Distinguishing Observed Inattentive Behaviors in the College Classroom as they Correlate to Brain Wave Activity Utilizing a Wireless Electroencephalograph

A significant amount of research has been devoted to the behavioral correlates of inattention in children (A.P.A., 2000; Arnold, 2000; Gordon & Barkley, 1998). It is proposed by the authors that college students, in their several years of experience, are much more capable of masking these trademark behaviors. When a child loses interest they will begin to openly look around the room, shift in their seat, or chat with their neighbors (Sandberg, Rutter & Taylor, 1978; Arnold, 2000). College students however, are proposed to candidly fidget, shift in their seat, or even maintain eye contact with their instructor while “daydreaming”. Therefore, an additional physiological aid is required to better assess inattentive periods in college subjects. Given the invasive nature of past devices commonly used, such as the Electroencephalograph (EEG), accurate measurement proves to be very difficult in a natural setting (Boyd & Campbell, 1998). This study used a modified version of an EEG called the Attention Trainer (AT). The AT is smaller in size, and wireless thus alleviating distraction and allowing more reliable field assessment. The study found positive correlations (Table 1) between suggested and previously validated behaviors. Contrary to prior research, significant correlations were found between all four frequency bands (Beta, Theta, Delta, and SMR), suggesting the device may be inaccurate (Figure 1). While results can neither confirm nor discredit biofeedback applications for the AT, further research is needed for validation

The Value of Meaning for Autonomous Robots

Abstract This paper examines the related problems of meaning and symbol grounding with respect to epigenetic robotics. While symbol grounding aims to give artificial systems "intrinsic meaning", most existing approaches to symbol grounding address meaning as a problem of categorical perception, i.e. a theory of reference for maintaining correspondence between internal representations and external entities at a linguistic level. We argue that reference is only one aspect of meaning, and that nonlinguistic and pre-verbal creatures are also meaning users. As such, we argue meaning plays an important role in an agent's value system, providing intrinsic motivation and reinforcement for life-long development and learning. Lastly, we explore how models of meaning can help shift the intellectual burden of grounding from the programmer to the program by designing robots capable of grounding themselves

Proteoglycan degradation by the ADAMTS family of proteinases

AbstractProteoglycans are key components of extracellular matrices, providing structural support as well as influencing cellular behaviour in physiological and pathological processes. The diversity of proteoglycan function reported in the literature is equally matched by diversity in proteoglycan structure. Members of the ADAMTS (A Disintegrin And Metalloproteinase with ThromboSpondin motifs) family of enzymes degrade proteoglycans and thereby have the potential to alter tissue architecture and regulate cellular function. In this review, we focus on ADAMTS enzymes that degrade the lectican and small leucine-rich repeat families of proteoglycans. We discuss the known ADAMTS cleavage sites and the consequences of cleavage at these sites. We illustrate our discussion with examples from the literature in which ADAMTS proteolysis of proteoglycans makes profound changes to tissue function

Excitonic effects on coherent phonon dynamics in single wall carbon nanotubes

We discuss how excitons can affect the generation of coherent radial breathing modes in ultrafast spectroscopy of single wall carbon nanotubes. Photoexcited excitons can be localized spatially and give rise to a spatially distributed driving force in real space which involves many phonon wavevectors of the exciton-phonon interaction. The equation of motion for the coherent phonons is modeled phenomenologically by the Klein-Gordon equation, which we solve for the oscillation amplitudes as a function of space and time. By averaging the calculated amplitudes per nanotube length, we obtain time-dependent coherent phonon amplitudes that resemble the homogeneous oscillations that are observed in some pump-probe experiments. We interpret this result to mean that the experiments are only able to see a spatial average of coherent phonon oscillations over the wavelength of light in carbon nanotubes and the microscopic details are averaged out. Our interpretation is justified by calculating the time-dependent absorption spectra resulting from the macroscopic atomic displacements induced by the coherent phonon oscillations. The calculated coherent phonon spectra including excitonic effects show the experimentally observed symmetric peaks at the nanotube transition energies in contrast to the asymmetric peaks that would be obtained if excitonic effects were not included.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev. B on 7 May 2013, revised on 17 July and 13 August 2013, published 30 August 201

Exposure to smoking in movies among British adolescents 2001–2006

ObjectiveTo estimate youth exposure to smoking in movies in the UK and compare the likely effect with the USA.MethodsWe collected tobacco occurrences data for 572 top-grossing films in the UK screened from 2001 to 2006 and estimated the number of on-screen tobacco impressions delivered to British youths in this time period.Results91% of films in our sample that contained smoking were youth-rated films (British Board of Film Classification rating '15' and lower), delivering at least 1.10 billion tobacco impressions to British youths during theatrical release. British youths were exposed to 28% more smoking impressions in UK youth-rated movies than American youth-rated movies, because 79% of movies rated for adults in the USA ('R') are classified as suitable for youths in the UK ('15' or '12A').ConclusionBecause there is a dose-response relation between the amount of on-screen exposure to smoking and the likelihood that adolescents will begin smoking, the fact that there is substantially higher exposure to smoking in youth-rated films in the UK than in the USA suggests that the fraction of all youth smoking because of films in the UK is probably larger than in the USA. Other countries with ratings systems that are less conservative (in terms of language and sexuality) than the USA will also be likely to deliver more on-screen tobacco impressions to youths. Assigning an '18' classification to movies that contain smoking would substantially reduce youth exposure to on-screen smoking and, hence, smoking initiation among British youths

Emerging Technologies and Approaches for In Situ, Autonomous Observing in the Arctic

Understanding and predicting Arctic change and its impacts on global climate requires broad, sustained observations of the atmosphere-ice-ocean system, yet technological and logistical challenges severely restrict the temporal and spatial scope of observing efforts. Satellite remote sensing provides unprecedented, pan-Arctic measurements of the surface, but complementary in situ observations are required to complete the picture. Over the past few decades, a diverse range of autonomous platforms have been developed to make broad, sustained observations of the ice-free ocean, often with near-real-time data delivery. Though these technologies are well suited to the difficult environmental conditions and remote logistics that complicate Arctic observing, they face a suite of additional challenges, such as limited access to satellite services that make geolocation and communication possible. This paper reviews new platform and sensor developments, adaptations of mature technologies, and approaches for their use, placed within the framework of Arctic Ocean observing needs