bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Discourse, Syntax, and Prosody: The Brain Reveals an Immediate Interaction
Authors: Kerkhofs Roel , Vonk Wietske , Schriefers Herbert , Chwilla Dorothee J.
Published: August 2007

Speech is structured into parts by syntactic and prosodic breaks. In locally syntactic ambiguous sentences, the detection of a syntactic break necessarily follows detection of a corresponding prosodic break, making an investigation of the immediate interplay of syntactic and prosodic information impossible when studying sentences in isolation. This problem can be solved, however, by embedding sentences in a discourse context that induces the expectation of either the presence or the absence of a syntactic break right at a prosodic break. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were compared to acoustically identical sentences in these different contexts. We found in two experiments that the closure positive shift, an ERP component known to be elicited by prosodic breaks, was reduced in size when a prosodic break was aligned with a syntactic break. These results establish that the brain matches prosodic information against syntactic information immediately.
Musicians Detect Pitch Violation in a Foreign Language Better Than Nonmusicians: Behavioral and Electrophysiological Evidence
Authors: Marques Carlos , Moreno Sylvain , Luís Castro São , Besson Mireille
Published: August 2007

The aim of this study was to determine whether musical expertise influences the detection of pitch variations in a foreign language that participants did not understand. To this end, French adults, musicians and nonmusicians, were presented with sentences spoken in Portuguese. The final words of the sentences were prosodically congruous (spoken at normal pitch height) or incongruous (pitch was increased by 35% or 120%). Results showed that when the pitch deviations were small and difficult to detect (35%: weak prosodic incongruities), the level of performance was higher for musicians than for nonmusicians. Moreover, analysis of the time course of pitch processing, as revealed by the event-related brain potentials to the prosodically congruous and incongruous sentence-final words, showed that musicians were, on average, 300 msec faster than nonmusicians to categorize prosodically congruous and incongruous endings. These results are in line with previous ones showing that musical expertise, by increasing discrimination of pitch—a basic acoustic parameter equally important for music and speech prosody—does facilitate the processing of pitch variations not only in music but also in language. Finally, comparison with previous results [Schön, D., Magne, C., & Besson, M. The music of speech: Music training facilitates pitch processing in both music and language. Psychophysiology, 41, 341–349, 2004] points to the influence of semantics on the perception of acoustic prosodic cues.
Differentiating Morphology, Form, and Meaning: Neural Correlates of Morphological Complexity
Authors: Bozic Mirjana , Marslen-Wilson William D. , Stamatakis Emmanuel A. , Davis Matthew H. , Tyler Lorraine K.
Published: August 2007

The role of morphological structure in word recognition raises issues about the nature and structure of the language system. One major issue is whether morphological factors provide an independent principle for lexical organization and processing, or whether morphological effects can be reduced to the joint contribution of form and meaning. The independence of form, meaning, and morphological structure can be directly investigated using derivationally complex words, because derived words can share form but need not share meaning (e.g., archer-arch). We used an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging paradigm to investigate priming between pairs of words that potentially shared a stem, where this link was either semantically transparent (e.g., bravely-brave) or opaque (e.g., archer-arch). These morphologically related pairs were contrasted with identity priming (e.g., mist-mist) and priming for pairs of words that shared only form (e.g., scandal-scan) or meaning (e.g., accuse-blame). Morphologically related words produced significantly reduced activation in left frontal regions, whether the pairs were semantically transparent or opaque. The effect was not found for any of the control conditions (identity, form, or meaning). Morphological effects were observed separately from processing form and meaning and we propose that they reflect segmentation of complex derived words, a process triggered by surface morphological structure of complex words.
Implicit Trustworthiness Decisions: Automatic Coding of Face Properties in the Human Amygdala
Authors: Engell Andrew D. , Haxby James V. , Todorov Alexander
Published: August 2007

Deciding whether an unfamiliar person is trustworthy is one of the most important decisions in social environments. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to show that the amygdala is involved in implicit evaluations of trustworthiness of faces, consistent with prior findings. The amygdala response increased as perceived trustworthiness decreased in a task that did not demand person evaluation. More importantly, we tested whether this response is due to an individual's idiosyncratic perception or to face properties that are perceived as untrustworthy across individuals. The amygdala response was better predicted by consensus ratings of trustworthiness than by an individual's own judgments. Individual judgments accounted for little residual variance in the amygdala after controlling for the shared variance with consensus ratings. These findings suggest that the amygdala automatically categorizes faces according to face properties commonly perceived to signal untrustworthiness.
Proprioception Contributes to the Sense of Agency during Visual Observation of Hand Movements: Evidence from Temporal Judgments of Action
Authors: Balslev Daniela , Cole Jonathan , Miall R. Chris
Published: August 2007

The ability to recognize visually one's own movement is important for motor control and, through attribution of agency, for social interactions. Agency of actions may be decided by comparisons of visual feedback, efferent signals, and proprioceptive inputs. Because the ability to identify one's own visual feedback from passive movements is decreased relative to active movements, or in some cases is even absent, the role of proprioception in self-recognition has been questioned. Proprioception during passive and activemovements may, however, differ, and so to address any role for proprioception in the sense of agency, the active movement condition must be examined. Here we tested a chronically deafferented man (I.W.) and an age-matched group of six healthy controls in a task requiring judgement of the timing of action. Subjects performed finger movements and watched a visual cursor that moved either synchronously or asynchronously with a random delay, and reported whether or not they felt they controlled the cursor. Movement accuracy was matched between groups. In the absence of proprioception, I.W. was less able than the control group to discriminate self- from computer-produced cursor movement based on the timing of movement. In a control visual discrimination task with concurrent similar finger movements but no agency detection, I.W. was unimpaired, suggesting that this effect was task specific. We conclude that proprioception does contribute to the visual identification of ownership during active movements and, thus, to the sense of agency.
The Functional Neuroanatomy of Thematic Role and Locative Relational Knowledge
Authors: Wu Denise H. , Waller Sara , Chatterjee Anjan
Published: August 2007

Lexical-semantic investigations in cognitive neuroscience have focused on conceptual knowledge of concrete objects. By contrast, relational concepts have been largely ignored. We examined thematic role and locative knowledge in 14 left-hemisphere-damage patients. Relational concepts shift cognitive focus away from the object to the relationship between objects, calling into question the relevance of traditional sensory-functional accounts of semantics. If extraction of a relational structure is the critical cognitive process common to both thematic and locative knowledge, then damage to neural structures involved in such an extraction would impair both kinds of knowledge. If the nature of the relationship itself is critical, then functional neuroanatomical dissociations should occur. Using a new lesion analysis method, we found that damage to the lateral temporal cortex produced deficits in thematic role knowledge and damage to inferior fronto-parietal regions produced deficits in locative knowledge. In addition, we found that conceptual knowledge of thematic roles dissociates from its mapping onto language. These relational knowledge deficits were not accounted for by deficits in processing nouns or verbs or by a general deficit in making inferences. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that manners of visual motion serve as a point of entry for thematic role knowledge and networks dedicated to eye gaze, whereas reaching and grasping serve as a point of entry for locative knowledge. Intermediary convergence zones that are topographically guided by these sensory-motor points of entry play a critical role in the semantics of relational concepts.
Modifying the Cortical Processing for Motor Preparation by Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Authors: Terao Yasuo , Furubayashi Toshiaki , Okabe Shingo , Mochizuki Hitoshi , Arai Noritoshi , Kobayashi Shunsuke , Ugawa Yoshikazu
Published: August 2007

To investigate the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on the central processing of motor preparation, we had subjects perform a precued-choice reaction time (RT) task. They had to press one of two buttons as quickly as possible after a go signal specifying both the hand to be used and the button to press. A precue preceding this signal conveyed full, partial, or no advance information (hand and/or button), such that RT shortened with increasing amount of information. We applied 1200 to 2400 pulses of 1-Hz rTMS over various cortical areas and compared the subjects' performances at various times before and after this intervention. rTMS delayed RT at two distinct phases after stimulation, one within 10 min and another with a peak at 20 to 30 min and lasting for 60 to 90 min, with no significant effects on error rates or movement time. The effect was significantly larger on left- than on right-hand responses. RT was prominently delayed over the premotor and motor cortices with similar effects across different conditions of advance information, suggesting that preparatory processes relatively close to the formation of motor output were influenced by rTMS. In contrast, the effect of rTMS over the supplementary motor area and the anterior parietal cortex varied with the amount of advance information, indicating specific roles played by these areas in integrating target and effector information. The primary motor area, especially of the left hemisphere, may take over this processing, implementing motor output based on the information processed in other areas.
A Year to Solve the Climate Problem
Authors: Higgins P. A. T.
Published: August 2007

For the last five years, the American Meteorological Society (AMS) and the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) have teamed up to sponsor a member of our community for a year's work in the U.S. Congress. As the 2005/06 AMS-UCAR Congressional Science Fellow, I chose to work on climate policy in the U.S. Senate. I witnessed the following three major obstacles to legislation intended to protect the climate system: 1) there is a persistent gap in understanding between policy makers and the research community, 2) there is a small group of powerful interests that will experience the costs of climate policy acutely while many of the benefits of climate policy will be distributed diffusely among members of society, and 3) there is concern—legitimate and misplaced—over the economic consequences of unilateral U.S. action and the genuine need for international cooperation. The scientific community can help solve these problems. The Congressional Science Fellowship program, for example, provides a valuable opportunity for scientists to actively engage in the policy process and to help reduce the gap in understanding between the research and policy communities. During my year, I focused on developing powerful incentives to encourage international cooperation and provisions to ease acute distributional impacts that could arise from reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Based on my time in Congress and despite remaining political and technological hurdles, I conclude that we have the capacity to enact legislation that begins reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.
MIMIC: A New Approach to Visualizing Satellite Microwave Imagery of Tropical Cyclones
Authors: Wimmers Anthony J. , Velden Christopher S.
Published: August 2007

Satellite-based passive microwave imagery of tropical cyclones (TCs) is an invaluable resource for assessing the organization and evolution of convective structures in TCs when often no other comparable observations exist. However, the current constellation of low-Earth-orbiting environmental satellites that can effectively image TCs in the microwave range make only semirandom passes over TC targets, roughly every 3 - 6 h, but vary from less than 30 min to more than 25 h between passes. These irregular time gaps hamper the ability of analysts/forecasters to easily incorporate these data into a diagnosis of the state of the TC. To address this issue, we have developed a family of algorithms called Morphed Integrated Microwave Imagery at the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (MIMIC) to create synthetic “morphed” images that utilize the observed imagery to fill in the time gaps and present time-continuous animations of tropical cyclones and their environment. MIMIC-TC is a product that presents a storm-centered 15-min-resolution animation of microwave imagery in the ice-scattering range (85–92 GHz), which can be interpreted very much like a ground-based radar animation. A second product, MIMIC-IR, animates a tropical cyclone-retrieved precipitation field layered over geostationary infrared imagery. These tools allow forecasters and analysts to use microwave imagery to follow trends in a tropical cyclone's structure more efficiently and effectively, which can result in higher-confidence short-term intensity forecasts.
The Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment High-resolution Sea Surface Temperature Pilot Project
Authors: Donlon C. , Robinson I. , Casey K. S. , Vazquez-Cuervo J. , Armstrong E. , Arino O. , Gentemann C. , May D. , LeBorgne P. , Piollé J. , Barton I. , Beggs H. , Poulter D. J. S. , Merchant C. J. , Bingham A. , Heinz S. , Harris A. , Wick G. , Emery B. , Minnett P. , Evans R. , Llewellyn-Jones D. , Mutlow C. , Reynolds R. W. , Kawamura H. , Rayner N.
Published: August 2007

A new generation of integrated sea surface temperature (SST) data products are being provided by the Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment (GODAE) High-Resolution SST Pilot Project (GHRSST-PP). These combine in near-real time various SST data products from several different satellite sensors and in situ observations and maintain the fine spatial and temporal resolution needed by SST inputs to operational models. The practical realization of such an approach is complicated by the characteristic differences that exist between measurements of SST obtained from subsurface in-water sensors, and satellite microwave and satellite infrared radiometer systems. Furthermore, diurnal variability of SST within a 24-h period, manifested as both warm-layer and cool-skin deviations, introduces additional uncertainty for direct intercomparison between data sources and the implementation of data-merging strategies. The GHRSST-PP has developed and now operates an internationally distributed system that provides operational feeds of regional and global coverage high-resolution SST data products (better than 10 km and ~6 h). A suite of online satellite SST diagnostic systems are also available within the project. All GHRSST-PP products have a standard format, include uncertainty estimates for each measurement, and are served to the international user community free of charge through a variety of data transport mechanisms and access points. They are being used for a number of operational applications. The approach will also be extended back to 1981 by a dedicated reanalysis project. This paper provides a summary overview of the GHRSST-PP structure, activities, and data products. For a complete discussion, and access to data products and services see the information online at www.ghrsst-pp.org.
Regional Downscaling for Air Quality Assessment
Authors: Gustafson William I. , Leung L. Ruby
Published: August 2007

Assessing future changes in air quality using downscaled climate scenarios is a relatively new application of the dynamical downscaling technique. This article compares and evaluates two downscaled simulations for the United States made using the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University–NCAR Mesoscale Model with the goal of understanding how errors in the downscaled climate simulations may introduce uncertainty in air quality assessment. The two downscaled simulations were driven by boundary conditions from the NCEP–NCAR global reanalysis and a global climate simulation generated by the Goddard Institute for Space Studies global circulation model, respectively. Comparisons of the model runs are made against the boundary layer and circulation characteristics of the North American Regional Reanalysis, and also against observed precipitation. The relative dependence of different simulated quantities on regional forcing, model parameterizations, and large-scale circulation provides a framework to understand similarities and differences between model simulations. Results show significant improvements in the downscaled diurnal wind patterns, in response to the complex orography, that are important for air quality assessment. Evaluation of downscaled boundary layer depth and winds, precipitation, and large-scale circulation shows larger biases related to model physics and biases in the GCM large-scale conditions. Based on the comparisons, recommendations are made to improve the utility of downscaled scenarios for air quality assessment.
A Constructivist Learning Approach to Unemployment
Authors: Ford Edward J. , Leclerc Daniel C. , Ford E.J.
Published: August 2007

This article reports on an experiment aimed at developing a constructivist learning module focused on unemployment. The pedagogical aims include helping the student to construct a realistic picture of unemployment and to combat “blame the victim” ideological explanations of the problem. Students are asked to develop stories about the unemployment experience of someone they knew. Their depictions of the reality of unemployment closely parallel the expectations of many progressive economists.
International Financial Crises: Scourge or Blessings in Disguise?
Authors: Dufour Mathieu , Orhangazi Özgür
Published: August 2007

In this article, the authors study the consequences of financial crises in Argentina, Brazil, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Thailand, and Turkey and present an attempt to identify winners and losers during and after the crises. Through empirical analysis, the authors find that financial crises seem to benefit certain segments of international finance capital, and domestic capital, and structural changes imposed on the economy to remedy the situation further the interests and power of capital in general.
Wage Moderation Does Not Work: Unemployment in Europe
Authors: Stockhammer Engelbert
Published: August 2007

Orthodox economics blames rigid labor markets and, consequently, high wages for high and persistent unemployment in the euro-area. This is at odds with stylized facts. Unemployment has remained high despite the fact that wage shares have fallen substantially since 1980. Wages moderation has proven unable to improve the employment performance of the euro-area for the past twenty-five years. One reason for this is that the demand regime in the euro-area is wage led.
Marx, Marxists, and Economic Anthropology
Authors: Elardo Justin A.
Published: August 2007

In the 1960s, as a result of the substantivist/formalist debate, economic anthropology became a recognizable field. Thereafter, Marxian thought became prominent in the field. While Marxian ideas provided an alternative methodology, they were not new to economic anthropology. This article seeks to clarify the relationship between economic anthropology and Marxian political economy while also drawing attention to an area of Marxian theory not commonly explored by heterodox economists.
Book Review Essay: Continuity and Change in Structures and Social Life: Alternative Radical Accounts
Authors: Wood Geoffrey , Bank Leslie
Published: August 2007

Contemporary critical approaches to political economy can be divided into two loose broad categories. First, there are critical institutionalist accounts. Second, there is what may be called a broad critical humanist tradition. By bringing together works from both these traditions, this review essay aims to highlight key differences, common ground, and possible ways forward.
Long-Term Neuromotor Speech Deficits in Survivors of Childhood Posterior Fossa Tumors: Effects of Tumor Type, Radiation, Age at Diagnosis, and Survival Years
Authors: Huber Joelene F. , Bradley Kim , Spiegler Brenda , Dennis Maureen
Published: August 2007

The cerebellum is important for the coordination of fluent speech. The authors studied how childhood cerebellar tumors affect long-term neuromotor speech outcomes, including the relation between outcome and tumor type, radiation, age at diagnosis, and survival years. Videotaped speech samples of child and adult long-term survivors of childhood cerebellar astrocytoma (nonradiated) and medulloblastoma (radiated) tumors and healthy controls were analyzed by 2 speech pathologists for ataxic dysarthria, dysfluency, and speech rate. Ataxia varied with tumor type/radiation. Medulloblastoma survivors had significantly more ataxic dysarthric features than either survivors of astrocytomas or controls, who did not differ from each other. Dysfluency varied with a history of a posterior fossa tumor. Medulloblastoma and astrocytoma survivors were each significantly more dysfluent than controls but did not differ from each other. Speech rate varied with age and tumor type. Adult controls were significantly faster than child controls, although adult tumor survivors were comparable to their child counterparts. Adult controls had significantly faster speech rates than adult survivors of medulloblastoma tumors. Ataxic dysarthric speech characteristics are more frequent in radiated survivors of medulloblastoma tumors than nonradiated survivors of astrocytoma tumors. Dysfluent and slow speech occur in cerebellar tumor survivors, regardless of tumor type and radiation history. Cerebellar tumors in childhood limit speech rate in adulthood.
Spectral Doppler Imaging of Vessels in the Optic Nerve of Children
Authors: Miller Marijean , Sable Craig , Chang Taeun
Published: August 2007

Elevation and blur of the optic disc margin with hyperemia and flame hemorrhages are classic features of papilledema that may not be present with mild elevations of the cerebral spinal fluid pressure. In children, the disc can be dramatically elevated with indistinct margins in pseudopapilledema. Children with equivocal disc features are sedated for neuroimaging and lumbar puncture to measure opening intracranial pressure.
Craniodigital Syndrome of Scott: Clinical and Neuroradiological Features of a New Case
Authors: Milani Donatella , D'Arrigo Stefano , Erbetta Alessandra , Selicorni Angelo , Riva Daria , Pantaleoni Chiara
Published: August 2007

We report on a girl presenting with mental retardation, craniofacial dysmorphisms, and syndactyly. The child's mother and maternal grandfather presented bilateral syndactyly of toes 2 and 3. These manifestations, falling within the ambit of what has been termed the craniodigital syndromes, were first reported by Scott et al (1971) in 3 brothers.
Methylphenidate-Induced Changes in Cerebral Hemodynamics Measured by Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy
Authors: Weber Peter , Lütschg Jürg , Fahnenstich Hubert
Published: August 2007

The aim of the present preliminary study was to evaluate the feasibility of measuring cerebral hemodynamic effects of a clinical dose of methylphenidate by near-infrared spectroscopy in 10 boys (median age, 10.7 years; range, 8.6-11.8 years) with developmental attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Using a Trail Making Test known to activate the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, cerebral hemodynamic changes show a lower increase of cerebral blood volume in the right prefrontal cortex ( P = .033) and a lower increase of the tissue oxygenation index in the left prefrontal cortex ( P = .015) in the condition after intake of methylphenidate compared with a drug-naive situation. A lower increase of the tissue oxygenation index indicates a changing regional oxygen metabolism and consumption induced by methylphenidate. Near-infrared spectroscopy is a sensitive tool for measuring pharmacological effects of methylphenidate on the cerebral hemodynamics.
Absence Epilepsy in Childhood: Electroencephalography (EEG) Does Not Predict Outcome
Authors: Sinclair D. Barry , Unwala Hussein
Published: August 2007

Absence epilepsy is a form of generalized epilepsy commonly seen in children. The clinician is often presented with a patient whose electroencephalogram does not fit the typical absence pattern. The purpose of this study is to more closely examine both typical and atypical absence variants and their outcome. A retrospective chart review was performed on children diagnosed with absence epilepsy over the past 5 years at the University of Alberta. A total of 119 patients were reviewed. Patients were classified with typical or atypical absence seizures following International League Against Epilepsy criteria and electroencephalography (EEG) characteristics. Clinical seizure characteristics, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), initial response to treatment, and outcome were examined. Seizure characteristics were similar in both the typical and atypical absence groups. Aura, complex automatisms, changes in tone, and incontinence were seen in both groups, although status epilepticus was found only in the atypical group. Associated comorbid conditions such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning disorders, and enuresis were found equally in both groups. Developmental delay was found more often in the atypical group. Of the typical group, 83% responded to an initial antiepileptic drug (either valproic acid or ethosuximide), whereas only 51% of the atypical group came under control. Remission at 2 years however, was similar between groups, with 76% of the typical group and 71% of the atypical group completely seizure free. Absence seizures in childhood, both typical and atypical, share similar clinical and electroencephalographic features and appear to be part of a continuum. Associated comorbid features such as ADHD, learning disorders, and developmental delay are also seen in both groups. The outcome for both types is excellent, although the atypical variants may be initially more difficult to control.
Mitochondrial Encephalomyopathy Due to a Novel Mutation in the tRNAGlu of Mitochondrial DNA
Authors: Pancrudo Jacklyn , Shanske Sara , Bonilla Eduardo , Daras Mariza , Akman Hasan O. , Krishna Sindu , Malkin Elfrida , DiMauro Salvatore
Published: August 2007

A 14-year-old boy had exercise intolerance, weakness, ataxia, and lactic acidosis. Because his muscle biopsy showed a mosaic pattern of fibers staining intensely with the succinate dehydrogenase reaction but not at all with the cytochrome c oxidase reaction, we sequenced his mitochondrial DNA and found a novel mutation (C14680A) in the gene for tRNAGlu. The mutation was present in accessible tissues from the asymptomatic mother but not from a brother with Asperger syndrome. These data expand the clinical heterogeneity of mutations in this mitochondrial gene.
Topiramate in the Prophylaxis of Pediatric Migraine: A Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial
Authors: Lakshmi C.V.S. , Singhi Pratibha , Malhi Prahbhjot , Ray Munni
Published: August 2007

Several large, randomized controlled trials have demonstrated the efficacy of topiramate in migraine prophylaxis in adults. However, there are limited data about the use of topiramate in migraine prophylaxis in children. We conducted this single-center, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of topiramate in the prophylaxis of migraine in children. A total of 44 children with migraine were randomized using random number tables to receive topiramate (n = 22) or placebo (n = 22). The total duration of treatment was 4 months, including a baseline period of 1 month during which topiramate was titrated weekly in 25-mg increments to 100 mg/d in 2 divided doses or to the maximum tolerated dose. The titration was followed by a 12-week maintenance phase during which topiramate was given in 2 divided doses. The primary outcome measures were the reduction in the mean migraine frequency and severity of headache. Secondary outcome measures included the number of times analgesics were required for a month for acute attacks and functional disability. Functional disability was measured by comparing school absenteeism and Pediatric Migraine Disability Assessment Scale (PedMIDAS). The decrease in mean (±SD) monthly migraine frequency from 16.14 (±9.35) at baseline to 4.27 (±1.95) at the end of the study in the topiramate group was significantly greater as compared with a decrease from 13.38 (±7.78) to 7.48 (±5.94) at the end of the study in the placebo group ( P = .025). The difference in number of rescue medications used for topiramate and placebo was not statistically significant ( P = .059). There was a statistically significant decrease in the PedMIDAS score from 50.66 (±32.1) to 10.42 (±6.39) at the end of the study in the topiramate group compared with a decrease from 42.66 (±27.5) to 23.7 (±19.1) at the end of 4 months in the placebo group ( P = .003). The decrease in school absenteeism was significant with topiramate compared with placebo ( P = .002). Weight loss, decreased concentration in school, sedation, and parasthesias were important side effects with topiramate. Most of these side effects were mild to moderate and were not significant enough to cause dropout from the study.
Hashimoto Encephalopathy Responding to Risperidone
Authors: Bismilla Zia , Sell Erick , Donner Elizabeth
Published: August 2007

This report describes a case of Hashimoto encephalopathy in an 11-year-old girl. She presented with features typical of this disorder including encephalopathy, seizures, and neuropsychiatric symptoms. Diagnosis was supported by an elevated thyroid-stimulating hormone level, a low levo-thyroxine level, and positive results for antithyroperoxidase antibody. Her response to typical treatment with levo-thyroxine was incomplete, requiring additional therapy with valproic acid and methylprednisone. Her course was further complicated by the development of acute psychosis. Treatment with risperidone was correlated with resolution of her psychosis and improvement in neuropsychiatric symptoms. Response to antipsychotic therapy has not previously been described in the pediatric population with Hashimoto encephalopathy. This case highlights the need for guidelines for the management of this rare disorder.
A Neurologic Presentation of Familial Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis Which Mimicked Septic Emboli to the Brain
Authors: Turtzo L. Christine , Lin Doris D. M. , Hartung Helge , Barker Peter B. , Arceci Robert , Yohay Kaleb
Published: August 2007

Familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis is an inherited deficiency of natural killer cell function and excessive cytokine activity, which predominantly presents in early childhood. The initial symptoms of familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis are often nonspecific but may be predominantly neurologic. The case presented here describes an 18-month-old boy who initially presented with fever, encephalopathy, and hemiparesis. He had innumerable brain lesions visualized on magnetic resonance imaging scans. An infectious etiology was excluded, and brain, liver, and bone marrow biopsies were nonspecific but consistent with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. Cells were sent for flow cytometry perforin analysis, which demonstrated defective natural killer cell function. A diagnosis of familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis was confirmed by mutation analysis and decreased expression of the perforin gene, in the patient and immediate family members. These results showed the patient to be a compound heterozygote for perforin mutations. His case illustrates the potential for a fulminant neurological presentation of familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis with widespread lesions in the brain.
Electromyography (EMG) Accuracy Compared to Muscle Biopsy in Childhood
Authors: Rabie Malcolm , Jossiphov Joseph , Nevo Yoram
Published: August 2007

Reports show wide variability of electromyography (EMG) in detecting pediatric neuromuscular disorders. The study's aim was to determine EMG/nerve conduction study accuracy compared to muscle biopsy and final clinical diagnosis, and sensitivity for myopathic motor unit potential detection in childhood. Of 550 EMG/nerve conduction studies performed by the same examiner from a pediatric neuromuscular service, 27 children (ages 6 days to 16 years [10 boys; M:F, 1:1.7]) with muscle biopsies and final clinical diagnoses were compared retrospectively. Final clinical diagnoses were congenital myopathies (5 of 27,18%), nonspecific myopathies (biopsy myopathic, final diagnosis uncertain; 6 of 27, 22%), congenital myasthenic syndrome (3 of 27, 11%), juvenile myasthenia gravis (1 of 27, 4%), arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (2 of 27, 7%), hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy (1 of 27, 4%), bilateral peroneal neuropathies (1 of 27, 4%), and normal (8 of 27, 30%). There were no muscular dystrophy or spinal muscular atrophy patients. EMG/nerve conduction studies had a 74% agreement with final clinical diagnoses and 100% agreement in neurogenic, neuromuscular junction, and normal categories. Muscle biopsies concurred with final diagnoses in 87%, and 100% in myopathic and normal categories. In congenital myasthenic syndrome, muscle biopsies showed mild variation in fiber size in 2 of 3 children and were normal in 1 of 3. EMG sensitivity for detecting myopathic motor unit potentials in myopathies was 4 of 11 (36%), greater over 2 years of age (3 of 4, 75%), compared to infants less than 2 years (1 of 7, 14%), not statistically significant ( P = .0879). EMGs false-negative for myopathy in infants < 2 years of age were frequently neurogenic (3 of 6, 50%). In congenital myopathies EMG detected myopathic motor unit potentials in 40%, with false-negative results neurogenic (20%) or normal (40%). Because our study has no additional tests for active myopathies, for example Duchenne muscular dystrophy genetic testing, our sensitivity for myopathies is lower than if we used a more global view. In conclusion, EMG detection rate of myopathic motor unit potentials at a young age was low, improving in children over 2 years of age. In neurogenic and neuromuscular junction disorders, the EMG has a very high detection rate. In children with mild to moderate neurogenic EMG findings and normal nerve conduction, a myopathy should always be considered.
Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 2 in a Turkish Family
Authors: Dirik Eray , Yis Uluc , Basak Nazli , Soydan Esra , Hüdaoğlu Orkide , Özgönül Figen
Published: August 2007

Autosomal dominant spinocerebellar ataxias are neurodegenerative disorders that generally present in adulthood. Due to extreme expansion of the repeat size during spermatogenesis, they can also be observed in childhood. The diagnosis in childhood is very difficult in the absence of family history. Here we describe an 8-year-old girl with spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 who presented with progressive ataxia, cognitive deficits, and dysarthria. A detailed family history exhibited similarly affected cases on the paternal side. Molecular testing for spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 revealed abnormal “cytosineadenine-guanosine” expansion in all affected family members. The number of cytosine-adenine-guanosine repeats in the index case was 70. The mean size of expansion in the relatives of the patient was 42 (39—46). This finding explains the early onset of symptoms in the index case.
Novel Mutation in Splicing Donor of Dystrophin Gene First Exon in a Patient With Dilated Cardiomyopathy but No Clinical Signs of Skeletal Myopathy
Authors: Kimura Shigemi , Ikezawa Makoto , Ozasa Shiro , Ito Kaori , Ueno Hiroe , Yoshioka Kowashi , Ijiri Saki , Nomura Keiko , Nakamura Kyoko , Matuskura Makoto , Miike Teruhisa
Published: August 2007

One cause of X-linked dilated cardiomyopathies is mutation of the dystrophin gene. We report the case of a young boy who suffered from dilated cardiomyopathy caused only by dystrophin-deficient cardiac muscle, but who did not present with any clinical signs of skeletal myopathy. Sequence analysis of the patient's dystrophin gene revealed the presence of a novel single point mutation at the first exon—intron boundary, inactivating the 5′ splice site consensus sequence of the first intron. The lack of muscle weakness observed clinically can be explained by expression of the brain and Purkinje dystrophin isoforms in skeletal muscle.
Mendelian randomization as an instrumental variable approach to causal inference
Authors: Didelez Vanessa , Sheehan Nuala
Published: August 2007

In epidemiological research, the causal effect of a modifiable phenotype or exposure on a disease is often of public health interest. Randomized controlled trials to investigate this effect are not always possible and inferences based on observational data can be confounded. However, if we know of a gene closely linked to the phenotype without direct effect on the disease, it can often be reasonably assumed that the gene is not itself associated with any confounding factors — a phenomenon called Mendelian randomization. These properties define an instrumental variable and allow estimation of the causal effect, despite the confounding, under certain model restrictions. In this paper, we present a formal framework for causal inference based on Mendelian randomization and suggest using directed acyclic graphs to check model assumptions by visual inspection. This framework allows us to address limitations of the Mendelian randomization technique that have often been overlooked in the medical literature.
Designing Business School Courses To Promote Student Motivation: An Application of the Job Characteristics Model
Authors: Debnath Sukumar C. , Tandon Sudhir , Pointer Lucille V.
Published: August 2007

Student motivation within the classrooms is a widely recognized problem and will remain so in the foreseeable future. Literature suggests that students' motivation for learning and performance can be enhanced by creating an appropriate classroom environment, which is again determined by the design of various structural characteristics of a course, such as type of tasks, autonomy of students, and evaluation. On the basis of the framework of Hackman and Oldham's Job Characteristics Model (JCM) and support from educational research, this conceptual article identifies the structural characteristics instrumental to an effective course design and presents related instructional strategies for maximizing student motivation in business school classrooms. Various issues related to the proposed application of the JCM framework in classrooms, including its relevance to the larger landscape of business education, are also discussed.
Bilingual Belonging and the Whiteness of (Standard) English(es)
Authors: Filmer Alice Ashton
Published: August 2007

In this article, the author examines from multiple perspectives a phenomenon she calls acoustic identity and demonstrates the inseparability of speech from race, ethnicity, culture, and nationality as criteria used to establish identity. The study begins with an autoethnographic account of the Anglo-American author's voluntary immersion into the medium of northern Mexican Spanish and is followed by an ethnographic inquiry into the linguistic experiences of several other mono/bi/multilingual individuals. This auto/ethnographic methodology exposes the sociocultural and political significance of acoustic identity by comparing the disparate experiences and treatment of mono/bi/multilingual speakers from dominant (Euro-American) and nondominant (Mexican American, African American, and Australian Aboriginal) social groups. Among the ethical implications of this analysis is the imperative to recognize the relationship between linguistic and racial/ethnic stereotyping as well as the conflation of (Standard) English(es) with whiteness and the West.
Writing the Incalculable A Second Interactive Inquiry
Authors: Gale Ken , Wyatt Jonathan
Published: August 2007

In this article, the authors search for an understanding of where words lead us. By writing for each other, they look for the “promise of the text” (Cixous, 1998/2005, p. xiv). They explore the experience, at the moment of writing, of being immersed in multiplicities (Deleuze & Guattari, 1980/1987) and the way a path can go anywhere. This article investigates the disturbances around the traditional intentionalities of writing: the absences of presence; the multiplicity of signifiers; that alluring attempt to trap experience, on one hand, but also the delight in articulating and metamorphosing it on the other. The authors discuss the rhizomatic complexities that fold and unfold thoughts and feelings.
The Epistemological Bias of Ethics Review
Authors: Holland Kate
Published: August 2007

This article investigates the concerns of a university research ethics committee in rejecting an application to interview people diagnosed with a mental illness. The committee's concerns included the safety of participants and the author as the researcher, the author's lack of training and clinical expertise, her disclosure of a past diagnosis of mental illness, the need for provisions to handle any emergencies, and the need to screen potential participants to ensure they were well enough to give informed consent. These paternalistic and medically derived concerns reflect assumptions about mental illness that are challenged by first-person perspectives, social movements in mental health, and newly emerging work within postpsychiatry. The article proposes some ethical procedures for human research ethics committees to follow to counter the epistemological bias of the current ethics review framework, particularly as it serves to constrain qualitative inquiry and first-person perspectives in mental health research.
An Exploratory Study of Listening Practice Relative to Memory Testing and Lecture in Business Administration Courses
Authors: Peterson Robin T.
Published: August 2007

This study investigates the combined impact of a memory test and subsequent listening practice in enhancing student listening abilities in collegiate business administration courses. The article reviews relevant literature and describes an exploratory study that was undertaken to compare the effectiveness of this technique with traditional lecture. The inquiry provided evidence of the potential value of memory tests and listening practice as pedagogical tools that promote listening ability.
Adjustment to College in Students With ADHD
Authors: Rabiner David L. , Anastopoulos Arthur D. , Costello Jane , Hoyle Rick H. , Swartzwelder H. Scott
Published: August 2007

Objective: To examine college adjustment in students reporting an ADHD diagnosis and the effect of medication treatment on students' adjustment. Method: 1,648 first-semester freshmen attending a public and a private university completed a Web-based survey to examine their adjustment to college. Results: Compared with 200 randomly selected control students, 68 students with ADHD reported more academic concerns and depressive symptoms. This was explained by higher rates of inattentive symptoms among students with ADHD and was unrelated to hyperactive-impulsive symptoms. Among students with ADHD, medication treatment was not related to better adjustment or diminished ADHD symptoms. The contribution of inattention to academic concerns and depressive symptoms remained significant when controlling for personality traits. Conclusion: Students with ADHD experience greater academic performance concerns and depressive symptoms during the transition to college. Medication treatment did not appear to diminish ADHD symptoms nor enhance students' adjustment. (J. of Att. Dis. 2008; 11(6) 689-699)
Literature Review: Visual Search by Children With and Without ADHD
Authors: Mullane Jennifer C. , Klein Raymond M.
Published: August 2007

Objective: To summarize the literature that has employed visual search tasks to assess automatic and effortful selective visual attention in children with and without ADHD. Method: Seven studies with a combined sample of 180 children with ADHD ( M age = 10.9) and 193 normally developing children ( M age = 10.8) are located. Results: Using a qualitative approach, the authors find no group difference in automatic search, but results are variable for effortful serial search. Using a novel, graphical approach, the authors find that the ADHD group demonstrated less efficient serial search. This overall effect is explored as a function of search display complexity. Children with ADHD search less efficiently at the lowest and highest levels of display complexity. Conclusion: Children with ADHD show impairments in aspects of their effortful visual selective attention, as measured by visual search. (J. of Att. Dis. 2008; 12(1) 44-53)
Attention Problems and Hyperactivity as Predictors of College Grade Point Average
Authors: Schwanz Kerry A. , Palm Linda J. , Brallier Sara A.
Published: August 2007

Objective: This study examined the relative contributions of measures of attention problems and hyperactivity to the prediction of college grade point average (GPA). Method: A sample of 316 students enrolled in introductory psychology and sociology classes at a southeastern university completed the BASC-2 Self-Report of Personality College Form. Scores on the attention problems scale and the hyperactivity scale of the BASC-2 were entered into a regression equation as predictors of cumulative GPA. Results: Each of the independent variables made a significant contribution to the prediction of GPA. Attention problem scores alone explained 7% of the variability in GPAs. The addition of hyperactivity scores to the equation produced a 2% increase in explanatory power. Conclusion: The implications of these results for assessing symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity in college students are discussed. (J. of Att. Dis. 2007; 11(3) 368-373)