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PubMed2006

Interoperator test for anatomical annotation of earprints.

As part of the Forensic Ear Identification (FearID) research project, which aims to obtain estimators for the strength of evidence of earmarks found on crime scenes, a large database of earprints (over 1200 donors) has been collected. Starting from a knowledge-based approach where experts add anatomical annotations of minutiae and landmarks present in prints, comparison of pairs of prints is done using the method of Vector Template Matching (VTM). As the annotation process is subjective, a validation experiment was performed to study its stability. Comparing prints on the basis of VTM, it appears that there are interoperator effects, individual operators yielding significantly more consistent results when annotating prints than different operators. The operators being well trained and educated, the observed variation on both clicking frequency and choice of annotation points suggests that implementation of the above is not the best way to go about objectifying earprint comparison. Processes like the above are relevant for any forensic science dealing with identification (e.g., of glass, tool marks, fibers, faces, fingers, handwriting, speakers) where manual (nonautomated) processes play a role. In these cases, results may be operator dependent and the dependencies need to be studied.

Data Collection↗

PubMed1986

The significance of Nico Speijer's suicide: how and when should suicide be prevented?

On the morning of September 29, 1981, while attending a meeting of the World Health Organization on suicide, held in Athens, I was suddenly called out of the meeting room. The reason was a telephone call from the Ministry of Health in my country, The Netherlands, announcing that my mentor and friend Professor Nico Speijer had died the night before. He and his wife had put an end to their lives. Apart from my personal feelings, Nico Speijer's way of death touched profoundly upon all of us present at the meeting. Speijer was the grand old man of suicidology in the Netherlands, and, more, he was an outstanding member, even an honorary member, of the International Association for Suicide Prevention. From the birth of this organization in 1960 on, he had been an active and colorful participant in practically all of its meetings. As can be expected in the case of a man of Speijer's status and reputation, his suicide evoked reactions nationwide. The leading newspapers and even the national TV networks made extensive mention of it. Though people's comments on the event were quite diverse, the underlying tone was generally one of understanding and sympathy. At the time of his death Speijer had been very ill with intestinal cancer and had been in great pain. His wife, herself disabled, had preferred to die with him rather than to be left behind. When I returned home from Athens, among the waiting mail, there was a letter written to me in the handwriting that had become so familiar over the previous 10 years.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Ethics↗

PubMed1995

Rutherford's curriculum vitae, 1894-1907.

A single page, handwritten document was discovered when the Macdonald Physics building of McGill University in Montreal was gutted in 1978. This proved to be the draft of Ernest Rutherford's curriculum vitae (C.V.) covering the years 1894-1907, probably written in the autumn of 1906 when Rutherford was preparing to leave McGill. The C.V. contains 21 headings in chronological order, referring to research and other activities of Rutherford and his coauthors (especially Soddy and Barnes), plus a further set of headings relating to the associated investigations of Rutherford's team, including Eve and Hahn. A transcript of the document is provided, although in several places, Rutherford's handwriting is difficult to interpret, and the significance of his abbreviations is not always clear. Each of the items in the C.V. is discussed briefly in this review, in the light both of Rutherford's personal career and of the contribution of his team to the development and understanding of radioactivity. This contribution included the cause and nature of radioactivity (with Soddy), energy aspects of radioactive decay (with Barnes), elucidation of the uranium-radium, thorium and actinium series (Godlewski and Hahn), the radioactivity of the earth and atmosphere (Eve), the nature of the gamma rays (Eve) and, perhaps most important of all, the nature and properties of the alpha particle (Rutherford himself). The latter investigations led directly to Rutherford's later work in Manchester, including the nuclear model of the atom and artificial disintegration of the nucleus.

England↗

PubMed2004

Rotational equilibrium during multi-digit pressing and prehension.

We review a series of studies that show stabilization of the moment of a couple produced by a set of digits in many maximal and submaximal accurate force production tasks that have no requirements for the moment. In particular, an unusual and novel multi-digit force production task shows stabilization of the total moment while the total force requires extensive practice to be stabilized. Similar results were obtained in persons with Down syndrome during easier tasks. During prehension, changes in digit forces and coordinates of their points of application suggest the presence of two multi-digit synergies whose purpose is to assure a certain grip force and a certain total moment, respectively. Elderly persons show impaired production of both maximal and submaximal moments that goes beyond their documented loss of muscle force. We conclude that moment production (keeping rotational equilibrium) is a central constraint in a variety of multi-digit tasks that has received little attention. Analysis of digit interaction for moment production during handwriting could signify a major step towards understanding the control of this action.

Fingers↗

PubMed2000

A global geometric framework for nonlinear dimensionality reduction.

Scientists working with large volumes of high-dimensional data, such as global climate patterns, stellar spectra, or human gene distributions, regularly confront the problem of dimensionality reduction: finding meaningful low-dimensional structures hidden in their high-dimensional observations. The human brain confronts the same problem in everyday perception, extracting from its high-dimensional sensory inputs-30,000 auditory nerve fibers or 10(6) optic nerve fibers-a manageably small number of perceptually relevant features. Here we describe an approach to solving dimensionality reduction problems that uses easily measured local metric information to learn the underlying global geometry of a data set. Unlike classical techniques such as principal component analysis (PCA) and multidimensional scaling (MDS), our approach is capable of discovering the nonlinear degrees of freedom that underlie complex natural observations, such as human handwriting or images of a face under different viewing conditions. In contrast to previous algorithms for nonlinear dimensionality reduction, ours efficiently computes a globally optimal solution, and, for an important class of data manifolds, is guaranteed to converge asymptotically to the true structure.

Algorithms↗

PubMed1976

Computer printing and filing of microbiology reports. 2. Evaluation and comparison with a manual system, and comparison of two manual systems.

A manual system of microbiology reporting with a National Cash Register (NCR) form with printed names of bacteria and antiboitics required less time to compose reports than a previous manual system that involved rubber stamps and handwriting on plain report sheets. The NCR report cost 10-28 pence and, compared with a computer system, it had the advantages of simplicity and familarity, and reports were not delayed by machine breakdown, operator error, or data being incorrectly submitted. A computer reporting system for microbiology resulted in more accurate reports costing 17-97 pence each, faster and more accurate filing and recall of reports, and a greater range of analyses of reports that was valued particularly by the control-of-infection staff. Composition of computer-readable reports by technicians on Port-a-punch cards took longer than composing NCR reports. Enquiries for past results were more quickly answered from computer printouts of reports and a day book in alphabetical order.

Attitude↗

PubMed1975

Retraining of dysgraphia - a case study.

A patient with dysgraphia resulting from a gunshot wound of the brain is presented. Analysis of the functional status of component operations involved in the skill of writing is described. A retraining scheme based on this analysis brought about a significant improvement in the patient's handwriting.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Effect of practice on performance of a skilled motor task in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease leads to a breakdown in the execution of highly practised, skilled movements such as walking and handwriting. The improved execution of skilled movements with practice can be understood as a process of schema learning, the determining of the relevant parameters of the specific movement. The ability of patients with Parkinson's disease and age matched normal control subjects to improve their performance, with practice, on a skilled motor task, doing up buttons, was assessed. The task was assessed on its own and with simultaneous foot tapping. Both groups showed an initial improvement in the task on its own and deterioration in performance when buttoning with foot tapping. The amount of interference, however, decreased with practice, particularly in the patients with a 2 Hz tapping rate. The results suggest that patients with Parkinson's disease are capable of schema learning but require more practice than control subjects to achieve comparable levels of performance. This may be a reflection of the fundamental motor dysfunction of the disease rather than a specific learning deficit.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

A hierarchical method for finding optimal architecture and weights using evolutionary least square based learning.

In this paper, we present a novel approach of implementing a combination methodology to find appropriate neural network architecture and weights using an evolutionary least square based algorithm (GALS).1 This paper focuses on aspects such as the heuristics of updating weights using an evolutionary least square based algorithm, finding the number of hidden neurons for a two layer feed forward neural network, the stopping criterion for the algorithm and finally some comparisons of the results with other existing methods for searching optimal or near optimal solution in the multidimensional complex search space comprising the architecture and the weight variables. We explain how the weight updating algorithm using evolutionary least square based approach can be combined with the growing architecture model to find the optimum number of hidden neurons. We also discuss the issues of finding a probabilistic solution space as a starting point for the least square method and address the problems involving fitness breaking. We apply the proposed approach to XOR problem, 10 bit odd parity problem and many real-world benchmark data sets such as handwriting data set from CEDAR, breast cancer and heart disease data sets from UCI ML repository. The comparative results based on classification accuracy and the time complexity are discussed.

Algorithms↗

PubMed1993

Mammography film-labeling practices.

The labeling practices of 390 facilities that consecutively submitted screening mammography images (mediolateral oblique and craniocaudal views) to the American College of Radiology (ACR) Mammography Accreditation Program over a 2-month period were evaluated. Methods for identifying the patient and facility included a flash card at 333 facilities (85%), stick-on paper labels at 54 (14%), and handwriting directly on the film at three (1%). Identification labels included the patient's first and last name at 372 facilities (95%), the date at 370 (95%), the name of the facility at 349 (89%), a unique patient identification number at 328 (84%), the patient's age at 169 (43%), the name of the referring physician at 146 (37%), and the patient's date of birth at 129 (33%). Labeling practices, information provided, and methods used varied considerably from one site to another. Adoption of ACR guidelines for labeling mammography films is encouraged.

Female↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Handheld computers in radiology.

The next phase of the digital revolution in medicine is taking place through the dissemination of powerful handheld computers. Handheld computers, or personal digital assistants (PDAs), are no longer considered either a curiosity or a toy. The current handheld computer has many features (Internet access, simple e-mail client software, spreadsheet and database programs, word processing, and digital media) that make it an ideal tool for healthcare providers. Improvements in handwriting recognition, display characteristics, and wireless networking capabilities provide a platform for real-time review of both large static and dynamic repositories of patient data. Although earlier PDA models lacked the ability to display medical images appropriately, current PDAs boast display characteristics that approach low-resolution computer monitors. Although the handheld computer is not yet a reliable option for soft-copy reading, it offers many features that can improve work flow and efficiency for the radiologist. These features include improved personal information management, decision support via access to educational materials, and remote access to radiology-related information systems.

Computers, Handheld↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Agraphia in Alzheimer's disease.

Writing disorders are an early manifestation of Alzheimer's disease (AD), often more severe than language difficulties. AD patients produce shorter and less informative written descriptions of a complex picture than controls. These abbreviated texts also include many intrusions, semantic substitutions, and misspellings. Syntactic difficulties are characterized by a reduction of subordinate clauses rather than by the occurrence of grammatical errors. Lexical spelling is systematically more impaired and affected earlier than phonological spelling. With disease progression, the deficits of central writing processes extend to graphic difficulties and alteration of handwriting spatial organization. In the context of a semiotic hierarchy, an inverse relationship is suggested between writing acquisition during childhood and subsequent writing degradation in AD. The writing disturbance in AD is evidently related to a disruption in the anatomicofunctional cerebral network designed for writing processes, mainly in the parietal regions.

Aged↗

PubMed1983

What happened to VIM thalamotomy for Parkinson's disease?

A prospective review of 75 of 190 parkinsonian patients undergoing unilateral thalamotomy was displayed with a computer graphics technique examining three equal consecutive groups from the pre-, early, and late L-dopa eras. Histograms for average function and scattergrams of individual patient's performance preoperatively and up to 2 years postoperatively were prepared. No ipsilateral effects or consistent iatrogenic deterioration of any function were identified. 2 years after surgery, 82% had no tremor in the contralateral fingers or hand and 7% had almost no tremor; contralateral tremor elsewhere was infrequent. Rigidity and manual dexterity improved less strikingly, the latter only reflecting abolition of tremor; locomotion, speech, facial movement and handwriting did not improve. There was no mortality, but 8% had persistent significant complications. VIM thalamotomy remains the treatment of choice for severe drug-resistant parkinsonian tremor.

Adult↗

PubMed1989

Motor dysfunctions in Parkinson's disease and premotor lesions.

A characteristic disturbance of hand function in Parkinson's disease lies in the performance of rapid automatized movements. Patients have difficulty in producing serial hand movements faster than 2 Hz. The only possibility to perform rapid alternating movements is to synchronize them with their tremor frequency. This mechanism underlies the so-called 'hastening' phenomenon and leads to a disturbance of skills like handwriting or typing, which are usually performed at higher frequencies. The temporal disorder in patients with lesions of premotor cortex is characterized by the difficulty in organizing higher order temporal sequences in complex motor acts.

Animals↗

PubMed1994

Right unilateral agraphia following callosal infarction in a left-hander.

A left-handed Japanese man is reported who presented right-hand agraphia and tactile anomia following callosal infarction. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed an ischemic lesion extending from the posterior half of the trunk to the splenium of the corpus callosum. In his right handwriting, the 'Kana' (phonogram) was more severely impaired than the 'Kanji' (ideogram), and the most frequent typewriting error was morphological followed by neographism. His visuoconstructional ability was also more impaired in the right hand than in the left. Right-hand agraphia in our case is readily explained by the right hemisphere dominance both for language and visuoconstructional ability.

Agraphia↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The paramedian diencephalic syndrome: a dynamic phenomenon.

The paramedian diencephalic syndrome is characterized by a clinical triad: hypersomnolent apathy, amnesic syndrome, and impaired vertical gaze. We studied 4 cases with computed tomography evidence of bilateral diencephalic infarctions. Each case began abruptly with hypersomnolent apathy followed by fluctuations from appropriate affect, full orientation, and alertness to labile mood, confabulation, and apathy. Speech varied from hypophonia to normal; handwriting varied from legible script to gross scrawl. Psychological testing revealed poor learning and recall, with low performance scores. In 3 patients the predominant abnormality was in downward gaze.

Affective Symptoms↗

PubMed2000

Separating style and content with bilinear models.

Perceptual systems routinely separate "content" from "style," classifying familiar words spoken in an unfamiliar accent, identifying a font or handwriting style across letters, or recognizing a familiar face or object seen under unfamiliar viewing conditions. Yet a general and tractable computational model of this ability to untangle the underlying factors of perceptual observations remains elusive (Hofstadter, 1985). Existing factor models (Mardia, Kent, & Bibby, 1979; Hinton & Zemel, 1994; Ghahramani, 1995; Bell & Sejnowski, 1995; Hinton, Dayan, Frey, & Neal, 1995; Dayan, Hinton, Neal, & Zemel, 1995; Hinton & Ghahramani, 1997) are either insufficiently rich to capture the complex interactions of perceptually meaningful factors such as phoneme and speaker accent or letter and font, or do not allow efficient learning algorithms. We present a general framework for learning to solve two-factor tasks using bilinear models, which provide sufficiently expressive representations of factor interactions but can nonetheless be fit to data using efficient algorithms based on the singular value decomposition and expectation-maximization. We report promising results on three different tasks in three different perceptual domains: spoken vowel classification with a benchmark multi-speaker database, extrapolation of fonts to unseen letters, and translation of faces to novel illuminants.

Algorithms↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A meta-analysis of single-subject-design intervention research for students with LD.

This article summarizes single-subject-design intervention studies that include students with learning disabilities. Effect sizes of 85 studies were analyzed across instructional domains (e.g., reading, mathematics); sample characteristics (e.g., age, intelligence); intervention parameters (e.g., number of instructional sessions, instructional components); and methodological procedures (e.g., internal validity, treatment integrity, sample representation). The major findings were as follows: (a) All domain areas except handwriting yielded effect sizes at or above Cohen's .80 threshold for a substantial finding; (b) instructional components related to drill-repetition-practice-review, segmentation, small interactive groups, and the implementation of cues to use strategies contributed significant variance (15%) to estimates of effect size; (c) strategy instruction (SI) models better predicted effect size estimates than direct instruction (DI) models when the results were qualified by the reported intellectual and reading levels of the participants; (d) high-IQ discrepancy groups yielded lower effect sizes compared to low-IQ discrepancy groups in the domain of reading, whereas the reverse effect occurred when treatment outcomes were not reading measures; and (e) the low-IQ discrepancy groups yielded higher effect sizes for a Combined DI and SI Model when compared to competing models. The results are supportive of the pervasive influence of cognitive strategy and direct instruction models across treatment domains and of the notion that variations in sample definition moderate treatment outcomes.

Child↗