Nostalgia for the 24th Century: How Nerd Billionaires Use Star Trek for Self-Promotion

This paper examines how tech industry leaders, who I dub ?nerd billionaires,? use references to Star Trek (ST) as a way to connect with the positive impression fans have of its utopian world. I show how they use ST to imply that their business interests serve to benefit, and potentially save, humanity. My study provides background on ST?s utopia and uses Pierre Bourdieu's Field Theory to demonstrate why ST at first appears incompatible with the goals of big business. By applying post-Marxist critical theory to ST media, I examine ST?s ideological implications and analyze why ST has proven to be such an attractive shibboleth for ?nerd billionaires.? I argue that the politics of ST and the tech industry?s business practices prove to be less incongruous than they appear by demonstrating how ST has fostered a cultural narrative that presupposes the virtues and feasibility of saving humanity through futurist technology

Auditory attentional set-shifting and inhibition in children who stutter

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether previously reported parental questionnaire-based differences in attentional shifting and inhibitory control (AS and IC; Eggers, De Nil, & Van den Bergh, 2010) would be supported by direct measurement of AS and IC using a computer task. Method: Participants were 16 Finnish children who stutter (CWS; mean age = 7.06 years) and 16 Finnish children who do not stutter (mean age = 7.05 years). Participants were matched on age (±8 months) and gender. AS and IC were assessed by the auditory set-shifting task of the Amsterdam Neuropsychological Tasks (De Sonneville, 2009).Results: No group differences were found for the speed of auditory AS or IC. However, CWS, as a group, scored significantly lower on the accuracy (error percentage) of auditory AS. In addition, CWS, compared with the children who do not stutter, showed a higher increase in error percentages under AS and IC conditions. Conclusions: The findings on error percentages partly corroborate earlier questionnaire-based findings showing difficulties in CWS on AS and IC. Moreover, it also seems to imply that CWS are less able to slow down their responses to achieve higher accuracy rates.</p

KiddyCAT- ja BigCAT -itsearviointilomakkeiden suomennosten normatiiviset ja psykometriset ominaisuudet

Lasten kommunikointiasenteita arvioivan “Communication Attitude Test for Preschool and Kindergarten Children Who Stutter” (KiddyCAT) ja aikuisten kommunikointiasenteita arvioivan “Communication Attitude Test for Adults” (BigCAT) -testien kansainvälinen tutkimus on osoittanut, että änkyttävät lapset ja aikuiset suhtautuvat kielteisemmin puhumiseen kuin sujuvasti puhuvat verrokit. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli arvioida KiddyCAT-Fin- ja BigCAT-Fin-testien suomennosten pätevyyttä (validiteettia) ja luotettavuutta (reliabiliteettia). Lisäksi tavoitteena oli määritellä kummallekin testille kliinisen käytön tueksi katkaisupistemäärä, jonka ylittävä pistemäärä ilmaisee keskimääräistä kielteisempää kommunikointiasennetta. Tutkimuksessa 86 alle kouluikäistä lasta (joista 41 änkyttävää) täytti KiddyCAT-Fin:n 12 kysymystä sisältävän itsearviointilomakkeen ja 109 aikuista (joista 29 änkyttävää) täytti BigCAT-Fin:n 34 kysymystä sisältävän itsearviointilomakkeen. Itsearviointien kokonaispistemäärien keskiarvot olivat lähellä alkuperäisten englanninkielisten versioiden arvoja. Lisäksi änkyttävien lasten ja aikuisten kommunikointiasenteet olivat merkitsevästi kielteisemmät kuin sujuvasti puhuvien. Kummankin testin sisäinen konsistenssi ja uudelleenmittausreliabiliteetti olivat korkeat. Suomennettujen KiddyCAT:n ja BigCAT:n voidaan todeta erottelevan änkyttävien ihmisten kommunikointiasenteet tehokkaasti sujuvasti puhuvien ihmisten asenteista</p

Revisiting the obesity paradox in heart failure:Per cent body fat as predictor of biomarkers and outcome

Aims - Obesity defined by body mass index (BMI) is characterized by better prognosis and lower plasma N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in heart failure. We assessed whether another anthropometric measure, per cent body fat (PBF), reveals different associations with outcome and heart failure biomarkers (NT-proBNP, high-sensitivity troponin T (hs-TnT), soluble suppression of tumorigenesis-2 (sST2)). Methods - In an individual patient dataset, BMI was calculated as weight (kg)/height (m)2, and PBF through the Jackson–Pollock and Gallagher equations. Results - Out of 6468 patients (median 68 years, 78% men, 76% ischaemic heart failure, 90% reduced ejection fraction), 24% died over 2.2 years (1.5–2.9), 17% from cardiovascular death. Median PBF was 26.9% (22.4–33.0%) with the Jackson–Pollock equation, and 28.0% (23.8–33.5%) with the Gallagher equation, with an extremely strong correlation (r = 0.996, p 2, third PBF tertile), hs-TnT and sST2, but not NT-proBNP, independently predicted outcome. Conclusion - In parallel with increasing BMI or PBF there is an improvement in patient prognosis and a decrease in NT-proBNP, but not hs-TnT or sST2. hs-TnT or sST2 are stronger predictors of outcome than NT-proBNP among obese patients

"Spontaneous" late recovery from stuttering: Dimensions of reported techniques and causal attributions

Purpose: (1) To survey the employed techniques and the reasons/occasions which adults who had recovered from stuttering after age 11 without previous treatment reported as causal to overcome stuttering, (2) to investigate whether the techniques and causal attributions can be reduced to coherent (inherently consistent) dimensions, and (3) whether these dimensions reflect common therapy components.Methods: 124 recovered persons from 8 countries responded by SurveyMonkey or paper-and-pencil to rating scale questions about 49 possible techniques and 15 causal attributions.Results: A Principal Component Analysis of 110 questionnaires identified 6 components (dimensions) for self-assisted techniques (Speech Restructuring; Relaxed/Monitored Speech; Elocution; Stage Performance; Sought Speech Demands; Reassurance; 63.7% variance explained), and 3 components of perceived causal attributions of recovery (Life Change, Attitude Change, Social Support; 58.0% variance explained).Discussion: Two components for self-assisted techniques (Speech Restructuring; Elocution) reflect treatment methods. Another component (Relaxed/Monitored Speech) consists mainly of items that reflect a common, non-professional understanding of effective management of stuttering. The components of the various perceived reasons for recovery reflect differing implicit theories of causes for recovery from stuttering. These theories are considered susceptible to various biases. This identification of components of reported techniques and of causal attributions is novel compared to previous studies who just list techniques and attributions.Conclusion: The identified dimensions of self-assisted techniques and causal attributions to reduce stuttering as extracted from self-reports of a large, international sample of recovered formerly stuttering adults may guide the application of behavioral stuttering therapies.</p

NT-proBNP for Risk Prediction in Heart Failure:Identification of Optimal Cutoffs Across Body Mass Index Categories

OBJECTIVES The goal of this study was to assess the predictive power of N-terminal pro–B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and the decision cutoffs in heart failure (HF) across body mass index (BMI) categories. BACKGROUND  Concentrations of NT-proBNP predict outcome in HF. Although the influence of BMI to reduce levels of NT-proBNP is known, the impact of obesity on prognostic value remains uncertain. METHODS Individual data from the BIOS (Biomarkers In Heart Failure Outpatient Study) consortium were analyzed. Patients with stable HF were classified as underweight (BMI = 40 kg/m(2)) obese. The prognostic rote of NT-proBNP was tested for the endpoints of all-cause and cardiac death. RESULTS The study population included 12,763 patients (mean age 66 +/- 12 years; 25% women; mean left ventricular ejection fraction 33% 113%). Most patients were overweight (n = 5,176), followed by normal weight (n = 4,299), mildly obese (n = 2,157), moderately obese (n = 612), severely obese (n = 314), and underweight (n = 205). NT-proBNP inversely correlated with BMI (beta = -0.174 for 1 kg/m(2); P < 0.001). Adding NT-proBNP to clinical models improved risk prediction across BMI categories, with the exception of severely obese patients. The best cutoffs of NT-proBNP for 5-year all-cause death prediction were lower as BMI increased (3,785 ng/L, 2,193 ng/L, 1,554 ng/L, 1,045 ng/L, 755 ng/L, and 879 ng/L, for underweight, normal weight, overweight, and mildly, moderately, and severely obese patients, respectively) and were higher in women than in men. CONCLUSIONS NT-proBNP maintains its independent prognostic value up to 40 kg/m(2) BMI, and tower optimal risk-prediction cutoffs are observed in overweight and obese patients

“Spontaneous” late recovery from stuttering: Dimensions of reported techniques and causal attributions

Purpose: (1) To survey the employed techniques and the reasons/occasions which adults who had recovered from stuttering after age 11 without previous treatment reported as causal to overcome stuttering, (2) to investigate whether the techniques and causal attributions can be reduced to coherent (inherently consistent) dimensions, and (3) whether these dimensions reflect common therapy components. Methods: 124 recovered persons from 8 countries responded by SurveyMonkey or paper-and-pencil to rating scale questions about 49 possible techniques and 15 causal attributions. Results: A Principal Component Analysis of 110 questionnaires identified 6 components (dimensions) for self-assisted techniques (Speech Restructuring; Relaxed/Monitored Speech; Elocution; Stage Performance; Sought Speech Demands; Reassurance; 63.7% variance explained), and 3 components of perceived causal attributions of recovery (Life Change, Attitude Change, Social Support; 58.0% variance explained). Discussion: Two components for self-assisted techniques (Speech Restructuring; Elocution) reflect treatment methods. Another component (Relaxed/Monitored Speech) consists mainly of items that reflect a common, non-professional understanding of effective management of stuttering. The components of the various perceived reasons for recovery reflect differing implicit theories of causes for recovery from stuttering. These theories are considered susceptible to various biases. This identification of components of reported techniques and of causal attributions is novel compared to previous studies who just list techniques and attributions. Conclusion: The identified dimensions of self-assisted techniques and causal attributions to reduce stuttering as extracted from self-reports of a large, international sample of recovered formerly stuttering adults may guide the application of behavioral stuttering therapies

Reconstructing the Deep Population History of Central and South America

We report genome-wide ancient DNA from 49 individuals forming four parallel time transects in Belize, Brazil, the Central Andes, and the Southern Cone, each dating to at least 9,000 years ago. The common ancestral population radiated rapidly from just one of the two early branches that contributed to Native Americans today. We document two previously unappreciated streams of gene flow between North and South America. One affected the Central Andes by 4,200 years ago, while the other explains an affinity between the oldest North American genome associated with the Clovis culture and the oldest Central and South Americans from Chile, Brazil, and Belize. However, this was not the primary source for later South Americans, as the other ancient individuals derive from lineages without specific affinity to the Clovis-associated genome, suggesting a population replacement that began at least 9,000 years ago and was followed by substantial population continuity in multiple regions