Assessment of children's receptive vocabulary using event-related brain potentials: Development of a clinically valid test

The combined verbal and motor impairments characteristic of children with disorders such as Cerebral Palsy (CP) frequently compromise the accuracy of standard psychometric assessments. What is needed is a test to measure language that does not require verbal or motor responses. This study was designed to determine whether single-word receptive vocabulary could be assessed in young children without CP, using an ERP-compatible test based on Form M of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R). Fifteen 10-year-old children with normal levels of psychometric intelligence participated. Ninety pictures were selected from the PPVT-R (Form M), representing three levels of single-word receptive vocabulary (Preschool, Child-Adolescent, Adult). Each picture was presented twice (pseudo-random), once paired with a spoken word that was semantically congruent with the picture and once paired with a semantically incongruent word. The children's N400 was significantly larger to incongruent than to congruent pairs, but only when the vocabulary was within their repertoire. The results are discussed in terms of electrophysiologic correlates of acquired language and the clinical use of this ERP test as an adjunct to assessing patients with moderate to severe communication and/or motor impairments (e.g., cerebral palsy, autism, head injury).     

The influence of interfaces on the formation of bubbles in He-ion-irradiated Cu/Mo nanolayers

The role of immiscible Cu/Mo interfaces on the formation of helium (He) bubbles in ion-irradiated Cu/Mo 5?nm multilayers is examined. Interfaces significantly enhance the critical He concentration above which bubbles, approximately 1?nm in diameter, are detected via through-focus imaging in a transmission electron microscope. He-to-vacancy ratio affects the formation and distribution of He bubbles. The diameter of He bubbles in Cu appears to be slightly larger than that in Mo.     

On the possibility of tuning the energy separation between space-quantized levels in a quantum well

The idea about change of energy distances between space-quantized energy levels by ionization of an impurity delta layer situated within a quantum well (QW) is put forward and justified. The self-consistent solutions of Schrödinger, Poisson, and electroneutrality equations made for n-type SiGe/Si/SiGe rectangular QW show that the effect really exists and the most dramatic changes can be observed for an edge-delta-doped QW structure.     

Effect of couple stress at the interfaces of a nano-hole on the anti-plane electro-mechanical behavior

In piezoelectric nanocomposites, surface/interface plays an important role in determining the size-dependent behavior of media. Within the framework of couple stress, the effect of surface/interface around a nano-hole on the anti-plane electro-mechanical behavior is examined. By introducing a surface/interface model, the stress and electric displacement effects on the size-dependent behavior are both considered. The governing equations in piezoelectric materials are decoupled into the classical ones. The displacement and electric potential are expressed by Bessel functions. By satisfying the boundary conditions around the hole with the interface/surface effect, the expanded coefficients are obtained. Through analysis, it is shown that the mechanical and electrical fields drastically depend on the relative size of the hole with respect to the characteristic length of the material. The effects of couple stresses on the stress and electric field are also addressed. Comparison with the existing results is also given.     

Effect of a nanoporous surface on photoluminescence from nanopatterned GaN thin films fabricated by anodic alumina templates

GaN photonic crystal slabs on InGaN/GaN multi-quantum well light-emitting diodes have been formed by dry etching using nanoporous anodic alumina templates, which have a periodic lattice constant of 105 nm and a hole diameter of 45 nm. The photonic crystal slab shows an enhanced intensity of photoluminescence due to the nanohole pattern array producing Fabry–Perot like interference. A rough surface of nanoholes results in a broad spectrum with a small oscillation, and well-ordered multiple facets of nanoholes results in a relatively sharp spectrum with a large oscillation.     

Islam,HIV/AIDS and activism: a critical analysis of some themes in Positive Muslims' ‘theology of compassion’

The present article is a critical analysis of the South African organization Positive Muslims' ‘theology of compassion’, put forward by its proponents as a Muslim religious initiative to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS and the stigmatization of those affected by the disease. The article addresses the hermeneutics applied and the results reached in relation to a wider contemporary Muslim religious discourse on HIV/AIDS. It also connects the ‘theology of compassion’ to a broader transnational movement of progressive Islam, of which the ‘theology of compassion’ is a practical, grass-roots application. The main analytical focus, however, is on the way in which certain features in this theology are shaped by basic assumptions on the part of its producers concerning the beliefs, emotions and background knowledge of its main stated consumers: believing Muslims.     

Slow and steady wins the race: Life history,mate value,and mate settling

Life history theory explains how individuals decide to invest their limited resources, which involves several trade-offs. Particularly relevant to the current work, individuals can choose to invest in current or delayed reproduction (a slow life history strategy), which implicates a trade-off between the quantity and the quality of one’s offspring. Choosing to delay reproduction allows for increased self-investment, and previous research has demonstrated that traits requiring self-investment are related to higher mate value. As such, the current study hypothesizes that slow life history strategy will predict high personal mate value and high levels of partner mate-value within heterosexual partnerships. Similarly, those with a slow life history strategy should display fewer tendencies toward mate-settling. The current work employs both subjective and objective measures of mate value within mateships to investigate these hypothesized relationships. As hypothesized, significant positive relationships among life history and mate value were detected, suggesting that a slower life history strategy corresponds to high ratings of mate value for both self and partner. Also, life history strategy is a significant predictor of subjective, objective, and Mate Value Inventory ratings of partner and self. Further implications and potential future works are discussed.     

Positive perception: A three dimensional model and a scale

Traits and perceptions that predict psychological and physical well-being have been the focus of great interest in Positive Psychology. The paper focused on positive perception (PP) as a case in point. A three dimensional model of PP is proposed. PP represents a general tendency to evaluate positively one’s abilities, one’s past, and human nature. The construction of an 8-item self-report measure of PP, the Positive Perception Scale (PPS), is detailed. Three samples of university students and a national sample of working couples (total N = 796) helped demonstrate various psychometric aspects of the PPS. The studies confirmed the three dimensional model of PP, demonstrated it as both a trait and a state and the PPS as a valid and reliable scale, for both researchers and practitioners.     

Las alteraciones del lenguaje en la esquizofrenia aguda: ¿son realmente problemas del procesamiento de la información?

Resumen

Para explicar el uso del lenguaje en pacientes esquizofrénicos agudos (es decir, de corta duración) se presentan cinco hipótesis. Estas se basan en los análisis lingüísticos y psicolingüísticos de oyentes (35 de los cuales eran esquizofrénicos, y otros 53 voluntarios normales) y hablantes (40 eran pacientes esquizofrénicos, la mitad de los cuales mostraban signos clínicos de desorden del pensamiento y la otra mitad no, y 20 voluntarios normales). Las muestras de los hablantes fueron tomadas de entrevistas no estructuradas, de descripciones estructuradas, y de narraciones. Se sugiere que los fallos del discurso de los esquizofrénicos agudos se deben a un fallo para cambiar la atención lo bastante rápido como para beneficiarse de la memoria del trabajo.