Micropaleontological counting methods and techniques : an exercise on an eight metres section of the lower Pliocene of Capo Rossello, Sicily

The LG.C.P. project 74/1/1 "a systems approach to accuracy in time", aims at a quantification of the refinement that may be attained with various methods of stratigraphic correlation. A considerable part of the pilot studies carried out by the "Dutch" working group deals with the application of numerical methods in biostratigraphy, in which one of the lines of research aims at a better understanding of counted numbers of specimens of individual taxa in suites of samples, as presented in so-called distribution charts or range charts. The biozonations constructed from such charts, from which in practice the more general zonation schemes are compiled, are commonly based on entries and exits of indivual taxa or groups of taxa. The corresponding datum levels based on single or multiple presence-absence criteria (as well as relatively high frequencies of taxa, so-called acmes) determine the zones recognized in the vertical successions. These methods and the actual counting on which they are - often unconsciously - based are being evaluated by the Utrecht team for several sections of the Mediterranean Neogene. The purpose of the present investigation was only to obtain a better documented insight in the reliability of different methods of collecting quantitative data

Disentangling the adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder endophenotype: parametric measurement of attention

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) persists frequently into adulthood. The decomposition of endophenotypes by means of experimental neuro-cognitive assessment has the potential to improve diagnostic assessment, evaluation of treatment response, and disentanglement of genetic and environmental influences. We assessed four parameters of attentional capacity and selectivity derived from simple psychophysical tasks (verbal report of briefly presented letter displays) and based on a “theory of visual attention.” These parameters are mathematically independent, quantitative measures, and previous studies have shown that they are highly sensitive for subtle attention deficits. Potential reductions of attentional capacity, that is, of perceptual processing speed and working memory storage capacity, were assessed with a whole report paradigm. Furthermore, possible pathologies of attentional selectivity, that is, selection of task-relevant information and bias in the spatial distribution of attention, were measured with a partial report paradigm. A group of 30 unmedicated adult ADHD patients and a group of 30 demographically matched healthy controls were tested. ADHD patients showed significant reductions of working memory storage capacity of a moderate to large effect size. Perceptual processing speed, task-based, and spatial selection were unaffected. The results imply a working memory deficit as an important source of behavioral impairments. The theory of visual attention parameter working memory storage capacity might constitute a quantifiable and testable endophenotype of ADHD