Examining Semantic Effects in Conceptual Combination

Conceptual combination is a cognitive process that produces complex concepts (e.g., adjective-noun pairs) from simple concepts. The Selective Modification Model (SMM; Smith, Osherson, Rips, & Keane, 1988) postulates that simple adjective-noun combinations (e.g., red apple) are understood by the modifier red selecting the colour attribute of the head noun apple. Theories of conceptual combination have not extended to fulfill our understanding of how complex adjective-noun pairs (e.g., empty dream) are processed. This exploratory study had two main objectives: to determine which semantic variables best captured the processing of complex adjective-noun pairs and to examine the semantic effects of conceptual combination to extend current theories. Adjective-noun combinations were manipulated based on subjective ratings (i.e., concreteness and plausibility; see the preliminary study) or objective measures (i.e., age of acquisition and semantic distance) and compared. Two hundred and ninety-three participants were randomly assigned to complete one of three computerized tasks that differentially engaged semantic processing from shallow to deep, including the non-pronounceable double lexical decision task (Experiment 1), the pronounceable double lexical decision task (Experiment 2), and the meaningfulness task (Experiment 3). Across all tasks, the subjective model outperformed the objective model in reaction time and accuracy analyses. Adjective-noun processing was facilitated by concrete, early acquired head nouns, as well as adjective-noun pairs that were rated as plausible and situated close in semantic space. Interestingly, adjectives paired with abstract head nouns were difficult to process across tasks regardless of how plausible the pair was. In conclusion, semantic variables rated by participants are valuable and may better capture how the mental lexicon is organized and accessed, and further research should pursue innovative ways of examining how abstract head nouns are processed to incorporate into existing theories

Investigating Semantic Effects in Adjective-Noun Conceptual Combination

Conceptual combination is an active meaning construction process involved in the production and comprehension of complex concepts (e.g., SLEEP TREE, STONY FACE). Distributional and schema-based theories of conceptual combination have proposed various cognitive mechanisms with a primary focus on the processing of noun-noun complex concepts (e.g., SLEEP TREE). The manipulation of variables related to the constituent (e.g., relational frequency) and phrase (e.g., typicality) composition has provided insightful advances into the conceptual representation and processing of complex concepts. Within this context, semantic variables related to semantic richness and concreteness of complex concepts have not been examined in the conceptual combination literature despite having been thoroughly investigated with respect to the processing of simple concepts. The primary objective of the current study is to investigate the processing of adjective-noun combinations (e.g., STONY FACE) by manipulating semantic variables related to the constituent (i.e., semantic neighbourhood density or SND) and phrase (e.g., concreteness) structure. The adjective-noun stimulus set was constructed with participant ratings using a novel quantitative measure to capture a varying degree of novelty (Experiment 1a) and concreteness (Experiment 1b). In the remaining experiments, the processing of adjective-noun combinations was examined with methodology capturing online processing with tasks of differential semantic engagement (Experiments 2-4) as well as an offline interpretation task (Experiment 5). Collectively, the findings of the current study inform our understanding of the conceptual representation and comprehension of adjective-noun phrases. The results of the online processing experiments demonstrated orthographic and semantic effects, which were observed in a graded fashion based on the level of semantic processing the task required. In the shallowest double lexical decision task with non-pronounceable non-words (Experiment 2), only orthographic effects pertaining to the visual word form of adjective-noun phrases were found (i.e., combined letter length, mean orthographic frequency). In Experiment 3, where non-words were pronounceable and required a deeper level of semantic processing compared to Experiment 2, a partial meaningfulness effect was observed, as high meaningful adjective-noun pairs had faster response latencies compared to low meaningful adjective-noun pairs, though no differences were observed for the intermediate meaningful group. A concreteness effect, in which concrete word pairs are processed faster relative to abstract word pairs, was also observed in Experiment 3, particularly for low meaningful adjective-noun phrases. Complete main effects of meaningfulness and concreteness were observed in Experiment 4, the deepest semantic processing task that required participants to make judgments about whether adjective-noun pairs made sense as a pair, essentially recruiting conceptual combination under pressured time constraints. SND effects were also prominent in Experiment 4 and yielded asymmetrical modifier and noun effects based on the meaningfulness and concreteness of the phrase. In Experiment 5, participants were asked to provide an explicit interpretation of novel (low meaningful) adjective-noun phrases, and four themes of interpretation types were identified, including slot-filling, noun elaboration, abstraction, and adjective-reversal. The proportion of unique interpretations and interpretation types differed based on the semantic composition of the adjective-noun phrases. The results were taken as further support for language-based models of conceptual representations, based on the SND effects observed in Experiment 4 and 5, as SND is a quantitative variable derived from a language-based co-occurrence model (Durda & Buchanan, 2008). Kintsch’s (2000) computational model of constructing sentence meaning was applied as a mechanism of constructing meaning for adjective-noun phrases using Experiment 4 and 5 findings, based on previous results in adjective-noun metaphors (Al-Azary et al., 2021). This model can account for a variety of points made by other theorists of conceptual combination, including recruitment in both familiar and novel phrases, an important role of the modifier, an interaction between modifier and noun constituents, competition among different potential processing routes, and recruitment of prior background knowledge

Executive functioning moderates associations between shyness and pragmatic abilities

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Nilsen, E. S., Silva, J., McAuley, T. & Floto, S. (2020). Executive functioning moderates associations between shyness and pragmatic language. Social Development, 30(2), 554-574. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12485, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12485. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.While elevated shyness is associated with weaker pragmatic language abilities for some children, not all shy children demonstrate pragmatic challenges. Understanding the factors that may account for this variability is important as proficient pragmatic abilities have been found to protect shy children from subsequent socio-emotional maladjustment (Coplan & Weeks, 2009). Individual differences in cognitive processes may account for why some shy children evidence difficulty in pragmatic abilities whereas others do not. In the current study, associations between shyness, executive functioning (performance-based and parent-reported), and pragmatic abilities (knowledge and demonstrated abilities) were examined in a community sample of 8 to 12-year-old children (N = 81). Consistent with past work, shyness was associated with weaker pragmatic knowledge. However, parent-reported executive functioning moderated associations between shyness and both pragmatic knowledge and demonstrated pragmatic abilities in everyday activities. Only those shy children with weaker parent-reported executive functioning showed difficulties in their pragmatic abilities. That is, strength in applying executive functioning in everyday settings (or less executive dysfunction) seems to buffer shy children from pragmatic challenges. We discuss our results in terms of the way children acquire pragmatic competence and the temperamental and cognitive factors that may affect such development

Ratings of Everyday Executive Functioning (REEF): A parent-report measure of preschoolers’ executive functioning skills

©American Psychological Association, 2016. This paper is not the copy of record and may not exactly replicate the authoritative document published in the APA journal. Please do not copy or cite without author's permission. The final article is available, upon publication, at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pas0000308Executive functioning (EF) facilitates the development of academic, cognitive, and social-emotional skills and deficits in EF are implicated in a broad range of child psychopathologies. Although EF has clear implications for early development, the few questionnaires that assess EF in preschoolers tend to ask parents for global judgments of executive dysfunction and thus do not cover the full range of EF within the preschool age group. Here we present a new measure of preschoolers’ EF—the Ratings of Everyday Executive Functioning (REEF)—that capitalizes on parents’ observations of their preschoolers’ (i.e., 3- to 5-year-olds) behavior in specific, everyday contexts. Over 4 studies, items comprising the REEF were refined and the measure’s reliability and validity were evaluated. Factor analysis of the REEF yielded 1 factor, with items showing strong internal reliability. More important, children’s scores on the REEF related to both laboratory measures of EF and another parent-report EF questionnaire. Moreover, reflecting divergent validity, the REEF was more strongly related to measures of EF as opposed to measures of affective styles. The REEF also captured differences in children’s executive skills across the preschool years, and norms at 6-month intervals are reported. In summary, the REEF is a new parent-report measure that provides researchers with an efficient, valid, and reliable means of assessing preschoolers’ executive functioning

Methodological quality of test accuracy studies included in systematic reviews in obstetrics and gynaecology: sources of bias

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Obstetrics and gynaecology have seen rapid growth in the development of new tests with research on these tests presented as diagnostic accuracy studies. To avoid errors in judgement it is important that the methodology of these studies is such that bias is minimised. Our objective was to determine the methodological quality of test accuracy studies in obstetrics and gynaecology using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS) checklist and to assess sources of bias.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A prospective protocol was developed to assess the impact of QUADAS on ten systematic reviews performed over the period 2004-2007.We investigated whether there was an improvement in study quality since the introduction of QUADAS, whether a correlation existed between study sample size, country of origin of study and its quality. We also investigated whether there was a correlation between reporting and methodological quality and by the use of meta-regression analyses explored for items of quality that were associated with bias.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 300 studies were included. The overall quality of included studies was poor (> 50% compliance with 57.1% of quality items). However, the mean compliance with QUADAS showed an improvement post-publication of QUADAS (54.9% versus 61.4% p = 0.002). There was no correlation with study sample size. Gynaecology studies published from the United States of America showed higher quality (USA versus Western Europe p = 0.002; USA versus Asia p = 0.004). Meta-regression analysis showed that no individual quality item had a significant impact on accuracy. There was an association between reporting and methodological quality (r = 0.51 p < 0.0001 for obstetrics and r = 0.56 p < 0.0001 for gynaecology).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A combination of poor methodological quality and poor reporting affects the inferences that can be drawn from test accuracy studies. Further compliance with quality checklists is required to ensure that bias is minimised.</p

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Effects of antiplatelet therapy after stroke due to intracerebral haemorrhage (RESTART): a randomised, open-label trial

Background: Antiplatelet therapy reduces the risk of major vascular events for people with occlusive vascular disease, although it might increase the risk of intracranial haemorrhage. Patients surviving the commonest subtype of intracranial haemorrhage, intracerebral haemorrhage, are at risk of both haemorrhagic and occlusive vascular events, but whether antiplatelet therapy can be used safely is unclear. We aimed to estimate the relative and absolute effects of antiplatelet therapy on recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage and whether this risk might exceed any reduction of occlusive vascular events. Methods: The REstart or STop Antithrombotics Randomised Trial (RESTART) was a prospective, randomised, open-label, blinded endpoint, parallel-group trial at 122 hospitals in the UK. We recruited adults (≥18 years) who were taking antithrombotic (antiplatelet or anticoagulant) therapy for the prevention of occlusive vascular disease when they developed intracerebral haemorrhage, discontinued antithrombotic therapy, and survived for 24 h. Computerised randomisation incorporating minimisation allocated participants (1:1) to start or avoid antiplatelet therapy. We followed participants for the primary outcome (recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage) for up to 5 years. We analysed data from all randomised participants using Cox proportional hazards regression, adjusted for minimisation covariates. This trial is registered with ISRCTN (number ISRCTN71907627). Findings: Between May 22, 2013, and May 31, 2018, 537 participants were recruited a median of 76 days (IQR 29–146) after intracerebral haemorrhage onset: 268 were assigned to start and 269 (one withdrew) to avoid antiplatelet therapy. Participants were followed for a median of 2·0 years (IQR [1·0– 3·0]; completeness 99·3%). 12 (4%) of 268 participants allocated to antiplatelet therapy had recurrence of intracerebral haemorrhage compared with 23 (9%) of 268 participants allocated to avoid antiplatelet therapy (adjusted hazard ratio 0·51 [95% CI 0·25–1·03]; p=0·060). 18 (7%) participants allocated to antiplatelet therapy experienced major haemorrhagic events compared with 25 (9%) participants allocated to avoid antiplatelet therapy (0·71 [0·39–1·30]; p=0·27), and 39 [15%] participants allocated to antiplatelet therapy had major occlusive vascular events compared with 38 [14%] allocated to avoid antiplatelet therapy (1·02 [0·65–1·60]; p=0·92). Interpretation: These results exclude all but a very modest increase in the risk of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage with antiplatelet therapy for patients on antithrombotic therapy for the prevention of occlusive vascular disease when they developed intracerebral haemorrhage. The risk of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage is probably too small to exceed the established benefits of antiplatelet therapy for secondary prevention

Effects of antiplatelet therapy after stroke due to intracerebral haemorrhage (RESTART): a randomised, open-label trial

Background: Antiplatelet therapy reduces the risk of major vascular events for people with occlusive vascular disease, although it might increase the risk of intracranial haemorrhage. Patients surviving the commonest subtype of intracranial haemorrhage, intracerebral haemorrhage, are at risk of both haemorrhagic and occlusive vascular events, but whether antiplatelet therapy can be used safely is unclear. We aimed to estimate the relative and absolute effects of antiplatelet therapy on recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage and whether this risk might exceed any reduction of occlusive vascular events. Methods: The REstart or STop Antithrombotics Randomised Trial (RESTART) was a prospective, randomised, open-label, blinded endpoint, parallel-group trial at 122 hospitals in the UK. We recruited adults (≥18 years) who were taking antithrombotic (antiplatelet or anticoagulant) therapy for the prevention of occlusive vascular disease when they developed intracerebral haemorrhage, discontinued antithrombotic therapy, and survived for 24 h. Computerised randomisation incorporating minimisation allocated participants (1:1) to start or avoid antiplatelet therapy. We followed participants for the primary outcome (recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage) for up to 5 years. We analysed data from all randomised participants using Cox proportional hazards regression, adjusted for minimisation covariates. This trial is registered with ISRCTN (number ISRCTN71907627). Findings: Between May 22, 2013, and May 31, 2018, 537 participants were recruited a median of 76 days (IQR 29–146) after intracerebral haemorrhage onset: 268 were assigned to start and 269 (one withdrew) to avoid antiplatelet therapy. Participants were followed for a median of 2·0 years (IQR [1·0– 3·0]; completeness 99·3%). 12 (4%) of 268 participants allocated to antiplatelet therapy had recurrence of intracerebral haemorrhage compared with 23 (9%) of 268 participants allocated to avoid antiplatelet therapy (adjusted hazard ratio 0·51 [95% CI 0·25–1·03]; p=0·060). 18 (7%) participants allocated to antiplatelet therapy experienced major haemorrhagic events compared with 25 (9%) participants allocated to avoid antiplatelet therapy (0·71 [0·39–1·30]; p=0·27), and 39 [15%] participants allocated to antiplatelet therapy had major occlusive vascular events compared with 38 [14%] allocated to avoid antiplatelet therapy (1·02 [0·65–1·60]; p=0·92). Interpretation: These results exclude all but a very modest increase in the risk of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage with antiplatelet therapy for patients on antithrombotic therapy for the prevention of occlusive vascular disease when they developed intracerebral haemorrhage. The risk of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage is probably too small to exceed the established benefits of antiplatelet therapy for secondary prevention

Effects of antiplatelet therapy after stroke due to intracerebral haemorrhage (RESTART): a randomised, open-label trial

BACKGROUND: Antiplatelet therapy reduces the risk of major vascular events for people with occlusive vascular disease, although it might increase the risk of intracranial haemorrhage. Patients surviving the commonest subtype of intracranial haemorrhage, intracerebral haemorrhage, are at risk of both haemorrhagic and occlusive vascular events, but whether antiplatelet therapy can be used safely is unclear. We aimed to estimate the relative and absolute effects of antiplatelet therapy on recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage and whether this risk might exceed any reduction of occlusive vascular events. METHODS: The REstart or STop Antithrombotics Randomised Trial (RESTART) was a prospective, randomised, open-label, blinded endpoint, parallel-group trial at 122 hospitals in the UK. We recruited adults (≥18 years) who were taking antithrombotic (antiplatelet or anticoagulant) therapy for the prevention of occlusive vascular disease when they developed intracerebral haemorrhage, discontinued antithrombotic therapy, and survived for 24 h. Computerised randomisation incorporating minimisation allocated participants (1:1) to start or avoid antiplatelet therapy. We followed participants for the primary outcome (recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage) for up to 5 years. We analysed data from all randomised participants using Cox proportional hazards regression, adjusted for minimisation covariates. This trial is registered with ISRCTN (number ISRCTN71907627). FINDINGS: Between May 22, 2013, and May 31, 2018, 537 participants were recruited a median of 76 days (IQR 29-146) after intracerebral haemorrhage onset: 268 were assigned to start and 269 (one withdrew) to avoid antiplatelet therapy. Participants were followed for a median of 2·0 years (IQR [1·0- 3·0]; completeness 99·3%). 12 (4%) of 268 participants allocated to antiplatelet therapy had recurrence of intracerebral haemorrhage compared with 23 (9%) of 268 participants allocated to avoid antiplatelet therapy (adjusted hazard ratio 0·51 [95% CI 0·25-1·03]; p=0·060). 18 (7%) participants allocated to antiplatelet therapy experienced major haemorrhagic events compared with 25 (9%) participants allocated to avoid antiplatelet therapy (0·71 [0·39-1·30]; p=0·27), and 39 [15%] participants allocated to antiplatelet therapy had major occlusive vascular events compared with 38 [14%] allocated to avoid antiplatelet therapy (1·02 [0·65-1·60]; p=0·92). INTERPRETATION: These results exclude all but a very modest increase in the risk of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage with antiplatelet therapy for patients on antithrombotic therapy for the prevention of occlusive vascular disease when they developed intracerebral haemorrhage. The risk of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage is probably too small to exceed the established benefits of antiplatelet therapy for secondary prevention. FUNDING: British Heart Foundation