Intervention for a visual attention span processing deficit in a Greek-speaking child with slow reading speed:Developmental dyslexia and visual attention span processing training

We present the case of TN, aged 9;11, a monolingual Greek-speaking girl with accurate but slow word and non-word reading. Neuropsychological assessment revealed a selective deficit in visual attention (VA) span tasks.  TN had previously taken part in a spelling intervention targeting whole word processing and, although her spelling improved, at the end of the programme her reading remained slow. In the present study, we assessed TN in a lexical decision task with semantic primes, and she showed reduced semantic priming in relation to typically developing readers. TN took part in an intervention aimed at mitigating the VA span processing deficit and similar to a programme previously conducted with a twelve-year-old Greek-speaking boy, RF ([author(s)], 2013). Post-test results for TN revealed a significant improvement in letter report ability as well a reduction in word reading latencies; semantic facilitation was also observed in the priming task following the intervention, although differences were not significant. The results indicate, in line with previous research, an association between visual attention span and reading speed

An Offset Cancelation Technique for Latch Type Sense Amplifiers

An offset compensation technique for a latch type sense amplifier is proposed in this paper. The proposed scheme is based on the recalibration of the charging/discharging current of the critical nodes which are affected by the device mismatches. The circuit has been designed in a 65 nm CMOS technology with 1.2 V core transistors. The auto-calibration procedure is fully digital. Simulation results are given verifying the operation for sampling a 5 Gb/s signal dissipating only 360 uW

Literacy difficulties in Higher Education:identifying students’ needs with a Hybrid Model

Aims Aims Studies on literacy difficulties have mainly focused on children or adults who have a diagnosis of dyslexia. Some students enter university without such a diagnosis, but with literacy difficulties, and this may impact their ability to become independent learners and achieve academically. This exploratory study aims to employ a hybrid model for developing profiles for such individuals. The hybrid model encompasses the causal modelling framework (CMF; Morton & Frith, 1993), the proximal and distal causes of literacy difficulties (Jackson & Coltheart, 2001) and the conceptual framework for identification of dyslexia (Reid & Came, 2009). Method In this multiple case study design, three young adults with literacy difficulties were interviewed. Using narrative analysis, we compared the cases’ responses with the responses of a matched control student without literacy difficulties. Findings The main findings of the comparison suggested that the proposed hybrid model could be an effective way to highlighting potential obstacles to learning in those with literacy difficulties and would, therefore, be an invaluable tool for educational psychologists who work in adult educational settings. Limitations This is an exploratory study based on multiple case studies. A group study with more individuals should be conducted in order to further validate the proposed hybrid model. Conclusions The current study highlights the importance of understanding the psychosocial, as well as the cognitive and biological aspects of literacy difficulties, without claiming generalisability

Shape and nonrigid motion estimation through physics-based synthesis

A physics-based framework for 3-D shape and nonrigid motion estimation for real-time computer vision systems is presented. The framework features dynamic models that incorporate the mechanical principles of rigid and nonrigid bodies into conventional geometric primitives. Through the efficient numerical simulation of Lagrange equations of motion, the models can synthesize physically correct behaviors in response to applied forces and imposed constraints. Applying continuous Kalman filtering theory, a recursive shape and motion estimator that employs the Lagrange equations as a system model. We interpret the continuous Kalman filter physically: The system model continually synthesizes nonrigid motion in response to generalized forces that arise from the inconsistency between the incoming observations and the estimated model state. The observation forces also account formally for instantaneous uncertainties and incomplete information. A Riccati procedure updates a covariance matrix that transforms the forces in accordance with the system dynamics and prior observation history. The transformed forces modify the translational, rotational, and deformational state variables of the system model to reduce inconsistency, thus producing nonstationary shape and motion estimates from the time-varying visual data. We demonstrate the dynamic estimator in experiments involving model fitting and tracking of articulated and flexible objects from noisy 3-D data

Parallelized Incomplete Poisson Preconditioner in Cloth Simulation

Efficient cloth simulation is an important problem for interactive applications that involve virtual humans, such as computer games. A common aspect of many methods that have been developed to simulate cloth is a linear system of equations, which is commonly solved using conjugate gradient or multi-grid approaches. In this paper, we introduce to the computer gaming community a recently proposed preconditioner, the incomplete Poisson preconditioner, for conjugate gradient solvers. We show that the parallelized incomplete Poisson preconditioner (PIPP) performs as well as the current state-of-the-art preconditioners, while being much more amenable to standard thread-level parallelism. We demonstrate our results on an 8-core Apple* Mac* Pro and a 32-core code name Emerald Ridge system

A sublexical training study for spelling in a biliterate Greek- and English- speaking child

RI is an emergent trilingual boy, literate in Greek and English, with difficulties in reading and spelling in both languages. Assessment with non-literacy tests revealed a deficit in phonological ability and in visual memory for sequentially presented characters. RI took part in a training programme that targeted sublexical spelling processes. Post-intervention assessment revealed improvement in reading and spelling in Greek but not in English. Assessments of lexical and sublexical skills showed improvement in nonword spelling and nonword reading for Greek. For English, there was some indication of improvement in nonword reading at delayed post-intervention testing, but no evidence of improvement in nonword spelling. Possible reasons for the difference in outcome for the two languages are considered, including the level of transparency of written Greek and English