Are the literacy difficulties that characterize developmental dyslexia associated with a failure to integrate letters and speech sounds?

The ‘automatic letter-sound integration hypothesis’ (Blomert, 2011) proposes that dyslexia results from a failure to fully integrate letters and speech sounds into automated audio-visual objects. We tested this hypothesis in a sample of English-speaking children with dyslexic difficulties (N = 13) and samples of chronological-age-matched (CA; N = 17) and reading-age-matched controls (RA; N = 17) aged 7–13 years. Each child took part in two priming experiments in which speech sounds were preceded by congruent visual letters (congruent condition) or Greek letters (baseline). In a behavioural experiment, responses to speech sounds in the two conditions were compared using reaction times. These data revealed faster reaction times in the congruent condition in all three groups. In a second electrophysiological experiment, responses to speech sounds in the two conditions were compared using event-related potentials (ERPs). These data revealed a significant effect of congruency on (1) the P1 ERP over left frontal electrodes in the CA group and over fronto-central electrodes in the dyslexic group and (2) the P2 ERP in the dyslexic and RA control groups. These findings suggest that our sample of English-speaking children with dyslexic difficulties demonstrate a degree of letter-sound integration that is appropriate for their reading level, which challenges the letter-sound integration hypothesis

Alive and kicking: suicide rates and major soccer events in Austria, Germany and Switzerland

BACKGROUND Major sporting events are postulated to reduce suicide rates by increased social connectedness, by identifying with winning teams, or, conversely, to increase suicide rates by the 'broken promise effect'. METHODS In our observational epidemiological study, we investigated changes in suicide rates between 1970 and 2017 in Austria, Germany and Switzerland during the European and World Soccer Championships in general, and on days that the home team played, won or lost. RESULTS Combining all three studied nations no statistically significant change in the incidence of daily suicides during soccer championships compared to a control period was noted (38.29 ± 9.02 vs. 37.33 ± 10.58; incidence risk ratio = 1.03; 95% confidence interval: 1.01-1.05, P = 0.05). Essentially, no differences in the expected directions were found, and none remained statistically significant after correcting for multiple comparisons in subgroups for country, age and gender in all three studied countries. Compared to a control period, neither a significant difference in the respective national suicide rate was found after Germany's four championship victories nor after Austria's emotional only win over Germany. CONCLUSION Our results do not support the assumption of increased social connectedness and, thus, lowered suicide risk during major sporting events or changes in suicide risk depending on the outcome of important games as predicted by the broken promise effect or changes in self-efficacy by identification with winning teams

Evaluation of treatment costs for direct versus stepwise admission to home treatment

BackgroundMental health care’s rising socio-economic relevance has led to a need for cost-effective treatment alternatives. Home Treatment (HT) has emerged as a viable substitute for inpatient psychiatric care, introduced by the Psychiatric Services Aarau AG (PDAG) in 2015. Subsequent studies have evaluated its impact on hospital bed usage and treatment costs. This study aimed to assess the long-term effects of HT after its full integration into routine psychiatric care.MethodsAn observational study included patients who received HT between 2019 and 2020. They were followed for two years, comparing cumulative costs, treatment duration, and readmission rates with a matched inpatient control group. Subgroup analyses distinguished between patients directly admitted to HT and those transitioning from inpatient care. Statistical analyses included Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and Fisher’s exact tests.ResultsHT patients had fewer inpatient days but longer total treatment durations; costs did not differ significantly. However, analyses revealed that direct admission to HT was linked to a 24% cost reduction and a lower readmission rate compared to inpatient care. In contrast, combining inpatient care with HT led to increased treatment durations and costs.ConclusionHT as a standalone treatment showed cost efficiency and reduced readmission rates, positioning it as a promising alternative to inpatient care. However, combining HT with inpatient treatment increased duration and costs, undermining the financial benefits. Future research should identify patient groups that benefit most from direct HT admission and explore hybrid models integrating short-term inpatient interventions followed by HT to enhance cost-effectiveness and clinical outcomes

Early brain sensitivity to word frequency and lexicality during reading aloud and implicit reading

The present study investigated the influence of lexical word properties on the early stages of visual word processing (<250 ms) and how the dynamics of lexical access interact with task-driven top-down processes. We compared the brain's electrical response (event-related potentials, ERPs) of 39 proficient adult readers for the effects of word frequency and word lexicality during an explicit reading task versus a visual immediate-repetition detection task where no linguistic intention is required. In general, we observed that left-lateralized processes linked to perceptual expertise for reading are task independent. Moreover, there was no hint of a word frequency effect in early ERPs, while there was a lexicality effect which was modulated by task demands: during implicit reading, we observed larger N1 negativity in the ERP to real words compared to pseudowords, but in contrast, this modulation by stimulus type was absent for the explicit reading aloud task (where words yielded the same activation as pseudowords). Thus, data indicate that the brain's response to lexical properties of a word is open to influences from top-down processes according to the representations that are relevant for the task, and this occurs from the earliest stages of visual recognition (within ~200 ms). We conjectured that the loci of these early top-down influences identified for implicit reading are probably restricted to lower levels of processing (such as whole word orthography) rather than the process of lexical access itself.Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, FCT PTDC/PSI-GER/32602/2017 IF 2015 Program IF/00533/2015info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Lexical and sublexical orthographic processing: An ERP study with skilled and dyslexic adult readers

This ERP study investigated the cognitive nature of the P1-N1 components during orthographic processing. We used an implicit reading task with various types of stimuli involving different amounts of sublexical or lexical orthographic processing (words, pseudohomophones, pseudowords, nonwords, and symbols), and tested average and dyslexic readers. An orthographic regularity effect (pseudo-words-nonwords contrast) was observed in the average but not in the dyslexic group. This suggests an early sensitivity to the dependencies among letters in word-forms that reflect orthographic structure, while the dyslexic brain apparently fails to be appropriately sensitive to these complex features. Moreover, in the adults the N1-response may already reflect lexical access: (i) the N1 was sensitive to the familiar vs. less familiar orthographic sequence contrast; (ii) and early effects of the phonological form (words-pseudohomophones contrast) were also found. Finally, the later N320 component was attenuated in the dyslexics, suggesting suboptimal processing in later stages of phonological analysis. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.national Portuguese through FCT - Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia [SFRH/BPD/72974/2010, PTDC/PSI/110734/2009, PEst-OE/EQB/LA0023/2013]; Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour; Rad-boud University Nijmegen; Swedish Dyslexia Foundationinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Entwicklung eines trocken-mechanischen Graphitabtrennungsverfahrens und Beseitigung des abgetrennten Kohlenstoffes für die Wiederaufarbeitung kugelförmiger HTR-Brennelemente

Due to the C-1 4 distribution the separation of the particle - free outer region of the spherical HTR fuel element with subsequent solidification - of the separated carbon makes it possible to reduce by hal f the remaining C-1 4 inventory in the inner particle region to be further treated. Separation of the particle - free outer region by a newly developed sphere - peeling milling machine, conditioning the graphite into compacts and in-situ cementation into a salt-mine are the basic elements of this head-end process variation. An annual cavern volume of approx. 2000 m$^{3}$ will be needed to ultimately store the graphite of the particle - free outerregion, which corresponds to are processing capacity of 50 GW$_{e}$ installed HTR power. The brush-disintegration of the remaining inner particle region and the resulting peel-brush-crush-preparation are capable of separating 95 % of the graphite without any heavy metal losses. With the mentioned reprocessing capacity an annual cavern volume of approx. 16.500 m$^{3}$ is required

Gathering Places: Applying Metadata Standards to Religious Communities in Milwaukee

Religion is a complex topic that reaches deep into personal and cultural biases, and therefore is often difficult to categorize. On the other hand, the metadata we use to tag and organize information about religion relies on simplicity and clarity. How can these two things that appear to function in different capacities work together? This presentation explores how metadata standards can be applied to religion by focusing on the project Gathering Places: Religion and Community in Milwaukee. Gathering Places was started in 2018 with the goal of documenting the history of Milwaukee’s places of worship (e.g. churches, mosques, synagogues, sacred sites, and more). Research and findings were recorded on the Gathering Places website (https://liblamp.uwm.edu/omeka/gatheringplaces/) which utilizes the Omeka platform. The use of this platform allows for the data collected in past years to be analyzed and categorized to increase accessibility for visitors to the site, as well as explore how exactly metadata can be applied to religious historical data. Features such as the tagging system have been streamlined, and improvements were made to increase functionality of the site. By improving and condensing different features, decisions had to be made regarding the categorization of religious topics and phenomena, therefore reflecting how exactly religion is perceived in a historical context. The interaction of metadata standards and the Gathering Places project seeks to situate religious information within their global, theological, and social contexts. This project can set an example for future religious projects that seek to document places of worship in other locations across the United States