Rise Time Perception, Phonological Processing, and Reading in Brazilian Portuguese-Speaking Schoolchildren

<b><i>Background/Aims:</i></b> Studies of people with dyslexia have pointed to the ability to perceive the amplitude envelope rise time (“beat” perception) as a possible cause of phonological processing (PhP) difficulties in this population. However, there are very few studies about the relationships between such skills in the non-dyslexic school population. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> We investigated the influence of the beat perception ability on PhP and reading skills of 93 Brazilian Portuguese-speaking schoolchildren from the 3rd to the 5th year, with data on reading, phonological awareness (PhA), lexical access, phonological operational memory, and perception of amplitude envelope rise time. To verify the possible effects of age, gender, and school grade on the tasks in the study, we directly included these variables in the models. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Modeling structural equations showed that beat perception did not influence PhP or reading skills, but only the tasks of repetition of words and pseudowords. These tasks may be related because of the demand for phonological working memory necessary to perform the beat perception task rather than a possible connection between this and phonological abilities, as reported in the literature. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> We suspect beat perception could be of relevance only for subjects with altered reading and/or a deficit in PhP. Further studies will indicate whether the rise time of the amplitude envelope is an essential acoustic clue only for those individuals whose PhA ability is not fully present.

Methodological Foundations of the Personalized Acoustic Monitoring

Methodological foundations of the personalized acoustic monitoring of the occupational safety in industry are stated. Developed personalized acoustic environment indicators of hazard are described. They ensure real-time monitoring and assessment of hazard of the acoustic environment in the entire standardized frequency range of industrial and transport noise. Typical personalized indicator of hazard of the acoustic environment consists of a meter, a signal and information board, a microprocessor, a switch, permanent and operational memory devices, various blocks: power supply, amplifiers, filters, detection, control, information input-output. The requirements are formulated for personalized indicators of hazard of an acoustic environment. Implementation of the above requirements will ensure correct calculation of the health and performance risks caused by the exposure of employees to acoustic factors. The features of using these indicators of hazard of an acoustic environment with the means of individual and collective protection against noise are determined. New possibilities for optimizing the use of such tools are shown — based on the methodological foundations of personalized acoustic monitoring developed by the authors. Development and implementation of a set of organizational and medical-technical measures using acoustic indicators will allow to ensure preservation of the personnel health, performance, and trouble-free operation in the conditions of occupational and industrial noise. Interfacing of medical acoustic control systems at the enterprises with the unified system «Russian State Medical and Dosimetric Register» will allow at the federal level to implement the accumulation of objective information about the effect of acoustic factors on the enterprise employee for the sake of preservation of health, professional longevity and ensuring occupational safety.

Modelling quantum register disentanglement

Implementing quantum-inspired algorithms on classical computers suffers trade-off between the necessity of saving operational memory and the amount of memory necessary to fully represent a quantum state with possible entanglement. The latter is well known to consume the memory exponentially in the number of qubits. This paper sketches out the idea on how to reduce significantly the amount of necessary memory while distorting the entanglement moderately or not at all. At present, considered are real nonnegative probability amplitudes.

EDUCATIONAL CYBERNETICS OR DIDACTICS APPROACH TO "ECONOMY" OF HUMAN THINKING

The paper describes starting point of so called ”Educational Informatics“ as one of the Educational Cybernetics approaches, and example of research results of theory called as „human thinking economy“ application in the field of science and technical education is provided. Educational informatics is based on so-called educational theory of signs (educational semiotics) developed by M. Lansky which provides great support to the process setting the basis of branch didactics in learner’s cognitive capacity. This approach contents the psycho-structural model of processing information explaining the route of information which is to be processed. It starts with registering it by sense organs (sensory perception), followed by aware perception (apperception) and operating it, i.e. the entire processing the information including storing it in the memory. Within this process various functions are activated, both when the memory stores (associates) the information and effectors (performing organs) are activated. This psycho-structural model synthesizes both behavioural approach (stimulus - "black box" - reaction) and the humanistic psychology approach based on the introspective analysis. A similar model was provided for the chemistry didactics by Johnstone, too. This psycho-structural model also distinguishes certain cornerstones (i.e. model of operations) of human perception and learning, i.e. stimuli – perception filter – working space within the memory (operational memory) – long-term memory which influences the accommodator (adaptor, i.e. the apparatus for directing attention or reduction the apperception). It differs from cybernetic pedagogy as it does not apply the “hard“ quantitative approach to expressing the content of single parts of the psycho-structural model (in bits) but divides the learning content into several mastered parts (operations) called “pieces“ which the learner must run in the operational memory. This method is called “chunking“, i.e. composing, stratifying, layering information in the memory) and was applying in our research their selected results are presented in the second part of the paper. The research project results were based on analyse of teacher’s predictive evaluation of items in didactic test. Results of a comparative study of reception of pictures in the test items by so called experts (having a certain level of knowledge of the presented subject matter, i.e. teachers) and so called non-specialists (who have minimum knowledge in the area learned, i.e. learners) are added. In concerned research were analyzed the prognosis of chemistry teaching students (experts) in learners succeeding in the didactic test items with or without picture parts. Results show that future teachers overestimate the role of picture materials on positive responses of learners in didactics test. Key words: educational informatics, cybernetic approach in branch didactics, science and technical education, teacher’s predictive task evaluation.

Executive dysfunction and motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease

The aim of this study is to analyze executive function and motor symptoms in patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD). The sample consisted of 44 subjects with PD between the ages of 45 to 75, who were examined consecutively. The subjects were divided into two groups according to the duration of the disease. The control group was composed of spouses, family and accompanying members. Patients included were submitted to motor dysfunction evaluation using the UPDRS. The executive functions modalities analyzed included: operational memory, inhibitory control, planning, cognitive flexibility and inductive reasoning. Significant differences between the experimental and control groups were found in all the executive domains studied. Evidence of tremor, rigidity and bradykinesia correlation with executive dysfunction were not observed. Patients with PD, even in the initial phase of the disease, presented executive dysfunction. The cardinal motor signs of the disease were not correlated with the cognitive dysfunction found.

Blinking and Thinking

Blinking is related to certain cognitive processes. For example, individuals “punctuate” their speech by blinking between phrases and at the end of sentences. Daydreaming is associated with low rates of blinking. Blinking occurs between fixations and may be timed so as not to interfere with significant visual input. Apparently, blinking occurs at transitions between internal events and is inhibited at other times. In the experiment reported here, blinking was measured while the activity of operational memory was manipulated with mental load kept constant. The rate of blinking was significantly reduced when the cognitive operation of internal counting was being performed. It is inferred that the blink rate is low when information in memory is being operated on. To suspend blinking during certain cognitive activities would be adaptive if blinking disrupts them. Since the blackout period of the blink produces a rapid change in visual level, blinking disrupts those cognitive processes utilizing display areas accessible to visual input. Operational memory and the visual imagination may share components with the visual perceptual system. To protect these vulnerable processes from interference, blinking may be inhibited when they are active.