Students’ Vocabulary Learning Strategies of Discovery and Consolidation in Malaysian Primary School English Language Classrooms

A good grasp of vocabulary enables language learners to articulate, comprehend and communicate ideas and concepts effectively. For learners whose first language is not English, mastering vocabulary knowledge in terms of the breadth and depth is challenging and needs to start at a young age through the use of various strategies. The lack of English language vocabulary knowledge would demotivate learners and even result in abandoning efforts to learn the language. Therefore, it is important that learners know and are able to use five strategies, which include determination, social, cognitive, memory, and metacognitive strategies to learn vocabulary. Determination and social strategies are in the discovery category, while social cognitive, memory, and metacognitive strategies are in the consolidation category. This study aims to determine the vocabulary learning strategies used by 132 Year Five primary school English language students in two urban National Type Chinese schools in Sarawak. It investigated the strategies these learners used, how frequently they used them, and their reasons for preferring particular strategies. Data were collected from two classrooms at each school through the use of questionnaire and individual interview. Questionnaire results were analysed descriptively in terms of mean scores and standard deviation while interview responses were coded, categorised and analysed using thematic analysis. The findings suggest that while the students employed moderate use of all the five strategies, cognitive strategies which involved mechanical approaches were the most used while social strategies were not used by all students.

The Neuroprotective Effects of Policosanol on Learning and Memory Impairment in a Male Rat Model of Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) as a neurodegenerative disease is recognized with progressive cognitive function failure, which is determined by beta-amyloid (Aβ) accumulation in extracellular space and hyperphosphorylation of intracellular Tau protein. Aβ stimulates some kinds of active oxygen and causes oxidative stresses and apoptosis. Policosanol (PCO) is a reducing lipid complement, which has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. In the current research, the PCO effects on learning and memory impairment were investigated in a rat model of AD. Healthy adult male Wistar rats (230–250g) were divided randomly into 7 groups (n=6-7): Control, Sham (5 µL of phosphate-buffered saline, intracerebroventricular (ICV) microinjection), AD model (5 µL, ICV injection of Aβ), acacia gum (50 mg/kg, 8 weeks, gavage), PCO (50 mg/kg, 8 weeks, gavage), AD + acacia gum (50 mg/kg, 8 weeks, gavage), and AD + PCO (50 mg/kg, 8 weeks, gavage). Passive avoidance learning (PAL) and memory were assessed by shuttle box, cognitive memory by novel object recognition (NOR), and spatial memory by the Morris water maze (MWM) test. The oxidant and antioxidant parameters were examined at the end of the experiments. According to our results, ICV injection of Aβ caused reduced cognitive memory in NOR, spatial memory in MWM, and passive avoidance in PAL tests. PCO caused a recovery in cognitive memory, spatial memory, and PAL memory. Aβ plaques increased in the AD group, while PCO decreased it. Aβ increased total oxidant status and decreased total antioxidant capacity, whereas PCO reversed these parameters. Our results demonstrated that PCO has neuroprotective effects and can protect learning and memory impairments via its hypolipidemic and antioxidant effects.

Nature and Human Brain: Information-sharing Paradigms

The new modern world has entered a complex society. Nature its new material world of the Universe and its natural habitat, become more variable, over shorter periods of time. The system of nature–society–human is a holistic, dynamic, wave, open, steadily non-equilibrium system, with the isolation not only of internal ties, but also of external ones - with the space environment. Modern science views man, humanity and the biosphere as a single system, with growing demographic, food and medical problems. Human brains are biological, biophysical, neurophysiological and medico-social paradigms of information exchange. Modern communications are multilevel, multi-paradigm and interdisciplinary models of information exchange. The new competencies of psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology and psychoneuroimmunology play a strategic role in interdisciplinary science and interdisciplinary planning and decision-making. The introduction of multi-vector neurotechnologies of artificial intelligence and the principles of digital health care will contribute to the development of modern neuroscience and neuromarketing. The introduction of biocomputer nanoplatforms and modules consisting of small molecules, polymers, nucleic acids or proteins/peptides, nanoplatforms are programmed to detect and process external stimuli, such as magnetic fields or light, or internal stimuli, such as nucleic acids, enzymes or pH, using three different mechanisms: system assembly, system disassembly or system transformation. Current biocomputer nanoplatforms are invaluable for many applications, including medical diagnostics, biomedical imaging, environmental monitoring, and delivery of therapeutic drugs to target cell populations. Integration of different sources of information will allow researchers to obtain a new holistic picture of the pathophysiological process of the disease, which will cover from molecular changes to cognitive manifestations. Cognitive memory is a continuous act of creation, one of the largest and most capacious concepts that represents the main function of memory in general. The knowledge that a person receives during training is first perceived as something external, but then gradually they turn into experience and beliefs. Cognitive memory retains all the knowledge gained, representing a kind of “library”, and the process of assimilation and preservation becomes more complicated as the information received becomes more complex.

Relationship between hearing loss and cognitive memory decline in an elderly population

Background: The major complaints of the elderly are hearing and memory loss, which have a devastating impact on the communication process. Previous studies have shown that hearing loss is associated with the acceleration of this cognitive decline. Objectives: To analyze the relationship between moderate to moderatelysevere hearing loss and memory deficit in elderly individuals. Design and setting: This is an observational, cross-sectional study realized in seniors of Hearing Care Program at the Taubaté University Hospital, Taubaté - SP/ Brazil. Methods: Data was collected using audiometry, anamnesis, and the cognition test Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) in 60-75 years old individuals, without knowledge of previous cognitive memory deficit and without the use of hearing aids. Results: Between the 61 seniors interviewed, 68% had moderate degree of deafness and 32% moderately severe degree. Among the normal results in the MMSE, 24% had moderately severe deafness; of those with cognitive impairment without indication of investigation of dementia, 35.7% had moderately severe deafness, and of those with indication of investigation of dementia, 50% had moderately severe deafness. In addition, 23% of the total sample had results in the normal cutoff range, showing the tendency for cognitive decline in this population. Conclusions: these data indicate a progression in the proportion of individuals with a higher degree of hearing loss, the higher the cognitive deficit.