Entwicklung eines Algorithmus zur elektiven OP-Einbestellung in der Klinik für Orthopädie und Rheumatologie

Die Arbeit entwickelt eine bedarfsorientierte langfristige Operationsplanung. Dabei werden die gegebenen Rahmenbedingungen der Klinik für Orthopädie und Rheumatologie in Marburg identifiziert und berücksichtigt. Erklärtes Ziel ist die Reduktion des präoperativen stationären Aufenthaltes und somit eine Verminderung der gesamten Aufenthaltsdauer. Dabei soll die Menge an Operationen pro Jahr indes unverändert bleiben. Mithilfe einer Prozessanalyse werden die gegebenen Arbeitsabläufe untersucht und mit dem eigens entwickelten Dokumentationswerkzeug (MaPDok) erfasst, sowie diskutiert. Die Rahmenbedingungen der Klinik werden als innere und äußere Bedingungen aus Sicht des Patienten identifiziert. Innere Bedingungen sind Wahloptionen für den Patienten, äußere Bedingungen sind Vorgaben, auf die der Patient keinen Einfluss hat. Aus diesen Bedingungen ergeben sich vier Merkmale, die zur Entwicklung eines Algorithmus zur OP-Einbestellung berücksichtigt werden. Es werden verschieden Algorithmen mit unterschiedlichem Komplexitätsgrad entwickelt. Um die Hypothese der Reduktion des präoperativen stationären Aufenthaltes und der gesamten Aufenthaltsdauer zu prüfen, erfolgt ein Vergleich der Algorithmen mit der Ausgangssituation durch stochastische Simulation. Bereits der einfachste Algorithmus kann eine deutliche Reduktion des präoperativen Aufenthaltes und der gesamten Aufenthaltsdauer erreichen. Algorithmen mit einem höheren Grad an Komplexität bringen keine wesentlichen Verbesserungen, sind jedoch in der Anwendung schwieriger. Der favorisierte Algorithmus kann mit oder ohne EDV Unterstützung weitgehend Interventions- und Investitionsneutral umgesetzt werden

Language discrimination by human newborns and by cotton-top tamarin monkeys

Humans, but no other animal, make meaningful use of spoken language. What is unclear, however, is whether this capacity depends on a unique constellation of perceptual and neurobiological mechanisms, or whether a subset of such mechanisms are shared with other organisms. To explore this problem, we conducted parallel experiments on human newborns and cotton-top tamarin monkeys to assess their ability to discriminate unfamiliar languages. Using a habituation-dishabituation procedure, we show that human newborns and tamarins can discriminate sentences from Dutch and Japanese, but not if the sentences are played backwards. Moreover, the cues for discrimination are not present in backward speech. This suggests that the human newborns' tuning to certain properties of speech relies on general processes of the primate auditory system

The Evolution of the Language Faculty: Clarifications and Implications

In this response to Pinker and Jackendoff's critique, we extend our previous framework for discussion of language evolution, clarifying certain distinctions and elaborating on a number of points. In the first half of the paper, we reiterate that profitable research into the biology and evolution of language requires fractionation of "language" into component mechanisms and interfaces, a non-trivial endeavor whose results are unlikely to map onto traditional disciplinary boundaries, Our terminological distinction between FLN and FLB is intended to help clarify misunderstandings and aid interdisciplinary rapprochement. By blurring this distinction, Pinker and Jackendoff mischaracterize our hypothesis 3 which concerns only FLN, not "language" as a whole. Many of their arguments and examples are thus irrelevant to this hypothesis. Their critique of the minimalist program is for the most part equally irrelevant, because very few of the arguments in our original paper were tied to this program; in an online appendix we detail the deep inaccuracies in their characterization of this program. Concerning evolution, we believe that Pinker and Jackendoff's emphasis on the past adaptive history of the language faculty is misplaced. Such questions are unlikely to be resolved empirically due to a lack of relevant data, and invite speculation rather than research. Preoccupation with the issue has retarded progress in the field by diverting research away from empirical questions, many of which can be addressed with comparative data. Moreover, offering an adaptive hypothesis as an alternative to our hypothesis concerning mechanisms is a logical error, as questions of function are independent of those concerning mechanism. The second half of our paper consists of a detailed response to the specific data discussed by Pinker and Jackendoff. Although many of their examples are irrelevant to our original paper and arguments, we find several areas of substantive disagreement that could be resolved by future empirical research. We conclude that progress in understanding the evolution of language will require much more empirical research, grounded in modern comparative biology, more interdisciplinary collaboration, and much less of the adaptive storytelling and phylogenetic speculation that has traditionally characterized the field.Psycholog

Rhesus Monkeys (Macaca mulatta) Spontaneously Compute Addition Operations Over Large Numbers

Mathematics is a uniquely human capacity. Studies of animals and human infants reveal, however, that this capacity builds on language-independent mechanisms for quantifying small numbers (< 4) precisely and large numbers approximately. It is unclear whether animals and human infants can spontaneously tap mechanisms for quantifying large numbers to compute mathematical operations. Moreover, all available work on addition operations in non-human animals has confounded number with continuous perceptual properties (e.g. volume, contour length) that correlate with number. This study shows that rhesus monkeys spontaneously compute addition operations over large numbers, as opposed to continuous extents, and that the limit on this ability is set by the ratio difference between two numbers as opposed to their absolute difference.Psycholog

The Ecology and Evolution of Patience in Two New World Monkeys

Decision making often involves choosing between small, short-term rewards and large, long-term rewards. All animals, humans included, discount future rewards-the present value of delayed rewards is viewed as less than the value of immediate rewards. Despite its ubiquity, there exists considerable but unexplained variation between species in their capacity to wait for rewards-that is, to exert patience or self-control. Using two closely related primates-common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) and cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus)-we uncover a variable that may explain differences in how species discount future rewards. Both species faced a self-control paradigm in which individuals chose between taking an immediate small reward and waiting a variable amount of time for a large reward. Under these conditions, marmosets waited significantly longer for food than tamarins. This difference cannot be explained by life history, social behaviour or brain size. It can, however, be explained by feeding ecology: marmosets rely on gum, a food product acquired by waiting for exudate to flow from trees, whereas tamarins feed on insects, a food product requiring impulsive action. Foraging ecology, therefore, may provide a selective pressure for the evolution of self-control.Psycholog

Concept Attribution in Nonhuman Animals: Theoretical and Methodological Problems in Ascribing Complex Mental Processes

The demise of behaviorism has made ethologists more willing to ascribe mental states to animals. However, a methodology that can avoid the charge of excessive anthropomorphism is needed. We describe a series of experiments that could help determine whether the behavior of nonhuman animals towards dead conspecifics is concept mediated. These experiments form the basis of a general point. The behavior of some animals is clearly guided by complex mental processes. The techniques developed by comparative psychologists and behavioral ecologists are able to provide us with the tools to critically evaluate hypotheses concerning the continuity between human minds and animal minds.Psycholog

Recent Updates to the CFD General Notation System (CGNS)

The CFD General Notation System (CGNS) - a general, portable, and extensible standard for the storage and retrieval of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis data has been in existence for more than a decade (Version 1.0 was released in May 1998). Both structured and unstructured CFD data are covered by the standard, and CGNS can be easily extended to cover any sort of data imaginable, while retaining backward compatibility with existing CGNS data files and software. Although originally designed for CFD, it is readily extendable to any field of computational analysis. In early 2011, CGNS Version 3.1 was released, which added significant capabilities. This paper describes these recent enhancements and highlights the continued usefulness of the CGNS methodology

Visual Representation in the Wild: How Rhesus Monkeys Parse Objects

Visual object representation was studied in free-ranging rhesus monkeys. To facilitate comparison with humans, and to provide a new tool for neurophysiologists, we used a looking time procedure originally developed for studies of human infants. Monkeys' looking times were measured to displays with one or two distinct objects, separated or together, stationary or moving. Results indicate that rhesus monkeys used featural information to parse the displays into distinct objects, and they found events in which distinct objects moved together more novel or unnatural than events in which distinct objects moved separately. These findings show both common-alities and contrasts with those obtained from human infants. We discuss their implications for the development and neural mechanisms of higher-level vision.Psycholog