Training and timing local scalar enrichments under global pragmatic pressures

Elementary sentences containing the quantificational determiner some seem to be ambiguous between a 'weak' existential meaning ∃ and a 'strengthened' some but not all meaning ∃+. The strengthened meaning is commonly assumed to be the output of a general enrichment mechanism, call it G (for 'global'), that applies to the weak meaning of the sentence: G(∃) = ∃+. The application of G has been shown to come with a processing cost (e.g. Bott & Noveck 2004). We used a self-paced reading task together with offline comprehension questions to investigate the interpretation of sentences containing some when embedded inside a disjunction, a position that G cannot access. Our findings suggest (i) that the strengthened meaning ∃+ is available in embedded positions, suggesting that a mechanism of local strengthening L must be available: L(∃) = ∃+, (ii) that local enrichment can be facilitated by global pragmatic pressures (Chierchia et al. 2008; Mayr & Romoli 2014), (iii) that subjects can be quickly trained to systematically prefer one of G or L to the other, (iv) that application of L, like the application of G, comes with a processing cost. We highlight consequences of our findings for debates about the characterization of enrichment mechanisms, focusing on the relation between G and L

RDML: structured language and reporting guidelines for real-time quantitative PCR data

The XML-based Real-Time PCR Data Markup Language (RDML) has been developed by the RDML consortium (http://www.rdml.org) to enable straightforward exchange of qPCR data and related information between qPCR instruments and third party data analysis software, between colleagues and collaborators and between experimenters and journals or public repositories. We here also propose data related guidelines as a subset of the Minimum Information for Publication of Quantitative Real-Time PCR Experiments (MIQE) to guarantee inclusion of key data information when reporting experimental results

The evaluation of an intervention based on the application of patient self-completion concordance forms in Dutch community pharmacies and the effect on adherence to chronic medication

Objective: To evaluate the use of patient self-completion concordance forms and to determine the effect of patient counselling by using concordance forms on adherence to chronic medication. Methods: Patients with a prescription for new chronic treatment were randomised in an intervention or control group. The intervention group received a concordance form to fill in at home and to discuss during a consultation 2 weeks later in the pharmacy. The control group received the Usual information and instruction on how to use the medicine. Afterwards, all patients were asked to fill in a questionnaire about their use of medicines and contact with the pharmacy employees. Adherence to the medicine was determined using rates of prescription refills after 6 months of use. Results: The questionnaires showed that patients were satisfied about the concordance model. After 6 months of use, 79% of the patients from both intervention and control group were defined as adherent. Conclusions: There was no significant difference found in adherence between intervention and control group. Practice implications: Use five selected questions from the concordance form which provided most answers. Focus on one drug group and have more consultation moments. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

Dysfunction in Early Multiple Sclerosis: Altered Centrality Derived from Resting-State Functional Connectivity Using Magneto-Encephalography

BACKGROUND: Cognitive dysfunction in multiple sclerosis (MS) is frequent. Insight into underlying mechanisms would help to develop therapeutic strategies. OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship of cognitive performance to patterns of nodal centrality derived from magneto-encephalography (MEG). METHODS: 34 early relapsing-remitting MS patients (median EDSS 2.0) and 28 age- and gender-matched healthy controls (HC) had a MEG, a neuropsychological assessment and structural MRI. Resting-state functional connectivity was determined by the synchronization likelihood. Eigenvector Centrality (EC) was used to quantify for each sensor its connectivity and importance within the network. A cognition-score was calculated, and normalized grey and white matter volumes were determined. EC was compared per sensor and frequency band between groups using permutation testing, and related to cognition. RESULTS: Patients had lower grey and white matter volumes than HC, male patients lower cognitive performance than female patients. In HC, EC distribution showed highest nodal centrality over bi-parietal sensors ("hubs"). In patients, nodal centrality was even higher bi-parietally (theta-band) but markedly lower left temporally (upper alpha- and beta-band). Lower cognitive performance correlated to decreased nodal centrality over left temporal (lower alpha-band) and right temporal (beta-band) sensors, and to increased nodal centrality over right parieto-temporal sensors (beta-band). Network changes were most pronounced in male patients. CONCLUSIONS: Partial functional disconnection of the temporal regions was associated with cognitive dysfunction in MS; increased centrality in parietal hubs may reflect a shift from temporal to possibly less efficient parietal processing. To better understand patterns and dynamics of these network changes, longitudinal studies are warranted, also addressing the influence of gender

Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction, Recovery State, and Recovery Timing

This study aimed to provide insight into recovery from work-related load effects by examining (1) whether basic psychological need satisfaction (BPN satisfaction) during non-work days facilitates recovery; (2) whether the effect of BPN satisfaction is stronger in case of an unfavorable initial recovery state; and (3) whether the association between BPN satisfaction and recovery is stronger on non-work weekend days compared to nonwork weekdays. Data were collected across seven consecutive days from 205 employees (39% shift workers). Fatigue and depressed mood were assessed as indicators of (failed) recovery. Multilevel analyses revealed that BPN satisfaction during non-work days was related to improved recovery state. This association was stronger if employees had experienced elevated fatigue on the preceding day, and on non-work weekend days compared to non-work weekdays

Are children with Specific Language Impairment competent with the pragmatics and logic of quantification?

Specific Language Impairment (SLI) is understood to be a disorder that predominantly affects phonology, morphosyntax and/or lexical semantics. There is little conclusive evidence on whether children with SLI are challenged with regard to Gricean pragmatic maxims and on whether children with SLI are competent with the logical meaning of quantifying expressions. We use the comprehension of statements quantified with ‘all’, ‘none’, ‘some’, ‘some…not’, ‘most’ and ‘not all’ as a paradigm to study whether Spanish-speaking children with SLI are competent with the pragmatic maxim of informativeness, as well as with the logical meaning of these expressions. Children with SLI performed more poorly than a group of age-matched typically-developing peers, and both groups performed more poorly with pragmatics than with logical meaning. Moreover, children with SLI were disproportionately challenged by pragmatic meaning compared to their age-matched peers. However, the performance of children with SLI was comparable to that of a group of younger language-matched typically-developing children. The findings document that children with SLI do face difficulties with employing the maxim of informativeness, as well as with understanding the logical meaning of quantifiers, but also that these difficulties are in keeping with their overall language difficulties rather than exceeding them. The implications of these findings for SLI, linguistic theory, and clinical practice are discussed

Genome-wide association analysis of susceptibility and clinical phenotype in multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic disorder of the central nervous system and common cause of neurological disability in young adults, is characterized by moderate but complex risk heritability. Here we report the results of a genome-wide association study performed in a 1000 prospective case series of well-characterized individuals with MS and group-matched controls using the Sentrix® HumanHap550 BeadChip platform from Illumina. After stringent quality control data filtering, we compared allele frequencies for 551 642 SNPs in 978 cases and 883 controls and assessed genotypic influences on susceptibility, age of onset, disease severity, as well as brain lesion load and normalized brain volume from magnetic resonance imaging exams. A multi-analytical strategy identified 242 susceptibility SNPs exceeding established thresholds of significance, including 65 within the MHC locus in chromosome 6p21.3. Independent replication confirms a role for GPC5, a heparan sulfate proteoglycan, in disease risk. Gene ontology-based analysis shows a functional dichotomy between genes involved in the susceptibility pathway and those affecting the clinical phenotyp