Apples inside orange peels: Exploring the use of functional equivalents for comparing curriculum processes across contexts.

Comparative education research is complicated by the difficulty of identifying comparable units across contexts. This paper considers the advantages and limitations of a functional equivalence approach to comparative education. The functional equivalence approach allows us to meaningfully compare the operations that serve each function in the full curriculum value chain of design, application, and updating. We use a theory-based list of common processes in each phase to develop a survey for experts from nine countries, then code their responses to derive ten key common functions. The functional equivalence approach allows us to aggregate some operations that serve the same functions, so our set of functional equivalents is slightly shorter than the theory-based list of processes. In comparing across contexts, we find easily identifiable functional equivalents, functional equivalents that manifest through very different operations, functional equivalents carried out by a wide variety of actors and institutions, similar operations that are not functionally equivalent, and functional equivalents that are not consistently present in all contexts. The functional equivalence approach helps identify comparable operations despite contextual diversity.

Neural correlates of motor imagery and execution in real-world dynamic behavior: evidence for similarities and differences.

A large body of evidence shows that motor imagery and action execution behaviors result from overlapping neural substrates, even in the absence of overt movement during motor imagery. To date it is unclear how neural activations in motor imagery and execution compare for naturalistic whole-body movements, such as walking. Neuroimaging studies have not directly compared imagery and execution during dynamic walking movements. Here we recorded brain activation with mobile EEG during walking compared to during imagery of walking, with mental counting as a control condition. We asked 24 healthy participants to either walk six steps on a path, imagine taking six steps, or mentally count from one to six. We found beta and alpha power modulation during motor imagery resembling action execution patterns; a correspondence not found performing the control task of mental counting. Neural overlap occurred early in the execution and imagery walking actions, suggesting activation of shared action representations. Remarkably, a distinctive walking-related beta rebound occurred both during action execution and imagery at the end of the action suggesting that, like actual walking, motor imagery involves resetting or inhibition of motor processes. However, we also found that motor imagery elicits a distinct pattern of more distributed beta activity, especially at the beginning of the task. These results indicate that motor imagery and execution of naturalistic walking involve shared motor-cognitive activations, but that motor imagery requires additional cortical resources.

Inequivalent and uncorrelated response priming in motor imagery and execution.

Introduction: Theoretical considerations on motor imagery and motor execution have long been dominated by the functional equivalence view. Previous empirical works comparing these two modes of actions, however, have largely relied on subjective judgments on the imagery process, which may be exposed to various biases. The current study aims to re-examine the commonality and distinguishable aspects of motor imagery and execution via a response repetition paradigm. This framework aims to offer an alternative approach devoid of self-reporting, opening the opportunity for less subjective evaluation of the disparities and correlations between motor imagery and motor execution. Methods: Participants performed manual speeded-choice on prime-probe pairs in each trial under three conditions distinguished by the modes of response on the prime: mere observation (Perceptual), imagining response (Imagery), and actual responses (Execution). Responses to the following probe were all actual execution of button press. While Experiment 1 compared the basic repetition effects in the three prime conditions, Experiment 2 extended the prime duration to enhance the quality of MI and monitored electromyography (EMG) for excluding prime imagery with muscle activities to enhance specificity of the underlying mechanism. Results: In Experiment 1, there was no significant repetition effect after mere observation. However, significant repetition effects were observed in both imagery and execution conditions, respectively, which were also significantly correlated. In Experiment 2, trials with excessive EMG activities were excluded before further statistical analysis. A consistent repetition effect pattern in both Imagery and Execution but not the Perception condition. Now the correlation between Imagery and Execution conditions were not significant. Conclusion: Findings from the current study provide a novel application of a classical paradigm, aiming to minimize the subjectivity inherent in imagery assessments while examining the relationship between motor imagery and motor execution. By highlighting differences and the absence of correlation in repetition effects, the study challenges the functional equivalence hypothesis of imagery and execution. Motor representations of imagery and execution, when measured without subjective judgments, appear to be more distinguishable than traditionally thought. Future studies may examine the neural underpinnings of the response repetition paradigm to further elucidating the common and separable aspects of these two modes of action.

Neutrality in plant-herbivore interactions.

Understanding the distribution of herbivore damage among leaves and individual plants is a central goal of plant-herbivore biology. Commonly observed unequal patterns of herbivore damage have conventionally been attributed to the heterogeneity in plant quality or herbivore behaviour or distribution. Meanwhile, the potential role of stochastic processes in structuring plant-herbivore interactions has been overlooked. Here, we show that based on simple first principle expectations from metabolic theory, random sampling of different sizes of herbivores from a regional pool is sufficient to explain patterns of variation in herbivore damage. This is despite making the neutral assumption that herbivory is caused by randomly feeding herbivores on identical and passive plants. We then compared its predictions against 765 datasets of herbivory on 496 species across 116° of latitude from the Herbivory Variability Network. Using only one free parameter, the estimated attack rate, our neutral model approximates the observed frequency distribution of herbivore damage among plants and especially among leaves very well. Our results suggest that neutral stochastic processes play a large and underappreciated role in natural variation in herbivory and may explain the low predictability of herbivory patterns. We argue that such prominence warrants its consideration as a powerful force in plant-herbivore interactions.

Physiological Correlates of Hypnotizability: Hypnotic Behaviour and Prognostic Role in Medicine.

Studies in the field of experimental hypnosis highlighted the role of hypnotizability in the physiological variability of the general population. It is associated, in fact, with a few differences which are observable in the ordinary state of consciousness and in the absence of suggestions. The aim of the present scoping review is summarizing them and indicate their relevance to the neural mechanisms of hypnosis and to the prognosis and treatment of a few medical conditions. Individuals with high, medium and low hypnotizability scores display different cerebral functional differences-i.e., functional equivalence between imagery and perception/action, excitability of the motor cortex, interoceptive accuracy-possibly related to brain structural and functional characteristics, and different control of blood supply at peripheral and cerebral level, likely due to different availability of endothelial nitric oxide. These differences are reviewed to support the idea of their participation in hypnotic behaviour and to indicate their prognostic and therapeutic usefulness in a few medical conditions.

Interactive effects of dispositional mindfulness and PETTLEP imagery training on basketball shooting performance: A randomized controlled trial.

The purpose of this study was to examine the interactive effects of dispositional mindfulness and visualized PETTLEP imagery training on basketball mid-range shooting performance and retention. Seventy-three participants (M age = 20.32 ± 1.09) with high/low dispositional mindfulness (high n = 35; low n = 38) selected out of 302 college students were randomly assigned into the following six groups: (a) high mindfulness internal imagery (H-II, n = 13); (b) high mindfulness external imagery (H-EI, n = 11); (c) high mindfulness control (H-CO, n = 11); (d) low mindfulness internal imagery (L-II, n = 13); (e) low mindfulness external imagery (L-EI, n = 12); and (f) low mindfulness control (L-CO, n = 13). Participants engaged in a pretest to measure their basketball shooting performance, then participated in a 6-week (3 times/per-week) intervention, plus a posttest and retention test. A three-way 2 (high/low mindfulness) X 3 (treatments: internal-, external imagery, and control) X 3 (measurement time: pretest, posttest, and retention) mixed ANOVA statistical analysis found dispositional mindfulness interacted with treatments and measurement time. The main effects showed high dispositional mindfulness performed better than low dispositional mindfulness, and internal imagery training performed better than external imagery training on mid-range basketball performance at retention. The 3-way interaction indicated that when using either internal or external imagery, high dispositional mindfulness performed better than low mindfulness on retention but not posttest. For 2-way interaction, high dispositional mindfulness performed better than low dispositional mindfulness on retention but not posttest. Our results extended current knowledge on sport imagery and dispositional mindfulness and gained several theoretical implications for researchers. The limitations, future research directions, and practical implications were also discussed.

El acto de telemedicina: hacia un nuevo concepto de asistencia médico-personal / The Telemedicine act: A new concept of medical-personal assistance

Gracias a la equivalencia funcional entre acto médico y acto de telemedicina, la prestación sanitaria adistancia queda sujeta a las exigencias deontológicas, legales y profesionales previstas para toda actuación médica. Sin embargo, la calificación jurídica del acto de telemedicina como acto médico suscita el debate sobre si la prestación médica a distancia cumple con la exigencia de prestación personal y directa del acto médico. Este estudio, analiza esta cuestión y su resolución en diferentes sistemas jurídicos, como el francés, el español, el alemán y el austriaco. De este análisis comparativo, resultarán los elementos necesarios para reflexionar sobre la nueva configuración de la relación asistencial personal como presupuesto de la regulación del acto de telemedicina.(AU)

Gràcies a l'equivalència funcional entre acte mèdic i acte de telemedicina, la prestació sanitària a distància queda subjecta a les exigències deontològiques, legals i professionals previstes per a tota actuació mèdica. No obstant això, la qualificació jurídica de l'acte de telemedicina com a acte mèdic suscita el debat sobre si la prestació mèdica a distància compleix amb l'exigència de prestació personal i directa de l'acte mèdic. Aquest estudi, analitza aquesta qüestió i la seva resolució en diferents sistemes jurídics, com el francès, l'espanyol, l'alemany i l'austríac. D'aquesta anàlisi comparativa, resultaran els elements necessaris per a reflexionar sobre la nova configuració de la relació assistencial personal com a pressupost de la regulació de l'acte de telemedicina.(AU)

Thanks to the functional equivalence between medical act and telemedicine act, the healthcare service at a distance is subject to the deontological, legal and professional requirements established for any medical performance. However, the legal qualification of the act of telemedicine as a medical act raises the debate on whether the medical service at a distance meets the requirement of personal and direct benefit of the medicalact. This study analyzes this issue and its resolution in different legal systems such as French, Spanish, German and Austrian. From this comparative analysis, the necessary elements will result to reflect on the new configuration of the personal care relationship as a regulatory budget for the act of telemedicine.(AU)

TMS over dorsolateral prefrontal cortex affects the timing of motor imagery but not overt action: Further support for the motor-cognitive model.

The Motor-Cognitive model suggests a functional dissociation between motor imagery and overt action, in contrast to the Functional Equivalence view of common processes between the two behaviours. According to the Motor-Cognitive model, motor imagery differs from overt action primarily through the use of executive resources to monitor and elaborate a motor image during execution, which can result in a lack of correspondence between motor imagery and its overt action counterpart. The present study examined the importance of executive resources in motor imagery by using TMS to impair the function of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex while measuring the time to complete imagined versus overt actions. In two experiments, TMS over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex slowed motor imagery but did not affect overt actions. TMS over the same region also interfered with performance of a mental calculation task, though it did not reliably affect less demanding cognitive tasks also thought to rely on executive functions. Taken together, these results were consistent with the Motor-Cognitive model but not with the idea of functional equivalence. The implications of these results for the theoretical understanding of motor imagery, and potential applications of the Motor-Cognitive model to the use of motor imagery in training and rehabilitation, are discussed.

Study on the English Translation of Terms Related to Heart Diseases in On cold damage and Essentials of The Golden Cabinet Based on the Functional Equivalence Theory / 世界科学技术-中医药现代化

With the deepening and advancement of globalization,Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM)has attracted the attention of people all over the world.In particular,since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic,TCM has been fully participated in the prevention and treatment and achieved remarkable success,providing Chinese approach for global epidemic prevention and control.However,due to the complexity of TCM terms,rich and varied connotations,profound semantics and so on,TCM translation is fraught with difficulties.There are some problems in the translation of TCM,such as not standardized,inaccurate and unsmooth,which make it difficult for residents of other countries to understand TCM and seriously hinder the spread of TCM to the world.Therefore,the translation of TCM has become a key problem to be solved urgently.Based on the functional equivalence theory,this paper makes a comparative analysis of the English translations of the terms related to heart diseases in On cold damage and Essentials of The Golden Cabinet,which can be divided into the translation of the terms related to heart diseases caused by poor blood circulation or dysphoria of the heart.The theory of functional equivalence can take into account the cultural context and thinking habits of western readers,accurately convey the true meaning of TCM classics to western scholars,and help to standardize the translation of terms related to heart diseases in On cold damage and Essentials of The Golden Cabinet.On the basis of a full understanding of the original text,this paper makes a comparative analysis of different versions of English translation,and adopts a translation that can not only express the meaning of the original text,but also be easily understood and accepted by foreign readers as the norm.To improve the understanding and acceptance of TCM in the world,and to provide theoretical reference and reliable methodological research means for the translation of ancient TCM books into English.

What 'translating science' can learn from 'translating languages'.

One of the most important steps in drug discovery is the translation of preclinical data to humans. However, the term 'translation' has numerous connotations and, often, different stakeholders literally speak different languages. Learning from many years of experience and new concepts in language translation could increase the success rate in translating biomedical research. Beyond being bilingual, this includes applying the concept of functional equivalence, the main characteristic of a good translation. Given that function is defined by the source language text, starting with the patient has advantages over the classical bench-to-bedside approach. Good translators need transfer competence, including knowledge of the limitations of translation. As with languages, computer-assisted translation(-al research) could support increasing functional equivalence and, thus, translation success.

Spatial reorientation with a geometric array of auditory cues.

A visuocentric bias has dominated the literature on spatial navigation and reorientation. Studies on visually accessed environments indicate that, during reorientation, human and non-human animals encode the geometric shape of the environment, even if this information is unnecessary and insufficient for the task. In an attempt to extend our limited knowledge on the similarities and differences between visual and non-visual navigation, here we examined whether the same phenomenon would be observed during auditory-guided reorientation. Provided with a rectangular array of four distinct auditory landmarks, blindfolded, sighted participants had to learn the location of a target object situated on a panel of an octagonal arena. Subsequent test trials were administered to understand how the task was acquired. Crucially, in a condition in which the auditory cues were indistinguishable (same sound sample), participants could still identify the correct target location, suggesting that the rectangular array of auditory landmarks was encoded as a geometric configuration. This is the first evidence of incidental encoding of geometric information with auditory cues and, consistent with the theory of functional equivalence, it supports the generalisation of mechanisms of spatial learning across encoding modalities.

Imagining the way forward: A review of contemporary motor imagery theory.

Over the past few decades, researchers have become interested in the mechanisms behind motor imagery (i.e., the mental rehearsal of action). During this time several theories of motor imagery have been proposed, offering diverging accounts of the processes responsible for motor imagery and its neural overlap with movement. In this review, we summarize the core claims of five contemporary theories of motor imagery: motor simulation theory, motor emulation theory, the motor-cognitive model, the perceptual-cognitive model, and the effects imagery model. Afterwards, we identify the key testable differences between them as well as their various points of overlap. Finally, we discuss potential future directions for theories of motor imagery.

Repeated reversals of concurrent olfactory discriminations in rats: A search for functional equivalence.

Equivalence class formation has been difficult to demonstrate in nonhumans, but one method that has been successful is a simple discrimination procedure in which contingencies associated with two sets of arbitrary discriminative stimuli are repeatedly reversed. Pigeons and sea lions shift responding after encountering the newly-reversed contingency with only a few set members, showing evidence of functional equivalence. We used this strategy to determine whether similar findings would occur in rats using olfactory stimuli. Rats were trained to nose-poke in the presence of six stimuli arbitrarily designated as members of the positive set; responses to the six members of the negative set were not reinforced. When discriminative performance was established, contingencies associated with each set were reversed and re-reversed each time subjects met a performance criterion. All subjects successfully acquired the concurrent simple discriminations and were exposed to between 12 and 60 reversals, but none showed clear evidence of functional class formation until a final procedure in which the stimulus sets that had been in place were arbitrarily rearranged. Acquisition with these new stimulus sets was impaired, showing that class membership generated by the original stimulus sets interfered with learning the new ones, thus providing evidence of functional equivalence.

Early language and communication development in Chinese children: Adaption and validation of a parent report instrument.

PURPOSE: To fulfil the needs of assessment tools in the Chinese population, we adapted the LENA Developmental Snapshot, a parent survey that measures early language and communication development in English-speaking children. We reported the psychometric properties of the adapted questionnaire and evaluated the metric and functional equivalence between the adapted and the original instruments. METHOD: The Snapshot was translated into Chinese and reviewed by an expert panel. English-specific items (e.g. past tense, plural) were mapped onto functionally similar Mandarin vocabulary and structures. The questionnaire was administered to 1300 families with children ages 2-48 months. The Bayley Scales of Infant Development was administered to a subsample. RESULT: Scores on the adapted questionnaire showed age-related increases in the 7-36 month age range and correlated with scores on the Chinese Bayley. The questionnaire showed high internal consistency and split-half reliability. Comparison with the US norm revealed slightly lower performance in the current sample. Adaptations of English-specific items resulted in functionally equivalent targets. CONCLUSION: Despite differences in linguistic roots, the Chinese adaption of the LENA Snapshot captured developmental changes in children's language and communication abilities. Additional norming and validation efforts are needed in a more representative sample.

A conceptual critique of brain lateralization models in emotional face perception: Toward a hemispheric functional-equivalence (HFE) model.

The present review proposes a novel dynamic model of brain lateralization of emotional (happy, surprised, fearful, sad, angry, and disgusted) and neutral face perception. Evidence to date suggests that emotional face perception is lateralized in the brain. At least five prominent hypotheses of the lateralization of emotional face perception have been previously proposed; the right-hemisphere hypothesis; the valence-specific hypothesis; the modified valence-specific hypothesis; the motivational hypothesis; and behavioral activation/inhibition system hypothesis. However, a growing number of recent replication studies exploring those hypotheses frequently provide inconsistent or even contradictory results. The latest neuroimaging and behavioral studies strongly demonstrate the functional capacity of both hemispheres to process emotions relatively successfully. Moreover, the flexibility of emotional brain-networks in both hemispheres is functionally high even to the extent of a possible reversed asymmetry of the left and the right hemisphere performance under altered neurophysiological and psychological conditions. The present review aims to a) provide a critical conceptual analysis of prior and current hypotheses of brain lateralization of emotional and neutral face perception; b) propose an integrative introduction of a novel hemispheric functional-equivalence (HFE) model in emotional and neutral face perception based on the evaluation of theoretical considerations, behavioral and neuroimaging studies: the brain is initially right-biased in emotional and neutral face perception by default; however, altered psychophysiological conditions (e.g., acute stress, a demanding emotional task) activate a distributed brain-network of both hemispheres toward functional equivalence that results in relatively equalized behavioral performance in emotional and neutral face perception. The proposed novel model may provide a practical tool in further experimental investigation of brain lateralization of emotional face perception.

Examining the equivalence between imagery and execution within the spatial domain - Does motor imagery account for signal-dependent noise?

Motor imagery is suggested to be functionally equivalent to physical execution as they each utilise a common neural representation. The present study examined whether motor imagery correspondingly reflects the spatial characteristics of physically executed movements, including the signal-dependent noise that typically manifests in more variable end locations (as indicated by effective target width; We). Participants executed or imagined a single, upper-limb target-directed aim in the horizontal medio-lateral direction. The start and end of the imagined movements were indexed by the lifting and lowering of the limb over the home position, respectively. Following each imagined movement, participants had to additionally estimate their imagined end location relative to the target. All the movements had to be completed at a pre-specified criterion time (400 ms, 600 ms, 800 ms). The results indicated that the We increased following a decrease in movement time for execution, but not imagery. Moreover, the total error of imagined movements was greater than the actual error of executed movements. While motor imagery may comprise a neural representation that also contributes to the execution of movements, it is unable to closely reflect the random sources of variability. This limitation of motor imagery may be attributed to the comparatively limited efferent motor signals.

Functional brain asymmetry for emotions: psychological stress-induced reversed hemispheric asymmetry in emotional face perception.

Empirical evidence has demonstrated functional (mostly right-biased) brain asymmetry for emotion perception, whereas recent studies indicate that acute stress may modulate left and/or right hemisphere activation. However, it is still unknown whether emotion perception can be influenced by stress-induced hemispheric activation since behavioral studies report inconsistent or even contradictory results. We sought to reevaluate this gap. Eighty-eight healthy Caucasian university students participated in the study. In half of the randomly selected participants, acute psychological stress was induced by displaying a brief stressful movie clip (the stress condition), whereas the other half were shown a neutral movie clip (the non-stress condition). Prior to (the baseline) and following the movie clip display an emotion perception task was applied by presenting an emotional (happy, surprised, fearful, sad, angry, or disgusted) or neutral face to the left or right visual field. We found a more accurate perception of emotional and neutral faces presented to the LVF (the right hemisphere) in the baseline. However, we revealed that after watching a neutral movie clip, behavioral performance in emotional and neutral face perception accuracy became relatively equalized for both visual fields, whereas after watching a stressful movie clip, the RVF (the left hemisphere) even became dominant in emotional face perception. We propose a novel hemispheric functional-equivalence model: the brain is initially right-biased in emotional and neutral face perception by default; however, psychophysiological activation of a distributed brain-network due to watching neutral movie clips redistributes hemispheric performance toward relative equivalence. Moreover, even reversed hemispheric asymmetry may occur.

Studying AMPK in an Evolutionary Context.

The AMPK protein kinase forms the heart of a complex network controlling the metabolic activities in a eukaryotic cell. Unraveling the steps by which this pathway evolved from its primordial roots in the last eukaryotic common ancestor to its present status in contemporary species has the potential to shed light on the evolution of eukaryotes. A homolog search for the proteins interacting in this pathway is considerably straightforward. However, interpreting the results, when reconstructing the evolutionary history of the pathway over larger evolutionary distances, bears a number of pitfalls. With this in mind, we present a protocol to trace a metabolic pathway across contemporary species and backward in evolutionary time. Alongside the individual analysis steps, we provide guidelines for data interpretation generalizing beyond the analysis of AMPK.

Beyond variability: Subjective timing and the neurophysiology of motor cognition.

BACKGROUND: Movement simulation helps increasing the chances to reach goals. A cognitive task used to study the neuro-behavioral aspects of movement simulation is mental rotation: people mentally re-orient rotated pictures of hands. However, the involvement of the primary motor cortex (M1) in mental rotation is largely controversial. HYPOTHESIS: Such inconsistency could arise from potential methodological flaws in experimental procedures and data analysis. In particular, until now, the timing of M1 activity has been computed in absolute terms: from the onset of mental rotation (onset-locked), neglecting intra- and inter-subject variability. METHODS: A novel phase-locked approach is introduced to synchronize the same phases of cognitive processing among different subjects and sessions. This approach was validated in the particular case of corticospinal excitability of the motor cortex during mental rotation. RESULTS: We identified the relative time-windows during which the excitability of M1 is effector-specifically modulated by different features of mental rotation. These time windows correspond to the 55%-85% of the subjective timing. CONCLUSIONS: In sum, (i) we introduce a new method to study the neurophysiology of motor cognition, and (ii) validating this method, we shed new light on the involvement of M1 in movement simulation.

Functional explanation and the problem of functional equivalence.

The legitimacy of functional explanations in biology is threatened by a problem first identified by Hempel: the problem of functional equivalence. In order for the prevalence of a trait to be explained by its function, the function would have to explain why that very trait is prevalent and not some other functionally equivalent trait. But functions alone cannot meet this explanatory demand. I argue that this is a problem not only for Nagelian deductive-nomological models but also for etiological models of functional explanation. I contrast these models with a dual model of adaptive explanation and design explanation. This dual model largely circumvents the problem of functional equivalence, but divests functions of much explanatory power.