Reaching to inhibit a prepotent response: A wearable 3-axis accelerometer kinematic analysis

The present work explores the distinctive contribution of motor planning and control to human reaching movements. In particular, the movements were triggered by the selection of a prepotent response (Dominant) or, instead, by the inhibition of the prepotent response, which required the selection of an alternative one (Non-dominant). To this end, we adapted a Go/No-Go task to investigate both the dominant and non-dominant movements of a cohort of 19 adults, utilizing kinematic measures to discriminate between the planning and control components of the two actions. In this experiment, a low-cost, easy to use, 3-axis wrist-worn accelerometer was put to good use to obtain raw acceleration data and to compute and break down its velocity components. The values obtained with this task indicate that with the inhibition of a prepotent response, the selection and execution of the alternative one yields both a longer reaction time and movement duration. Moreover, the peak velocity occurred later in time in the non-dominant response with respect to the dominant response, revealing that participants tended to indulge more in motor planning than in adjusting their movement along the way. Finally, comparing such results to the findings obtained by other means in the literature, we discuss the feasibility of an accelerometer-based analysis to disentangle distinctive cognitive mechanisms of human movements.

Screen Stories: Emotion and the Ethics of Engagement

In this overview and discussion of my recent book, I outline its major topics and arguments and ruminate on its purpose, its implications, and possible objections to the very idea of an ethics of screen stories. Screen stories are narratives that appear on screens, and in this book I focus on long-form screen stories. The book has three parts. Part I develops a theory of the persuasive or rhetorical power of screen stories. Part 2 argues that while one dominant response to that power in film and media studies has been what I call “estrangement theory,” it is in fact an “engagement theory” that offers more promise for the development of an ethics of screen storytelling. Part 3 examines some of the contours of engagement, or, in other words, some of the means by which screen stories engage the viewer in ethical thinking and moral persuasion. There, I focus on character engagement, narrative structure (and especially endings), and narrative paradigm scenarios.

Severe colitis after PD-1 blockade with nivolumab in advanced melanoma patients: potential role of Th1-dominant immune response in immune-related adverse events: two case reports

Background Nivolumab is an immune checkpoint inhibitor specific to the programmed death 1 (PD-1) receptor. Nivolumab has shown clinical responses in many malignancies. Although immune-related adverse events (irAEs) associated with nivolumab are largely tolerable, severe irAEs have occurred in some patients. However, the mechanisms underlying the development of irAEs are not fully clarified. Case presentation We report 2 patients with metastatic melanoma who developed colitis, an irAEs caused by nivolumab. Both patients experienced colitis after nivolumab administration. Pathological examination of the colon showed robust infiltration of CD8+ cells and T-bet expressing CD4+ cells in both cases, indicating helper T cells (Th) 1 to be responsible for the dominant response. Additionally, we observed the serum C-reactive protein level (CRP) as well as interleukin-6 (IL-6) reflected the clinical course of irAEs clearly in the two cases. Conclusion Our two cases suggested that the development of irAEs due to nivolumab is associated with Th1 dominant response. CRP as well as IL-6 was found to be a potential biomarker for irAEs. Our findings may help to understand the mechanisms underlying irAEs caused by nivolumab and manage irAEs in clinical practice.

STUDENTS’ RESPONSES TOWARD TEACHERS’ QUESTIONS IN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL 8 BENGKULU

The aims of this research were to find out kinds of student response and the most dominant response used by the second grade students in Senior High School. The researcher was designed as a descriptive quantitative research. The population of the research was second grade student in Senior High School 8 Bengkulu. The samples were 60 students. The data were collected by using a set of questionnaire. There were 25 statements of students’ responses which consisted of five aspects by Moskowitzs in Brown (2001). They were student response (specific), student response (open-ended or student initiated), confusion, silence and nonverbal. The result of this study showed the students of Senior High School 8 Bengkulu preferred to use five aspects of the student response i.e., student response (specific), student response (open-ended or student initiated), confusion, silence and nonverbal. In addition, the most dominant response used by the student is student response (specific). The student more interested in using response specific in answering the teacher question. Keywords: Students’ Responses, Teachers’ Questions, Classroom Interaction

Performance and Metacognition in Scientific Reasoning

The aim of this study was to introduce a modified version of the covariation detection task to the meta-reasoning framework. This task has been used to assess scientific reasoning through the evaluation of fictitious experiment outcomes and hypothesis testing. The traditional covariation detection task was modified to include only the magnitude versus ratio-bias. The participants' task was to evaluate the effectiveness of an experimental manipulation in a series of fictitious experiments. Experiment 1 (N = 61) consisted of twenty covariation detection tasks. In half of the tasks, normative and heuristic responses were congruent, and for the other half they were incongruent. Experiment 2 (N = 48) had the same experimental design, however, the fictitious data was modified to increase the relative strength of the normative response. After each trial participants provided a judgment of confidence. Results confirmed that the main manipulation of congruence was successful. Participants were more accurate, faster and more confident in the congruent condition. The manipulation from Experiment 2 had a larger impact on response times than on confidence judgments and accuracy. Correct responses were faster in Experiment 2 when compared to Experiment 1, with higher confidence for correct congruent responses. Analyses by response type revealed large individual differences in the relative strength of the processes which generate normative and biased responses. Participants were faster and more confident when rationalizing in favour of their dominant response while they were slower and less confident when decoupling from that dominant response. The covariation detection task provides new valuable insight into meta-reasoning processes.

28. The Future of the EU

This chapter is structured around four scenarios on the future of the EU: ‘Disintegration’, ‘Piecemeal Adjustment’, ‘Functional Federalism’, and ‘A European Sovereignty’. The chapter argues that, although systemic disintegration is unlikely, there are disintegrative fissures in the EU arising from Brexit, the victories of secessionist movements in Catalonia, and heightened political volatility across the continent. The political battle concerning the future of the Union is a battle that cuts across all four scenarios. It is evident that disintegrative fissures cannot be ignored. ‘Piecemeal Adjustment’, the dominant response to the EU crisis and to events on Europe’s borders, continues to have resonance, as does ‘Functional Federalism’, defined as further integration but in specific fields. The fourth scenario, ‘a European Sovereignty’ has re-emerged on the political agenda with the election of French President Macron in May 2017. The discussion of the four scenarios is followed by a review of the external challenges bearing down on Europe and the Franco-German relationship as intervening factors that will shape any future scenario for the EU.