Search results for "pattern"
showing 10 items of 4203 documents
How to validate similarity in linear transform models of event-related potentials between experimental conditions?
2014
Abstract Background It is well-known that data of event-related potentials (ERPs) conform to the linear transform model (LTM). For group-level ERP data processing using principal/independent component analysis (PCA/ICA), ERP data of different experimental conditions and different participants are often concatenated. It is theoretically assumed that different experimental conditions and different participants possess the same LTM. However, how to validate the assumption has been seldom reported in terms of signal processing methods. New method When ICA decomposition is globally optimized for ERP data of one stimulus, we gain the ratio between two coefficients mapping a source in brain to two…
Resolving the locus of cAsE aLtErNaTiOn effects in visual word recognition: Evidence from masked priming.
2015
Determining the factors that modulate the early access of abstract lexical representations is imperative for the formulation of a comprehensive neural account of visual-word identification. There is a current debate on whether the effects of case alternation (e.g., tRaIn vs. train) have an early or late locus in the word-processing stream. Here we report a lexical decision experiment using a technique that taps the early stages of visual-word recognition (i.e., masked priming). In the design, uppercase targets could be preceded by an identity/unrelated prime that could be in lowercase or alternating case (e.g., table-TABLE vs. crash-TABLE; tAbLe-TABLE vs. cRaSh-TABLE). Results revealed that…
Cognitive factors in the evaluation of synthetic speech
1998
Abstract This paper illustrates the importance of various cognitive factors involved in perceiving and comprehending synthetic speech. It includes findings drawn from the relative psychological and psycholinguistic literature together with experimental results obtained at the Fondazione Ugo Bordoni laboratory. Overall, it is shown that listening to and comprehending synthetic voices is more difficult than with a natural voice. However, and more importantly, this difficulty can and does decrease with the subjects' exposure to said synthetic voices. Furthermore, greater workload demands are associated with synthetic speech and subjects listening to synthetic passages are required to pay more …
From Adjectives to Quantifiers. Evidence from Old and Modern Catalan
2011
La història dels quantificadors indefinits de les llengües romàniques és la història del desenvolupament de nous trets distribucionals per un grup escollit d’adjectius llatins (Company 1991, 1997; Batllori 1998). Aquesta distribució serà responsable de la constitució posterior de la nova subclasse de determinants que anomenem quantificadors. Com s’explica a Zamparelli (2000), l’augment de la complexitat estructural del marge esquerre del SDet suposa l’especialització de paraules que pertanyien a antigues categories per aquestes noves posicions. És així com la posició de quantificador genera la categoria quantificador. Estem devant un procés de llarga durada amb conseqüències que encara són …
The role of implicit theories in the non-expert translation process
2014
Research into the role of implicit theories in decision-making covers a broad area ranging from personal to political relationships, and from private to professional life. To date, translation studies have paid little attention to the influence of translators’ knowledge and beliefs in the translation process, and even less to the role of implicit theories. In a pilot study with translation trainees, we attempted to reconstruct their theories about translation and discern to what extent these theories influence both the translation process and the translated text. Our results so far show that trainees do entertain initial implicit theories, which can be modified through experience and formal…
Are root letters compulsory for lexical access in Semitic languages? The case of masked form-priming in Arabic.
2014
Do Semitic and Indo-European languages differ at a qualitative level? Recently, it has been claimed that lexical space in Semitic languages (e.g., Hebrew, Arabic) is mainly determined by morphological constraints, while lexical space in Indo-European languages is mainly determined by orthographic constraints (Frost, Kugler, Deutsch, & Forster, 2005). One of the key findings supporting the qualitative difference between Semitic and Indo-European languages is the absence of masked form priming in Hebrew/Arabic with productive words. Here we examined whether masked form priming occurs in Arabic words when one of the letters from the productive root is replaced in the prime stimulus by another …
Hemispheric differences in specificity effects in talker identification
2010
In the visual domain, Marsolek and colleagues (1999, 2008) have found support for two dissociable and parallel neural subsystems underlying object and shape recognition: an abstract-category subsystem that operates more effectively in the left cerebral hemisphere (LH), and a specific-exemplar subsystem that operates more effectively in the right cerebral hemisphere (RH). Evidence of this asymmetry has been observed in priming specificity for linguistic (words, pseudoword forms) and nonlinguistic (objects) stimuli. In the auditory domain, the authors previously found hemispheric asymmetries in priming effects for linguistic (spoken words) and nonlinguistic (environmental sounds) stimuli. In …
Inflammasomes in Liver Fibrosis
2017
AbstractCell death and inflammation are two central elements in the development of liver fibrosis. Inflammasomes are intracellular multiprotein complexes expressed in both hepatocytes and nonparenchymal cells in the liver that are key regulators of inflammation and cell fate. They respond to cellular danger signals by activating caspase 1, releasing the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-18, as well as initiating a novel pathway of programmed cell death termed “pyroptosis.” These processes can initiate and perpetuate an abnormal wound-healing response with the principle cellular target being the activation of hepatic stellate cells. From the various inflammasomes, the NLRP3 inflammasome…
Surveillance Program for Diagnosis of HCC in Liver Cirrhosis: Role of Ultrasound Echo Patterns
2017
International guidelines suggest ultrasound surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) early diagnosis in liver cirrhosis (LC) patients, but 40% of nodules <2 cm escape detection. We investigated the existence of an ultrasound pattern indicating a higher risk of developing HCC in patients under surveillance. 359 patients with LC (Child-Pugh A-B8) underwent ultrasound screening (median follow-up 54 months, range 12–90 months), liver function tests, alpha-fetoprotein assay, and portal hypertension evaluation. Echo patterns were homogeneous, bright liver, coarse, coarse small nodular pattern, and coarse large nodular pattern. During follow-up 13.9% developed HCC. At multivariate analys…
Cirrhosis: CT and MR imaging evaluation
2006
In this article, we present the CT and MR imaging characteristics of the cirrhotic liver. We describe the altered liver morphology in different forms of viral, alcoholic and autoimmune end-stage liver disease. We present the spectrum of imaging findings in portal hypertension, such as splenomegaly, ascites and varices. We describe the patchy and lacelike patterns of fibrosis, along with the focal confluent form. The process of hepatocarcinogenesis is detailed, from regenerative to dysplastic nodules to overt hepatocellular carcinoma. Different types of non-neoplastic focal liver lesions occurring in the cirrhotic liver are discussed, including arterially enhancing nodules, hemangiomas and p…