A biologically inspired model for pattern recognition

In this paper, a novel bionic model and its performance in pattern recognition are presented and discussed. The model is constructed from a bulb model and a three-layered cortical model, mimicking the main features of the olfactory system. The olfactory bulb and cortex models are connected by feedforward and feedback fibers with distributed delays. The Breast Cancer Wisconsin dataset consisting of data from 683 patients divided into benign and malignant classes is used to demonstrate the capacity of the mod...     

Detecting stable phase structures in EEG signals to classify brain activity amplitude patterns

Obtaining an electrocorticograms （ECoG） signal requires an invasive procedure in which brain activity is recorded from the cortical surface. In contrast, obtaining electroencephalograms （EEG） recordings requires the non-invasive procedure of recording the brain activity from the scalp surface, which allows EEG recordings to be performed more easily on healthy humans. In this work, a technique previously used to study spatial-temporal patterns of brain activity on animal ECoG was adapted for use on EEG. The main issues are centered on solving the problems introduced by the increment on the interelectrode distance and the procedure to detect stable frames. The results showed that spatial patterns of beta and gamma activity can also be extracted from the EEG signal by using stable frames as time markers for feature extraction. This adapted technique makes it possible to take advantage of the cognitive and phenomenological awareness of a normal healthy subject.     

Leaving the classroom: a didactic framework for education in environmental sciences

In Continuous Education curricula in Spain, the programs on sciences of the environment are aimed toward understandings of sustainability. Teaching practice rarely leaves the classroom for outdoor field studies. At the same time, teaching practice is generally focused on examples of how human activities are harmful for ecosystems. From a pedagogic point of view, it is less effective to teach environmental science with negative examples such as catastrophe, tragedy, and crisis. Rather, teaching environmental sciences and sustainable development might be focused on positive human-environment relationships, which is both important for the further development of students and educators. Within rural settings, there are many such examples of positive relationships that can be emphasized and integrated into the curriculum. In this article, we propose teaching environmental sciences through immersion in rural cultural life. We discuss how fieldwork serves as a learning methodology. When students are engaged through research with traditional cultural practices of environmental management, which is a part of the real and traditional culture of a region, they better understand how positive pedagogy instead of pedagogy structured around how not-to-do examples, can be used to stimulate the interactions between humans and the environment with their students. In this way, cultural goods serve as teaching resources in science and environmental education. What we present is authentic cases where adults involved in a course of Continuous Education explore ‘environmentally-friendly’ practices of traditional agriculture in Asturias (north of Spain), employing methodologies of cultural studies.     

"Going Beyond the Call of Doula": A Grounded Theory Analysis of the Diverse Roles Community-Based Doulas Play in the Lives of Pregnant and Parenting Adolescent Mothers

This article presents some of the most salient qualitative results from a larger program evaluation of pregnant and parenting adolescents who participated in a community-based doula program. Using grounded theory analysis, seven problem-solving strategies emerged that doulas apply in helping pregnant and parenting adolescents navigate multiple social and health settings that often serve as barriers to positive maternal- and child-health outcomes. The ethnographic findings of this study suggest that the doulas provide valuable assistance to pregnant and parenting adolescents by addressing social-psychological issues and socio-economic disparities. "Diverse role-taking" results in doulas helping pregnant adolescents navigate more successfully through fragmented social and health service systems that are less supportive of low-income adolescents, who are often perceived to be draining scarce resources. The findings have implications for the roles of community-based doulas assigned to low-income adolescents of color seeking to overcome obstacles and attain better educational and economic opportunities.     

Relative Age Effect,Biological Maturation,and Coaches’ Efficacy Expectations in Young Male Soccer Players

Purpose: The talent identification and selection process in young male soccer players is mainly focused on anthropometrics and physical performance, but social factors are also considered in this process. The purpose of this study was to test the existence of the relative age effect and its possible influence on anthropometrics and physical performance and to analyze coaches’ efficacy expectations. Method: Data for 564 young male soccer players (M_age = 13.7 ± 1.5 years; M_weight = 53.7 ± 11.6 kg; M_height = 160.2 ± 11.6 cm) included their birth quartile, maturity status, anthropometrics, a physical test battery, and coaches’ efficacy expectations. Results: Early-born players were overrepresented (p < .05). Early-born players were not statistically taller, heavier, or better at physical performance (p > .05) when maturation and chronological age were controlled as confounding factors. However, coaches expected more from early-born players (p < .05), and the inferential analysis showed likely to very likely worthwhile differences between the coaches’ expectations for players born in the first quartile of the year and those born in the fourth quartile of the year. Conclusions: Anthropometrical and physical performance variables were not affected by birth quartile, and coaches’ efficacy expectations were related to the relative age effect.     

Too late for talent to kick in? The relative age effect in Argentinian male football

Does a young football (soccer) player’s birthdate affect his prospects in the sport? Scholars have found a correlation between early births in the competition year among young players within the same cohort and improved chances in sports as they advance to other stages. This article is one of the first studies to ask this question about a male premier league in Latin America – the Argentinian ‘A’ league. It uses a large-N data-set of all players in the period 2000–2012, around 3000 players. The article finds a large effect of the player’s relative age on his prospect to become a professional, though the effect is only present in the case of Argentinian-born players. The effect evaporates once a set of measures are employed to compare professional players with one another. The article contributes to the discussion of the biased effect of seemingly neutral institutional policies, and its conclusions may shed light in other areas.