Item and error analysis on Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices in Williams Syndrome

Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (RCPM) is a standardised test that is commonly used to obtain a non-verbal reasoning score for children. As the RCPM involves the matching of a target to a pattern it is also considered to be a visuo-spatial perception task. RCPM is therefore frequently used in studies in Williams Syndrome (WS), in order to match WS participants to a control group or as a single measure to predict performance on a test-condition in developmental trajectory analyses. However, little is known about the performance of participants with WS on the RCPM. The current study compared the type of errors and the difficulty of each item for 53 participants with WS to 53 typically developing children who were individually matched on the total raw score for RCPM. Results showed that the participants with WS made the same proportion of error types and that the proportion of error types changed similarly to those of typically developing controls over development. Furthermore, the differential item difficulty between the two groups was highly similar. It is therefore argued that, although participants with WS are delayed on RCPM, their performance is not atypical which suggests that RCPM performance is supported by typical mechanisms. The RCPM is therefore a useful tool to match WS to control groups or to construct developmental trajectories

Wind and its effects on high-rise buildings

This paper examines the relation between high-rise buildings and wind, how wind flows, the action and interaction of the wind with structures, and the design factor which is considered a critical factor in the construction of skyscrapers

Physical-Mechanical and Structure-Forming Parameters of Concrete

This article describes a three-factor experiment, inscribing three different additives improving the characteristics of concrete and reinforced concrete. The experiments explain the physical and mechanical properties of concrete, the mechanism of action of chemical admixtures resisting the corrosive influence on structures, the kinetics of corrosion, and the structure-forming parameters when using each of the additives. The experiments also show the performance of the admixtures on the mobility and workability of the concrete mixture. Conclusions are drawn, that each of the three additives acts differently on the structural formation of concrete

Wind and its effects on high-rise buildings

This paper examines the relation between high-rise buildings and wind, how wind flows, the action and interaction of the wind with structures, and the design factor which is considered a critical factor in the construction of skyscrapers

Genetic contributions to visuospatial cognition in Williams syndrome: insights from two contrasting partial deletion patients

Background Williams syndrome (WS) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder arising from a hemizygotic deletion of approximately 27 genes on chromosome 7, at locus 7q11.23. WS is characterised by an uneven cognitive profile, with serious deficits in visuospatial tasks in comparison to relatively proficient performance in some other cognitive domains such as language and face processing. Individuals with partial genetic deletions within the WS critical region (WSCR) have provided insights into the contribution of specific genes to this complex phenotype. However, the combinatorial effects of different genes remain elusive. Methods We report on visuospatial cognition in two individuals with contrasting partial deletions in the WSCR: one female (HR), aged 11 years 9 months, with haploinsufficiency for 24 of the WS genes (up to GTF2IRD1), and one male (JB), aged 14 years 2 months, with the three most telomeric genes within the WSCR deleted, or partially deleted. Results Our in-depth phenotyping of the visuospatial domain from table-top psychometric, and small- and large-scale experimental tasks reveal a profile in HR in line with typically developing controls, albeit with some atypical features. These data are contrasted with patient JB’s atypical profile of strengths and weaknesses across the visuospatial domain, as well as with more substantial visuospatial deficits in individuals with the full WS deletion. Conclusions Our findings point to the contribution of specific genes to spatial processing difficulties associated with WS, highlighting the multifaceted nature of spatial cognition and the divergent effects of genetic deletions within the WSCR on different components of visuospatial ability. The importance of general transcription factors at the telomeric end of the WSCR, and their combinatorial effects on the WS visuospatial phenotype are also discussed

Access to Healthy Foods Across America

Research indicates that individuals who have access to healthy food tend to eat healthier. Food environments that do not have access to healthy food have been shown to be a leading cause of obesity in the United States. Major health consequences of obesity include cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, stroke, high cholesterol, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, and some cancers. The availability of healthy foods can be determined by median household income, with income levels being shown to affect access to healthy foods in local areas. However, no study has shown if this phenomenon is prevalent across the United States. Our cross-sectional study seeks to determine if the socioeconomic level of counties affects access to healthier food options across the United States. The study will include approximately 380 grocery stores nationwide with 190 grocery stores from high-income counties and 190 grocery stores from low-income counties. The counties are separated by the top and bottom 25th percentile of national household income levels and the middle-income household levels are excluded. Data collection will utilize the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey in Stores (NEMS-S). Convenience sampling of the study will be dependent on researchers access and ability to travel their choice of counties from an eligible list of high and low income counties. Researchers will be recruited from an informational flyer posted in professional public health research groups on LinkedIn. The eligibility of researchers is determined by their responses to an eleven question Qualtrics recruitment survey. Qualified researchers recruited from LinkedIn will conduct the NEMS-S to measure and evaluate food availability, price, and quality in grocery stores. Proposed quantitative analyses of NEMS-S scores will utilize SPSS software by comparing high and low income counties using t-tests. This nation-wide analysis should be completed by winter of 2014

Comparative analysis of consumptional properties for various types of household lamps

This article examines the functions, profitability, economy, and characteristics of different types of household lamps