Googling to Forget: The Cognitive Processing of Internet Search

Technology is currently extremely integrated with everyday life. Popular media has made bold claims that the internet is making us “dumber” and people struggle to remember information more now than they ever have in the past. Scientific research on the effect of internet search on cognition and memory is still in its infancy. This research will analyze the literature and theories discussing memory and the internet. Based on an original experiment by Sparrow, Liu, and Wegner. 20 participants (10 young adults and 10 older adults) performed a typing task with twenty trivia statements, followed by a recall and recognition memory test to look for the effects of directed forgetting and transactive memory. This experiment did not replicate the effect found in the original experiment. It calls to question if the effect of transactive memory is applicable to social relationships that only include a person and a computer

Design and analysis of three-arm trials with negative binomially distributed endpoints.

A three-arm clinical trial design with an experimental treatment, an active control, and a placebo control, commonly referred to as the gold standard design, enables testing of non-inferiority or superiority of the experimental treatment compared with the active control. In this paper, we propose methods for designing and analyzing three-arm trials with negative binomially distributed endpoints. In particular, we develop a Wald-type test with a restricted maximum-likelihood variance estimator for testing non-inferiority or superiority. For this test, sample size and power formulas as well as optimal sample size allocations will be derived. The performance of the proposed test will be assessed in an extensive simulation study with regard to type I error rate, power, sample size, and sample size allocation. For the purpose of comparison, Wald-type statistics with a sample variance estimator and an unrestricted maximum-likelihood estimator are included in the simulation study. We found that the proposed Wald-type test with a restricted variance estimator performed well across the considered scenarios and is therefore recommended for application in clinical trials. The methods proposed are motivated and illustrated by a recent clinical trial in multiple sclerosis. The R package Three Armed Trials, which implements the methods discussed in this paper, is available on CRAN

A QUANTITATIVE MAPPING OF ALKALINE PHOSPHATASE IN THE BRAIN OF THE RHESUS MONKEY *

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65477/1/j.1471-4159.1966.tb07513.x.pd

Photophysics of closed- and open-ring isomers of a diarylethene with a carboxylic anchor group

We study the transient photophysical properties of a diarylethene with a carboxylic anchor group by a combination of steady-state and ultrafast emission and absorption spectroscopy. After excitation of the closed-ring form, fluorescence with a quantum yield of 10−5 is observed and separated into different spectro-temporal components. The S1 state of the closed-ring form shows a lifetime of 1.3 ps and decays mainly by internal conversion to the S0 state of this isomer. This vibrationally hot ground state cools on a time scale of 10 ps

Rekindling the love of books - a pilot project exploring whether e-readers help people to read again after a stroke

Background E-readers may facilitate reading in aphasia through “aphasia-friendly” features such as altering text size and formatting (Worrall et al, 2005), and text-to-speech functions. However, no previous research has examined whether e-readers help people with aphasia to read. Aims This project explored: • whether people with aphasia can learn to use e-readers following a brief period of training • whether e-reader training improves reading comprehension • whether e-readers increase participation in and enjoyment of reading activities Method and procedures In phase one, available e-readers were compared using an expert evaluation against a set of criteria, to identify the model with optimum accessibility features and fewest potential barriers. The Kindle Keyboard 3G TM (Amazon) was selected for trialling in phase two. Four people with self-reported reading difficulties post-stroke participated in phase two. All had mild or mild-moderate aphasia. Four one-hour training sessions aimed to trial accessibility features, identify helpful features, and teach independent operation of these. A repeated measures design was used. Outcome measures assessed reading comprehension (Gray Oral Reading Tests, Bryant & Wiederholt, 2001) and confidence and emotions associated with reading (Reading Confidence and Emotions Questionnaire, Cocks et al., 2013). Matched texts were used to compare reading comprehension using printed texts and the e-reader. Usability evaluations explored independence in e-reader use and acceptability of the technology. Participation in reading activities and reading enjoyment were explored using qualitative exit interviews. Outcomes and results Participants’ reading comprehension on the Kindle, as measured by the GORT-4, did not improve following training and did not exceed comprehension of printed texts. However, reading confidence improved significantly for three of the participants (RCEQ: p<.05, p<.01 and p<.005). Analysis of exit interviews and usability evaluations indicates that three out of four participants preferred reading on the Kindle to printed texts. These participants read more frequently on the Kindle than they had done before the training, and the technology enabled them to access more challenging texts (e.g. novels). They appreciated different features of the Kindle. Two participants experienced difficulties operating the technology, one of whom would have benefited from a longer training period. Conclusions This pilot study suggests that a short block of e-reader training led to improvements in reading confidence, participation and enjoyment. E-readers were not shown to enhance reading comprehension. Larger-scale investigations are warranted to further investigate whether and how e-readers facilitate reading for people with aphasia

Antibody signatures in patients with histopathologically defined multiple sclerosis patterns

Early active multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions can be classified histologically into three main immunopathological patterns of demyelination (patterns I-III), which suggest pathogenic heterogeneity and may predict therapy response. Patterns I and II show signs of immune-mediated demyelination, but only pattern II is associated with antibody/complement deposition. In pattern III lesions, which include Baló's concentric sclerosis, primary oligodendrocyte damage was proposed. Serum antibody reactivities could reflect disease pathogenesis and thus distinguish histopathologically defined MS patterns. We established a customized microarray with more than 700 peptides that represent human and viral antigens potentially relevant for inflammatory demyelinating CNS diseases, and tested sera from 66 patients (pattern I n = 12; II n = 29; III n = 25, including 8 with Baló's), healthy controls, patients with Sjögren's syndrome and stroke patients. Cell-based assays were performed for aquaporin 1 (AQP1) and AQP4 antibody detection. No single peptide showed differential binding among study cohorts. Because antibodies can react with different peptides from one protein, we also analyzed groups of peptides. Patients with pattern II showed significantly higher reactivities to Nogo-A peptides as compared to patterns I (p = 0.02) and III (p = 0.02). Pattern III patients showed higher reactivities to AQP1 (compared to pattern I p = 0.002, pattern II p = 0.001) and varicella zoster virus (VZV, compared to pattern II p = 0.05). In patients with Baló's, AQP1 reactivity was also significantly higher compared to patients without Baló's (p = 0.04), and the former revealed distinct antibody signatures. Histologically, Baló's patients showed loss of AQP1 and AQP4 in demyelinating lesions, but no antibodies binding conformational AQP1 or AQP4 were detected. In summary, higher reactivities to Nogo-A peptides in pattern II patients could be relevant for enhanced axonal repair and remyelination. Higher reactivities to AQP1 peptides in pattern III patients and its subgroup of Baló's patients possibly reflect astrocytic damage. Finally, latent VZV infection may cause peripheral immune activation

Prediction of martensite start temperature by neural network analysis

Commercial steels are nowadays sophisticated alloys formed by a large number of alloying elements. The martensite start ( Ms) temperature of such steels is of vital engineering importance, and its prediction through models allows us to enhance the design and development of industrial products. In the present work, Ms temperature dependence on chemical composition has been examined by neural network analysis. Neural networks represent powerful methods of non-linear regression modelling. The network is a mathematical function which is fitted to experimental data. The influence of alloying elements such as C, Mn, Si, Cr, Ni, Mo, V, Co, W, Al, Nb, Cu, B and N on Ms temperature was analysed. Finally, a new empirical equation for Ms temperature was derived based on the neural network results.Peer Reviewe

Serum peptide reactivities may distinguish neuromyelitis optica subgroups and multiple sclerosis

Objective: To assess in an observational study whether serum peptide antibody reactivities may distinguish aquaporin-4 (AQP4) antibody (Ab)–positive and -negative neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) and relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Methods: We screened 8,700 peptides that included human and viral antigens of potential relevance for inflammatory demyelinating diseases and random peptides with pooled sera from different patient groups and healthy controls to set up a customized microarray with 700 peptides. With this microarray, we tested sera from 66 patients with AQP4-Ab-positive (n = 16) and AQP4-Ab-negative (n = 19) NMOSD, RRMS (n = 11), and healthy controls (n = 20). Results: Differential peptide reactivities distinguished NMOSD subgroups from RRMS in 80% of patients. However, the 2 NMOSD subgroups were not well-discriminated, although those patients are clearly separated by their antibody reactivities against AQP4 in cell-based assays. Elevated reactivities to myelin and Epstein-Barr virus peptides were present in RRMS and to AQP4 and AQP1 peptides in AQP4-Ab-positive NMOSD. Conclusions: While AQP4-Ab-positive and -negative NMOSD subgroups are not well-discriminated by peptide antibody reactivities, our findings suggest that peptide antibody reactivities may have the potential to distinguish between both NMOSD subgroups and MS. Future studies should thus concentrate on evaluating peptide antibody reactivities for the differentiation of AQP4-Ab-negative NMOSD and MS