scholarly journals The importance of awareness for understanding language

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugh Rabagliati ◽  
Alexander Robertson ◽  
David Carmel
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Practical Implication ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Sentence Length ◽  
The Unconscious ◽  
Cognitive Operations ◽  
Prior Literature ◽  
High Level ◽  
Unconscious Mind ◽  
Positive Results

Is consciousness required for high level cognitive processes, or can the unconscious mind perform tasks that are as complex and difficult as, for example, understanding a sentence? Recent work has argued that, yes, the unconscious mind can: Sklar et al. (2012) found that sentences, masked from consciousness using the technique of continuous flash suppression (CFS), broke into awareness more rapidly when their meanings were more unusual or more emotionally negative, even though processing the sentences’ meaning required unconsciously combining each word’s meaning. This has motivated the important claim that consciousness plays little-to-no functional role in high-level cognitive operations. Here, we aimed to replicate and extend these findings, but instead, across 10 high-powered studies, we found no evidence that the meaning of a phrase or word could be understood without awareness. We did, however, consistently find evidence that low-level perceptual features, such as sentence length and familiarity of alphabet, could be processed unconsciously. Our null findings for sentence processing are corroborated by a meta-analysis that aggregates our studies with the prior literature. We offer a potential explanation for prior positive results through a set of computational simulations, which show how the distributional characteristics of this type of CFS data, in particular its skew and heavy tail, can cause an elevated level of false positive results when common data exclusion criteria are applied. Our findings thus have practical implication for analyzing such data. More importantly, they suggest that consciousness may well be required for high-level cognitive tasks such as understanding language.

scholarly journals INTERPOSITION-ARTHROPLASTY OF THE ELBOW: SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 219-222
Author(s):  
THIAGO BERNARDO CARVALHO DE ALMEIDA ◽  
EDMILSON DA SILVA REIS ◽  
LUCIANO PASCARELLI ◽  
ROBERTO RANGEL BONGIOVANNI ◽  
RENATO LOUREIRO TEODORO
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Research Strategy ◽  
Inclusion Criteria ◽  
Specific Topic ◽  
Interposition Arthroplasty ◽  
Level Of Evidence ◽  
Total Arthroplasty ◽  
High Level ◽  
Positive Results

ABSTRACT Objective: To perform a systematic review of the main methods and indications of interposition arthroplasty in the rigid elbow. Methods: The research was carried out by three independent researchers, in the databases PubMed, Medline and Embase, according to the descriptors selected as a research strategy and filters selected in the inclusion criteria. Results: In total, 21 studies were found with the afore mentioned descriptors and which were considered adequate according to the design and relevance according to the type of study and inclusion filters. There was a very strong correlation between the searches of the three researchers (k = 0.809). At the end, 14 complete studies were presented, all of which were included. Conclusion: The main finding of this study was to note that there is an evident lack of research with a high level of real effectiveness and indication for interposition arthroplasty in the rigid elbow. Most studies point to positive results when the patient is young and a total arthroplasty is not indicated. No meta-analysis or randomized clinical trial was found for this specific topic, despite being a technique applied in clinical practice for some decades and showing good results. Level of Evidence V, Systematic Review.

scholarly journals Low versus high level of physical resemblance in simulation for the acquisition of basic surgical skill: a meta-analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. bmjstel-2020-000797
Author(s):  
Fabrizio Consorti ◽  
Gianmarco Panzera
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Scoring System ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Random Effect ◽  
Random Effect Model ◽  
Surgical Skill ◽  
Undergraduate Medical Students ◽  
Study Selection ◽  
High Level ◽  
Physical Resemblance

BackgroundMany studies explored the use of simulation in basic surgical education, with a variety of devices, contexts and outcomes, with sometimes contradictory results.ObjectivesThe objectives of this meta-analysis were to focus the effect that the level of physical resemblance in a simulation has on the development of basic surgical skill in undergraduate medical students and to provide a foundation for the design and implementation of a simulation, with respect to its effectiveness and alignment with the learning outcomes.Study selectionWe searched PubMed and Scopus database for comparative randomised studies between simulations with a different level of resemblance. The result was synthesised as the standardised mean difference, under a random effect model.FindingsWe selected 12 out of 2091 retrieved studies, reporting on 373 undergraduate students (mean of subjects 15.54±6.89). The outcomes were the performance of simple skills and the time to complete a task. Two studies reported a scoring system; seven studies reported time for a task; and three studies reported both. The total number of measures included in the meta-analysis was 456 for score and 504 for time. The pooled effect size did not show any significant advantage in a simulation of a high level of physical resemblance over a lower level, both for the scoring system (−0.19, 95% CI −0.44 to 0.06) and for time (−0.14, 95% CI −0.54 to 0.27).ConclusionSimulations with a low level of physical resemblance showed the same effect as the simulation using a higher level of resemblance on the development of basic surgical skills in undergraduate students.

Comparison of Frenotomy Techniques for the Treatment of Ankyloglossia in Children: A Systematic Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 163 (3) ◽  
pp. 428-443
Author(s):  
Usman Khan ◽  
Jake MacPherson ◽  
Michael Bezuhly ◽  
Paul Hong
Keyword(s):  
Rating Scale ◽  
Pediatric Population ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Numeric Rating Scale ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Comprehensive Search ◽  
High Level ◽  
Numeric Rating

Objective To compare the effectiveness of conventional (CF), laser (LF), and Z-plasty (ZF) frenotomies for the treatment of ankyloglossia in the pediatric population. Data Sources A comprehensive search of PUBMED, EMBASE, and COCHRANE databases was performed. Review Methods Relevant articles were independently assessed by 2 reviewers according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Results Thirty-five articles assessing CF (27 articles), LF (4 articles), ZF (3 articles), and/or rhomboid plasty frenotomy (1 article) were included. A high level of outcome heterogeneity prevented pooling of data. All 7 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were of low quality. Both CF (5 articles with 589 patients) and LF (2 articles with 78 patients) were independently shown to reduce maternal nipple pain on a visual analog or numeric rating scale. There were reports of improvement with breastfeeding outcomes as assessed on validated assessment tools for 88% (7/8) of CF articles (588 patients) and 2 LF articles (78 patients). ZF improved breastfeeding outcomes on subjective maternal reports (1 article with 18 infants) only. One RCT with a high risk of bias concluded greater speech articulation improvements with ZF compared to CF. Only minor adverse events were reported for all frenotomy techniques. Conclusions Current literature does not demonstrate a clear advantage for one frenotomy technique when managing children with ankyloglossia. Recommendations for future research are provided to overcome the methodological shortcomings in the literature. We conclude that all frenotomy techniques are safe and effective for treating symptomatic ankyloglossia.

scholarly journals Investigating regions of shared genetic variation in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and major depressive disorder: a GWAS meta-analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Powell ◽  
Joanna Martin ◽  
Anita Thapar ◽  
Frances Rice ◽  
Richard J. L. Anney
Keyword(s):  
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Major Depressive Disorder ◽  
Depressive Disorder ◽  
Genetic Correlation ◽  
Attention Deficit ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Major Depressive ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
High Level ◽  
Genomic Regions

AbstractAttention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) demonstrates a high level of comorbidity with major depressive disorder (MDD). One possible contributor to this is that the two disorders show high genetic correlation. However, the specific regions of the genome that may be responsible for this overlap are unclear. To identify variants associated with both ADHD and MDD, we performed a meta-analysis of GWAS of ADHD and MDD. All genome wide significant (p < 5 × 10–8) SNPs in the meta-analysis that were also strongly associated (p < 5 × 10–4) independently with each disorder were followed up. These putatively pleiotropic SNPs were tested for additional associations across a broad range of phenotypes. Fourteen linkage disequilibrium-independent SNPs were associated with each disorder separately (p < 5 × 10–4) and in the cross-disorder meta-analysis (p < 5 × 10–8). Nine of these SNPs had not been highlighted previously in either individual GWAS. Evidence supported nine of the fourteen SNPs acting as eQTL and two as brain eQTL. Index SNPs and their genomic regions demonstrated associations with other mental health phenotypes. Through conducting meta-analysis on ADHD and MDD only, our results build upon the previously observed genetic correlation between ADHD and MDD and reveal novel genomic regions that may be implicated in this overlap.

Puzzles Unpuzzled

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (CHI PLAY) ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Andrey Krekhov ◽  
Katharina Emmerich ◽  
Ronja Rotthaler ◽  
Jens Krueger
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Basic Structure ◽  
Design Framework ◽  
Emotional Challenges ◽  
Related Research ◽  
Board Games ◽  
Current State ◽  
Prior Literature ◽  
High Level

Escape rooms exist in various forms, including real-life facilities, board games, and digital implementations. The underlying idea is always the same: players have to solve many diverse puzzles to (virtually) escape from a locked room. Within the last decade, we witnessed a rapidly increasing popularity of such games, which also amplified the amount of related research. However, the respective academic landscape is mostly fragmented in its current state, lacking a common model and vocabulary that would withstand these games' variety. This manuscript aims to establish such a foundation for the analysis and construction of escape rooms. In a first step, we derive a high-level design framework from prior literature. Then, as our main contribution, we establish an atomic puzzle taxonomy that closes the gap between the analog and digital domains. The taxonomy is developed in multiple steps: we compose a basic structure based on previous literature and systematically refine it by analyzing 39 analog and digital escape room games, including recent virtual reality representatives. The final taxonomy consists of mental, physical, and emotional challenges, thereby providing a robust and approachable basis for future works across all application domains that deal with escape rooms or puzzles in general.

Quantifying Occupational Stress in Intensive Care Unit Nurses: An Applied Naturalistic Study of Correlations Among Stress, Heart Rate, Electrodermal Activity, and Skin Temperature

2021 ◽  
pp. 001872082110408
Author(s):  
Nima Ahmadi ◽  
Farzan Sasangohar ◽  
Tariq Nisar ◽  
Valerie Danesh ◽  
Ethan Larsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Skin Temperature ◽  
Electrodermal Activity ◽  
Laboratory Research ◽  
Prior Literature ◽  
High Level ◽  
Intensive Care Unit Nurses ◽  
Skin Temperatures

Objective To identify physiological correlates to stress in intensive care unit nurses. Background Most research on stress correlates are done in laboratory environments; naturalistic investigation of stress remains a general gap. Method Electrodermal activity, heart rate, and skin temperatures were recorded continuously for 12-hr nursing shifts (23 participants) using a wrist-worn wearable technology (Empatica E4). Results Positive correlations included stress and heart rate (ρ = .35, p < .001), stress and skin temperature (ρ = .49, p < .05), and heart rate and skin temperatures (ρ = .54, p = .0008). Discussion The presence and direction of some correlations found in this study differ from those anticipated from prior literature, illustrating the importance of complementing laboratory research with naturalistic studies. Further work is warranted to recognize nursing activities associated with a high level of stress and the underlying reasons associated with changes in physiological responses. Application Heart rate and skin temperature may be used for real-time detection of stress, but more work is needed to validate such surrogate measures.

Similarity of Computations Across Domains Does Not Imply Shared Implementation: The Case of Language Comprehension

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 526-534
Author(s):  
Evelina Fedorenko ◽  
Cory Shain
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Fluid Intelligence ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Cognitive Operations ◽  
High Level ◽  
General Circuits ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Language Network

Understanding language requires applying cognitive operations (e.g., memory retrieval, prediction, structure building) that are relevant across many cognitive domains to specialized knowledge structures (e.g., a particular language’s lexicon and syntax). Are these computations carried out by domain-general circuits or by circuits that store domain-specific representations? Recent work has characterized the roles in language comprehension of the language network, which is selective for high-level language processing, and the multiple-demand (MD) network, which has been implicated in executive functions and linked to fluid intelligence and thus is a prime candidate for implementing computations that support information processing across domains. The language network responds robustly to diverse aspects of comprehension, but the MD network shows no sensitivity to linguistic variables. We therefore argue that the MD network does not play a core role in language comprehension and that past findings suggesting the contrary are likely due to methodological artifacts. Although future studies may reveal some aspects of language comprehension that require the MD network, evidence to date suggests that those will not be related to core linguistic processes such as lexical access or composition. The finding that the circuits that store linguistic knowledge carry out computations on those representations aligns with general arguments against the separation of memory and computation in the mind and brain.

PROCEDURE IN PATIENTS WITH HEART FAILURE (UPDATE 2019) – NON-PHARMACOLOGICAL THERAPY

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (53) ◽  
pp. 19-22
Author(s):  
Przemysław Mitkowski
Keyword(s):  
Heart Failure ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Pharmacological Therapy ◽  
Functional Mitral Regurgitation ◽  
Pharmacological Management ◽  
Device Implantation ◽  
Patients With Heart Failure ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Treatment Analysis ◽  
High Level

Up-date of ESC Guidelines on management of patients with heart failure was published last year. Beside topics related to pharmacological treatment one can find also chapters dedicated to non-pharmacological management. In the field of ICD therapy Authors propose one may consider not to implant the device in patients over 70 years old, especially when they suffer from advanced heart failure and life-threatening comorbidities. It is in contra with meta-analysis presented after results of DANISH trial has been published, which underlined benefits of ICD treatment in such patients. Moreover in patients randomized to treatment without ICD almost 60% received CRTP. It is also important that 24 patients randomized to no-ICD group finally received ICD because of appearance of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmia. In such situation additional on-treatment analysis would be beneficial. One can get an impression that pulmonary vein ablation in patients with heart failure and atrial fibrillation achieve enough high level of recommendation despite favourable results of CASTLE-AF and on-treatment analysis of CABANA trials. Analysis of data according to received treatment seemed to be beneficial especially when the percentage of crossover is significant. Functional mitral regurgitation should be managed after meaningful analysis of each case and referral to MitraClip implantation should be based on the protocol of COAPT trial which proves benefits of a such device implantation.

scholarly journals The Use of a Synthetic Cartilage Implant for Hallux Rigidus

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 2473011418S0045
Author(s):  
Niall Smyth ◽  
Jonathan Kaplan ◽  
Amiethab Aiyer
Keyword(s):  
Polyvinyl Alcohol ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Hallux Rigidus ◽  
Reference List ◽  
Great Toe ◽  
Level Of Evidence ◽  
High Level ◽  
Ability Measure

Category: Other Introduction/Purpose: Hallux rigidus is one of the most common pathologies afflicting the foot. Various joint salvage techniques have been described with a multitude of different implants. Recently, a synthetic cartilage implant composed of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) received FDA premarket approval for treatment of arthritis of the great toe and has been used in over 4,000 cases. The purpose of this study was to systematically review the clinical evidence supporting the use of a PVA implant in hallux rigidus. Methods: A systematic review was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). Using the terms “cartiva OR polyvinyl alcohol OR synthetic cartilage OR hemiarthroplasty AND hallux rigidus OR great toe arthritis OR first toe arthritis “ we searched the PubMed/Medline database in December 2017. In addition, the reference list of publications were scanned for further relevant studies. Results: 4 studies met the inclusion criteria, all of which were derived from a single randomized controlled trial. At short-term follow-up (2 years), patients undergoing placement of a PVA implant had significant improvement in Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM) sports and activity of daily living, as well as VAS pain scores. The outcomes of the surgery were found to be noninferior compared to arthrodesis. At intermediate follow-up (5 years), the improvement in clinical outcomes persisted and implant survivorship was 96%. Conclusion: There are limited studies available detailing the outcomes of a PVA implant for hallux rigidus, however the results that are available demonstrate a high level of evidence. There are no long-term publications assessing the outcomes of a PVA implant for hallux rigidus.

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