Language production impairments in patients with a first episode of psychosis

Language production has often been described as impaired in psychiatric diseases such as in psychosis. Nevertheless, little is known about the characteristics of linguistic difficulties and their relation with other cognitive domains in patients with a first episode of psychosis (FEP), either affective or non-affective. To deepen our comprehension of linguistic profile in FEP, 133 patients with FEP (95 non-affective, FEP-NA; 38 affective, FEP-A) and 133 healthy controls (HC) were assessed with a narrative discourse task. Speech samples were systematically analyzed with a well-established multilevel procedure investigating both micro- (lexicon, morphology, syntax) and macro-linguistic (discourse coherence, pragmatics) levels of linguistic processing. Executive functioning and IQ were also evaluated. Both linguistic and neuropsychological measures were secondarily implemented with a machine learning approach in order to explore their predictive accuracy in classifying participants as FEP or HC. Compared to HC, FEP patients showed language production difficulty at both micro- and macro-linguistic levels. As for the former, FEP produced shorter and simpler sentences and fewer words per minute, along with a reduced number of lexical fillers, compared to HC. At the macro-linguistic level, FEP performance was impaired in local coherence, which was paired with a higher percentage of utterances with semantic errors. Linguistic measures were not correlated with any neuropsychological variables. No significant differences emerged between FEP-NA and FEP-A (p≥0.02, after Bonferroni correction). Machine learning analysis showed an accuracy of group prediction of 76.36% using language features only, with semantic variables being the most impactful. Such a percentage was enhanced when paired with clinical and neuropsychological variables. Results confirm the presence of language production deficits already at the first episode of the illness, being such impairment not related to other cognitive domains. The high accuracy obtained by the linguistic set of features in classifying groups support the use of machine learning methods in neuroscience investigations

UK Space Agency ``Mars Utah Rover Field Investigation 2016'' (MURFI 2016): Overview of Mission, Aims, and Progress

The Mars Utah Rover Field Investigation “MURFI 2016” is a Mars Rover field analogue mission run by the UK Space Agency (UKSA) in collaboration with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). MURFI 2016 took place between 22nd October and 13th November 2016 and consisted of a field team including an instrumented Rover platform, at the field site near Hanksville (Utah, USA), and an ‘Operations Team’ based in the Mission Control Centre (MOC) at the Harwell Campus near Oxford in the UK.The field site was chosen based on the collaboration with the CSA and its Mars-like local geology. It was used by the CSA in 2015 for Mars Rover trials, and in 2016, several teams used the site, each with their own designated working areas. The two main aims of MURFI 2016 were (i) to develop logistical and leadership experience in running field trials within the UKSA, and (ii) to provide members of the Mars Science community with Rover Operations experience, and hence to build expertise that could be used in the 2020 ExoMars Rover mission, or other future Rover missions. Because MURFI 2016 was the first solely UKSA-led Rover analogue trial, the most important objective was to learn how to best implement Rover trials in general. This included aspects of planning, logistics, field safety, MOC setup and support, communications, person management and science team development. Some aspects were based on past experience from previous trials but the focus was on ‘learning through experience’ - especially in terms of the Operations Team, who each took on a variety of roles during the mission

The 2016 UK Space Agency Mars Utah Rover Field Investigation (MURFI)

The 2016 Mars Utah Rover Field Investigation (MURFI) was a Mars rover field trial run by the UK Space Agency in association with the Canadian Space Agency's 2015/2016 Mars Sample Return Analogue Deployment mission. MURFI had over 50 participants from 15 different institutions around the UK and abroad. The objectives of MURFI were to develop experience and leadership within the UK in running future rover field trials; to prepare the UK planetary community for involvement in the European Space Agency/Roscosmos ExoMars 2020 rover mission; and to assess how ExoMars operations may differ from previous rover missions. Hence, the wider MURFI trial included a ten-day (or ten-‘sol’) ExoMars rover-like simulation. This comprised an operations team and control centre in the UK, and a rover platform in Utah, equipped with instruments to emulate the ExoMars rovers remote sensing and analytical suite. The operations team operated in ‘blind mode’, where the only available data came from the rover instruments, and daily tactical planning was performed under strict time constraints to simulate real communications windows. The designated science goal of the MURFI ExoMars rover-like simulation was to locate in-situ bedrock, at a site suitable for sub-surface core-sampling, in order to detect signs of ancient life. Prior to “landing”, the only information available to the operations team were Mars-equivalent satellite remote sensing data, which were used for both geologic and hazard (e.g., slopes, loose soil) characterisation of the area. During each sol of the mission, the operations team sent driving instructions and imaging/analysis targeting commands, which were then enacted by the field team and rover-controllers in Utah. During the ten-sol mission, the rover drove over 100 m and obtained hundreds of images and supporting observations, allowing the operations team to build up geologic hypotheses for the local area and select possible drilling locations. On sol 9, the team obtained a subsurface core sample that was then analyzed by the Raman spectrometer. Following the conclusion of the ExoMars-like component of MURFI, the operations and field team came together to evaluate the successes and failures of the mission, and discuss lessons learnt for ExoMars rover and future field trials. Key outcomes relevant to ExoMars rover included a key recognition of the importance of field trials for (i) understanding how to operate the ExoMars rover instruments as a suite, (ii) building an operations planning team that can work well together under strict time-limited pressure, (iii) developing new processes and workflows relevant to the ExoMars rover, (iv) understanding the limits and benefits of satellite mapping and (v) practicing efficient geological interpretation of outcrops and landscapes from rover-based data, by comparing the outcomes of the simulated mission with post-trial, in-situ field observations. In addition, MURFI was perceived by all who participated as a vital learning experience, especially for early and mid-career members of the team, and also demonstrated the UK capability of implementing a large rover field trial. The lessons learnt from MURFI are therefore relevant both to ExoMars rover, and to future rover field trials

Postscript: Beirut Life and Debt Version 2.016

This essay continues a project begun a decade ago with the article, “A Matter of Life and Debt: The Untold Costs of Rafiq Hariri’s New Beirut.” This new article, or “Postscript,” begins by examining the reception of that first investigation and responds to one criticism directed at the original essay: that it proffers an unfairly pessimistic profile of the reconstruction effort generally and of its prime mover specifically, the now-deceased Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. This paper follows a cost/benefits analysis of the project and the company behind it, Solidere, and examines two other Solidere-styled developments abroad, both results of the company’s attempts to monetize its so-called “brand.” The first of these, “Abdali,” is in Amman. The second of these comprises a trio of projects that SI prepared for Sheikh Zayed City in metropolitan Cairo. The paper argues that Solidere’s failure to disclose the dubious financial dealings behind such projects further erodes the credibility of a company for whom the notion of “business as usual” works first and foremost to benefit the few at the expense of the many

A multi-element psychosocial intervention for early psychosis (GET UP PIANO TRIAL) conducted in a catchment area of 10 million inhabitants: study protocol for a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial

Multi-element interventions for first-episode psychosis (FEP) are promising, but have mostly been conducted in non-epidemiologically representative samples, thereby raising the risk of underestimating the complexities involved in treating FEP in 'real-world' services

El registro bentonico en el analisis sedimentologico (bartoniense-priaboniense del area de Vic: NE de la cuenca del Ebro)

Available from Centro de Informacion y Documentacion Cientifica CINDOC. Joaquin Costa, 22. 28002 Madrid. SPAIN / CINDOC - Centro de Informaciòn y Documentaciòn CientìficaSIGLEESSpai

The hulk: design and development of a weather-proof vehicle for long-term autonomy in outdoor environments

In recent years the range of robotics platforms available for research and development has increased dramatically. Despite this, there are areas and applications which are not currently well served by the existing available platforms. Many of them are designed for indoor use; the range of outdoor and off-road robotics platforms is less diverse and few address the issue of deployment in hazardous weather conditions and integrate a suitable sensor suite. In addition almost all of the commercially available Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) are unsuitable for deployment on delicate surfaces. Given the widespread use of manicured grass within the built environment and agriculture across the Western world, this severely limits where they can be deployed and the tasks that can be accomplished. This paper introduces the design principles of a suitable autonomous vehicle. Hulk is built from a commercial zero-turn mower modified for fly-by-wire operation and equipped with a full sensor suite and computing payload. To enable remote, long-term autonomy in diverse environments, several layers of redundant safety systems were designed and installed and the entire assembly made weatherproof

Eventos evaporiticos paleogenos en la cuenca Antepais surpirenaica: -causas climaticas-causas tectonicas?

Available from Centro de Informacion y Documentacion Cientifica CINDOC. Joaquin Costa, 22. 28002 Madrid. SPAIN / CINDOC - Centro de Informaciòn y Documentaciòn CientìficaSIGLEESSpai