Does Phonological Complexity Provide a Good Index of Language Disorder in Children With Cochlear Implants?

Purpose Phonological complexity is known to be a good index of developmental language disorder (DLD) in normal-hearing children, who have major difficulties on some complex structures. Some deaf children with cochlear implants (CIs) present a profile that evokes DLD, with persistent linguistic difficulties despite good audiological and environmental conditions. However, teasing apart what is related to auditory deficit or to language disorder remains complex. Method We compared the performance of three groups of school-age children, 33 children with CI, 22 with DLD, and 24 with typical development, on a nonword repetition (NWR) task based on phonological complexity. Children with CI were studied regarding their linguistic profile, categorized in four subgroups ranging from excellent to very poor performance. Influence of syllable length and phonological structures on the results of all the children were explored. Results The NWR task correctly distinguished children with DLD from typically developing children, and also children with CI with the poorest linguistic performance from other children with CI. However, most complex phonological structures did not reliably identify children with CI displaying a profile similar to that of children with DLD because these structures were difficult for all of the children with CI. The simplest phonological structures were better at detecting persistent language difficulties in children with CI, as they were challenging only for the children with the poorest language outcomes. Conclusions The most complex phonological structures are not good indices of language disorder in children with CI. Phonological complexity represents a gradient of difficulty that affects normal-hearing and deaf children differently.

“Plants of the Gods” and their hallucinogenic powers in neuropharmacology — A review of two books

“Plants of the Gods” is a term referring to the religious meaning members of many primitive cultures worldwide attribute to plants containing hallucinogenic or mind-altering substances. The plants are customarily considered sacred and consumed in religious rituals in an attempt to reach and communicate with gods or revered ancestors. They are frequently used in healing rites. Occasionally, they are used for purely recreational purposes, this being their main use in the modern societies of both industrialized and underdeveloped nations. However, it must be noted that the hallucinogenic or psychedelic experiences, recreational, are not always euphoric. Plants of the Gods: Their Sacred, Healing, and Hallucinogenic Powers is well-written, fully illustrated with color photographs, and contains a good index. It is an effective compilation of ethnographic, historic, and neuropharmacologic information on the hallucinogenic plants of planet Earth and the psychological and sociological impact they have, particularly in primitive societies. The behavioral side effects and toxic manifestations that may be associated with transient or permanent neurological deficits or psychiatric conditions place them in the realm of neuropsychiatry, when affected individuals present to the emergency room or are referred for medical consultation.

Arquivos do Instituto Biológico: um periódico de Ciências Agrárias que navega pelas mídias sociais

Arquivos do Instituto Biológico (AIB), indexed in the SciELO Brazil Collection since 2012, is na open access and continuous flow journal. Created in 1928, it publishes scientific articles in English in the area of Agricultural Sciences. In 2015, its profiles on Facebook and Twitter were created to expand the dissemination of its articles and contribute to the dissemination of good scientific practices. Despite not having the largest number of followers among SciELO's Agrarian Sciences journals, AIB's dynamism means that it has a good index of engagement in publications, showing great potential in its marketing and dissemination plan. Using social networks, AIB serves one of the dimensions of open science, which is “communicating science”

Arrogance of ‘but all you need is a good index finger’: A narrative ethics exploration of lack of universal funding of PSA screening in Canada

This narrative ethics exploration stems from my happy prostate-specific antigen (PSA) story, though it should not have been, as I annually refuse my family physician’s recommendation to purchase PSA screening. The reason for my refusal is I teach ethics to medical students and of course must walk the talk, and PSA screening is not publicly funded in the province of Ontario, Canada. In addition, I might have taken false comfort in ‘but all you need is a good index finger’ to detect prostate cancer, expounded by a senior physician at a national medical conference in 2010, and applauded by the large audience of physicians. I was compelled to begin this exploration out of survivor guilt, although I will not be a survivor for long, and as a mea culpa to the men similarly situated to me in having late diagnosis of prostate cancer, aggressive tumours and multiple metastases, but who unlike me are dead because they did not experience the physician–educator-based exceptionisms and coincidences that permit me to still be alive. Although my PSA story will always be a happy story, even when my life ends in a few years, the initiation of public funding of PSA screening for all men over 50 would make my PSA story an even happier story.

Public Good Indices for Games with Several Levels of Approval

This work focuses on (j, 2) games in which there are several levels of approval in the input, i. e. games with n players, j ordered qualitative alternatives in the input level and 2 possible ordered quantitative alternatives in the output. When considering (j, 2) games, we extend the Public Good index (PGI), the Null Player Free index (NPFI) and the Shift index (SI) and provide full characterizations of these extensions.

INSTRUMENTASI KEMAMPUAN PEMECAHAN MASALAH MATEMATIS: ANALISIS RELIABILITAS, VALIDITAS, TINGKAT KESUKARAN DAN DAYA BEDA BUTIR SOAL

A good assessment instrument is an instrument that can reveal data in accordance with the actual reality, is fixed, steady or reliable, and has varying degrees of difficulty and has a good index of discrimination. Therefore this study was conducted to analyze reliability, validity, level of difficulty, and differentiation of items that can be used to reveal students' mathematics problem solving abilities. The test questions tested are questions in the form of 4 numbers. The calculation results show that the 4 test questions for problem solving ability are reliability in the medium category, and valid with each category is high. The index has difficulty number 1 in the easy category, number 2 and 3 in the medium category, and number 4 in the difficult category, and the discrimination index is quite good

Voting Power and the Public Good Index: Some Thoughts

Among the many voting power indices, the public good index (PGI) is one of the less well-known ones. Holler (2018) posits some hypotheses about why this is the case. In response, I share a few thoughts here on voting power in general and about the popularity of the PGI.