Computing the COM from the COP in postural sway movements

A method is described for computing the centre of mass (COM) from empirical estimates of the centre of pressure (COP) obtained by means of a force platform. The method is based on a biomechanical model of sway movements in quiet standing, according to which the horizontal acceleration of the COM is approximately proportional to the COM–COP difference. The equations are solved by approximating the solution with best fitting spline functions. The implications for movement control are discussed.     

Dizziness- and Palpitations-predominant Orthostatic Panic: Physiology,Flashbacks, and Catastrophic Cognitions

In an orthostatic challenge, Cambodian patients with orthostatic panic in the last month (OP patients) sometimes panicked during orthostatic challenge, whereas those without orthostatic panic in the last month (NOP patients) did not. Also, OP patients with primarily dizziness during orthostatic challenge panic (OP_OCP-D) had a less vigorous physiological response than two other groups: (a) OP patients with primarily palpitations during orthostatic challenge panic (OP_OCP-P) and (b) NOP patients who had no symptoms during orthostatic challenge (NOP_NOCP-NS). Among the patients experiencing orthostatic challenge–induced panic (i.e., the OP_OCP-D and OP_OCP-P patients), there were prominent orthostatic challenge–induced flashbacks and catastrophic cognitions, and the severity of orthostatic challenge–induced flashbacks and catastrophic cognitions correlated with the severity of orthostatic panic in the previous month and with the severity of orthostatic challenge–induced panic.     

Using a System of Least Prompts Procedure to Teach Telephone Skills to Elementary Students with Cognitive Disabilities

Using the telephone to contact others can be an important skill in maintaining friendships with peers. This investigation used a system of least prompts (SLP) procedures to teach two telephone skills to 3 elementary students with cognitive disabilities: (a) placing phone calls and (b) leaving recorded voicemail messages. The SLP procedure was effective in teaching both skills to all 3 students. Results for maintenance and generalization, however, were mixed. This investigation was completed to partially satisfy the thesis requirement for a Master’s degree at the University of Kentucky.     

谈判中的时间因素

研究时间因素对谈判的影响有利于提高人们对时间重要性的认识,有效谈判策略的运用和整合结果的实现。时间因素对谈判者认知、行为和谈判结果的影响具体表现在：时间压力会降低谈判者的认知动机,使谈判者更加依赖认知启发式;暂停和中场休息是否会为谈判带来积极影响应该视不同的谈判事件和不同的心理状态而定;拉大谈判与结果实现之间的时间距离会提高谈判的共同结果,这可以从折扣效应和建构水平理论中得到解释。将来的谈判研究会进一步从时间向空间拓展     

Are errors differentiable from deceptive responses when feigning memory impairment? An fMRI study

Previous neuroimaging studies have suggested that the neural activity associated with truthful recall, with false memory, and with feigned memory impairment are different from one another. Here, we report a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study that addressed an important but yet unanswered question: Is the neural activity associated with intentional faked responses and with errors differentiable? Using a word list learning recognition paradigm, the findings of this mixed event-related fMRI study clearly indicated that the brain activity associated with intentional faked responses was different to the activity associated with errors committed unintentionally. For intentional faked responses, significant activation was found in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, the posterior cingulate region, and the precuneus. However, no significant activation was observed for unintentional errors. The results suggest that deception, in terms of feigning memory impairment, is not only more cognitively demanding than making unintentional errors but also utilizes different cognitive processes.     

Is there an alternative cerebral network associated with enhanced phonological processing in deaf speech-users? An exceptional case

Most people born deaf and exposed to oral language show scant evidence of sensitivity to the phonology of speech when processing written language. In this respect they differ from hearing people. However, occasionally, a prelingually deaf person can achieve good processing of written language in terms of phonological sensitivity and awareness, and in this respect appears exceptional. We report the pattern of event-related fMRI activation in such a deaf reader while performing a rhyme-judgment on written words with similar spelling endings that do not provide rhyme clues. The left inferior frontal gyrus pars opercularis and the left inferior parietal lobe showed greater activation for this task than for a letter-string identity matching task. This participant was special in this regard, showing significantly greater activation in these regions than a group of hearing participants with a similar level of phonological and reading skill. In addition, SR showed activation in the left mid-fusiform gyrus; a region which did not show task-specific activation in the other respondents. The pattern of activation in this exceptional deaf reader was also unique compared with three deaf readers who showed limited phonological processing. We discuss the possibility that this pattern of activation may be critical in relation to phonological decoding of the written word in good deaf readers whose phonological reading skills are indistinguishable from those of hearing readers.     

The logic of how-questions

Philosophers and scientists are concerned with the why and the how of things. Questions like the following are so much grist for the philosopher’s and scientist’s mill: How can we be free and yet live in a deterministic universe?, How do neural processes give rise to conscious experience?, Why does conscious experience accompany certain physiological events at all?, How is a three-dimensional perception of depth generated by a pair of two-dimensional retinal images?. Since Belnap and Steel’s pioneering work on the logic of questions, Van Fraassen has managed to apply their approach in constructing an account of the logic of why-questions. Comparatively little, by contrast, has been written on the logic of how-questions despite the apparent centrality of questions such as How is it possible for us to be both free and determined? to philosophical enterprise.¹ In what follows I develop a logic for how-questions of various sorts including how-questions of cognitive resolution, how-questions of manner, how-questions of method, of means, and of mechanism.     

肺保护策略机械通气的再评价

通常认为急性肺损伤/急性呼吸窘迫综合征(ALI/ARDS)患者应用肺保护策略机械通气可降低病死率,主要由于潮气量的降低。对已发表的随机对照研究再次分析,发现平台压与患者病死率明显相关。平台压低于30cmH2O时,潮气量可以在一定范围内增加,不影响患者预后。但选择小潮气量可能对病人有害。随机对照研究在试验设计、统计学分析、病人同质性等方面依然存在很多问题。从现有资料看,潮气量和平台压都很重要。     

What is the function of nail biting: an analog assessment study

OBJECTIVE: To compare the frequency of nail biting in 4 settings (interventions) designed to elicit the functions of nail biting and to compare the results with a self-report questionnaire about the functions of nail biting. DESIGN: Randomised allocation of participants to order of conditions. SETTING: University Psychology Department. SUBJECTS: Forty undergraduates who reported biting their nails. INTERVENTIONS: Left alone (boredom), solving maths problems (frustration), reprimanded for nail biting (contingent attention), continuous conversation (noncontingent attention). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Number of times the undergraduates bit their nails. RESULTS: Nail biting occurred most often in two conditions, boredom and frustration. CONCLUSION: Nail biting in young adults occurs as a result of boredom or working on difficult problems, which may reflect a particular emotional state. It occurs least often when people are engaged in social interaction or when they are reprimanded for the behavior.