Do you what I say? people reconstruct the syntax of anomalous utterances

We frequently experience and successfully process anomalous utterances. Here we examine whether people do this by ‘correcting’ syntactic anomalies to yield well-formed representations. In two structural priming experiments, participants’ syntactic choices in picture description were influenced as strongly by previously comprehended anomalous (missing-verb) prime sentences as by well-formed prime sentences. Our results suggest that comprehenders can reconstruct the constituent structure of anomalous utterances – even when such utterances lack a major structural component such as the verb. These results also imply that structural alignment in dialogue is unaffected if one interlocutor produces anomalous utterances.

Warning Against Faking: Boon or Bane? Effects on Test Score Validity

Previous research found personality test scores to be inflated on average among individuals who were motivated to present themselves in a desirable fashion in high stakes situations, such as during the employee selection process. One apparently effective way to reduce the undesirable test score inflation in such situations was to warn participants against faking. This research set out to investigate whether warning against faking would indeed affect personality test scores in the theoretically expected fashion. Contrary to expectations, the results did not support the hypothesized causal chain. Results across three studies show that while a warning may lower test scores in participants motivated to respond desirably (i.e., to fake), the effect of warning on test scores was not fully mediated by: a reduction in motivation to do well and self-reports of exaggerated responses in the personality test. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Determinación de la eficacia del score diagnóstico de apendicitis en el departamento de emergencia del Hospital Vicente Corral Moscoso de Cuenca en el período febrero - julio 2007

Se realizó un estudio trasversal en una población de 306 pacientes con diagnóstico de abdomen agudo no traumático, validación de la prueba diagnóstica y factores asociados en 129 con diagnóstico de apendicitis aguda; el grupo de estudio estuvo conformado por pacientes de edad comprendida entre los 16 y 75 años. Los datos fueron recolectados, por los autores, en un formulario estructurado y analizados con el software SPSS. Resultados: la prevalencia de apendicitis aguda, en la población de 306 pacientes, fue del 42(IC 9533.5-50.5). En los 129 con diagnóstico de apendicitis aguda, el Score dio positivo en el 92.2de los casos comparado con el resultado de anatomía patológica. La asociación entre apendicitis aguda con el sexo dio una razón de prevalencia (PR) de 0.98 IC 950.89-1.08), p=1.00; con el antecedente familiar de apendicitis una RP 0.94 (IC 950.78-1.14) p=0.36 y con alimentación de frutas con semilla RP 1.088 (IC 951.03-1.15) p=1.000 (test exacto de Fisher). La sensibilidad para la prueba diagnóstica, score para apendicitis, fue del 94.96, la especificidad del 60, el valor predictivo positivo del 96.6, el valor predictivo negativo del 50y el índice de Kappa del 0.5 con una p=0.000. Conclusiones: la prevalencia de apendicitis fue del 42; se encontró asociación significativa con alimentación con frutas con semilla. La sensibilidad del score para apendicitis fue del 94.96y la especificidad del 60

Comparison between CDC and WHO BMI z-score and their relation with metabolic risk markers in Northern Portuguese obese adolescents

Growth-curves are an important tool for evaluating the anthropometric development in pediatrics. The different growth-curves available are based in different populations, what leads to different cut-offs. Pediatric obesity tracks into adulthood and is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. The accurate assessment of a child nutritional status using growth-curves can indicate individuals that are either obese or in risk of becoming obese, allowing an early intervention. Moreover, the association between the data obtained from growth-curves with specific metabolic risk factors further highlights the importance of these charts. This study aimed to evaluate the associations between body mass index z-score (BMIzsc), determined using the growth-curves from the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and from the World Health Organization (WHO), with cardiovascular risk factors, represented here by metabolic syndrome (MS) and insulin resistance (IR) related parameters. The study involved 246 obese adolescents (10-18 years, 122 females). MS was defined according to the International Diabetes Federation. IR was considered for HOMA-IR greater than 2.5.

Gestural communication of music structure during solo classical piano performance

The production and perception of music is a multimodal activity involving auditory, visual and conceptual processing, integrating these with prior knowledge and environmental experience. Musicians utilise expressive physical nuances to highlight salient features of the score. The question arises within the literature as to whether performers’ non-technical, non-sound-producing movements may be communicatively meaningful and convey important structural information to audience members and co-performers. In the light of previous performance research (Vines et al., 2006, Wanderley, 2002, Davidson, 1993), and considering findings within co-speech gestural research and auditory and audio-visual neuroscience, this thesis examines the nature of those movements not directly necessary for the production of sound, and their particular influence on audience perception. Within the current research 3D performance analysis is conducted using the Vicon 12- camera system and Nexus data-processing software. Performance gestures are identified as repeated patterns of motion relating to music structure, which not only express phrasing and structural hierarchy but are consistently and accurately interpreted as such by a perceiving audience. Gestural characteristics are analysed across performers and performance style using two Chopin preludes selected for their diverse yet comparable structures (Opus 28:7 and 6). Effects on perceptual judgements of presentation modes (visual-only, auditory-only, audiovisual, full- and point-light) and viewing conditions are explored. This thesis argues that while performance style is highly idiosyncratic, piano performers reliably generate structural gestures through repeated patterns of upper-body movement. The shapes and locations of phrasing motions are identified particular to the sample of performers investigated. Findings demonstrate that despite the personalised nature of the gestures, performers use increased velocity of movements to emphasise musical structure and that observers accurately and consistently locate phrasing junctures where these patterns and variation in motion magnitude, shape and velocity occur. By viewing performance motions in polar (spherical) rather than cartesian coordinate space it is possible to get mathematically closer to the movement generated by each of the nine performers, revealing distinct patterns of motion relating to phrasing structures, regardless of intended performance style. These patterns are highly individualised both to each performer and performed piece. Instantaneous velocity analysis indicates a right-directed bias of performance motion variation at salient structural features within individual performances. Perceptual analyses demonstrate that audience members are able to accurately and effectively detect phrasing structure from performance motion alone. This ability persists even for degraded point-light performances, where all extraneous environmental information has been removed. The relative contributions of audio, visual and audiovisual judgements demonstrate that the visual component of a performance does positively impact on the over- all accuracy of phrasing judgements, indicating that receivers are most effective in their recognition of structural segmentations when they can both see and hear a performance. Observers appear to make use of a rapid online judgement heuristics, adjusting response processes quickly to adapt and perform accurately across multiple modes of presentation and performance style. In line with existent theories within the literature, it is proposed that this processing ability may be related to cognitive and perceptual interpretation of syntax within gestural communication during social interaction and speech. Findings of this research may have future impact on performance pedagogy, computational analysis and performance research, as well as potentially influencing future investigations of the cognitive aspects of musical and gestural understanding.

The symmetric syntax of Japanese complex verbs and Slavic prefixes

We report on a robust symmetry between the Polish and the Japanese sequence of syntactic projections in what superficially looks like different domains, namely verbal prefixes (Polish) and multiple verbs (Japanese). This paralellism strongly supports the thesis about the finegrained sequence of positions in syntax, namely that there exists the functional sequence of syntactic heads (fseq) which is invariantly ordered by UG (see e.g. Cinque (1999)) and the surface differences among particular langauges in the order of elements that instantiate this fseq result solely from movement (not from the variation in fseq itself).

Paths in remnant movement: A single solution to three problems in the Polish OVS syntax

On the one hand it has been advanced that remnant movement (RM) serves as a replacement for head movement and leads to certain permutations in word order while it disallows some others (e.g. Cinque (2005)), on the other hand, little attention has been devoted to the consequences RM has for clausal syntax. In this work, I illustrate one such consequence, namely the rise of crossing and nesting movement dependencies and their reflexes. In particular, I make a case for the existence of massive RM that involves entire clausal subtrees in Polish. The analysis provides a uniform solution to three robust puzzles in the Polish OVS construction in a straightforward way.

Validación de un score de neumonía bacteriana como métodos para predecir etiología en pacientes de 1 mes a 8 años de edad, ingresados en Hospital Nacional de Niños Benjamín Bloom, Mayo - Diciembre 2009.

Determinar la etiología de las neumonías para decidir su tratamiento, no es simple, sin una prueba confirmatoria los médicos se apoyan de evaluaciones clínicas, radiológicas, de laboratorio y edad de pacientes, es por ello, que se estudió una regla de predicción clínica que combinó varios elementos que incrementaron la capacidad diagnóstica de dicha patología. Objetivo: Se evaluó la capacidad diagnóstica de una escala de puntaje para predecir etiología en niños con neumonía (Bacterial Pneumonia Score), y otras variables no incluidas en el score que resultaron asociadas a las neumonías. Estudio descriptivo, transversal, retrospectivo de evaluación de prueba diagnóstica, en Hospital Benjamin Bloom, desde mayo a diciembre 2009, incluyendo ≥1 mes a 8 años de edad, hospitalizados por neumonía, con datos de temperatura, radiografía torácica, hemograma, hisopado nasofaríngeo, se excluyeron los pacientes que necesitaron cuidados en UCI o intermedios, con patologías respiratorias crónicas, cuerpo extraño o aspiración, enfermedades oncológicas, inmunodeficiencias o neumonía con radiografía 8 semanas previo al ingreso en estudio. Resultados: Se incluyeron 275 pacientes, de ellos 120 diagnosticados con patología viral y 180 con etiología bacteriana, se registraron datos del expediente clínico a través de un cuestionario que contempló variables del BPS además de otras que resultaron estadísticamente asociadas por Chi cuadrado. Según el score ≥ 4 puntos se calculó una sensibilidad de 79% (IC 95%: 75-82), especificidad de 91% (IC 95%: 85-96), valor predictivo positivo de 94% (IC 95% 90-97) y valor predictivo negativo de 69% (IC %: 61-78).y una eficacia diagnostica bajo curva ROC de 0.88. Conclusión: El BPS resultó tener buena capacidad para identificar la mayoría de pacientes con neumonía acteriana, pero se mostró más preciso para descartarla.

Modelação matemática para identificar o valor de T-Score

A osteoporose é uma patologia esquelética sistémica, caracterizada pela diminuição da massa óssea, provocando uma diminuição da resistência do osso e, consequentemente um aumento do risco de fraturas no indivíduo. Neste estudo pretende-se prever o valor que permite determinar se um paciente tem ou não osteoporose, denominado de T-Score. Normalmente este valor é obtido através de um exame de densitometria óssea, a absorciometria de raios-X de dupla energia (DEXA). Além disso, pretendeu-se converter os valores de T-Score e a densidade mineral óssea (DMO) (ou bone mineral density - BMD) para os vários equipamentos existentes para este exame. Para finalizar, criou-se um documento PDF com as previsões e as conversões alcançadas.

Rendimiento del score PIM 2 en una Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos Pediátricos

Objetivo: evaluar el rendimiento del score de predicción de mortalidad PIM 2 en una población de pacientes pediátricos críticos. Materiales y métodos: se realizó un estudio prospectivo, entre el 01 de enero y el 31 de diciembre de 2013. Se incluyeron todos los pacientes con una edad comprendida entre 29 días y 14 años que ingresaron a la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos Pediátricos (CIP) de la Asociación Española. Fueron excluidos aquellos pacientes que fallecieron antes de las 12 horas, los que ingresaron para monitorización u observación luego de procedimientos endoscópicos o quirúrgicos menores o para realización de vías y los neonatos. Para evaluar el rendimiento del score PIM 2 se analizó tanto su calibración, como su discriminación, mediante la aplicación del test de bondad de ajuste de Hosmer-Lemeshow y la construcción de la curva ROC y el cálculo del área bajo la curva. Resultados: se incluyeron 184 pacientes para el análisis. La tasa de mortalidad de esta población fue de 5,4% (IC95% 1,88-8,98). La media de internación fue de 8,3 días (rango 12 horas a 27 días) y en el caso de los fallecidos fue de 11.3 días (rango 1-20). La aplicación del test de Hosmer-Lemeshow arrojó un valor de Chi cuadrado de 5,37 (p=0,71). El área bajo la curva ROC fue de 0,90. Para un punto de corte de 0,5 el rendimiento de la prueba evidenció una validez global del 96,7% (IC 95% entre 93,77-99,57), un valor predictivo positivo del 100% (87,50-100) y un valor predictivo negativo de 96,67% (93,77-99,57). La sensibilidad para este corte fue del 40% (4,64-75,36) y una especificidad del 100% (99,71-100). Conclusiones: el score PIM 2 ha presentado en la población estudiada una adecuada calibración y discriminación global. Por tanto, su utilidad como instrumento para medición y evaluación de la calidad asistencial permanece vigente. Pese a ello, su aplicabilidad práctica fue limitada en pacientes asignados a deciles de riesgo “bajo” en donde el score presentó problemas de discriminación y una alta tasa de falsos negativos.

Relação entre o score de adesão à dieta mediterrânica e a hemoglobina glicosilada em pessoas com diabetes mellitus tipo 2

Poster apresentado no XIV Congresso de Nutrição e Alimentação. Centro de Congressos de Lisboa, 21-22 Maio de 2015

Development of an activity disease score in patients with uveitis (UVEDAI)

To develop a disease activity index for patients with uveitis (UVEDAI) encompassing the relevant domains of disease activity considered important among experts in this field. The steps for designing UVEDAI were: (a) Defining the construct and establishing the domains through a formal judgment of experts, (b) A two-round Delphi study with a panel of 15 experts to determine the relevant items, (c) Selection of items: A logistic regression model was developed that set ocular inflammatory activity as the dependent variable. The construct “uveitis inflammatory activity” was defined as any intraocular inflammation that included external structures (cornea) in addition to uvea. Seven domains and 15 items were identified: best-corrected visual acuity, inflammation of the anterior chamber (anterior chamber cells, hypopyon, the presence of fibrin, active posterior keratic precipitates and iris nodules), intraocular pressure, inflammation of the vitreous cavity (vitreous haze, snowballs and snowbanks), central macular edema, inflammation of the posterior pole (the presence and number of choroidal/retinal lesions, vascular inflammation and papillitis), and global assessment from both (patient and physician). From all the variables studied in the multivariate model, anterior chamber cell grade, vitreous haze, central macular edema, inflammatory vessel sheathing, papillitis, choroidal/retinal lesions and patient evaluation were included in UVEDAI. UVEDAI is an index designed to assess the global ocular inflammatory activity in patients with uveitis. It might prove worthwhile to motorize the activity of this extraarticular manifestation of some rheumatic diseases.

Proposal and Validation of a Scale of Composite Measure Reactivity Score to Characterize the Reactivity in Horses During Handling

This study aimed to identify the parameters related to the expression of the reactivity in horses during handling and based on that proposed and validated a scale of composite measure reactivity score to characterize horse's reactivity. To this end, the first stage (S1) proposed the scale and the second (S2) validated it. In S1, 364 Lusitano horses were evaluated, 188 were adult breeding mares (4–12 years old), and 176 were foals (males/females, aged from 2 months to 2 years). During hooves trimming, vermifuge application, palpation scores were assigned to behaviors of movement, ears and eyes position, breathing, vocalization, and urination. A response parameter called reactivity was attributed to each animal, ranging from score 1 (nonreactive/calm) to score 4 (very reactive/aggressive). The verification of the possible parameters (age, behavior), which explains the response parameter (reactivity), was taken using ordinal proportional odds model. Movement, breathing, ears and eyes position, vocalization, and age appear to explain the reactivity of horses during handling (P < .01). Therefore, based on these parameters, it was possible to propose two scales of composite measure reactivity score: one to characterize the mares and another the foals. On S2, the proposed scale was validated by the simultaneous application of Forced Human Approach Test, another commonly used test to evaluate the reactivity in horses, with a correlation of 0.97 (P < .05). The assessment of the reactivity of horses during handling by a composite measure reactivity score scale is valid, and easy to apply, without disrupting daily routine and override the impact of individual differences.

Portuguese Version of the Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised: Validation Data and the Establishment of a Cut-Score for Screening Purposes

The aim of the present study is to provide validation data regarding the Portuguese version of the Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire Revised in nonclinical individuals. Two studies were undertaken with two different nonclinical samples in order to demonstrate reliability, concurrent, predictive, and construct validity, and in order to establish an appropriate cut-score for nonclinical individuals. A sample of 810 community adults participated in Study 1. Results from this study provided information regarding scale internal consistency, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, and concurrent validity. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis established a cut-off score to be used for screening purposes with nonclinical individuals. A sample of 440 young adults participated in Study 2, which demonstrated scale score internal consistency and 5-month predictive validity. Further, 5-month test-retest reliability was also evaluated and the correlations of SBQ-R scale scores with two other measures that assess constructs related to suicidality, depression and psychache, were also performed. In addition, confirmatory factor analysis was undertaken to demonstrate the robustness of the result obtained in Study 1. Overall, findings supported the psychometric appropriateness of the Portuguese Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revise

Development and validation of an echocardiography score for diagnosis of cardiac masses

Background Echocardiography is the cornerstone in the evaluation of cardiac masses and provides accurate characterization. Despite, its accuracy in diagnosis of cardiac masses (CM) remains challenging and, up to date, no validated diagnostic algorithm is validated. Purpose The aim of our study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of echocardiography, to identify the echocardiographic predictors of malignancy and to develop and then validate a multiparametric echocardiographic score that could be used to estimate the likelihood of the histological nature of a CM. Materials and methods The final sample consisted of 273 consecutive patients who had a 2D-echocardiographic evaluation and a histologic diagnosis. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate the ability of echocardiographic findings to discriminate benign versus malignant masses, then a scoring system was developed and validated in a separate test cohort. Results Of the 322 patients initially included in the Bologna Cardiac Masses Registry, 13 with a poor acoustic window, 27 with no histological examination patients and 9 extra-cardiac masses were excluded. In the remaining 273 patients, classical 2-D echocardiogram identified 249 masses with a diagnostic accuracy of 88%. A weighted score [Diagnostic Echocardiographic Mass (DEM) Score] ranging from 0 to 9 was obtained from 6 variables: infiltration, polylobate mass, moderate-severe pericardial effusion. The AUC for the score was 0.965 (95% CI [0.938-0.993]). In a logistic regression analysis using the DEM score as a predictor, the likelihood of malignant CM increased more than 4 times for a 1-unit increase in the score (OR=4.468; 95% CI 2.733-7.304). A score < 3 denoted a high probability of a benign diagnosis, and a score ≥ 5 points corresponded to a higher risk of malignancy. Conclusion 2D-Echocardiography provides a high diagnostic accuracy in identifying cardiac masses and our multiparametric echocardiographic score could be useful to predict the histological nature of cardiac masses.