A New Procedure to Test Mediation With Missing Data Through Nonparametric Bootstrapping and Multiple Imputation

This article proposes a new procedure to test mediation with the presence of missing data by combining nonparametric bootstrapping with multiple imputation (MI). This procedure performs MI first and then bootstrapping for each imputed data set. The proposed procedure is more computationally efficient than the procedure that performs bootstrapping first and then MI for each bootstrap sample. The validity of the procedure is evaluated using a simulation study under different sample size, missing data mechanism, missing data proportion, and shape of distribution conditions. The result suggests that the proposed procedure performs comparably to the procedure that combines bootstrapping with full information maximum likelihood under most conditions. However, caution needs to be taken when using this procedure to handle missing not-at-random or nonnormal data.     

Spoken word recognition in context: evidence from Chinese ERP analyses

Two event-related potential (ERP) experiments were conducted to investigate spoken word recognition in Chinese and the effect of contextual constraints on this process. In Experiment 1, three kinds of incongruous words were formed by altering the first, second or both syllables of the congruous disyllabic terminal words in high constraint spoken sentences. Results showed an increase of N400 amplitude in all three incongruous word conditions and a delayed N400 effect in the cohort incongruous condition as compared with the rhyme incongruous and plain incongruous condition. In addition, unlike results in English, we found that the N400 effect in the rhyme incongruous condition disappeared earlier than in the plain incongruous condition. In Experiment 2, three kinds of nonwords derived from sentence congruous words were constructed by altering few or many phonetic features of the onset or the whole of the first syllable, and the resulting nonwords appeared as disyllabic terminal forms in either high or low constraint sentences. All three nonword conditions elicited the N400 component. In addition, in high constraint sentences but not in low, the amplitude and duration of the N400 varied as a function of the degree of phonetic mismatch between the terminal nonword and the expected congruous word.     

义势两辨荣辱相分——荀子荣辱观及其当代启示

荀子是中国古代第一个系统论述荣辱观的思想家,他在<正论>篇里提出了著名的"义荣"、"势荣"、"义辱"、"势辱"概念.先秦儒家三大代表人物孔子、孟子、荀子在荣辱观问题上的观点是一致的.荣辱观主要通过荣誉感的激励功能与羞耻感的约束功能发挥其道德评价与选择功能.荀子以先义后利为荣,追求内在的义荣的思想为我们当前树立正确的荣辱观提供了有益的启示.     

Alzheimer amyloid beta-peptide inhibits the late phase of long-term potentiation through calcineurin-dependent mechanisms in the hippocampal dentate gyrus

The perforant path projecting from the entorhinal cortex to the hippocampal dentate gyrus is a particularly vulnerable target to the early deposition of amyloid beta (Abeta) peptides in Alzheimer's brain. The authors previously showed that brief applications of Abeta at subneurotoxic concentrations suppressed the early-phase long-term potentiation (E-LTP) in rat dentate gyrus. The current study further examines the effect of Abeta on the late-phase LTP (L-LTP) in this area. Using multiple high-frequency stimulus trains, a stable L-LTP lasting for at least 3 h was induced in the medial perforant path of rat hippocampal slices. Bath application of Abeta(1-42) (0.2-1.0 microM) during the induction trains attenuated both the initial and late stages of L-LTP. On the other hand, Abeta(1-42) perfusion within the first hour following the induction primarily impaired the late stage of L-LTP, which resembled the action of the protein synthesis inhibitor emetine. Blockade of calcineurin activity with FK506 or cyclosporin A completely prevented Abeta-induced L-LTP deficits. These results suggest that Abeta(1-42) impaired both the induction and maintenance phase of dentate L-LTP through calcineurin-dependent mechanisms. In the concentration range effective for inhibiting L-LTP, Abeta(1-42) also reduced the amplitude of NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic currents in dentate granule cells via a postsynaptic mechanism. In addition, concurrent applications of Abeta(1-42) with the protein synthesis inhibitor caused no additive reduction of L-LTP, indicating a common mechanism underlying the action of both. Thus, inhibition of NMDA receptor channels and disruption of protein synthesis were two possible mechanisms contributing to Abeta-induced L-LTP impairment.     

解构主义与马克思主义相遇,给我们带来了什么启示?--朱尔斯·汤森《德里达对马克思(主义)的解构》一文评介

英国曼彻斯特大学的政治哲学教授朱尔斯·汤森(Jules Townshend)于2004年4月在英国政治学学会的年度会议上宣读了"德里达对马克思(主义)的解构"一文,该文不仅条理清晰地分析了本来并非清晰的德里达的解构思路,同时在回顾十年反响的基础上,指出了德里达解构的意义和局限性即德里达对"幽灵"的解构有助于我们从坏的"幽灵"那里解放出来;不过德里达在解构幽灵的同时同样被幽灵所困扰.本文通过对汤文的评介指出我们从德里达的解构中能够获得从传统思维方式中难以获得的启示,从而拓宽和深化我们的研究视野,从存在的历史境域中理解事物的发展,在真的追求中研究时代中的马克思主义与马克思主义所面临的时代问题.     

“知”“德”之辨——苏格拉底与王阳明比较研究

文章采用中西比较研究的方法 ,对于苏格拉底和王阳明伦理学的基本命题———“德性即知识”与“致良知” ,从德性的根据、德性认识的方法、德性的实现三个方面 ,围绕着“知”与“德”这一核心问题 ,进行了分析阐述和比较研究 ,并透过这一个案试图揭示中西两种伦理学传统的重大差异。     

Constraining the comprehension of pronominal expressions in Chinese

This paper reports a series of self-paced reading time experiments designed to probe how the reference of pronominal expressions is resolved on-line in (Mandarin) Chinese. It is assumed that pronoun resolution is achieved by narrowing the candidate set of potential antecedents for a pronoun. The experimental evidence reported here indicates that two factors--syntactic prominence and the matching of lexical features (e.g. gender)--play a significant role in filtering this candidate set. It is shown that syntactic prominence and feature matching work in conjunction with each other rather than in a competitive, winner-take-all manner. Furthermore, the evidence suggests that syntactic prominence is sensitive to structural relations rather than exclusively to grammatical functions (such as subject and direct object) or semantic roles (such as agent and patient) as has been assumed in the psycholinguistic literature.     

Testing indirect effect with a complete or incomplete dichotomous mediator

Past methodological research on mediation analysis mainly focused on situations where all variables were complete and continuous. When issues of categorical data occur combined with missing data, more methodological considerations are involved. Specifically, appropriate decisions need to be made on estimation methods of the indirect effects and on confidence intervals for testing the indirect effects with accommodations of missing data. We compare strategies that address these issues based on a model with a dichotomous mediator, aiming to provide guidelines for researchers facing such challenges in practice.     

Frans H. van Eemeren,Bart Garssen & Nanon Labrie: argumentation between doctors and patients: understanding clinical argumentative discourse

The latest book is a timely application of the Pragma-Dialectical argumentative approach to medical consultation. The book consists of six chapters, which are concerned with topics pertaining to resolving differences of the opinion in doctor-patient interaction. With the publication of the book, the authors have made new contributions to the field of doctor-patient argumentative discourse.