615 research outputs found

    The early effects of external and internal strategies on working memory updating training

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    The mechanisms underlying working memory training remain unclear, but one possibility is that the typically limited transfer effects of this training reflect adoption of successful task-specific strategies. Our pre-registered randomized controlled trial (N = 116) studied the early effects of externally given vs. internally generated strategies in an updating task (n-back) over a 5-day period with a single 30-minute training session. Three groups were employed: n-back training with strategy instruction (n = 40), n-back training without strategy instruction (n = 37), and passive controls (n = 39). We found that both external and internal strategy use was associated with significantly higher posttest performance on the trained n-back task, and that training with n-back strategy instruction yielded positive transfer on untrained n-back tasks, resembling the transfer pattern typically seen after the ordinary uninstructed 4-6-week working memory training. In the uninstructed participants, the level of detail and type of internally generated n-back strategies at posttest was significantly related to their posttest n-back performance. Our results support the view that adoption of task-specific strategies plays an important role in working memory training outcomes, and that strategy-based effects are apparent right at the start of training

    Randomised controlled trial of the effect of Tai Chi on postural balance of people with dementia

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    Purpose: To investigate the effect of Tai Chi exercise on postural balance among people with dementia (PWD) and the feasibility of a definitive trial on falls prevention. Patients and methods: Dyads, comprising community-dwelling PWD and their informal carer (N=85), were randomised to usual care (n=43) or usual care plus weekly Tai Chi classes and home practice for 20 weeks (n=42). The primary outcome was the timed up and go test. All outcomes for PWD and their carers were assessed six months post-baseline, except for falls, which were collected prospectively over the six-month follow-up period. Results: For PWD, there was no significant difference at follow-up on the timed up and go test (mean difference [MD] = 0.82, 95% confidence interval [CI] = -2.17, 3.81). At follow-up, PWD in the Tai Chi group had significantly higher quality of life (MD = 0.051, 95% CI = 0.002, 0.100, standardised effect size [ES] = 0.51) and a significantly lower rate of falls (rate ratio = 0.35, 95% CI =0.15, 0.81), which was no longer significant when an outlier was removed. Carers in the Tai Chi group at follow-up were significantly worse on the timed up and go test (MD = 1.83, 95% CI = 0.12, 3.53, ES = 0.61). The remaining secondary outcomes were not significant. No serious adverse events were related to participation in Tai Chi. Conclusion: With refinement, this Tai Chi intervention has potential to reduce the incidence of falls and improve quality of life among community-dwelling PWD [Trial registration: NCT02864056]

    Improving Diabetes Care in Practice: Findings from the TRANSLATE trial

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    OBJECTIVE—The purpose of this study was to determine whether implementation of a multicomponent organizational intervention can produce significant change in diabetes care and outcomes in community primary care practices

    A stab in the dark: The distance threshold of target identification in low light

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    Prior research shows that increased distance and decreased light result in less correct eyewitness identifications, yet their combined effect is not well understood. The aim of the present study was to establish the maximum distance in low lux (lx) where an eyewitness's later identification in target present (TP) line-ups is no longer reliable. We randomized participants (N = 178) into one of three lx conditions (high:300 lx, medium:10 lx, low:0.7 lx) and presented them with eight targets (one at a time) at eight separate distances (6-20 m). Each target-presentation was followed by an 8-person simultaneous TP line-up (i.e., there was a .125 probability of choosing the target correctly by chance). We found that the rate of correct TP identifications decreased with increased distance in all lx conditions. At 20 m the rate of correct TP identifications was .53 in the high lx condition, .41 in the medium lx condition and .11 in the low lx condition. The generalizability of our findings to overall eyewitness accuracy is limited by the exclusion of target absent line-ups, yet our findings show that reliable and correct target present identifications are very unlikely following observations made in low lighting (0.7 lx) at 20 m

    Improved Limit on Direct α Decay of the Hoyle State

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    The current evaluation of the triple-α reaction rate assumes that the α decay of the 7.65 MeV, 0+ state in 12C, commonly known as the Hoyle state, proceeds sequentially via the ground state of 8Be. This assumption is challenged by the recent identification of two direct α-decay branches with a combined branching ratio of 17(5)%. If correct, this would imply a corresponding reduction in the triple-α reaction rate with important astrophysical consequences. We have used the 11B(3He,d) reaction to populate the Hoyle state and measured the decay to three α particles in complete kinematics. We find no evidence for direct α-decay branches, and hence our data do not support a revision of the triple-α reaction rate. We obtain an upper limit of 5×10-3 on the direct α decay of the Hoyle state at 95% C.L., which is 1 order of magnitude better than a previous upper limit

    Low-lying resonance states in the Be-9 continuum

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    Excited states in Be-9 from 2 to 9 MeV are studied via beta delayed particle emission from Li-9. The broad overlapping particle unbound states are investigated using an extension of an experimental method developed for dealing with three-body decays of broad isolated levels. The results confirm the existence of a broad state at 5 MeV, with a width of 2 MeV. Angular correlations are used for firm spin determinations for this and other levels

    Low-lying resonance states in the Be-9 continuum

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    Excited states in Be-9 from 2 to 9 MeV are studied via beta delayed particle emission from Li-9. The broad overlapping particle unbound states are investigated using an extension of an experimental method developed for dealing with three-body decays of broad isolated levels. The results confirm the existence of a broad state at 5 MeV, with a width of 2 MeV. Angular correlations are used for firm spin determinations for this and other levels

    Structure of the mirror nuclei 9^9Be and 9^9B in a microscopic cluster model

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    The structure of the mirror nuclei 9^9Be and 9^9B is studied in a microscopic α+α+n\alpha+ \alpha+ n and α+α+p\alpha+ \alpha+ p three-cluster model using a fully antisymmetrized 9-nucleon wave function. The two-nucleon interaction includes central and spin-orbit components and the Coulomb potential. The ground state of 9^9Be is obtained accurately with the stochastic variational method, while several particle-unbound states of both 9^9Be and 9^9B are investigated with the complex scaling method.The calculation for 9^9Be supports the recent identification for the existence of two broad states around 6.5 MeV, and predicts the 322−\frac{3}{2}^{-}_2 and 522−\frac{5}{2}^{-}_2 states at about 4.5 MeV and 8 MeV, respectively. The similarity of the calculated spectra of 9^9Be and 9^9B enables one to identify unknown spins and parities of the 9^9B states. Available data on electromagnetic moments and elastic electron scatterings are reproduced very well. The enhancement of the EE1 transition of the first excited state in 9^9Be is well accounted for. The calculated density of 9^9Be is found to reproduce the reaction cross section on a Carbon target. The analysis of the beta decay of 9^9Li to 9^9Be clearly shows that the wave function of 9^9Be must contain a small component that cannot be described by the simple α+α+n\alpha+ \alpha+ n model. This small component can be well accounted for by extending a configuration space to include the distortion of the α\alpha-particle to t+pt+p and h+nh+n partitions.Comment: 24 page
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