Towards validation of a new computerised test of goal neglect: preliminary evidence from clinical and neuroimaging pilot studies

Objective: Goal neglect is a significant problem following brain injury, and is a target for rehabilitation. It is not yet known how neural activation might change to reflect rehabilitation gains. We developed a computerised multiple elements test (CMET), suitable for use in neuroimaging paradigms. Design: Pilot correlational study and event-related fMRI study. Methods: In Study 1, 18 adults with acquired brain injury were assessed using the CMET, other tests of goal neglect (Hotel Test; Modified Six Elements Test) and tests of reasoning. In Study 2, 12 healthy adults underwent fMRI, during which the CMET was administered under two conditions: self-generated switching and experimenter-prompted switching. Results: Among the clinical sample, CMET performance was positively correlated with both the Hotel Test (r = 0.675, p = 0.003) and the Modified Six Elements Test (r = 0.568, p = 0.014), but not with other clinical or demographic measures. In the healthy sample, fMRI demonstrated significant activation in rostro-lateral prefrontal cortex in the self-generated condition compared with the prompted condition (peak 40, 44, 4; ZE = 4.25, p(FWEcorr) = 0.026). Conclusions: These pilot studies provide preliminary evidence towards the validation of the CMET as a measure of goal neglect. Future studies will aim to further establish its psychometric properties, and determine optimum pre- and post-rehabilitation fMRI paradigms

Ents, Elves, and Eriador: The Environmental Vision of J.R.R. Tolkien

Many readers drawn into the heroic tales of J. R. R. Tolkien’s imaginary world of Middle-earth have given little conscious thought to the importance of the land itself in his stories or to the vital roles played by the flora and fauna of that land. As a result, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion are rarely considered to be works of environmental literature or mentioned together with such authors as John Muir, Rachel Carson, or Aldo Leopold. Tolkien’s works do not express an activist agenda; instead, his environmentalism is expressed in the form of literary fiction. Nonetheless, Tolkien’s vision of nature is as passionate and has had as profound an influence on his readers as that of many contemporary environmental writers. The burgeoning field of agrarianism provides new insights into Tolkien’s view of the natural world and environmental responsibility. In Ents, Elves, and Eriador, Matthew Dickerson and Jonathan Evans show how Tolkien anticipated some of the tenets of modern environmentalism in the imagined world of Middle-earth and the races with which it is peopled. The philosophical foundations that define Tolkien’s environmentalism, as well as the practical outworking of these philosophies, are found throughout his work. Agrarianism is evident in the pastoral lifestyle and sustainable agriculture of the Hobbits, as they harmoniously cultivate the land for food and goods. The Elves practice aesthetic, sustainable horticulture as they shape their forest environs into an elaborate garden. To complete Tolkien’s vision, the Ents of Fangorn Forest represent what Dickerson and Evans label feraculture, which seeks to preserve wilderness in its natural form. Unlike the Entwives, who are described as cultivating food in tame gardens, the Ents risk eventual extinction for their beliefs. These ecological philosophies reflect an aspect of Christian stewardship rooted in Tolkien’s Catholic faith. Dickerson and Evans define it as “stewardship of the kind modeled by Gandalf,” a stewardship that nurtures the land rather than exploiting its life-sustaining capacities to the point of exhaustion. Gandalfian stewardship is at odds with the forces of greed exemplified by Sauron and Saruman, who, with their lust for power, ruin the land they inhabit, serving as a dire warning of what comes to pass when stewardly care is corrupted or ignored. Dickerson and Evans examine Tolkien’s major works as well as his lesser-known stories and essays, comparing his writing to that of the most important naturalists of the past century. A vital contribution to environmental literature and an essential addition to Tolkien scholarship, Ents, Elves, and Eriador offers both Tolkien fans and environmentalists an understanding of Middle-earth that has profound implications for environmental stewardship in the present and the future of our own world. Matthew Dickerson, professor and member of the environmental studies program at Middlebury College, is the author or coauthor of several books, including Following Gandalf: Epic Battles and Moral Victory in The Lord of the Rings and From Homer to Harry Potter: A Handbook on Myth and Fantasy. Jonathan Evans, associate professor of English and director of the medieval studies program at the University of Georgia, is a member of the Environmental Ethics Certificate Program faculty. His essays on J. R. R. Tolkien have been published in J. R. R. Tolkien and His Literary Resonances, Tolkien the Medievalist, and The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia. Anyone who ever thrilled to Tolkien\u27s fighting trees, or to the earthy Tom Bombadil, or to the novel charm of the Shire will want to read this important and lovely book. --Bill McKibben, Scholar in Residence in Environmental Studies, Middlebury College The writing style is engaging, and the book presents the first fully developed study of Tolkien and the environment at the same time that it offers insights into a range of Tolkien\u27s major and minor works. --Choice A fascinating ecocritical evaluation of the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien. Valuable for both Tolkien fans and those interested in ecocriticism and environmental literature. Especially useful given the popularity of the subject matter. --Northeastern Naturalist This book is a major new contribution to the subject of Tolkien\u27s work in relation to the natural world and environmentalism. . . . The authors have devised an ingenious and useful distinction between agriculture for food (the domain of the Hobbits), horticulture for aesthetic beauty (that of Elves), and feraculture . . . for wilderness preservation (Ents). --Tolkien Studies Dickerson and Evans\u27s ecological thesis has one outstanding merit, which is that Tolkien himself would have recognized and thoroughly approved of what they have to say. --Tom Shippey, from the Afterword Reading a non-fiction book about Tolkien\u27s environmental vision may seem like a way to spoil the sheer fun of reading The Lord of the Rings and his other books. What I found as I read this book was that I wanted to reread every word of Tolkien to see for myself what the authors have given a glimpse of. This book is for everyone who loves the work of J.R..R. Tolkien, and who loves the world around them. --Armchair Interviews “The two authors are unabashed in their effort to use the lure of Tolkien to draw readers to the Green movement. The book constitutes an unorthodox yet largely successful combination of scholarly reading and political manifesto. Dickerson and Evans seek to rouse Tolkien fans to scour their own Shires before it is too late and Mordor triumphs.”--Seven “A well-researched, readable, and relevant study of Tolkien’s ecological principles and concerns. And, as Tom Shippey comments in the afterword, Tolkien, no doubt, would approve.”—Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts This volume is a thorough and welcome explication of Tolkien’s vision of the natural world, and of the ways in which that vision is applicable to our own lives today. --Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature & the Environment Ents, Elves, and Eriador should...be praised for drawing attention to the multifaceted portrayal of the natural world in Tolkien’s work. --Folklore It is an enjoyable and intellectually valuable read for its detailed examination of the landscape cultures of Middle-earth and their liminal overlapping of one another. --Studies in Medieval & Renaissnace Teaching “Does much to show why Tolkein should be recognized as one of those who laid the foundations for and formed the environmental movement as we know it today.”--Mallorn Dickerson and Evans provide a valuable discussion of concepts of stewardship as figured by Gandalf, Treebeard, Sam, Galadriel, and various kings and leaders, and how such examples bridge our inner world of fantasy and what we think of as the outer world of reality. --Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Teaching A fine introduction to Tolkein\u27s environmental achievement. --Flourish Book Reviewhttps://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_environmental_sciences/1005/thumbnail.jp

Higgs Mechanism in String Theory

In first-quantized string theory, spacetime symmetries are described by inner automorphisms of the underlying conformal field theory. In this paper we use this approach to illustrate the Higgs effect in string theory. We consider string propagation on M^{24,1} \times S^1, where the circle has radius R, and study SU(2) symmetry breaking as R moves away from its critical value. We find a gauge-covariant equation of motion for the broken-symmetry gauge bosons and the would-be Goldstone bosons. We show that the Goldstone bosons can be eliminated by an appropriate gauge transformation. In this unitary gauge, the Goldstone bosons become the longitudinal components of massive gauge bosons.Comment: 12 pages, Te

The role of scenario, deontic conditionals and problem content in Wason´s selection task

This paper was presented at "The European Conference on Cognitive Science. Siena, Italy, October 1999"This experiment explores the influence of thematic content, the presence or absence of a scenario and the use of deontic or indicative framing of conditional rules on performance on Wason’s selection task. Logical performance was affected by the content used (permission rules were the best, neutral the worst and obligation rules intermediate) and by the use of scenarios. The scenario effect interacted significantly with the problem framing such that the presence of a scenario facilitate performance only when problems were framed in a deontic rather than indicative manner. The presence of scenarios did not interact with the problem content. These results are discussed in terms of pragmatic influences on reasoning, within the framework of the Dual Process Theory (Evans & Over, 1996

Chiral phase transitions and quantum critical points of the D3/D7(D5) system with mutually perpendicular E and B fields at finite temperature and density

We study chiral symmetry restoration with increasing temperature and density in gauge theories subject to mutually perpendicular electric and magnetic fields using holography. We determine the chiral symmetry breaking phase structure of the D3/D7 and D3/D5 systems in the temperature-density-electric field directions. A magnetic field may break the chiral symmetry and an additional electric field induces Ohm and Hall currents as well as restoring the chiral symmetry. At zero temperature the D3/D5 system displays a line of holographic BKT phase transitions in the density-electric field plane, while the D3/D7 system shows a mean-field phase transition. At intermediate temperatures, the transitions in the density-electric field plane are of first order at low density, transforming to second order at critical points as density rises. At high temperature the transition is only ever first order.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, v2: Added a referenc

The Champions League - Improving the quality of in-patient antibiotic prescription in Trauma and Orthopaedics.

A Trust level audit demonstrated that the trauma and orthopaedic department did not reach its own standards in adhering to Trust antibiotic prescribing guidelines. Junior doctors are the main prescribers of antibiotics during inpatient stays. Local policy states that for all inpatients on antibiotics, the start date, duration, and indication for antibiotics must be documented on the drug card. Each patient drug card was reviewed by the department pharmacist and it was recorded whether the documentation was in line with Trust policy. A monthly league table, coined 'The Champions League', was created. It was published monthly and displayed in the doctors' office and other clinical areas to highlight which doctors had or had not adhered to the prescribing guidelines. In August 2012 the monthly audit for the trauma and orthopaedic department included 74 patients. The total number of antibiotic courses prescribed was 28; of these courses only 15 (53.5%) had an indication documented and 15 (53.5%) had a review/stop date documented. In December 2012, after two published league tables, 61 patients were reviewed. A total of 19 antibiotic courses were prescribed; 18 (94.7%) had the indication documented and 16 (84.2%) had the review/stop date documented. The standards of prescribing improved within the department and good prescribing practice became ingrained into each doctor's practice. The league table proved to be a novel tool that helped to raise the profile of antibiotic prescribing and change doctor prescribing habits. It created a competitive spirit within the department which improved morale. Doctors responded positively to feedback if they were not achieving the desirable standards, and enjoyed the challenge of improving the standard of prescribing.This article is freely available via Open Access. Click on the 'Additional Link' above to access the full-text from the publisher's website.Published (Open Access)