Visuospatial memory in dyslexia: evidence for strategic deficits.

Impairments in working memory are suggested to be one of the defining characteristics of dyslexia, and deficits in verbal recall are well documented. However, the situation regarding visuospatial memory is less clear. In a widely used measure, the Corsi blocks task, sequences of visuospatial locations can be recalled forwards, in the order presented (CF), or backwards, in reverse order (CB). Previous research has suggested that, while CF draws on spatial-sequential resources, CB may load executive and distinctly visual processes. While people with dyslexia typically show no deficit on CF, CB is rarely presented. We present three studies which indicate a consistent dyslexic deficit on CB that can be ameliorated by visual strategy instructions. Our data suggest that, without instruction, people with dyslexia are unable to adopt an effective CB strategy and this is consistent with a deficit in executive function. These results have implications for our understanding of visuospatial memory in dyslexia, and also in terms of the administration of the Corsi task to special populations

Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the United Kingdom: A personality-based perspective on concerns and intention to self-isolate

Objectives Public behaviour change is necessary to contain the spread of coronavirus (COVID‐19). Based on the reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST) framework, this study presents an examination of individual differences in some relevant psychological factors. Design Cross‐sectional psychometric. Methods UK respondents (N = 202) completed a personality questionnaire (RST‐PQ), measures of illness attitudes, concerns about the impact of coronavirus on health services and socio‐economic infrastructures, personal safety, and likelihood of voluntary self‐isolation. Results Respondents most concerned were older, had negative illness attitudes, and scored higher on reward reactivity (RR), indicating the motivation to take positive approach action despite prevailing worry/anxiety. Personal safety concerns were highest in those with negative illness attitudes and higher fight–flight–freeze system (FFFS, reflecting fear/avoidance) scores. Results suggest people are experiencing psychological conflict: between the urge to stay safe (FFFF‐related) and the desire to maintain a normal, pleasurable (RR‐related) life. Ways of ameliorating conflict may include maladaptive behaviours (panic buying), reflecting reward‐related displacement activity. Intended self‐isolation related to FFFS, but also low behavioural inhibition system (related to anxiety) scores. Older people reported themselves less likely to self‐isolate. Conclusions Interventions need to consider individual differences in psychological factors in behaviour change, and we discuss relevant literature to inform policy makers and communicators

Coherence-Preserving Quantum Bits

Real quantum systems couple to their environment and lose their intrinsic quantum nature through the process known as decoherence. Here we present a method for minimizing decoherence by making it energetically unfavorable. We present a Hamiltonian made up solely of two-body interactions between four two-level systems (qubits) which has a two-fold degenerate ground state. This degenerate ground state has the property that any decoherence process acting on an individual physical qubit must supply energy from the bath to the system. Quantum information can be encoded into the degeneracy of the ground state and such coherence-preserving qubits will then be robust to local decoherence at low bath temperatures. We show how this quantum information can be universally manipulated and indicate how this approach may be applied to a quantum dot quantum computer.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur

The Optimal Single Copy Measurement for the Hidden Subgroup Problem

The optimization of measurements for the state distinction problem has recently been applied to the theory of quantum algorithms with considerable successes, including efficient new quantum algorithms for the non-abelian hidden subgroup problem. Previous work has identified the optimal single copy measurement for the hidden subgroup problem over abelian groups as well as for the non-abelian problem in the setting where the subgroups are restricted to be all conjugate to each other. Here we describe the optimal single copy measurement for the hidden subgroup problem when all of the subgroups of the group are given with equal a priori probability. The optimal measurement is seen to be a hybrid of the two previously discovered single copy optimal measurements for the hidden subgroup problem.Comment: 8 pages. Error in main proof fixe

Molecular basis of gap junctional communication in the CNS of the leech Hirudo medicinalis

Gap junctions are intercellular channels that allow the passage of ions and small molecules between cells. In the nervous system, gap junctions mediate electrical coupling between neurons. Despite sharing a common topology and similar physiology, two unrelated gap junction protein families exist in the animal kingdom. Vertebrate gap junctions are formed by members of the connexin family, whereas invertebrate gap junctions are composed of innexin proteins. Here we report the cloning of two innexins from the leech Hirudo medicinalis. These innexins show a differential expression in the leech CNS: Hm-inx1 is expressed by every neuron in the CNS but not in glia, whereas Hm-inx2 is expressed in glia but not neurons. Heterologous expression in the paired Xenopus oocyte system demonstrated that both innexins are able to form functional homotypic gap junctions. Hm-inx1 forms channels that are not strongly gated. In contrast, Hm-inx2 forms channels that are highly voltage-dependent; these channels demonstrate properties resembling those of a double rectifier. In addition, Hm-inx1 and Hm-inx2 are able to cooperate to form heterotypic gap junctions in Xenopus oocytes. The behavior of these channels is primarily that predicted from the properties of the constituent hemichannels but also demonstrates evidence of an interaction between the two. This work represents the first demonstration of a functional gap junction protein from a Lophotrochozoan animal and supports the hypothesis that connexin-based communication is restricted to the deuterostome clade

Transcriptional control of behaviour: engrailed knockout changes cockroach escape trajectories

The cerci of the cockroach are covered with identified sensory hairs that detect air movements. The sensory neurons that innervate these hairs synapse with giant interneurons in the terminal ganglion that in turn synapse with interneurons and leg motor neurons in thoracic ganglia. This neural circuit mediates the animal's escape behavior. The transcription factor Engrailed (En) is expressed only in the medially born sensory neurons, which suggested that it could work as a positional determinant of sensory neuron identity. Previously, we used double-stranded RNA interference to abolish En expression and found that the axonal arborization and synaptic outputs of an identified En-positive sensory neuron changed so that it came to resemble a nearby En-negative cell, which was itself unaffected. We thus demonstrated directly that En controls synaptic choice, as well as axon projections. Is escape behavior affected as a result of this miswiring? We showed recently that adult cockroaches keep each escape unpredictable by running along one of a set of preferred escape trajectories (ETs) at fixed angles from the direction of the threatening stimulus. The probability of selecting a particular ET is influenced by wind direction. In this present study, we show that early instar juvenile cockroaches also use those same ETs. En knock-out significantly perturbs the animals' perception of posterior wind, altering the choice of ETs to one more appropriate for anterior wind. This is the first time that it has been shown that knock-out of a transcription factor controlling synaptic connectivity can alter the perception of a directional stimulus

The contents of partnership agreements in Britain 1990-2007

This article assesses the contents of the majority of employer-union partnership agreements signed in Britain from 1990 to 2007. Few agreements contain the expected partnership principles and most express modest overall aims and limited ambition. Typical agreements are substantively hollow with more than one-third containing no substantive provisions; and procedurally biased, with more than four-fifths offering unions greater involvement in employers’ decisions. Partnership agreements continue the procedural bias of traditional British collective agreements representing the lowest common denominator of agreement — unions work towards the success of the enterprise in return for involvement in employers’ decisions. The implications for New Labour’s Third Way approach and the policy of encouraging voluntary partnership agreements to promote fairness at work are considered

Social Partnership and Political Devolution in the National Health Service: Emergence, Operation and Outcomes

This article explores the emergence, operation and outcomes of social partnership in the National Health Service (NHS) in Scotland and Wales. Social partnership emerged in the NHS following political devolution in 1998 which transferred powers to left-wing governments in Scotland and Wales. These arrangements helped improve health services, modernise industrial relations and enhance staff terms and conditions. In NHS Scotland, union participation in strategic decisions produced extensive co-operation to dismantle the internal health market, improve services, and enhance staff terms and conditions. Union participation in NHS Wales was restricted to discussing workforce issues, and although co-operation increased when Welsh governments gained enhanced legislative powers and dismantled the internal health market, it delivered fewer improvements in service and pay levels. Differences in government political positioning (against public sector marketisation) and degree of independence (with devolved administrations granted different legislative powers) help explain the operation and outcomes of social partnership