This Pokemon Movie, I'd have to say was good for the most part.
The story plot was FAIR. When I originally heard about the movie, I thought it would be much much much different. Since I've been a Pokemon Fan for most of my life, I was expecting the movies to have much more of a Climatical part. It did not have a true "climax" per se. It was an average movie with an average storyline.
The art was nothing special. The best art I saw was at the very end. The art was just as if it was a regular old Pokemon episode.
Sound was my favorite part. I loved the theme song in both English and Japanese, and I loved how the ending theme stayed the same. I also loved the song Aracion.
Of course, Ash, Brock, and Dawn make an appearance, being the main Characters. I didn't see anything outstanding in the adding of the movie characters. Just like the episodes, there was nothing that made them stand out.
When I watch a movie, I want to have somewhat the same thrill of when I watched it the very first time. I want it to be moving. When I watched this movie, I saw it all. I only re-watch it if my friends wants to see it again or if I was going to be in a Pokemon TCG tourney the next day.
Overall, it earns a fair 7. It was decent the first time through, but after that, it just gets boring and more boring.
The Rise of Darkrai relies on a big number of epic movie tropes nestled in live action. The film also surprises due to its clear cut structure and by the books approach to various small details. Something Pokemon were ignoring and more often than not, struggling with, ever since the fourth film.
Two guys will compete for a girl and it will be shown, not told. The resolution will be clear as the loser stumbles in the background. No exposition needed. Don't get me wrong, by no means is this a masterpiece. What it is, is a highly polished work following all the standard conventions with enough sophistication to be a good cartoon.
I wouldn't call any single component of the film bad, but where it does stumble, or at the very least, doesn't shine as the rest, are the characters. The main show cast don't get much attention. Plot expiosition is what they've been used for before and that's what they're used for here. By no means are their lines cringeworthy. By no means are they especially interesting, either. This becomes a hinderance which prevents the film from getting a higher rating, as their wacky shenanigans in the second act, while main plot is on hold, don't hold a candle to what comes before and after. They could've been given character developement or something meaningful to do so we connect to them. Slightly boring and overly silly slapstick dominates a dozen scenes. At least they're watchable.
Alice and Tonio are worth a mention. Their simple, but fun relationship subtly embelishes a few moments. Darkrai stole a few scenes, as well. Expecting him to be an edgelord, this was quite a surprise to me.
There's a thin line between an unoriginal ripoff and a well executed, traditional story. I've already praised the film for being the latter. One element of the plot stands out, though. Music. Pokemon flirted with this idea in the second film, but didn't have the courage to incorporate Melody's song into the plot. This is fortunate, since the song wasn't exceptional. I'm by no means an expert in music, but I found the song in here pretty good for what it is - an audience mover. While by no means something heavenly, it works well enough that you can accept it as having mythological significance in the film.
Artwork for the film was pretty good. Use of CGI for the church, while justified, wasn't nearly as flawless as in some older Pokemon works. Still, CGI was utilized in multiple good action scenes. Action was pretty good in general here. Almost as relevant as in the last film's final action scene, Ash gets to do something again. Ash, Dawn & their pokemon are really fun to watch as they wrestle with time and space to save themselves.
There's nothing more to say. It's a highly polished action film with weaker characters than I'd like. Groundbreaking? No. Solid? Yes.
Recommendation to pretty much anyone interested.
Well, let us start with the Story.
It's always interesting - especially in the case of Pokemon - how they made it so far! At that time over 400 Pokémons - and the Franchise seem to be still growing!
This movie I just watched because I liked (and I still do so) the 4th Gen. very much! And that's why I came to watch it! And I wasn't disappointed. The storyline has gotten an epic Flair which I really enjoyed. The battle between Palkia and Dialga and, finally, Darkrei as well, was something I didn't expect. That's why I consider the Story as quite fresh, a little bit dramatic and sad.
The Sound was just phenomenal - especially the Oracion-theme! WOW! I was thrilled from the very beginning!!
I was looking forward to seeing this movie (especially because of Darkrai, Dialga and Palkia).
Not a bad film on the scale set by Pokémon movies.
The art was beautiful, although nothing out of the ordinary. Still, I liked it, and it stood out nicely for itself.
Besides our heroes, the guest stars were okay, and they were given enough background, screen time and character to make themselves useful.
The plot itself... the movie started really slow. It seemed to take forever before things actually got going, and by the time the end was near, it didn't feel like much; after all the battling between Dialga and Palkia in the past minutes, the conclusion was nothing special.
All in all a good movie, definitely worth the watch, and the story was good if you don't count the fact that they didn't really bring anything amazing/awesome into it.
Also, I liked Darkrai's voice more than I have liked other Pokémon voices made into actual speech. It sounded far more... realistic.


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Mets say David Wright still not ready as possible standoff looms
By Mike Puma
September 7, 2018 | 8:56pm
David Wright Paul J. Bereswill
Red Sox interested in Mets coach as both teams search for manager
Why under is a smarter play when wagering MLB win totals
Simulated game or simulated farce?
David Wright is scheduled to participate in a simulated game Saturday at Citi Field as part of his attempt to rejoin the Mets' roster before the season concludes, but team officials already seem to have the third baseman's fate decided, at least in their minds.
"[Wright] had the better part of the summer to get back to the point where he could get in rehab games," assistant general manager John Ricco said Friday. "He did that, but not at the level we had talked about. Honestly, it does get more difficult to foresee a situation where he could come back to that level."
It's setting up for a potential game of chicken between the Mets and their captain, with club officials perhaps daring Wright to flex a muscle and try to force his way onto the roster by calling out the team publicly. At stake for the club is the remainder of Wright's salary — about $2.6 million — that is covered by insurance as he sits on the disabled list. If Wright is activated, the Mets are on the hook for his entire remaining salary. Otherwise, the club is reimbursed 75 percent.
Ricco was asked about the financial ramifications if Wright is activated.
"I think really where we have been all along, it's been a health thing," Ricco said. "He's been out for two years, and when he comes back is he physically able to take the field and perform, so that is really where my mind has been.
"I am not privy to the conversations that have been had between us and the insurance company. I really don't know about that. The focus we've had has been trying to get David back as a full-time player."
Mets assistant general manager John RiccoPaul J. Bereswill
Last week, upon rejoining the Mets in San Francisco to continue his rehab, Wright was careful to dance around the issue of whether he felt ready to play, but indicated he was accepting of the team's challenge to show improvement.
In the mind of team officials, Wright's opinion about his health may not matter: Ricco admitted Friday he had not asked Wright since the conclusion of his minor league rehab assignment if he felt he was ready to play.
Wright took grounders and hit in the indoor cage before the Mets faced the Phillies, but didn't stop to speak with The Post about his situation.
Though Wright has appeared healthy in his workouts, following 12 games in the minor leagues, he has not been cleared medically to play at the major league level, according to Ricco.
And what if Wright believes he is healthy enough to play?
Sources indicated that Wright, who last played for the Mets on May 27, 2016, could file a grievance with the union, but it would likely be fruitless for this season, given that such cases usually take months to be heard.
On top of that, the fact Wright has spinal stenosis, a chronic condition in his back, would make it difficult for Wright to win his case.
Wright's recourse could be to challenge the team publicly, though that would go against the nature of a player who has held a cordial relationship with team owner Fred Wilpon and COO Jeff Wilpon over the years.
Even with expanded September rosters and the Mets long removed from a playoff race, Ricco downplayed the idea of the 35-year-old Wright returning in a limited role.
"David is obviously David Wright," Ricco said. "But we look at it the same way we look at all these guys: When you come back, you come back as a player, not in that limited type of a role, because you never know what the game is going to throw at you. You say it's just a pinch- hitter and then he's running, so we really haven't talked about a lower bar."
Filed under david wright , fred wilpon , john ricco , new york mets
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text:
Tagged: Mariners
A little baseball on Trade Deadline day: Twins vs. Mariners 7/31
By: Kelly Thesier/MLB.com
MINNEAPOLIS — Most of the focus today in baseball has been centered around the 3 p.m. CT non-waiver Trade Deadline.
But the Twins do have a big matchup against the Mariners tonight as well. They'll face Felix Hernandez who is 4-3 with a 2.56 ERA in 10 career starts against the Twins.
Here are the lineups:
Ichiro Suzuki, RF
Chone Figgins, 2B
Casey Kotchman, 1B
Branyan, DH
Franklin Gutierrez, CF
Michael Saunders, LF
Bard, C
Matt Tuiasosopo, 3B
Jack Wilson, SS
Pitching: RHP Felix Hernandez (7-7, 2.86 ERA)
Alexi Casilla, 2B
Jim Thome, DH
Danny Valencia, 3B
J.J. Hardy, SS
Pitching: RHP Kevin Slowey
(9-5, 4.76 ERA)
can follow me on Twitter @kellythesier
Written by mlblogskellythesier1 Leave a comment Posted in Dailies	Tagged with lineups, Mariners, Twins
Capps joins new teammates — Twins vs. Mariners 7/30
MINNEAPOLIS — Matt Capps has arrived at Target Field and he spent over 10 minutes right before batting practice speaking with the local media. By all accounts he seemed like a great guy and one who will fit in well in the Twins clubhouse.
Capps is wearing No. 55 and when asked about his entrance music, Capps said he's never actually chosen it himself. But since he was pitching well with the Nationals' choice of "The Final Countdown" by Europe, it's likely that he'll keep that here at Target Field as well.
Lots of roster moves here today, which I blogged about earlier. To make room for Capps, the Twins optioned right-hander Nick Blackburn to Triple-A Rochester. The move should allow Blackburn to pitch more and hopefully get himself back on track.
Nick Punto was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring and the Twins recalled infielder Trevor Plouffe to take his spot on the roster.
Justin Morneau was at Target Field today and took some light swings off a tee for the first time since suffering a concussion on July 7. Morneau said things have been progressing, albeit slower than he'd like. He's still trying to work through not having any lingering effects later in the day after he's done some activity. So there is still no exact timetable for him to return as he said they'll take it "day by day."
Oh yeah, and there is a game tonight too as the Twins host the Mariners for the start of a three-game series here.
Mariners (39-64)
Russell Branyan, DH
Josh Bard, C
Josh Wilson, 3B
Pitching: RHP Doug Fister (3-6, 3.56 ERA)
Pitching: RHP Scott Baker
Written by mlblogskellythesier1 Leave a comment Posted in Dailies	Tagged with Capps, Mariners, Morneau, Twins
Valencia makes his debut: Twins at Mariners 6/3
SEATTLE — Third baseman Danny Valencia will make his Major League debut against the Mariners tonight, as the Twins try to split the series with Seattle.
Shortstop J.J. Hardy is not in the lineup tonight, which likely is just a break for him and his sore left wrist against the Mariners' tough right-hander, Felix Hernandez.
UPDATE: Hardy said that his left wrist has gotten a little irritated the more swings he takes and tonight manager Ron Gardenhire wanted to give him a rest. Hardy didn't take batting practice yesterday and likely won't over the next few days as he tries to give his wrist a break.
Gardenhire said that Orlando Hudson took a few ground balls on Wednesday but that his left wrist is still sore. The club will see how Hudson is doing in Oakland, but the expectation is still that it could be a couple more days before he's ready to return to the lineup.
Valencia is excited to be in the lineup tonight and make his debut — even if it is against King Felix.
Justin Morneau, 1B
Punto, SS
Pitching: RHP Carl Pavano
Jose Lopez, 3B
Milton Bradley, DH
Josh Wilson, SS
Rob Johnson, C
Written by mlblogskellythesier1 Leave a comment Posted in Dailies	Tagged with Mariners, Twins
Bring on Cliff Lee: Twins at Mariners 6/2
SEATTLE — Sorry for the lack of a lineup post yesterday. For some reason, I typed a blog entry and it never ended up posting. Oh well, guess I need to learn technology a little better.
After facing two pitchers who throw similar to their own starting staff the last two days, the Twins now face a bigger test in the final two contests of this series. Cliff Lee and Felix Hernandez — perhaps two of the best pitchers in the American League — will start for Seattle beginning tonight with Lee on the mound.
Having gone 1-1 over the first two games of the series, it seems the Twins would be happy to walk out of Safeco Field tomorrow night with a split.
Here are the lineups. I'll have more news later.
UPDATE: Of course the big news here in Seattle today is Ken Griffey Jr.'s retirement which came about suddenly. Griffey issued a statement and the Mariners were reacting to the news that the 22-year career of the future Hall of Famer had come to an end.
As for Twins news, there was plenty of that as well. Michael Cuddyer's father-in-law, Jon Rente, passed away on Monday night and the Twins outfielder is leaving the team on Thursday for the funeral in the Arlington, Virginia/Washington D.C. area. Cuddyer is scheduled to rejoin the Twins on Tuesday for their homestand in Minnesota. The Twins will put Cuddyer on the bereavement list after tonight's game and make a corresponding roster move.
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire also said that infielder Alexi Casilla will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow to remove a bone spur and loose bodies on Friday. Casilla will miss 4-8 weeks.
Cuddyer, RF
Jason Kubel, DH
Punto, 3B
Pitching: RHP Kevin Slowey (6-3, 4.15 ERA)
Chone Figgins,
Mike Sweeney, DH
Milton Bradley, LF
Lopez, 3B
LHP Cliff Lee (3-2, 3.22 ERA)
Cuddyer at 2B: Twins at Mariners 5/31
SEATTLE — Happy Memorial Day, everyone. I had a large group of service men and women on my flight to Seattle today and it was a real privilege to get to clap as they exited the plane before the rest of the passengers.
I had an update earlier on the blog about second baseman Orlando Hudson, who is scheduled to join the team in Seattle on Tuesday. A CT scan of Hudson's surgically-repaired left wrist showed no new injuries and that's good news for the Twins.
But with Hudson out tonight, Michael Cuddyer is getting his first start at second base since July 23, 2005.
Cuddyer, 2B
Pitching: LHP Francisco Liriano (4-3, 3.17 ERA)
Pitching: Doug Fister (3-2, 2.03 ERA)


text:
Q: Share external USB HDD between PC and TV I bought an external hard drive which I would like to use for media storage. I managed to connect the HDD to the USB port of my wireless router and to use it as a network drive. So I can save movies on the external hard drive from my computer wirelessly.
Now I want to watch the movies on my TV. It works if I unplug the external hard drive from the router and connect it to the USB port of my TV. However I always have to do that manually.
I then tried to use a USB Hub but it did't work. It there any possibility that I use the HDD with the router and the TV at the same time?

A: Very few TVs have it. In facts, they generally have few known codecs.
I advise you to steer you towards a multimedia box Android TV or Apple TV if you have the financial ability to get one.
Otherwise, lowcost solutions (I use one) like Raspberry PI + an embedded Raspbmc OS will allow you to recover all the desired content from your network share.
It's very powerfull and easy to use.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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text:
Sketch Engine is a corpus manager and text analysis software developed by Lexical Computing CZ s.r.o. since 2003. Its purpose is to enable people studying language behaviour (lexicographers, researchers in  corpus linguistics, translators or language learners) to search large text collections according to complex and linguistically motivated queries. Sketch Engine gained its name after one of the key features, word sketches: one-page, automatic, corpus-derived summaries of a word's grammatical and collocational behaviour. Currently, it supports and provides corpora in 90+ languages.

History of development
Sketch Engine is a product of Lexical Computing Limited, a company founded in 2003 by the lexicographer and research scientist Adam Kilgarriff. He started a collaboration with Pavel Rychlý, a computer scientist working at the Natural Language Processing Centre, Masaryk University, and the developer of Manatee and Bonito (two major parts of the software suite), and introduced the concept of word sketches.

Since then, Sketch Engine has been commercial software, however, all the core features of Manatee and Bonito that were developed by 2003 (and extended since then) are freely available under the GPL license within the NoSketch Engine suite.

Features
A list of tools available in Sketch Engine:
 Word sketches – a one-page automatic derived summary of a word's grammatical and collocational behaviour
 Word sketch difference – compares and contrasts two words by analysing their collocation
 Distributional Thesaurus – automated thesaurus finding words with similar meaning or appearing in the same/similar context
 Concordance search – finds examples of a word form, lemma, phrase, tag or complex structure
 Collocation search – word co-occurrence analysis displaying the most frequent words (to a search word) which can be regarded as collocation candidates
 Word lists – generates frequency lists which can be filtered with complex criteria
 n-grams – generates frequency lists of multi-word expressions
 Terminology / Keyword extraction (both monolingual and bilingual) – automatic extraction key words and multi-word terms from texts (based on frequency count and linguistic criteria)
 Diachronic analysis (Trends) – detecting words which undergo changes in the frequency of use in time (show trending words)
 Corpus building and management – create corpora from the Web or uploaded texts including part-of-speech tagging and lemmatization which can be used as data mining software
 Parallel corpus (bilingual) facilities – looking up translation examples (EUR-Lex corpus, Europarl corpus, OPUS corpus, etc.) or building parallel corpus from own aligned texts
 Text type analysis – statistics of metadata in the corpus

Keywords and terminology extraction
It is a tool for automatic term extraction for identifying words typical of a particular corpus, document, or text. It supports extracting one-word and multi-word units from monolingual and bilingual texts. The terminology extraction feature provides a list of relevant terms based on comparison with a large corpus of general language. This tool is also a separate service operating as OneClick terms with a dedicated interface.

List of text corpora
Sketch Engine provides access to more than 700 text corpora. There are monolingual as well as multilingual language corpora of different sizes (from thousand of words up to 60 billions of words) and various sources (web, books, subtitles, legal documents, etc.). The list of corpora includes British National Corpus, Brown Corpus, Cambridge Academic English Corpus and Cambridge Learner Corpus, CHILDES corpora of child language, OpenSubtitles (a set of 60 parallel corpora), 24 multilingual corpora of EUR-Lex documents, TenTen Corpus Family (multi-billion web corpora), trends corpora (monitor corpora with daily updates), etc.

Architecture

Sketch Engine consists of three main components: an underlying database management system called Manatee, a web interface search front-end called Bonito and a web interface for corpus building and management called Corpus Architect.

Manatee

Manatee is a database management system specifically devised for effective indexing of large text corpora. It is based on the idea of inverted indexing (keeping an index of all positions of a given word in the text). It has been used to index text corpora comprising tens of billions of words.

Searching corpora indexed by Manatee is performed by formulating queries in the Corpus Query Language (CQL).

Manatee is written in C++ and offers an API for a number of other programming languages including Python, Java, Perl and Ruby. Recently, it was rewritten into Go for faster processing of corpus queries.

Bonito

Bonito is a web interface for Manatee providing access to corpus search. In the client–server model, Manatee is the server and Bonito plays the client part. It is written in Python.

Corpus Architect

Corpus Architect is a web interface providing corpus building and management features. It is also written in Python.

Applications
Sketch Engine has been used by major British or other publishing houses for producing dictionaries such as Macmillan English Dictionary, Dictionnaires Le Robert, Oxford University Press or Shogakukan and four of the UK's five biggest dictionary publishers use Sketch Engine.

See also
 SkELL – a free web service for language learning based on Sketch Engine

References

Related publications

External links

 Sketch Engine website
 List of corpora available in Sketch Engine
 OneClick terms – an online term extractor with term extraction technology from Sketch Engine

Applied linguistics
Computational linguistics
Corpus linguistics
Database management systems
Data mining and machine learning software
Lexicography
Linguistic research
Natural language processing
Text analysis
Text mining

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Gutiar Pro Tab "Of Soil And Brine" from Depths band is free to download. Tablature file Depths - Of Soil And Brine opens by means of the Guitar PRO program. This program is available to downloading on our site.


Following up on the news of 23andMe's huge upcoming financing round, TechCrunch has learned that the company is raising the new financing at a $1.5 billion pre-money valuation. This compares to a $1 billion valuation in its last private round.
Dan Primack over at Axios reported the same thing this morning, but we've heard from our sources the number is indeed accurate. TechCrunch first reported that 23andMe is raising around $200 million in a new financing round led by Sequoia, with Fidelity also looking to participate. 23andMe, an 11-year-old startup (if we can call it that at this point), now looks like it will continue to run as a private company for some time.
The timing makes more sense given that 23andMe seems to have successfully navigated a complex web of regulations and finally gotten the green light to operate in full. The Food and Drug Administration ordered the company to cease sales of its personal genomics test back in 2013. The FDA gave a long-awaited blessing in April this year to go ahead and provide customers with a risk analysis for 10 genetically linked diseases.
23andMe has raised more than $230 million going all the way back to 2007, well before the last generation of massive high-profile consumer IPOs like Twitter and Facebook. It includes previous investors like Google, Genentech, NEA and Johnson & Johnson, and now appears to be enlisting another storied firm in Silicon Valley.
23andMe didn't comment on questions about the valuation after we reached out.


text:
Jeff Undercuffler DJ Irons Joe Moorhead Solon Page Josh Heupel Jalin Hyatt College football College sports Sports Football
Tennessee SEC Mid-American Akron
No. 15 Tennessee hosts Akron to fix issues before SEC slate
By AL LESAR - Sep. 15, 2022 11:11 AM EDT
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel yells to an official after Pittsburgh wide receiver Jared Wayne (5) made a catch along the sideline that was ruled a catch during overtime of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022, in Pittsburgh. After review, the catch call was overturned. Tennessee won 34-27 in overtime. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Coach Josh Heupel's 15th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers have one final chance to work out remaining problems before diving into the Southeastern Conference portion of the season.
And part of the Vols' challenge is not overlooking the Akron Zips on Saturday night to a looming home game against No. 18 Florida.
"The challenge every week is really us," Heupel said. "And we talk about that every week. Our players have to buy into it."
Tennessee is coming off a 34-27 overtime road win at then-No. 17 Pittsburgh, and the Vols (2-0) survived mistakes by the offense and special teams thanks to a defense that rose to the challenge to escape with the big victory.
Heupel didn't think Tennessee practiced as well as expected a couple times last week, which showed up at times against Pittsburgh.
"Our preparation has to be consistent, your process of how you approach and get to game day is what takes you to game day to play your best football," Heupel said. "If you ever deviate from that plan and change it, you're setting yourself up for failure."
Akron (1-1) is coming off a 52-0 rout at the hands of then-No. 14 Michigan State. Coach Joe Moorhead understands the test waiting for his Zips.
"The '72 Dolphins and the '85 Bears were busy this week, so from a scheduling standpoint, we'll go with Tennessee," Moorhead deadpanned. "They'll be riding high. They're explosive on offense, stingy on defense and play hard on special teams."
Tennessee linebacker Solon Page III said the Vols are working on consistency no matter the opponent.
"We do not overlook anybody, so we are going to go out there with the same work ethic," Page said. "We are going to go out there and prepare for them just like we prepare for anybody."
TOPS IN SEC
The Volunteers are scoring 46.5 points a game, which leads the SEC and ranks 14th nationally. Tennessee has scored at least 30 points in five straight games. The Vols also are averaging 492.5 yards per game in total offense, second in the SEC and 23rd nationally. Wide receiver Jalin Hyatt said they want to be the best.
"We want to be the best offense in the country," Hyatt said.
Hendon Hooker threw for 325 yards and 2 TDs against Pitt to earn SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors. He has thrown four TD passes with no interceptions through two games.
BIG QUESTION MARK
Who the Zips start at quarterback is a question. Moorhead said starter DJ Irons left the Michigan State game with a "lower body injury and is "day-to-day." Irons has thrown for 399 yards and 2 touchdowns this season. Irons also is the second-leading rusher with 44 net yards. His backup, Jeff Undercuffler, has thrown for 80 yards.
DEFENSIVE VOLS
Tennessee has forcied multiple turnovers in three straight games going back to last season, and the Vols also have at least one interception in four straight games. They have four takeaways this season and are allowing 18.5 points a game.
LATE CHANGE
While college football schedules are made years in advance, this game was a late change less than a year ago. When Heupel arrived at Tennessee, he and athletic director Danny White got Army and its triple-option offense off the schedule by paying $100,000 to break the contract. Akron came on the schedule, giving the Vols two games against Mid-American Conference teams in three weeks to open this season.
PRIME TIME MILESTONE
This will be the 50th anniversary of the first night game at Neyland Stadium. On Sept. 16, 1972, No. 7 Tennessee topped No. 6 Penn State 28-21.
More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/ap_top25. Sign up for the AP's college football newsletter: https://bit.ly/3pqZVaF


text:
Restful Romance: Smelling Your Lover's Shirt Can Help You Sleep
FRIDAY, Feb. 14, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Bedtime without your partner on Valentine's Day could make sleep elusive. But a new study suggests one remedy: Cuddling up with a piece of his or her clothing.
Researchers say having a loved one's natural scent nearby could be as effective a sleep aid as melatonin.
"One of the most surprising findings is how a romantic partner's scent can improve sleep quality even outside of our conscious awareness," said study senior author Frances Chen. She's an associate professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver.
For the study, 155 people were given two T-shirts to use as pillowcases. One had been worn by their lover; the other was clean or had been worn by a stranger.
While the participants' partners were wearing the shirts, they were told not to use deodorant or scents or do anything that might affect their body odor, such as smoking, exercising and eating certain foods. The T-shirts were frozen to preserve their scent.
Participants spent two nights in a row sleeping with each shirt. They weren't told which shirt was which, but they reported feeling more well-rested after using the T-shirt with their lover's scent. Data from sleep monitors confirmed it.
"Our findings provide new evidence that merely sleeping with a partner's scent improves sleep efficiency. Our participants had an average sleep efficiency improvement of more than 2%," said lead author Marlise Hofer, a doctoral candidate in social psychology at UBC.
"We saw an effect similar in size to what has been reported from taking oral melatonin supplements -- often used as a sleep aid," Hofer added in a university news release.
The study has been accepted for publication in the journal Psychological Science.
The findings could lead to future research examining simple and effective methods of improving sleep, such as packing a lover's shirt when you travel alone, Hofer said.
Meanwhile, researchers are recruiting volunteers for another study to find out whether parents' scent improves slumber for babies.
The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute offers a guide to healthy sleep.
SOURCE: University of British Columbia, news release, Feb. 13, 2020
A Vocabulary for Sleep
Ear, Nose, and Throat Facts
Home Page - Otolaryngology
Home Page - Ear, Nose, and Throat
Topic Index - Ear, Nose, and Throat
Transient Tachypnea of the Newborn
Earlier Is Better to Catch Hearing Loss
For Adults: To Nap or Not to Nap?
Adult Life Tougher for Teens Who Had Controlling Parents: Study
Ear, Nose, and Throat Quiz
Sleep: Test Your Knowledge


Enter here for a chance to win a trip for 2 to Lyon, France. And if you have some time spend a few days at Tyger, France and then Byear, France. (OK I know that was dumb, but it's late and I've had a rough day). Good Luck!
Love to travel and explore the world!
France wow! I'm ready to go !
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Music, art, and even pet therapy are often provided to residents with dementia as a way to stimulate memory, cognitive skills, and communication. In addition, these therapies can help improve residents' physical and social skills, as well as reduce their stress and ease aggressive behaviors.
While many senior living communities have a special area designated for those living with Alzheimer's or dementia, some communities today go above and beyond, providing just one floor to these residents. Intimate homes are offered that house up to 10 residents with a staff that specializes in memory care. These types of environments nurture a familial experience and build deep relationships between the residents and the caregiving team. The residents are allowed to maintain their own personal routines and are encouraged to continue to pursue their interests.
Nostalgia-evoking displays throughout the halls, such as workbench stations or wooden coat racks draped with glamorous dresses from a distant era, are meant to stir residents' memories. Personal touches like family photo cases near the entrances of their rooms brighten otherwise unremarkable hallways.
As research continues for this disease, more and more innovative ideas are uncovered that can help seniors with memory care issues and can help caregivers of those individuals.
It is important to note that some memory care facilities that offer services like those described above are strictly private pay, meaning the senior must have sufficient income to pay the $5,000 to $10,000 monthly cost. Since many people have insufficient income and assets to pay for that type of care, if one is planning ahead, it is prudent to consider hybrid or asset based long-term care insurance to help pay for such care. As an elder law attorney, I help seniors and their families combine estate and longevity planning with trusts and different types of insurance arrangements to help avoid the devastating financial effects of long-term care.


A young boy who was saved from a filthy house with his four other siblings 'blamed himself' for the break-up of his family, a court has heard.
Police found out about the appalling conditions the children were living in after a school flagged up their absences. They then arrived at the address in Liverpool, Merseyside, to find the shocking state of the property.
The parents were spared jail at Liverpool Crown Court after the judge heard about the mother's horrific upbringing, including being raped as a child, while the court heard about how the father was 'overwhelmed' with the situation.
One of the children told his new carers that he 'blamed himself' for being separated from the rest of his family because he said he 'should have gone to school', the court heard.
The defendants, who have not been named to protect the identity of the children, will 'never care for their children again' are admitting to five counts of child neglect.
Gerald Baxter, prosecuting, said the family took a 'long time to gain access' to the house but that the police eventually gained entry to the property.
'They noted in particular there were a number of bags of rubbish which were strewn around the house, while all over the floor there were soiled nappies, some of which appeared to have been trodden in.
He added that the living room in the property north of the city was devoid of furniture, and that while there was no food in the fridge, the chest freezer was 'well stocked' with food.
The children, aged as young as two, were in nappies while the oldest, of primary school age, was roaming around house in just a pair of underpants.
The mother was said to be suffering from depression and struggled to complete housework. She also told the court that one of her children had suffered with diarrhoea, which was one of the reasons why he had been kept off school.
All the children were taken to a hospital in Liverpool, where doctors found no signs of deliberately inflicted injuries.
The visit to the Alder Hey Hospital revealed that some of the children had 'developmental delay' while others had behavioural issues and autism.
He also revealed that two close family members passed way just days before the offences.
Ken Heckle, representing the father, admitted the father should have sought help to deal with the problem at hand.
Passing sentence, Judge Robert Warnock said the case was extremely 'serious'.
He added: 'The fact is, for different reasons, each of you failed properly, or indeed at all, on some occasions to care for these five children.
The pair managed to avoid jail due to lack of previous convictions, mental health difficulties and that the offences were due to neglect rather than malice, Judge Warnock said.
The pair were sentenced to eight months behind bars, suspended for a year and a half, and made to complete 150 hours of unpaid work. They were also ordered to carry out 30 rehabilitation activity days with the Probation Service.


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Birthday at Legoland
Nyan turned seven years old on July 26. Every birthday in the past, we'd been able to have a cake-filled birthday party with all his chums at school. But this year was his first year to have a true summer break, which meant no school on his birthday. That meant Mommy and Daddy were on their own when it came time to celebrate.
Not to worry! Though it may not have matched 2017's celebrations — which included the circus and Universal Studios as well as cake at school — 2018's were still pretty decent, we think. The main event: a trip across the border to Malaysia for a day at Legoland!
We had done a daytrip to Legoland back in 2016 for his fifth birthday, so we pretty much knew what to expect: some rides, a lot of Legos, and some heat. Happily, as in 2016, we didn't run into many crowds or long lines.
One of his favorite rides — this year like last time — was riding the jousting horse. A little mellow, maybe, but he enjoyed it:
We enjoyed riding the Lego train around the park:
At the center of the park is a large area of Lego creations, showing sites from around Asia. There's the skyline of Kuala Lumpur, the Taj Mahal, some Thai temples, various other Malaysian sites… as well as downtown Singapore and some Burmese buildings, too.
The same Star Wars exhibit was there, and it was just as cool. The same Lego stormtrooper too.
A highlight of the day was the time we spent inside an (air-conditioned) room where we built Lego racecars and zoomed them down a sloped track. Even Mommy got into it!
And what's a birthday without sweets? Gotta have a chocolate ice cream bar.
All in all, to be honest, Legoland was a little disappointing this time around: the general maintenance seemed to be lacking, and a surprising number of the rides were closed down for undisclosed reasons.
But whatever: our boy got to spend the day playing with Legos, and Mommy and Daddy got to spend the day with their boy. Win win!
Posted by Chris L. on August 20, 2018 in Uncategorized
Tags: birthday, outdoors
Nyan Does Universal Studios Singapore
To continue (and wrap up) Nyan's birthday events this year: we took him, Jayden and Kyle to Universal Studios Singapore, our local theme park. Kyle's parents and sister came along too, so it was a great group of people. Jayden had been to Universal Studios many times before; it was a maiden voyage for the rest of us. And in spite of the heat and the crowds, we managed to have a great, super-fun, super-exhausting and super-sweaty day.
There was so much to do, so many rides to go on. Let's start with a random assortment of shots of the boys (and some of the others) just hanging out:
Can't keep Nyan from dancing, no matter where he is:
More dancing:
(In that last video, there was a moment, about 14 seconds in, when Kyle accidently bumps Nyan's knee. No big deal, except he happened to have a scab on there from a recent tumble, so it was tender and hurting. That's why the dance paused for a moment and Nyan sort of whined momentarily. I love, though, that Kyle – one of the sweetest-natured kids you'll ever meet – immediately got down to inspect it and make sure Nyan was okay! He was just fine, of course, and the dance resumed.)
It was a big day for both Mommy and Nyan: their first roller coaster ride! Mommy and Daddy went on the adult one, which uses mag-lev technology to get going really fast, really quickly. She did great! Nyan was a bit skittish about his own first roller coaster – a more tame ride, though still relatively fast and twisty. But he passed the test with flying colors. His verdict at the end, said with a huge smile: "It was scary!"
Here he is, with Daddy, just before the ride started.
There was a ride in the Jurrasic Park section that involved pyterodactyls spinning around, and going up and down. Considerably more mellow than a roller coaster, but the kids seemed to enjoy it. Videos by Mommy:
Not far away was a giant T Rex head that the kids had fun playing around. So did Mommy and Daddy, actually.
Inside the Shrek's Castle exhibit was this pretty cool indoor ferris wheel. If you look closely you can see the birthday boy peeking out.
Here are some nice (and silly) photos of Kyle with Kara, Sara and Bryan:
And finally, at the very end of the day, we happened upon the boys' hero, Optimus Prime. (He's one of the Transformers.) The big guy was just about done with his day's work of posing with little boys and girls, and it so happened that Nyan, Jayden and Kyle were the final three guests of the day. They insisted that Daddy join them for a meet-n-greet.
(By the way, those glasses were for the 3-D Transformers ride. The boys loved it.)
So overall, was the birthday outing to Universal Studios Singapore a success? Yep. Exhausting though, as we mentioned. Check out this snapshot from the taxi ride home:
Nyan claimed to not be tired. Sure.
Tags: birthday, friends, Singapore
Nyan Turns Six!
We couldn't quite believe it, but the calendar didn't seem to be lying: on July 26, our boy turned six years old. Where does the time go, and all that. But there wasn't much time to ponder the sifting sands of time, because we had a birthday to celebrate!
His birthday this year fell on a Wednesday, which means a school day. So we did what we did last year: ordered a special cake and brought it in to share with all his classmates. Here's the cake:
There were candles of course. And songs.
As Mommy cut the cake, Nyan played the gracious host, passing out napkins to his friends.
Then everyone patiently lined up and got cake. Nyan helped here, too.
Here are all the kids, enjoying the cake and the party.
Of course, it's not a birthday without presents! Nyan was quite happy as he opened his various gifts. When he saw that he was getting a Lego Batwing, he exclaimed, "Yes! All my dreams are coming true!"
Coming soon: a look at a very special Sunday with Nyan's besties to celebrate his birthday.
Tags: birthday, friends
Five Years Old, Day 5
Last in our series about the multi-day festivities surrounding our boy's fifth birthday.
Our marquee event on the day after his actual birthday was a school field trip to Snow City, an indoor attraction in Singapore that features manufactured snow, ice slides, and a huge sledding hill. The field trip was originally going to be on his birthday proper, but it got bumped by a day, extending the birthday celebrations by an extra 24 hours.
And it was a lot of fun! Really cold of course — the place provides coats and boots, and we brought our own gloves and hats (got to bust the beloved monkey hat he used to wear in London!). Nyan had fun running around and playing with his friends; he wasn't crazy about the sledding hill; Daddy sat on an inner tube while Nyan rode on his lap, and the thing actually went really fast and bounced a bit (enough that his helmet flew off at one point). But he was a brave trooper and tried, at least.
The place also had an educational component of sorts: staffers did a demonstration of how to make ice cream from liquid nitrogen. Plus a little demo of blowing liquid nitrogen smoke rings.
After all that snow and ice, we were all more than ready to get out into the more than 90 degree F sunshine outside. After a quick lunch, Nyan and some classmates played around on the little playground, which included a trampoline and a water screw.
Busy day! Everyone took a little nap when they got back to the school around mid-afternoon. And as you can see and hear from this video that Daddy shot at pick-up time, around 5:30pm, all the kids had plenty of energy left over:
We leave you with a few random shots of before and after the field trip – goofing with Adrianna, riding the bus.
And with that, the five days of birthday celebrations came to a close. Next year, will we do six days for six years? Eh, hopefully not — we loved celebrating with our boy and reminding him how special he is, but wow it was exhausting for Mommy and Daddy! We're thinking that for Birthday No. 6, we'll try to pack it all into just one day.
Tags: birthday, Singapore
Five Years Old, Day 4 of 5
Continuing this chronicle of the extended celebrations for Nyan's fifth birthday, we come now to day four, Tuesday the 26th. A.k.a, Nyan's actual birthday.
The actual day itself ended up being one of the more mellow of his five birthday days. It was a school day, but that's fine: most of his best friends are his classmates — he's really close to many of them — so it makes perfect sense to spend the day with them.
And with Mommy and Daddy too: they showed up in the late morning with a cake. Nyan had requested a Transformers cake, so that's what he got:
His friends all came together and sang before Nyan blew out the candles:
Other than that, there were goodie bags, silly children, and loads and loads of sugar. (Oops, sorry about that, teachers!) Really a fantastic way to celebrate.
Next up: the chilly conclusion to Nyan's Five Days of Turning Five…
Five Years Old, Days 1, 2 and 3 (of 5)
The hero of this humble blog turned five years old on July 26. (No, we can't believe he's five already, either.) A couple months back, we started thinking about how to properly celebrate. Last year, you may recall, we had a big family gathering in the US on the day itself, and then a pretty big party with all his friends by the pool back home in Singapore a couple months later. Each was a ton of fun, and each was a ton of work. This year, after looking at a few options, we thought we'd make it a little more restrained: a small cake party at school, and some special excursion the weekend before. Simple.
That's not how it worked out, though. Because of a confluence of events and activities, the birthday celebrations ended up starting on a Saturday and continuing til Wednesday. That's five days for five years (which might make a catchy #hashtag if this blog was into that sort of thing).
Let's take a look back at the festivities, day by day by day by day by day.
Day One: Saturday
The Shaolin Monks were in town, and Nyan and Daddy got tickets.
The Shaolin Monks, you may or may not know, are Buddhist monks from China who practice a very impressive style of martial arts. And they've turned it into a stage show, and they tour around the world, giving a performance that tells the ancient history of the Shaolin temple (lots of warlords and fighting and the like) while also showing off their pretty amazing dexterity. (Sorry, no video of the actual performance.)
The show was at Marina Bay Sands, and afterwards, Daddy and Nyan took a nice long slow stroll along the water, with Nyan of course asking questions about every. single. thing. he. saw. Until finally we met up with Mommy for dinner. A nice start to the five-day party!
Day Two: Sunday
Nyan wanted a playdate with BFF Kyle, so a playdate he got. We met Kyle, his baby sister Kara and his parents at a newly discovered waterpark near the National Stadium. It's a small place but just right for splashing around, swimming a bit, getting huge buckets of water dumped on your head, and the like. And it's free! The boys splashed around for a while until a storm rolled in. Bummer. But the waterpark is actually on the roof of a shopping mall, so in we went. Strolled around for a while, ended up getting an early dinner at a food court. And goofed around on Kara's stroller.
Day Three: Monday
On Monday, we played hooky from school and kicked the celebrations into another gear. A day trip into nearby Malaysia for the Legoland theme park! We had no idea what to expect, but had heard good things about the place, so off we went.
The bus ride was only about an hour on the road, but it still took us about three hours to get there, thanks to having to get off the bus and clear immigration in both Singapore and, a mile later, Malaysia. It took a looooong time. But no real worries: by late morning we were inside the park. It was an overcast day, which meant it never got hot, and it was a Monday, which meant it never got crowded. Our timing couldn't have been better!
One of our first stops was, of course, the Star Wars exhibit – home to lots of Lego models of various scenes from the movies. Plus life-sized Lego characters, and of course a gift shop.
There was also a section devoted to knights and castles and the like, also with a gift shop, where we bought Nyan what quickly become his favorite toy:
It also had a (somewhat tame) joust/horse ride:
Yes, Legoland had a lot of rides. Some of them were far too much for Nyan, like the roller coaster that Daddy went on solo. But other were more Nyan's speed, like this quasi-roller coaster:
One sort-of downside to there being no crowds: no lines for rides like these, so both Mommy and then Daddy went on the ride with Nyan about three or four time each. Got a little seasick by the end, truth be told…
There was also a train:
And driving school. Nyan did pretty okay, for his first time. He's certainly a cautious driver:
Legoland also had a lot of really intricate Lego models throughout the park.
And there was a movie theater with a 3D movie:
Best of all, there was a silly and goofy little boy, having the time of his life.
A great day overall, even though go through immigration on the way home was a test of patience, to say the least. But all's well that ends well, and we got home and got to sleep, resting up for Day Four in our seemingly never-ending birthday extravaganza. Stay tuned for more…
Birthday Party Part One
Back over the summer – July 26, to be exact – our boy had a birthday. Turned four years old. We happened to be in Iowa at the time (to be precise, we happened to have planned our trip to make sure we'd still be there on the 26th) so Grandma and Grandpa helped Mommy and Daddy throw a big ol' bash.
It was a real family affair, with dozens of aunts, uncles, cousins, you name it Lots of kids too, and they all had a blast together:
There were gifts to open too:
And of course, there was cake. Dinosaur cake.
And this wasn't planned, but at some point, Mommy Daddy and Nyan were out on the front porch, and someone had a camera, so we did an impromptu photo shoot.
So why did we call this post "Birthday Party, Part One"? Because we had another birthday party when we got back to Singapore. We've got pictures from that one too, which we'll share in the near future…
Posted by Chris L. on November 6, 2015 in Uncategorized
Tags: birthday, family, iowa


Russia is believed to be stepping up its efforts to gather intelligence inside the U.S., despite ongoing investigations here to determine how much its activities affected the 2016 presidential election.
Citing multiple current and former U.S. intelligence officials on Thursday, CNN reported some 150 suspected Russian operatives are in the U.S. The Obama administration expelled 35 Russian diplomats in December and closed two Russian compounds thought to be connected to election hacking in the heat of the 2016 election.
The suspected operatives currently in the U.S. are said to be engaged in a number of activities, including collecting information on the Trump administration. Steve Hall, former chief of operations at the CIA. told CNN that move is indicative of a "deterioration of relations" between rival nations.
"The espionage and intelligence collection part becomes that much more important as they try to determine the plans and intentions of the adversarial government," Hall said.
The operatives were also believed to be searching for inroads among people in the U.S. "who can provide access to classified information," and in some cases, obtaining temporary duty visas to secure employment at businesses that manage private information.
The State Department has continued issuing temporary duty visas to Russian travelers, CNN reported, citing intelligence officials — despite the assessment of several U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia meddled in the 2016 election and hacked Democratic Party organizations — and despite the Kremlin's apparent increased activities inside the US post-election.
Without commenting specifically on the visas, a State Department official told the news network, "Where we do not see eye to eye with Russia, the United States will continue to stand up for the interests and values of America, our allies and our partners."


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Home Q News Music News Adele teams up with ex-Pearl Jam drummer Matt Chamberlain for new album
Adele teams up with ex-Pearl Jam drummer Matt Chamberlain for new album
Will Heath/NBC
Adele's highly-anticipated album doesn't have a release date yet but we know who she's been working in the studio with: former Pearl Jam drummer Matt Chamberlain.
Speaking with the U.K. paper The Sun, the drummer dished about getting to work with the powerhouse singer on her upcoming record.
"I just got to work on some new music for Adele and to hear that voice in my headphones was giving me chills. It was just so powerful and emotive," he said.
"You know her voice, but to be across the room from somebody doing that, it's just insane. You hear it on the radio and whatever and you go, 'Yeah it's really good', but to be in the room with these people and feel that energy, it's just so heavy," he added.
According to the publication, Chamberlain was in the studio with Adele just last week and spilled that she's also been working with songwriter Rick Nowels, who has helped pen melancholy songs for Lana Del Rey and Madonna.
"She's writing new material with…Nowels," the drummer shared. "She wanted to do it with some drums so we just put our masks on; she was in the room."
In February, Adele announced that her fourth studio album would be released in September. But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it's been delayed: She later told a fan that she had no idea when it would actually come out. When she hosted Saturday Night Live in October, she said that the album was "not finished."
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Perception, attention, and working memory are disproportionately impaired in dementia with Lewy bodies compared with Alzheimer's disease
J Calderona,
R J Perryb,
S W Erzincliogluc,
G E Berriosa,
T R Deningd,
J R Hodgesb,c
aUniversity Department of Psychiatry, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge CB2 2QQ, UK, bUniversity Department of Neurology, cMRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge CB2 2EF, UK, dPsychiatric Services for the Elderly, Fulbourn Hospital, Cambridge CB1 5EF, UK
Professor J R Hodgesjohn.hodges{at}mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk
OBJECTIVE To test the hypotheses that visuoperceptual and attentional ability are disproportionately impaired in patients having dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) compared with Alzheimer's disease (AD).
METHODS A comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tasks designed to assess working, episodic, and semantic memory, and visuoperceptual and attentional functions was given to groups of patients with DLB (n=10) and AD (n=9), matched for age, education, and mini mental state examination (MMSE), and to normal controls (n=17).
RESULTS Both patient groups performed equally poorly on tests of episodic and semantic memory with the exception of immediate and delayed story recall, which was worse in the AD group. Digit span was by contrast spared in AD. The most striking differences were on tests of visuoperceptual/spatial ability and attention. Whereas patients with AD performed normally on several subtests of the visual object and space perception battery, the DLB group showed substantial impairments. In keeping with previous studies, the AD group showed deficits in selective attention and set shifting, but patients with DLB were more impaired on virtually every test of attention with deficits in sustained, selective, and divided attention.
CONCLUSIONS Patients with DLB have substantially greater impairment of attention, working memory, and visuoperceptual ability than patients with AD matched for overall dementia severity. Semantic memory seems to be equally affected in DLB and AD, unlike episodic memory, which is worse in AD. These findings may have relevance for our understanding of the genesis of visual hallucinations, and the differential diagnosis of AD and DLB.
attentional
Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is a common cause of dementia. As many as 12%-36% of patients with a clinical diagnosis of AD meet neuropathological criteria for a diagnosis of DLB, which makes DLB the second commonest cause of dementia in elderly people.1 2Numerous synonyms have been used to categorise dementia associated with Lewy bodies, including diffuse Lewy body disease (DLBD),3senile dementia of Lewy body type (SDLT),2 4 and Lewy body variant of Alzheimer's disease (LBV).5 We have chosen to use the term DLB as recommended by a recent consensus group.1 Pathologically DLB is characterised by Lewy body formation in the cerebral cortex, brain stem nuclei (substantia nigra and locus coeruleus), and components of the basal forebrain cholinergic system (BFCS).6 The clinical features of DLB include a cortical dementia with fluctuating confusion, spontaneous parkinsonism, sensitivity to neuroleptic drugs, and psychiatric manifestations especially well formed and recurrent visual hallucinations early in the course of the disease.7-9
By comparison with Alzheimer's disease (AD), relatively little is known about the neuropsychological deficits in DLB. A retrospective study of a few pathologically verified cases suggested that the pattern of cognitive impairment in DLB is different from the one in AD, with greater deficits in visuospatial function in the cases of DLB.5 Subsequent studies of patients with a clinical diagnosis of probable DLB have also shown significantly worse performance on tests of visuospatial function,10-12 but these studies all suffer from the weakness of having used tests such as clock face drawing or block design that confound visuoperceptual, visuospatial, and praxic ability. Data regarding attentional and executive function in DLB are more controversial. This is a potentially important issue since it has been suggested that cholinergic depletion, and resultant attentional dysfunction, underlies the tendency to fluctuations and hallucinations which characterise DLB.2 6 Whereas Hansen et al 5 found greater impairment on the FAS test of verbal fluency in DLB than in AD, the same group of researchers later reported equivalent impairment in groups of DLB and patients with AD.13 Likewise, Gnanalingham et al 10 found no difference on this test, or on the Nelson card sorting test. The only study that has used more theoretically motivated tests of attentional and executive ability14 15 found greater impairment in DLB on a computerised test of spatial working memory, but this study did not include tests of perceptual ability. Semantic memory, which is impaired fairly consistently early in the course of AD16 has not been investigated in DLB.
Attentional function has been extensively evaluated in AD (for reviews see Perry et al 16 and Hodges and Patterson17). It is clear that not all components of attention are equally impaired early in the course of the disease. Selective attention, especially the ability to inhibit inappropriate responses, seems to be particularly vulnerable in the very mild stages of AD, with deficits in divided attention following in its wake, whereas sustained attention is the most resistant component.16 As far as we are aware, there have been no reported studies that have included tests of a range of attentional abilities in DLB. The pattern of attentional deficits in DLB remains, therefore, an open question.
Although impairment in attentional function has been suggested to underlie the hallucinations in DLB, we hypothesised that deficits in perceptual processing might have a key role either alone or in combination with the attentional disorder.
The aim of this study was to compare well matched groups of patients with DLB and AD using a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests designed specifically to evaluate a range of attentional and visuoperceptual abilities as well as semantic and episodic memory. We predicted that patients with DLB would have comparatively greater deficits on perceptual or attentional tasks than the patients with AD. In keeping with prior studies, we expected to find more impairment of episodic memory in AD. As semantic memory breakdown is one of the hallmarks of AD it is important to see if deficits can be found in other dementias.
SUBJECT GROUP
Thirty six subjects participated in the study: nine with AD; 10 with DLB; 17 normal controls (NC). The patients with AD were chosen from patients undergoing evaluation at the University of Cambridge Neurology unit. The diagnosis of probable AD was made by a neurologist according to the criteria developed by the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke (NINCDS), and the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association (ADRDA).18 The patients with DLB were chosen from the same unit and from the Psychiatric Services for the Elderly in Cambridgeshire and represent all suitable patients with DLB presenting over a 12 month period. The diagnosis of DLB was according to the clinical criteria of the consortium on DLB International workshop.1 All patients with DLB had had well formed visual hallucinations within 1 month of assessment but were not hallucinating at the time of their examination, whereas none of the patients with AD experienced visual hallucinations. As discussed more fully below, we had hoped to test patients with AD with and without hallucinations and during the course of the study screened some hallucinating patients with AD, but all had mini mental state examination (MMSE) scores below 10 and were unable to comply with the test battery. Subjects were excluded if they had a history of known or suspected cerebral ischaemic event, alcohol misuse, head injury, or other major physical illness. The patients with AD and those with DLB were matched for age and dementia severity according to the MMSE (table1). The control subjects were selected from the MRC-CBU subject panel. The three groups did not differ significantly in age (F (2,35)=1.5; p>0.5), or education (F (2,33)=1.6; p>0.5) was between patients with AD and controls. All testing was performed in the subjects' homes and was spread over two sessions each of about 2 hours. The project was approved by the local research ethics committee.
Demographic details and MMSE scores (mean (SD)) of the patient groups and controls
Verbal short term memory (STM)—The forward and backward digit span test from the WAIS-R was used.
Episodic memory—The logical memory subtest of the Weschler memory scale-revised19 was used, which involves listening to two short passages with immediate recall and 30 minute delayed recall. Both stories were administered, each containing 25 elements, and the score was taken as the mean of the two stories. To test recognition memory we used the shortened 25 item version of the recognition memory test (RMT) for words and faces.20
Semantic memory—Subjects were given the stringent 30 item graded naming test,21 and a shortened version of the category fluency subtest of the Hodges and Patterson semantic battery22 in which subjects had to produce as many examples as possible in 2 minutes from each of the following categories: animals, fruits, and household items.
Perceptual and spatial abilities
The following subtests from the visual object and space perception (VOSP) test were used.23
Figure-ground discrimination—In this screening test subjects were asked to indicate whether an "X" was present or not. The X is degraded and presented within a visually complex background (maximum score=20).
Fragmented letters—In this test of perceptual ability, subjects were asked to identify letters that increased in their level of degradation (maximum score=20).
Silhouette identification—Subjects were asked to name or identify silhouettes of animals (n=15) and objects (n=15) viewed from unusual angles.
Object decision—In this test of stored structural description, subjects were asked to choose the real object from amongst three foils. All were presented as silhouettes and the objects were graded in difficulty (maximum score=20).
Cube analysis—This required subjects to count the number of cubes in three dimensional structures consisting of cubes in which some cubes were not visible (maximum score=10).
Tests of attention and executive function
Sustained attention—We used the elevator counting task from the test of everyday attention (TEA)24 in which subjects are required to count strings of tones, ranging from 3 to 14, from a recorded tape (maximum score=7).
Auditory selective attention—This was assessed using the elevator counting with distraction task, also from the TEA,24 which is similar to the first task except that subjects are required to count a string of low tones while ignoring high pitched tones (maximum score=10).
Visual selective attention—This was tested using the map search task from the TEA24 in which subjects have to identify target symbols from competing and irrelevant distractors on a map. This is a timed task of selective attention with minimal memory component (maximum score=80).
Stroop test—This version25 of the classic paradigm measures the interference effect that a more automatic process, in this case reading words, has on a more effortful process. Subjects are initially required to read out words (red, green, blue, and tan) that are printed in ink of an incongruous colour. The critical interference task (colour-word, CW) is then to read another list of colour names, but this time to name the colour of the ink in which the word is printed. The first task of reading words produces an automatic response that is reflected in the increased time taken on the second task (maximum score=112).
Dual performance test of Della Sala et al26 —This is a timed paper and pencil task of divided attention that has been modified from the visual tracking-digit span test of Baddeley et al.27It consists of two tasks that are each performed on their own before being performed simultaneously. Firstly, the subject's digit span is determined. Then, strings of digits at the subject's span are given continuously for 2 minutes with the proportion of correct strings being recorded. The second task involves crossing out boxes linked to form a trail on a sheet of A4 paper and the number of boxes crossed in 2 minutes is calculated. The dual performance task is then performed with the subjects repeating digit spans while simultaneously crossing boxes on a trail for 2 minutes. In performing the dual task, subjects may use different strategies by concentrating on one task at the expense of the other and so any measure of the effect of divided attention between the two tasks must, therefore, take into account data from both single tasks as performed alone and simultaneously (see below).
The shortened Nelson version of the Wisconsin card sorting test28 —This was employed as a test of strategy formation and task switching.
Letter fluency—This was included as a task requiring intact attentional and executive abilities. Subjects were asked to generate as many words as possible beginning with the letters F, A, and S (excluding proper nouns) each within 1 minute. The score was taken as the total number of correct responses.
The results were analysed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) with post hoc pairwise Tukey's test to explore significant main effects.
Table 2 shows that forward digit span was well preserved in the AD group with a significant, but mild degree of impairment in DLB (NC=AD>DLB). For reverse digit span the degree of deficit was greater in both patient groups, but still with a difference between AD and DLB (NC>AD>DLB).
Mean (SD) neuropsychological test results for the patient groups and controls
On all measures of episodic memory there were highly significant main effects of group with post hoc analyses showing that both AD and DLB groups were impaired relative to controls. The two patient groups were equally impaired on both the words and faces versions of the RMT, but the AD group were significantly worse on immediate and delayed recall of stories (NC>DLB>AD). Comparison of the percentage recall of the stories after a delay is particularly revealing: whereas the controls retained 78%, the DLB group recalled 28% and the AD group a mere 4%.
On tests of semantic memory the degree of impairment in the two patient groups was equivalent. For both the graded naming test and the total number of items correctly produced on the category fluency test there were highly significant group differences with an equivalent degree of impairment in the two patient groups (NC>AD=DLB). The performance of the groups on tests of episodic and semantic memory is illustrated in figs 1 and 2.
(A) Mean correct forward and backward digit spans and (B) mean score for immediate and delayed logical memory story recall.
(A) Overall total number of correct items listed for each of the categories animals, fruits, and household items and (B) total number of correct items on the graded naming test.21
In summary, the AD and DLB groups both showed major deficits in episodic and semantic memory with more significant impairment in the AD group on one measure of verbal episodic memory (immediate and % recall of stories after a delay). Verbal short term memory, as measured by digits forward, was relatively spared in the AD group.
PERCEPTUAL AND SPATIAL TESTS
By contrast with the similar levels of performance of the patient groups on several of the memory tests, the patients with DLB showed significantly greater deficits on some of the tests of visuoperceptual and spatial ability. On the screening (figure-ground discrimination) test from the VOSP, the three groups performed equally well indicating that the patients with AD and those with DLB were able to understand the task and retained basic low level visuoperceptual abilities. On the fragmented letters, object decision, and cube analysis subtests, there were, however, highly significant group differences; post hoc analyses disclosed impairment in the DLB group relative to both controls and patients with AD, but no difference between controls and the AD group (NC=AD>DLB). On the silhouette identification test, the AD and DLB groups were equally impaired relative to controls. To illustrate these differences between the groups, their data have been normalised to allow for the differing maximum scores on the subtests as shown in fig3.
Percentage correct scores for various subtests from the visual object and space perception (VOSP) test.23
TESTS OF ATTENTION AND EXECUTIVE ABILITY
In common with their performance on tests of perceptual and spatial ability, the DLB group also showed substantially greater impairment than those with AD on some attentional tasks. On the elevator counting test of sustained attention, the AD group performed normally by contrast with a significant difference between the controls and DLB groups (NC=AD>DLB).
Analysis of two tests of selective attention—the elevator counting with distraction and map search test, both taken from the TEA —also disclosed major deficits with the following patterns on post hoc tests: elevator with distraction (NC>AD=DLB); map search (NC>AD>DLB). The performance of the three groups on the TEA tests is shown in figure 4.
Percentage correct scores for three subtests from the test of everyday attention (TEA).24
Although six patients with DLB attempted the Stroop, only four were able to complete the critical colour-word interference component and all four were markedly slow and made numerous errors. The number completing the task was considered too small to allow a meaningful comparison with the three groups. The AD group (n=9) were clearly highly impaired relative to the controls.
On the Della Sala test of divided attention, all three groups performed equally well on the simple span task (task 1) as judged by the proportion of correct spans (NC=AD=DLB). On task 2, which involves timed box cancellation, both patient groups were slow, particularly the patients with DLB (task 2: NC>AD>DLB). An analysis of the number of boxes crossed in the dual task condition (task 3) showed differences between all groups, with greater impairment in DLB although the proportion of spans correctly repeated in 2 minutes was equivalent across the groups. As mentioned in the methods, any analysis of the effect of divided attention needs to consider the scores from both single tasks performed alone and simultaneously. Therefore a measure for the dual task decrement for box crossing was calculated as follows:
This gives a measure of the change in time taken by a subject to fill one box on the dual task compared with the single task, adjusting for the proportion of correct digit span sequences. The decrement score was identical in the AD and control groups, but substantially greater in DLB. An ANOVA of the decrement score confirmed a significant difference between groups and it was clear that only patients with DLB were impaired (NC=AD>DLB).
Only one patient with DLB was able to attempt the WCST, the others became hopelessly muddled. Comparison of the AD cases (n=9) and normal controls showed a significant difference (p<0.01).
On the FAS test of verbal fluency, both patient groups performed poorly, producing a highly significant group difference, but post hoc tests indicated that only the DLB group were significantly impaired.
In summary, both patient groups showed substantial deficits in the domains of attention and executive ability with the exception of sparing of sustained attention and normal performance on the critical dual task component of Della Sala's test in the AD group. The DLB group showed substantially greater impairment than the patients with AD on the Stroop and WCST (which most patients were unable to attempt) as well as some of the less demanding tests, notably the map search test from TEA, and Della Sala's test of dual attention.
Although prior studies5 11 13 have pointed to disproportionate involvement of visuoperceptual and attentional processes in DLB, interpretation has been limited by the lack of specificity of the tests employed. The results of the present study, the first to employ a comprehensive battery of theoretically motivated tests, confirm that patients with DLB have substantially greater impairment of attentional and visuoperceptual abilities than patients with AD matched for age, education, and overall dementia severity.
The fact that the patients with DLB showed significantly greater impairment than the AD group on a range of tasks raises the possibility that they were simply more demented. The MMSE is a crude method of assessing dementia severity and equivalence on this task should not necessarily be taken as evidence of equivalent cognitive impairment. An alternative method of matching subjects for future studies of this type would be to use a broader assessment instrument which takes into account cognitive and functional abilities in everyday life.16
The various tests of working, episodic, and semantic memory disclosed a mixed set of findings. Although the patients with DLB showed more impaired digit spans, semantic memory and recognition were equally poor in patients with DLB and those with AD. The AD group, however, were substantially poorer in immediate and delayed recall of prose; the patients with DLB showed 28% retention compared with only 4% for the AD group. It is interesting to speculate why the difference in episodic memory between the two patient groups was disclosed by the logical memory test, which requires the structured recall of two stories. The fact that patients with AD have particular difficulty on free recall tasks and show a rapid loss of information has been extensively documented.29-32 The issue of whether AD produces a disproportionate effect on recall, as opposed to recognition, is complex as the tasks have different psychometric properties: recognition memory tests tend to have major ceiling effects in normal subjects.33 Recall of prose material also depends on semantic processing and has different retrieval demands. Studies employing the doors and people test, which was specifically designed to equate recall and recognition of verbal and visual material, and the California verbal learning test,30 have suggested equivalent impairment of recall and recognition in AD.32
On three subtests of the VOSP,23 the fragmented letters, object decision and cube analysis tasks, patients with DLB showed impairment relative to both controls and the AD group, whereas on the silhouette identification test, DLB and AD groups were equally impaired. The last task requires subjects to name or identify the silhouette profile of objects and animals viewed from unusual perspectives and draws on both perceptual and semantic abilities. The simple recognition of a silhouette as a real (versus unreal) object, or animal, is thought to require an intact structural description that has been linked to the right temporal lobe.23 Naming and other forms of accurate item specific identification require additional semantic processes that are associated with the left temporal lobe.34 The other tests from the VOSP that were failed by patients with DLB do not require semantic processes for their completion and can be considered, therefore, "purer" tests of perceptual or spatial ability. The finding of impaired identification of fragmented letters was particularly striking.
Although originally conceived in terms of right versus left hemispheric function,23 the cognitive abilities underlying performance on the spatial and perceptual subtests of the VOSP can be recast more in terms of ventral (what) versus dorsal (where) visual processing streams.35 36 According to this widely accepted dichotomy, the ventral pathway, or stream of information, proceeds from primary visual to visual association areas in the inferior-temporal region and underlies object recognition by the association of visual information with semantic knowledge about the perceived objects. Components of the VOSP which depend primarily on ventral processing are, therefore, the object decision, silhouette identification, and fragmented letters subtests. The dorsal stream is responsible for computing the location of objects in space, the guidance of hand movements during grasping, and complex visuospatial analysis: the cube analysis subtest of the VOSP draws heavily on the dorsal pathway. Based on the current findings, it seems that patients with DLB have severe deficits in both dorsal and ventral processing streams. Impairments of this type are seen in AD but typically occur at a later stage of the disease.37 38
Semantic knowledge has not previously been investigated in DLB, but seems from our study to be involved to an equivalent degree in AD and DLB. Both of the tests employed in the current study—the graded naming and category fluency tests—required a spoken response and can clearly be failed for other reasons, most notably a breakdown in the postsemantic aspects of name retrieval. It should be noted, however, that neither patient group produced phonological errors, implying breakdown at either a semantic level or in the processes of mapping semantics to phonology. It is obviously important that future studies include a wider range of verbal and non-verbal semantic tasks. The neural basis of the semantic deficit in AD remains somewhat controversial,17 39 but based on the findings in patients with semantic dementia, who have profound and focal atrophy in the inferolateral temporal lobe, we have speculated that the semantic impairment in AD reflects involvement of this region.17 40 To date, neuropathological studies in DLB have not quantified the degree of regional neuropathology in the way that the presumed spread of neurofibrillary tangles and plaques has been charted in Alzheimer's disease.41 42 On the combined evidence from visual and semantic tasks, we hypothesise, however, that visual association areas, including those involved with the ventral and dorsal processing streams, should show greater pathological involvement in DLB than in AD, but that the anterior and inferolateral temporal areas involved with semantic processing are perhaps equivalently involved in the two disorders.
Turning to the results of the attentional and executive tasks, patients with DLB showed pervasive deficits over and above those demonstrated in AD. The attentional deficits involved in sustained, selective, and divided attention are shown by their performance on the TEA elevator counting and map search tests and Della Sala's dual tasks, respectively. The vast majority of patients with DLB were unable to complete the more demanding Stroop and WCST tests. It seems, therefore, that attentional processes are even more impaired in DLB than in AD. The status of attention processing has been extensively investigated in AD, but variability in the tasks used and the level of overall dementia of the subjects in various studies makes it difficult to draw firm conclusions about the stage at which different components of attention become involved: a recent comprehensive review of the literature,43 concluded that attentional deficits in AD probably follow in the vanguard of episodic memory impairment, that selective attention is the most vulnerable component of attention, that sustained attention is the most resistant with divided attention occupying an intermediate position. This pattern was substantiated in the present study in that the AD group showed deficits on the tests of selective attention/response inhibition (Stroop, TEA elevator counting with distraction and map search), but performed normally on the critical dual task component of the Della Sala test. In DLB, by contrast, there seems to be a global breakdown in all aspects of attention, at least by the stage at which our patients presented. These findings are in keeping with the hypothesis that severe cholinergic deletion may underlie the attention deficit in DLB.
Our findings are potentially relevant to understanding the cognitive basis of hallucinations. The genesis of the hallucinations remains uncertain but the cholinergic depletion found in DLB has been strongly implicated. Cholinergic deficits are profound in DLB and exceed those found in AD.6 Such deficits correlate with the degree of cognitive impairment and are greater in hallucinating than in non-hallucinating patients with DLB.2 The basal forebrain cholinergic system (BFCS), which is involved in DLB, provides the major cholinergic innervation to the cortex and extends to brain regions such as the thalamus, prefrontal cortex, and parietal lobes.44The BFCS is thought to have a pivotal role in the modulation of attentional processes. It has been suggested that a breakdown in attention function underlies the visual hallucinations that are so characteristic of DLB. Another possibility, however, is that severe deficits in perceptual ability are critical for the genesis of hallucinations, or that a combination of attentional and perceptual deficits are a prerequisite. For recent comprehensive reviews of the aetiology and pathogenesis of hallucinations see Manford and Andermann45 and ffytche and Howard.46
As the patients with DLB in our study showed deficits in both perception and attentional function, it was not possible to conclude which of these is more critical for the genesis of the visual hallucinations. Some provisional speculations are perhaps warranted, however, based upon collateral evidence. Patients with the visual variant of AD, also referred to as posterior cortical atrophy or the biparietal variant of AD, present with profound visual disorientation and show marked deficits on tests of visuospatial or perceptual ability, yet do not hallucinate.47-50 Similarly, patients with peripheral ocular causes of visual failure develop a range of illusory and hallucinatory phenomena, but do not have the complex formed hallucinations which typify DLB.46 It seems, therefore, that perceptual deficits alone are unlikely to be sufficient to generate the characteristic visual hallucinations found in DLB. Likewise, attentional impairment is ubiquitous in the middle stages of AD yet relatively few patients develop visual hallucinations. We propose that the combination of degraded visual information about the environment, plus impaired and perhaps fluctuating attentional ability is critical to the genesis of the visual hallucinations found in DLB. This hypothesis could be tested in various ways. We had hoped to include both hallucinating and non-hallucinating patients with DLB, as well as patients with AD with and without hallucinations. A four way comparison of this type would unravel the contribution of diagnostic group, which potentially confounds the present study. Such a study presents, however, considerable practical difficulties. It might be possible to accrue a group of non-hallucinating patients with DLB, but a recent comprehensive study found that over 90% of patients with DLB hallucinated during the course of their illness8 making it difficult to find non-hallucinating cases. Conversely, we have found that patients with AD develop hallucinations at a relatively late stage of their disease when it is impossible to complete a full battery of tests. The most useful strategy for future studies might be to follow an AD cohort longitudinally in an attempt to relate the onset of hallucinations with changes in cognitive performance. A further useful development would be to correlate the frequency and severity of hallucinations with the extent of cognitive deficit in a larger group of patients with DLB.
In conclusion, we have demonstrated that patients with DLB showed greater impairment in visuoperceptual and attentional processes than a matched group of patients with AD. The attentional deficit was pervasive and involved all aspects of attention. Semantic memory and recognition based episodic memory were equally impaired in the two groups, but the patients with AD performed worse on tests of prose recall.
This work was supported by a project grant from the Wellcome Trust. RJP was funded by Novartis.
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Comparative neuropsychology of Lewy body and Alzheimer's dementia
J DALRYMPLE-ALFORD
Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry 2001; 70 148-148 Published Online First: 01 Feb 2001. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.70.2.148


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Wolves Among the Stars
by Adam Frank
How na�ve are we in our thinking about extraterrestrial intelligence and its inclinations? Here we sit, a newly high-tech species, unwittingly broadcasting our existence to anyone (anything?) with a radio receiver. Are we like baby birds chirping away announcing our presence to a galaxy full of predators? At what point do we reassess our assumptions, and our actions, and decide it would be wiser go radio quiet for the time being?
Last spring Steven Hawking made news when he used his Discovery Channel series to opine that getting on the down-low (interstellar communication wise) would be the right choice. In his view,
If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn't turn out very well for the Native Americans.
This launched a fury of blog activity both supporting and contradicting Hawking's pessimism. What I did not see in all the hub-bub was much mention of Greg Bear's two tightly-written books - The Forge of God and The Anvil of the Stars - which deal directly with the issue. Recently I finished rereading the series and it reminded me of the vast assumptions we make in dealing with our place among other intelligences and how little collective thinking has been applied to the issue.
In Bear's story, the Earth is visited not by laser-wielding aliens but fully autonomous Von Neuman machines. These are self-replicating interstellar probes that spread out among star systems using the resources they find to generate more versions of themselves. The premise of Bear's fictional Universe is that with the laws of physics keeping interstellar travel slow (it takes a long time to travel among the stars even at near light speed) all intelligent technological species will, essentially, be in the dark about what is out there.
Thus for some cultures the best defense will be a good offense.
The Von Neumann machines of Bear's story are killer probes. Once our stray radio broadcasts are picked up, the probes arrive, try to build more versions of themselves and, essentially, disassemble our planet. No explanations. No monologue of evil intent. Just mindlessly eliminating potential competition and potential threats. Then it's on to the next system.
I leave you to explore Bear's books on your own if you're interested, but what I always found compelling in his story was the relentless logic of Darwinian competition in a Universe governed by speed-of-light travel restriction.
We love to imagine warp drives and worm holes carrying us back and forth among the stars with an ease that looks a lot like intercontinental air travel (and hasn't that been fun these last few weeks!). But if we take the physics we know seriously and don't ask for techo-miracles, then light-speed will remain an upper limit on interstellar civilization building. The kind of psychology needed for interstellar relations in that case could very well tilt "reasonable" species into expecting the worst.
So who does speak for Earth on this issue? Who decides our strategy for dealing with such a large and potentially significant concern.
The answer is "no one."
As David Grinspoon described in a 2007 article for Seed magazine, high level discussions on the subject have occurred within the SETI community, but not much beyond. Even among those interested in SETI, the debate has been contentious. John Billingham, a member of the SETI Permanent Study Group (SPSG) of the International Academy of Astronautics, resigned in 2007 because the group refused to take a stand on the issue of so-called active SETI (beaming messages into space). As Billingham put it,
At the very least we ought to talk about it first, and not just SETI people. We have a responsibility to the future well-being and survival of humankind.
So are the stars a warren of wolves or angels? Who decides for us? How do we decide? And, most importantly, when is time to make a decision and act?
this page last updated 2 April 2011