proportion of formal admissions at the provider-level are also found to be significantly associated with costs. After controlling for patient- and provider-level variables, significant residual variation in costs remains at the provider level. The results suggest that some providers may have to increase

  3. Eating breakfast enhances the efficiency of neural networks engaged during mental arithmetic in school-aged children

    Science.gov (United States)

    To determine the influence of a morning meal on complex mental functions in children (8-11 y), time-frequency analyses were applied to electroencephalographic (EEG) activity recorded while children solved simple addition problems after an overnight fast and again after having either eaten or skipped...

  4. Gaussian width bounds with applications to arithmetic progressions in random settings

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    J. Briët (Jop); S. Gopi (Sivakanth)

    2017-01-01

    textabstractMotivated by two problems on arithmetic progressions (APs)—concerning large deviations for AP counts in random sets and random differences in Szemer´edi’s theorem— we prove upper bounds on the Gaussian width of the image of the n-dimensional Boolean hypercube under a mapping ψ : Rn →

  5. The arithmetic basis of special relativity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Greenspan, D.

    1976-01-01

    Under relatively general particle and rocket frame motions, it is shown that, for special relativity, the basic concepts can be formulated and the basic properties deduced using only arithmetic. Particular attention is directed toward velocity, acceleration, proper time, momentum, energy, and 4-vectors in both space-time and Minkowski space, and to relativistic generalizations of Newton's second law. The resulting mathematical simplification is not only completely compatible with modern computer technology, but it yields dynamical equations that can be solved directly by such computers. Particular applications of the numerical equations, which are either Lorentz invariant or are directly related to Lorentz-invariant formulas, are made to the study of a relativistic harmonic oscillator and to the motion of an electric particle in a magnetic field. (author)

  6. Semiotic mediation: from multiplication properties to arithmetical expressions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea Maffia

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Multiplication is introduced early in primary school, but its properties are usually introduced after the rote memorization of multiplicative facts. In this paper we present a teaching experiment aimed to early introducing arithmetical properties of multiplication. It is realized through an artefact built on the rectangle model for multiplication. Children activity is designed and analyzed using Theory of Semiotic Mediation. The development of the relational meaning of arithmetical expressions is shown through the enchaining of representations from signs related to the activity with the artefact to mathematical ones. In particular, the role of the teacher in the process of semiotic mediation results as crucial. Mediazione semiotica: dalle proprietà della moltiplicazione alle espressioni aritmeticheLa moltiplicazione viene presentata presto nella scuola primaria, ma le sue proprietà sono introdotte solo dopo che le cosiddette tabelline sono state memorizzate. Nell’articolo si presenta un teaching experiment volto a introdurre precocemente le proprietà della moltiplicazione per facilitare la memorizzazione di fatti moltiplicativi. L’esperimento è centrato sull’uso di un artefatto costruito sul modello rettangolare della moltiplicazione. L’attività degli studenti è progettata e analizzata nel quadro della Teoria della Mediazione Semiotica (TMS. Lo sviluppo del significato relazionale delle espressioni aritmetiche viene mostrato attraverso la concatenazione di rappresentazioni che vanno da segni strettamente legati all’attività con l’artefatto fino a segni matematici. In particolare, si evidenzia il ruolo dell’insegnante nello sviluppo del processo di mediazione semiotica.

  7. Women in numbers Europe II contributions to number theory and arithmetic geometry

    CERN Document Server

    Ozman, Ekin; Johnson-Leung, Jennifer; Newton, Rachel

    2018-01-01

    Inspired by the September 2016 conference of the same name, this second volume highlights recent research in a wide range of topics in contemporary number theory and arithmetic geometry. Research reports from projects started at the conference, expository papers describing ongoing research, and contributed papers from women number theorists outside the conference make up this diverse volume. Topics cover a broad range of topics such as arithmetic dynamics, failure of local-global principles, geometry in positive characteristics, and heights of algebraic integers. The use of tools from algebra, analysis and geometry, as well as computational methods exemplifies the wealth of techniques available to modern researchers in number theory. Exploring connections between different branches of mathematics and combining different points of view, these papers continue the tradition of supporting and highlighting the contributions of women number theorists at a variety of career stages. Perfect for students and researche...

  8. Effects of gender, imagery ability, and sports practice on the performance of a mental rotation task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Habacha, Hamdi; Molinaro, Corinne; Dosseville, Fabrice

    2014-01-01

    Mental rotation is one of the main spatial abilities necessary in the spatial transformation of mental images and the manipulation of spatial parameters. Researchers have shown that mental rotation abilities differ between populations depending on several variables. This study uses a mental rotation task to investigate effects of several factors on the spatial abilities of 277 volunteers. The results demonstrate that high and low imagers performed equally well on this tasks. Athletes outperformed nonathletes regardless of their discipline, and athletes with greater expertise outperformed those with less experience. The results replicate the previously reported finding that men exhibit better spatial abilities than women. However, with high amounts of practice, the women in the current study were able to perform as well as men.

  9. Using fuzzy arithmetic in containment event trees

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rivera, S.S.; Baron, Jorge H.

    2000-01-01

    The use of fuzzy arithmetic is proposed for the evaluation of containment event trees. Concepts such as improbable, very improbable, and so on, which are subjective by nature, are represented by fuzzy numbers. The quantitative evaluation of containment event trees is based on the extension principle, by which operations on real numbers are extended to operations on fuzzy numbers. Expert knowledge is considered as state of the base variable with a normal distribution, which is considered to represent the membership function. Finally, this paper presents results of an example calculation of a containment event tree for the CAREM-25 nuclear power plant, presently under detailed design stage at Argentina. (author)

  10. Assessing the performance of mental health service facilities for meeting patient priorities and health service responsiveness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bramesfeld, A; Stegbauer, C

    2016-10-01

    The World Health Organisation has defined health service responsiveness as one of the key-objectives of health systems. Health service responsiveness relates to the ability to respond to service users' legitimate expectations on non-medical issues when coming into contact with the services of a healthcare system. It is defined by the areas showing respect for persons and patient orientation. Health service responsiveness is particularly relevant to mental health services, due to the specific vulnerability of mental health patients but also because it matches what mental health patients consider as good quality of care as well as their priorities when seeking healthcare. As (mental) health service responsiveness applies equally to all concerned services it would be suitable as a universal indicator for the quality of services' performance. However, performance monitoring programs in mental healthcare rarely assess health service performance with respect to meeting patient priorities. This is in part due of patient priorities as an outcome being underrepresented in studies that evaluate service provision. The lack of studies using patient priorities as outcomes transmits into evidence based guidelines and subsequently, into underrepresentation of patient priorities in performance monitoring. Possible ways out of this situation include more intervention studies using patient priorities as outcome, considering evidence from qualitative studies in guideline development and developing performance monitoring programs along the patient pathway and on key-points of relevance for service quality from a patient perspective.

  11. Effect of mental stress on plasma homovanillic acid in healthy human subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sumiyoshi, T; Yotsutsuji, T; Kurachi, M; Itoh, H; Kurokawa, K; Saitoh, O

    1998-07-01

    Plasma levels of homovanillic acid (pHVA) have been suggested to provide a measure of dopaminergic activity in the central nervous system. The present study investigated the effect of mental stress by the Kraepelin test, a test of continuous arithmetic addition of single-digit figures for 30 min, on pHVA levels in 13 male psychiatrically normal healthy volunteers. Following an overnight fast and restricted physical activity, plasma samples were collected immediately before and after the administration of the Kraepelin test. Plasma HVA levels following the administration of the Kraepelin test were significantly lower than the pretest pHVA levels. The percent change in pHVA levels by the Kraepelin test positively correlated with pretest pHVA levels. The observed reduction in pHVA levels by mental stress in normal subjects may reflect some aspects of a dopamine-dependent restitutive system in the brain.

  12. Perceptual-cognitive changes during motor learning: The influence of mental and physical practice on mental representation, gaze behavior, and performance of a complex action

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cornelia eFrank

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Despite the wealth of research on differences between experts and novices with respect to their perceptual-cognitive background (e.g., mental representations, gaze behavior, little is known about the change of these perceptual-cognitive components over the course of motor learning. In the present study, changes in one’s mental representation, quiet eye behavior, and outcome performance were examined over the course of skill acquisition as it related to physical and mental practice. Novices (N = 45 were assigned to one of three conditions: physical practice, physical practice plus mental practice, and no practice. Participants in the practice groups trained on a golf putting task over the course of three days, either by repeatedly executing the putt, or by both executing and imaging the putt. Findings revealed improvements in putting performance across both practice conditions. Regarding the perceptual-cognitive changes, participants practicing mentally and physically revealed longer quiet eye durations as well as more elaborate representation structures in comparison to the control group, while this was not the case for participants who underwent physical practice only. Thus, in the present study, combined mental and physical practice led to both formation of mental representations in long-term memory and longer quiet eye durations. Interestingly, the length of the quiet eye directly related to the degree of elaborateness of the underlying mental representation, supporting the notion that the quiet eye reflects cognitive processing. This study is the first to show that the quiet eye becomes longer in novices practicing a motor action. Moreover, the findings of the present study suggest that perceptual and cognitive adaptations co-occur over the course of motor learning.

  13. Uncertainty analysis for dynamic properties of MEMS resonator supported by fuzzy arithmetics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A Martowicz

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available In the paper the application of uncertainty analysis performed formicroelectromechanical resonator is presented. Main objective ofundertaken analysis is to assess the propagation of considered uncertaintiesin the variation of chosen dynamic characteristics of Finite Element model ofmicroresonator. Many different model parameters have been assumed tobe uncertain: geometry and material properties. Apart from total uncertaintypropagation, sensitivity analysis has been carried out to study separateinfluences of all input uncertain characteristics. Uncertainty analysis has beenperformed by means of fuzzy arithmetics in which alpha-cut strategy hasbeen applied to assemble output fuzzy number. Monte Carlo Simulation andGenetic Algorithms have been employed to calculate intervals connectedwith each alpha-cut of searched fuzzy number. Elaborated model ofmicroresonator has taken into account in a simplified way the presence ofsurrounding air and constant electrostatic field.

  14. THE ATHLETES’ BODY SHAPES THE ATHLETES’ MIND – NEW PERSPECTIVES ON MENTAL ROTATION PERFORMANCE IN ATHLETES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas Heinen

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Mentally rotating the image of an object is one fundamental cognitive ability in humans. Recent theoretical developments and empirical evidences highlight the potential role of the sensory-motor system, when analysing and understanding mental rotation. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the role of specific sensory-motor experience on mental rotation performance in gymnasts. N = 40 male gymnasts with either clockwise or anticlockwise rotation preference in a forward twisting layout salto performed a psychometric mental rotation test with either rotation-preference congruent or rotation-preference incongruent stimuli. Results revealed that choice reaction times differed clearly as a function of Angular Rotation between the stimuli figures. Gymnasts who preferred a clockwise rotation preference showed faster choice reaction times when the rotation direction of the reference figure was clockwise, and vice versa. The results clearly support the notion, that mental rotation performance varies as a function of sensory-motor system characteristics between different people. It is concluded, that sensory-motor experience in a particular sport may facilitate cognitive processing of experience-congruent stimuli. This may be advantageous for situations in which people are engaged in observing sport performance (i.e., judges, coaches. This conclusion could furthermore contribute to the training of athletes from sports such as sky-diving, scuba-diving, and climbing, where losses of spatial orientation can be life-threatening.

  15. Fermat’s ‘primitive solutions’ and some arithmetic of elliptic curves

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Top, Jaap

    1993-01-01

    In his work on Diophantine equations of the form y2=ax4+bx3+cx2+dx+e, Fermat introduced the notion of primitive solutions. In this expository note we intend to interpret this notion more geometrically, and explain what it means in terms of the arithmetic of elliptic curves. The specific equation

  16. Energy-Efficient Wide Datapath Integer Arithmetic Logic Units Using Superconductor Logic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ayala, Christopher Lawrence

    Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) technology is currently the most widely used integrated circuit technology today. As CMOS approaches the physical limitations of scaling, it is unclear whether or not it can provide long-term support for niche areas such as high-performance computing and telecommunication infrastructure, particularly with the emergence of cloud computing. Alternatively, superconductor technologies based on Josephson junction (JJ) switching elements such as Rapid Single Flux Quantum (RSFQ) logic and especially its new variant, Energy-Efficient Rapid Single Flux Quantum (ERSFQ) logic have the capability to provide an ultra-high-speed, low power platform for digital systems. The objective of this research is to design and evaluate energy-efficient, high-speed 32-bit integer Arithmetic Logic Units (ALUs) implemented using RSFQ and ERSFQ logic as the first steps towards achieving practical Very-Large-Scale-Integration (VLSI) complexity in digital superconductor electronics. First, a tunable VHDL superconductor cell library is created to provide a mechanism to conduct design exploration and evaluation of superconductor digital circuits from the perspectives of functionality, complexity, performance, and energy-efficiency. Second, hybrid wave-pipelining techniques developed earlier for wide datapath RSFQ designs have been used for efficient arithmetic and logic circuit implementations. To develop the core foundation of the ALU, the ripple-carry adder and the Kogge-Stone parallel prefix carry look-ahead adder are studied as representative candidates on opposite ends of the design spectrum. By combining the high-performance features of the Kogge-Stone structure and the low complexity of the ripple-carry adder, a 32-bit asynchronous wave-pipelined hybrid sparse-tree ALU has been designed and evaluated using the VHDL cell library tuned to HYPRES' gate-level characteristics. The designs and techniques from this research have been implemented using

  17. Symptoms of anxiety and depression are related to cardiovascular responses to active, but not passive, coping tasks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuenyongchaiwat, Kornanong; Baker, Ian S; Sheffield, David

    2017-01-01

    Anxiety and depression have been linked to blunted blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) reactions to mental stress tests; however, most studies have not included indices of underlying hemodynamics nor multiple stress tasks. This study sought to examine the relationships of anxiety and depression with hemodynamic responses to acute active and passive coping tasks. A total of 104 participants completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scales and mental arithmetic, speech, and cold pressor tasks while BP, HR, total peripheral resistance, and cardiac output (CO) were assessed. After adjustment for traditional risk factors and baseline cardiovascular activity, depression scores were negatively associated with systolic BP, HR, and CO responses to the mental arithmetic task, while anxiety scores were inversely related to the systolic BP response to mental arithmetic. High anxiety or depression scores appear to be associated with blunted cardiac reactions to mental arithmetic (an active coping task), but not to the cold pressor test or speech tasks. Future research should further examine potential mechanisms and longitudinal pathways relating depression and anxiety to cardiovascular reactivity. TCTR20160208004.

  18. But you should be the specialist! Weak Mental Rotation Performance in Aviation Security Screeners.Reduced performance level in aviation security with no gender effect.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jenny Kathinka Krüger

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Aviation security screeners analyze a large number of X-ray images per day and seem to be experts in mentally rotating diverse kinds of visual objects. A robust gender-effect that men outperform women in the Vandenberg & Kuse mental rotation task has been well documented over the last years. In addition it has been shown that training can positively influence the overall task-performance. Considering this, the aim of the present study was to investigate whether security screeners show better performance in the Mental Rotation Test (MRT independently of gender. Forty-seven security screeners of both sexes from two German airports were examined with a computer based MRT. Their performance was compared to a large sample of control subjects. The well-known gender-effect favoring men on mental rotation was significant within the control group. However, the security screeners did not show any sex differences suggesting an effect of training and professional performance. Surprisingly this specialized group showed a lower level of overall MRT performance than the control participants. Possible aviation related influences such as secondary effects of work-shift or expertise which can cumulatively cause this result are discussed.

  19. A Comprehensive Review of the Literature on the Effects of Breakfast on Mental Performance and Scholastic Achievement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Purnell, James P.

    A review of the literature on the effects of breakfast on mental performance and scholastic achievement reveals a dichotomy between the theoretical and the empirical literature. Whereas theoretical considerations maintain that breakfast makes a significant difference in mental performance in the late morning hours, empirical evidence can be…

  20. Impact of 3D vision on mental workload and laparoscopic performance in inexperienced subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gómez-Gómez, E; Carrasco-Valiente, J; Valero-Rosa, J; Campos-Hernández, J P; Anglada-Curado, F J; Carazo-Carazo, J L; Font-Ugalde, P; Requena-Tapia, M J

    2015-05-01

    To assess the effect of vision in three dimensions (3D) versus two dimensions (2D) on mental workload and laparoscopic performance during simulation-based training. A prospective, randomized crossover study on inexperienced students in operative laparoscopy was conducted. Forty-six candidates executed five standardized exercises on a pelvitrainer with both vision systems (3D and 2D). Laparoscopy performance was assessed using the total time (in seconds) and the number of failed attempts. For workload assessment, the validated NASA-TLX questionnaire was administered. 3D vision improves the performance reducing the time (3D = 1006.08 ± 315.94 vs. 2D = 1309.17 ± 300.28; P NASA-TLX results, less mental workload is experienced with the use of 3D (P < .001). However, 3D vision was associated with greater visual impairment (P < .01) and headaches (P < .05). The incorporation of 3D systems in laparoscopic training programs would facilitate the acquisition of laparoscopic skills, because they reduce mental workload and improve the performance on inexperienced surgeons. However, some undesirable effects such as visual discomfort or headache are identified initially. Copyright © 2014 AEU. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  1. Mental abilities and performance efficacy under a simulated 480 meters helium-oxygen saturation diving

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    gonglin ehou

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Stress in extreme environment severely disrupts human physiology and mental abilities. The present study investigated the cognition and performance efficacy of four divers during a simulated 480 meters helium-oxygen saturation diving. We analyzed the spatial memory, 2D/3D mental rotation functioning, grip strength, and hand-eye coordination ability in four divers during the 0 – 480 meters compression and decompression processes of the simulated diving. The results showed that except for its mild decrease on grip strength, the high atmosphere pressure condition significantly impaired the hand-eye coordination (especially at 300 meters, the reaction time and correct rate of mental rotation, as well as the spatial memory (especially as 410 meters, showing high individual variability. We conclude that the human cognition and performance efficacy are significantly affected during deep water saturation diving.

  2. Predicting Mental Imagery-Based BCI Performance from Personality, Cognitive Profile and Neurophysiological Patterns.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Camille Jeunet

    Full Text Available Mental-Imagery based Brain-Computer Interfaces (MI-BCIs allow their users to send commands to a computer using their brain-activity alone (typically measured by ElectroEncephaloGraphy-EEG, which is processed while they perform specific mental tasks. While very promising, MI-BCIs remain barely used outside laboratories because of the difficulty encountered by users to control them. Indeed, although some users obtain good control performances after training, a substantial proportion remains unable to reliably control an MI-BCI. This huge variability in user-performance led the community to look for predictors of MI-BCI control ability. However, these predictors were only explored for motor-imagery based BCIs, and mostly for a single training session per subject. In this study, 18 participants were instructed to learn to control an EEG-based MI-BCI by performing 3 MI-tasks, 2 of which were non-motor tasks, across 6 training sessions, on 6 different days. Relationships between the participants' BCI control performances and their personality, cognitive profile and neurophysiological markers were explored. While no relevant relationships with neurophysiological markers were found, strong correlations between MI-BCI performances and mental-rotation scores (reflecting spatial abilities were revealed. Also, a predictive model of MI-BCI performance based on psychometric questionnaire scores was proposed. A leave-one-subject-out cross validation process revealed the stability and reliability of this model: it enabled to predict participants' performance with a mean error of less than 3 points. This study determined how users' profiles impact their MI-BCI control ability and thus clears the way for designing novel MI-BCI training protocols, adapted to the profile of each user.

  3. GSFAP Adaptive Filtering Using Log Arithmetic for Resource-Constrained Embedded Systems

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Tichý, Milan; Schier, Jan; Gregg, D.

    2010-01-01

    Roč. 9, č. 3 (2010), s. 1-31 ISSN 1539-9087 R&D Projects: GA MŠk 7H09005 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Keywords : FPGA * DSP * logarithmic arithmetic * affine projection Subject RIV: BD - Theory of Information Impact factor: 1.057, year: 2010 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2010/ZS/tichy-0341115.pdf

  4. Foundations of arithmetic differential geometry

    CERN Document Server

    Buium, Alexandru

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this book is to introduce and develop an arithmetic analogue of classical differential geometry. In this new geometry the ring of integers plays the role of a ring of functions on an infinite dimensional manifold. The role of coordinate functions on this manifold is played by the prime numbers. The role of partial derivatives of functions with respect to the coordinates is played by the Fermat quotients of integers with respect to the primes. The role of metrics is played by symmetric matrices with integer coefficients. The role of connections (respectively curvature) attached to metrics is played by certain adelic (respectively global) objects attached to the corresponding matrices. One of the main conclusions of the theory is that the spectrum of the integers is "intrinsically curved"; the study of this curvature is then the main task of the theory. The book follows, and builds upon, a series of recent research papers. A significant part of the material has never been published before.

  5. Modelling the effect of perceived interdependence among mental healthcare professionals on their work role performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markon, Marie-Pierre; Chiocchio, François; Fleury, Marie-Josée

    2017-07-01

    The purpose of mental healthcare system reform was to enhance service efficiency by strengthening primary mental healthcare and increasing service integration in communities. Reinforcing interprofessional teamwork also intended to address the extensive and multidimensional needs of patients with mental disorders by bringing together a broader array of expertise. In this context, mental healthcare professionals (MHCPs) from various health and social care professions are more interdependent in many aspects of their work (tasks, resources, and goals). We wanted to examine the effect of perceived interdependence among MHCPs on their work role performance in the context of mental healthcare. For this purpose, we developed and tested a model coherent with the Input-Mediator-Outcome-Input (IMOI) framework of team effectiveness. Data from questionnaires administered to 315 MHCPs from four local health service networks in Quebec, Canada were analysed through structural equation modelling and mediation analysis. The structural equation model provided a good fit for the data and explained 51% of the variance of work role performance. Perceived collaboration, confidence in the advantages of interprofessional collaboration, involvement in the decision process, knowledge sharing, and satisfaction with the nature of the work partially mediated the effect of perceived interdependence among team members on work role performance. Therefore, perceived interdependence among team members had a positive impact on the work role performance of MHCPs mostly through its effect on favourable team functioning features. This implies, in practice, that increased interdependence of MHCPs would be more likely to truly enhance work role performance if team-based interventions to promote collaborative work and interprofessional teaching and training programs to support work within interprofessional teams were jointly implemented. Participation in the decision process and knowledge sharing should

  6. Relación entre la memoria operativa y el cálculo mental con los números naturales en estudiantes del grado 8º del Instituto Técnico Mercedes Abrego de San José de Cúcuta.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosa Virginia Hernández

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Throughout the twentieth century and the twenty-first in the field of mathematics, has been a stream of authors and scientists have been interested in the how and why of how the human brain; and even if the information within the mind is processed. For this reason; The following article aims to analyze the possible relationship between working memory corresponding to that proposed by Baddeley and Hitch (1974 model of memory and mental arithmetic with natural numbers eighth graders (8th by applying a descriptive correlational methodology character quasi experimental based on an associative, constructivist theoretical approach with studies of working memory proposed by Baddely and Hitch (2003. The instrument used was the memory test battery of Employment, Pickering, Gathercole and Bouquets. Medium and a linearly significant relationship between mental arithmetic tasks and the phonological loop was found; also a good inclination to remember the digits and a lower proportion of pseudo words it shows.

  7. Efficient Solving of Large Non-linear Arithmetic Constraint Systems with Complex Boolean Structure

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Fränzle, M.; Herde, C.; Teige, T.; Ratschan, Stefan; Schubert, T.

    2007-01-01

    Roč. 1, - (2007), s. 209-236 ISSN 1574-0617 Grant - others:AVACS(DE) SFB/TR 14 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10300504 Keywords : interval-based arithmetic constraint solving * SAT modulo theories Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics

  8. Signatures of arithmetic simplicity in metabolic network architecture.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    William J Riehl

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Metabolic networks perform some of the most fundamental functions in living cells, including energy transduction and building block biosynthesis. While these are the best characterized networks in living systems, understanding their evolutionary history and complex wiring constitutes one of the most fascinating open questions in biology, intimately related to the enigma of life's origin itself. Is the evolution of metabolism subject to general principles, beyond the unpredictable accumulation of multiple historical accidents? Here we search for such principles by applying to an artificial chemical universe some of the methodologies developed for the study of genome scale models of cellular metabolism. In particular, we use metabolic flux constraint-based models to exhaustively search for artificial chemistry pathways that can optimally perform an array of elementary metabolic functions. Despite the simplicity of the model employed, we find that the ensuing pathways display a surprisingly rich set of properties, including the existence of autocatalytic cycles and hierarchical modules, the appearance of universally preferable metabolites and reactions, and a logarithmic trend of pathway length as a function of input/output molecule size. Some of these properties can be derived analytically, borrowing methods previously used in cryptography. In addition, by mapping biochemical networks onto a simplified carbon atom reaction backbone, we find that properties similar to those predicted for the artificial chemistry hold also for real metabolic networks. These findings suggest that optimality principles and arithmetic simplicity might lie beneath some aspects of biochemical complexity.

  9. Energy efficient smartphone-based activity recognition using fixed-point arithmetic

    OpenAIRE

    Anguita, Davide; Ghio, Alessandro; Oneto, Luca; Llanas Parra, Francesc Xavier; Reyes Ortiz, Jorge Luis

    2013-01-01

    In this paper we propose a novel energy efficient approach for the recognition of human activities using smartphones as wearable sensing devices, targeting assisted living applications such as remote patient activity monitoring for the disabled and the elderly. The method exploits fixed-point arithmetic to propose a modified multiclass Support Vector Machine (SVM) learning algorithm, allowing to better pre- serve the smartphone battery lifetime with respect to the conventional flo...

  10. Constant savings rates and quasi-arithmetic population growth under exhaustible resource constraints

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Asheim, G.B.; Buchholz, W.; Hartwick, J.M.; Mitra, T.; Withagen, C.A.A.M.

    2007-01-01

    In the Dasgupta–Heal–Solow–Stiglitz (DHSS) model of capital accumulation and resource depletion we show the following equivalence: if an efficient path has constant (gross and net of population growth) savings rates, then population growth must be quasi-arithmetic and the path is a maximin or a

  11. Eldercare demands, mental health, and work performance: the moderating role of satisfaction with eldercare tasks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zacher, Hannes; Jimmieson, Nerina L; Winter, Gabriele

    2012-01-01

    Due to demographic changes, a growing number of employees provide in-home care to an elderly family member. Previous research suggested a negative relationship between employees' eldercare demands and their work performance. However, the empirical nature of this relationship and its boundary conditions and mediating mechanisms have been neglected. The goal of this multisource study was to examine a mediated-moderation model of eldercare demands, mental health, and work performance. Drawing on the theory of conservation of resources (Hobfoll, 1989), it was expected that employees' satisfaction with eldercare tasks would buffer the negative relationship between eldercare demands and work performance, and that mental health would mediate this moderating effect. Data were collected from 165 employees providing in-home eldercare, as well as from one colleague and one family member of each employee. Results of mediated-moderation analyses supported the hypothesized model. The findings suggest that interventions that aim to increase employees' satisfaction with eldercare tasks may help protect employees from the negative effects of high eldercare demands on mental health and, subsequently, on work performance.

  12. Executive Functioning in Children, and Its Relations with Reasoning, Reading, and Arithmetic

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Sluis, Sophie; de Jong, Peter F.; van der Leij, Aryan

    2007-01-01

    The aims of this study were to investigate whether the executive functions, inhibition, shifting, and updating, are distinguishable as latent variables (common factors) in children aged 9 to 12, and to examine the relations between these executive functions and reading, arithmetic, and (non)verbal reasoning. Confirmatory factor analysis was used…

  13. Effect of aging on performance, muscle activation and perceived stress during mentally demanding computer tasks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alkjaer, Tine; Pilegaard, Marianne; Bakke, Merete

    2005-01-01

    OBJECTIVES: This study examined the effects of age on performance, muscle activation, and perceived stress during computer tasks with different levels of mental demand. METHODS: Fifteen young and thirteen elderly women performed two computer tasks [color word test and reference task] with different...... levels of mental demand but similar physical demands. The performance (clicking frequency, percentage of correct answers, and response time for correct answers) and electromyography from the forearm, shoulder, and neck muscles were recorded. Visual analogue scales were used to measure the participants......' perception of the stress and difficulty related to the tasks. RESULTS: Performance decreased significantly in both groups during the color word test in comparison with performance on the reference task. However, the performance reduction was more pronounced in the elderly group than in the young group...

  14. Using text adventure games to entice learners to practice arithmetic skills over Mxit

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Butgereit, L

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available examines a project where text adventure games with a mathematical twist are deployed over Mxit which participants can play on their cell phones. In order to complete the puzzles laid out in the game, participants must do various arithmetic calculations....

  15. A practical approach to model checking Duration Calculus using Presburger Arithmetic

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Michael Reichhardt; Dung, Phan Anh; Brekling, Aske Wiid

    2014-01-01

    This paper investigates the feasibility of reducing a model-checking problem K ⊧ ϕ for discrete time Duration Calculus to the decision problem for Presburger Arithmetic. Theoretical results point at severe limitations of this approach: (1) the reduction in Fränzle and Hansen (Int J Softw Inform 3...... limits of the approach are illustrated by a family of examples....

  16. Development, implementation, and evaluation of a mental rehearsal strategy to improve clinical performance and reduce stress: A mixed methods study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ignacio, Jeanette; Dolmans, Diana; Scherpbier, Albert; Rethans, Jan-Joost; Lopez, Violeta; Liaw, Sok Ying

    2016-02-01

    Mental rehearsal is a form of mental training that has been used by physicians and nurses to improve performance of clinical skills, and as a vital component of stress management training. To help novice nurses deal with often stressful clinical events that require the processing of information essential to patient management, a mental rehearsal strategy was developed and implemented in a Year 3 nursing simulation program. Inherent to mental rehearsal is imagery, which facilitates cognitive and affective modification, and reduction of extraneous cognitive load. As such, it was expected that the mental rehearsal strategy would improve students' performance and reduce stress in managing deteriorating patients. The study used a mixed methods design. Eighteen Year 3 nursing students participated in the pre- and post-design study, which consisted of the development and implementation of a mental rehearsal strategy. The Rescuing A Patient In Deteriorating Situations (RAPIDS) tool was used to assess performance. Heart rates and systolic blood pressures were used to measure stress. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was used as a psychological measure of stress/anxiety. Five participants were involved in a focus group discussion that evaluated the usefulness of the mental rehearsal strategy. There was a significant improvement in performance (Pstrategy. The mental rehearsal strategy for deteriorating patient management can be valuable based on the findings on performance and based on the participants' feedback. Its role in reducing stress, however, needs further evaluation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Construction of Quasi-Cyclic LDPC Codes Based on Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hai Zhu

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Quasi-cyclic (QC LDPC codes play an important role in 5G communications and have been chosen as the standard codes for 5G enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB data channel. In this paper, we study the construction of QC LDPC codes based on an arbitrary given expansion factor (or lifting degree. First, we analyze the cycle structure of QC LDPC codes and give the necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of short cycles. Based on the fundamental theorem of arithmetic in number theory, we divide the integer factorization into three cases and present three classes of QC LDPC codes accordingly. Furthermore, a general construction method of QC LDPC codes with girth of at least 6 is proposed. Numerical results show that the constructed QC LDPC codes perform well over the AWGN channel when decoded with the iterative algorithms.

  18. DEBT AMORTIZATION AND SIMPLE INTEREST: THE CASE OF PAYMENTS IN AN ARITHMETIC PROGRESSION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Clovis José Daudt Lyra Darrigue Faro

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available With the argument that, necessarily, compound interest implies anatocism, the Brazilian Judiciary has been determining that, specially for the case of  debt amortization in accordance with the so called Tabela Price, when we have constant payments, the use of simple interest. With the same determination occurring in the case of the Constant Amortization Scheme, when the payments follow arithmetic progressions.  However, as simple interest lacks the property of time subdivision, it is shown that as in the case of constant payments, the adoption of simple interest in the case of payments following an arithmetic progression results in amortization schemes that are financially inconsistent. In the sense that the determination of the outstanding principal in accordance with the prospective, retrospective and of recurrence methods lead to conflicting  results. To this end, four different variations of the use of simple interest are numerically analyzed.

  19. Altered regional homogeneity with short-term simulated microgravity and its relationship with changed performance in mental transformation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yang Liao

    Full Text Available In order to further the insight into the explanation of changed performance in mental transformation under microgravity, we discuss the change of performance in mental transformation and its relationship with altered regional homogeneity (ReHo in resting-state brain by using simulated weightlessness model. Twelve male subjects with age between 24 and 31 received resting-state fMRI scan and mental transformation test both in normal condition and immediately after 72 hours -6° head down tilt (HDT. A paired sample t-test was used to test the difference of behavior performance and brain activity between these two conditions. Compare with normal condition, subjects showed a changed performance in mental transformation with short term simulated microgravity and appeared to be falling. Meanwhile, decreased ReHo were found in right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG and left inferior parietal lobule (IPL after 72 hours -6° HDT, while increased ReHo were found in bilateral medial frontal gyrus (MFG and left superior frontal gyrus (SFG (P<0.05, corrected. Particularly, there was a significant correlation between ReHo values in left IPL and velocity index of mental transformation. Our findings indicate that gravity change may disrupt the function of right IFG and left IPL in the resting-state, among of which functional change in left IPL may contribute to changed abilities of mental transformation. In addition, the enhanced activity of the bilateral MFG and decreased activity of right IFG found in the current study maybe reflect a complementation effect on inhibitory control process.

  20. Student Engagement in High-Performing Schools: Relationships to Mental and Physical Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conner, Jerusha O.; Pope, Denise

    2014-01-01

    This chapter examines how the three most common types of engagement found among adolescents attending high-performing high schools relate to indicators of mental and physical health. [This article originally appeared as NSSE Yearbook Vol. 113, No. 1.

  1. Teamwork skills, shared mental models, and performance in simulated trauma teams: an independent group design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Westli Heidi

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Non-technical skills are seen as an important contributor to reducing adverse events and improving medical management in healthcare teams. Previous research on the effectiveness of teams has suggested that shared mental models facilitate coordination and team performance. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether demonstrated teamwork skills and behaviour indicating shared mental models would be associated with observed improved medical management in trauma team simulations. Methods Revised versions of the 'Anesthetists' Non-Technical Skills Behavioural marker system' and 'Anti-Air Teamwork Observation Measure' were field tested in moment-to-moment observation of 27 trauma team simulations in Norwegian hospitals. Independent subject matter experts rated medical management in the teams. An independent group design was used to explore differences in teamwork skills between higher-performing and lower-performing teams. Results Specific teamwork skills and behavioural markers were associated with indicators of good team performance. Higher and lower-performing teams differed in information exchange, supporting behaviour and communication, with higher performing teams showing more effective information exchange and communication, and less supporting behaviours. Behavioural markers of shared mental models predicted effective medical management better than teamwork skills. Conclusions The present study replicates and extends previous research by providing new empirical evidence of the significance of specific teamwork skills and a shared mental model for the effective medical management of trauma teams. In addition, the study underlines the generic nature of teamwork skills by demonstrating their transferability from different clinical simulations like the anaesthesia environment to trauma care, as well as the potential usefulness of behavioural frequency analysis in future research on non-technical skills.

  2. Do comprehensive performance measurement systems help or hinder managers' mental model development?

    OpenAIRE

    Matthew Hall

    2011-01-01

    This study examines whether and how the process of updating and changing mental models (learning) helps to explain how performance measurement systems (PMS) affect individual performance. Although prior studies (e.g., Hall, 2008; Burney and Widener, 2007; Burney et al., 2009) highlight the important role of particular cognitive and motivational mechanisms, such as role clarity and organizational justice, they do not consider how PMS can improve performance by helping individuals to update the...

  3. Frontal midline theta rhythm and gamma power changes during focused attention on mental calculation: an MEG beamformer analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ryouhei eIshii

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Frontal midline theta rhythm (Fmθ appears widely distributed over medial prefrontal areas in EEG recordings, indicating focused attention. Although mental calculation is often used as an attention-demanding task, little has been reported on calculation-related activation in Fmθ experiments. In this study we used spatially filtered MEG and permutation analysis to precisely localize cortical generators of the magnetic counterpart of Fmθ, as well as other sources of oscillatory activity associated with mental calculation processing (i.e., arithmetic subtraction. Our results confirmed and extended earlier EEG/MEG studies indicating that Fmθ during mental calculation is generated in the dorsal anterior cingulate and adjacent medial prefrontal cortex. Mental subtraction was also associated with gamma event-related synchronization, as an index of activation, in right parietal regions subserving basic numerical processing and number-based spatial attention. Gamma event-related desynchronization appeared in the right lateral prefrontal cortex, likely representing a mechanism to interrupt neural activity that can interfere with the ongoing cognitive task.

  4. Gender Difference Does Not Mean Genetic Difference: Externalizing Improves Performance in Mental Rotation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moe, Angelica

    2012-01-01

    The fear of underperforming owing to stereotype threat affects women's performance in tasks such as mathematics, chess, and spatial reasoning. The present research considered mental rotation and explored effects on performance and on regulatory focus of instructions pointing to different explanations for gender differences. Two hundred and one…

  5. The Teachers' Views on Soroban Abacus Training

    Science.gov (United States)

    Altiparmak, Kemal

    2016-01-01

    Soroban abacus training is called as mental arithmetic training in our country. It is known for mental arithmetic to increase the ability of four mode operations. Besides this, how is the situation for the students which are having Soroban abacus training in the terms of problem solving abilities, creativity, development of concepts, attraction…

  6. A Biologically Inspired Approach to Frequency Domain Feature Extraction for EEG Classification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nurhan Gursel Ozmen

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Classification of electroencephalogram (EEG signal is important in mental decoding for brain-computer interfaces (BCI. We introduced a feature extraction approach based on frequency domain analysis to improve the classification performance on different mental tasks using single-channel EEG. This biologically inspired method extracts the most discriminative spectral features from power spectral densities (PSDs of the EEG signals. We applied our method on a dataset of six subjects who performed five different imagination tasks: (i resting state, (ii mental arithmetic, (iii imagination of left hand movement, (iv imagination of right hand movement, and (v imagination of letter “A.” Pairwise and multiclass classifications were performed in single EEG channel using Linear Discriminant Analysis and Support Vector Machines. Our method produced results (mean classification accuracy of 83.06% for binary classification and 91.85% for multiclassification that are on par with the state-of-the-art methods, using single-channel EEG with low computational cost. Among all task pairs, mental arithmetic versus letter imagination yielded the best result (mean classification accuracy of 90.29%, indicating that this task pair could be the most suitable pair for a binary class BCI. This study contributes to the development of single-channel BCI, as well as finding the best task pair for user defined applications.

  7. The relationship between medical impairments and arithmetic development in children with cerebral palsy.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jenks, K.M.; Lieshout, E.C. van; Moor, J.M.H. de

    2009-01-01

    Arithmetic ability was tested in children with cerebral palsy without severe intellectual impairment (verbal IQ >or= 70) attending special (n = 41) or mainstream education (n = 16) as well as control children in mainstream education (n = 16) throughout first and second grade. Children with cerebral

  8. The arithmetic of elliptic fibrations in gauge theories on a circle

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grimm, Thomas W. [Max-Planck-Institut für Physik,Föhringer Ring 6, 80805 Munich (Germany); Institute for Theoretical Physics,Utrecht University, Leuvenlaan 4, 3584 CE Utrecht (Netherlands); Center for Extreme Matter and Emergent Phenomena,Utrecht University, Leuvenlaan 4, 3584 CE Utrecht (Netherlands); Kapfer, Andreas [Max-Planck-Institut für Physik,Föhringer Ring 6, 80805 Munich (Germany); Klevers, Denis [Theory Group, Physics Department, CERN,CH-1211, Geneva 23 (Switzerland)

    2016-06-20

    The geometry of elliptic fibrations translates to the physics of gauge theories in F-theory. We systematically develop the dictionary between arithmetic structures on elliptic curves as well as desingularized elliptic fibrations and symmetries of gauge theories on a circle. We show that the Mordell-Weil group law matches integral large gauge transformations around the circle in Abelian gauge theories and explain the significance of Mordell-Weil torsion in this context. We also use Higgs transitions and circle large gauge transformations to introduce a group law for genus-one fibrations with multi-sections. Finally, we introduce a novel arithmetic structure on elliptic fibrations with non-Abelian gauge groups in F-theory. It is defined on the set of exceptional divisors resolving the singularities and divisor classes of sections of the fibration. This group structure can be matched with certain integral non-Abelian large gauge transformations around the circle when studying the theory on the lower-dimensional Coulomb branch. Its existence is required by consistency with Higgs transitions from the non-Abelian theory to its Abelian phases in which it becomes the Mordell-Weil group. This hints towards the existence of a new underlying geometric symmetry.

  9. The arithmetic of elliptic fibrations in gauge theories on a circle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grimm, Thomas W.; Kapfer, Andreas; Klevers, Denis

    2016-06-01

    The geometry of elliptic fibrations translates to the physics of gauge theories in F-theory. We systematically develop the dictionary between arithmetic structures on elliptic curves as well as desingularized elliptic fibrations and symmetries of gauge theories on a circle. We show that the Mordell-Weil group law matches integral large gauge transformations around the circle in Abelian gauge theories and explain the significance of Mordell-Weil torsion in this context. We also use Higgs transitions and circle large gauge transformations to introduce a group law for genus-one fibrations with multi-sections. Finally, we introduce a novel arithmetic structure on elliptic fibrations with non-Abelian gauge groups in F-theory. It is defined on the set of exceptional divisors resolving the singularities and divisor classes of sections of the fibration. This group structure can be matched with certain integral non-Abelian large gauge transformations around the circle when studying the theory on the lower-dimensional Coulomb branch. Its existence is required by consistency with Higgs transitions from the non-Abelian theory to its Abelian phases in which it becomes the Mordell-Weil group. This hints towards the existence of a new underlying geometric symmetry.

  10. The arithmetic of elliptic fibrations in gauge theories on a circle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grimm, Thomas W.; Kapfer, Andreas; Klevers, Denis

    2016-01-01

    The geometry of elliptic fibrations translates to the physics of gauge theories in F-theory. We systematically develop the dictionary between arithmetic structures on elliptic curves as well as desingularized elliptic fibrations and symmetries of gauge theories on a circle. We show that the Mordell-Weil group law matches integral large gauge transformations around the circle in Abelian gauge theories and explain the significance of Mordell-Weil torsion in this context. We also use Higgs transitions and circle large gauge transformations to introduce a group law for genus-one fibrations with multi-sections. Finally, we introduce a novel arithmetic structure on elliptic fibrations with non-Abelian gauge groups in F-theory. It is defined on the set of exceptional divisors resolving the singularities and divisor classes of sections of the fibration. This group structure can be matched with certain integral non-Abelian large gauge transformations around the circle when studying the theory on the lower-dimensional Coulomb branch. Its existence is required by consistency with Higgs transitions from the non-Abelian theory to its Abelian phases in which it becomes the Mordell-Weil group. This hints towards the existence of a new underlying geometric symmetry.

  11. Performance feedback, self-esteem, and cardiovascular adaptation to recurring stressors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Eoin G; Creaven, Ann-Marie

    2017-05-01

    This study sought to examine the effects of performance feedback and individual differences in self-esteem on cardiovascular habituation to repeat stress exposure. Sixty-six university students (n = 39 female) completed a self-esteem measure and completed a cardiovascular stress-testing protocol involving repeated exposure to a mental arithmetic task. Cardiovascular functioning was sampled across four phases: resting baseline, initial stress exposure, a recovery period, and repeated stress exposure. Participants were randomly assigned to receive fictional positive feedback, negative feedback, or no feedback following the recovery period. Negative feedback was associated with a sensitized blood pressure response to a second exposure of the stress task. Positive feedback was associated with decreased cardiovascular and psychological responses to a second exposure. Self-esteem was also found to predict reactivity and this interacted with the type of feedback received. These findings suggest that negative performance feedback sensitizes cardiovascular reactivity to stress, whereas positive performance feedback increases both cardiovascular and psychological habituation to repeat exposure to stressors. Furthermore, an individual's self-esteem also appears to influence this process.

  12. Is the SNARC effect related to the level of mathematics? No systematic relationship observed despite more power, more repetitions, and more direct assessment of arithmetic skill.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cipora, Krzysztof; Nuerk, Hans-Christoph

    2013-01-01

    The SNARC (spatial-numerical association of response codes) described that larger numbers are responded faster with the right hand and smaller numbers with the left hand. It is held in the literature that arithmetically skilled and nonskilled adults differ in the SNARC. However, the respective data are descriptive, and the decisive tests are nonsignificant. Possible reasons for this nonsignificance could be that in previous studies (a) very small samples were used, (b) there were too few repetitions producing too little power and, consequently, reliabilities that were too small to reach conventional significance levels for the descriptive skill differences in the SNARC, and (c) general mathematical ability was assessed by the field of study of students, while individual arithmetic skills were not examined. Therefore we used a much bigger sample, a lot more repetitions, and direct assessment of arithmetic skills to explore relations between the SNARC effect and arithmetic skills. Nevertheless, a difference in SNARC effect between arithmetically skilled and nonskilled participants was not obtained. Bayesian analysis showed positive evidence of a true null effect, not just a power problem. Hence we conclude that the idea that arithmetically skilled and nonskilled participants generally differ in the SNARC effect is not warranted by our data.

  13. Symptoms of anxiety and depression are related to cardiovascular responses to active, but not passive, coping tasks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kornanong Yuenyongchaiwat

    Full Text Available Objective: Anxiety and depression have been linked to blunted blood pressure (BP and heart rate (HR reactions to mental stress tests; however, most studies have not included indices of underlying hemodynamics nor multiple stress tasks. This study sought to examine the relationships of anxiety and depression with hemodynamic responses to acute active and passive coping tasks. Methods: A total of 104 participants completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scales and mental arithmetic, speech, and cold pressor tasks while BP, HR, total peripheral resistance, and cardiac output (CO were assessed. Results: After adjustment for traditional risk factors and baseline cardiovascular activity, depression scores were negatively associated with systolic BP, HR, and CO responses to the mental arithmetic task, while anxiety scores were inversely related to the systolic BP response to mental arithmetic. Conclusion: High anxiety or depression scores appear to be associated with blunted cardiac reactions to mental arithmetic (an active coping task, but not to the cold pressor test or speech tasks. Future research should further examine potential mechanisms and longitudinal pathways relating depression and anxiety to cardiovascular reactivity. Clinical trial registration number: TCTR20160208004

  14. Applying the roofline performance model to the intel xeon phi knights landing processor

    OpenAIRE

    Doerfler, D; Deslippe, J; Williams, S; Oliker, L; Cook, B; Kurth, T; Lobet, M; Malas, T; Vay, JL; Vincenti, H

    2016-01-01

    � Springer International Publishing AG 2016. The Roofline Performance Model is a visually intuitive method used to bound the sustained peak floating-point performance of any given arithmetic kernel on any given processor architecture. In the Roofline, performance is nominally measured in floating-point operations per second as a function of arithmetic intensity (operations per byte of data). In this study we determine the Roofline for the Intel Knights Landing (KNL) processor, determining t...

  15. Impact of Providing Compassion on Job Performance and Mental Health: The Moderating Effect of Interpersonal Relationship Quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chu, Li-Chuan

    2017-07-01

    To examine the relationships of providing compassion at work with job performance and mental health, as well as to identify the role of interpersonal relationship quality in moderating these relationships. This study adopted a two-stage survey completed by 235 registered nurses employed by hospitals in Taiwan. All hypotheses were tested using hierarchical regression analyses. The results show that providing compassion is an effective predictor of job performance and mental health, whereas interpersonal relationship quality can moderate the relationships of providing compassion with job performance and mental health. When nurses are frequently willing to listen, understand, and help their suffering colleagues, the enhancement engendered by providing compassion can improve the provider's job performance and mental health. Creating high-quality relationships in the workplace can strengthen the positive benefits of providing compassion. Motivating employees to spontaneously exhibit compassion is crucial to an organization. Hospitals can establish value systems, belief systems, and cultural systems that support a compassionate response to suffering. In addition, nurses can internalize altruistic belief systems into their own personal value systems through a long process of socialization in the workplace. © 2017 Sigma Theta Tau International.

  16. Improved Accuracy of Nonlinear Parameter Estimation with LAV and Interval Arithmetic Methods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Humberto Muñoz

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available The reliable solution of nonlinear parameter es- timation problems is an important computational problem in many areas of science and engineering, including such applications as real time optimization. Its goal is to estimate accurate model parameters that provide the best fit to measured data, despite small- scale noise in the data or occasional large-scale mea- surement errors (outliers. In general, the estimation techniques are based on some kind of least squares or maximum likelihood criterion, and these require the solution of a nonlinear and non-convex optimiza- tion problem. Classical solution methods for these problems are local methods, and may not be reliable for finding the global optimum, with no guarantee the best model parameters have been found. Interval arithmetic can be used to compute completely and reliably the global optimum for the nonlinear para- meter estimation problem. Finally, experimental re- sults will compare the least squares, l2, and the least absolute value, l1, estimates using interval arithmetic in a chemical engineering application.

  17. Mothers, Intrinsic Math Motivation, Arithmetic Skills, and Math Anxiety in Elementary School.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daches Cohen, Lital; Rubinsten, Orly

    2017-01-01

    Math anxiety is influenced by environmental, cognitive, and personal factors. Yet, the concurrent relationships between these factors have not been examined. To this end, the current study investigated how the math anxiety of 30 sixth graders is affected by: (a) mother's math anxiety and maternal behaviors (environmental factors); (b) children's arithmetic skills (cognitive factors); and (c) intrinsic math motivation (personal factor). A rigorous assessment of children's math anxiety was made by using both explicit and implicit measures. The results indicated that accessible self-representations of math anxiety, as reflected by the explicit self-report questionnaire, were strongly affected by arithmetic skills. However, unconscious cognitive constructs of math anxiety, as reflected by the numerical dot-probe task, were strongly affected by environmental factors, such as maternal behaviors and mothers' attitudes toward math. Furthermore, the present study provided preliminary evidence of intergenerational transmission of math anxiety. The conclusions are that in order to better understand the etiology of math anxiety, multiple facets of parenting and children's skills should be taken into consideration. Implications for researchers, parents, and educators are discussed.

  18. Where to from here? Future applications of mental models of complex performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hahn, H.A.; Nelson, W.R.; Blackman, H.S.

    1988-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to raise issues for discussion regarding the applications of mental models in the study of complex performance. Applications for training, expert systems and decision aids, job selection, workstation design, and other complex environments are considered. 1 ref

  19. Effects of Social Determinants on Chinese Immigrant Food Service Workers' Work Performance and Injuries: Mental Health as a Mediator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsai, Jenny Hsin-Chun; Thompson, Elaine Adams

    2015-07-01

    The effects of social discrimination, job concerns, and social support on worker mental health and the influence of mental health on occupational health outcomes have been documented intermittently. We propose an integrated, theory-driven model to distinguish the impact of social determinants on work performance and injuries and the mediating effects of mental health problems. The US Chinese immigrant food service workers (N = 194) completed a multimeasure interview; we tested the integrated model using structural equation modeling. Mental health problems, which were associated with decreased work performance and increased injuries, also mediated relationships between job/employment concerns and both work performance and injuries but did not mediate the influences of discrimination and social support. This research reveals mechanisms by which social determinants influence immigrant worker health, pointing to complementary strategies for reducing occupational health disparities.

  20. Mental practice with interactive 3D visual aids enhances surgical performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yiasemidou, Marina; Glassman, Daniel; Mushtaq, Faisal; Athanasiou, Christos; Williams, Mark-Mon; Jayne, David; Miskovic, Danilo

    2017-10-01

    Evidence suggests that Mental Practice (MP) could be used to finesse surgical skills. However, MP is cognitively demanding and may be dependent on the ability of individuals to produce mental images. In this study, we hypothesised that the provision of interactive 3D visual aids during MP could facilitate surgical skill performance. 20 surgical trainees were case-matched to one of three different preparation methods prior to performing a simulated Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy (LC). Two intervention groups underwent a 25-minute MP session; one with interactive 3D visual aids depicting the relevant surgical anatomy (3D-MP group, n = 5) and one without (MP-Only, n = 5). A control group (n = 10) watched a didactic video of a real LC. Scores relating to technical performance and safety were recorded by a surgical simulator. The Control group took longer to complete the procedure relative to the 3D&MP condition (p = .002). The number of movements was also statistically different across groups (p = .001), with the 3D&MP group making fewer movements relative to controls (p = .001). Likewise, the control group moved further in comparison to the 3D&MP condition and the MP-Only condition (p = .004). No reliable differences were observed for safety metrics. These data provide evidence for the potential value of MP in improving performance. Furthermore, they suggest that 3D interactive visual aids during MP could potentially enhance performance, beyond the benefits of MP alone. These findings pave the way for future RCTs on surgical preparation and performance.

  1. [The effect of humor in the workplace on mental/physical health and self-evaluation of job performance].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maruyama, Junichi; Fuji, Kei

    2016-04-01

    In this study we aimed to examine the contents of humor in the Japanese workplace and to understand the effects of humor on mental/physical health and self-evaluation of job performance. Japanese workers (N = 436) responded to questionnaires addressing workplace humor, feelings about workplace, workplace communication, mental/physical health, and perceived job performance. An exploratory factor analysis indicated that there are five types of workplace humor: norm-violating humor, experience-sharing humor workplace-enjoying humor, people-recalling humor, and outside-mocking humor. A covariance structural analysis showed that norm-violating humor and workplace-enjoying humor decreased mental and physical health by promoting both negative feelings in the workplace and self-disclosure about the negative side of work. Results also revealed that experience-sharing humor, people-recalling humor, and outside-mocking humor had a positive effect on the self-evaluation of job performance as well as mental and physical health, by promoting both positive feelings and mutual communication in the workplace. Results suggest that humor in the workplace has various influences on workers depending on the type of workplace humor.

  2. Error Recovery Properties and Soft Decoding of Quasi-Arithmetic Codes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christine Guillemot

    2007-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper first introduces a new set of aggregated state models for soft-input decoding of quasi arithmetic (QA codes with a termination constraint. The decoding complexity with these models is linear with the sequence length. The aggregation parameter controls the tradeoff between decoding performance and complexity. It is shown that close-to-optimal decoding performance can be obtained with low values of the aggregation parameter, that is, with a complexity which is significantly reduced with respect to optimal QA bit/symbol models. The choice of the aggregation parameter depends on the synchronization recovery properties of the QA codes. This paper thus describes a method to estimate the probability mass function (PMF of the gain/loss of symbols following a single bit error (i.e., of the difference between the number of encoded and decoded symbols. The entropy of the gain/loss turns out to be the average amount of information conveyed by a length constraint on both the optimal and aggregated state models. This quantity allows us to choose the value of the aggregation parameter that will lead to close-to-optimal decoding performance. It is shown that the optimum position for the length constraint is not the last time instant of the decoding process. This observation leads to the introduction of a new technique for robust decoding of QA codes with redundancy which turns out to outperform techniques based on the concept of forbidden symbol.

  3. Do Birth Order, Family Size and Gender Affect Arithmetic Achievement in Elementary School?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Desoete, Annemie

    2008-01-01

    Introduction: For decades birth order and gender differences have attracted research attention. Method: Birth order, family size and gender, and the relationship with arithmetic achievement is studied among 1152 elementary school children (540 girls, 612 boys) in Flanders. Children were matched on socioeconomic status of the parents and…

  4. Visual perception can account for the close relation between numerosity processing and computational fluency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Xinlin; Wei, Wei; Zhang, Yiyun; Cui, Jiaxin; Chen, Chuansheng

    2015-01-01

    Studies have shown that numerosity processing (e.g., comparison of numbers of dots in two dot arrays) is significantly correlated with arithmetic performance. Researchers have attributed this association to the fact that both tasks share magnitude processing. The current investigation tested an alternative hypothesis, which states that visual perceptual ability (as measured by a figure-matching task) can account for the close relation between numerosity processing and arithmetic performance (computational fluency). Four hundred and twenty four third- to fifth-grade children (220 boys and 204 girls, 8.0-11.0 years old; 120 third graders, 146 fourth graders, and 158 fifth graders) were recruited from two schools (one urban and one suburban) in Beijing, China. Six classes were randomly selected from each school, and all students in each selected class participated in the study. All children were given a series of cognitive and mathematical tests, including numerosity comparison, figure matching, forward verbal working memory, visual tracing, non-verbal matrices reasoning, mental rotation, choice reaction time, arithmetic tests and curriculum-based mathematical achievement test. Results showed that figure-matching ability had higher correlations with numerosity processing and computational fluency than did other cognitive factors (e.g., forward verbal working memory, visual tracing, non-verbal matrix reasoning, mental rotation, and choice reaction time). More important, hierarchical multiple regression showed that figure matching ability accounted for the well-established association between numerosity processing and computational fluency. In support of the visual perception hypothesis, the results suggest that visual perceptual ability, rather than magnitude processing, may be the shared component of numerosity processing and arithmetic performance.

  5. Theory of ratios in Nicomachus' Arithmetica and series of arithmetical problems in Pachymeres' Quadrivium: Reflections about a possible relationship

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Megremi Athanasia

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The voluminous Treatise of the four mathematical sciences of Georgios Pachymeres is the most renowned quadrivium produced in Byzantium. Among its specific features, historians of mathematics have pointed out, is the inclusion of Diophantus, besides Nicomachus and Euclid, in the sources for the arithmetical section and, accordingly, the incorporation of series of problems and problem-solving in its contents. The present paper investigates the “Diophantine portion” of Pachymeres' treatise and it shows that it is structured according to two criteria intrinsically characterized by seriality: on one hand, the arrangement in which the problems are presented in book I of Diophantus' Arithmetica; on the other hand, for those problems of which the enunciation involves ratio, the order in which Nicomachus discusses the kinds of ratios in his Arithmetical introduction. Furthermore, it analyses the solutions that Pachymeres offers and argues that Nicomachus' Arithmetical introduction provides the necessary tools for pursuing them.

  6. Mental kontroll under prestasjoner

    OpenAIRE

    Egeland, Helge

    2010-01-01

    Mental control in a performance setting was examined based on the theory of ironic processes (Wegner, 1994). The theory of ironic processes argues that attempted mental control can result in intentional or ironic effects. According to the theory, the outcome of mental control is mediated by (a) mental load, (b) concentration and suppression strategies, and (c) learning. These hypotheses were examined by reviewing research related to mental control in a performance setting. This...

  7. Self-esteem, performance feedback, and cardiovascular stress reactivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, Brian M

    2007-09-01

    This study sought to establish the impact of performance-related feedback on cardiovascular responses to stressors, and whether this impact is influenced by individual differences in self-esteem. A total of 66 college women were categorized as either high or low in self-esteem on the basis of their scores in a standardized psychometric test. They then took part in a laboratory experiment, in which they were assigned to one of three performance-feedback manipulations. Following the provision of feedback on an initial laboratory task (picture-matching), they undertook a second task (mental arithmetic). Cardiovascular functioning was monitored throughout. Provision of negative feedback to the initial task exerted an adverse impact on cardiovascular responses, suggestive of unhappiness with performance. Provision of positive feedback to the initial task exerted an impact on cardiovascular functioning during the second task, suggestive of task engagement. Importantly, low self-esteem exacerbated the adverse impact of negative feedback. The impact of feedback and the buffering role of self-esteem may have important consequences for cardiovascular health. Further, discrepancies in the findings of previous feedback research may be accounted for by dispositional individual differences.

  8. Mediation analysis of severity of needs, service performance and outcomes for patients with mental disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roux, Paul; Passerieux, Christine; Fleury, Marie-Josée

    2016-12-01

    Needs and service performance assessment are key components in improving recovery among individuals with mental disorders. To test the role of service performance as a mediating factor between severity of patients' needs and outcomes. A total of 339 adults with mental disorders were interviewed. A mediation analysis between severity of needs, service performance (adequacy of help, continuity of care and recovery orientation of services) and outcomes (personal recovery and quality of life) was carried out using structural equation modelling. The structural equation model provided a good fit with the data. An increase in needs was associated with lower service performance and worse outcomes, whereas higher service performance was associated with better outcomes. Service performance partially mediated the effect of patient needs on outcomes. Poorer service performance has a negative impact on outcomes for patients with the highest needs. Ensuring more efficient services for patients with high needs may help improve their recovery and quality of life. © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2016.

  9. Comparing Repetition Priming Effects in Words and Arithmetic Equations: Robust Priming Regardless of Color or Response Hand Change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ailsa Humphries

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Previous studies have shown that stimulus repetition can lead to reliable behavioral improvements. Although this repetition priming (RP effect has been reported in a number of paradigms using a variety of stimuli including words, objects, and faces, only a few studies have investigated mathematical cognition involving arithmetic computation, and no prior research has directly compared RP effects in a linguistic task with an arithmetic task. In two experiments, we used a within-subjects design to investigate and compare the magnitude of RP, and the effects of changing the color or the response hand for repeated, otherwise identical, stimuli in a word and an arithmetic categorization task. The results show that the magnitude of RP was comparable between the two tasks and that changing the color or the response hand had a negligible effect on priming in either task. These results extended previous findings in mathematical cognition. They also indicate that priming does not vary with stimulus domain. The implications of the results were discussed with reference to both facilitation of component processes and episodic memory retrieval of stimulus–response binding.

  10. Comparing Repetition Priming Effects in Words and Arithmetic Equations: Robust Priming Regardless of Color or Response Hand Change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Humphries, Ailsa; Chen, Zhe; Neumann, Ewald

    2017-01-01

    Previous studies have shown that stimulus repetition can lead to reliable behavioral improvements. Although this repetition priming (RP) effect has been reported in a number of paradigms using a variety of stimuli including words, objects, and faces, only a few studies have investigated mathematical cognition involving arithmetic computation, and no prior research has directly compared RP effects in a linguistic task with an arithmetic task. In two experiments, we used a within-subjects design to investigate and compare the magnitude of RP, and the effects of changing the color or the response hand for repeated, otherwise identical, stimuli in a word and an arithmetic categorization task. The results show that the magnitude of RP was comparable between the two tasks and that changing the color or the response hand had a negligible effect on priming in either task. These results extended previous findings in mathematical cognition. They also indicate that priming does not vary with stimulus domain. The implications of the results were discussed with reference to both facilitation of component processes and episodic memory retrieval of stimulus-response binding.

  11. Mental Fatigue Alters Cortical Activation and Psychological Responses, Impairing Performance in a Distance-Based Cycling Trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Flávio O. Pires

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: We sought to verify if alterations in prefrontal cortex (PFC activation and psychological responses would play along with impairments in pacing and performance of mentally fatigued cyclists.Materials and Methods: Eight recreational cyclists performed two preliminary sessions to familiarize them with the rapid visual information processing (RVP test, psychological scales and 20 km cycling time trial (TT20km (session 1, as well as to perform a VO2MAX test (session 2. Thereafter, they performed a TT20km either after a RVP test (30 min or a time-matched rest control session (session 3 and 4 in counterbalanced order. Performance and psychological responses were obtained throughout the TT20km while PFC electroencephalography (EEG was obtained at 10 and 20 km of the TT20km and throughout the RVP test. Increases in EEG theta band power indicated a mental fatigue condition. Repeated-measures mixed models design and post-hoc effect size (ES were used in comparisons.Results: Cyclists completed the trial ~2.7% slower in mental fatigue (34.3 ± 1.3 min than in control (33.4 ± 1.1 min, p = 0.02, very large ES, with a lower WMEAN (224.5 ± 17.9 W vs. 240.2 ± 20.9 W, respectively; p = 0.03; extremely large ES. There was a higher EEG theta band power during RVP test (p = 0.03; extremely large ES, which remained during the TT20km (p = 0.01; extremely large ES. RPE increased steeper in mental fatigue than in control, together with isolated reductions in motivation at 2th km (p = 0.04; extremely large ES, felt arousal at the 2nd and 4th km (p = 0.01; extremely large ES, and associative thoughts to exercise at the 6th and 16th km (p = 0.02; extremely large ES of the TT20km.Conclusions: Mentally fatigued recreational cyclists showed impaired performance, altered PFC activation and faster increase in RPE during a TT20km.

  12. The Relationship between Shared Mental Models and Task Performance in an Online Team- Based Learning Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Tristan E.; Lee, Youngmin

    2008-01-01

    In an effort to better understand learning teams, this study examines the effects of shared mental models on team and individual performance. The results indicate that each team's shared mental model changed significantly over the time that subjects participated in team-based learning activities. The results also showed that the shared mental…

  13. Hard Lessons: Why Rational Number Arithmetic Is so Difficult for so Many People

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siegler, Robert S.; Lortie-Forgues, Hugues

    2017-01-01

    Fraction and decimal arithmetic pose large difficulties for many children and adults. This is a serious problem, because proficiency with these skills is crucial for learning more advanced mathematics and science and for success in many occupations. This review identifies two main classes of difficulties that underlie poor understanding of…

  14. Is breakfast consumption related to mental distress and academic performance in adolescents?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lien, Lars

    2007-04-01

    To examine the relationship between mental distress, academic performance and regular breakfast consumption across gender and immigration status. Cross-sectional population-based study. Two four-page questionnaires were filled in during two school sessions. All junior high schools in Oslo, Norway using the classroom as the setting for the study. All 10th grade students 15-16 years olds in 2000 and 2001. Of 8316 eligible students, 7343 (88.3%) participated in the study. All immigrant groups, except the Western countries group, are skipping breakfast more often than Norwegian students, and girls more often than boys (27 versus 19%). After adjustment for possible confounding factors, the odds ratio (OR) for being mentally distressed when eating breakfast seldom/never compared with every day was 3.0 (2.0-4.5) for boys, 1.6 (1.2-2.1) for girls and 1.6 (1.5-2.6) for the immigrant group. The comparable OR for having low school grades was similar for boys and girls, 2.0 (1.3-3.0), and 1.6 (1.5-2.6) for the immigrant groups. Skipping breakfast is a common feature among 10th grade students. The implications of skipping breakfast on mental distress and academic performance are stronger for boys than girls and stronger for Norwegians compared with immigrants.

  15. Mental skills training effectively minimizes operative performance deterioration under stressful conditions: Results of a randomized controlled study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anton, N E; Beane, J; Yurco, A M; Howley, L D; Bean, E; Myers, E M; Stefanidis, D

    2018-02-01

    Stress can negatively impact surgical performance, but mental skills may help. We hypothesized that a comprehensive mental skills curriculum (MSC) would minimize resident performance deterioration under stress. Twenty-four residents were stratified then randomized to receive mental skills and FLS training (MSC group), or only FLS training (control group). Laparoscopic suturing skill was assessed on a live porcine model with and without external stressors. Outcomes were compared with t-tests. Twenty-three residents completed the study. The groups were similar at baseline. There were no differences in suturing at posttest or transfer test under normal conditions. Both groups experienced significantly decreased performance when stress was applied, but the MSC group significantly outperformed controls under stress. This MSC enabled residents to perform significantly better than controls in the simulated OR under unexpected stressful conditions. These findings support the use of psychological skills as an integral part of a surgical resident training. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Gunslingers, poker players, and chickens 3: Decision making under mental performance pressure in junior elite athletes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parkin, Beth L; Walsh, Vincent

    2017-01-01

    Having investigated the decision making of world class elite and subelite athletes (see Parkin and Walsh, 2017; Parkin et al., 2017), here the abilities of those at the earliest stage of entry to elite sport are examined. Junior elite athletes have undergone initial national selection and are younger than athletes examined previously (mean age 13 years). Decision making under mental pressure is explored in this sample. During performance an athlete encounters a wide array of mental pressures; these include the psychological impact of errors, negative feedback, and requirements for sustained attention in a dynamic environment (Anshel and Wells, 2000; Mellalieu et al., 2009). Such factors increase the cognitive demands of the athletes, inducing distracting anxiety-related thoughts known as rumination (Beilock and Gray, 2007). Mental pressure has been shown to reduce performance of decision-making tasks where reward and loss contingencies are explicit, with a shift toward increased risk taking (Pabst et al., 2013; Starcke et al., 2011). Mental pressure has been shown to be detrimental to decision-making speed in comparison to physical stress, highlighting the importance of considering a range of different pressures encountered by athletes (Hepler, 2015). To investigate the influence of mental pressure on key indicators of decision making in junior elite athletes. This chapter concludes a wider project examining decision making across developmental stages in elite sport. The work further explores how psychological insights can be applied in an elite sporting environment and in particular tailored to the requirements of junior athletes. Seventeen junior elite athletes (10 males, mean age: 13.80 years) enrolled on a national youth athletic development program participated in the study. Performance across three categories of decision making was assessed under conditions of low and high mental pressure. Decision making under risk was measured via the Cambridge Gambling

  17. Arithmetic problem-solving: effect of equivalence relations between three different forms of presenting problems / Resolução de problemas aritméticos: efeito de relações de equivalência entre três diferentes formas de apresentação dos problemas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Verônica Bender Haydu

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available The equivalence paradigm has been applied to the development of a variety of procedures applied to teach reading, writing and arithmetic. This work aimed to investigate the effect of teaching stimulus equivalence relations between three different forms of arithmetic sum problems on problem-solving behavior. Seven first grade students of Fundamental Schooling (=Elementary Schooling were submitted to a pre-test, and a post-test with sum problems printed in the form of slave (A, operations (B and word problems (C. The conditional discrimination procedure established relations between A-B and A-C. Six of seven participants responded accordingly to the established classes. The performance of the participants in the post-test was higher than in the pre-test. It was concluded that the establishment of equivalence relations between arithmetic sum problems in the form of slave, operations, and word problems enhanced the performance of the resolution of those types of problems.

  18. Changes in running pattern due to fatigue and cognitive load in orienteering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Millet, Guillaume Y; Divert, Caroline; Banizette, Marion; Morin, Jean-Benoit

    2010-01-01

    The aim of this study was to examine the influence of fatigue on running biomechanics in normal running, in normal running with a cognitive task, and in running while map reading. Nineteen international and less experienced orienteers performed a fatiguing running exercise of duration and intensity similar to a classic distance orienteering race on an instrumented treadmill while performing mental arithmetic, an orienteering simulation, and control running at regular intervals. Two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance did not reveal any significant difference between mental arithmetic and control running for any of the kinematic and kinetic parameters analysed eight times over the fatiguing protocol. However, these parameters were systematically different between the orienteering simulation and the other two conditions (mental arithmetic and control running). The adaptations in orienteering simulation running were significantly more pronounced in the elite group when step frequency, peak vertical ground reaction force, vertical stiffness, and maximal downward displacement of the centre of mass during contact were considered. The effects of fatigue on running biomechanics depended on whether the orienteers read their map or ran normally. It is concluded that adding a cognitive load does not modify running patterns. Therefore, all changes in running pattern observed during the orienteering simulation, particularly in elite orienteers, are the result of adaptations to enable efficient map reading and/or potentially prevent injuries. Finally, running patterns are not affected to the same extent by fatigue when a map reading task is added.

  19. The effects of mental representation on performance in a navigation task

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barshi, Immanuel

    Most aviation accidents and incidents are attributed to human error. Among the various kinds of human errors found in aviation, problems in communication constitute a large majority. The purpose of this study is to understand some of the cognitive factors influencing these misunderstandings so they can be prevented. Five experiments tested individuals' ability to follow verbal instructions pertaining to navigating in space. The experiments simulated the kinds of instructions pilots receive from air traffic controllers. All five experiments show the importance of the mental representation of the task over and above the short-term memory demands. The results of Experiment 1 show that the number of instructional units is a critical factor, rather than the number of words per unit. The results of Experiment 2 show that when moving in a three dimensional space, it does not matter whether movement is required along all three dimensions or along only two of the three dimensions. The results of Experiment 3 show that individuals perform much better when they have to maintain a two-dimensional mental representation than when they have to maintain a three-dimensional mental representation. What is more, it shows that even immediate verbatim recall is affected by the representation of the situation to which the language input applies. The results of Experiments 4 and 5 show that the two-dimensional advantage found in Experiment 3 is indeed an aspect of the mental representation, rather than a result of translating a visual display into a mental representation. These results also suggest that three units is the capacity limit of short-term memory. Thus, to minimize misunderstandings due to message length, air traffic controllers are advised to limit their messages to no more than three instructions at a time. In addition to ATC procedures, this research has practical implications for computer/visual displays, and for training environments.

  20. Naming Speed and Effortful and Automatic Inhibition in Children with Arithmetic Learning Disabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Amico, Antonella; Passolunghi, Maria Chiara

    2009-01-01

    We report a two-year longitudinal study aimed at investigating the rate of access to numerical and non-numerical information in long-term memory and the functioning of automatic and effortful cognitive inhibition processes in children with arithmetical learning disabilities (ALDs). Twelve children with ALDs, of age 9.3 years, and twelve…

  1. Enhancing Arithmetic and Word-Problem Solving Skills Efficiently by Individualized Computer-Assisted Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schoppek, Wolfgang; Tulis, Maria

    2010-01-01

    The fluency of basic arithmetical operations is a precondition for mathematical problem solving. However, the training of skills plays a minor role in contemporary mathematics instruction. The authors proposed individualization of practice as a means to improve its efficiency, so that the time spent with the training of skills is minimized. As a…

  2. Comparison of Social Skills, Mental Health and Academic Performance in Children with Divorced, Divorcing and Intact Parents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    حسین قمری گیوی

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to compare social skills, mental health and academic performance in children with divorced, divorcing and intact parents. The study sample included 481 children with divorced parents and 419 children with divorcing parents, who were matched to 500 children with normal parents. The participants responded to the Matson's Social Skills Scale and Goldenberg's Mental Health Questionnaire. To assess the academic performance GPA was used. The data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA and Scheffe post hoc test. The Findings showed that children with divorced and divorcing parents had more average scores of the components of physical symptoms, anxiety, social dysfunction, depression and general mental disorder than those of children with normal parents. Also children with divorcing parents had more scores in components of social dysfunction, depression and general mental disorder than children with divorced parents had. Social skills scores and academic performance in children with normal parents were higher than those of divorced parents’ children and children with divorced parents had higher scores than children with divorcing parents. Hence, due to the harm and the conesquences of divorce on children, strategies for minimalizing these conesquences should be planed.

  3. Mothers, Intrinsic Math Motivation, Arithmetic Skills, and Math Anxiety in Elementary School

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daches Cohen, Lital; Rubinsten, Orly

    2017-01-01

    Math anxiety is influenced by environmental, cognitive, and personal factors. Yet, the concurrent relationships between these factors have not been examined. To this end, the current study investigated how the math anxiety of 30 sixth graders is affected by: (a) mother’s math anxiety and maternal behaviors (environmental factors); (b) children’s arithmetic skills (cognitive factors); and (c) intrinsic math motivation (personal factor). A rigorous assessment of children’s math anxiety was made by using both explicit and implicit measures. The results indicated that accessible self-representations of math anxiety, as reflected by the explicit self-report questionnaire, were strongly affected by arithmetic skills. However, unconscious cognitive constructs of math anxiety, as reflected by the numerical dot-probe task, were strongly affected by environmental factors, such as maternal behaviors and mothers’ attitudes toward math. Furthermore, the present study provided preliminary evidence of intergenerational transmission of math anxiety. The conclusions are that in order to better understand the etiology of math anxiety, multiple facets of parenting and children’s skills should be taken into consideration. Implications for researchers, parents, and educators are discussed. PMID:29180973

  4. Mothers, Intrinsic Math Motivation, Arithmetic Skills, and Math Anxiety in Elementary School

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lital Daches Cohen

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Math anxiety is influenced by environmental, cognitive, and personal factors. Yet, the concurrent relationships between these factors have not been examined. To this end, the current study investigated how the math anxiety of 30 sixth graders is affected by: (a mother’s math anxiety and maternal behaviors (environmental factors; (b children’s arithmetic skills (cognitive factors; and (c intrinsic math motivation (personal factor. A rigorous assessment of children’s math anxiety was made by using both explicit and implicit measures. The results indicated that accessible self-representations of math anxiety, as reflected by the explicit self-report questionnaire, were strongly affected by arithmetic skills. However, unconscious cognitive constructs of math anxiety, as reflected by the numerical dot-probe task, were strongly affected by environmental factors, such as maternal behaviors and mothers’ attitudes toward math. Furthermore, the present study provided preliminary evidence of intergenerational transmission of math anxiety. The conclusions are that in order to better understand the etiology of math anxiety, multiple facets of parenting and children’s skills should be taken into consideration. Implications for researchers, parents, and educators are discussed.

  5. Predictive value of age of walking for later motor performance in children with mental retardation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kokubun, M; Haishi, K; Okuzumi, H; Hosobuchi, T; Koike, T

    1996-12-01

    The purpose of the present study was to clarify the predictive value of age of walking for later motor performance in children with mental retardation. While paying due attention to other factors, our investigation focused on the relationship between a subject's age of walking, and his or her subsequent beam-walking performance. The subjects were 85 children with mental retardation with an average age of 13 years and 3 months. Beam-walking performance was measured by a procedure developed by the authors. Five low beams (5 cm) which varied in width (12.5, 10, 7.5, 5 and 2.5 cm) were employed. The performance of subjects was scored from zero to five points according to the width of the beam that they were able to walk without falling off. From the results of multiple regression analysis, three independent variables were found to be significantly related to beam-walking performance. The age of walking was the most basic variable: partial correlation coefficient (PCC) = -45; standardized partial regression coefficient (SPRC) = -0.41. The next variable in importance was walking duration (PCC = 0.38; SPRC = 0.31). The autism variable also contributed significantly (PCC = 0.28; SPRC = 0.22). Therefore, within the age range used in the present study, the age of walking in children with mental retardation was thought to have sufficient predictive value, even when the variables which might have possibly affected their subsequent performance were taken into consideration; the earlier the age of walking, the better the beam-walking performance.

  6. The Comparison of Mental Rotation Performance in Team and Individual Sports of Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fatemeh Pasand

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available As a practical and causal-comparative study, the present study was aimed at comparing the mental rotation performance in team and individual sports among students. The statistical population included all of the female and male athletes (N=1500 from different districts of Shiraz, Iran who participated in the sport clubs. The participants of this study included 240 students between 12-14 years old (120 girls and 120 boys who were selected randomly from four sport fields (Volleyball, Basketball, Karate, and Gymnastics. Finally, 30 athletes were selected from each field. The Mentrat Program, a kind of software for the Mental Rotation Test was used as an evaluation tool. Analyses of variance (ANOVA with repeated measures were conducted to analysis of data. The results indicated that the impact of the rotational angle was significant in both team and individual groups (p0.05. It was also observed that there was a significant difference between the mental rotation scores of the males in the individual groups contrary to the ones in the team groups (p<0.05. As a whole, it seems that as the rotational angle increases, the ability of the mental rotation in the individual fields of sport (males will be higher compared to the team groups. Keywords: Mental Rotation, Rotational Angle, Team and Individual Sports, Students

  7. Angular quadrature generator for neutron transport SN calculations in slab geometry with arbitrary arithmetic precision

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dominguez, Dany S.; Oliveira, Francisco B.S.; Barros, Ricardo C.

    2003-01-01

    We present in this paper a multiplatform computational code to calculate elements of Gauss-Legendre angular quadrature sets of arbitrary order used in slab-geometry discrete ordinates (S N ) formulation of neutron transport equation. In the code, the values can be computed with arbitrary arithmetic precision based on the approach of exact computing floating-point numbers. Calculation routines have been developed in the common language ANSI C using standard compiler gcc and the libraries of the open code GMP (GNU Multi precision Library). The code has a graphical interface in order to facilitate user interaction and numerical results analysis. The code architecture allows it to run on different platforms such as Unix, Linux and Windows. Numerical results and performance measures are also given. (author)

  8. The Arithmetical Machine Zero + 1 in Mathematics Laboratory: Instrumental Genesis and Semiotic Mediation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maschietto, Michela

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents the analysis of two teaching experiments carried out in the context of the mathematics laboratory in a primary school (grades 3 and 4) with the use of the pascaline Zero + 1, an arithmetical machine. The teaching experiments are analysed by coordinating two theoretical frameworks, i.e. the instrumental approach and the Theory…

  9. Solution Strategies and Achievement in Dutch Complex Arithmetic: Latent Variable Modeling of Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hickendorff, Marian; Heiser, Willem J.; van Putten, Cornelis M.; Verhelst, Norman D.

    2009-01-01

    In the Netherlands, national assessments at the end of primary school (Grade 6) show a decline of achievement on problems of complex or written arithmetic over the last two decades. The present study aims at contributing to an explanation of the large achievement decrease on complex division, by investigating the strategies students used in…

  10. The impact of finger counting habits on arithmetic in adults and children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newman, Sharlene D; Soylu, Firat

    2014-07-01

    Here, we explored the impact of finger counting habits on arithmetic in both adults and children. Two groups of participants were examined, those that begin counting with their left hand (left-starters) and those that begin counting with their right hand (right-starters). For the adults, performance on an addition task in which participants added 2 two-digit numbers was compared. The results revealed that left-starters were slower than right-starters when adding and they had lower forward and backward digit-span scores. The children (aged 5-12) showed similar results on a single-digit timed addition task-right-starters outperformed left-starters. However, the children did not reveal differences in working memory or verbal and non-verbal intelligence as a function of finger counting habit. We argue that the motor act of finger counting influences how number is represented and suggest that left-starters may have a more bilateral representation that accounts for the slower processing.

  11. Metacognition for strategy selection during arithmetic problem-solving in young and older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geurten, Marie; Lemaire, Patrick

    2018-04-19

    We examined participants' strategy choices and metacognitive judgments during arithmetic problem-solving. Metacognitive judgments were collected either prospectively or retrospectively. We tested whether metacognitive judgments are related to strategy choices on the current problems and on the immediately following problems, and age-related differences in relations between metacognition and strategy choices. Data showed that both young and older adults were able to make accurate retrospective, but not prospective, judgments. Moreover, the accuracy of retrospective judgments was comparable in young and older adults when participants had to select and execute the better strategy. Metacognitive accuracy was even higher in older adults when participants had to only select the better strategy. Finally, low-confidence judgments on current items were more frequently followed by better strategy selection on immediately succeeding items than high-confidence judgments in both young and older adults. Implications of these findings to further our understanding of age-related differences and similarities in adults' metacognitive monitoring and metacognitive regulation for strategy selection in the context of arithmetic problem solving are discussed.

  12. Modified LMI condition for the realization of limit cycle-free digital filters using saturation arithmetic

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, Vimal

    2007-01-01

    A criterion in the form of linear matrix inequality for the elimination of limit cycles in a class of state-space digital filters using saturation arithmetic is presented. The criterion is a modified form of a previously reported criterion

  13. Age-related differences in strategic monitoring during arithmetic problem solving.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geurten, Marie; Lemaire, Patrick

    2017-10-01

    We examined the role of metacognitive monitoring in strategic behavior during arithmetic problem solving, a process that is expected to shed light on age-related differences in strategy selection. Young and older adults accomplished better strategy-judgment, better strategy-selection, and strategy-execution tasks. Data showed that participants made better strategy judgments when problems were problems with homogeneous unit digits (i.e., problems with both unit digits smaller or larger than 5; 31×62) relative to problems with heterogeneous unit digits (i.e., problems with one unit digit smaller or larger than 5; 31×67) and when the better strategy was cued on rounding-up problems (e.g., 68×23) compared to rounding-down problems (e.g., 36×53). Results also indicated higher rates of better strategy judgment in young than in older adults. These aging effects differed across problem types. Older adults made more accurate judgments on rounding-up problems than on rounding-down problems when the cued strategy was rounding-up, while young adults did not show such problem-related differences. Moreover, strategy selection correlated with strategy judgment, and even more so in older adults than in young adults. To discuss the implications of these findings, we propose a theoretical framework of how strategy judgments occur in young and older adults and discuss how this framework enables to understand relationships between metacognitive monitoring and strategic behaviors when participants solve arithmetic problems. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Does the mask govern the mind?: effects of arbitrary gender representation on quantitative task performance in avatar-represented virtual groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jong-Eun Roselyn; Nass, Clifford I; Bailenson, Jeremy N

    2014-04-01

    Virtual environments employing avatars for self-representation-including the opportunity to represent or misrepresent social categories-raise interesting and intriguing questions as to how one's avatar-based social category shapes social identity dynamics, particularly when stereotypes prevalent in the offline world apply to the social categories visually represented by avatars. The present experiment investigated how social category representation via avatars (i.e., graphical representations of people in computer-mediated environments) affects stereotype-relevant task performance. In particular, building on and extending the Proteus effect model, we explored whether and how stereotype lift (i.e., a performance boost caused by the awareness of a domain-specific negative stereotype associated with outgroup members) occurred in virtual group settings in which avatar-based gender representation was arbitrary. Female and male participants (N=120) were randomly assigned either a female avatar or a male avatar through a process masked as a random drawing. They were then placed in a numerical minority status with respect to virtual gender-as the only virtual female (male) in a computer-mediated triad with two opposite-gendered avatars-and performed a mental arithmetic task either competitively or cooperatively. The data revealed that participants who were arbitrarily represented by a male avatar and competed against two ostensible female avatars showed strongest performance compared to others on the arithmetic task. This pattern occurred regardless of participants' actual gender, pointing to a virtual stereotype lift effect. Additional mediation tests showed that task motivation partially mediated the effect. Theoretical and practical implications for social identity dynamics in avatar-based virtual environments are discussed.

  15. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: the impact of methylphenidate on working memory, inhibition capacity and mental flexibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bolfer, Cristiana; Pacheco, Sandra Pasquali; Tsunemi, Miriam Harumi; Carreira, Walter Souza; Casella, Beatriz Borba; Casella, Erasmo Barbante

    2017-04-01

    To compare children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), before and after the use of methylphenidate, and a control group, using tests of working memory, inhibition capacity and mental flexibility. Neuropsychological tests were administrated to 53 boys, 9-12 years old: the WISC-III digit span backward, and arithmetic; Stroop Color; and Trail Making Tests. The case group included 23 boys with ADHD, who were combined type, treatment-naive, and with normal intelligence without comorbidities. The control group (n = 30) were age and gender matched. After three months on methylphenidate, the ADHD children were retested. The control group was also retested after three months. Before treatment, ADHD children had lower scores than the control group on the tests (p ≤ 0.001) and after methylphenidate had fewer test errors than before (p ≤ 0.001). Methylphenidate treatment improves the working memory, inhibitory control and mental flexibility of ADHD boys.

  16. Importance of mental performance in parental choice of food for children aged 4-10 years: a study in four European countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gage, Heather; Egan, Bernadette; Williams, Peter; Brands, Brigitte; Györei, Eszter; López-Robles, Juan-Carlos; Campoy, Cristina; Decsi, Tamas; Koletzko, Berthold; Raats, Monique

    2017-04-01

    Typically, attention focuses on how nutrition affects physical health. The present study investigated the importance that parents attach to the impact of diet on mental performance when choosing food for their child. Questionnaire. Four European countries. Parents of children aged 4-10 years (n 1574): England (n 397), Germany (n 389), Hungary (n 398) and Spain (n 390). Most parents (80-85 %) considered the effect of food on four elements of mental performance (child's ability to learn, attention, behaviour, mood) to be moderately, very, extremely (v. slightly, not at all) important in food choices; over 90 % considered healthiness of food and making food appealing to their child important; 79·8 % cost; 76·8 % convenience. Belief that food affects mental performance was 57·4 % (ability to learn), 60·5 % (attention); less than 40 % of parents agreed they were aware which foods had an effect. Parents with lower general interest in healthy eating were less likely to consider the effect of food on mental performance elements as important. Respondents from Germany were more likely to rate mental performance as important (except behaviour); those in Hungary less likely. The most important influence on parents' decisions about feeding their child was their own experience, except Spain, where family/friends/health professionals were more important. Nutrition affects brain development and cognitive functioning. Low prioritisation of the effect of food on mental performance indicates potential for educating parents.

  17. Cerebral blood flow, fatigue, mental effort, and task performance in offices with two different pollution loads

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nishihara, Naoe; Wargocki, Pawel; Tanabe, Shin-ichi

    2014-01-01

    The effects of indoor air quality on symptoms, perceptions, task performance, cerebral blood flow, fatigue, and mental effort of individuals working in an office were investigated. Twenty-four right-handed Danish female subjects in an office were exposed in groups of two at a time to two air...... pollution levels created by placing or removing a pollution source (i.e. a used carpet) behind a screen. During the exposure, the subjects performed four different office tasks presented on a computer monitor. The tasks were performed at two paces: normal and maximum. When the pollution source was present...... any effects caused by modifying pollution exposure, they were well correlated with increased mental effort when the tasks were performed at maximum pace and subjectively reported fatigue, which increased during the course of exposure, respectively....

  18. Processes in arithmetic strategy selection: A fMRI study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julien eTaillan

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available This neuroimaging (fMRI study investigated neural correlates of strategy selection. Young adults performed an arithmetic task in two different conditions. In both conditions, participants had to provide estimates of two-digit multiplication problems like 54 x 78. In the choice condition, participants had to select the better of two available rounding strategies, rounding-up strategy (RU (i.e., doing 60x80 = 4,800 or rounding-down strategy (RD (i.e., doing 50x70=3,500 to estimate product of 54x78. In the no-choice condition, participants did not have to select strategy on each problem but were told which strategy to use; they executed RU and RD strategies each on a series of problems. Participants also had a control task (i.e., providing correct products of multiplication problems like 40x50. Brain activations and performance were analyzed as a function of these conditions. Participants were able to frequently choose the better strategy in the choice condition; they were also slower when they executed the difficult RU than the easier RD. Neuroimaging data showed greater brain activations in right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC, dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC, and angular gyrus (ANG, when selecting (relative to executing the better strategy on each problem. Moreover, RU was associated with more parietal cortex activation than RD. These results suggest an important role of fronto-parietal network in strategy selection and have important implications for our further understanding and modelling cognitive processes underlying strategy selection.

  19. Processes in arithmetic strategy selection: a fMRI study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taillan, Julien; Ardiale, Eléonore; Anton, Jean-Luc; Nazarian, Bruno; Félician, Olivier; Lemaire, Patrick

    2015-01-01

    This neuroimaging (functional magnetic resonance imaging) study investigated neural correlates of strategy selection. Young adults performed an arithmetic task in two different conditions. In both conditions, participants had to provide estimates of two-digit multiplication problems like 54 × 78. In the choice condition, participants had to select the better of two available rounding strategies, rounding-up (RU) strategy (i.e., doing 60 × 80 = 4,800) or rounding-down (RD) strategy (i.e., doing 50 × 70 = 3,500 to estimate product of 54 × 78). In the no-choice condition, participants did not have to select strategy on each problem but were told which strategy to use; they executed RU and RD strategies each on a series of problems. Participants also had a control task (i.e., providing correct products of multiplication problems like 40 × 50). Brain activations and performance were analyzed as a function of these conditions. Participants were able to frequently choose the better strategy in the choice condition; they were also slower when they executed the difficult RU than the easier RD. Neuroimaging data showed greater brain activations in right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and angular gyrus (ANG), when selecting (relative to executing) the better strategy on each problem. Moreover, RU was associated with more parietal cortex activation than RD. These results suggest an important role of fronto-parietal network in strategy selection and have important implications for our further understanding and modeling cognitive processes underlying strategy selection.

  20. Detecting number processing and mental calculation in patients with disorders of consciousness using a hybrid brain-computer interface system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yuanqing; Pan, Jiahui; He, Yanbin; Wang, Fei; Laureys, Steven; Xie, Qiuyou; Yu, Ronghao

    2015-12-15

    For patients with disorders of consciousness such as coma, a vegetative state or a minimally conscious state, one challenge is to detect and assess the residual cognitive functions in their brains. Number processing and mental calculation are important brain functions but are difficult to detect in patients with disorders of consciousness using motor response-based clinical assessment scales such as the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised due to the patients' motor impairments and inability to provide sufficient motor responses for number- and calculation-based communication. In this study, we presented a hybrid brain-computer interface that combines P300 and steady state visual evoked potentials to detect number processing and mental calculation in Han Chinese patients with disorders of consciousness. Eleven patients with disorders of consciousness who were in a vegetative state (n = 6) or in a minimally conscious state (n = 3) or who emerged from a minimally conscious state (n = 2) participated in the brain-computer interface-based experiment. During the experiment, the patients with disorders of consciousness were instructed to perform three tasks, i.e., number recognition, number comparison, and mental calculation, including addition and subtraction. In each experimental trial, an arithmetic problem was first presented. Next, two number buttons, only one of which was the correct answer to the problem, flickered at different frequencies to evoke steady state visual evoked potentials, while the frames of the two buttons flashed in a random order to evoke P300 potentials. The patients needed to focus on the target number button (the correct answer). Finally, the brain-computer interface system detected P300 and steady state visual evoked potentials to determine the button to which the patients attended, further presenting the results as feedback. Two of the six patients who were in a vegetative state, one of the three patients who were in a minimally conscious state, and