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Placebo effects in cognitive training
View ORCID ProfileCyrus K. Foroughi, Samuel S. Monfort, Martin Paczynski, Patrick E. McKnight, and P. M. Greenwood
PNAS first published June 20, 2016; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1601243113
Cyrus K. Foroughi
aDepartment of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030
ORCID record for Cyrus K. Foroughi
For correspondence: cyrus.foroughi@gmail.com
Samuel S. Monfort
Martin Paczynski
Patrick E. McKnight
P. M. Greenwood
Edited by Michael S. Gazzaniga, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, and approved May 17, 2016 (received for review January 22, 2016)
Figures & SI
Placebo effects pose problems for some intervention studies, particularly those with no clearly identified mechanism. Cognitive training falls into that category, and yet the role of placebos in cognitive interventions has not yet been critically evaluated. Here, we show clear evidence of placebo effects after a brief cognitive training routine that led to significant fluid intelligence gains. Our goal is to emphasize the importance of ruling out alternative explanations before attributing the effect to interventions. Based on our findings, we recommend that researchers account for placebo effects before claiming treatment effects.
Although a large body of research shows that general cognitive ability is heritable and stable in young adults, there is recent evidence that fluid intelligence can be heightened with cognitive training. Many researchers, however, have questioned the methodology of the cognitive-training studies reporting improvements in fluid intelligence: specifically, the role of placebo effects. We designed a procedure to intentionally induce a placebo effect via overt recruitment in an effort to evaluate the role of placebo effects in fluid intelligence gains from cognitive training. Individuals who self-selected into the placebo group by responding to a suggestive flyer showed improvements after a single, 1-h session of cognitive training that equates to a 5- to 10-point increase on a standard IQ test. Controls responding to a nonsuggestive flyer showed no improvement. These findings provide an alternative explanation for effects observed in the cognitive-training literature and the brain-training industry, revealing the need to account for confounds in future research.
placebo effects
fluid intelligence
What's more, working memory is directly related to intelligence—the more you train, the smarter you can be.
NeuroNation (www.neuronation.com/, May 8, 2016)
The above quotation, like many others from the billion-dollar brain-training industry (1), suggests that cognitive training can make you smarter. However, the desire to become smarter may blind us to the role of placebo effects. Placebo effects are well known in the context of drug and surgical interventions (2, 3), but the specter of a placebo may arise in any intervention when the desired outcome is known to the participant—an intervention like cognitive training. Although a large body of research shows that general cognitive ability, g, is heritable (4, 5) and stable in young adults (6), recent research stands in contrast to this, indicating that intelligence can be heightened by cognitive training (7⇓⇓⇓⇓–12). General cognitive ability and IQ are related to many important life outcomes, including academic success (13, 14), job performance (15), health (16, 17), morbidity (18), mortality (18, 19), income (20, 21), and crime (13). In addition, the growing population of older people seeks ways to stave off devastating cognitive decline (22). Thus, becoming smarter or maintaining cognitive abilities via cognitive training is a powerful lure, raising important questions about the role of placebo effects in training studies.
The question of whether intelligence can be increased through training has generated a lively scientific debate. Recent research claims that it is possible to improve fluid intelligence (Gf: a core component of general cognitive ability, g) by means of working memory training (7⇓⇓⇓⇓–12, 23, 24); even meta-analyses support these claims (25, 26), concluding that improvements from cognitive training equate to an increase "…of 3–4 points on a standardized IQ test." (ref. 25; but cf. ref. 27). However, researchers have yet to identify, test, and confirm a clear mechanism underlying fluid intelligence gains after cognitive training (28). One potential mechanism that has yet to be tested is that the observed effects are partially due to positive expectancy or placebo effects.
Researchers now recognize that placebo effects may potentially confound cognitive-training [i.e., "brain training" (29)] outcomes and may underlie some of the posttraining fluid intelligence gains (24, 27, 29⇓⇓–32). Specifically, it has been argued that "overt" recruitment methods in which the expected benefits of training are stated (or implied) may lead to a sampling bias in the form of self-selection, such that individuals who expect positive results will be overrepresented in any sample of participants (29, 33). If an individual volunteers to participate in a study entitled "Brain Training and Cognitive Enhancement" because he or she thinks the training will be effective, any effect of the intervention may be partially or fully explained by participant expectations.
Expectations regarding the efficacy of cognitive training may be rooted in beliefs regarding the malleability of intelligence (34). Dweck's (34) work showed that people tend to hold strong implicit beliefs regarding whether or not intelligence is malleable and that these beliefs predict a number of learning and academic outcomes. Consistent with that work, there is evidence that individuals with stronger beliefs in the malleability of intelligence have greater improvements in fluid intelligence tasks after working-memory training (10). If individuals who believe that intelligence is malleable are overrepresented in a sample, the apparent effect of training may be related to the belief of malleability, rather than to the training itself.
The present study was motivated by concerns about overt recruitment and self-selection bias (29, 33), as well as our own observation that few published articles on cognitive training provide details regarding participant recruitment. In fact, of the primary studies included in the meta-analysis of Au et al. (25) only two provided sufficient detail to determine whether participants were recruited overtly [e.g., "sign up for a brain training study" (10)] or covertly [e.g., "did not inform subjects that they were participating in a training study" (24)]. (We were able to assess 18 of the 20 studies.) We later emailed the corresponding authors from all of the studies in the Au et al. (25) meta-analysis for more detailed recruitment information. (This step was done at the suggestion of a reviewer and occurred after data collection was complete. We chose to place this information here instead of the discussion to accurately portray the current recruitment standards within the field.) All but one author responded. We determined that 17 (of 19) studies used overt recruitment methods that could have introduced a self-selection bias. Specifically, 17 studies explicitly mentioned "cognitive" or "brain" training. Of those 17, we found that 11 studies further suggested the potential for improvement or enhancement. Only two studies didn't mention either (Table S1). A comparison of effect sizes listed in the Au et al. (25) meta-analysis by these three methods of recruitment (i.e., overt, overt and suggestive, and covert) lends further credence to the possibility of a confounded placebo effect. For all of the studies that overtly recruited, Hedge's g = 0.27; for all of the studies that overtly recruited and suggested improvement, Hedge's g = 0.28; and for the studies that covertly recruited, Hedge's g = 0.11. Lastly, we searched the internet (via Google) for the terms "participate in a brain training study" and "brain training participate." The top 10 results for both searches revealed six separate laboratories that are actively and overtly recruiting individuals to participants in either a "brain training study" or a "cognitive training study." Taken together, these findings provide clear evidence that suggestive recruitment methods are common and that such recruitment may contribute to the positive outcomes reported in the cognitive-training literature. We therefore hypothesized that overt and suggestive recruitment would be sufficient to induce positive posttraining outcomes.
Table S1.
Responses from authors when queried about recruitment methods
We designed a procedure to intentionally induce a placebo effect via overt recruitment. Our recruitment targeted two populations of participants using different advertisements varying in the degree to which they evoked an expectation of cognitive improvement (Fig. 1). Once participants self-selected into the two groups, they completed two pretraining fluid intelligence tests followed by 1 h of cognitive training and then completed two posttraining fluid intelligence tests on the following day. Two individual difference metrics regarding beliefs about cognition and intelligence were also collected as potential moderators. The researchers who interacted with participants were blind to the goal of the experiment and to the experimental condition. Aside from their means of recruitment, all participants completed identical cognitive-training experiments. All participants read and signed an informed consent form before beginning the experiment. The George Mason University Institutional Review Board approved this research.
Recruitment flyers for placebo (Left) and control (Right) groups.
We recruited the placebo group (n = 25) with flyers overtly advertising a study for brain training and cognitive enhancement (d). The text "Numerous studies have shown working memory training can increase fluid intelligence" was clearly visible on the flyer. We recruited the control group (n = 25) with a visually similar flier containing generic content that did not mention brain training or cognitive enhancement. We determined the sample sizes for both groups based upon two a priori criteria: (i) Previous, significant training studies had sample sizes of 25 or fewer (7, 8); and (ii) statistical power analyses (power ≥ 0.7) on between-group designs dictated a sample size of 25 per group for a moderate to large effect size (d ≥ 0.7). Our rationale for the first criterion was that we were trying to replicate previous training studies, but with the additional manipulation of a placebo that had been omitted in those studies. The second criterion simply allowed us a good chance to find a reasonably large and important effect with the sample size we selected. In sum, we felt that the sample size allowed for a good replication of prior studies, but restricted us to finding only worthwhile results to report. The final sample of participants consisted of 19 males and 31 females, with an average age of 21.5 y (SD = 2.3). The groups (n = 50; 25 for each condition) did not differ by age [t(48) = 0.18, P = 0.856] or by gender composition [χ2(1) = 0.76, P = 0.382].
After the pretests (Gf assessments described below), participants completed 1 h of cognitive training with an adaptive dual n-back task (SI Materials and Methods). We chose this task for two reasons: First, it is commonly used in cognitive training research, and, second, a high-face-validity task was required to maintain the credibility of the training regimen [compare placebo pain medication appearing identical to the real medication (35)]. In this task, participants were presented with two streams of information: auditory and visuospatial. There were eight stimuli per modality that were presented at a rate of 3 s per stimuli. For each stream, participants decided whether the current stimulus matched the stimulus that was presented n items ago. Our n-back task was an adaptive version in which the level of n changed as performance increased or decreased within each block.
SI Materials and Methods
Tasks.
RAPM.
RAPM is a test of inductive reasoning (37, 38). Each question has nine geometric patterns arranged in a 3 × 3 matrix according to an unknown set of rules. The bottom right pattern is always missing, and the objective is to match the correct missing pattern from a set of eight possible matches. We followed the protocol designed by Jaeggi et al. (10) to create parallel versions of the RAPM, resulting in the RAPM-A and -B, both consisting of 18 problems.
BOMAT.
The BOMAT is similar to the RAPM. However, it suffers from less of a ceiling effect in university participants compared with RAPM (8, 10). Each problem has 15 geometric patterns arranged in a 5 × 3 matrix, and the missing pattern can occur in any location. Participants must choose one correct pattern from six available options. We followed the protocol designed by Jaeggi et al. (10) to create parallel versions of the test, resulting in the BOMAT-A and -B, both consisting of 27 problems.
Questionnaires.
Theories of Intelligence Scale.
The Theories of Intelligence Scale (34) measures beliefs regarding the malleability of intelligence. This six-point scale has eight questions that can be answered from strongly agree to strongly disagree.
Need for Cognition Scale.
The Need for Cognition Scale measures "the tendency for an individual to engage in and enjoy thinking" (41). This 9-point scale has 18 questions that can be answered from very strong agreement to very strong disagreement.
Training Task.
Dual n-back task.
The dual n-back task is commonly used in cognitive training research (7, 8, 10). In this task, participants were presented with two streams of information: auditory and visuospatial. There were eight stimuli per modality that were presented at a rate of 3 s per stimuli. For each stream, participants decided whether the current stimulus matched the stimulus that was presented n items ago. Our n-back task was an adaptive version in which the level of n changed as performance increased or decreased within each block. This task is freely available online at brainworkshop.sourceforge.net/.
Recruitment.
Participants self-selected into either the placebo or control groups by sending an email in response to one of the two flyers presented in the main text (Fig. 1). Flyers were placed throughout buildings on the George Mason University Fairfax campus and were evenly distributed within each building. That is, if the placebo flyer was placed in a building, a control flyer was also placed in it. Flyers were replaced weekly to ensure that pull tags were always available. We also responded to all emails in an identical manner. Specifically, when a participant emailed informing us that they were interested in either study, we responded with the following:
"Thank you for your email and interest in participating. To complete this experiment, you will need to be available for two sessions that occur on back to back days (e.g., Monday and Tuesday). Please allow up to 3 hours for session one and up to 2 hours for session two. We currently have the following sets of sessions available over the next two weeks. Please let us know what sets of times work for you so that we can schedule you. If you have any questions, feel free to email us back."
When participants emailed back with their available time, we then responded with this email:
"Thank you for agreeing to participate. You are scheduled to complete session one at [TIME AND DATE HERE] and session two at [TIME AND DATE HERE] in [BUILDING NAME AND ROOM NUMBER]. [RESEARCHER'S NAME] will be working with you at both sessions. Please arrive on time, use the restroom beforehand, and turn off your cell phone for the duration of the experiment. A break will be offered during session one. If you have any questions, please email us back. Thank you and have a nice day."
All participants read and signed an informed consent form before beginning the experiment. Importantly, the consent form did not mention the goal of the study. Additionally, all researchers, who were blind to the goal of the experiment anyway, were instructed to not talk to the participants about anything other than the experiment itself (i.e., the instructions) because we did not want to introduce any additional biases. On day 1, participants completed the RAPM-A and BOMAT-A, took a short break, and then completed ∼1 h of the dual n-back training task. On day 2, participants completed the RAPM-B and BOMAT-B, then the Theories of Intelligence Scale, the Need for Cognition Scale, and a short demographic survey.
RAPM to IQ Conversion.
We used two different methods to determine that our RAPM improvement (d = 0.50) equated to a 5- to 10-point increase in IQ scores. We opted to widen the range to 5–10 to better capture the improvement within a wider range of error. (i) Following the approach of the Au et al. (2015; ref. 25) meta-analysis, we multiplied the SD increase of 0.50 by the SD of common IQ tests, 15. Therefore, 0.50 × 15 = 7.5 points increased on an IQ test. (ii) By using Table APM36 from the RAPM Manual (40) that compares RAPM scores to IQ scores, an increase of 0.50 SDs units equated to an approximate increase of 6–8 IQ points.
All analyses were conducted by using mixed-effects linear regression with restricted maximum likelihood. As expected, both groups' training performance improved over time [B = 0.016, SE = 0.002, t(48) = 10.5, P < 0.001]. All participants began at 2-back; 18% did not advance beyond a 2-back, 14% finished training at a 4-back, and 68% at a 3-back. Training performance did not differ by group [B = −0.002, SE = 0.002, t(48) = −1.00, P = 0.321): Both the placebo and control groups completed training with a similar degree of success. A placebo effect can occur in the absence of training differences between groups.
The placebo effect does, however, necessitate an effect on the outcome of interest. Pretraining and posttraining fluid intelligence was measured with Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices (RAPM) and Bochumer Matrices Test (BOMAT), two tests of inductive reasoning widely used to assess Gf (36⇓–38). No baseline differences were found between groups on either test [t(48) = −0.063, P = 0.939 and t(48) = −0.123, P = 0.938, respectively]. We observed a main effect of time on test performance in which scores on both intelligence tests increased from pretraining to posttraining. These main effects of time on both intelligence measures, however, were qualified by an interaction by group [RAPM: B = 0.65, SE = 0.19, t(48) = 3.41, P = 0.0013, d = 0.98; and BOMAT: B = 0.82, SE = 0.18, t(48) = 4.63, P < 0.0001, d = 1.34]. Specific contrasts showed that these moderation effects were entirely driven by the participants in the placebo group—the only individuals in the study to score significantly higher on posttraining compared with pretraining sessions for both RAPM [B = −1.04, SE = 0.19, t(48) = −5.46, P < 0.0001, d = 0.50] and for the BOMAT [B = −1.28, SE = 0.18, t(48) = −7.22, P < 0.0001, d = 0.39]. Extrapolating RAPM to IQ (25, 39, 40), these improvements equate to a 5- to 10-point increase on a standardized 100-point IQ test (SI Materials and Methods). In contrast, the pretraining and posttraining scores for participants in the control group were statistically indistinguishable, both for RAPM [B = −0.12, SE = 0.19, t(48) = −0.63, P = 0.922] and for the BOMAT [B = −0.12, SE = 0.18, t(48) = −0.68, P = 0.905]. The results are summarized in Tables S2–S4 and depicted in Fig. 2. Interestingly, pooling the data across groups to form one sample (combining the self-selection and control groups) revealed significant posttraining outcomes [B = 0.41, SE = 0.11, t(49) = 3.90, P = 0.0003, d = 0.28 (RAPM); and B = 0.50, SE = 0.15, t(49) = 4.69, P < 0.0001, d = 0.21 (BOMAT)]. That is, the effect from the placebo group was strong enough to overcome the null effect from the control group (when pooled).
Estimated marginal means of the RAPM (Left) and BOMAT (Right) scores by time and group; errors bars represent SEs.
Regression results for RAPM predicted by time and group
Regression results for BOMAT predicted by time and group
Means and SDs for RAPM and BOMAT
We also observed differences between groups for scores on the Theories of Intelligence scale, which measures beliefs regarding the malleability of intelligence (34). The participants in the placebo group reported substantially higher scores on this index compared with controls [B = 14.96, SE = 1.93, t(48) = 7.75, P < 0.0001, d = 2.15], indicating a greater confidence that intelligence is malleable. These findings indicate that our manipulation via recruitment flyer produced significantly different groups with regard to expectancy. We did not detect differences in Need for Cognition scores (41) [B = 0.56, SE = 5.67, t(48) = 0.10, P = 0.922] (Fig. 3). Together, these results support the interpretation that participants self-selected into groups based on differing expectations.
Estimated marginal means of the Theories of Intelligence and Need for Cognition scales by group; error bars represent SEs.
We also tested whether the response time to volunteer for our study influenced the aforementioned findings. Specifically, we noticed that the placebo condition appeared to fill faster than the control condition did (366 vs. 488 h). It is possible that speed of signup might represent another measure for—or perhaps gradations within—the strength of the placebo effect. The volunteer response time differences by group failed to produce a significant effect on either the RAPM [B = 0.04, SE = 0.17, t(46) = 0.23, P = 0.819] or the BOMAT [B = 0.20, SE = 0.16, t(46) = 1.28, P = 0.201]. Volunteer response time also failed to explain the improvement observed within the placebo group alone, on RAPM [B = 0.20, SE = 0.20, t(23) = 0.95, P = 0.341] and BOMAT [B = 0.26, SE = 0.22, t(23) = 1.22, P = 0.237] (Fig. 4).
Improvement in test scores from pretraining to posttraining by group and speed of participant sign up, split into fast and slow (z = −1 and z = 1 of minutes since experiment onset, respectively). Error bars represent SE.
Researchers have hypothesized that a training dosage effect may exist, such that the quality of performance on a training task is associated with the degree of subsequent skill transfer (7). However, as discussed previously, no pre–post improvements occurred within the control group, even though all participants performed equally well on the training task. Consequently, training performance did not predict subsequent performance improvement on its own [B = 0.017, SE = 0.20, t(46) = 0.09, P = 0.930], nor did it moderate the effect of group on the observed test performance improvements [B = −0.16, SE = 0.28, t(46) = −0.58, P = 0.567] (Fig. 5). Therefore, our data do not support the dosage-effect hypothesis.
Improvement in test scores from pretraining to posttraining by group and performance on training task (z = −1 and z = 1 of training performance, respectively). Error bars represent SE.
We provide strong evidence that placebo effects from overt and suggestive recruitment can affect cognitive training outcomes. These findings support the concerns of many researchers (24, 27, 29⇓⇓–32), who suggest that placebo effects may underlie positive outcomes seen in the cognitive-training literature. By capitalizing on the self-selecting tendencies of participants with strong positive beliefs about the malleability of intelligence, we were able to induce an improvement in Gf after 1 h of working memory training. We acknowledge that the flyer itself could have induced the positive beliefs about the malleability of intelligence. Either way, these findings present an alternative explanation for effects reported in the cognitive-training literature and in the brain-training industry, demonstrating the need to account for placebo effects in future research.
Importantly, we do not claim that our study revealed a population of individuals whose intelligence was truly changed by the training that they received in our study. It is extremely unlikely that individuals in the placebo group increased their IQ by 5–10 points with 1 h of cognitive training. Three elements of our design and results support this position. First, a single, 1-h training session is far less than the traditional 15 or more hours spread across weeks commonly used in training studies (8, 10, 23). We argue that the use of a very short training period was sufficient to avoid a true training effect. Second, we observed similar baseline scores on both of the fluid intelligence tests between groups, suggesting that both groups were equally engaged in the experiment. Thus, initial nonequivalence between groups or regression artifacts are likely absent from our design. Third, equivalent performance on the training task between groups suggests that the differences in posttraining intelligence were not the (direct) result of training. If groups showed dramatically different training effects on the dual n-back task, it might follow that one group showed higher posttraining scores on the test of general cognitive ability.
Therefore, our study, to our knowledge, is the first to explicitly model the main effect of expectancy effects while controlling for the effect of training. That is, because our design was unlikely to have produced true training effects, our positive effects on Gf are solely the result of overt and suggestive recruitment. Although posttraining gains in fluid intelligence are typically discussed in terms of a main effect of training (7, 8, 10, 11), we argue that such studies cannot rule out an interaction between training and effects from overt and suggestive recruitment. Furthermore, based on the evidence we reviewed above, we are unaware of any previous studies that obtained a positive main effect of training in the absence of expectation or self-selection. Indeed, to our knowledge, the rigor of double-blind randomized clinical trials is nonexistent in this research area.
Moving forward, we suggest that researchers exercise care in their design of cognitive training studies. Our findings raise philosophical concerns and questions that merit discussion within the scientific field so that this area of inquiry can advance. We discuss two different schools of thought about how to recruit participants and design training studies. We hope that this work can begin a conversation leading to a consensus on how to best design future research in this field.
First, following in the tradition of randomized controlled trials used in medicine, one approach suggests that recruitment and study design should be as covert as possible (29, 32). Specifically, several research groups have argued for the need to remove study-specific information from the recruitment and briefing procedures, avoid providing the goals of the research to participants, and omit mention of any anticipated outcomes (29, 32, 33). The purpose of such a design would be to minimize any confounding effects (e.g., placebo or expectation). Our earlier review of the Au et al. (25) meta-analyses revealed two studies that followed this approach.
Alternatively, the second approach suggests that we should only recruit participants who believe that the training will work and that we should do this using overt methods. Such a screening process would eliminate participants whose prior beliefs would prevent an otherwise effective treatment from having an effect. That is, if a participant does not care about the training, puts little effort in, and/or is motivated solely by something else (e.g., money), they are not likely to improve with any intervention, including cognitive training. Although positive expectancies would be overrepresented in such an overtly recruited sample, proper use of active controls should allow for training effects to be isolated from expectation. This view is in line with some from the medical domain who argue that researchers can make use of participant expectation to better test treatment effects in randomized controlled trials (42). This view is also in line with some from the psychotherapy domain who argue that motivation is important for treatment effectiveness (43).
One interesting consideration is the likelihood that these two design approaches recruit from different subpopulations. Dweck (34) has shown that individuals hold implicit beliefs regarding whether or not intelligence is malleable and that these beliefs predict a number of learning and academic outcomes. Thus, it is possible that the benefits from cognitive training occur only in individuals who believe the training will be effective. That being said, this possibility is not applicable to our data because our design eliminated a main effect of training. It will be important in future work to investigate the relation between expectation and processes of learning during cognitive training.
Our data do not allow us to understand the field as a whole; instead, they allow us to understand existing limitations to current research that require further exploration. To wit, we identified expectancy as a major factor that needs to be considered for a fuller understanding of training effects. More rigorous designs such as double-blind, block randomized controlled trials that measure multiple outcomes may offer a better "test" of these cognitive training effects. Blinding subjects to cognitive training may be the biggest obstacle in these designs—as pointed out by Boot et al. (29), because participants become aware of the goals of the study. Furthermore, assessing expectancy and personal theories of intelligence malleability (cf. ref. 34) before randomization to ensure adequate representation in all groups would allow us to better assess the true training effects and the potential for expectancy to produce effects alone or in interaction with training. Finally, researchers should use more measures of Gf to determine whether positive outcomes are the result of latent changes or changes in test-specific performance. We are aware of no study to date—including the present one—that uses these rigorous methods. (We include the present one by design. Our goal was to determine whether a main effect of expectation existed using methods similar to published research.) By using such methods, we can begin to understand whether true training effects exist and are generalizable to samples (and perhaps populations) beyond those who expect to improve.
Our findings have important implications for cognitive-training research and the brain-training industry at large. Previous cognitive-training results may have been inadvertently influenced by placebo effects arising from recruitment or design. For the field of cognitive training to advance, it is important that future work report recruitment information and include the Theories of Intelligence Scale (34) to determine the relation between observed effects of training and of expectancy. The brain-training industry may be advised to temper their claims until the role of placebo effects is better understood. Many commercial brain-training websites make explicit claims about the effectiveness of their training that are not currently supported by many in the scientific community (ref. 44; cf. ref. 45). Consistent with that concern, one of the largest brain-training companies in the world agreed in January 2016 to pay a $2 million fine to the Federal Trade Commission for deceptive advertising about the benefits of their programs (46). The deception—exaggerated claims of training efficacy—may be fueling a placebo effect that may contaminate actual brain-training effects.
We argue that our findings also have broad implications for the advancement of science of human cognition; in a recent replication effort published in Science, only 36% (35 of 97) of the psychological science studies (including those that fall under the broad category of neuroscience) were successfully replicated (47). Failure to control or account for placebo effects could have contributed to some of these failed replications. Our goal in any experiment should be to take every step possible to ensure that the effects we seek are the result of manipulated interventions—not confounds that go unreported or undetected.
This work was supported by George Mason University; the George Mason University Provost PhD Awards; Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-14-1-0201; and Air Force Office of Scientific Research Grant FA9550-10-1-0385.
↵1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: cyrus.foroughi{at}gmail.com.
Author contributions: C.K.F. designed research; C.K.F. and S.S.M. analyzed data; and C.K.F., S.S.M., M.P., P.E.M., and P.M.G. wrote the paper.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.
Data deposition: The data have been achived on Figshare, https://figshare.com/articles/Placebo_csv/2062479.
This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1601243113/-/DCSupplemental.
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(2007) Intelligence and socioeconomic success: A meta-analytic review of longitudinal research. Intelligence 35(5):401–426.
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(2006) Long-term effects of cognitive training on everyday functional outcomes in older adults. JAMA 296(23):2805–2814.
Harrison TL, et al.
(2013) Working memory training may increase working memory capacity but not fluid intelligence. Psychol Sci 24(12):2409–2419.
Redick TS, et al.
(2013) No evidence of intelligence improvement after working memory training: A randomized, placebo-controlled study. J Exp Psychol Gen 142(2):359–379.
Au J, et al.
(2015) Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: A meta-analysis. Psychon Bull Rev 22(2):366–377.
Karbach J,
Verhaeghen P
(2014) Making working memory work: A meta-analysis of executive-control and working memory training in older adults. Psychol Sci 25(11):2027–2037.
Dougherty MR,
Hamovitz T,
Tidwell JW
(2016) Reevaluating the effectiveness of n-back training on transfer through the Bayesian lens: Support for the null. Psychon Bull Rev 23(1):306–316.
Greenwood PM,
Parasuraman R
(November 16, 2015) The mechanisms of far transfer from cognitive training: Review and hypothesis. Neuropsychology doi:10.1037/neu0000235.
Boot WR,
Simons DJ,
Stothart C,
Stutts C
(2013) The pervasive problem with placebos in psychology: Why active control groups are not sufficient to rule out placebo effects. Perspect Psychol Sci 8(4):445–454.
Melby-Lervåg M,
Hulme C
(2013) Is working memory training effective? A meta-analytic review. Dev Psychol 49(2):270–291.
(2016) There is no convincing evidence that working memory training is effective: A reply to Au et al. (2014) and Karbach and Verhaeghen (2014). Psychon Bull Rev 23(1):324–330.
Shipstead Z,
Redick TS,
Engle RW
(2012) Is working memory training effective? Psychol Bull 138(4):628–654.
Blakely DP,
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(2011) Do action video games improve perception and cognition? Front Psychol 2:226.
Dweck C
(2000) Self-Theories: Their Roles in Motivation, Personality, and Development (Psychology Press, New York).
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(1974) The placebo response in pain reduction. Adv Neurol 4:289–296.
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(1999) Bochumer Matrizentest (BOMAT) Advanced (Hogrefe, Goettingen, Germany).
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(1994) Advanced Progressive Matrices (Oxford Psychologists Press, Oxford).
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(1998) Raven's Progressive Matrices and Vocabulary Scales (Oxford Psychologists Press, Oxford).
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(2010) Motivation and autonomy in counseling, psychotherapy, and behavior change: A look at theory and practice. Couns Psychol 39(2):193–260.
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(2014) A consensus on the brain training industry from the scientific community. Available at longevity3.stanford.edu/blog/2014/10/15/the-consensus-on-the-brain-training-industry-from-the-scientific-community-2/. Accessed May 8, 2016.
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(2015) PSYCHOLOGY. Estimating the reproducibility of psychological science. Science 349(6251):aac4716.
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Celebrity English: EPIC Career Advice from Buffett and Gates!
EPIC Career Advice from Buffett and Gates!
It is the time of year when people are entering the work force full time for the first time in their lives. Whether you are graduating from high school or college the next step feels like a big one! Most people have a feeling of uncertainty and anxiety. What's next? Will I be able to find a job? What if I make the wrong career choice?
This week, I want to take a look at some career advice for new graduates. As our guides or mentors, I have selected 2 pillars from the American Business Community: Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.
QUESTION: Mr.Buffett, Mr. Gates, I am Ibrahim Dolly and I came from Portugal. I have a question for both of you. You both knew early in your careers what you wanted to do in your life. What advice do you have for those of us who are a little bit unclear?
GATES: Well, finding the thing that you are passionate about and that you are good at can sometimes take a period of years. I think Warren and I were lucky we kind of ran into it. I wasn't even sure it was software. I was kind of obsessed with it but then it wasn't clear it could be a career. When that happened, it was great. I think most other people get into their 20s and have to try out some different experiences. And some things will expose you to a lot of different businesses, a lot of different work opportunities. And I think you can make your first few jobs optimized for getting that exposure. And then when you want it, see the thing that you want to be fanatical about and just jump on to that.
Have you found your 'passion in life'?
Have you found something you are 'good at'?
Does your 'passion' and 'what you are good' at suit your career path?
Is it always possible to make your passion your career?
Do you agree with Mr. Buffett that "marrying the right person" is important to your career?
To all of the graduates entering the work force for the first time: good luck, enjoy, and always be yourself!


text:
package com.agimatec.validation;

import com.agimatec.validation.example.BusinessEnum;
import com.agimatec.validation.example.BusinessObject;
import com.agimatec.validation.example.BusinessObjectAddress;
import com.agimatec.validation.json.JSONGenerator;
import com.agimatec.validation.model.DynaTypeEnum;
import com.agimatec.validation.model.MetaBean;
import com.agimatec.validation.model.MetaProperty;
import com.agimatec.validation.xml.XMLMetaBeanURLLoader;
import freemarker.template.TemplateException;
import junit.framework.Test;
import junit.framework.TestCase;
import junit.framework.TestSuite;

import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Map;

/**
 * MetaBeanManager Tester.
 *
 * @author ${USER}
 * @version 1.0
 * @since
07/05/2007

 *        Copyright: Agimatec GmbH 2008
 */
public class MetaBeanManagerTest extends TestCase {
    MetaBeanManager mbm = new MetaBeanManager();

    public MetaBeanManagerTest(String name) {
        super(name);
    }

    public void setUp() throws Exception {
        super.setUp();
        mbm.getBuilder().addLoader(new XMLMetaBeanURLLoader(
              BusinessObject.class.getResource("test-beanInfos.xml")));
    }

    public void tearDown() throws Exception {
        super.tearDown();
    }

    public void testEnrichCopies() throws Exception {
        Map<String, MetaBean> copies = mbm.enrichCopies(new XMLMetaBeanURLLoader(
              BusinessObject.class.getResource("test-beanInfos-custom.xml")).load());
        assertNotNull(copies);
        MetaBean mb = copies.get(BusinessObject.class.getName());
        assertFalse(mb.getProperty("lastName").isMandatory());
        MetaBean mb2 = mbm.findForClass(BusinessObject.class);
        assertTrue(mb2.getProperty("lastName").isMandatory());
    }

    public void testCopy() {
        MetaBean mb = mbm.findForClass(BusinessObject.class);
        MetaBean mb2 = mb.copy();
        assertTrue(mb2 != mb);
        assertTrue(mb2.getProperty("dateBirth") != mb.getProperty("dateBirth"));
    }

    public void testFindForClass() throws Exception {
        MetaBeanFinder finder = mbm;
        MetaBean info = finder.findForClass(BusinessObject.class);
        assertNotNull(info);
        assertTrue(info == info.getProperty("address").getMetaBean().getProperty("owner")
              .getMetaBean());
        assertTrue(info == info.getProperty("addresses").getMetaBean()
              .getProperty("owner").getMetaBean());
        assertTrue(info.getProperty("email").getJavaScriptValidations().length > 0);
    }

    public void testBeanInfosCustomPatchGenerated()
          throws IOException, TemplateException {
        MetaBean mbean = mbm.findForClass(BusinessObject.class);
        MetaProperty mprop = mbean.getProperty("lastName");
        assertTrue(mprop.isMandatory());

        mbm.getCache().removeFromCache(mbean);
        mbm.getBuilder().addLoader(new XMLMetaBeanURLLoader(
              BusinessObject.class.getResource("test-beanInfos-custom.xml")));
        mbean = mbm.findForClass(BusinessObject.class);
        mprop = mbean.getProperty("lastName");
        assertTrue(!mprop.isMandatory());

        JSONGenerator converter = new JSONGenerator();

        List<MetaBean> metaBeans = new ArrayList(2);
        metaBeans.add(mbean);
        MetaBean mbean2 = mbm.findForId("UnknownObject");
        metaBeans.add(mbean2);
        String json = converter.toJSON(metaBeans);
        assertNotNull(json);
        System.out.println(json);
    }

    public void testFindAll() {
        Map<String, MetaBean> all = mbm.findAll();
        assertNotNull(all);
        Map<String, MetaBean> all2 = mbm.findAll();
        assertEquals(all.size(), all2.size());
        assertTrue(all.get(BusinessObject.class.getName()) ==
              all2.get(BusinessObject.class.getName()));
        assertTrue(all.get(BusinessObject.class.getName()) != null);
        MetaBean bean = all.get(BusinessObject.class.getName());
        assertTrue(bean == bean.getProperty("address").getMetaBean().getProperty("owner")
              .getMetaBean());
        assertTrue(bean == bean.getProperty("addresses").getMetaBean()
              .getProperty("owner").getMetaBean());
    }

    public void testJSON() throws Exception {
        MetaBean info = mbm.findForClass(BusinessObject.class);
        MetaBean info2 = info.getProperty("address").getMetaBean();

        // empty default bean without xml backup
        MetaBean info3 = mbm.findForClass(BusinessObjectAddress.class);
        JSONGenerator converter = new JSONGenerator();

        List<MetaBean> metaBeans = new ArrayList(2);
        metaBeans.add(info);
        metaBeans.add(info2);
        metaBeans.add(info3);
        String json = converter.toJSON(metaBeans);
        assertNotNull(json);
        System.out.println(json);
    }

    public void testJSON_dynaTypeEnum() throws Exception {
        MetaBean info = mbm.findForClass(BusinessObject.class);
        MetaProperty choice = info.getProperty("choice");
        choice.setType(new DynaTypeEnum(BusinessEnum.class, "CUSTOM_1", "CUSTOM_2"));

        JSONGenerator converter = new JSONGenerator();

        List<MetaBean> metaBeans = new ArrayList(1);
        metaBeans.add(info);
        String json = converter.toJSON(metaBeans);
        assertNotNull(json);
//        System.out.println(json);
        assertTrue(json.indexOf("CUSTOM_1")>0);
        assertTrue(json.indexOf("CUSTOM_2")>0);
        assertTrue(json.indexOf("VALUE1")<0);
    }

    public static Test suite() {
        return new TestSuite(MetaBeanManagerTest.class);
    }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Upper Sandy Guard Station Cabin (Government Camp, Oregon)
LC Subject
Architecture, American Architecture--United States
United States. Forest Service
Creator Display
National Register of Historic Places, http://www.nps.gov/nr
exterior: Close-up of west and south sides of chimney.
University of Oregon Libraries
Rustic (European style)
architecture (object genre) built works views (visual works) exterior views office buildings recreation buildings sports buildings dwellings houses cabins (houses) log cabins (houses) guardhouses architectural element chimneys (architectural elements)
Government Camp >> Clackamas County >> Oregon >> Pacific Northwest Clackamas County >> Oregon >> Pacific Northwest Oregon >> Pacific Northwest United States
4.5 miles east of junction of Forest Service roads 18 and 1825, Mount Hood National Forest
View Date
OR_ClackamasCounty_UpperSandyGuardCabin_0011.jpg
In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
Oregon State Historic Preservation Office
Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/HCD/SHPO/
wood; logs; stone
Primary Set
The Upper Sandy Guard Station Cabin, built in 1935, is believed to be the only Forest Service log building constructed according to a unique design with a unique random rubble masonry extension on the east facade. The cabin is built on the Upper Sandy Guard Station administrative site, and is located near the Pacific Crest National Scenic (PCNS) Trail about 500 feet southeast of the junction of the PCNS Trail and Ramona Falls Trail (#797). lt is within the Mt. Hood National Forest, and is about fíve miles north of Government Camp in Clackamas County, Oregon. The only contributing resource extant at the site, the cabin itself is commonly referred to as the This image was included in the documentation to support a nomination to the National Register of Historic Places, a program of the National Park Service. The image is provided here by the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office and the University of Oregon Libraries to facilitate scholarship, research, and teaching. For other uses, such as publication, contact the State Historic Preservation Office. Please credit the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office when using this image.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


So pleased to be able to say that there is a new addition to my public works — this is Moongate, installed at Singapore's Gardens by the Bay. The Moongate has been in my blood ever since my youthful sojourn in Penang when I saw it in the botanical gardens. I have worked and reworked the idea over many years. Why?
It speaks to me of journeys, circles of thought, cycles of life, thresholds to cross … a simple form that belies the complexities conjured.
Well, here are pictures of some versions of mine, including the Moongate at the Gardens by the Bay that was just installed.


Hydrogenated Castor Oil (HCO) or castor wax is used in capacitors, coatings and greases, cosmetics, electrical carbon paper, lubrication, polishes, and where resistance to moisture, oils and other petrochemical products is required.
Castor wax is also useful as a top coat varnish for leather, wood & rubber.
12-Hydroxy Stearic Acid (12-HSA) is obtained by the hydrolysis of Hydrogenated Castor Oil, 12-Hydroxy Stearic Acid is a high melting, brittle, waxy solid at ambient temperatures and should be stored away from heat to avoid deterioration.
A non-toxic, non-hazardous material, it has limited solubility in many organic solvents and is insoluble in water.
It is used in lithium and calcium greases, and in the manufacture of acrylic polymers, as an internal lubricant for plastic mouldings, coatings for automotive, equipment, appliances and architectural applications.
We are proud to boast industry leading products suitable for a wide array of application and product requirements.
We believe industry leading customer service, delivery and innovation allow us to meet our ever increasing client demands.
Scroll down to view our range of Hydrogenated Castor Oil (HCO).


text:
Witchcraft Today: Chapter 5 & 6
Notes made while reading "Witchcraft Today" by G.B.G Fairies GBG sees "little people" as pygmies, conflating European legend with current African & South-East Asian races pre-Celtic races, small and strong, good friends but dangerous enemies witches often intermarried with them;…
Witchcraft Today: Chapter 4
Notes made while reading "Witchcraft Today" by G.B.G Would-be witches, or those who attended heathen sabbats intelligent classes, inc. craftsmen, soldiers, merchants, doctors, sailors, farmers and clerks people seeking adventure the 'bright young things' of the time those looking for…
Notes made while reading "Witchcraft Today" by G.B.G Reincarnation and the God Horned God as god of death and resurrection, reincarnation, the next world, comforter & consoler Next world, god's realm, follows life and acts as a place of rest…
Reading – What Witches Do: Introduction
What Witches Do by Stewart Farrar was first published in 1971, after the author, a journalist, was sent to interview Alex Sanders, the founder of Alexandrian Wicca. Farrar was charmed by Sanders and his witch cult, and set about writing…
Notes made while reading "Witchcraft Today" by G.B.G. What is a witch? Men and women with knowledge of spells (via charms, potions etc) for healing, love, harming Can affect the weather Communicated with spirits, the dead, small gods Power or…
Notes made while reading "Witchcraft Today" by G.B.G. Skyclad – "only in that way can we obtain power" If clothing impedes the release of power, perhaps you're not raising it right! GBG sees aura only on bare flesh, but projection…


text:
Q: PandasGUI ERROR — tornado.application — Exception in callback functools.partial When I try to run a a jupyter notebook program with PandasGUI, I get: PandasGUI INFO — numexpr.utils — NumExpr defaulting to 4 threads.
That's followed by: PandasGUI ERROR — tornado.application — Exception in callback functools.partial(<function Kernel.enter_eventloop..advance_eventloop at 0x000002A7E8AAEDC8>)
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "C:\Users\david.faltenhine\AppData\Local\Continuum\anaconda3\lib\site-packages\tornado\ioloop.py", line 743, in _run_callback
ret = callback()
File "C:\Users\david.faltenhine\AppData\Local\Continuum\anaconda3\lib\site-packages\ipykernel\kernelbase.py", line 314, in advance_eventloop
eventloop(self)
TypeError: 'NoneType' object is not callable
If I continue and run: gui = show(df) PandasGUI loads my df but hangs.
I am able to load and run the titanic example data set, which seems to run fine, with no info message or errors...
Edit: I've tried trimming down the amount of code that I'm loading.  The info message has gone away but still getting the tornado\ioloop.py & ipykernel\kernelbase.py errors...
Any ideas what might be the problem?

A: There seems to be a conflict between PandasGUI and matplotlib
Removing the following two statements eliminates the error and allows PandasGUI to run:
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
%matplotlib inline

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Таламокортикальная дизритмия, сокращённо ТКД — это теоретическая концепция, в рамках которой специалисты в области нейронаук пытаются объяснить позитивные и негативные симптомы, вызываемые такими неврологическими и нейродегенеративными заболеваниями, как болезнь Паркинсона, эссенциальный тремор, нейропатическая боль, эпилепсия, синдром Туретта.

Как предполагается, при таламокортикальной дизритмии нормальный таламокортикальный резонанс нарушен вследствие повреждения или нарушения функции нейронов, прежде всего, таламуса, реже коры больших полушарий головного мозга.

Таламокортикальная дизритмия может быть излечена нейрохирургическими методами, такими, как центральная латеральная таламотомия или имплантация таламического стимулятора. Однако вследствие инвазивности и необратимого характера этих процедур, а также риска тяжёлых осложнений при повреждении «не тех» ядер таламуса, этот метод лечения резервируется для тех пациентов, которые оказались резистентными к более традиционному или стандартному лечению.

Обоснование
В основе теории таламокортикальной дизритмии лежит гипотеза о том, что первичное повреждение нейронов ядер таламуса может вызвать снижение уровня возбуждающей импульсации либо повышение уровня угнетающей импульсации от таламуса в кору больших полушарий головного мозга. Первичное повреждение тех или иных областей коры больших полушарий способно вызвать ретроградную функциональную атрофию соответствующих, связанных с этими областями коры, ядер таламуса, то есть их вторичное повреждение. Как тот, так и другой механизм в конечном итоге приводит к тому, что нейроны и таламуса, и коры больших полушарий головного мозга переключаются из режима тонической, постоянной, регулярной, но низкоинтенсивной биоэлектрической активности в режим нерегулярных, редких, но сильных вспышек биоэлектрической активности. Это, в свою очередь, приводит к закреплению и в таламических, и в кортикальных нейронах патологического ритма таламокортикальных осцилляций с частотой примерно 5 Гц.

Доказательства
Доказательства существования явления таламокортикальной дизритмии основываются на результатах магнитоэнцефалографических (МЭГ) и электроэнцефалографических (ЭЭГ) исследований пациентов, а также на результатах прямой записи биоэлектрической активности таламуса во время операции таламотомии или вживления таламического стимулятора. Анализ спектра мощности ЭЭГ и МЭГ пациентов показывает повышенную когерентность и повышенную бикогерентность в тета-диапазоне, по сравнению со здоровым контролем. Это доказывает тесную функциональную связь коры и таламуса пациентов при генерации патологического тета-ритма.

Потеря таламусом способности генерировать достаточное количество входящих в кору больших полушарий от самого таламуса как первоисточника, или пропущенных через фильтры таламуса потоков возбуждающих импульсов от нижележащих структур мозга и сенсорных систем — приводит к тому, что затронутый таким поражением таламокортикальный столбец или таламокортикальная цепь (ядро таламуса и связанные с ним участки коры больших полушарий) замедляет свою биоэлектрическую активность. В спектре биоэлектрической активности пораженных участков головного мозга начинают преобладать тета- или дельта-ритм. Это, в свою очередь, вызывает исчезновение или снижение выраженности феномена латерального ингибирования — феномена, благодаря которому области коры больших полушарий, проявляющие высокую биоэлектрическую активность в быстрых диапазонах волн, угнетают биоэлектрическую активность рядом расположенных (латеральных) областей коры, и становятся, таким образом, доминантным очагом возбуждения в данном регионе. В результате доминанта возбуждения перемещается в соседние, расположенные вблизи «замедлившегося» или повреждённого участка коры, области. В этих областях начинают преобладать альфа- и гамма-ритмы. При этом тета- и дельта-ритмы, исходящие из очага поражения, ответственны за негативные симптомы (то есть за выпадение тех или иных функций головного мозга, за развитие тех или иных неврологических, нейропсихиатрических или нейрокогнитивных дефицитов). Напротив, гамма-ритмы, исходящие из областей коры, окружающих или прилегающих к очагу поражения, ответственны за позитивные симптомы (то есть за появление, добавление новых феноменов, не наблюдаемых в психике или нервной деятельности здорового человека, таких, как галлюцинации и бред при психозах, или конфабуляция при амнезии и деменции, или тремор и гиперкинезы при болезни Паркинсона).

Верность этой теории о медленных тета- и дельта-ритмах как источнике или электрофизиологическом корреляте негативных, дефицитарных симптомов, и о гамма-ритмах как источнике или электрофизиологическом корреляте позитивных, добавленных симптомов, подтверждена для таких разных заболеваний, как тиннитус, фантомные боли и даже большая депрессия. Важная роль таламокортикальной когерентности или, напротив, некогерентности в формировании этих биоритмов, как нормальных, так и патологических, была установлена методом машинного обучения на больших выборках электроэнцефалограмм и магнитоэнцефалограмм. Было показано, что при каждом из упомянутых заболеваний наблюдаются значительные отклонения биоритмов в соответствующих областях коры больших полушарий от нормы, и наличествует выраженная таламокортикальная дизритмия. При этом разные психические и неврологические заболевания отличаются пространственным расположением и топографической организацией затронутых патологическим процессом таламокортикальных цепей, вовлечением разных групп ядер таламуса и разных областей коры больших полушарий.

Лечение
До настоящего времени не известен точный патофизиологический механизм, благодаря которому при поражениях таламуса или таламокортикальных цепей, или при возникновении таламокортикальной дизритмии, развиваются столь разнообразные нарушения в работе разных сенсорных систем (в частности, нарушение работы соматосенсорной системы, проявляющееся классическим таламическим синдромом Дежерина-Русси), двигательные нарушения, психические нарушения, когнитивные нарушения. Тем не менее, хирургическое вмешательство, заключающееся в стереотаксической таламотомии с селективным разрушением или нанесением повреждений в небольших участках центральных латеральных областей таламуса, или же имплантация таламического стимулятора оказались эффективными в лечении болезни Паркинсона и нейропатической боли, в том числе нейрогенной боли, такой, как таламический синдром.

Методика биологической обратной связи (БОС), при которой головной мозг пациента «обучается» усиливать или ослаблять те или иные ритмы головного мозга, их частоты, амплитуду и когерентность, может быть полезной и эффективной неинвазивной методикой лечения таламокортикальной дизритмии, особенно пригодной для сравнительно лёгких случаев.

Примечания

Заболевания таламуса

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Deb Katie Alender is pleased to announce that Bad Girls Don't Die is now available for pre-order at Barnes & Noble.com!
The query letter* for Deb Kristina's novel, Real Life & Liars, is featured in a new book out this week called The Writers Digest Guide to Query Letters, by Wendy Burt-Thomas. See how it all began and maybe pick up some query letter tips.
Deb Eve's short-short fiction piece, "Losing Africa," appears in New Millennium Writings 2008-09 which is available now.
Deb Katie is reading Me & Mr. Darcy by Alexandra Potter.
Deb Meredith is reading First Comes Love, then Comes Malaria by Deb Eve.


As we've seen time and time again, people just aren't digging the sounds of turbo F1 cars. The noises are muffled, and thanks to the V6 engine layout, the tone isn't too great either. That doesn't mean all V6s are bad though, as this Alfa Romeo DTM car will now demonstrate.
The Alfa Romeo 155 V6 Ti was a Class 1 FIA race car built to compete in the German Touring Car Championship in the mid 1990s. Featuring a 450-horsepower 2.5-liter V6 that could rev to 11,500 rpm, it's the perfect car to reshape how we think about V6 engines.
Here it is being driven past the limit by driver Silvano Laschino during the Italian Hillclimb Championship. Not only does it sound amazing, it's impressively quick as well. Those wings and splitters scattered on the body provide some serious downforce, meaning we get to hear it at wide-open-throttle even more.
Make sure to use headphones for this one.


Growing up in a Filipino household, my role as a daughter was clearly defined. From a very early age, I was expected to do the "girl" things around the house: dust, laundry, dishes, and more. Here I am at age 5ish doing the dishes. I was often told "girls don't talk like that" or "girls don't do those kind of things" when it came to the way I carried myself. I had a strict curfew and the idea of a "boyfriend" was out of the question.
As I grew up, I noticed my younger brother didn't have the same responsibilities as I did. He didn't have to help around the house as much as I was expected to. As long as he called my parents, he was allowed to stay out past the curfew I was given. He's allowed to have his girlfriend sleepover and vice-versa. Even today, as he's in his 20's and I'm in my 30's, there are still expectations my parents have of me that they don't necessarily hold my brother to.
2012 was the year of the 12 runs in 2012 challenge by friend Eleina and I committed to in the last few weeks of 2011. You can read about all the fun we had here.
Then 2013 came. I didn't have a challenge or a goal to commit to so the weeks went by, quickly at that, where runs, walks, or trips to the gym were few and far between. After a trying day at work and the challenges of my daily routine as a mom of by two boys, I was just too tired at the end of the day to do some exercise. The pounds came back on, the stresses at work and home got the best of me, and here we are at the halfway point of 2013 without much exercise.
I'm a Mom of a Graduate!
I'm a mom of a preschool graduate! Yes, I know, it's only preschool but it's a graduate nonetheless and a reason to celebrate and be thankful for the wonderful blessings of my eldest son!
As I helped Jelo put on his white gown and mortar board, I couldn't help but fast forward 13 years down the road to when he'll put his on high school graduation gown. I realized 13 years isn't too far away. This is when the tears began.
As I watched him participate in the processional into the ceremony, I got that lump in my throat and tears in my eyes.
I wasn't going to cry as he sang with all his heart during the performances - I couldn't hold back the tears!
Tears of pride welled up in my eyes as he came up to the front of the audience and proudly said, "Hi, my name is Julian Garcia and when I grow up I want to be a doctor!".
SeaWorld San Diego's "MADAGASCAR LIVE! OPERATION: VACATION"
The Garcia Family is in full summer vacation mode now! Jelo just graduated from pre-school and I'm on summer vacation from my work as a school counselor so it's time to enjoy our sunny San Diego and all that it has to offer!
Today, my boys and I were fortunate to get a sneak peak into SeaWorld San Diego's new show "MADAGASCAR LIVE! OPERATION: VACATION" which opens to all SeaWorld guests tomorrow, June 15th, in the Mission Bay Theater.
My sons loved the the 20-minute musical show which includes all of the well-known characters of the Madagascar movies: Alex the Lion, Gloria the Hippo, King Julien, Mort and the Penguins.
Check out my latest post on SD Moms Blog! Poppin' tags at the Spring Valley Swap Meet!
I love coming home from a long day at work to find a package waiting at my door. It's always a delight to open the package to find something I ordered online or a new product I'm being invited to try. The packages are usually in a boring brown or white box, but a few days ago I was greeted with a brown box with an inviting green design.
Once I opened my NatureBox, I was happy to be greeted with Lemon Pucker Pistachios, BBQ Kettle Kernels, Guacamole Bites, Lemon Meringue Waffles, and Whole Wheat Raspberry Figgy Bars. My mouth began to salivate with my excitement to try these healthy snacks!
The small packages were perfect to pack for our Saturday trip to Disneyland. My sons loved the Lemon Meringue Waffles. They kept asking for more and were sad when they reached the bottom of the package!
The sight of cruise ships, sail boats, and kayaks in our beautiful bays and seashores is one of the reasons why San Diego is America's Finest City!
This summer Progressive Insurance brings to us the annual San Diego International Boat Show which allows in novice, as well as the experts to learn about the latest and greatest in Boats and Accessories, Superyachts, Stand Up Paddling, and On-Water Education. More than 100 vessels, from entry-level family cruisers and personal watercraft to luxury motor and sailing yachts, plus a new selection of superyachts, will be docked in the marina and parked on land for visitors to browse, board and buy.
New! Discover the life of luxury aboard superyachts: For the first time, the boat show will feature a selection of superyachts from 100 ft. and up. Whether a big buyer or dreamer, visitors won't want to miss this fleet of yachts.


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New Delhi: Around Rs 20 crore in cash was seized by CBI during drives at 13 locations in Delhi and suburban Noida, Uttar Pradesh in connection with an alleged racket involved with the supply of packaged drinking water in premium trains. The racket allegedly supplied lower grade packaged drinking water other than the mandatory 'Rail Neer' in premium trains including Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said, a case has been registered against the then Chief Commercial Manager (Catering) of Northern Railways MS Chalia, and a man named Sandeep Silas.
CBI also booked private companies – RK Associates Pvt Ltd, Satyam Caterers Pvt Ltd, Ambuj Hotel and Real Estate, PK Associates Pvt Ltd, Sunshine Pvt Ltd, Brandavan Food Product and Food World – under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Notably, Silas has served as a private secretary to a former union minister.
Sources revealed that Rs 20 crore was seized from the residence of Shyam Bihari Agrawal and his sons Abhishek Agrawal and Rahul Agarwal, who own RK Associates and Brandavan Food Product.
The officials were accused of extending favours to these private firms in the supply of cheap packaged drinking water other than the mandatory 'Rail Neer' in premium trains, including the Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express.
CBI spokesperson Devpreet Singh said the Railway Board had prescribed that the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) shall provide 'Rail Neer' at Rs10.50 (approx) per bottle to private caterers who would be paid Rs 15 (approx) per bottle for supplying the same to passengers in premium trains.
However, private suppliers, in order to obtain undue gain, were allegedly supplying cheap packaged water, other than 'Rail Neer', available in the market at Rs.5.70 to Rs.7 (approx) per bottle, thereby causing monetary gains to themselves and loss to the exchequer, the official said.
"The accused public servants did not take any action against the private parties providing catering services in the premium trains, despite repeated requests from the IRCTC over non-lifting of allotted quota of 'Rail Neer' by private caterers," the spokesperson said.
The CBI said that Railway Board directions to ensure the supply of 'Rail Neer' in premium trains were ignored by accused officials, causing undue pecuniary advantage to private parties and corresponding loss to the IRCTC.
"Searches were conducted today (Friday) at 13 places in Delhi and Noida, which led to recovery of cash amount of around Rs 20 crore and a large number of incriminating documents," the spokesperson added.


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Apple Thinks Big – Next Step in Apple Design: Augmented Reality
Seems Apple is going to enter the world of Augmented Reality. Can the new iPhone succeed where Google Glass failed?
Samantha Limberger March 23, 2017 • 3 min read
In the never-ending journey to try and outdo all the competitors, Chief Executive Officer of Apple Tim Cook has a "new" idea for the future of Apple: Augmented Reality. Now, this isn't the first "new" idea that Cook has pitched to work on, including but not limited to Artificial Intelligence and Driverless Cars. However, is Augmented Reality the way to go?
Image courtesy gaborbalogh.myportfolio.com
As some of you know, instead of creating a headset that projects a different picture as with Virtual Reality, AR simply overlays images and video overtop the real world. One example of this is Google Glass, the AR headset that bombed hard in 2014. Not only was Google Glass incredibly expensive, but it also brought up privacy and safety concerns, since AR was easily a distraction while driving and the device could be easily stolen and have all the user's information open to whoever is wearing the device. Also, Google Glass did not accommodate people with hearing aids and is additionally not suitable for people who cannot understand speech.
If Apple is going to try AR, what would be the best way to come about it? The most logical solution is to make it an accessory to the iPhone, much like the Apple Watch. However, even the Apple Watch has its problems. While it had an initial boom in sales at its release date, sales declined 52% in the third quarter, selling 2.7 million compared to the initial 5.6 million and dropped again to 1.1 million the next year for a total decline of 72%. So popularity will be an issue. Not to mention that if there is a headset, there will be technical problems. While the iPhone would do all the higher processes, projecting 3D content to the headset would consume far too much power, and there are enough problems with the iPhone battery life as it is. A headset would also require a new operating system, as well as useful apps, games, the ability to adapt older apps into its system without being intrusive…It could be a logistical nightmare.
So maybe an external accessory isn't a good idea. There are predictions that maybe Apple will implement AR into the new iPhone 8 as if there wasn't enough going on with the iPhone 8. It would be interesting, though, to have AR help you navigate through the Maps, and the ability to point the phone camera at an object and have it identify it for you.
However we won't know more about the iPhone 8 until the September launch date, and we might not know of Augmented Reality with Apple for even longer. While Apple reportedly has "hundreds" of people working on bringing this technology mainstream, there is no telling when they might release a product for the public to use.
Samantha Limberger
Contributor, SnapMunk
Sam is a GTA- based freelance Writer and Graphic Artist.While she's new to the tech world she's had the opportunity to write for various publications. She has spent 5 years of her life dedicated to making people laugh via her comic Let's Ask Violet.Originally, Sam submitted a drawing of herself in a giant purple dinosaur costume terrorizing Toronto, but the editors realized that there is such a thing as "too awesome", and asked requested a normal photo instead.
Latest posts by Samantha Limberger (see all)
No More Thumb Prints – Apple hoping to use 3D Face Scanning for the iPhone - July 6, 2017
Boaty McBoatface Has Returned! WITH DATA! - June 29, 2017
AI-Powered Job Search, Google's New Way To Look For Jobs - June 22, 2017
Filed Under: Industry Insights, Samantha Limberger Tagged With: Apple, Augmented Reality, iPhone 8, Tim Cook
George Mitton says
It really looks like that iPhone 8 is shaping up to be the next big thing coming from Apple!
Clarence Downs says
I think its pretty cool. The example shown with directions to the location you are headed seems nice as it is over layed on what you are currently looking at. I like to hear more about this.
Willie Moore says
I feel the same way about the one with directions shown for you. It seems like a great use of the augmented reality.
Tony Evans says
🙂 I just cannot get how much innovation Apple brings to the market. Augmented reality is not up and coming, it is here. Companies have just not figured out a way to really use it to benefit a consumer. If any company can make that work, it will be Apple.


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text:
Ecuador's Galapagos islands get on Google Street View
Image source, AP
Street View allows users to explore a dive with sea lions off the Galapagos coast
Some of the striking landscapes of Ecuador's Galapagos islands can now be explored online on Google Street View.
The launch marks the 178th anniversary of the British scientist Charles Darwin's visit, which inspired his theory of natural selection.
The high-definition 360 degrees pictures are a joint project between Google, the Galapagos National Park and the Darwin Foundation.
The pictures were taken with a special backpack camera during 10 days in May.
Many of the animals seen by Darwin in his 1835 voyage were captured on camera by Google staff.
Camera crews dived with sea-lions, trekked on the islands' biggest volcano and accompanied a leafy meal of the famous giant tortoises.
Viewers can also have a taste of less famous Galapagos wildlife, including marine iguanas, blue-footed boobies and Frigatebirds.
As in other Street View projects, you can zoom in and out and move around the images.
"The natural history of this archipelago is very remarkable: it seems to be a little world within itself," Darwin said after visiting the islands.
The Galapagos are available to browse on Street View alongside other remote places, such as the Maldives in the Indian Ocean, and the Grand Canyon in the US.
Trouble in Galapagos 'paradise'
Google backpack for off-Street Views
Has Street View changed how we act?
Ecuador country profile
Street View map of Galapagos


Along with wasabi and soy sauce, gari, also known as sushi ginger, is a traditional accompaniment to makizushi. It is generally eaten between sushi courses as a palate cleanser.
Try to use very fresh, young ginger for this recipe so the gari will be as tender as possible.
Bring the vinegar sugar, salt and food coloring to a boil in a small, non-reactive saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
Add the ginger, reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 minute.
Pour the ginger and liquid into a heat-proof jar and let marinate for at least one hour. Store refrigerated for up to a month.


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What happens when Head Sleep Geek Mark Quinn and his team spends three days with a New York Times bestselling author? Big ideas emerge (to say the least). Find out what five lessons Roy H. Williams taught Mark in this week's Q's Views.


European stock markets opened lower on Friday, as tensions surrounding Greece continued to overshadow sentiment. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.3% to 391.66, while the German DAX 30 index fell 0.8% to 11,249.61 and the French CAC 40 index dropped 0.5% to 4,947.17. On Thursday, the International Monetary Fund announced Thursday that it was halting bailout talks with Greece over a lack of progress toward a deal to avert a Greek default. The Stoxx Europe 600 still remains nearly 1% higher on the week.


identification, information, communications, and forensics. <<NOTE: Oct.
Sec. 214. Enactment and consent of the United States.
Sec. 215. Effect on other laws.
Sec. 216. Enforcement and implementation.
Sec. 217. National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact.
Sec. 222. Facilitation of fingerprint checks.
Identification Technology Act of 1998''.
purposes to improve the administration of criminal justice.
among Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies.
Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (18 U.S.C. 922 note).
wholly or in part, the requirements of this subsection.
are distributed on an equitable geographic basis.
SEC. 201. <<NOTE: 42 USC 14601 note.>> SHORT TITLE.
SEC. 211. <<NOTE: 42 USC 14601 note.>> SHORT TITLE.
Privacy Compact Act of 1998''.
SEC. 212. <<NOTE: 42 USC 14611.>> FINDINGS.
contained therein from unauthorized disclosure or use.
SEC. 213. <<NOTE: 42 USC 14612.>> DEFINITIONS.
Prevention and Privacy Compact set forth in section 217.
established under Article VI of the Compact.
that has ratified the Compact.
and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
SEC. 215. <<NOTE: 42 USC 14614.>> EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.
5, United States Code (commonly known as the ``Privacy Act of 1974'').
(E) the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C.
Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).
Federal Government to its officers or employees.
SEC. 216. <<NOTE: 42 USC 14615.>> ENFORCEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION.
all Party States in enforcing the Compact and effectuating its purposes.
is a regular full-time employee of the repository.
storage, and dissemination of criminal history records.
previously provided for criminal justice purposes.
nonserious offenses published periodically by the FBI.
intervention by any other party or agency.
is promulgated in accordance with applicable law.
record repositories of the States and the FBI.
criminal history records in the III System.
State that has not ratified this Compact.
naturalization matters, and national security clearances.
that has ratified this Compact.
thereof, shall not constitute positive identification.
and privacy of such records.
aspects of III System operation.
users on the effective date of this Compact.
Attorney General, that authorizes national indices checks.
for criminal history record checks for noncriminal justice purposes.
another State criminal history record repository or the FBI.
repositories shall not be permitted for noncriminal justice purposes.
does not involve a request to process fingerprints.
forwarded to the FBI for a search of the national indices.
as practicable after the effective date of this Compact.
Nonparty States shall be eligible to serve on an interim basis.
justice agencies of the Federal Government.
membership of that policy board.
to only 1 additional 2-year term.
Council, including the matters to be addressed at such meeting.
business not requiring a vote.
procedures, or standards established by the Council.
provide such assistance or information upon such a request.
accordance with the laws of the executing State.
U.S.C. App.) for all purposes other than noncriminal justice.
the use and dissemination of criminal history records and information.
renounced by the Party State.
State to each other Party State and to the Federal Government.
pursuant to the requirements of Article VI(e).
to prevent abuses, until the Council holds a hearing on such matters.
States Code, or other statutory authority.
SEC. 221. <<NOTE: 42 USC 5101 note.>> SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Volunteers for Children Act''.
background checks, if any, established by the State.''.
fingerprint background check pursuant to subsection (a)(3)''.
1996, and 1997'' and inserting ``1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002''.
Oct. 7, considered and passed House, amended.
Oct. 8, Senate concurred in House amendment.


Since last December, when Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos surprised Charlie Rose of 60 Minutes with the futuristic plan of air-delivering packages door-to-door by drones, the debate and controversy was quick to spread across America. While most were tormented over the alleged invasion of privacy, I was reminded of another, less attractive, definition of the word drone that continues to plague America (drone: a person who lives on the labor of others; a parasitic loafer).
A recent survey conducted by Mashable.com and SurveyMonkey revealed that nearly 10% of all Americans go to work high each day. As shocking as this sounds (especially to the sober-minded), I expect this number to get even worse in the near future.
Cannabis can now be purchased legally for medicinal use in just about every other state; which has caused its recreational use to skyrocket. Unfortunately, with our national debt breaking record highs and a recession in slow recovery, this couldn't be happening at a worse time for Americans.
I am not against the use of medicinal marijuana, but I am against the abuse of it. There are many who truly benefit from using cannabis to reduce nausea from chemotherapy, or to treat pain and muscle spasticity. However, those who smoke pot each day for pleasure or as a remedy for common aches, risk suffering from both short and long-term side-effects that will negate any gain. A few of the side-effects include: anxiety, sensory distortion, lowered reaction time, suppression of immune system, lack of motivation, mood changes, inability to understand things clearly and many more.
As a very proud and hardworking American, I am often reminiscent of how the 300,000 immigrants who came to this country, unable to speak the language and with little more than the shirt on their backs, prevailed against The Great Depression. This dedicated group left their families and everything they loved behind for the hope and dream of building a better life and brighter future in America. Failure was not an option and the devastated economy didn't change that, nor did it stop the discipline, focus and ambition that each American had to succeed.
For the tough immigrants of this era, there were almost no handouts and nothing came easy. They begged for work and gratefully accepted anything they could get their hands on, believing that outperforming the competition was the only way to succeed. Every task or job completed, no matter how small or light in pay, was of superior quality; which made every accomplishment about pride and building a strong reputation.
The immigrants of this great nation were hungry and did the right thing each day with very little reward. They were resilient and found countless ways to prevail against every pressure; which included unemployment rates > 20%. With exhausted bodies and stressed minds, our ancestors never looked to escape reality, they broke their backs to change it!
Today the opposite appears to be true, and America has lost its competitive edge as a result of it. The collapse of our education system further removes hope of our recovery towards greatness any time soon ... According to the Program for International Student Assessment, we now rank 24/65 on high school literacy. The Economist Intelligence Unit also reports that the United States ranks 17/40 in overall educational performance. Those days of providing our children with the advantages necessary to thrive are officially now over.
America's shoddy performance only begins here, as it can be observed in just about everyone and everything that surrounds us ... From spineless people, like the greedy who deliberately take what very little others have, and the slackers who charge top dollar for sub par work, to our many products and services that fail to meet expectations, quality or safety standards, all are telltale signs that the pride of this once great nation is in a death spiral. Today, everything is all about the money, and the American pride and integrity we once shared has been sold-out.
If things are this bad now, just imagine what America will be like when 20, 30 or 40% of the people go to work or school stoned each day. How much further removed from greatness will our county get? In a dazed and confused society, nothing ever gets learned or done right. The contractor who received half upfront, never shows up to complete the job, college students opt for another loan before ever leaving the couch to earn a buck, and our most brilliant doctors take to the golf courses on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Motivation is an internal engine and a catalyst to sustained greatness for all Americans who have it. Motivation is the fuel our ancestors of the 1930's used to drive us back into power, and it is exactly what's needed today to restore our strength once again.
Unfortunately, motivation is also what's first to be destroyed by the use of cannabis. Smoking pot for recreational use will bring unnecessary hurdles into your life and derail your future before it has the chance to get started. In a world where companies are after the brightest and most talented employees, Americans are now forced to compete globally for every new position, and the competition couldn't be happier. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if China, India and Russia subsidized our free consumption of recreational marijuana. But let's not be so eager to point the finger, just beware of how weak minds are first to be exploited.
Our government recognizes this and proves to be another great detriment ... through its eagerness to innovate new ways of income redistribution and other forms of entitlement, all are designed to remove us from power and squash our ambition ... as opposed to helping us acquire the skills and disciplines needed to succeed.
There is no denying that this country is in trouble, and in desperate need of monumental change; which means that our ability to focus is now of most importance. The rebuilding of American Pride is not something that can be outsourced or carried out by others. Our success as a nation starts with the dedication and commitment of each and every individual; which includes you and me!
We must all possess the ambition and motivation to strive for full potential. This is only achieved by removing any distractions and focusing on performing our very best. It's hard enough for both Generation Y and Z to put down their devices, or shift eyes away from the latest Tweet. Asking this group to also contend with a spirit-crushing force as great as marijuana may be the final blow that does us all in.
It is not too late to fight and keep your dream, the American Dream, alive. Appreciate the fact that there are still many in the world who wish they had the opportunity Americans do today. When we take everything we have for granted, nobody will ever work hard to keep it. Always stay hungry for more, and realize that success comes to those who believe there is no tomorrow. Start being the person you dream to be today!
If you find yourself in a position of weakness, or gravitating towards the use of cannabis, play the audio clip below and focus on staying motivated to perform your best. Listen to the recording over and over again if you must. When you have the right attitude and mindset, nothing can break you.


zebra balloon. Learn more about this exotic zebra balloon.
they're the perfect accessories for those Easter and Springtime baskets! ?Learn more about our line of bunny balloons.
It may only be January but the My Own Pet walking balloons are already looking towards Halloween.? MyOwnPet Balloons joined thousands for the Halloween & Party Expo in Dallas, TX to discuss how these walking balloons are the perfect accessory for Halloween costumes.?? The Halloween & Party Expo connects a global audience of serious buyers and sellers of Halloween, Costume and Party products. Thousands of retailers spanning single stores to mass market domestic and international chains come to the Expo to view the latest industry products and services.? Our giraffe balloons were there with all of their MyOwnPet friends to welcome attendees to this exceptional event.
My Own Pet Balloons are proud to introduce the latest addition to our family: the new pet giraffe balloon. Learn more about this exotic giraffe balloon.
dog balloon was presented as the writer highlighted how the MyOwnPet balloons can give children ?a taste of pet ownership.?? Our proud relationship with Canines for Disabled Kids was also noted.


Projects | ICT 2015 · Innovate, Connect, Transform, 20-22 October 2015 · Lisbon, Portugal.
The EMOTE project, developed by a Portuguese team of researchers, aims to develop robotic tutors as learning facilitator tools.
Current platforms fail to engage students the same way a traditional teacher does, as they lack the personal, human elements. EMOTE focuses on a new generation of Empathic Robots.
The project explores how the exchange of emotional cues with an artificial tutor may create a sense of connection and benefit the learning experience.
Research is being held in real classroom settings. Children between 11 to 13 years old are given the opportunity to interact with a NAO™ robot and a MultiTouch™ table and perform activities and games aligned with the current pedagogical curriculum.
You can get closer to this project visiting the exhibition at Praça do Comércio.
PCAS project aims at reducing data exposure when on mobile devices. PCAS will provide a mobile data storage and transfer environment using biometrics to encrypt data, secure communication and authenticate users.
SPD (Secure Personal Device) is a smartphone accessory that mimics a protective sleeve but will store information, authenticate the user and mediate communication with service provides.
Mobile payments (after biometric authentication on the SPD).


Telephone Wire Baskets are handmade in a wide selection of sizes, colors, styles and African patterns by the rural men and woman of South Africa. The designs will vary from bowl to bowl, or we can custom make the bowls in your corporate colors. Below are a few images of the Wire Baskets we supply.
See more information on TELEPHONE WIRE BASKETS here.
MIXED OPTION: if yoou choose "MIXED" telephone wire bowls below you will receive a wide range of bowls similar to the bowls in that size range - see more info on MIXED product ordering here.