Dependent Measurements Research Articles

Malleability of the sense of bodily self in early childhood: 5- and 6-year-old children show the enfacement illusion

The mechanisms underlying the developing sense of bodily self are debated. Whereas some scholars stress the role of sensory factors, others propose the importance of contextual factors. By manipulating multisensory stimulation and social familiarity with the other person, we explored two factors that are proposed to relate to young children’s developing sense of bodily self. Including an adult sample allowed us to investigate age-related differences of the malleability of the bodily self. To this end, the study implemented an enfacement illusion with children (N = 64) and adults (N = 33). Participants were exposed to one trial with synchronous interpersonal multisensory stimulation and one trial with asynchronous interpersonal multisensory stimulation—either with a stranger or with the mother as the other person. A self-recognition task using morph videos of self and other and an enfacement questionnaire were implemented as dependent measures. Results revealed evidence for the presence of the enfacement effect in children in both measures. The identity of the other person had a significant effect on the self-recognition task. Contrary to our hypothesis, the effect was significantly smaller in the caregiver condition. No significant differences between children and adults emerged. Our results demonstrate the role of both multisensory stimulation and contextual—here social familiarity—factors for the construction and development of a bodily self. The study provides developmental science with a novel approach to the bodily self by showing the validity of the self-recognition task in a child sample. Overall, the study supports proposals that the sense of bodily self is malleable early in development.

The effect of virtual reality treadmill training on obstacle crossing parameters in older adults

With increased age, walking without tripping requires greater cognitive demand. Therefore, it may be beneficial for training interventions to address and incorporate aspects of cognitive load. The purpose of this study was to compare a semi-immersive virtual reality treadmill training (VRTT) and conventional treadmill training (CTT) on obstacle clearance and trip hazard in older adults. Obstacle clearance parameters were measured with foot-mounted inertial measurement units (IMUs) and a Zeno pressure walkway. All data were processed and analyzed through custom Matlab scripts. Obstacle step height mean decreased (p = .003) in the lead limb following both training interventions. Additional significant changes were found in pre- and post-obstacle distance mean following both training interventions. Furthermore, significant correlations were found between demographic, cognitive, and functional mobility assessments and changes in dependent measures. The findings suggest that both the VRTT and CTT interventions may provide a reduction in trip risk in older adults, although through different methods.

Vocabulary card learning: Testing multilingual translations and increased semantic processing

Vocabulary card learning stands out as one of the most efficient methods for memorizing a large number of words in a short period of time. Multilinguals have the possibility to use their multilingual repertoire to their advantage when learning new words, for example in the acquisition of formally overlapping words. This study aims to answer the as-yet unexplored question of whether the use of bilingual translations in vocabulary cards can provide advantages for multilinguals when learning vocabulary even in a linguistically distant language. Furthermore, predictions based on the ‘type of processing – resource allocation’ (TOPRA) model regarding trade-offs through semantic processing are taken into consideration. In this study, traditional vocabulary card learning is compared to two further elaborated learning tasks which included multilingual translations. In a 3 × 3-within-participant design, 72 participants learned 60 Estonian nouns in three conditions: (1) monolingual: one translation in the participant’s dominant language, (2) bilingual: two translations in the participant’s two strongest languages, and (3) multilingual semantic+: one translation in the dominant language including the instruction to retrieve the meaning of the Estonian word in any other known language. The dependent measures were immediate and delayed L2–L1 cued-recall post-tests and efficiency (ratio of learning performance to learning time). The results show that the monolingual condition significantly outperforms the two other conditions in all recall tests. In terms of efficiency, however, the monolingual condition only significantly outperforms the multilingual semantic+ condition. The comparison between the bilingual and the multilingual semantic+ condition shows descriptively (but not statistically significant) better performance for the bilingual condition.

Magnetotransport properties of ternary tetradymite films with high mobility

(Bi,Sb)2(Te,Se)3 tetradymite materials are among the most efficient for thermoelectric energy conversion, and most robust for topological insulator spintronic technologies, but should possess rather disparate doping properties to be useful for either technology. In this work, we report results on the molecular beam epitaxy growth of p-type (Bi0.43Sb0.57)2Te3 and n-type Bi2(Te0.95Se0.05)3 that can contribute to both technology bases, but are especially useful for topological insulators where low bulk doping is critical for devices to leverage the Dirac-like topological surface states. Comprehensive temperature, field and angular dependent magnetotransport measurements have attested to the superior quality of these ternary tetradymite films, displaying low carrier density on the order of 1018 cm−3 and a record high mobility exceeding 104 cm2 V−1 s−1 at 2 K. The remarkable manifestation of strong Shubnikov–de Haas (SdH) quantum oscillation under 9 T at liquid helium temperatures, as well as the analyses therein, has allowed direct experimental investigation of the tetradymite electronic structure with optimized ternary alloying ratio. Our effort substantiates tetradymites as a critical platform for miniaturized thermoelectric cooling and power generation in wearable consumer electronics, as well as for futuristic topological spintronics with unprecedented magnetoelectric functionalities.

Impact of Neighborhood Social Deprivation on Delays to Access for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: Wait-Times and Clinical Consequences.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has become the standard of care for severe aortic stenosis treatment. Exponential growth in demand has led to prolonged wait times and adverse patient outcomes. Social marginalization may contribute to adverse outcomes. Our objective was to examine the association between different measures of neighborhood-level marginalization and patient outcomes while on the TAVR waiting list. A secondary objective was to understand if sex modifies this relationship. We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study of 11 077 patients in Ontario, Canada, referred to TAVR from April 1, 2018, to March 31, 2022. Primary outcomes were death or hospitalization while on the TAVR wait-list. Using cause-specific Cox proportional hazards models, we evaluated the relationship between neighborhood-level measures of dependency, residential instability, material deprivation, and ethnic and racial concentration with primary outcomes as well as the interaction with sex. After multivariable adjustment, we found a significant relationship between individuals living in the most ethnically and racially concentrated areas (quintile 4 and 5) and mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 0.64 [95% CI, 0.47-0.88] and HR, 0.73 [95% CI, 0.53-1.00], respectively). There was no significant association between material deprivation, dependency, or residential instability with mortality. Women in the highest ethnic or racial concentration quintiles (4 and 5) had significantly lower risks for mortality (HR values of 0.52 and 0.56, respectively) compared with quintile 1. Higher neighborhood ethnic or racial concentration was associated with decreased risk for mortality, particular for women on the TAVR waiting list. Further research is needed to understand the drivers of this relationship.

Correlation of powers of Hüsler–Reiss vectors and Brown–Resnick fields, and application to insured wind losses

Hüsler–Reiss vectors and Brown–Resnick fields are popular models in multivariate and spatial extreme-value theory, respectively, and are widely used in applications. We provide analytical formulas for the correlation between powers of the components of the bivariate Hüsler–Reiss vector, extend these to the case of the Brown–Resnick field, and thoroughly study the properties of the resulting dependence measure. The use of correlation is justified by spatial risk theory, while power transforms are insightful when taking correlation as dependence measure, and are moreover very suited damage functions for weather events such as wind extremes or floods. This makes our theoretical results worthwhile for, e.g., actuarial applications. We finally perform a case study involving insured losses from extreme wind speeds in Germany, and obtain valuable conclusions for the insurance industry.

A Brief Review of Some Recent Precision Casimir Force Measurements

Here, we review recent advances in precision Casimir force measurements with both non-magnetic and magnetic materials. In addition, the measurement of the geometric dependence of the Casimir force, both lateral and normal, using uniformly corrugated surfaces is briefly presented. Finally, the measurement of the thermal Casimir force in graphene is discussed.

Negative magnetization and magnetic ordering of rare earth and transition metal sublattices in NdFe0.5Cr0.5O3

We investigate the effect of alloying at the 3d transition metal site of a rare-earth-transition metal oxide, by considering NdFe0.5Cr0.5O3 mixed perovskite with two equal and random distribution of 3d ions, Cr and Fe, interacting with an early 4f rare earth ion, Nd. Employing temperature- and field- dependent magnetization measurements, temperature-dependent x-ray diffraction, neutron powder diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy, we characterize its structural and magnetic properties. Our study reveals bipolar magnetic switching (arising from negative magnetization) and magnetocaloric effect which underline the potential of the studied mixed perovskite in device application. The neutron diffraction study shows the absence of spin reorientation transition over the entire temperature range of 1.5–320 K, although both parent compounds exhibit spin orientation transition. We discuss the microscopic origin of this curious behavior. The neutron diffraction results also reveal the ordering of Nd spins at an unusually high temperature of about 40 K, which is corroborated by Raman measurements.

Ultra-high spin emission from antiferromagnetic FeRh

An antiferromagnet emits spin currents when time-reversal symmetry is broken. This is typically achieved by applying an external magnetic field below and above the spin-flop transition or by optical pumping. In this work we apply optical pump-THz emission spectroscopy to study picosecond spin pumping from metallic FeRh as a function of temperature. Intriguingly we find that in the low-temperature antiferromagnetic phase the laser pulse induces a large and coherent spin pumping, while not crossing into the ferromagnetic phase. With temperature and magnetic field dependent measurements combined with atomistic spin dynamics simulations we show that the antiferromagnetic spin-lattice is destabilised by the combined action of optical pumping and picosecond spin-biasing by the conduction electron population, which results in spin accumulation. We propose that the amplitude of the effect is inherent to the nature of FeRh, particularly the Rh atoms and their high spin susceptibility. We believe that the principles shown here could be used to produce more effective spin current emitters. Our results also corroborate the work of others showing that the magnetic phase transition begins on a very fast picosecond timescale, but this timescale is often hidden by measurements which are confounded by the slower domain dynamics.

Crystal growth of the [formula omitted]PdSi3 ([formula omitted] rare earth) materials using the optical floating zone technique

The rare-earth palladium silicides host an array of complex magnetic phases. In this paper, we report the growth of large single crystals of the R2PdSi3 family, (where R= Ce, Nd, Gd, Tb, Ho and Er) by the floating zone technique using a high-power xenon arc-lamp furnace. The crystal boules obtained have been examined for their quality using x-ray diffraction techniques, elemental analysis, and their magnetic properties have been investigated through temperature dependent magnetisation measurements.

Tobacco Images Choice and Its Association with Craving and Dependence in People who Smoke Cigarettes.

Increased salience of drug-related cues over non-drug reinforcers can drive drug use and contribute to tobacco use disorder (TUD). An important scientific and clinical goal is to effectively measure this elevated drug-seeking behavior in TUD. However, most TUD assessments rely on self-reported cravings and cigarette consumption, not providing an objective measure of the impact of drug-cues on biasing behavior towards drugs. The probabilistic image choice (PIC) task investigates the choice of viewing drug-related pictures as compared to other salient pictures (e.g., pleasant and unpleasant). This study aimed to develop and validate the PIC task for TUD and evaluate the associations between behavioral choice and tobacco craving, daily cigarette consumption, quit attempts and motivation to quit, and nicotine dependence (the Fagerström score). We recruited 468 smokers and 121 nonsmokers using the Prolific online platform. Participants performed the PIC task twice (at a one-month interval) and completed other measures relevant to TUD. compared to nonsmokers, tobacco smokers selected to view significantly more tobacco images and less pleasant (non-drug reinforcer) images, a profile that remained stable at retest. Individual differences in choice of tobacco as compared to pleasant images on the PIC task were associated with craving but not with the other tobacco dependence measures, suggesting that the task may serve as a behavioral proxy measure of drug "wanting" rather than of cumulative nicotine exposure or physical dependence. these results suggest that the PIC task can be a valuable tool for objectively assessing craving-associated tobacco seeking in TUD. which should provide a brief description about what the study addsMost of the current measures of tobacco use disorder (TUD) rely on self-reports of consumption, dependence and craving and do not take into consideration the role of drug-related cues in driving tobacco seeking. This study shows that the probabilistic image choice (PIC) task provides an objective, reliable proxy measure of tobacco image seeking behavior in people who smoke cigarettes that is linked to craving (desire) for smoking but not to other measures of TUD. Therefore, the PIC task may be a useful complementary tool for the classification, diagnosis, and prognosis of TUD.

Measuring Asymmetric Tails Under Copula Distributions

Extensive evidence has been gathered showcasing the prevalence of heavy-tailed distributions and asymmetric tail interdependence within equity and foreign exchange markets, particularly during times of crisis. Tail interdependence in financial markets often manifests as financial contagion, characterized by periods where declining prices and heightened volatility propagate across economic and financial sectors. This phenomenon causes markets that typically exhibit minimal or no correlation to behave similarly, often in opposition to fundamental principles. Instances of unwarranted contagion present a perplexing challenge, suggesting irrationality among market participants and defying conventional risk management strategies and optimal portfolio selections. Our objective is to construct a comprehensive framework for dissecting such occurrences, utilizing a metric of tail-nonexchangeable dependencies employing various copulas with diverse marginal distributions. We offer analytical insights into our measurement of tail order dependence to aid in understanding these events.

On the Ratio-Type Family of Copulas

Investigating dependence structures across various fields holds paramount importance. Consequently, the creation of new copula families plays a crucial role in developing more flexible stochastic models that address the limitations of traditional and sometimes impractical assumptions. The present article derives some reasonable conditions for validating a copula of the ratio-type form uv/(1−θf(u)g(v)). It includes numerous examples and discusses the admissible range of parameter θ, showcasing the diversity of copulas generated through this framework, such as Archimedean, non-Archimedean, positive dependent, and negative dependent copulas. The exploration extends to the upper bound of a general family of copulas, uv/(1−θϕ(u,v)), and important properties of the copula are discussed, including singularity, measures of association, tail dependence, and monotonicity. Furthermore, an extensive simulation study is presented, comparing the performance of three different estimators based on maximum likelihood, ρ-inversion, and the moment copula method.

Optimal Control and Cost Effectiveness Analysis for the Transmission Dynamics of Yaws Infection

This work considered a neglected bacterial disease for which non-linear model of yaws infection with time dependent control measures was developed to study the effect of the control measures in tackling the disease transmission in the population. Optimal control strategy was developed in order to investigate and analyze the optimal cost for controlling the transmission of the diseases in the population. Pontryagin’s Maximum Principles (PMP) was applied to carry out economic evaluations in order to optimize the cost of the intervention in the models and also to optimize the objective functional so as to establish the most optimal control strategy in tackling the spread of the infections. Numerical simulations had been carried-out for the model using forward-backward Runge-Kutta of order four to study the effect of the control strategies and also to calculate the incremental cost effectiveness ratios (ICERs) for the implementation of various combinations of the control parameters for the yaws infection in order to determine the most cost effective strategy that could check the spread of the disease. The findings showed that the most cost-effective strategy to check the spread of yaws infection is the combination of personal hygiene and treatment for infection as a single control strategy

Pedestrian automatic emergency braking responses to a stationary or crossing adult mannequin during the day and night

Objective Automatic emergency braking systems with pedestrian detection (PAEB) are effective at preventing pedestrian crashes, but the safety benefits are not observed at night. This study used the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) PAEB test data to characterize PAEB responses in different lighting conditions and for different rated systems. Methods Data from 6,919 IIHS PAEB tests were retrieved from IIHS databases. Invalid trials, trials without AEB, and trials with outliers were removed leaving 5,894 trials from 212 model year 2018 to 2023 vehicles for analysis. PAEB responses were characterized by computing the time-to-collision (TTC) of forward collision warning (FCW) and AEB; brake threat number (BTN); mean deceleration; maximum deceleration; and maximum jerk. A linear mixed-effects model was used to predict each dependent measure with scenario (crossing adult, stationary adult), speed, rating (superior, basic/advanced), lighting (day, night with high beams, night with low beams), and their interactions. Vehicle was included as a random effect. A Bonferroni correction was applied to maintain a family-wise type-1 error rate of 0.05 across 138 total hypothesis tests. Results PAEB system warnings were later and automatic braking occurred later as speed increased at night with low beams but changed little at night with high beams and during the day (p < 0.0004). BTN increased more rapidly as speed increased at night with low beams compared with high beams and during the day (p < 0.0004). Based on the BTN model, on average, PAEB systems can brake to avoid the adult mannequin (BTN < 1) when closing speed is less than 67 km/h during the day and at night with high beams but only when closing speed is less than 49 km/h at night with low beams. Superior-rated PAEB systems warned and braked earlier compared with basic/advanced-rated systems (p < 0.0004). Conclusions Increased lighting from high beams made nighttime performance resemble daytime performance in controlled testing. Increasing output from vehicle low beams, increasing the use of high beams, and enhancing overhead lighting around crosswalks and pedestrian areas are all methods for increasing lighting, improving pedestrian conspicuity, and enhancing PAEB performance to prevent pedestrian crashes.

Borides Mn3-x{Rh,Ir}5B2 with Ti3Co5B2-type: X-ray single crystal and TEM data, physical properties

A cursory investigation of the phase relations in the Mn-{Rh,Ir}-B systems prompted for each system a ternary compound, Mn3-x{Rh,Ir}5B2, the crystal structure of them was determined from X-ray single crystal data to be isotypic with the Ti3Co5B2-type (space group P4/mbm, No. 127). In both cases the Mn-site in 2a at the origin of the unit cell exhibits a significant defect (or Mn/B substitution). Transmission electron microscopy studies confirm the absence of a superstructure related to these defects/disorder. The two phases, Mn3-xRh5B2 (x∼0.34) and Mn3-xIr5B2 (x∼0.85) at 950 °C show rather limited homogeneity regions pointing towards higher Mn-contents. Whereas temperature dependent magnetization and specific heat measurements of Mn2.15Ir5B2 do not reveal any indication for a magnetic phase transition in the temperature range from 3 to 300 K, a broad specific heat anomaly at around 200 K and a tilde shape of the temperature dependent magnetization of Mn2.66Rh5B2 appears indicative of an antiferromagnetic phase transition. The latter is also reflected by an anomaly of the electrical resistivity (ρ; 4–300 K) of Mn2.66Rh5B2 which displays a non-monotonous temperature dependence, whereas ρ(T) of Mn2.15Ir5B2 displays a simple metallic-like behavior dominated by scattering from defects. Elastic moduli and Poisson's ratio were determined at room temperature from Resonant Ultrasonic Spectroscopy (RUS) data yielding Young's moduli of E ∼ 170 GPa for Mn2.66Rh5B2 and E ∼ 210 GPa for Mn2.15Ir5B2. Vickers hardness HV is lower for Mn2.66Rh5B2 (HV = 590 ≅ 5.79 GPa) than for Mn2.15Ir5B2 (HV = 655 ≅ 6.42 GPa). The indentation fracture toughness for Mn2.15Ir5B2 was IKC = 0.71 ± 0.5 MPa m1/2.

Prevalence and determinants of massage therapy use in the U.S.: Findings from the 2022 National Health Interview Survey

BackgroundThis study presents findings on the prevalence and determinants of past-year massage therapy use among U.S. adults from the 2022 round of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) (total available N = 27,651), an annual national population survey. MethodsThe NHIS uses face-to-face interviews on a representative sample of the civilian, noninstitutionalized U.S. population drawn using a systematic, stratified, single-stage probability design. The analyses consist of logistically modeling the determinants of three outcome (dependent) measures: past year utilization of a practitioner of massage, past year utilization of massage for pain, and past-year utilization of massage to restore overall health. Exposure (independent) variables include numerous sociodemographic, health services, health-related, mental health and well-being, and behavioral indicators. ResultsThe past-year prevalence rate for visiting a massage therapist in the U.S. is 11.1 %. The past-year rate for massage visits for pain is 6.0 %, and for restoring overall health is 8.5 %. Significantly higher rates are found among females and socioeconomically advantaged individuals, among other categories, and the strongest net determinant of massage therapy utilization is use of complementary or integrative practitioners. ConclusionIt is apparent that massage therapy is a commonly utilized therapeutic modality in the U.S. While use of complementary or integrative therapies is a significant determinant of massage utilization, it may not be fitting to consider massage therapy itself as an “alternative” therapy, but rather a widely used and increasingly mainstream therapeutic modality meriting wider integration into the community of healthcare professions.

Navigator-based motion compensation for liver BOLD measurement with five-echo SAGE EPI and breath-hold task.

The purpose of this work is to apply multi-echo spin- and gradient-echo (SAGE) echo-planar imaging (EPI) combined with a navigator-based (NAV) prospective motion compensation method for a quantitative liver blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) measurement with a breath-hold (BH) task. A five-echo SAGE sequence was developed to quantitatively measure T2 and T2* to depict function with sufficient signal-to-noise ratio, spatial resolution and sensitivity to BOLD changes induced by the BH task. To account for respiratory motion, a navigator was employed in the form of a single gradient-echo projection readout, located at the diaphragm along the inferior-superior direction. Prior to each transverse imaging slice of the spin-echo EPI-based readouts, navigator acquisition and fat suppression were incorporated. Motion data was obtained from the navigator and transmitted back to the sequence, allowing real-time adjustments to slice positioning. Six healthy volunteers and three patients with liver carcinoma were included in this study. Quantitative T2 and T2* were calculated at each time point of the BH task. Parameters of t value from first-level analysis using a general linear model and hepatovascular reactivity (HVR) of Echo1, T2 and T2* were calculated. The motion caused by respiratory activity was successfully compensated using the navigator signal. The average changes of T2 and T2* during breath-hold were about 1% and 0.7%, respectively. With the help of NAV prospective motion compensation whole liver t values could be obtained without motion artifacts. The quantified liver T2 (34.7 ± 0.7 ms) and T2* (29 ± 1.2 ms) values agreed with values from literature. In healthy volunteers, the distribution of statistical t value and HVR was homogeneous throughout the whole liver. In patients with liver carcinoma, the distribution of t value and HVR was inhomogeneous due to metastases or therapy. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using a NAV prospective motion compensation technique in conjunction with five-echo SAGE EPI for the quantitative measurement of liver BOLD with a BH task.

The Effects of a Direct Instruction Curriculum Sequence on the Reading Comprehension Responses of Early Readers

Reading comprehension is critical for early learners’ academic success. Derived relations are an important feature of reading comprehension within the science of behavior because reading comprehension involves experientially acquired derived stimulus relations (Helou-Care, 2008; Neves in Behavioral Interventions 38:376–400, 2023, Park, 2005; da Silva in Experimental Analysis of Human Behavior Bulletin 24:1–8, 2006). That is, derived relations pertain to a learner demonstrating comprehension by making untrained connections to previously trained stimuli (e.g., words). For example, a learner who is trained that “kitten” is a type of “cat” and that all “cats meow” should then be able to demonstrate the untrained connection that “kittens meow.” The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the Corrective Reading Comprehension (CR) curriculum, which employs an instructional sequence involving derived relations, on reading comprehension responses entailing derived relations. Four typically developing first-grade students were the participants in this study and the students were divided into two dyads. The principal researcher instructed each dyad on each of the five lessons of CR until mastery was obtained and then conducted postprobes on the dependent measures that were metaphors, derived relations from sentences, derived relations from letters/numbers, and implicit/explicit comprehension questions. The researchers used a delayed multiple probe design across 1st-grade dyads to assess the effect of five CR lessons on derived relations and reading comprehension responses of the participants. Posttest assessments showed gains for all four participants. The article concludes with a discussion of the main findings, implications for future research, and the limitations of this study.

Evidences for local non-centrosymmetricity and strong phonon anomaly in EuCu2As2: a Raman spectroscopy and lattice dynamics study

Phonon modes and their association with the electronic states have been investigated for the metallic EuCu2As2 system. In this work, we present the Raman spectra of this pnictide system which clearly shows the presence of seven well defined peaks above 100 cm−1 that is consistent with the locally non-centrosymmetric P4/nmm crystal structure, contrary to that what is expected from the accepted symmorphic I4/mmm structure. Lattice dynamics calculations using the P4/nmm symmetry attest that there is a commendable agreement between the calculated phonon spectra at the Γ point and the observed Raman mode frequencies, with the most intense peak at ∼232 cm−1 being ascribed to the A 1g mode. Temperature dependent Raman measurements show that there is a significant deviation from the expected anharmonic behaviour around 165 K for the A 1g mode, with anomalies being observed for several other modes as well, although to a lesser extent. Attempts are made to rationalize the observed anomalous behavior related to the hardening of the phonon modes, with parallels being drawn from metal dichalcogenide and allied systems. Similarities in the evolution of the Raman peak frequencies with temperature seem to suggest a strong signature of a subtle electronic density wave instability below 165 K in this compound.