bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Selected sociodemographic and clinical predictors of the clock drawing test performance in Polish community dwelling seniors
Authors: Chibowska Paula , Sitek Emilia , Nowicka-Sauer Katarzyna
Published: June 2021

Objectives: The clock drawing test (CDT) is a commonly used cognitive screening test. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of selected sociodemographic, clinical and lifestyle factors on the CDT performance in the Polish elderly population. Methods: CDT performance was assessed in 399 elderly subjects randomly selected out of all participants of a nationwide study on aging, PolSenior2, who met the inclusion criteria. CDT was scored using the Manos–Wu method. The short version of the Geriatric Depression Scale (15-item GDS) was used as a mood measuring tool. Results: Our study revealed a significant relationship between CDT performance and age. Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated also that interactions between reading newspapers and gender and between playing games and GDS score were independent predictors of an incorrect CDT. Of note, even though years of education were related to the CDT score (0–10) in the correlation analysis, education did not predict the global CDT score in the regression analysis. Conclusions: Advanced age was related to incorrect CDT performance. Engagement in some leisure activities may predict the CDT score, while global CDT performance, as assessed by the Manos–Wu method, is relatively unaffected by education.
Exploring the psychological characteristics and risk-related cognitions of individuals who own sex dolls
Authors: Harper Craig A. , Lievesley Rebecca , Wanless Katie
Published: June 2021

The ownership of sex dolls has become an increasingly controversial social issue over the last five-to-ten years, with many in society (and academia) calling for the criminalization of such dolls. At the root of these calls is the implicit (and often explicit) assumption that sex doll ownership contributes to increases in social objectification of women, and sexual offense risk among doll owners. However, there are yet to be any empirical examinations of these claims. In this work we compare the psychological characteristics of sex doll owners (n = 158) and non-owner controls (n = 135). Contrary to widely held social attitudes, we found no substantive differences in sexual objectification between the two groups. Doll owners typically had more sexual fantasies related to coercion (biastophilia), but lower offense proclivity, than controls. Owners were also more likely to see women as unknowable, have less secure attachment styles, and more stable negative mood. We begin to build a psychological profile of sex doll ownership, before highlighting the need for more evidence-informed social debates about the use of sex dolls in modern society.
A new methodological tool to study the memorability of supernatural concepts
Authors: Sommer Joseph , Hemmer Pernille , Musolino Julien , Spencer Chrystal
Published: June 2021

We introduce the first set of normed stimuli designed to resolve methodological and theoretical issues that have muddled the interpretation of results on the memorability of supernatural concepts (e.g., ghosts, souls, spirits), an important line of research in the Cognitive Science of Religion (Barrett, 2000). We focus here on Boyer’s (1994, 2000, 2001) pioneering Minimally Counterintuitive (MCI) hypothesis according to which supernatural concepts tap a special memory-enhancing mechanism linked to violations of default intuitive inferences. Empirical tests of the MCI account have given rise to a vexed picture that renders meaningful interpretation difficult. The lack of a common standard of comparison among different studies, coupled with the presence of uncontrolled variables independently known to affect memorability, lie at the heart of these problems. We show that our new stimuli offer the hope of resolving these issues thereby establishing a more secure foundation for the study of the memorability of supernatural concepts.
No Age Differences? No Problem
Authors: McLean Kate C. , Riggs Anne
Published: June 2021

In this essay we argue that the over-reliance on age effects in the field of developmental psychology belies attention to actual development, obscuring attention to actual developmental processes. We use examples from diverse content areas in developmental psychology, such as narrative and autobiographical memory, personality trait development, Piagetian conservation tasks, pubertal timing, and Dynamic Systems Theory to build this argument. We conclude by arguing that focusing on individual differences in development, and cultural and historical context as major mechanisms of developmental processes will provide a fuller and richer understanding of the complexity of human development.
Crowds, police and provocations: Temporal patterns of rioting in Britain, 1800-1939
Authors: Tiratelli Matteo
Published: June 2021

FORTHCOMING IN SOCIOLOGY: This essay develops an original, temporal approach to the study of rioting. It uses a catalogue of 414 riots from nineteenth and early twentieth century Britain to trace some common developmental patterns, demonstrating that: (i) riots often begin with provocation, intervention by the police, or routines that license violence; (ii) riots are linked together by cycles of revenge and the feedback loop between action and identity; and (iii) the state’s monopoly of organised violence was often decisive in bringing riots to an end. These findings reveal significant limits to the explanatory power of two widely used concepts in this area: triggers and identity. More interestingly, they show that this power varies meaningfully over time. I therefore end by calling for a properly historicised theory of rioting and drawing attention to two key sites of historical change: the norms and traditions which govern public violence, and the state’s monopoly of force.
Determinants of Digital Divide using Demand-Supply Framework
Authors: Guha Atulan , Mukerji Maitrayee
Published: June 2021

In last two decades, India has seen high economic growth. Concomitantly, there has been increase in availability and use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). However, ICT penetration in India is much less when compared to global averages. There exists a substantive level of inequality in ICT access and use. Empirical studies on extent and nature of digital divide in India are few, especially those with explicit theoretical demand-supply framework, using consistent and reliable pan India data. This paper is an attempt to address these research gaps. It examines the digital divide in India across socio-economic classes and different political-geographic regions. The reduced form demand equations for two ICT instruments – Internet and mobile phone - are estimated separately for households aggregated at subnational level. A multi-variate econometric model identifies both demand and supply side factors shaping differential access by households. Findings indicate digital divide is a reflection of existing socio-economic divide. On the demand side, socio-economic inequality as manifest in the economic conditions of households, social category, occupational profile, age and education status are key determinants of district level digital divide. Further, supply side factors like availability of electricity, mobile network and extent of urbanization also play an important role.
Why modern poetry could use more ‘red ink’
Authors: Smirnov A. E.
Published: June 2021

The article offers to look at contemporary poetry from the viewpoint of an ‘ordinary reader,’ uninvolved in the literary process and unaffiliated with the notional ‘establishment.’ The author uses his position as a bystander, on the one hand, and a training that enables expert assessment (the author teaches Russian language and literature and holds a master’s degree in cognitive research), on the other, to examine the processes behind presentday literary awards and criticism of poetry. According to Smirnov, modern poetry and modern criticism both have disintegrated into separate segments within a common literary field. The continuous erosion of language norms and dilution of criteria have pushed contemporary art, and poetry in particular, away from the rules of the classical ontology. Thus, a text cannot be identified as pertaining to ‘poetry’ by such key characteristics as rhyme, rhythm, or use of figurative language. In this situation, the author pins his hopes on the institution of criticism: unless it engages in self-reflection in order to recognise the circumstances and phenomena behind its failures, constructive changes remain unlikely.
The plastic age of Russian poetry
Authors: Dergachev M. I.
Published: June 2021

Dergachev believes that modern poetry, along with any other art form these days, is going through an identity crisis, which has made it virtually impossible to distinguish true art from a parody of it. It is increasingly more common for journals and literary award short-lists to feature perfectly confusing oeuvre, to whose defense, however, fellow poets and nominating panels jump without hesitation. The author contemplates what criteria could help ordinary readers to orient themselves, and where in-group favouritism comes in. He claims that nowadays preferences of the few tend to shape the so-called ‘elite’ trend, which in turn forces its choice on hundreds of people, and the artificially complicated narrative and the shrinking poetic framework, along with a social or feminist agenda, propel the fact of the author’s position to dominance over the fact of artistic creation. The article offers an opinion about the problems of contemporary Russian poetry and attempts to look at them from an insider’s perspective as well as through the eyes of an outsider, by a blogger who has stayed out of the inner workings of journals.
Roles de liderazgo y colaboración para la mejora escolar: un estudio de caso a través del análisis de redes sociales.
Authors: Queupil Juan Pablo , Cuéllar Carolina , Cuenca Catalina , Ravest Javiera , Guíñez Carla
Published: June 2021

In several countries, educational leadership has become essential for promoting school improvement. However, little is known about how to detect and visualize leadership among educational actors in Chilean schools -whether teachers or management team-, considering the advances that have been made internationally. To address this gap, this research used Social Network Analysis (SNA) to examine the interactions and collaborative practices related to teaching and improvement processes, as well as to determine leadership roles and patterns inside a Chilean school. Data was gathered through a questionnaire for all educational actors working in a school, which has had an improvement in its trajectory according to Â the national standardized achievement test (SIMCE) and other metrics, in order to detect which educational actors are actually in educational leadership positions. Centrality indicators of teachers and management team, the density of interactions inside the school, and the visualization of their sociograms or network maps showed that actors associated with the School Inclusion Programme (SIP) have a preponderant presence. The study argues that the covid-19 pandemic presents itself a scenario that highlights their role beyond the existing school hierarchies. This provides contextualized evidence for educational practices and school improvement processes.
Escolarización de la educación parvularia en Chile: consensos entre actores del campo sobre su definición, causas y proposiciones.
Authors: Pardo Marcela , Opazo María José , Rupin Pablo
Published: June 2021

This article presents findings from a research aimed at identifying the main consensus on the definition, causes and proposals on the schoolification of early childhood education in Chile, according to the vision of actors in the field. Relying on an exploratory and Â qualitative design, data was gathered through individual interviews to both current and former national governmental authorities, as well as to principals, pedagogical leaders and early childhood teachers (N = 43) from 5 early childhood centers and 5 schools, selected for convenience, all of them publicly funded, and encompassing classrooms for, 2-, 3-, 4- and 5-year-oldsâ€™ classrooms. Having conducted content analysis and data triangulation, findings show that these three groups of actors defined the schoolification of early childhood education as a pedagogical phenomenon, which affects mostly 4- and 5-year -oldsâ€™ classrooms, valuing it negatively. Identifying as causes a number of cultural elements and structural factors of quality, they proposed measures of public policy to revert this trend
Prognosis of the fetal distress in pregnant women with hypertensive disorders and hyperhomocyteinemia
Authors: Gaistruk N. A. , Mazchenko O. O. , Gaistruk A. N. , Prolygina I.V. , Tarasiuk S.A.
Published: June 2021

In the article the reisapresentation of mathematical prediction of fetal distress in pregnant women with hypertensive disorders and hyperhomocyteinemia. In the basis of the model, the factors that significantly affect the chance of an unfavorable course of pregnancy for a given group of women. The clinical significance of the prediction is necessary for the formation of a differentiated approach to the management of pregnancy, depending on the probability of perinatal complications resulting from the application of the model. The most important role belongs to the detection of factors, which preceding development distress of fatus and are accompanied by the presence of extragenital diseases and patology of pregnancy. All of these factors should be known, when evaluated prenatal fetal condition, placental function, determination of laboratory-instrumental research methods for pregnancy with hypertensive disorders. Based on the results of the research, the algorithm of examination of the pregnant women with fetus distress symptoms was created. Parametric criteria are described for the diagnosis of fetal distress based on the determination of the level of homocysteine and oxidative modifection of protein in the blood of pregnant women. The original metod of forecasting the development of the fetal distress in pregnant women with hypertension is proposed. The use of drugs with metabolic action has led to credibly positive results, namely the reduction of the incidence of fetal distress, asphyxiation of newborns and prenatal morbidity and mortality. As a result of this we can see an improvement in reproductive health of women with hypertensive disorders.
POSSIBLE COMPLICATIONS OF ANTIDEPRESSANTS AND THEIR CORRECTION
Authors: Drogovoz С. M. , Shchokina C. G. , Belik G. V. , Ivantsyk L. B. , Karakovskaya N. Ye. , Taran А. V.
Published: June 2021

Depression and the complications of its pharmacotherapy remain relevant issues in modern medicine. Since the advent of the first antidepressants, more than 60 years ago, to the present, their arsenal has expanded significantly. On the one hand, the emergence of new antidepressants is a great achievement in psychopharmacology, and on the other hand, due to their specificity, antidepressants cause many complications. In addition, in recent years, the list of diseases in which off label (outside the instructions) use these drugs has expanded significantly, and given the fact that for these diseases, anti-depressants are prescribed in combination with other drugs, so the risk of developing side effects increases significantly . This article analyzes the frequently encountered side effects of antidepressants, the mechanisms of their occurrence when using both first-generation antidepressants (three and tetracyclic antidepressants, monoamine oxidase inhibitors) and newer drugs from the group of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. The conditions for the rational use of antidepressants are also presented, which allows to optimize their use and the safety of pharmacotherapy for depression. Thus, today it is necessary to create new safer antidepressants that selectively inhibit the reuptake of one of monoamines (for example, serotonin) and third-generation drugs with a “double” effect, i. e. selectively and equipotentially inhibiting the reuptake of serotonin and norepinephrine.
Diversidad religiosa y sistemas políticos en América Latina (2000-2015)
Authors:   Universidad Intercultural del Estado de Hidalgo, México, URIBE JAIME
Published: June 2021

El objetivo de este manuscrito es compartir el surgimiento y la aparición de credos religiosos no católi-cos en territorio latinoamericano desde el año 2000 hasta el 2015. Ante la inexistencia de estudios sobre la temática, se elabora un esbozo general de un proyecto para desarrollarlo a futuro. En la pregunta prin-cipal de investigación se define el proceso de establecimiento en países con sistemas políticos de dere-cha, de izquierda o con sistemas propios de la democracia social. Un aspecto importante se refiere a que la, cada vez mayor, presencia de nuevos credos ha influido en la re-constitución de las nociones de cultura y religión.
Interpretation and Rationality
Authors: Gudalov Nikolay
Published: June 2021

Although influential in philosophy and relevant to international political theory’s (IPT) key concerns, Donald Davidson has not received commensurate attention in IPT. I aim here to commence filling this gap. I explore Davidson’s insights which fruitfully challenge established disciplinary views. The notions of rationality, objectivity and truth, and, on the other hand, those of intersubjectivity, language and interpretation are often needlessly separated and constricted by seemingly alternative approaches. Davidson firmly reconnects these notions. He helps rethink the realist, strong post-positivist, but also liberal, ‘thin’ constructivist and critical (not thoroughly contextualist) approaches. He bridges the normative cosmopolitan–communitarian distinction. Eventually, Davidson laid foundations for a perspective foregrounding possibilities for rational communication and agreement between very different contexts and also for the non-dogmatic, pluralist and dynamic nature of communication itself.
The Three-­Dimensional Neutron-­Physical Model of Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage System
Authors:   Institute for Safety Problems of Nuclear Power Plants, NAS of Ukraine, Trofymenko О. R. , Romanenko І. M. ,   Institute for Safety Problems of Nuclear Power Plants, NAS of Ukraine, Holiuk М. І. ,   Institute for Safety of Problems of Nuclear Power Plants, NAS of Ukraine, Hrytsiuk C. V. ,   Institute for Safety Problems of Nuclear Power Plants, NAS of Ukraine, Kutsyn P. М. ,   Institute for Safety Problems of Nuclear Power Plants, NAS of Ukraine, Nosovskyi А. V. , Pysmennyy Y. М. ,   National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute”, Gulik V. І.
Published: June 2021

The management of spent nuclear fuel is one of the most pressing problems of Ukraine’s nuclear energy. To solve this problem, as well as to increase Ukraine’s energy independence, the construction of a centralized spent nuclear fuel storage facility is being completed in the Chornobyl exclusion zone, where the spent fuel of Khmelnytsky, Rivne and South Ukrainian nuclear power plants will be stored for the next 100 years. The technology of centralized storage of spent nuclear fuel is based on the storage of fuel assemblies in ventilated HI-STORM concrete containers manufactured by Holtec International. Long-term operation of a spent nuclear fuel storage facility requires a clear understanding of all processes (thermohydraulic, neutron-physical, aging processes, etc.) occurring in HI-STORM containers. And this cannot be achieved without modeling these processes using modern specialized programs. Modeling of neutron and photon transfer makes it possible to analyze the level of protective properties of the container against radiation, optimize the loading of MPC assemblies of different manufacturers and different levels of combustion and evaluate biological protection against neutron and gamma radiation. In the future it will allow to estimate the change in the isotopic composition of the materials of the container, which will be used for the management of aging processes at the centralized storage of spent nuclear fuel. The article is devoted to the development of the three-dimensional model of the HI-STORM storage system. The model was developed using the modern Monte Carlo code Serpent. The presented model consists of models of 31 spent fuel assemblies 438MT manufactured by TVEL company, model MPC-31 and model HISTORM 190. The model allows to perform a wide range of scientific tasks required in the operation of centralized storage of spent nuclear fuel.
Strategi Komunikasi Serikat Pekerja Pers dalam Menyelesaikan Konflik Hubungan Industrial di Perusahaan Media
Authors: Hakim Wildan
Published: June 2021

Penelitian ini dilatarbelakangi oleh minimnya jumlah serikat pekerja pers di perusahaan media di Indonesia. Tidak banyak serikat pekerja yang berhasil dan mampu menjalankan perannya di perusahaan media. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui faktor-faktor yang menyebabkan kegagalan serikat pekerja pers. Diduga, serikat pekerja pers tidak mampu menunjukkan perannya karena tidak adanya kesadaran kelas dan kesalahan strategi komunikasi yang dipilih. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif dengan metode studi kasus yang bersifat interpretif. Faktor penentu keberhasilan serikat pekerja pers dilihat dari teori kesadaran kelas Karl Marx dan pendekatan proaktif dan reaktif yang dipilih pengurus serikat pekerja. Hasil penelitian menemukan bahwa serikat pekerja pers sudah menerapkan strategi komunikasi yang biasa digunakan namun mengalami masalah organisasi yang berdampak terhadap aktivitas komunikasi.

Keywords: strategi, komunikasi, serikat pekerja, kesadaran kelas, ekonomi media
Understanding Cognitive Science of Sighted Person in Reading Tactile Pictogram by Touch
Authors: Fadhlillah Fariz
Published: June 2021

The tactile pictogram is designed as an orientation and mobility system for the visually impaired in the train station. How to access the information through touch. However, this design is also intended to be used by the sighted person. To make this design becomes universal, in the designing process, it is necessary to consider the cognitive processes that occur when the sighted people read a tactile pictogram as an input for data comparisons. Data collection methods are divided into three, namely surveys to obtain primary data, action research to obtain secondary data, and document study to obtain tertiary data. The study was conducted by testing the pictogram media that had been previously designed with a semiotic approach to the ancient visual language theory of Primadi Tabrani. The data results were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. At the analysis process, findings are hoped to be able to reveal definitional statements about the cognitive ability that is used by sighted people in reading tactile pictograms, namely imagery or memory.

Keyword: cognitive process; neural mechanism; sighted; reading by touch; tactile pictogram; universal.
IMPROVING THE EFFICIENCY OF THE FUNCTIONING OF GAS PIPELINES, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE STRUCTURAL FEATURES OF GAS FLOWS
Authors: Iskandarov Elman Kh.
Published: June 2021

The multi-phase and different composition of gas flows during the development of offshore oil and gas-condensate fields leads to high costs of energy in the system of in-field storage and transportation of well products. The analysis of the existing storage and transportation systems of gas-condensate mixtures shows that the geophysical nature and complexity of the internal structure of the transported fluids must be taken into account when choosing the mode parameters and calculation schemes of the pipelines. High-speed gas lines can be operated in a so-called "dry" mode, in which the liquid is carried along with the gas, the pipeline profile is relatively straight, without ups and downs. In this case, the formation of so-called "stagnant zones" in the pipeline is excluded. However, if the processing depth of the gas does not allow it to be transported in a single-phase state, then the condensing gas factor manifests itself. The hydraulic characteristics of vertical ups and downs on offshore pipelines are complicated, and pipelines are often filled with water and condensate. As a result, the pressure in the pipeline increases and the location of the collection point for condensing gases away from the production site can cause major problems. If we characterize oil and gas-condensate flows as a dynamic system in which alternating structural changes take place, the question of whether these systems are fractal is of great scientific interest. Based on the change in the fractal value, it is possible to diagnose structural changes during the transportation of various systems, including condensing gases in the pipelines. In this article the modes of change of basic parameters of a gas flow (pressure, flow rate and temperature) on various lines of a gas pipeline for the purpose of the producing of diagnostic criterion for revealing of liquid inclusions as a part of transported gas are investigated in this article. It is established, that in the presence of liquid inclusions at movement of gas flows there are the structural changes peculiar to fluid systems, systems which can be identified by variations of fractal dimensions of flowcharacteristics. Studies have shown that the study of the dynamics of structural changes in gas flows can play a role in diagnosing the formation of liquid phase embryos in gas pipelines. For this purpose, diagnostics for the movement of gas streams accompanied by liquid deposits in the pipelines has been proposed.
THE ANALYSIS OF SLIDING SURFACE IN ALO WATERSHED, GORONTALO DISTRICT, INDONESIA
Authors: Lihawa Fitryane , Zainuri Ahmad , Patuti Indriati Martha , Permana Aang Panji
Published: June 2021

Alo watershed is the sub-watershed within the system of Limboto watershed which directly disembogues to Limboto Lake. Land degradation happened in the Alo watershed is caused by the agricultural system that does not apply land conservation techniques such as terracing and mounds and it triggers erosion and landslide. The method used in this research is geoelectric method with Wenner Alpha configuration; while the data analysis utilizes resistivity imaging method which produces two-dimensional cross-sectional images. In total, there are seven trajectories with a length of 170-180 meters each. The result of the research presents the slip surfaces of 7 locations are located in 3-17 meters depth with the inclination of 11o -79o trending dominantly northwest and one location trending southeast.
PRESENTATION OF CRUSHING AND GRINDING COMPLEX AS SYSTEM WITH DISTRIBUTED PARAMETERS FOR ADAPTIVE CONTROL OF ORE DRESSING PROCESSES
Authors: Marynych I. , Serdiuk O. , Ruban S. , Makarenko O.
Published: June 2021

The article proposes representation of crushing and grinding complex in form of a system with distributed parameters of the reducing function of the processed raw materials size in order to increase the energy efficiency of entire ore preparation process. Despite the fact that many different automated control systems for domestic and foreign production technological process are now used in the ore preparation processes, there is still a need to solve the problems of optimal control of such objects in order to both reduce energy costs and improve the quality of the final product. In terms of energy consumption, grinding processes are superior to crushing processes, so it is necessary to consider the crushing and grinding complex as a whole to increase the whole process energy efficiency. Since the processes of crushing, grinding and classification are purely random and at any time are characterized by transient probabilities, and the crushing and grinding complex occupies a large area and is geographically distributed in space, it should be considered as a system with distributed parameters of raw material size reduction, recyclable. Redistribution of loads between the individual components of this complex in accordance with the current characteristics of processed ore and the state of process equipment allows to reduce the load on the final stage - it is grinding, which in turn contributes to the overall reduction of energy consumption. The peculiarity of this approach is the need for the formation of spatial-temporal controls on basis of spatially distributed control of the object, the use of appropriate feedback signals and regulators with spatially distributed control effects.
INTEGRATED STUDY OF THE EFFICIENCY OF GRINDING MATERIAL IN AN IMPACT-CENTRIFUGAL MILL
Authors: Chyrkun D. , Levdanskiy A. , Yarmolik S. , Golubev V. , Zhumadullayev D.
Published: June 2021

The analysis of existing methods of air classification of crushed bulk materials is carried out, priority directions of their development and improvement are identified, the hardware design of these methods and the main approaches to the calculation of air classifiers are studied. The conclusion is made about a rather isolated motion of particles in the working volume of the classifier at optimal performance. The prospects of dry separation methods and the progressiveness of creating multistage gravitational classifiers have been established. Theoretical studies of the separation process in a gravity classifier with overflow shelves have been carried out. The regularities of the process of separation of bulk materials in air classifiers have been established, reliable methods have been developed for calculating their technological and design parameters in order to create highly efficient and productive industrial plants. Theoretical dependencies and differential equations are obtained, which characterize the influence on the separation mechanism of technological and design parameters of the classifier. The results of solving the equations of motion made it possible to determine the main design parameters of the apparatus based on the technological requirements for productivity and the dispersed composition of the final products. On the basis of theoretical research, analytical relationships and differential equations have been developed that describe the separation process in a gravity classifier with overflow shelves. The use of these equations made it possible to simulate the air flow in the classifier, to obtain a field of air flow velocities for any design and technological parameters. This, in turn, shows the direction of movement of particles of different sizes or densities and makes it possible to estimate the boundary size of separation, and also allows you to study the interaction of the air flow with the material being separated in a wide range of technological and design parameters of the classifier, and, ultimately, to determine the boundary size separation and particle size range of the resulting fractions of the finished product. The relationship between technological and design parameters of the apparatus is theoretically determined.
Familiarity of Speaker Accent on Irish Children’s Performance on a Sentence Comprehension Task
Authors: O’Connor Claire , Gibbon Fiona E.
Published: June 2021

Objective: This study sought to determine whether children’s performance on a sentence comprehension task is affected when sentences are spoken in an unfamiliar native accent. Method: Fifty typically developing school-aged children living in Southern Ireland (Cork) participated; 25 in a younger group (mean 7;08 years) and 25 in an older group (mean 9;09 years). The children completed a computer-based comprehension task during which 20 sentences were spoken in a Cork accent (familiar) and 20 in a Tyrone accent (unfamiliar). The sentences were matched for syllable length and syntactic complexity. Main results: The younger children made significantly more errors when sentences were spoken in an unfamiliar accent. The older children made a similar number of incorrect responses to both familiar and unfamiliar accents. Conclusion: Younger children’s performance on comprehension tasks may be reduced when sentences are spoken in an unfamiliar accent. Possible explanations and the clinical implications are discussed.
Evaluating Language Assessments with Members of the Travelling Community
Authors: Quinn Adeline , Leahy Margaret M. , McTiernan Kathleen
Published: June 2021

Background and objective: The Irish Travelling Community is a cultural group using a unique dialect – Traveller English. It has been established that some standardized, norm-referenced language measures are biased against culturally and linguistically diverse populations. In this study, the achievement of Traveller children on standardized language measures and on processing-dependent measures is compared with achievement of children from the Settled community on the same measures. Method: Twenty children aged 6–10 years, 10 each from Travelling and Settled communities, were assessed using the CELF-3 UK, and two processing-dependent measures to assess aspects of language development. Results and conclusions: Results indicate that Traveller children scored significantly lower than Settled children on the standardized language measures. In contrast, the use of processing-dependent measures showed few inter-group differences. The recommendation is that processing-dependent measures be used in addition to standardized measures to increase the validity of language assessment of Traveller children.
Speech Methodologies in Cleft Palate Assessment: A Pilot Project to Compare Two Phonetically Different Sentence Sets
Authors: Smith Jennie , Pring Tim , Sell Debbie
Published: June 2021

Objective: To investigate the impact of the phonetic content of two sentence sets on speech outcomes, specifically the effects of nasal phonemes. Method: Audio-video recordings of a consecutive series of 15 participants (age range 4–22 years), with cleft palate (syndromic or non-syndromic), with and without velopharyngeal dysfunction were taken. Participants repeated Sentence Set 1 (with nasals across sentences) and Sentence Set 2 (without nasals except the three nasal target sentences) during a routine speech recording. Two experienced Specialist Speech and Language Therapists, blinded to the study’s purpose, analyzed participants’ speech using the Cleft Audit Protocol for Speech-Augmented (CAPS-A). On day 1, recordings included Sentence Set 1. On day 2, 23 days later, recordings included Sentence Set 2. Main results: The difference between Sentence Set 1 and Sentence Set 2 ‘total scores’ (sum of scores on all CAPS-A parameters) was significant. The Pearson Product Moment showed high correlation. A Wilcoxon test revealed a significant difference between Sets 1 and 2 on the hypernasality parameter, and this alone accounted for the significant difference in total scores. Conclusion: The inclusion or exclusion of nasal consonants in the sentence set significantly affected perceptual ratings of hypernasality but none of the other CAPS-A parameters, highlighting the need for further investigation into perceptual nasality ratings.
Outcomes of Minimal Pair Intervention in a School-aged Child with a Consistent Phonological Disorder: A Multiple Baseline Single Case Study
Authors: Daly Claire , Rodden Margaret , Antonijevic-Elliot Stanislava , Lyons Rena
Published: June 2021

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of minimal pair intervention in a school-aged child with consistent phonological disorder, using a multiple baseline single case study design. Method: The participant was a boy aged 8;11 who presented with a consistent phonological disorder. A multiple baseline single case study design was used to measure the effect of six sessions of minimal pair intervention for treating consistent phonological disorder. There was a two-week baseline period prior to the intervention phase. The outcome measures included measures of the severity of the speech sound disorder and speech intelligibility, which were taken pre-, immediately postintervention, and five months post-intervention. Other measures included the monitoring of the accuracy of production of the treated targets /ʃ/ and un-treated targets /ʤ/, /ʧ/, and /ɹ/ during intervention. Main results: There was an increase in accuracy in the production of treated and untreated target sounds post-intervention. There was a reduction in the severity of the speech sound disorder and an improvement in speech intelligibility post-intervention. These changes were maintained five months post-intervention. Conclusion: Minimal pair intervention, when provided over six sessions, can result in positive changes in the severity of speech sound disorder, accuracy of the target phonemes and speech intelligibility in a schoolaged child with consistent phonological disorder.
Measuring Vocal Fatigue in Sports Coaches
Authors: Connaughton Kathy , Yanushevskaya Irena
Published: June 2021

Objective: This study explores the immediate impact of prolonged voice use by professional sports coaches. Method: Speech samples including sustained phonation of vowel /a/ and a short read passage were collected from two professional sports coaches. The audio recordings were made within an hour before and after a coaching session, over three sessions. Perceptual evaluation of voice quality was done using the GRBAS scale. The speech samples were subsequently analyzed using Praat. The acoustic measures included fundamental frequency (f0), jitter, shimmer, Harmonics-to-Noise ratio and Cepstral Peak Prominence. Main results: The results of perceptual and acoustic analysis suggest a slight shift towards a tenser phonation post-coaching session, which is a likely consequence of laryngeal muscle adaptation to prolonged voice use. This tendency was similar in sustained vowels and connected speech. Conclusion: Acoustic measures used in this study can be useful to capture the voice change post-coaching session. It is desirable, however, that more sophisticated and robust and at the same time intuitive and easy-to-use tools for voice assessment and monitoring be made available to clinicians and professional voice users.
Climate Change, Public Insecurity and Law: Conflicts Over Water Resources in the Brazilian Context
Authors: Damacena Fernanda Dalla Libera
Published: June 2021

The article examines to what extent the adverse effects of climate change can be considered triggering factors of public insecurity. Against this background, it explores the growing environmental conflicts involving water resources in Brazil, including the Amazon region. In addition to the introduction and conclusion, the paper is structured around three topics. The first one outlines how the concept of public security has evolved to the present state, in which climate change is taken into account. Next, climate change is discussed as a factor that magnifies vulnerabilities, an argument supported by a discussion of historical events. The third topic highlights the main threats, vulnerabilities and conflicts involving water resources in Brazil, taking a scientific view of systemic risks and precaution. Finally, we propose rethinking the concept of public security in Brazil from a perspective of parameters involving regulations, principles and state initiative. The article suggests that the immediate and future effects of climate change do have a profound impact on social systems and on the environment, and may be a triggering factor of public insecurity. If institutions and governments do not address existing effects, and invest in adaptations to meet future scientific forecasts on climate change, social stability and the development of a culture of peace will be less likely in Brazil. A fundamental step in this process is the reformulation of the conventional concept of public security in the Brazilian legislation, in order to expressly incorporate the variable of climate security among its stated objectives. In addition, we point out a set of actions and principles with the potentital to promote not only adaptation and resilience, but also contribute to building peace. In terms of methodology, the study is descriptive, exploratory, legislative, bibliographical and documentary.
Associations of Dietary Pattern and Sleep Duration with Cognitive Decline in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Seven-Year Follow-Up Cohort Study
Authors: Shang Xianwen , Hodge Allison M. , Hill Edward , Zhu Zhuoting , He Mingguang
Published: June 2021

Background: A few studies have linked dietary patterns and sleep to cognitive decline. Objective: To examine the independent and joint associations of dietary patterns and sleep with cognitive decline. Methods: Our analysis included 2,307 participants aged 55– 89 years at baseline from the China Health and Nutrition Survey. Dietary intake was assessed using weighing methods in combination with 24 h dietary recalls for three consecutive days. Exploratory factor analysis was applied to identify major dietary factors. Cognition was assessed in 1997, 2000, 2004, 2006, and 2015. Results: Five dietary patterns were identified: dairy-fruits-fast foods, grains-vegetables-pork, plant-based food, beans-mushroom, and beverages-nuts patterns. Beans-mushroom pattern and sleep duration of 8 h/day were defined as healthy habits. There was a positive association between the beans-mushroom pattern and change in the global cognitive Z-score over seven years (β (95% CI) for quintile 5 versus quintile 1:0.17 (0.05, 0.30)). Compared to individuals with sleep duration of 8 h/day, those with sleep duration of≤5 h/day (β (95% CI): – 0.23 (– 0.45, – 0.00)) or > 10 h/day (– 0.52 (– 0.73, – 0.32)) had a greater decrease in global cognitive Z-score. Compared to individuals with no healthy patterns, those with a healthy dietary pattern only (β (95% CI): 0.18 (0.08, 0.28)), healthy sleep pattern only (0.13 (0.04, 0.23), and both healthy dietary and sleep patterns (0.19 (0.08, 0.31)) had a relative increase in global cognitive Z-score. Conclusion: Our findings highlight the importance of involving both diet and sleep as intervention priorities for the potential prevention of cognitive decline.
Helicobacter Pylori Infection Is Associated with Neurodegeneration in Cognitively Normal Men
Authors: Park Jaehong , Kim Tae Jun , Song Joo Hye , Jang Hyemin , Kim Ji Sun , Kang Sung Hoon , Kim Hang-Rai , Hwangbo Song , Shin Hee Young , Na Duk L. , Seo Sang Won , Kim Hee Jin , Kim Jae J.
Published: June 2021

Background: An association between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and dementia was reported in previous studies; however, the evidence is inconsistent. Objective: In the present study, the association between H. pylori infection and brain cortical thickness as a biomarker of neurodegeneration was investigated. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 822 men who underwent a medical health check-up, including an esophagogastroduodenoscopy and 3.0 T magnetic resonance imaging, was performed. H. pylori infection status was assessed based on histology. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the relationship between H. pylori infection and brain cortical thickness. Results: Men with H. pylori infection exhibited overall brain cortical thinning (p = 0.022), especially in the parietal (p = 0.008) and occipital lobes (p = 0.050) compared with non-infected men after adjusting for age, educational level, alcohol intake, smoking status, and intracranial volume. 3-dimentional topographical analysis showed that H. pylori infected men had cortical thinning in the bilateral lateral temporal, lateral frontal, and right occipital areas compared with non-infected men with the same adjustments (false discovery rate corrected, Q < 0.050). The association remained significant after further adjusting for inflammatory marker (C-reactive protein) and metabolic factors (obesity, dyslipidemia, fasting glucose, and blood pressure). Conclusion: Our results indicate H. pylori infection is associated with neurodegenerative changes in cognitive normal men. H. pylori infection may play a pathophysiologic role in the neurodegeneration and further studies are needed to validate this association.
Upregulation of Local Hepcidin Contributes to Iron Accumulation in Alzheimer’s Disease Brains
Authors: Chaudhary Suman , Ashok Ajay , McDonald Dallas , Wise Aaron S. , Kritikos Alexander E. , Rana Neil A. , Harding Clifford V. , Singh Neena
Published: June 2021

Background: Accumulation of iron is a consistent feature of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) brains. The underlying cause, however, remains debatable. Objective: To explore whether local hepcidin synthesized by brain cells contributes to iron accumulation in AD brains. Methods: Brain tissue from the cingulate cortex of 33 cases of AD pre-assigned to Braak stage I-VI, 6 cases of non-dementia, and 15 cases of non-AD dementia were analyzed for transcriptional upregulation of hepcidin by RT-qPCR and RT-PCR. Change in the expression of ferritin, ferroportin (Fpn), microglial activation marker Iba1, IL-6, and TGFβ2 was determined by western blotting. Total tissue iron was determined by colorimetry. Results: Significant transcriptional upregulation of hepcidin was observed in Braak stage III-VI relative to Braak stage I and II, non-AD dementia, and non-dementia samples. Ferritin was increased in Braak stage V, and a significant increase in tissue iron was evident in Braak stage III-VI. The expression of Iba1 and IL-6 was also increased in Braak stage III-VI relative to Braak stage I and II and non-AD dementia samples. Amyloid-β plaques were absent in most Braak stage I and II samples, and present in Braak stage III-VI samples with few exceptions. Conclusion: These observations suggest that upregulation of brain hepcidin is mediated by IL-6, a known transcriptional activator of hepcidin. The consequent downregulation of Fpn on neuronal and other cells results in accumulation of iron in AD brains. The increase in hepcidin is disease-specific, and increases with disease progression, implicating AD-specific pathology in the accumulation of iron.
Association Analysis of Chromosome X to Identify Genetic Modifiers of Huntington’s Disease
Authors: Hong Eun Pyo , Chao Michael J. , Massey Thomas , McAllister Branduff , Lobanov Sergey , Jones Lesley , Holmans Peter , Kwak Seung , Orth Michael , Ciosi Marc , Monckton Darren G. , Long Jeffrey D. , Lucente Diane , Wheeler Vanessa C. , MacDonald Marcy E. , Gusella James F. , Lee Jong-Min
Published: June 2021

Background:

Huntington’s disease (HD) is caused by an expanded (>35) CAG trinucleotide repeat in huntingtin ( HTT). Age-at-onset of motor symptoms is inversely correlated with the size of the inherited CAG repeat, which expands further in brain regions due to somatic repeat instability. Our recent genetic investigation focusing on autosomal SNPs revealed that age-at-onset is also influenced by genetic variation at many loci, the majority of which encode genes involved in DNA maintenance/repair processes and repeat instability.

Objective:

We performed a complementary association analysis to determine whether variants in the X chromosome modify HD.

Methods:

We imputed SNPs on chromosome X for ∼9,000 HD subjects of European ancestry and performed an X chromosome-wide association study (XWAS) to test for association with age-at-onset corrected for inherited CAG repeat length.

Results:

In a mixed effects model XWAS analysis of all subjects (males and females), assuming random X-inactivation in females, no genome-wide significant onset modification signal was found. However, suggestive significant association signals were detected at Xq12 (top SNP, rs59098970; p-value, 1.4E-6), near moesin ( MSN), in a region devoid of DNA maintenance genes. Additional suggestive signals not involving DNA repair genes were observed in male- and female-only analyses at other locations.

Conclusion:

Although not genome-wide significant, potentially due to small effect size compared to the power of the current study, our data leave open the possibility of modification of HD by a non-DNA repair process. Our XWAS results are publicly available at the updated GEM EURO 9K website hosted at https://www.hdinhd.org/ for browsing, pathway analysis, and data download.