O PAPEL DA DEFICIÊNCIA SEMÂNTICA REFERENCIAL NA EXPRESSÃO DO SUJEITO NO CRIOULO CABO-VERDIANO: ESCOLHA VARIÁVEL DOS RECURSOS REFERENCIAS REDUZIDOS DA TERCEIRA PESSOA

This study examines the influence of ‘semantic referential deficiency’―consisting of nonhuman, nonspecific, and indefinite reference―in variable third-person subject expression in a corpus of naturalistic Cabo-Verdean Creole discourse collected from respondents from the islands of Santiago and Maio. The methodology follows the Probabilistic Linguistics program (CLAES, 2017) in combining variationist sociolinguistics with cognitively-oriented discourse analysis, whereas the notion of semantic referential deficiency is adopted from Generative Grammar and from research on Brazilian Portuguese argument expression. The coded corpus data were submitted to a suite of descriptive and inferential statistical analyses in R (R CORE TEAM, 2021). Results show a promoting effect from nonhuman and collective referents on the selection of zero or null subjects, alongside other predictors related to referential coherence and accessibility.Nesta pesquisa investiga-se a influência da ‘deficiência semântica referencial’ ―a qual consiste da referência não humana, não específica e indefinida― na expressão variável dos sujeitos da terceira pessoa nas variedades do crioulo cabo-verdiano faladas nas ilhas de Santiago e do Maio. A metodologia que se segue é a Linguística Probabilística (CLAES, 2017), que mistura o variacionismo-sociolinguístico com a análise discursiva orientada à cognição, embora na pesquisa atual o foco interdisciplinar é ampliado ainda mais, já que se toma emprestado da Gramática Gerativa, e das pesquisas na expressão de argumentos no português brasileiro, o conceito da deficiência referencial semântica. O corpus foi sometido a uma série de análises estatísticas descritivas e inferenciais no R (R CORE TEAM, 2021). Os resultados mostram um efeito promotor dos referentes não humanos e coletivos na seleção de sujeitos nulos, em conjunto com outros preditores que se relacionam com a acessibilidade referencial

Core Vocabulary Intervention for Language-delayed Kindergarten Students Using Augmentative and Alternative Communication

The purpose of this study was to measure the impact of core vocabulary selection and the subsequent usage of a prescribed core vocabulary intervention over a period of one trimester (13-week period) and to report its impact on the overall communicative effectiveness of kindergarten students with language delay using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Study participants were provided with a pretest, speech and language therapy sessions in which intervention took place, and a posttest, which was administered by a speech–language pathologist. Intervention implementation commenced at the beginning of the school year and extended through the end of the trimester.13-week period. Data were examined at weekly intervals throughout the trimester. Analysis of the data determined the effect of selecting and using a core vocabulary intervention on overall communication in AAC users exhibiting language delay. The treatment group (n=15) received core vocabulary intervention in a naturalistic, aided-language environment, with modeling for the use of core vocabulary words. Acquisition of and significant improvement in core vocabulary usage was noticed, along with an increase in expressive language skills in line with individualized education plan (IEP) goals. The implications of core vocabulary intervention in the enhancement of language skills for Kindergarten-aged children who use AAC are discussed. Keywords: core vocabulary intervention, language-delayed, kindergarten, augmentative and alternative communication, language interventio

United States historical rape trends and multi-country comparison

Background: Rape impacts multiple facets of the victim’s life. Despite continued efforts to control this violent offense, rape is still a major public health issue. The objective of this analysis is to aggregate the occurrence of rape in the United States and compare its prevalence with three other nations, Canada, South Africa, and Sweden, to provide a comprehensive insight into how widespread this crime is. Methods: Data analytics and data mining were conducted on FBI published information spanning from 2001 to 2017 on three rape-related crime indicators. Information from other nations were obtained from the country’s respective reporting agencies. The data were then aggregated to provide insights into the past and current U.S. trends and how they compare to other countries. Results: The findings show that rape is still a critical public health area of concern, not just nationally, but also globally. The findings reveal that since the revision to the FBI’s definition of rape, reported rape increased. All nations observed, other than South Africa, demonstrate an increasing trend in their national prevalence of rape. Conclusions: Whether due to better reporting or increased frequency of rape occurring, rape offenses are on the rise. This is important to note because of the widespread and long-lasting impacts rape can have on victims. Governments must be mindful and proactive to counter this trend. National governments are encouraged to adopt improved educational campaigns targeted towards at-risk groups (perpetrators and victims), robust reporting standardization from criminal justice agencies, and better support services for victims

Análise de Sensibilidade Global para Comparação de Modelos Mecânicos

Dissertação apresentada ao Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Civil da Universidade Federal da Integração Latino-Americana, como requisito parcial à obtenção do título de Mestre em Engenharia Civil.Modelos são representações matemáticas capazes de descrever fenômenos em diferentes cenários. Usualmente, dois ou mais modelos estão disponíveis para a análise do mesmo fenômeno, restando ao usuário a escolha do mais adequado para a solução do problema. Na prática, verifica-se que modelos simplificados podem ser tão precisos quanto aqueles mais refinados e, ao mesmo tempo, demandar menor custo computacional. Tendo isso em vista, o presente trabalho propõe uma metodologia por meio da qual a estrutura teórica da análise de sensibilidade global pode ser aplicada para a comparação de modelos no contexto estocástico. Na abordagem proposta, o índice de sensibilidade obtido determina, quantitativamente, a importância relativa da escolha de um dado modelo quando considerada a aleatoriedade das variáveis. A metodologia é aplicada para a comparação de modelos para o cálculo da capacidade de carga de vigas de concreto armado submetidas à flexão. Busca-se verificar a discrepância entre o retângulo equivalente de tensões e outros dois modelos com diferentes graus de complexidade de acordo com tipos de incerteza considerados. Os resultados indicam que a discrepância obtida depende do domínio de deformação da estrutura, com grande similaridade no caso de ruptura dúctil, o que é importante uma vez que considera-se esse comportamento como premissa de dimensionamento de estruturas reais. Por fim, são ajustados coeficientes que resultam em um modelo de pré-dimensionamento com grande precisão e baixo custo computacional

Motivating Factors Contributing to Speech-Language Pathology Assistant Students’ Choice of Career Path

Speech Language Pathology Assistants (SLPAs) are important support personnel who play a key role in the field of communication sciences and disorders. As the client base for communication disorders grows and diversifies, there is a continuous need for service providers, including SLPAs. Given the notable shortage of skilled communication sciences and disorders professionals and the advantages that assistants can provide, exploring SLPA career decision making is especially timely and important. The current study surveyed 75 students enrolled in SLPA programs across the United States via an online 12 question survey tool, regarding their demographics, reasons for choosing to become an SLPA, and anticipated work setting(s). Results of the study indicated that SLPA students were often identified as non-traditional students who, in addition to having diverse educational backgrounds, were working either full-time or part-time jobs while completing their education. Results of the current study revealed that the primary motivating factor that contributed to the students’ decision to pursue a career as an SLPA was the desire to work in a helping profession. The school setting was the most anticipated work setting of SLPA students upon graduating from their program; however, the majority (60%) of current SLPA students planned to pursue a master’s degree to become a speech-language pathologist in the future. Understanding the demographics of SLPA students and identifying the motivating factors specific to their career choices may be advantageous in the warranted recruitment process within the field of communication sciences and disorders

Surface-based morphometry reveals the neuroanatomical basis of the five-factor model of personality.

The five-factor model (FFM) is a widely used taxonomy of human personality; yet its neuro anatomical basis remains unclear. This is partly because past associations between gray-matter volume and FFM were driven by different surface-based morphometry (SBM) indices (i.e. cortical thickness, surface area, cortical folding or any combination of them). To overcome this limitation, we used Free-Surfer to study how variability in SBM measures was related to the FFM in n = 507 participants from the Human Connectome Project.Neuroticism was associated with thicker cortex and smaller area and folding in prefrontal-temporal regions. Extraversion was linked to thicker pre-cuneus and smaller superior temporal cortex area. Openness was linked to thinner cortex and greater area and folding in prefrontal-parietal regions. Agreeableness was correlated to thinner prefrontal cortex and smaller fusiform gyrus area. Conscientiousness was associated with thicker cortex and smaller area and folding in prefrontal regions. These findings demonstrate that anatomical variability in prefrontal cortices is linked to individual differences in the socio-cognitive dispositions described by the FFM. Cortical thickness and surface area/folding were inversely related each others as a function of different FFM traits (neuroticism, extraversion and consciousness vs openness), which may reflect brain maturational effects that predispose or protect against psychiatric disorders.R.R. was funded by the University ‘Magna Graecia’ of Catanzaro, while L.P. was funded by the Italian National Research Council and the University of Cambridge. AT was funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), National Institutes of Health (NIH; 1R03AG051960-01) and by the Florida Department of Health ‘Ed and Ethel Moore Alzheimer’s Disease Research Program’ (6AZ09). Data were provided by the Human Connectome Project, WU-Minn Consortium (Principal Investigators: David Van Essen and Kamil Ugurbil; 1U54MH091657) funded by the 16 NIH Institutes and Centers that support the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research; and by the McDonnell Center for Systems Neuroscience at Washington University. Data collection and sharing for this project was provided by the MGHUSC Human Connectome Project (HCP; Principal Investigators: Bruce Rosen, M.D., Ph.D., Arthur W. Toga, Ph.D., Van J. Weeden, MD). The HCP project is supported by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) (Principal Investigators: Bruce Rosen, M.D., Ph.D., Martinos Center at Massachusetts General Hospital; Arthur W. Toga, Ph.D., University of Southern California, Van J. Weeden, MD, Martinos Center at Massachusetts General Hospital). HCP is also the result of efforts of co-investigators from the University of Southern California, Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Washington University, and the University of Minnesota

Time-resolved connectome of the five-factor model of personality

Abstract: The human brain is characterized by highly dynamic patterns of functional connectivity. However, it is unknown whether this time-variant ‘connectome’ is related to the individual differences in the behavioural and cognitive traits described in the five-factor model of personality. To answer this question, inter-network time-variant connectivity was computed in n = 818 healthy people via a dynamical conditional correlation model. Next, network dynamicity was quantified throughout an ad-hoc measure (T-index) and the generalizability of the multi-variate associations between personality traits and network dynamicity was assessed using a train/test split approach. Conscientiousness, reflecting enhanced cognitive and emotional control, was the sole trait linked to stationary connectivity across several circuits such as the default mode and prefronto-parietal network. The stationarity in the ‘communication’ across large-scale networks offers a mechanistic description of the capacity of conscientious people to ‘protect’ non-immediate goals against interference over-time. This study informs future research aiming at developing more realistic models of the brain dynamics mediating personality differences

Neuroticism modulates brain visuo-vestibular and anxiety systems during a virtual rollercoaster task.

Different lines of research suggest that anxiety-related personality traits may influence the visual and vestibular control of balance, although the brain mechanisms underlying this effect remain unclear. To our knowledge, this is the first functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study that investigates how individual differences in neuroticism and introversion, two key personality traits linked to anxiety, modulate brain regional responses and functional connectivity patterns during a fMRI task simulating self-motion. Twenty-four healthy individuals with variable levels of neuroticism and introversion underwent fMRI while performing a virtual reality rollercoaster task that included two main types of trials: (1) trials simulating downward or upward self-motion (vertical motion), and (2) trials simulating self-motion in horizontal planes (horizontal motion). Regional brain activity and functional connectivity patterns when comparing vertical versus horizontal motion trials were correlated with personality traits of the Five Factor Model (i.e., neuroticism, extraversion-introversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness). When comparing vertical to horizontal motion trials, we found a positive correlation between neuroticism scores and regional activity in the left parieto-insular vestibular cortex (PIVC). For the same contrast, increased functional connectivity between the left PIVC and right amygdala was also detected as a function of higher neuroticism scores. Together, these findings provide new evidence that individual differences in personality traits linked to anxiety are significantly associated with changes in the activity and functional connectivity patterns within visuo-vestibular and anxiety-related systems during simulated vertical self-motion. Hum Brain Mapp 38:715-726, 2017. © 2016 The Authors Human Brain Mapping Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Italian University Ministry. Grant Number: PRIN grant 2010MEFNF7_002 ; Italian Space Agency. Grant Number: COREA grant 2013-084-R.0This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Wiley via https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.2341

Altered Insular and Occipital Responses to Simulated Vertical Self-Motion in Patients with Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness.

BACKGROUND: Persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD) is a common functional vestibular disorder characterized by persistent symptoms of non-vertiginous dizziness and unsteadiness that are exacerbated by upright posture, self-motion, and exposure to complex or moving visual stimuli. Recent physiologic and neuroimaging data suggest that greater reliance on visual cues for postural control (as opposed to vestibular cues-a phenomenon termed visual dependence) and dysfunction in central visuo-vestibular networks may be important pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying PPPD. Dysfunctions are thought to involve insular regions that encode recognition of the visual effects of motion in the gravitational field. METHODS: We tested for altered activity in vestibular and visual cortices during self-motion simulation obtained via a visual virtual-reality rollercoaster stimulation using functional magnetic resonance imaging in 15 patients with PPPD and 15 healthy controls (HCs). We compared between groups differences in brain responses to simulated displacements in vertical vs horizontal directions and correlated the difference in directional responses with dizziness handicap in patients with PPPD. RESULTS: HCs showed increased activity in the anterior bank of the central insular sulcus during vertical relative to horizontal motion, which was not seen in patients with PPPD. However, for the same comparison, dizziness handicap correlated positively with activity in the visual cortex (V1, V2, and V3) in patients with PPPD. CONCLUSION: We provide novel insight into the pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying PPPD, including functional alterations in brain processes that affect balance control and reweighting of space-motion inputs to favor visual cues. For patients with PPPD, difficulties using visual data to discern the effects of gravity on self-motion may adversely affect balance control, particularly for individuals who simultaneously rely too heavily on visual stimuli. In addition, increased activity in the visual cortex, which correlated with severity of dizziness handicap, may be a neural correlate of visual dependence