The purpose of this study was to confirm the original factor structure of the Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning (WRAML) utilizing a non-clinical adolescent population. Additional analysis examined the relationship between SAT-M scores and spatial relations ability. Exploratory analyses were conducted to determine ethnic and gender differences on the WRAML and subtests from the DAT. Sixty-four academically talented adolescents completed the WRAML and the mechanical reasoning and spatial relations subtests from the Differential Aptitude Test (DAT). The confirmatory factor analysis found the data obtained to not be a good fit for the factor structure of the WRAML (Sheslow & Adams, 1990). Additional confirmatory analyses were conducted which examined data fit of a three factor model found by reanalyzing the standardization data (Burton et al., 1996; Wasserman & Cambias, 1991) as well as two null models. The data failed to fit any of these three models. No support was found for the second hypothesis that predicted a positive relationship between SAT-M scores and spatial relations ability. Ethnic and gender differences on the WRAML and two DAT subtests were examined and discussed. Limitations of this study were reviewed which may have accounted for the overall lack of results.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / O aumento da longevidade evidenciou nas mulheres os efeitos deletérios da deficiência ovariana como, a obesidade central e as doenças neurodegenerativas. Os hábitos alimentares modernos favorecem o consumo excessivo de gorduras, que contribuem para efeitos adversos sobre a saúde, incluindo alteração da composição corporal e da função nervosa. Assim, objetivamos estudar como a dieta hiperlipídica (DH), contendo óleo de soja, associada à perda da função gonadal influenciam o comportamento e o desenvolvimento corporal de ratas adultas. Ratas Wistar adultas foram ovariectomizadas (OVX) ou pseudo-operadas (C) e após 7d passaram a receber dieta contendo 4%(normo) ou 19%(hiperlípidica) de óleo de soja: C4 (n=29), OVX4 (n=30), C19 (n=30), OVX19 (n=30). Foram avaliados a massa e o comprimento corporais e a ingestão alimentar, e aspectos comportamentais de ansiedade, através de teste no Labirinto em Cruz Elevado (LCE); de busca pela novidade, por testes no Campo Vazado (CV); e aprendizagem/memória avaliada no labirinto aquático radial de 8 braços (LAROB). Ao final dos testes, os animais foram anestesiados, exsanguinados e o tecido adiposo intra-abdominal foi coletado e pesado. O soro foi utilizado para dosagens de triglicerídeo (TG), VLDL-c, colesterol (COL), HDL-c e estradiol. A ingestão alimentar média e o comprimento corporal não diferiram entre os grupos, mas o grupo OVX19 mostrou ganho significativo (13,6%) de massa corporal mais precocemente que os demais. O mesmo padrão foi observado quanto à massa de tecido adiposo, que foi 86% maior no OVX19. Os TG, VLDL e COL aumentaram cerca de 28% no OVX19, porém sem alteração de HDL-c (33,762,2 mg/dl). A DH e a ovariectomia se mostraram ansiogênicos e quando associados, a DH parece reverter o efeito ansiogênico da castração. Padrão similar de resposta foi observado na resposta ao teste de busca por novidade. No teste de aprendizagem/memória o OVX4 apresentou maior tempo de latência no primeiro dia, e todos responderam de forma semelhante nos demais dias. Conclui-se que a deficiência de estradiol acompanhada da ingestão de dieta hiperlipídica mantém o desempenho cognitivo, o comportamento emocional e a motivação, embora prejudique a adiposidade e o metabolismo lipídico. / The increase in longevity in women showed the deleterious effects of ovarian failure such as central obesity and neurodegenerative diseases. The modern feeding habits are associated with increased consumption of fats that contribute to adverse health effects, including changes in body composition and nervous function. The aim of present study was to assess how a hyperlipidic diet (HD) containing soybean oil, coupled with the loss of the gonadal function influence behavior and body development of adult rats. Adult female rats were ovariectomized (OVX) or pseudo-op (C) and after 7d began to receive a diet containing 4% (normo) or 19% (hyperlipidic) of soybean oil: C4 (n = 29), OVX4 (n = 30), C19 (n = 30), OVX19 (n = 30). We evaluated the length and body mass and food intake, and behavioral aspects of anxiety through the test Plus Maze (EPM), the search for novelty, for testing in the field not (CV) and learning / memory evaluated in the maze Water radial eight arms (LAROB). At the end of testing, animals were anesthetized, exsanguinated and intra-abdominal adipose tissue was collected and weighed. The serum was used for total serum triglyceride (TG), VLDL-C, cholesterol (COL), HDL-C and estradiol. The average dietary intake and body length did not differ between groups, but the group showed significant gain OVX19 (13.6%) body mass earlier than the others. The same pattern was observed for adipose tissue mass, which was 86% higher in OVX19. TG, VLDL and COL increased by about 28% in OVX19, but no change in HDL-C (33.76 2.2 mg / dl). The DH and ovariectomy proved anxieties and when combined, the DH appears to reverse the anxiogenic effect of castration. Similar pattern of response was observed in response to the test to search for novelty. In the test of learning/memory the OVX4 showed higher latency on the first day, and all responded similarly in the other days. It is concluded that deficiency of estradiol followed by the intake of fat diet keeps the cognitive, emotional behavior and motivation, although detrimental to adiposity and lipid metabolism.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / O aumento da longevidade evidenciou nas mulheres os efeitos deletérios da deficiência ovariana como, a obesidade central e as doenças neurodegenerativas. Os hábitos alimentares modernos favorecem o consumo excessivo de gorduras, que contribuem para efeitos adversos sobre a saúde, incluindo alteração da composição corporal e da função nervosa. Assim, objetivamos estudar como a dieta hiperlipídica (DH), contendo óleo de soja, associada à perda da função gonadal influenciam o comportamento e o desenvolvimento corporal de ratas adultas. Ratas Wistar adultas foram ovariectomizadas (OVX) ou pseudo-operadas (C) e após 7d passaram a receber dieta contendo 4%(normo) ou 19%(hiperlípidica) de óleo de soja: C4 (n=29), OVX4 (n=30), C19 (n=30), OVX19 (n=30). Foram avaliados a massa e o comprimento corporais e a ingestão alimentar, e aspectos comportamentais de ansiedade, através de teste no Labirinto em Cruz Elevado (LCE); de busca pela novidade, por testes no Campo Vazado (CV); e aprendizagem/memória avaliada no labirinto aquático radial de 8 braços (LAROB). Ao final dos testes, os animais foram anestesiados, exsanguinados e o tecido adiposo intra-abdominal foi coletado e pesado. O soro foi utilizado para dosagens de triglicerídeo (TG), VLDL-c, colesterol (COL), HDL-c e estradiol. A ingestão alimentar média e o comprimento corporal não diferiram entre os grupos, mas o grupo OVX19 mostrou ganho significativo (13,6%) de massa corporal mais precocemente que os demais. O mesmo padrão foi observado quanto à massa de tecido adiposo, que foi 86% maior no OVX19. Os TG, VLDL e COL aumentaram cerca de 28% no OVX19, porém sem alteração de HDL-c (33,762,2 mg/dl). A DH e a ovariectomia se mostraram ansiogênicos e quando associados, a DH parece reverter o efeito ansiogênico da castração. Padrão similar de resposta foi observado na resposta ao teste de busca por novidade. No teste de aprendizagem/memória o OVX4 apresentou maior tempo de latência no primeiro dia, e todos responderam de forma semelhante nos demais dias. Conclui-se que a deficiência de estradiol acompanhada da ingestão de dieta hiperlipídica mantém o desempenho cognitivo, o comportamento emocional e a motivação, embora prejudique a adiposidade e o metabolismo lipídico. / The increase in longevity in women showed the deleterious effects of ovarian failure such as central obesity and neurodegenerative diseases. The modern feeding habits are associated with increased consumption of fats that contribute to adverse health effects, including changes in body composition and nervous function. The aim of present study was to assess how a hyperlipidic diet (HD) containing soybean oil, coupled with the loss of the gonadal function influence behavior and body development of adult rats. Adult female rats were ovariectomized (OVX) or pseudo-op (C) and after 7d began to receive a diet containing 4% (normo) or 19% (hyperlipidic) of soybean oil: C4 (n = 29), OVX4 (n = 30), C19 (n = 30), OVX19 (n = 30). We evaluated the length and body mass and food intake, and behavioral aspects of anxiety through the test Plus Maze (EPM), the search for novelty, for testing in the field not (CV) and learning / memory evaluated in the maze Water radial eight arms (LAROB). At the end of testing, animals were anesthetized, exsanguinated and intra-abdominal adipose tissue was collected and weighed. The serum was used for total serum triglyceride (TG), VLDL-C, cholesterol (COL), HDL-C and estradiol. The average dietary intake and body length did not differ between groups, but the group showed significant gain OVX19 (13.6%) body mass earlier than the others. The same pattern was observed for adipose tissue mass, which was 86% higher in OVX19. TG, VLDL and COL increased by about 28% in OVX19, but no change in HDL-C (33.76 2.2 mg / dl). The DH and ovariectomy proved anxieties and when combined, the DH appears to reverse the anxiogenic effect of castration. Similar pattern of response was observed in response to the test to search for novelty. In the test of learning/memory the OVX4 showed higher latency on the first day, and all responded similarly in the other days. It is concluded that deficiency of estradiol followed by the intake of fat diet keeps the cognitive, emotional behavior and motivation, although detrimental to adiposity and lipid metabolism.

This master thesis treats about Event Recognition in the reports of Polish stockholders. Event Recognition is one of the Information Extraction tasks. This thesis provides a comparison of two approaches to Event Recognition: manual and automatic. In the manual approach regular expressions are used. Regular expressions are used as a baseline for the automatic approach. In the automatic approach three Machine Learning methods were applied. In the initial experiment the Decision Trees, naive Bayes and Memory Based Learning methods are compared. A modification of the standard Memory Based Learning method is presented which goal is to create a classifier that uses only positives examples in the classification task. The performance of the modified Memory Based Learning method is presented and compared to the baseline and also to other Machine Learning methods. In the initial experiment one type of annotation is used and it is the meeting date annotation. The final experiment is conducted using three types of annotations: the meeting time, the meeting date and the meeting place annotation. The experiments show that the classification can be performed using only one class of instances with the same level of performance. / (+48)669808616

Marek Pok Dissertation Abstract Application of memory techniques to primary school instruction The theoretical part is focused on effective teaching methods to primary school instruction. There have been chosen styles, methods and strategies, which are suitable for using memory techniques. Attention is paid to the memory function of students (secondary school age), who become a part of the empirical research. The theoretical part will present the concept of teaching, learning styles, methods and strategies, which effective implement the memory techniques into this construction. The practical part brings using experimental and observational research process to define quantitative and qualitative results on the memory learning. The object of this research is the very process of education, which aims to consolidate memory techniques to effective learning skills. The attention to the middle school age pupils is focused especially of their ability (unlike students at the beginning of schooling) to use naturally intentional memorization, rationality, ambience association and logical connections. Due to memory techniques (bonding system and the system significant figures) students will aplicate information into the instruction so that they will be able to recall them effectively, transform them, interpret and use...

<p>Istraţivanje je imalo za cilj da provjeri u<br />kojoj mjeri se na&scaron; kognitivni sistem moţe<br />osloniti na fonotaktiĉke informacije, tj.<br />moguće/dozvoljene kombinacije fonema/<br />grafema, u zadacima automatske percepcije i<br />produkcije rijeĉi u jezicima sa bogatom<br />infleksionom morfologijom.<br />Da bi se dobio odgovor na to pitanje,<br />sprovedene su tri studije. U prvoj studiji, uz<br />pomoć ma&scaron;ina sa vektorima podr&scaron;ke (SVM),<br />obavljena je diskriminacija promjenljivih<br />vrsta rijeĉi. U drugoj studiji, produkcija<br />infleksionih oblika rijeĉi izvedena je<br />pomoću uĉenja zasnovanog na memoriji<br />(MBL). Na osnovu rezultata iz druge studije,<br />izveden je eksperiment u kojem se traţila<br />potvrda kognitivne vjerodostojnosti modela i<br />kori&scaron;ćenih informacija.<br />Diskriminacija promjenljivih vrsta rijeĉi<br />obavljena je na osnovu dozvoljenih sekvenci<br />dva i tri grafema/fonema (tzv. bigrama i<br />trigrama), ĉije su frekvencije javljanja<br />unutar pojedinaĉnih gramatiĉkih tipova<br />izraĉunate u zavisnosti od njihovog poloţaja<br />u rijeĉima: na poĉetku, na kraju, unutar<br />rijeĉi, svi zajedno. Maksimalna taĉnost se<br />kretala oko 95% i dobijena je na svim<br />bigramima, uz pomoć RBF jezgrene<br />funkcije. Ovako visok procenat taĉne<br />diskriminacije ukazuje da postoje<br />karakteristiĉne distribucije bigrama za<br />razliĉite vrste promjenljivih rijeĉi. S druge<br />strane, najmanje informativnim su se<br />pokazali bigrami na kraju i na poĉetku rijeĉi.<br />MBL model iskori&scaron;ćen je u zadatku<br />automatske infleksione produkcije, tako &scaron;to<br />je za zadatu rijeĉ, na osnovu fonotaktiĉkih<br />informacija iz posljednja ĉetiri sloga,<br />generisan traţeni infleksioni oblik. Na<br />uzorku od 89024 promjenljivih rijeĉi uzetih<br />iz Frekvencijskog reĉnika dnevne &scaron;tampe<br />srpskog jezika, koristeći metod izostavljanja<br />jednog primjera i konstantu veliĉinu skupa<br />susjeda (k = 7), ostvarena je taĉnost oko<br />92%. Identifikovano je nekoliko faktora koji<br />su uticali na ovu taĉnost, kao &scaron;to su: vrsta<br />rijeĉi, gramatiĉki tip, naĉin tvorbe i broj<br />primjera u okviru jednog gramatiĉkog tipa,<br />broju izuzetaka, broj fonolo&scaron;kih alternacija<br />itd.<br />U istraţivanju na subjektima, u zadatku<br />leksiĉke odluke, za rijeĉi koje je MBL<br />pogre&scaron;no obradio utvrĊeno je duţe vrijeme<br />obrade. Ovo ukazuje na kognitivnu<br />vjerodostojnost uĉenja zasnovanog na<br />memoriji. Osim toga, potvrĊena je i<br />kognitivna vjerodostojnost fonotaktiĉkih<br />informacija, ovaj put u zadatku<br />razumijevanja jezika.<br />Sveukupno, nalazi dobijeni u ove tri studije<br />govore u prilog teze o znaĉajnoj ulozi<br />fonotaktiĉkih informacija u percepciji i<br />produkciji morfolo&scaron;ki sloţenih rijeĉi.<br />Rezultati, takoĊe, ukazuju na potrebu da se<br />ove informacije uzmu u obzir kada se<br />diskutuje pojavljivanje većih jeziĉkih<br />jedinica i obrazaca.</p> / <p>The study was aimed at testing the extent to<br />which our cognitive system can rely on<br />phonotactic information, i.e., possible/<br />permissible combinations of phonemes/<br />graphemes, in the tasks of automatic<br />processing and production of words in<br />languages with rich inflectional<br />morphology.<br />In order to obtain the answer to this<br />question, three studies have been conducted.<br />In the first study, by applying the support<br />vector machines (SVM) the discrimination<br />of part of speech (PoS) with more than one<br />possible meaning (i.e., ambiguous PoS) was<br />performed. In the second study, the<br />production of inflected word forms was<br />done with memory based learning (MBL).<br />Based on the results from the second study,<br />a behavioral experiment was conducted as<br />the third study, to test cognitive plausibility<br />of the MBL performance.<br />The discrimination of ambiguous PoS was<br />performed using permissible sequences of<br />two and three characters/sounds (i.e.,<br />bigrams and trigrams), whose frequency of<br />occurrence within individual grammatical<br />types was calculated depending on their<br />position in a word: at the beginning, at the<br />end, and irrespective of position in a word.<br />Maximum accuracy achieved was<br />approximatelly 95%. It was obtained when<br />bigrams irrespective of position in a word<br />were used. SVM model used RBF kernel<br />function. Such high accuracy suggests that<br />brigrams&#39; probability distribution is<br />informative about the types of flective<br />words. Interestingly, the least informative<br />were bigrams at the end and at the beginning<br />of words.<br />The MBL model was used in the task of<br />automatic production of inflected forms,<br />utilizingphonotactic information from the<br />last four syllables. In a sample of 89024<br />flective words, taken from the Frequency<br />dictionary of Serbian language (daily press),<br />achieved accuracy was 92%. For this result<br />the MBL used leave<br />-one<br />-out method and nearest neighborhood size of 7 (k = 7). We</p><p>identified several factors that have<br />contributed to the accuracy; in particular,<br />part of speech, grammatical type, formation<br />method and number of examples within one<br />grammatical type, number of exceptions, the<br />number of phonological alternations, etc.<br />The visual lexical decision experiment<br />revealed that words that the MBL model<br />produced incorrectly also induced elongated<br />reaction time latencies. Thus, we concluded<br />that the MBL model might be cognitively<br />plausibile. In addition, we reconfirmed<br />informativeness of phonotactic information,<br />this time in human conmprehension task.<br />Overall, findings from three undertaken<br />studies are in favor of phonotactic<br />information for both processing and<br />production of morphologically complex<br />words. Results also suggest a necessity of<br />taking into account this information when<br />discussing emergence of larger units and<br />language patterns.</p>

Strongly inspired by an understanding of mammalian cortical structure and function, the Hierarchical Temporal Memory Cortical Learning Algorithm (HTM CLA) is a promising new approach to problems of recognition and inference in space and time. Only a subset of the theoretical framework of this algorithm has been studied, but it is already clear that there is a need for more information about the performance of HTM CLA with real data and the associated computational costs. For the work presented here, a complete implementation of Numenta's current algorithm was done in C++. In validating the implementation, first and higher order sequence learning was briefly examined, as was algorithm behavior with noisy data doing simple pattern recognition. A pattern recognition task was created using sequences of handwritten digits and performance analysis of the sequential implementation was performed. The analysis indicates that the resulting rapid increase in computing load may impact algorithm scalability, which may, in turn, be an obstacle to widespread adoption of the algorithm. Two critical hotspots in the sequential code were identified and a parallelized version was developed using OpenMP multi-threading. Scalability analysis of the parallel implementation was performed on a state of the art multi-core computing platform. Modest speedup was readily achieved with straightforward parallelization. Parallelization on multi-core systems is an attractive choice for moderate sized applications, but significantly larger ones are likely to remain infeasible without more specialized hardware acceleration accompanied by optimizations to the algorithm.

This theoretical thesis covers the issues of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in relation to the brain connectome research. ASD belong to the group of neurodevelopmental syndromes and are characterized by deficits in communication skills, social interaction and stereotypic behaviors. The prevalence of ASD increases, its etiopathogenesis is very likely multifactorial. Within the ASD syndrome, precise differential diagnostic algorithms are difficult to implement in the absence of objective biomarkers. Extensive neuroscientific research, including the connectome projects, might improve the diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in the field of Psychiatry, including ASD. The individual's connectome profile might well serve as a new biomarker in psychiatric diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. The brain connectome represents the net of all neuronal connections in the brain. Mapping of the connectome across all ages, in health and in disease, is the main goal of the Human Connectome Project (HCP). The first HCP data show great interindividual variability with the environmental factors playing a crucial role. Extensive neurobiology research data on mechanisms of memory support the vital role of environmental stimulation in compensating for behavioral symptoms in ASD. Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is an...

No description available.

No description available.