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UNLABELLED The success of cell salvage varies depending upon how many shed red blood cells (RBC) are captured from the surgical wound and returned to the patient. Here, the authors hypothesized that pneumatic disk (PD) processing might provide better RBC recovery when compared with traditional Latham bowl (LB) techniques. Comparison of the speed of processing, product hemoglobin and salvage efficiency was made between the two machines when their reservoirs were loaded with blood volumes ranging from 100 mL to 1000 mL. The PD provided a consistent hemoglobin concentration (21.7 +/- 0.8 g/dL; mean +/- SD), whereas the LB provided varying hemoglobin concentrations dependent upon the starting volume (range, 2.9 +/- 0.7 g/dL to 18.4 +/- 0.8 g/dL). The PD also provided more efficiency versus full LB only (79.4% versus 56.3%; P = 0.001). When all RBCs were processed, the LB technology provided statistically larger degrees of RBC return (79.4% versus 83.6% for the PD versus LB, respectively; P < 0.001). The processing speed of the LB was faster at all starting volumes. In conclusion, for small volumes of blood loss where a full LB is not achieved, the PD will return a larger number of cells with a more consistent hemoglobin per volume of blood processed. IMPLICATIONS This study compared two types of cell salvage equipment. Pneumatic disk processing may offer advantages over traditional devices when small blood loss is anticipated.

Biological research about dyslexia has been conducted using various neuroimaging methods like functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) or Electroencephalography (EEG). Since language functions are characterized by both distributed network activities and speed of processing within milliseconds, high temporal as well as high spatial resolution of activation profiles are of interest: "where" can dyslexia specific activations be detected and "when" do language processes start to diverge between dyslexics and controls? Due to the network character of language processing, fMRI-constrained distributed source models based on EEG-data were computed for multimodal data integration. First single-case results show that this method could be a promising approach for the understanding of a repeatedly described experimental finding for dyslexia like that of an overactivation in inferior frontal language areas. Multimodal data analysis for the subjects presented here could probably demonstrate that inferior frontal overactivations are the consequence of a phonological deficit and could represent ongoing articulation processes used to solve phonologically challenging tasks.

Words differ with respect to their frequency-of-occurrence in the language and with respect to the age at which they are acquired. Research has indicated that both variables have a large impact on the speed of processing in a multitude of psycholinguistic tasks. A problem for the research, however, is that the information about the age of acquisition for many types of words is very limited. In Dutch, the information is largely confined to short words. Because there is increasing evidence that age of acquisition may be an important variable in the organisation of the semantic system, we present data about 2,332 carefully selected words from 49 different semantic categories. These will provide researchers with the information needed to test a wide range of hypotheses about the origins of the age-of-acquisition effect and to adequately select their stimuli for semantic categorisation tasks.

In this paper a new corner detection technique using Gabor filters is proposed. It is suitable for both binary and gray level images with varying backgrounds. This technique is based on a scale interaction model, where the difference of two lowpass filters (with different bandwidths) is utilized to extract the corners, line intersections and line endings in the input image. The filtering is done iteratively until the change in the output is below a certain threshold. This technique does not require tracking the boundary and computing the curvature. The important features of the scheme include simplicity, robustness, speed of processing and availability of simple controls to tune the technique for various computer vision applications.

This paper discusses the New Automatic Verification System. The introduction of this in response to a demand for greater capacity and higher speed processing for the fingerprint identification work being performed by National Police Agency of Japan, aims at an improved man-machine interface, raising the speed of processing, simplified procedures, a more integrated input system, etc., and has realized higher speed search and verification in comparison with the previous model.

Several studies show that although function may recover after brain damage the insult can nevertheless cause accelerated deterioration in old age. This has been interpreted as indicating reduced neuronal capacity to counteract age-related decline with plastic changes. Psychosocial and compensatory factors obscure the neuronal explanation. Since the speed of processing sequential temporal information is impaired in developmental dyslexia, we investigated its dependence on age (20-59 years) in psychosocially comparable groups of dyslexic and fluent readers using six tasks. Processing speed was impaired in dyslexia and decreased with age. The decrement was faster in dyslexic than normal readers in processing periodic stimuli. No exacerbation occurred in reading and other experiential factors. Our results, therefore, support the neuronal explanation.

Reaction time denotes the elapsed time between the presentation of a stimulus and the subsequent behav- ioural response. It has application in various disciplines including behavioural neuroscience. In psychology it is considered to as an index of speed of processing (en.wikipedia.org). Objective: To compare reaction time among goalkeepers in soccer, wicketkeepers in cricket and kho-kho players. Method: Study area: Nadia and Hooghly districts in West Bengal, India. Subject: 30 (10 from each game) varsity-level players ranging the age between 20 and 24 years. Criterion measure: Hand reaction time and leg reaction time of subjects were measured in seconds with the help of Stick drop test. Statistics: Mean, Standard Deviation and one-way ANOVA were used. Level of Significance was set at 0.05. Result: The mean hand reaction time of goal-keepers, wicket-keepers and kho-kho players were 14.08±1.13, 12.38±2.33 and 12.58±1.39 seconds respectively, while mean leg reaction time of three different groups were 19.31±3.07, 21.34±2.09 and 17.89±3.51 seconds respectively. The F-value of hand reaction time among three different category of players was 3.005(>0.05), whereas leg reaction time was 3.446(

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is among the most common and most often reconceptualized neurobehavioral disorders of childhood. In the most recent DSM-IV, a primarily inattentive subtype of ADHD (AD) has again been identified. This study explores the neuropsychological profile of this group of children. Eighty-two children referred for school-related problems participated. Twenty-five met criteria for AD; 52 met criteria for reading disability (RD); 9 were comorbid for RD and AD. AD children performed poorly on measures of information processing speed. Children with comorbid AD/RD were distinguishable from those with RD on speed of processing measures only. Vulnerability to information processing load may be at the root of many of the behavioral manifestations of AD.

The global precedence hypothesis has been operationally defined as a faster or earlier processing of the global than of the local properties of an image (global advantage) and as interference by processing at the global level with processing at the local level (global interference). Navon (1977) proposed an association between the global advantage and interference effects. Other studies have shown a dissociation between the two effects (e.g., Lamb & Robertson, 1988). It seems that the controversy in previous research resulted from not equalizing the eccentricities of global and local properties. In the present study, the eccentricities of the two levels were equalized by using stimuli with all their elements located along their perimeters. The results of the first experiment demonstrated that although the global level was identified faster than the local level in both the central and the peripheral locations of the visual field (global advantage), the pattern of global interference varied across the visual field. Consistency of global and local levels increased the speed of processing of the local level displayed at the center of the visual field but slowed down the processing of that level at peripheral locations. The results of Experiment 2 demonstrated that it was most likely that the variation in the pattern of global interference was determined by the variable of eccentricity, rather than by the sizes of the global and local levels.

The relation of positive affect to attention and learning was examined in 5-, 7-, and 9-month-olds (N = 84). Affect and attention were assessed while the infants inspected a photograph. Affect was rated globally, for overall mood, and specifically, for amount of time smiling. Attention was indexed by the duration of the infant's longest (or peak) look, a measure previously linked to differential cognitive performance. At all ages, positive affect (shown by approximately half the infants) was associated with long look durations and slower learning, as assessed on a task in which infants learned to distinguish a familiar face from a series of novel faces. By contrast, neutral affect was associated with short looks and faster learning. Affect and look duration had synergistic effects, in that learning was faster than expected for infants who displayed both short looks and neutral affect. These findings are compatible with adult research that links positive affect to less analytical processing, and provide the first evidence that affect may be associated with the speed of processing differences implicated in short and long looking.

Heather Mason is deputy head of the Priestley Smith School, Birmingham, and Mike Tobin is director of the Research Centre for the Education of the Visually Handicapped at Birmingham University. They present a preliminary report from a more extensive study of speed of processing visual information by visually handicapped children.

General and specific cognitive abilities were studied in intact Swedish same-sex twin pairs 80 or more years old for whom neither twin had major cognitive, sensory, or motor impairment. Resemblance for 110 identical twin pairs significantly exceeded resemblance for 130 fraternal same-sex twin pairs for all abilities. Maximum-likelihood model-fitting estimates of heritability were 62 percent for general cognitive ability, 55 percent for verbal ability, 32 percent for spatial ability, 62 percent for speed of processing, and 52 percent for memory. There was also evidence for the significant influence of idiosyncratic experience as the environmental component that most determines individual differences in cognitive abilities late in life.

Varying the orientation of word or nonword target stimuli from 0° to 90° in a lexical decision–visual hemifield task results in an increase in RT and a decrease in accuracy and d ′. RVF superiority, as measured by d ′ was found at all orientations. RVF superiority, as measured by RT was only found for stimulation by words at orientations of 0° and 15°. There was a significant bias to respond ‘word’ (log β ) only for stimulation of the RVF at orientations of 0° and 15°. Under all other conditions, there was no significant response bias. A ‘normal’ (horizontal) presentation format seems to be necessary for the finding of a greater RVF bias to respond ‘word’ and for RVF superiority in speed of processing linguistic stimuli. However, a horizontal presentation format does not seem to be necessary for the RVF superiority in its capability to discriminate words from nonwords. Copyright©1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.

The outside-in hypothesis was investigated by considering the effect of size on the speed of processing to outside and inside figures. The results showed that when the size of the compound pattern was large the outside figure was responded to more slowly than the inside figure, whereas with small patterns the speed of processing of the outer figure was faster than the inner one. It seems that outside precedence is not inevitable and depends on a number of factors including size. It has been suggested that outside-in processing may be related to the global-local relationship.

Eighty-seven adults with a diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson disease and on a stable medication regimen participated in either 20 hours of self-administered speed of processing training or a no-contact control condition. Speed of processing training improved Useful Field of View Test performance among persons in the mild to moderate stages of Parkinson disease. See p. 1284; Editorial, p. 1278 The authors examined the association between B vitamin supplementation and endpoint events using a fixed-effects model on 54,913 participants. B vitamin supplementation for homocysteine reduction reduced stroke events, especially in subjects with certain characteristics who received …

We compared the relationship between general cognitive ability, social cognition and the ability to understand and make decisions about practical problems among groups of college age and older adults. Results indicated that both general cognitive functioning and social cognitive ability were related to practical problem solving ability among older adults. In contrast college age adults practical problem solving was related to only general cognitive ability. Results indicate that social cognitive ability may compensate for age related decline in general cognitive functions among older adults and allow for continued competence in practical problem solving as speed of processing and short term memory functions decline.

Several experiments indicate that alpha frequency is significantly correlated with the speed of information processing, as measured by reaction times. These data imply that alpha frequency is a timing mechanism for cognitive processes. However, this interpretation contradicts the well-accepted view that there is no single alpha rhythm, but instead an entire population of different alpha oscillations. We present arguments and report data in the attempt to demonstrate that this paradox can be resolved if different states of alpha oscillations are distinguished. The results of the present study show that during a state of desynchronization, task-related shifts in alpha frequency are not "real" because they are not related to reaction times. Instead, they most likely reflect power changes in different frequency bands.

Improvement in performance can occur up to 10 years after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Few previous studies have examined the long-term effects of TBI on information processing. This study used reaction time (RT) tasks of increasing complexity with 10-year post-injury, 5-year post-injury, and control groups to assess any such effects. There were no significant group differences in mean RT; however, in the groups of persons with head injury only, response latency was related to age and to task demands. Older members of the groups of persons with head injury were slower than controls. The variability in performance was significantly higher in the 5-year post-injury group than in both the 10-year group and the control group. There were no significant differences among the groups in their ability to inhibit the processing of redundant information. There were no correlations between any dependent measure and severity of injury. Speed of processing is more sensitive to task complexity in individuals with head injury, but only when age at injury is considered. Most importantly, for rehabilitation purposes, recovery of consistency in performance can be expected more than 5 years after a TBI.

Subtypes of children with attentional problems were investigated using cluster analysis. Subjects were 9-year-old-elementary school children (N = 443). The test battery administered to these children comprised a comprehensive set of common attention tests, covering different aspects of attentional functioning, and a test of reading comprehension. Cluster analysis of these data yielded eight stable and reproducible clus¬ters. The test profiles of two subgroups were indicative of distinct attentional problems. One group ap¬peared deficient in speed of processing, the other in attentional control. A third subgroup showed a reading deficit. Two additional clusters had very poor and excellent performance on the whole battery, respec¬tively. Finally, three clusters were found with minor variations approximating average performance. The internal validity, that is, the adequacy and stability of the cluster solution, appeared to be reasonably good, as indicated by a variety of measures. The long-term stability over an 18-month period was also checked and found to be satisfactory.

This study investigated the EFL learner’s speed of processing an IELTS reading test, in relation to their scores on Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) and Cognitive Test Anxiety Scale (CTAS). The association between their scores on the two aforementioned scales was also examined to find if there was any significant relationship. 196 senior university EFL learners majoring in either English translation or English literature were participating in the first phase of the study. Out of them 46 were chosen according to their FLRAS scores -23 of them were low-anxiety group and 23 were high-anxiety group- who participated in the second stage of the study. Their speed of reading and processing an IELTS reading test and their levels of CTAS were then examined. To find the relationship, the Pearson Product-moment formula was used and the results indicated that the higher were the EFL learners’ scores on FLRAS and CTAS, the more time they needed to finish the reading task. A positive correlation between the EFL learners’ levels of Foreign Language Reading Anxiety and their scores on CTAS was also found.

1. Ian T. Zajac[1][1] 2. Nicholas R. Burns[1][1] 3. Vanessa Danthiir[2][2] 1. 1University of Adelaide, South Australia 2. 2CSIRO, Adelaide, South Australia 1. Ian Zajac, School of Psychology, University of Adelaide, South Australia 5005 Email: ian.zajac{at}adelaide.edu.au This study examined whether the broad ability general speediness (Gs) could be measured via the auditory modality. Existing and purpose-developed auditory tasks that maintained the cognitive requirements of established visually presented Gs markers were completed by 96 university undergraduates. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses showed that the auditory tasks combined with established visual measures to define latent Gs and reaction time factors. These findings provide preliminary evidence that suggests that if auditory tasks are developed that maintain the same cognitive requirements as existing visual measures, then they are likely to index similar cognitive processes. [1]: #aff-1 [2]: #aff-2

When computers were first used in business and industry in the 1950s, programmers and engineers were, for the most part, the only real computer users. Computer useability was little more than a question of speed of processing and throughput. As such, the idea of human computer interaction was a largely meaningless concept, as was any thought of the effect of the computer upon work practices. Grudin (1990) suggests that since that time the concept of human-computer interaction has shifted outwards from hardware, to software, to the terminal and on towards the work setting. Today, there is substantial interest in the effect of computer technology on organisations. Although the effect of computers on organisations is far from predictable, (Attewell and Rule 1984, Soorgaard 1988) it is well established that the implementation of computer technology brings with it changes to the organisation and changes to relationships within the organisation (Little 1990).

The application of fringe analysis has enhanced the application of all optical analysis techniques to industry. Emphasis has traditionally been placed upon such issues as the accuracy of the algorithm used, the number of frames required and the speed of processing. However, the practical use of such techniques at Rover has resulted in a more pragmatic view of this technology and the opinion that other issues dominate its successful use in industry. This paper presents these views by relating experience of applying fringe analysis to TV Holography, Moire, and Photoelastic systems.

Improvements during childhood and adolescence in performance on speeded tasks are ubiquitous. For tasks such as scanning the contents of short-term memory, retrieving names from long-term memory, verifying the truth of arithmetic statements, and reasoning analogically, the results are the same: Adults respond substantially more rapidly than do children (e.g., Ashcraft & Fierman, 1982; Bisanz, Danner, & Resnick, 1979; Sternberg & Rifkin, 1979). It has been proposed that these results reflect some global mechanism (i.e., one not specific to a particular task) that limits the speed with which all processes can be executed (Hale, 1990; Kail, 1988). As this mechanism changes with age, all processes are executed more rapidly.

Introduccion. Las consecuencias del dano cerebral adquirido incluyen alteraciones en el funcionamiento cognitivo, emocional y conductual de las personas afectadas. La neuropsicologia proporciona tecnicas que permiten tratar dichas alteraciones; de ahi la importancia de establecer cuales, de entre todas las herramientas disponibles, son las mas eficaces para este objetivo. Desarrollo. El presente articulo revisa los estudios existentes sobre efectividad de la rehabilitacion neuropsicologica, centrandose en aquellas areas y procesos cognitivos alterados con mas frecuencia. El fin ultimo del articulo es servir de guia y orientar la rehabilitacion neuropsicologica de estos pacientes a partir de las evidencias mas solidas existentes en la literatura, especialmente en procesos como la atencion y la heminegligencia, la memoria y el lenguaje. Conclusion. Existen evidencias suficientes para recomendar la rehabilitacion neuropsicologica de los procesos antes senalados en poblacion con dano cerebral adquirido.

The speed of processing product returns is an important issue for a supply chain with perishable items. Especially, more manufacturers have recently started outsourcing the reverse logistics to third-party logistics (3-PL) providers. This paper proposes a model for such a supply chain with a single manufacturer and single 3-PL provider. The proposed model suggests a way of coordination between the manufacturer and its 3-PL provider with an optimal processing speed of product returns and allocation of total profits between the two parties. Specifically, the model provides the optimal coordination strategies for the manufacturer when both parties have the imbalance information about the processing cost of the 3-PL provider.

Throughout childhood and adolescence, there are consistent age differences in speed of processing. Here 72 published studies yielded 1,826 pairs of response times (RTs) in which each pair consisted of adults' mean RT for a condition and the corresponding mean RT for a younger group. The primary results were that (a) children's and adolescents' RTs increase linearly as a function of adult RTs in corresponding conditions and (b) the amount of increase becomes smaller with age in a manner that is well described by an exponential function. These results are consistent with the view that age differences in processing speed reflect some general (i.e., nontask specific) component that changes rapidly during childhood and more slowly during adolescence. Possible candidates for the general component are discussed.

A modified Rasch model for time limited intelligence and ability tests is presented, which is based on the assumption that interindividual differences in test performance reflect differences in speed and accuracy, and at a more fundamental level, in speed of processing and persistence. The tradeoff between speed and accuracy is accounted for by the model.

The use of amplification systems in the classroom has the potential to reduce the impact of poor classroom acoustics for typically developing pupils and those with special educational needs (SENs). The immediate benefits of amplified acoustic signals on the performance of 253 primary school children, including 24 children with special needs, were examined. All participants were familiar with the use of the amplification systems. Children's performance was assessed on two verbal measures (spelling and oral comprehension) and one non‐verbal measure, using a balanced repeated measures design. It was predicted that the effects of amplification would be evident for spelling and oral language comprehension, but that there would be no discernable effect on speed of processing. Children with SEN were expected to have an added advantage with amplification. The predictions were partially supported. Both gain score analysis and ANOVAs of performance scores with amplification, controlling for performance without ampl...

Children typically execute cognitive processes more slowly than do adults. One explanation for this age difference is that processing speed is limited by a general factor common to performance on many tasks. Consistent with this view, speed of many different cognitive processes (e.g., mental rotation, memory search) seems to change with age at a common rate. Also consistent with this view, (a) the correlation across conditions between children's response times and adults' response times approximates 1.0, and (b) the slope of the function relating children's response times to adults' response times declines with age at a common rate. Possible candidates for the hypothetical limiting factor are discussed.