Sampling Assumptions Affect Use of Indirect Negative Evidence in Language Learning.

A classic debate in cognitive science revolves around understanding how children learn complex linguistic patterns, such as restrictions on verb alternations and contractions, without negative evidence. Recently, probabilistic models of language learning have been applied to this problem, framing it as a statistical inference from a random sample of sentences. These probabilistic models predict that learners should be sensitive to the way in which sentences are sampled. There are two main types of sampling assumptions that can operate in language learning: strong and weak sampling. Strong sampling, as assumed by probabilistic models, assumes the learning input is drawn from a distribution of grammatical samples from the underlying language and aims to learn this distribution. Thus, under strong sampling, the absence of a sentence construction from the input provides evidence that it has low or zero probability of grammaticality. Weak sampling does not make assumptions about the distribution from which the input is drawn, and thus the absence of a construction from the input as not used as evidence of its ungrammaticality. We demonstrate in a series of artificial language learning experiments that adults can produce behavior consistent with both sets of sampling assumptions, depending on how the learning problem is presented. These results suggest that people use information about the way in which linguistic input is sampled to guide their learning

Measuring financial protection against catastrophic health expenditures: methodological challenges for global monitoring.

BACKGROUND: Monitoring financial protection against catastrophic health expenditures is important to understand how health financing arrangements in a country protect its population against high costs associated with accessing health services. While catastrophic health expenditures are generally defined to be when household expenditures for health exceed a given threshold of household resources, there is no gold standard with several methods applied to define the threshold and household resources. These different approaches to constructing the indicator might give different pictures of a country's progress towards financial protection. In order for monitoring to effectively provide policy insight, it is critical to understand the sensitivity of measurement to these choices. METHODS: This paper examines the impact of varying two methodological choices by analysing household expenditure data from a sample of 47 countries. We assess sensitivity of cross-country comparisons to a range of thresholds by testing for restricted dominance. We further assess sensitivity of comparisons to different methods for defining household resources (i.e. total expenditure, non-food expenditure and non-subsistence expenditure) by conducting correlation tests of country rankings. RESULTS: We found country rankings are robust to the choice of threshold in a tenth to a quarter of comparisons within the 5-85% threshold range and this increases to half of comparisons if the threshold is restricted to 5-40%, following those commonly used in the literature. Furthermore, correlations of country rankings using different methods to define household resources were moderate to high; thus, this choice makes less difference from a measurement perspective than from an ethical perspective as different definitions of available household resources reflect varying concerns for equity. CONCLUSIONS: Interpreting comparisons from global monitoring based on a single threshold should be done with caution as these may not provide reliable insight into relative country progress. We therefore recommend financial protection against catastrophic health expenditures be measured across a range of thresholds using a catastrophic incidence curve as shown in this paper. We further recommend evaluating financial protection in relation to a country's health financing system arrangements in order to better understand the extent of protection and better inform future policy changes

Countdown to 2015: changes in official development assistance to maternal, newborn, and child health in 2009-10, and assessment of progress since 2003.

BACKGROUND: Tracking of financial resources to maternal, newborn, and child health provides crucial information to assess accountability of donors. We analysed official development assistance (ODA) flows to maternal, newborn, and child health for 2009 and 2010, and assessed progress since our monitoring began in 2003. METHODS: We coded and analysed all 2009 and 2010 aid activities from the database of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, according to a functional classification of activities and whether all or a proportion of the value of the disbursement contributed towards maternal, newborn, and child health. We analysed trends since 2003, and reported two indicators for monitoring donor disbursements: ODA to child health per child and ODA to maternal and newborn health per livebirth. We analysed the degree to which donors allocated ODA to 74 countries with the highest maternal and child mortality rates (Countdown priority countries) with time and by type of donor. FINDINGS: Donor disbursements to maternal, newborn, and child health activities in all countries continued to increase, to $6511 million in 2009, but slightly decreased for the first time since our monitoring started, to$6480 million in 2010. ODA for such activities to the 74 Countdown priority countries continued to increase in real terms, but its rate of increase has been slowing since 2008. We identified strong evidence that targeting of ODA to countries with high rates of maternal mortality improved from 2005 to 2010. Targeting of ODA to child health also improved but to a lesser degree. The share of multilateral funding continued to decrease but, relative to bilaterals and global health initiatives, was better targeted. INTERPRETATION: The recent slowdown in the rate of funding increases is worrying and likely to partly result from the present financial crisis. Tracking of donor aid should continue, to encourage donor accountability and to monitor performance in targeting aid flows to those in most need. FUNDING: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; World Bank; Governments of Australia, Canada, Norway, Sweden, and the UK

Athletic identity and career engagement as predictors of mental well-being in North American professional athletes

The support of athlete career excellence in sport is a growing societal issue. For professional athletes within North America, the factors that contribute to athlete career excellence are not well understood. The current investigation examined the relationships between three athlete career excellence resources: athletic identity; career engagement; and mental well-being. Using a non-random convenience sampling strategy, 72 professional athletes currently active in the sports of baseball, football, and ice hockey in North America participated in the study. It was found that athletic identity and career engagement significantly predicted mental well-being in North American professional athletes. Furthermore, both athletic identity and career engagement added significantly to the prediction model. The current investigation supports the conceptualisation and understanding of how North American professional athletes’ career engagement and mental well-being contribute to athletes striving for career excellence. Recommendations for further research and practical applications are considered.</p

Athletic identity and career engagement as predictors of mental well-being in North American professional athletes

The support of athlete career excellence in sport is a growing societal issue. For professional athletes within North America, the factors that contribute to athlete career excellence are not well understood. The current investigation examined the relationships between three athlete career excellence resources: athletic identity; career engagement; and mental well-being. Using a non-random convenience sampling strategy, 72 professional athletes currently active in the sports of baseball, football, and ice hockey in North America participated in the study. It was found that athletic identity and career engagement significantly predicted mental well-being in North American professional athletes. Furthermore, both athletic identity and career engagement added significantly to the prediction model. The current investigation supports the conceptualisation and understanding of how North American professional athletes’ career engagement and mental well-being contribute to athletes striving for career excellence. Recommendations for further research and practical applications are considered.</p

In vivo detection of cortical optical changes associated with seizure activity with optical coherence tomography.

The most common technology for seizure detection is with electroencephalography (EEG), which has low spatial resolution and minimal depth discrimination. Optical techniques using near-infrared (NIR) light have been used to improve upon EEG technology and previous research has suggested that optical changes, specifically changes in near-infrared optical scattering, may precede EEG seizure onset in in vivo models. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a high resolution, minimally invasive imaging technique, which can produce depth resolved cross-sectional images. In this study, OCT was used to detect changes in optical properties of cortical tissue in vivo in mice before and during the induction of generalized seizure activity. We demonstrated that a significant decrease (P &lt; 0.001) in backscattered intensity during seizure progression can be detected before the onset of observable manifestations of generalized (stage-5) seizures. These results indicate the feasibility of minimally-invasive optical detection of seizures with OCT

Using Discrete Event Simulation to Design and Assess an AI-aided Workflow for Same-day Diagnostic Testing of Women Undergoing Breast Screening.

The process of patients waiting for diagnostic examinations after an abnormal screening mammogram is inefficient and anxiety-inducing. Artificial intelligence (AI)-aided interpretation of screening mammography could reduce the number of recalls after screening. We proposed a same-day diagnostic workup to alleviate patient anxiety by employing an AI-aided interpretation to reduce unnecessary diagnostic testing after an abnormal screening mammogram. However, the potential unintended consequences of introducing this workflow in a high-volume breast imaging center are unknown. Using discrete event simulation, we observed that implementing the AI-aided screening mammogram interpretation and same-day diagnostic workflow would reduce daily patient volume by 4%, increase the time a patient would be at the clinic by 24%, and increase waiting times by 13-31%. We discuss how changing the hours of operation and introducing new imaging equipment and personnel may alleviate these negative impacts

Simulation of a VRF system applied in elcectric buses in Taiwan

Based on test data from an electric bus manufacturer, HVAC systems will consume nearly 30% of the available energy in fully electrically operated public transport buses, which heavily decreases the bus mileage. Therefore, improvements for the bus HVAC system structure are needed. In contrast to conventional electric bus HVAC systems, a VRV (variable-refrigerant-volume) system will be simulated as HVAC system. The compressors provide adequate power depending on the requirements from the different heat exchanger units inside the bus cabin. This system will provide either cooling or heating capacity depending on the needs of the target space. Therefore, the energy consumption of the compressors will be reduced This paper will present a dynamic EES simulation model of a VRV system applied in an electric public transportation bus. Goal of this simulation is, to simulate and design the specifications of the VRV HVAC system with given system performance requirements. The bus model and the simulation results will be described in detail in this publication. This project has been developed in collaboration between the Automotive Research and Testing Center of Taiwan (ARTC) and the University of Applied Sciences in Buchs (NTB)

IL-7 receptor signaling is necessary for stage transition in adult B cell development through up-regulation of EBF

Cytokine receptor signals have been suggested to stimulate cell differentiation during hemato/lymphopoiesis. Such action, however, has not been clearly demonstrated. Here, we show that adult B cell development in IL-7−/− and IL-7Rα2/− mice is arrested at the pre–pro-B cell stage due to insufficient expression of the B cell–specific transcription factor EBF and its target genes, which form a transcription factor network in determining B lineage specification. EBF expression is restored in IL-7−/− pre–pro-B cells upon IL-7 stimulation or in IL-7Rα−/− pre–pro-B cells by activation of STAT5, a major signaling molecule downstream of the IL-7R signaling pathway. Furthermore, enforced EBF expression partially rescues B cell development in IL-7Rα−/− mice. Thus, IL-7 receptor signaling is a participant in the formation of the transcription factor network during B lymphopoiesis by up-regulating EBF, allowing stage transition from the pre–pro-B to further maturational stages