Search results for: memory stimulation

Authors: Ahmed Sameer, Braj Bhushan

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The objective of our study was to compare two techniques (no landmark vs imaginary landmark) of remembering route while traversing in an unfamiliar homogenous environment. We used two videos each having nine identical turns with no landmarks. In the first video participant was required to remember the sequence of turns. In the second video participant was required to imagine a landmark at each turn and associate the turn with it. In both the task the participant was asked to recall the sequence of turns as it appeared in the video. Results showed that performance in the first condition i.e. without use of landmarks was better than imaginary landmark condition. The difference, however, became significant when the participant were tested again about 30 minutes later though performance was still better in no-landmark condition. The finding is surprising given the past research in memory and is explained in terms of cognitive factors such as mental workload.

Keywords: wayfinding, landmarks, unfamiliar environment, cognitive psychology

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Authors: Emel Yildiz, Nurcan Biçer, Fazilet Aksu, Arash Alizadeh Yegani

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Plants provide the wealth of bioactive compounds, which exert a substantial strategy for the treatment of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. Recently, a lot of studies have explored the medicinal properties of curcumin, including antitumoral, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiviral, and anti-Alzheimer's disease effects. Metal complexes of curcumin (1,7-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1,6-heptadiene-3,5-dione) were synthesized with Mn(II) and Fe(III). The structures of synthesized metal complexes have been characterized by using spectroscopic and analytic methods such as elemental analysis, magnetic susceptibility, FT-IR, AAS, TG and argentometric titration. It was determined that the complexes have octahedral geometry. The effects of the metal complexes on the disorder of memory, which is an important symptom of Alzheimer's Disease were studied on lab rats with Plus-Maze Tests at Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory.

Keywords: curcumin, Mn(II), Fe(III), Alzheimer disease, beta amyloid 25-35

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Authors: M. Shukry

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According to the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, every human being is entitled to rights in life that should be respected by others and protected by the state and community. Such rights are inherent regardless of colour, ethnicity, gender, religion or otherwise, and it is expected that all humans alike have the right to live without discrimination of any sort. However, that has not been the case with Aborigines in Australia. Over a long period of time, the governments of the State and the Territories and the Australian Commonwealth denied the Aboriginal and Indigenous inhabitants of the Torres Strait Islands such rights. Past Australian governments set policies and laws that enabled them to forcefully remove Indigenous children from their parents, which resulted in creating lost generations living the trauma of the loss of cultural identity, alienation and even their own selfhood. Intending to reduce that population of natives and their Aboriginal culture while, on the other hand, assimilate them into mainstream society, they gave themselves the right to remove them from their families with no hope of return. That practice has led to tragic consequences due to the trauma that has affected those children, an experience that is depicted by Jane Harrison in her play Stolen. The drama is the outcome of a six-year project on lost children and which was first performed in 1997 in Melbourne. Five actors only appear on the stage, playing the role of all the different characters, whether the main protagonists or the remaining cast, present or non-present ones as voices. The play outlines the life of five children who have been taken from their parents at an early age, entailing a disastrous negative impact that differs from one to the other. Unknown to each other, what connects between them is being put in a children’s home. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the play’s text in light of the 1948 Declaration of Human Rights, using it as a lens that reflects the atrocities practiced against the Aborigines. It highlights how such practices formed an outrageous violation of those natives’ rights as human beings. Harrison’s dramatic technique in conveying the children’s experiences is through a non-linear structure, fluctuating between past and present that are linked together within each of the five characters, reflecting their suffering and pain to create an emotional link between them and the audience. Her dramatic handling of the issue by fusing tragedy with humour as well as symbolism is a successful technique in revealing the traumatic memory of those children and their present life. The play has made a difference in commencing to address the problem of the right of all children to be with their families, which renders the real meaning of having a home and an identity as people.

Keywords: aboriginal, audience, Australia, children, culture, drama, home, human rights, identity, Indigenous, Jane Harrison, memory, scenic effects, setting, stage, stage directions, Stolen, trauma

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Authors: Pejman Hosseiniun, Rose Shayeghi, Iman Rahbari, Mohamad Reza Kalhor

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CNFET has emerged as an alternative material to silicon for high performance, high stability and low power SRAM design in recent years. SRAM functions as cache memory in computers and many portable devices. In this paper, a new SRAM cell design based on CNFET technology is proposed. The proposed SRAM cell design for CNFET is compared with SRAM cell designs implemented with the conventional CMOS and FinFET in terms of speed, power consumption, stability, and leakage current. The HSPICE simulation and analysis show that the dynamic power consumption of the proposed 8T CNFET SRAM cell’s is reduced about 48% and the SNM is widened up to 56% compared to the conventional CMOS SRAM structure at the expense of 2% leakage power and 3% write delay increase.

Keywords: SRAM cell, CNFET, low power, HSPICE

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Authors: Felib Ayman Shawky Salem

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Experiential marketing means an unforgettable experience that remains deeply anchored in the customer's memory. Furthermore, customer satisfaction is defined as the emotional response to the experiences provided that relate to specific products or services purchased. Therefore, experiential marketing activities can influence the level of customer satisfaction and loyalty. In this context, the study aims to examine the relationship between experiential marketing, customer satisfaction and loyalty of beauty products in Konya. The results of this study showed that experiential marketing is an important indicator of customer satisfaction and loyalty and that experiential marketing has a significant positive impact on customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Keywords: sponsorship, marketing communication theories, marketing communication tools internet, marketing, tourism, tourism management corporate responsibility, employee organizational performance, internal marketing, internal customer experiential marketing, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, social sciences.

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Authors: Djamel–Eddine Yassine Boutiba

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In this present memory, we present the various impacts deflectometer leading to the sizing by strengthening of existing roadways. It reminds that the road network in Algeria plays a major role with regard to drainage in major strategic areas and especially in the fringe northern Algeria. Heavy traffic passing through the northern fringe (between 25% and 30% heavy vehicles) causes substantial degradations at both the surface layer and base layer. The work on site by means within the laboratory CTTP such as deflectographe Lacroix, allowed us to record a large number of deflection localized bending on RN19A (Carrefour CW73-Ain- Merane), whose analysis of the results led us to opt for a building throughout the band's project . By the recorder against HWD (Heavy Weight déflectometer) allowed us to learn about the behavior of the pavement on the banks. In addition, the Software Alize III has been essential in the verification of the increase in the thickness dimensioned.

Keywords: capacity, deflection, deflectograph lacroix, degradation, hwd

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Authors: Blanche Aguida, Marootpong Pooam, Nathalie Jourdan, Margaret Ahmad

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COVID-19-related morbidity is associated with exaggerated inflammation and cytokine production in the lungs, leading to acute respiratory failure. The cellular mechanisms underlying these so-called ‘cytokine storms’ are regulated through the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) signaling pathway and by reactive oxygen species (ROS). Both light (photobiomodulation) and magnetic fields (e.g., pulsed electromagnetic field) stimulation are non-invasive therapies known to confer anti-inflammatory effects and regulate ROS signaling pathways. Here we show that daily exposure to two 10-minute intervals of moderate-intensity infra-red light significantly lowered the inflammatory response induced via the TLR4 receptor signaling pathway in human cell cultures. Anti-inflammatory effects were likewise achieved by electromagnetic field exposure of cells to daily 10-minute intervals of either pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF) or to low-level static magnetic fields. Because current illumination and electromagnetic field therapies have no known side effects and are already approved for some medical uses, we have here developed protocols for verification in clinical trials of COVID 19 infection. These treatments are affordable, simple to implement, and may help to resolve the acute respiratory distress of COVID 19 patients both in the home and in the hospital.

Keywords: COVID 19, electromagnetic fields therapy, inflammation, photobiomodulation therapy

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Authors: Summer Hassan, David Crossman

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Myocardial fibrosis (MF) has been loosely defined as the process occurring in the pathological remodeling of the myocardium due to excessive production and deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, including collagen. This reduces tissue compliance and accelerates progression to heart failure, as well as affecting the electrical properties of the myocytes resulting in arrhythmias. Microscopic interrogation of MF is key to understanding the molecular orchestrators of disease. It is well-established that recruitment and stimulation of myofibroblasts result in Collagen deposition and the resulting expansion in the ECM. Many types of Collagens have been identified and implicated in scarring of tissue. In a series of experiments conducted at our lab, we aim to elucidate the role collagen VI plays in the development of myocardial fibrosis and its direct impact on myocardial function. This was investigated through an animal experiment in Rats with Collagen VI knockout diseased and healthy animals as well as Collagen VI wild diseased and healthy rats. Echocardiogram assessments of these rats ensued at four-time points, followed by microscopic interrogation of the myocardium aiming to correlate the role collagen VI plays in myocardial function. Our results demonstrate a deterioration in cardiac function as represented by the ejection fraction in the knockout healthy and diseased rats. This elucidates a potential protective role that collagen-VI plays following a myocardial insult. Current work is dedicated to the microscopic characterisation of the fibrotic process in all rat groups, with the results to follow.

Keywords: heart failure, myocardial fibrosis, collagen, echocardiogram, confocal microscopy

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Authors: El Asnaoui Khalid, Chawki Youness, Aksasse Brahim, Ouanan Mohammed

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In these recent decades, the important and fast growth in the development and demand of multimedia products is contributing to an insufficient in the bandwidth of device and network storage memory. Consequently, the theory of data compression becomes more significant for reducing the data redundancy in order to save more transfer and storage of data. In this context, this paper addresses the problem of the lossless and the near-lossless compression of images. This proposed method is based on Block SVD Power Method that overcomes the disadvantages of Matlab's SVD function. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm has a better compression performance compared with the existing compression algorithms that use the Matlab's SVD function. In addition, the proposed approach is simple and can provide different degrees of error resilience, which gives, in a short execution time, a better image compression.

Keywords: image compression, SVD, block SVD power method, lossless compression, near lossless

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Authors: Sidika Di̇lşad Kaya, Ahmet Seli̇m Kaya, Ibrahi̇m Eri̇k, Havva Yaldiz, Yalçin Kaya

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The aim of this study was to reveal the effects of right brain development on reading, comprehension, learning and concentration levels and rapid processing skills in students with low vision and students with standard development, and to explore the effects of right and left brain integration on students' academic success and the permanence of the learned knowledge. A total of 68 students with a mean age of 10.01±0.12 were included in the study, 58 of them with standard development, 9 partially visually impaired and 1 totally visually disabled student. The student with a total visual impairment could not participate in the reading speed test due to her total visual impairment. The following data were measured in the participant students before the project; Reading speed measurement in 1 minute, Reading comprehension questions, Burdon attention test, 50 questions of math quiz timed with a stopwatch. Participants were trained for 3 weeks, 5 days a week, for a total of two hours a day. In this study, right-brain developing exercises were carried out with the use of an abacus, and it was aimed to develop both mathematical and attention of students with questions prepared with numerical data taken from fairy tale activities. Among these problems, the study was supported with multiple-choice, 5W (what, where, who, why, when?), 1H (how?) questions along with true-false and fill-in-the-blank activities. By using memory cards, students' short-term memories were strengthened, photographic memory studies were conducted and their visual intelligence was supported. Auditory intelligence was supported by aiming to make calculations by using the abacus in the minds of the students with the numbers given aurally. When calculating the numbers by touching the real abacus, the development of students' tactile intelligence is enhanced. Research findings were analyzed in SPSS program, Kolmogorov Smirnov test was used for normality analysis. Since the variables did not show normal distribution, Wilcoxon test, one of the non-parametric tests, was used to compare the dependent groups. Statistical significance level was accepted as 0.05. The reading speed of the participants was 83.54±33.03 in the pre-test and 116.25±38.49 in the post-test. Narration pre-test 69.71±25.04 post-test 97.06±6.70; BURDON pretest 84.46±14.35 posttest 95.75±5.67; rapid math processing skills pretest 90.65±10.93, posttest 98.18±2.63 (P<0.05). It was determined that the pre-test and post-test averages of students with typical development and students with low vision were also significant for all four values (p<0.05). As a result of the data obtained from the participants, it is seen that the study was effective in terms of measurement parameters, and the findings were statistically significant. Therefore, it is recommended to use the method widely.

Keywords: Abacus, reading speed, multiple intelligences, right brain training, visually impaired

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Authors: Boudjedra Abderrahim, Toumi Salah, Boutalbi Mostefa, Frihi Mohammed

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Nowadays, using the advancement of technology in semiconductor device fabrication, many transistors can be integrated to a single chip (VLSI). Although the growth chip density potentially eases systems-on-chip (SoCs) integrating thousands of processing element (PE) such as memory, processor, interfaces cores, system complexity, high-performance interconnect and scalable on-chip communication architecture become most challenges for many digital and embedded system designers. Networks-on-chip (NoCs) becomes a new paradigm that makes possible integrating heterogeneous devices and allows many communication constraints and performances. In this paper, we are interested for good performance and low area for implementation and a behavioral modeling of network on chip mesh topology design using VHDL hardware description language with performance evaluation and FPGA implementation results.

Keywords: design, implementation, communication system, network on chip, VHDL

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Authors: Yuanqing Li, Changyi Lei, Zhaopeng Xue, Zhuo Zheng, Yanbo Long

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In agricultural production and breeding, implementing automatic picking robot in orchard farming to reduce human labour and error is challenging. The core function of it is automatic identification based on machine vision. This paper focuses on apple detection and counting in orchards and implements several deep learning methods. Extensive datasets are used and a semi-automatic annotation method is proposed. The proposed deep learning models are in state-of-the-art YOLO family. In view of the essence of the models with various backbones, a multi-dimensional comparison in details is made in terms of counting accuracy, mAP and model memory, laying the foundation for realising automatic precision agriculture.

Keywords: agricultural object detection, deep learning, machine vision, YOLO family

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Authors: Madeline V. Henry

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Sex work is a contested subject in academia. Many authors now argue that the practice should be recognized as a legitimate and rationally chosen form of labor, and that decriminalization is necessary to ensure the safety of sex workers and reduce their stigmatization. However, a prevailing argument remains that the work is inherently violent and oppressive and that all sex workers are directly or indirectly coerced into participating in the industry. This argument has been complicated by the recent proliferation of computer-mediated technologies that allow people to conduct sex work without the need to be physically co-present with customers or pimps. One example of this is the practice of ‘camming’, wherein ‘webcam models’ stream themselves stripping and/or performing autoerotic stimulation in an online chat-room for payment. In this presentation, interviews with eight ‘camgirls’ (aged 22-34) will be discussed. Their talk has been analyzed using Foucauldian discourse analysis, focusing on common discursive threads in relation to the work and their subjectivities. It was found that the participants demonstrated appreciation for the lack of physical danger they were in, but emphasized the unique and significant dangers of online-based sex work (their images and videos being recorded and shared without their consent, for example). Participants also argued that their largest concerns were based around stigma, which they claimed remained prevalent despite the decriminalized legal model in Aotearoa/New Zealand (which has been in place for over 14 years). Overall, this project seeks to challenge commonplace academic approaches to sex work, adding further research to support sex workers’ rights and highlighting new issues to consider in a digital environment.

Keywords: camming, sex work, stigma, risk

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Authors: Yesim Sucullu Karadag, Pinar Kurt, Sule Bilen, Nese Subutay Oztekin, Fikri Ak

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Background: Primary cervical dystonia is thought to be a purely motor disorder. But recent studies revealed that patients with dystonia had additional non-motor features. Sensory and psychiatric disturbances could be included into the non-motor spectrum of dystonia. The Basal Ganglia receive inputs from all cortical areas and throughout the thalamus project to several cortical areas, thus participating to circuits that have been linked to motor as well as sensory, emotional and cognitive functions. However, there are limited studies indicating cognitive impairment in patients with cervical dystonia. More evidence is required regarding neurocognitive functioning in these patients. Objective: This study is aimed to investigate neurocognitive profile of cervical dystonia patients in comparison to healthy controls (HC) by employing a detailed set of neuropsychological tests in addition to self-reported instruments. Methods: Totally 29 (M/F: 7/22) cervical dystonia patients and 30 HC (M/F: 10/20) were included into the study. Exclusion criteria were depression and not given informed consent. Standard demographic, educational data and clinical reports (disease duration, disability index) were recorded for all patients. After a careful neurological evaluation, all subjects were given a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests: Self report of neuropsychological condition (by visual analogue scale-VAS, 0-100), RAVLT, STROOP, PASAT, TMT, SDMT, JLOT, DST, COWAT, ACTT, and FST. Patients and HC were compared regarding demographic, clinical features and neurocognitive tests. Also correlation between disease duration, disability index and self report -VAS were assessed. Results: There was no difference between patients and HCs regarding socio-demographic variables such as age, gender and years of education (p levels were 0.36, 0.436, 0.869; respectively). All of the patients were assessed at the peak of botulinum toxine effect and they were not taking an anticholinergic agent or benzodiazepine. Dystonia patients had significantly impaired verbal learning and memory (RAVLT, p<0.001), divided attention and working memory (ACTT, p<0.001), attention speed (TMT-A and B, p=0.008, 0.050), executive functions (PASAT, p<0.001; SDMT, p= 0.001; FST, p<0.001), verbal attention (DST, p=0.001), verbal fluency (COWAT, p<0.001), visio-spatial processing (JLOT, p<0.001) in comparison to healthy controls. But focused attention (STROOP-spontaneous correction) was not different between two groups (p>0.05). No relationship was found regarding disease duration and disability index with any neurocognitive tests. Conclusions: Our study showed that neurocognitive functions of dystonia patients were worse than control group with the similar age, sex, and education independently clinical expression like disease duration and disability index. This situation may be the result of possible cortical and subcortical changes in dystonia patients. Advanced neuroimaging techniques might be helpful to explain these changes in cervical dystonia patients.

Keywords: cervical dystonia, neurocognitive impairment, neuropsychological test, dystonia disability index

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Authors: Kevin F. Hsu, Alvin Chua, Sarah X. Lin

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As a multilingual society, Singaporean names for different parts of the city have changed over time. Residents included Indigenous Malays, dialect-speakers from China, European settler-colonists, and Tamil-speakers from South India. Each group would name locations in their own languages. Today, as ancestral tongues are increasingly supplanted by English, contemporary Singaporeans’ understanding of once-common place names is disappearing. After demolition or redevelopment, some urban places will only exist in archival records or in human memory. United Nations conferences on the standardization of geographic names have called attention to how place names relate to identity, well-being, and a sense of belonging. The Singapore Place-Naming Project responds to these imperatives by capturing past and present place names through digitizing historical maps, mining archival records, and applying selective crowd-sourcing to trace the evolution of place names throughout the city. The project ensures that both formal and vernacular geographical names remain accessible to historians, city planners, and the public. The project is compiling a gazetteer, a geospatial archive of placenames, with streets, buildings, landmarks, and other points of interest (POI) appearing in the historic maps and planning documents of Singapore, currently held by the National Archives of Singapore, the National Library Board, university departments, and the Urban Redevelopment Authority. To create a spatial layer of information, the project links each place name to either a geo-referenced point, line segment, or polygon, along with the original source material in which the name appears. This record is supplemented by crowd-sourced contributions from civil service officers and heritage specialists, drawing from their collective memory to (1) define geospatial boundaries of historic places that appear in past documents, but maybe unfamiliar to users today, and (2) identify and record vernacular place names not captured in formal planning documents. An intuitive interface allows participants to demarcate feature classes, vernacular phrasings, time periods, and other knowledge related to historical or forgotten spaces. Participants are stratified into age bands and ethnicity to improve representativeness. Future iterations could allow additional public contributions. Names reveal meanings that communities assign to each place. While existing historical maps of Singapore allow users to toggle between present-day and historical raster files, this project goes a step further by adding layers of social understanding and planning documents. Tracking place names illuminates linguistic, cultural, commercial, and demographic shifts in Singapore, in the context of transformations of the urban environment. The project also demonstrates how a moderated, selectively crowd-sourced effort can solicit useful geospatial data at scale, sourced from different generations, and at higher granularity than traditional surveys, while mitigating negative impacts of unmoderated crowd-sourcing. Stakeholder agencies believe the project will achieve several objectives, including Supporting heritage conservation and public education; Safeguarding intangible cultural heritage; Providing historical context for street, place or development-renaming requests; Enhancing place-making with deeper historical knowledge; Facilitating emergency and social services by tagging legal addresses to vernacular place names; Encouraging public engagement with heritage by eliciting multi-stakeholder input.

Keywords: collective memory, crowd-sourced, digital heritage, geospatial, geographical names, linguistic heritage, place-naming, Singapore, Southeast Asia

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Authors: Qiuyu Dai, Haochong Zhang, Xiangrong Liu

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Diagonal sparse matrix-vector multiplication is a well-studied topic in the fields of scientific computing and big data processing. However, when diagonal sparse matrices are stored in DIA format, there can be a significant number of padded zero elements and scattered points, which can lead to a degradation in the performance of the current DIA kernel. This can also lead to excessive consumption of computational and memory resources. In order to address these issues, the authors propose the DIA-Adaptive scheme and its kernel, which leverages the parallel instruction sets on MLU. The researchers analyze the effect of allocating a varying number of threads, clusters, and hardware architectures on the performance of SpMV using different formats. The experimental results indicate that the proposed DIA-Adaptive scheme performs well and offers excellent parallelism.

Keywords: adaptive method, DIA, diagonal sparse matrices, MLU, sparse matrix-vector multiplication

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Authors: Gholam Hossein Javanmard, Roghayeh Mohammadi Garegozlo

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The present study was a randomized three-group double-blind clinical trial with repeated measures designs which aimed to determine the pure effect and combined effect of mindfulness based-relaxation (MBR) technique and Transcranial Electrical Simulation (tCES) on psychological distress decreasing of patients with type-2 diabetes. The sample of the study consisted of 30 patients with type-2 diabetes who were selected from the Diabetes Association of Bonab city in Iran. The participants were matched and then randomly assigned to the three groups of 10 subjects (MBR, CES, MBR+CES). The subjects received interventions related to their group in 10 individual sessions. Pre-test, post-test, and one-month follow-up were conducted using DASS-42. Analysis of variance with repeated measures showed a significant change in psychological distress. Multivariate covariance analysis and the paired interpersonal comparative test of Ben Foruni indicated that both interventions of MBR and CES have a similar effect on psychological distress decreasing in the post-test and follow-up phase. But, the combined therapy of MBR+CES was more efficient, and it had a more stable effect. However, all three interventions, especially combined intervention of MBR+CES, as efficient and stable treatment, are suggested for improving the psychological status of diabetic patients.

Keywords: mindfulness based-relaxation, transcranial electrical simulation, type 2 diabetes, psychological distress

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Authors: Linda Hassaine, Abdelhamid Mraoui, Mohamed Rida Bengourina

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In grid-connected photovoltaic systems, significant improvements can be carried out in the design and implementation of inverters: reduction of harmonic distortion, elimination of the DC component injected into the grid and the proposed control. This paper proposes a control strategy based on PWM switching patterns for an inverter for the photovoltaic system connected to the grid in order to control the injected current. The current injected must be sinusoidal with reduced harmonic distortion. An additional filter is designed to reduce high-order harmonics on the output side. This strategy exhibits the advantages: Simplicity, reduction of harmonics, the size of the line filter, reduction of the memory requirements and power calculation for the control.

Keywords: control, inverters, LCL filter, grid-connected photovoltaic system

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Authors: Al Sayed Al Soudy, Valeria Maselli, Gianluca Polese, Anna Di Cosmo

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Cephalopods are considered as a model organism with a rich behavioral repertoire. Sophisticated behaviors were widely studied and described in different species such as Octopus vulgaris, who has evolved the largest and more complex nervous system among invertebrates. In O. vulgaris, cognitive abilities in problem-solving tasks and learning abilities are associated with long-term memory and spatial memory, mediated by highly developed sensory organs. They are equipped with sophisticated eyes, able to discriminate colors even with a single photoreceptor type, vestibular system, ‘lateral line analogue’, primitive ‘hearing’ system and olfactory organs. They can recognize chemical cues either through direct contact with odors sources using suckers or by distance through the olfactory organs. Cephalopods are able to detect widespread waterborne molecules by the olfactory organs. However, many volatile odorant molecules are insoluble or have a very low solubility in water, and must be perceived by direct contact. O. vulgaris, equipped with many chemosensory neurons located in their suckers, exhibits a peculiar behavior that can be provocatively described as 'smell by touch'. The aim of this study is to establish the priority given to chemical vs. visual perception in food choice. Materials and methods: Three different types of food (anchovies, clams, and mussels) were used, and all sessions were recorded with a digital camera. During the acclimatization period, Octopuses were exposed to the three types of food to test their natural food preferences. Later, to verify if food preference is maintained, food was provided in transparent screw-jars with pierced lids to allow both visual and chemical recognition of the food inside. Subsequently, we tested alternatively octopuses with food in sealed transparent screw-jars and food in blind screw-jars with pierced lids. As a control, we used blind sealed jars with the same lid color to verify a random choice among food types. Results and discussion: During the acclimatization period, O. vulgaris shows a higher preference for anchovies (60%) followed by clams (30%), then mussels (10%). After acclimatization, using the transparent and pierced screw jars octopus’s food choices resulted in 50-50 between anchovies and clams, avoiding mussels. Later, guided by just visual sense, with transparent but not pierced jars, their food preferences resulted in 100% anchovies. With pierced but not transparent jars their food preference resulted in 100% anchovies as first food choice, the clams as a second food choice result (33.3%). With no possibility to select food, neither by vision nor by chemoreception, the results were 20% anchovies, 20% clams, and 60% mussels. We conclude that O. vulgaris uses both chemical and visual senses in an integrative way in food choice, but if we exclude one of them, it appears clear that its food preference relies on chemical sense more than on visual perception.

Keywords: food choice, Octopus vulgaris, olfaction, sensory organs, visual sense

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Authors: Heejin Yun, Juanjuan Zang

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This study aims to analyze the text terms posted on an online community of people from the same hometown and to understand the topic and trend of nostalgia composed online. For this purpose, this study collected 144 writings which the natives of Yeongjong Island, Incheon, South-Korea have posted on an online community. And it analyzed association relations. As a result, online community texts means that just defining nostalgia as ‘a mind longing for hometown’ is not an enough explanation. Second, texts composed online have abstractness rather than persons’ individual stories. This study figured out the relationship that had the most critical and closest mutual association among the terms that constituted nostalgia through literature research and association rule concerning nostalgia. The result of this study has a characteristic that it summed up the core terms and emotions related to nostalgia.

Keywords: nostalgia, cultural memory, data mining, association rule

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Authors: Sima Najafzadehkhoei, George Vega Yon

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This paper presents an approach for calibrating Agent-Based Models (ABMs) efficiently, utilizing Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks. These machine learning techniques are applied to Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (SIR) models, which are a core framework in the study of epidemiology. Our method replicates parameter values from observed trajectory curves, enhancing the accuracy of predictions when compared to traditional calibration techniques. Through the use of simulated data, we train the models to predict epidemiological parameters more accurately. Two primary approaches were explored: one where the number of susceptible, infected, and recovered individuals is fully known, and another using only the number of infected individuals. Our method shows promise for application in other ABMs where calibration is computationally intensive and expensive.

Keywords: ABM, calibration, CNN, LSTM, epidemiology

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Authors: Hwang Kwon

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Objective: To assess the efficacy of embryo transfer (ET) of accumulated vitrified embryos and compare pregnancy outcomes between ET of thawed embryos following accumulation of vitrified embryos (frozen ET) and ET of fresh and thawed frozen embryos following accumulation of vitrified embryos (fresh ET + frozen ET). Study design: Patients were poor ovarian responders defined according to the Bologna criteria as well as a subgroup of women whose previous IVF-ET cycle through controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) yielded one or no embryos. Sixty-four frozen ETs were performed following accumulation of vitrified embryos (ACCE )(ACCE Frozen) and 51 fresh + frozen ETs were performed following accumulation of vitrified embryos (ACCE Fresh + Frozen). Positive βhCG rate, clinical pregnancy rate, ongoing pregnancy rate, and good quality embryos (%, ±SD) were compared between two groups. Results: There were more good quality embryos in the ACCE Fresh + Frozen group than in the ACCE Frozen group: 60±34.7 versus 42.9±28.9, respectively (p=0.03). Positive βhCG rate [18/64(28.2%) vs. 13/51(25.5%); p=0.75] and clinical pregnancy rate [12/64 (18.8%) vs. 11/51 (10.9%); p=0.71] were comparable between the two groups. Conclusion: Accumulation of vitrified embryos is an effective method in patients with poor ovarian response who fulfill the Bologna criteria. Pregnancy outcomes were comparable between the two groups.

Keywords: accumulation of embryos, frozen embryo transfer, poor responder, Bologna criteria

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Authors: Gunniga Anugkakul, Suwaree Yordchim

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The objectives were to study language learning strategies (LLSs) employed by Chinese students, and the frequency of LLSs they used, and examine the relationship between the use of LLSs and gender. The Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) by Oxford was administered to thirty-six Chinese students at Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University in Thailand. The data obtained was analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square tests. Three useful findings were found on the use of LLSs reported by Chinese students. First, Chinese students used overall LLSs at a high level. Second, among the six strategy groups, Chinese students employed compensation strategy most frequently and memory strategy least frequently. Third, the research results also revealed that gender had significant effect on Chinese Student’s use of overall LLSs.

Keywords: English language, language learning strategy, Chinese students, compensation strategy

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Authors: Belloufi Mohammed, Sellami Badreddine

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Conjugate gradient methods have played a special role for solving large scale optimization problems due to the simplicity of their iteration, convergence properties and their low memory requirements. In this work, we propose a new class of conjugate gradient methods which ensures sufficient descent. Moreover, we propose a new search direction with the Wolfe line search technique for solving unconstrained optimization problems, a global convergence result for general functions is established provided that the line search satisfies the Wolfe conditions. Our numerical experiments indicate that our proposed methods are preferable and in general superior to the classical conjugate gradient methods in terms of efficiency and robustness.

Keywords: unconstrained optimization, conjugate gradient method, sufficient descent property, numerical comparisons

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Authors: Vahid Changizi, Aram Rostami, Akbar Mosavi

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Purpose of study: Critical macromolecules of cells such as DNA are in exposure to damage of free radicals that induced from interaction of ionizing radiation with biological systems. Selenium and vitamin-E are natural compound that has been shown to be a direct free radical scavenger. The aim of this study was to investigate the in vivo/in vitro radioprotective effect of selenium and vitamin-E separately and synergistically against genotoxicity induced by 6MV x-rays irradiation in cultured blood lymphocytes from 15 human volunteers. Methods: Fifteen volunteers were divided in three groups include A, B and C. These groups were given slenium(800 IU), vitamin-E(100 mg) and selenium(400 IU) + vitamin-E(50 mg), respectively. Peripheral blood samples were collected from each group before(0 hr) and 1, 2 and 3 hr after selenium and vitamin-E administration (separately and synergistically). Then the blood samples were irradiated to 200 cGy of 6 Mv x-rays. After that, lymphocyte samples were cultured with mitogenic stimulation to determine the chromosomal aberrations wih micronucleus assay in cytokinesis-blocked binucleated cells. Results: The lymphocytes in the blood samples collected at 1 hr after ingestion selenium and vitamin-E, exposed in vitro to x-rays exhibited a significant decrease in the incidence of micronuclei, compared with control group at 0 hr. The maximum protection and decrease in frequency of micronuclei(50%) was observed at 1 hr after administration of selenium and vitamin-E synergistically. Conclusion: The data suggest that ingestion of selenium and vitamin-E as a radioprotector substances before exposures may reduce genetic damage caused by x-rays irradiation.

Keywords: x-rays, selenium, vitamin-e, lymphocyte, micronuclei

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Authors: Federico Herrera, Valle Gomez García de Soria, Itxaso Portero Sainz, Carlos Fernández Arandojo, Mercedes Royg, Ana Marcos Jimenez, Anna Kreutzman, Cecilia MuñozCalleja

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Introduction: Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) still remains the major complication associated with allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT). The pathogenesis involves migration of donor naïve T-cells into recipient secondary lymphoid organs. Two molecules are important in this process: CD62L and CCR7, which are characteristically expressed in naïve/central memory T-cells. With this background, we aimed to study the influence of CCR7 and CD62L on donor lymphocytes in the development and severity of GVHD. Material and methods: This single center study included 98 donor-recipient pairs. Samples were collected prospectively from the apheresis product and phenotyped by flow cytometry. CCR7 and CD62L expression in CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells were compared between patients who developed acute (n=40) or chronic GVHD (n=33) and those who did not (n=38). Results: The patients who developed acute GVHD were transplanted with a higher percentage of CCR7+CD4+ T-cells (p = 0.05) compared to the no GVHD group. These results were confirmed when these patients were divided in degrees according to the severity of the disease; the more severe disease, the higher percentage of CCR7+CD4+ T-cells. Conversely, chronic GVHD patients received a higher percentage of CCR7+CD8+ T-cells (p=0.02) in comparison to those who did not develop the complication. These data were also confirmed when patients were subdivided in degrees of the disease severity. A multivariable analysis confirmed that percentage of CCR7+CD4+ T-cells is a predictive factor of acute GVHD whereas the percentage of CCR7+CD8+ T-cells is a predictive factor of chronic GVHD. In vitro functional assays (migration and activation assays) supported the idea of CCR7+ T-cells were involved in the development of GVHD. As low levels of CD62L expression were detected in all apheresis products, we tested the hypothesis that CD62L was shed during apheresis procedure. Comparing CD62L surface levels in T-cells from the same donor immediately before collecting the apheresis product, and the final apheresis product we found that this process down-regulated CD62L in both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells (p=0.008). Interestingly, when CD62L levels were analysed in days 30 or 60 after engraftment, they recovered to baseline (p=0.008). However, to investigate the relation between CD62L expression and the development of GVHD in the recipient samples after the engraftment, no differences were observed comparing patients with GVHD to those who did not develop the disease. Discussion: Our prospective study indicates that the CCR7+ T-cells from the donor, which include naïve and central memory T-cells, contain the alloreactive cells with a high ability to mediate GVHD (in the case of both migration and activation). Therefore we suggest that the proportion and functional properties of CCR7+CD4+ and CCR7+CD8+ T-cells in the apheresis could act as a predictive biomarker to both acute and chronic GVHD respectively. Importantly, our study precludes that CD62L is lost in the apheresis and therefore it is not a reliable biomarker for the development of GVHD.

Keywords: CCR7, CD62L, GVHD, SCT

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Authors: Vincent Alexander, Rizkita Esyanti

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Leaves of Stevia rebaudiana contain steviol glycoside which mainly comprise of stevioside, a natural sweetener compound that is 100-300 times sweeter than sucrose. Current cultivation method of Stevia rebaudiana in Indonesia has yet to reach its optimum efficiency and productivity to produce stevioside as a safe sugar substitute sweetener for people with diabetes. An alternative method that is not limited by environmental factor is in vitro temporary immersion system (TIS) culture method using recipient for automated immersion (RITA^®) bioreactor. The aim of this research was to evaluate the effect of red LED light induction towards shoot growth and stevioside accumulation in TIS RITA^® bioreactor system, as an endeavour to increase the secondary metabolite synthesis. The result showed that the stevioside accumulation in TIS RITA^® bioreactor system induced with red LED light for one hour during night was higher than that in TIS RITA^® bioreactor system without red LED light induction, i.e. 71.04 ± 5.36 μg/g and 42.92 ± 5.40 μg/g respectively. Biomass growth rate reached as high as 0.072 ± 0.015/day for red LED light induced TIS RITA^® bioreactor system, whereas TIS RITA^® bioreactor system without induction was only 0.046 ± 0.003/day. Productivity of Stevia rebaudiana shoots induced with red LED light was 0.065 g/L medium/day, whilst shoots without any induction was 0.041 g/L medium/day. Sucrose, salt, and inorganic consumption in both bioreactor media increased as biomass increased. It can be concluded that Stevia rebaudiana shoot in TIS RITA^® bioreactor induced with red LED light produces biomass and accumulates higher stevioside concentration, in comparison to bioreactor without any light induction.

Keywords: LED, Stevia rebaudiana, Stevioside, TIS RITA

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Authors: Craig Wight

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This presentation will identify the key findings from a recent netnographic discourse analysis of social media content generated in response to visits to three iconic European Holocaust Heritage sites: Ann Frank’s House in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, the Auschwutz-Birkenau Memorial Museum and Memorial in Poland, and the Jewish Museum in Berlin, Germany. Four major discourses are identified under the headings of Holocaust heritage as social memory, reactions to Holocaust heritage, obligation and ritual, and transgressive visitor behaviour. Together, these discourses frame the values, existential anxieties, emotions, priorities, and expectations of visitors. The findings will interest those involved in the planning and management of Holocaust heritage for tourism purposes since they provide unique access to an archive of unmediated visitor feedback on European Holocaust heritage experiences.

Keywords: foucault, european holocaust heritage, discourse analysis, netnography, social media, dark tourism

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Authors: Cristina Costescu, Carmen David, Adrian Roșan

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Executive functions (EF) and emotion regulation strategies are processes that allow individuals to function in an adaptative way and to be goal-oriented, which is essential for success in daily living activities, at school, or in social contexts. The Emotion Regulation and Executive Functioning Scale for Children and Adolescents (REMEX) represents an empirically based tool (based on the model of EF developed by Diamond) for evaluating significant dimensions of child and adolescent EFs and emotion regulation strategies, mainly in school contexts. The instrument measures the following dimensions: working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility, executive attention, planning, emotional control, and emotion regulation strategies. Building the instrument involved not only a top-down process, as we selected the content in accordance with prominent models of FE, but also a bottom-up one, as we were able to identify valid contexts in which FE and ER are put to use. For the construction of the instrument, we implemented three focus groups with teachers and other professionals since the aim was to develop an accurate, objective, and ecological instrument. We used the focus group method in order to address each dimension and to yield a bank of items to be further tested. Each dimension is addressed through a task that the examiner will apply and through several items derived from the main task. For the validation of the instrument, we plan to use item response theory (IRT), also known as the latent response theory, that attempts to explain the relationship between latent traits (unobservable cognitive processes) and their manifestations (i.e., observed outcomes, responses, or performance). REMEX represents an ecological scale that integrates a current scientific understanding of emotion regulation and EF and is directly applicable to school contexts, and it can be very useful for developing intervention protocols. We plan to test his convergent validity with the Childhood Executive Functioning Inventory (CHEXI) and Emotion Dysregulation Inventory (EDI) and divergent validity between a group of typically developing children and children with neurodevelopmental disorders, aged between 6 and 9 years old. In a previous pilot study, we enrolled a sample of 40 children with autism spectrum disorders and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder aged 6 to 12 years old, and we applied the above-mentioned scales (CHEXI and EDI). Our results showed that deficits in planning, bebavior regulation, inhibition, and working memory predict high levels of emotional reactivity, leading to emotional and behavioural problems. Considering previous results, we expect our findings to provide support for the validity and reliability of the REMEX version as an ecological instrument for assessing emotion regulation and EF in children and for key features of its uses in intervention protocols.

Keywords: executive functions, emotion regulation, children, item response theory, focus group

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Authors: M. Caruffo, P. Navarrete, C. G. Feijoo, L. Sáenz

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Disease prevention through the use of vaccines has been crucial to achieve the current level of production in the salmon industry. However, vaccines have been developed based largely on inactivated bacterial formulations, using the whole pathogen. These formulations have demonstrated excellent efficacy against extracellular bacterial pathogens. However diseases with the greatest economic impacts correspond to intracellular bacterial and viral pathogens, vaccines based on these types of agents have shown a discrete effectiveness. It is for these reasons that the development of subunit vaccines based on defined antigens offers a promising solution. The main problem is that subunit vaccines offer a low immunogenicity, since they lack immunostimulatory elements, so that the development of new adjuvants platforms becomes an important challenge for this type of formulations. We evaluate the effect of a formulation based on proteoliposomes of Vibrio anguillarum administered by immersion as a new adjuvant strategy, allowing efficient stimulation of the innate immune system. Proteoliposomes physicochemical properties were evaluated in its ability to produce an inflammatory process. Using zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae as a model species and the transgenic line (Tg(mpx: GFP)i114) allowed us to track the neutrophil migration in real time. Additionally we evaluated the gene expression of some molecular markers involved in the development of the innate immune response characterizing the adjuvant capacity of the formulation.

Keywords: adjuvants, vaccine development, zebrafish, innate immunity

Procedia PDF Downloads 556