Sensory perception

Banhara, que não mediram esforços para meu êxito. Provavelmente por mais que tente não encontrarei palavras para expressar minha gratidão, mas assim mesmo tentarei... Apesar de todas as dificuldades vencemos e hoje lhes ofereço este título....Obrigado por tudo!!!! "Os passos apoiados na infância; os conselhos proferidos na adolescência; os ensinamentos de toda a vida..." A Deus que iluminou meu caminho em todos os momentos, mesmo nas horas mais difíceis. Em alguns momentos pensei em desistir mas sua presença tornou-me forte e perseverante. "Se vencer, alguém esteve contigo. Se nada conseguir, Ele continuará junto a ti. Se persistir verás que, quem o fez continuar, sorrirá, mesmo que Dele, na felicidade, tu te esqueças..." "O Mestre se liga à eternidade; ele nunca sabe onde cessa a sua influência." Henry Adans AGRADECIMENTOS Gostaria de expressar minha imensa gratidão a todos que contribuíram de alguma forma para realização deste sonho..... Ao Prof. Dr. Orozimbo Alves Costa que me ensinou o verdadeiro valor de ser Mestre. Homem humildade e dedicado que trilhou sua brilhante trajetória sem gabar-se de sua imensa bagagem intelectual, sempre respeitando seus pares. Sou eternamente grato por sua orientação e por tornar realidade um dos meus sonhos, o título de Mestre. À Profa. Dra. Kátia de Freitas Alvarenga que me acompanhou desde o início de minha formação. Não mediu esforços em me mostrar o quão gratificante é a pesquisa científica. Sem dúvida nenhuma, você foi um dos exemplos que me motivaram a seguir a Audiologia.

Purpose: To measure binocular interaction in amblyopes using a rapid and patient-friendly computer-based method, and to test the feasibility of the assessment in the clinic. Methods: Binocular interaction was assessed in subjects with strabismic amblyopia (n = 7), anisometropic amblyopia (n = 6), strabismus without amblyopia (n = 15) and normal vision (n = 40). Binocular interaction was measured with a dichoptic phase matching task in which subjects matched the position of a binocular probe to the cyclopean perceived phase of a dichoptic pair of gratings whose contrast ratios were systematically varied. The resulting effective contrast ratio of the weak eye was taken as an indicator of interocular imbalance. Testing was performed in an ophthalmology clinic under 8 mins. We examined the relationships between our binocular interaction measure and standard clinical measures indicating abnormal binocularity such as interocular acuity difference and stereoacuity. The test-retest reliability of the testing method was also evaluated. Results: Compared to normally-sighted controls, amblyopes exhibited significantly reduced effective contrast (,20%) of the weak eye, suggesting a higher contrast requirement for the amblyopic eye compared to the fellow eye. We found that the effective contrast ratio of the weak eye covaried with standard clincal measures of binocular vision. Our results showed that there was a high correlation between the 1 st and 2 nd measurements (r = 0.94, p,0.001) but without any significant bias between the two. Our findings demonstrate that abnormal binocular interaction can be reliably captured by measuring the effective contrast ratio of the weak eye and quantitative assessment of binocular interaction is a quick and simple test that can be performed in the clinic. We believe that reliable and timely assessment of deficits in a binocular interaction may improve detection and treatment of amblyopia.

Despite a growing body of research on perinatal sensory abilities, data on the extent of tactile sensitivity and more particularly passive touch (i.e. sensitivity to a stimulation imposed on the skin) are relatively limited, and the development and processing of tactile function are still thus little known. This question is particularly of high importance for infants with atypical early development such as those born prematurely who are exposed to many sensory (including tactile) stimulations (being in a hospital setting) during a critical period of brain development and those born at early term whose birth occurs at the precise time of cortical reorganization, in particular in the sensory areas. Some parents and health-care providers have for instance reported that children born prematurely exhibit atypical (e.g. higher) sensitivity to "benign" tactile stimuli. In the present study, we hypothesized that preterm and earlyterm infants may show altered tactile sensitivity. We compared the behavioral responses around term-equivalent age of infants born either pre-term, early-term or at term to the application of a light (0.008 grams) mechanical stimulus. We found that almost all preterm infants perceive this tactile stimulus, contrarily to the two other groups of infants. This extreme tactile sensitivity may be due to experiential, maturational or more likely both processes. We also compared the tactile sensitivity of these infants to that of adults. We found that adults were irresponsive to the light mechanical stimulus. This finding opens not only new insights in understanding development of tactile processing, but also new lines of thought about the particular sensory world of premature and early-term infants and hence about the potential impact of early care practices.

Texture and structure of breads have been related to oral processing (FOP) performance and sensory perceptions, but moisture content might play a significant role. To evaluate the real impact of breads texture and structure, eliminating the possible role of moisture content, different toasted breads were investigated. Four commercial toasted sliced breads (white bread -WHB-, whole wheat bread -WWB-, non-added sugar bread -NSU-, non-added salt bread -NSA-) with similar ingredients but different texture and structure were selected. Texture and structure were instrumentally and sensory evaluated, besides FOP (total chewing time, number of chews until swallowing, chewing frequency, and mouthful) and bolus properties (moisture, saliva to bread ratio, hardness, adhesiveness, and cohesiveness). Toasted breads showed significant differences in hardness, cutting strength, and porosity, but panelists did not discriminate among them. FOP results indicated that harder samples (NSU) required longer mastication and a number of chews, and open crumb structures (WWB, WHB) with higher cell areas required less mastication. Also, bolus characteristics were affected by bread types, and bread with lower crumb hardness (WHB) produced more cohesive bolus. Having toasted breads allowed to eliminate possible influence of moisture content differences on sensory perception, mouthful and bolus water incorporation during mastication.

Written to accompany an exhibition in 2022-2023, this catalog offers an introductory essay to the art of William Louis Sonntag. The catalog considers Sonntag in his local context and within the evolving practices of the American Landscape School. The essay also considers the relationship between Sonntag and Robert S. Duncanson, who shared a studio with Sonntag.

Introduction. In the context of the need to search for new means and methods of improving the training process of
adolescent tennis players, which are practically exhausted in terms of improving physical fitness and technical skills, a
significant pedagogical task arises – to identify the possibility of effective influence on the sensory-perceptual processes
of athletes as a factor of sensorimotor coordination of motor actions and cognitive functions.
The purpose of the article is to determine the effectiveness and expediency of using two approaches to correcting and
improving the sensory perception of tennis players aged 17-18 years – the exclusion of an acoustic stimulus during the
game or the inclusion of additional means of influencing the visual analyzer.
Methods and materials. The study involved tennis players aged 17-18 years with the first sports category, among
28 athletes who were divided into two groups: the first experimental group (EG-1) included 14 young athletes who
practiced for 6 weeks (4 classes per week) according to a program based on hearing deprivation in the classroom. The
second group, EG-2, was engaged in using special visual exercises as an out-of-training tool. Methods: literature analysis,
pedagogical experiment, instrumental methods (Babolat Pure Drive Play, Eye-Tracking technology), questionnaires,
methods of mathematical data processing (descriptive statistics, Student's t-test).
Results. During the experiment, it was found that a group of tennis players who were engaged in a training program with
the exception of hearing (EG-1) showed the best results in all the studied indicators. In particular, statistically significant
differences were obtained between the groups in terms of fixation time at the target object, which improved in EG-1 by
33.7-37.8% (t=4.19-4.28, p<0.01), in EG-2 – by 10.7-11.9% (t=3.26-3.38, p<0.01), intergroup differences were established
at t=4.65-4.79, p<0.01.
Conclusion. The results obtained indicate that the indirect effect on the sensory perception of qualified tennis players
through local sensory deprivation of one of the analyzers – acoustic, as a way to create complicated and variable
conditions in the mode of a traditional training session, is more effective, expedient and easy to use, compared with
the introduction for the same purposes, out-of-training tools, including direct effect on the visual analyzer using special
exercises for the eyes.

Distalni symetricka senzitivni a motoricka polyneuropatie je nejcastějsim typem diabeticke neuropatie, se kterou se v klinicke praxi setkavame. Prevalence kolisa v zavislosti na použitých diagnostických instrumentech od 22,7 do 54 % u diabetes mellitus 1. typu a od 32,1 do 45 % u diabetes mellitus 2. typu. Hlavni rizikove faktory pro vznik a progresi diabeticke neuropatie představuji věk, delka trvani diabetu, hyperglykemie a kardiovaskularni rizika. Stupeň zavažnosti diabeticke neuropatie hodnotime pomoci kompozitnich skore. V klinicke praxi je vždy nutne vyloucit jinou přicinu periferni neuropatie, než je diabetes mellitus. Tato forma představuje významný rizikový faktor pro vznik diabeticke neuropaticke nohy a je nejcastěji provazena neuropatickou bolesti. V lecbě ma hlavni význam dlouhodoba kompenzace hyperglykemie, ktera může zpomalit progresi neuropatie.

Kepercayaan diri merupakan hal yang penting untuk dimiliki setiap individu, termasuk remaja putri. Kepercayaan diri merupakan milik pribadi yang sangat penting bagi pertumbuhan dan perkembangan. Rasa percaya diri juga ikut menentukan apakah seseorang akan hidup dengan sehat dan bahagia di kemudian hari. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui apakah ada hubungan antara kepercayaan diri pada remaja putri dengan body image. Hipotesis dalam penelitian ini adalah ada hubungan positif antara body image dengan kepercayaan diri remaja putri. Subyek penelitian berjumlah 63 orang siswi kelas X SMA YSKI Semarang yang diambil dengan teknik studi populasi. Kepercayaan diri pada remaja diukur dengan menggunakan skala kepercayaan diri dan Body Image diukur dengan skala body Image. Seluruh data yang terkumpul dianalisis dengan alat bantu computer program SPSS 13.0, dengan p=0,000 (p&gt;0,01). Dengan demikian, dapat disimpulkan bahwa terdapat hubungan positif yang sangat signifikan antara keperca...

PURPOSE. To determine the changes in corneal sensitivity to different stimulus modalities in diabetes mellitus (DM)1 and DM2 patients with retinopathy, and to explore whether argon laser photocoagulation exacerbates sensitivity loss in diabetic patients. METHODS. Corneal sensitivity to different modalities of stimulus was determined in one randomized eye in 52 patients with DM1 (n ϭ 35) or DM2 (n ϭ 17), and in 27 healthy subjects. Medical history was obtained from all the patients, including age, sex, time from DM diagnosis, type of diabetes, time from onset of retinopathy, type of diabetic retinopathy, and type of argon laser treatment. Corneal sensitivity was determined using a gas esthesiometer. Mechanical, chemical, and thermal (heat and cold) stimuli were applied on the central cornea. RESULTS. Sensitivity thresholds to selective mechanical, chemical, and cold stimulation were significantly higher in DM patients compared to controls. Sensitivity threshold to mechanical and chemical stimuli was higher in DM2 than in DM1 patients. In DM1 patients, mechanical threshold increased with time after DM diagnosis. No correlation was found between sensitivity thresholds to chemical or thermal stimulation and the age of the patient, type of retinopathy, or time from its diagnosis. Laser treatment generated a further impairment of corneal sensitivity. CONCLUSIONS. Corneal sensitivity to mechanical, chemical, and thermal stimulation is decreased in DM patients, suggesting that diabetes affects homogeneously the different types of sensory neurons innervating the cornea. Corneal sensitivity appears to be more disturbed in DM2 than in DM1. Laser treatment of DM patients generates a further impairment in corneal sensitivity, probably as the result of physical damage to ciliary nerves.

Perception, cognition, and emotion do not operate along segregated pathways; rather, their adaptive interaction is supported by various sources of evidence. For instance, the aesthetic appraisal of powerful mood inducers like music can bias the facial expression of emotions towards mood congruency. In four experiments we showed similar mood-congruency effects elicited by the comfort/discomfort of body actions. Using a novel Motor Action Mood Induction Procedure, we let participants perform comfortable/uncomfortable visually-guided reaches and tested them in a facial emotion identification task. Through the alleged mediation of motor action induced mood, action comfort enhanced the quality of the participant's global experience (a neutral face appeared happy and a slightly angry face neutral), while action discomfort made a neutral face appear angry and a slightly happy face neutral. Furthermore, uncomfortable (but not comfortable) reaching improved the sensitivity for the identification of emotional faces and reduced the identification time of facial expressions, as a possible effect of hyper-arousal from an unpleasant bodily experience.

This paper reviews my exhibition, The Silent Blue Filter, part of the Satellite Exhibition 2022 at the Hong Kong International Photo Festival. The exhibition highlights my use of traditional film for underwater photography, contrasting the dominance of digital photography. Through the lens of failure—manifested in blurry, overexposed, or missing images—I explore the ocean's unpredictable and ephemeral nature. This exploration transforms the ocean from a subject into a collaborator in the artistic process, engaging with the ever-changing dynamics between technology, nature, and the photographer.

Courtyard housing is one of the oldest forms of domestic development spanning at least 5,000 years and occurring in a distinctive form in many regions of the world. Traditionally associated with the Middle East where climate and culture have given shape to a particular type of courtyard housing, the courtyard as a house plan type exists extensively from China to Morocco (Edwards, Sibley, Hakmi, & Land, 2005).

This study reviews the literature on TOUCH to establish an analytical framework for the study of TOUCH in communication through language. Two questions are at the heart of the study-an ontological and a methodological one: What counts as TOUCH, and how can we investigate the way we talk about TOUCH? Within the broad framework of cognitive semantics, we offer a general approach to TOUCH and identify two main types of Gestalt profiles related to the dynamicity in the Gestalt formation, namely activity and experience, in which case the former is related to external stimulation only, while the latter may be the result of external or internal stimulation.

This paper presents an experiment designed to investigate the influence of a creativity support tool on music creation. Twenty five participants were asked to harmonise two very similar melodies, the first on their own and the second while given the opportunity to interact with the CHAMELEON harmonisation assistant. CHAMELEON can offer a variety of solutions in a melodic harmonisation task by harmonising according to a number of idioms and/or their blends. Comparison between the produced harmonisations by the participants and their selection of favourite CHAMELEON examples indicated that the majority of them were directly influenced by the solutions offered by the system. Three strategies by which participants exploited CHAMELEON were identified: borrowing of full measures or long chord sequences, borrowing of one or more single chords and finally, adoption of general concepts existing in the CHAMELEON examples. We argue that these findings indicate that the system has the potential to stimulate and promote creative thinking.

Visual associations with auditory stimuli have been the subject of numerous studies. Colour, shape, size, and several other parameters have been linked to musical elements like timbre and pitch. In this article, we aim to examine the relationship between harmonisations with varying degrees of dissonance and visual roughness. Based on past research in which high sensory dissonance was associated with angular shapes, we argued that nontonal and highly dissonant harmonisations will be associated with angular and rough images, while more consonant stimuli will be associated with the images of low visual roughness. A fixed melody was harmonised in 7 different styles, including highly tonal, nontonal, and random variations. Through a listening task, musically trained participants rated the stimuli in terms of enjoyment, familiarity, and matched them to images of variable roughness. The overall consonance of the stimuli was calculated using two distinct models (Harrison & Pearce, 2020; Wan...

The aim of the dissertation entitled Neuro-Developmental Stimulation in special education teachers work is to explain a lesser-known phenomenon (persistent primary reflexes and sensory-sensitive integration disorders in children) to determine the prevalence of persistent primary reflexes in pupils from 5 to 8 years and verify effectiveness of the method Neuro- Developmental Stimulation as a possible intervention program for special educators. The theoretical basis is current knowledge about psychomotorics, primary reflexes, sensory perception and sensory-sensitive integration. The main part of the work is research into the prevalence of persistent primary reflexes. The research group consists 345 pupils from 5 to 8 years of age attending regular kindergartens and primary schools and 26 pupils aged 8 to 11 years attending a primary school established pursuant to Section 16, Paragraph 9 of the Czech Education law. Intervention by the Neuro-Developmental Stimulation method is verified ...

To conduct spatial research on the ocean, is to attempt to gain access to a world where we do not belong. While Rachel Carson reminds us that the evidence of our oceanic origins runs through our very system–that the sodium, potassium and calcium constituents of blood are similar to the proportions in seawater–she also acknowledges that human ancestors left the sea and cannot physically re-enter it without mechanical assistance.

In the case of the world ocean  researching otherwise is inextricably connected to researching elsewhere; the effort to gain a deeper understanding of both the inherent properties of oceanic space, and also exploitative urbanisation processes lodged within these spaces, poses new research challenges in urban studies and calls for an expanded repertoire of investigative methods.

In this chapter I aim to demonstrate how a fuller spatial understanding can be gained through explorative, immersive research methods that operate otherwise, engaging a range of senses– in particular sound– in addition to intellectual logic and reason.

LOOP is an interactive sound object made from green polyester strapping tape. The sound that arises from the interaction with the object is picked up by a contact microphone and amplified. Due to the material qualities of the polyester tape which allows sound to travel through the tape (approx. 100 meters) it is possible to sense the acoustic interaction through one single piezo-microphone. The sound is composed of a low rumble that derives from the length of the tape. Combined with some higher pitched and rich blended interaction sounds from scratching and hitting the LOOP. The object combines haptic, tactile, visual and acoustic qualities. It can be touched, squeezed and "played" by the audience.

This paper explores sensory perception in classrooms, and the relationship between classrooms and nature in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. First, it argues that this crisis provides a unique opportunity to rethink how we perceive classrooms and their connection with nature. Second, the paper describes what students and teachers usually see, hear, touch, smell, and taste in classrooms, and identifies unusual or overlooked sensory phenomena that COVID-19 has brought to our attention. Third, the paper discusses three types of classrooms (traditional, innovative learning environment, open-air) and how they model our perception and conceptualization of nature. The paper concludes by emphasizing the relevance of everyday aesthetics in education, what stands as an opportunity to sensorially enrich pedagogy, and to approach classrooms as proper dwellings for both humans and other-than-human beings.

Agradeço a todo o curso de Arqueologia da Universidade Federal de Sergipe pelos anos de estudos e conhecimentos, que entre tantos acertos e erros, está me formando e formando outros iguais a mim para melhor contribuir com a Arqueologia e a Sociedade. Agradeço ao meu orientador, Dr. José Roberto Pellini, ou como prefere ser chamado apenas de Zé, por encontrar em sua área um caminho para que minha pesquisa ganhasse vida, além de todas as orientações pelos corredores da UFS que deram certo, pelo visto. Agradeço aos meus pais, Neide e Neris, porque se a universidade é um choque cultural grande para os jovens que saem direto do ensino médio, se eu não tivesse sido criado por esses dois não sei como teria sido. Vocês sempre estarão na primeira fila do meu coração para qualquer conquista minha, assim como meus irmãos Nay e Neto, também estarão. Agradeço pela família que criei com o passar dos anos acadêmicos, que foram prendendo aqui e ali laços que sustentaram as dificuldades que a Academia pode nos proporcionar. Nanny, obrigado por ser a irmã de não-sangue que o curso me trouxe e que mais parece que veio antes da arqueologia; Joseph, Diogo e Geovan, é aquele ditado né, se não for para amar eu nem grito o nome de vocês, né non?; e tantos amigos que ouviram todos os lamentos e vitórias com o temido nome do tcc e deram toda sua força até o fim: Thaissa (é na necessidade que encontramos os verdadeiros, além de sermos irmãos de cemitério agora), Luana (minha grandona, finalmente né?), Lycia; Keltom e Ana Lúcia (sempre vou agradecer por estarem na didática 2 e me acolherem até hoje), Girlene, Sam, Rúbia, Wand, Aline, Tel, Ale, Domingas, Lina; Hiago meu irmão mais antigo, Mille e Theus, melhor quarteto que poderia ter na minha vida; Vanessa, Raimunda, Danilo e todo o pessoal da formatura que se empenhou para um momento tão importante; Fernanda Libório e Luiz Felipe, grandes arqueólogos que sempre serão modelo do que quero ser na minha vida. Agradeço ao Grupo Xenite, vocês são a família virtual que mais respeito, até parece que posso tocar em cada um de vocês a cada vez que corria para vocês ouvirem meus problemas, meu choro acadêmico e também para contar minhas conquistas e vitórias. Letícia, Moni, Len, Sarita, Marylinda, Jaci, Jen. Todo o amor do mundo para vocês e que a Arqueologia continue a me colocar cada vez mais perto de onde vocês estão espalhadas pelo Brasil. Agradeço imensamente a Márcia Jamille por todas as vezes que mandei mensagem em todas as redes sociais na madrugada com minhas dúvidas, desde o início das minhas pretensões acadêmicas em que até na mesa de bar tu me dava umas dicas, o que me rendeu o título de "seu orientando querido". É bom saber que isso vai além dos muros da universidade e hoje somos amigos, eu até faço ponta no seu canal. Todas as ligações por skype valeram a pena e estão por toda extensão desse trabalho, agradeço mesmo. Agradeço, mais uma vez, a Joseph Christopher, nossa ligação deu resultado no acervo fotográfico presente nessa pesquisa, agradeço por todas as patrulhas que executamos nos cemitérios, que mesmo em finais de semana estava lá. Agradeço a Iran Jr. por todo o companheirismo nessa jornada, que cruza nosso tempo de relacionamento com os anos de curso, você foi muitas vezes a única sustentação em que pude me apoiar. Apenas obrigado. E por fim, agradeço a essa força superior que costumamos chamar de Deus, e que bem possivelmente enviou todas as energias positivas para que esse caminho fosse trilhado até aqui. Este trabalho busca debater as relações entre percepção sensorial, memórias e paisagem dentro de diferentes ambientes mortuários da cidade de Aracaju, Sergipe. Com base na Arqueologia Sensorial e na ideia que as memórias fazem parte de uma relação comunicativa e dinâmica com nossa percepção dos lugares, tomamos como objeto da pesquisa o Cemitério Santa Isabel (secularizado e de morfologia tradicional) e o Cemitério Colina da Saudade (modelo de cemitério-jardim). Adentrando esses cemitérios, percebemos que as performances que executamos neles são diferenciadas a partir dos aspectos sensoriais que a morfologia de cada paisagem nos dá, além dos eventos mortuários que alteram nossos encontros com essa materialidade. Desse modo, as memórias e os conceitos quanto a morte podem ser também moldados e influenciados a partir das características sensoriais, e nossa análise deles também.

I work across various mediums including traditional and contemporary photographic processes to explore ideas of impermanence, control, selfhood, communication, and the act of portraiture. Human-touch, traces we leave and the anxiety of the disembodied space materialize as recurring themes throughout my work. This inquiry originates from my own recollections of the intensity of childhood sensory perception. Seeing how such sensory interactions have evolved with photography, screens and virtual spaces, that call for more and more of our attention, time, and connection, to the detriment of sleep and physical human interaction. My work requires me to slow down, stop still, and contemplate, while making tangible artifacts by hand. Each body of work concerns how we currently experience the world, and which is more real to us, physical experience or the observed spectacles mediated by a screen. I raise questions in response to my own fears of a diminishing sense of ourselves in the real wo...

The perceptual matching (same-different judgment) paradigm was used to investigate precision in position coding for strings of letters, digits, and symbols. Reference and target stimuli were 6 characters long and could be identical or differ either by transposing two characters or substituting two characters. The distance separating the two characters was manipulated such that they could either be contiguous, separated by one intervening character, or separated by two intervening characters. Effects of type of character and distance were measured in terms of the difference between the transposition and substitution conditions (transposition cost). Error rates revealed that transposition costs were greater for letters than for digits, which in turn were greater than for symbols. Furthermore, letter stimuli showed a gradual decrease in transposition cost as the distance between the letters increased, whereas the only significant difference for digit and symbol stimuli arose between contiguous and non-contiguous changes, with no effect of distance on the non-contiguous changes. The results are taken as further evidence for letter-specific position coding mechanisms.

First coined in modernity, the aesthetic is a vague, polysemic and contested concept whose complexities arise from the variety of the ways it has been defined in the history of its theorization, but also in its formative prehistory in theories of art and beauty that preceded its modern coinage. After noting key points of that prehistory, the article traces three major modern tendencies in construing the aesthetic: as a special mode of sensory perception or experience that is relevant to life in general; as a special faculty or exercise of taste focused on judgments of beauty and related qualities such as the sublime; and as a theory (or essential quality) of fine art. The idea of aesthetic disinterestedness is critically examined, and contrasts between the concept of art in Western modernity and in pre-modern and Asian culture are also considered.

We conducted a survey about the 2014 FIFA World Cup that measured attitudes about FIFA, players, and officials in 18 languages with 4600 respondents from 29 countries. Sixty percent of respondents perceived FIFA officials as being dishonest, and people from countries with less institutional corruption and stronger rule of law perceived FIFA officials as being more corrupt and less competent running the tournament than people from countries with more corruption and weaker rule of law. In contrast, respondents evaluated players as skilled and honest and match officials as competent and honest. We discuss the implications of our findings for perceptions of corruption in general.

Resumo: O objetivo do presente estudo foi verificar o efeito agudo da eletroestimulação transcutânea (TENS) na contração voluntária máxima. O estudo foi composto por 30 indivíduos divididos em dois grupos: o GAT, composto por praticantes de atividade física e o GTR composto por indivíduos que realizavam treinamento contra resistência. No primeiro dia foram obtidos dados antropométricos e o teste de 10 repetições máximas (10 RM) para identificar suas cargas máximas e, no segundo dia, houve o re-teste de 10 RM com auxilio da TENS. Os dados foram descritos utilizando média e desvio padrão, bem como teste T de Student para amostras dependentes e independentes. Foi utilizado um nível de significância de p < 0,05. Os resultados evidenciaram que para ambos os grupos (GAT e GTF) houve aumento da força total de forma significativa. Embora a variação do ganho de força relativa (∆%) tenha sido maior para o GAT (31,11%) do que no GTF (22,4%). Os resultados sugerem que o ganho de força total agudo sofre influências devido à associação da TENS durante a realização do exercício contra resistência, independente das características do grupo. Palavras-chaves: Eletroestimulação transcutânea. Força muscular. Exercício resistido. TENS.

Human sensory orders are recalibrated when faced with the reduced illumination levels of the night; it is harder to judge depth and distance, details are obscured, colours muted, and one is obliged to compensate for this loss of visual acuity by drawing on the other senses. Darkness also forces one to question how one’s body is in relation to that which surrounds, challenging one’s human sense of bodily presence and boundary. Focusing on The Storr: Unfolding Landscape, a temporary night-time installation by the environmental arts charity NVA (Nacionale Vite Activa) on the Isle of Skye in 2005, this article draws together contemporary art theory on installation art and recent post-phenomenological work in geography to explore the ways in which individuals experience the nocturnal landscape. In so doing, the article highlights the close connections between these two bodies of work and how they might be usefully employed to advance traditional geographical understandings of landscape i...

The skin is the interface that allows us to interact with the external environment through the sense of touch. Researchers in the field of neuromorphic engineering are looking for sensory models with the same biological efficiency as human touch for applications in prosthetics and robotics. However, it is a challenge to interpret and classify high-density tactile information arising from artificial primary afferents. It is known that the cuneiform nucleus combines and segregates tactile information from the primary afferents. Inspired by the physiology of cuneiform neurons, this work evaluates the ability of a neuromorphic neural network to classify eight naturalistic textures using a single cuneiform neuron in the output layer. Two metrics were extracted from the output of this neural network and used as a feature vector for a support vector machine (SVM). The results showed that the model obtained an average accuracy above 71% in the classification of textures and is in accord wit...

Materials experience in design involves the meanings that materials convey to users through its expressive characteristics. Such meaning evoking patterns are influenced by parameters such as context, product (e.g.shape) and user. Consequently, there is a need to standardise experiential material characterisation and large-scale data collection, by means of a meaning-less or ‘neutral’ demonstrator to objectively compare materials.This paper explores the conception of this neutrality and proposes two opposing strategies: neutrality through complexity or through simplicity. In a pre-study with 20 designers, six associative pairs are selected as neutrality criteria, and shaped in 240 forms by 20 (non) designers in a main workshop. Following the simplicity strategy, these forms are averaged out in three steps by a team of five designers, based on a consensus on of delicate-rugged, aggressive-calm, futuristic-calm, masculine-feminine, traditional-modern, and toylike-professional, resultin...

A relatively new regression method, L-partial least squares regression (L-PLSR), is used to model aggregate liking for 17 varieties of fresh tomatoes. Four missing value estimation methods were evaluated and the ''winner'' applied to the hedonic data. Cluster analysis was performed on the actual and estimated hedonics to arrive at three preference clusters. Usage and Attitude (UA) profiles for the clusters plus descriptive data for the tomato varieties were used in combination in L-PLSR to model the cluster preference profiles. The results were compared to partial least squares regression (PLSR) models, a principal components analysis (PCA) model and chi-square goodness-of-fit analysis of the UA data. Model selection using a genetic algorithm and backward selection is noted.

All individuals need to have the ability of appropriate sensory processing for proper functioning in the environment and participation in daily activities. Moreover, behavioral functions can be affected by sensory processing problems. This study aimed to determine the relationship between behavioral problems and sensory processing in 7 to 10 years old children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Methods: This descriptive (cross-sectional) study included 60 children with ADHD aged 7 to 10 years, who were referred to a comprehensive psychiatric center. Short Sensory Profile (SSP) and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) questionnaires were used for assessing the patterns of sensory processing and behavioral problems in the patients. Results: There was a negative correlation between internalizing behavioral problems (r=−0.426) and externalizing behavioral problems (r=−0.465), and the total score of sensory processing in ADHD children (P<0.05). Discussion: The findings of this study showed that some behaviors in children with ADHD could be due to certain defects in their sensory processing.

Is there a universal hierarchy of the senses, such that some senses (e.g., vision) are more accessible to consciousness and linguistic description than others (e.g., smell)? The long-standing presumption in Western thought has been that vision and audition are more objective than the other senses, serving as the basis of knowledge and understanding, whereas touch, taste, and smell are crude and of little value. This predicts that humans ought to be better at communicating about sight and hearing than the other senses, and decades of work based on English and related languages certainly suggests this is true. However, how well does this reflect the diversity of languages and communities worldwide? To test whether there is a universal hierarchy of the senses, stimuli from the five basic senses were used to elicit descriptions in 20 diverse languages, including 3 unrelated sign languages. We found that languages differ fundamentally in which sensory domains they linguistically code sys...

Open science can provide researchers diverse opportunities to collaborate, disseminate their research results, generate important impacts in the scientific community, and engage in effective and efficient science for the benefit of society. This study seeks to analyse and evaluate researchers’ knowledge of open science in Colombia using a survey to determine adequate instruments with which to improve research in the framework of open science. The aim of the study is to determine researchers’ current awareness of open science by considering demographic characteristics to analyse their attitudes, values, and information habits as well as the levels of institutionalism and social appropriation of open science. A representative sample of Colombian researchers was selected from the National Research System. An anonymous online survey consisting of 34 questions was sent to all professors and researchers at Colombian universities and research institutes. Sampling was random and stratified,...

Date-tamarind fruit leathers with varied textural characteristics were prepared by drying a paste containing hydrocolloid (starch, pectin, dextrin or guar gum) and water at 70℃ for 28, 42, 56, 70 and 84 h. Hardness, cohesiveness, adhesiveness, springiness, brittleness, resilience, gumminess and chewiness of the blank date-tamarind fruit leather (i.e., without any hydrocolloid) did not show any correlation with the moisture content ranges (29 − 41 g/100 g sample) used in the present study. Hardness and gumminess increased when hydrocolloids were added, while cohesiveness, resilience and springiness decreased. With the exception of dextrin all other hydrocolloids increased chewiness. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) identified 5 principal components (i.e., 5 factors: plasticity, elasticity, hydrocolloids' concentration, resilience, cohesiveness) affecting the characteristics of each date-tamarind fruit leather. The cluster analysis identified 4 classes of the fruit leathers and bi-plot (i.e., including all products and their characteristics), generated through PCA, recognized these classes as hard-chewy, soft-springy, hard-fragile and soft-resilient leathers.

Communication is important in carrying out every activity. Especially in lecturing activities for students. Students who have just entered experience a lot of adaptation processes. One of them is the adaptation of communication that is different from the previous environment. There are different abilities students have in dealing with this environment. This study aims to find out whether there is a relationship between self-efficacy and interpersonal communication anxiety in new students. The number of subjects of this study were 314 people from the Ministry of Health Palu Health Polytechnic students, which were divided into 3 majors namely; 100 midwifery academics, 120 nursing academics, and 94 environmental health. In this study using a proportional random sampling technique. By using (1) self-efficacy scale, and (2) interpersonal communication anxiety scale. Data management uses Pearson Product Moment correlation analysis, with the SPSS 18 for Mac computer program. From this study the results obtained correlation coefficient (r) = (-0.572), showed that there was a significant relationship between self-efficacy and interpersonal communication anxiety in new students of the Palu Health Ministry of Health. The higher the selfefficacy of new students, the lower the anxiety of interpersonal communication. Conversely, the lower the self-efficacy, the higher the anxiety of interpersonal communication in new students.

ABSTRACTStandard texture rating scales of hardness, adhesiveness, fracturability, cohesiveness, and denseness were modified during the training of a Texture Profile panel. New reference materials were selected for each scale to better illustrate the texture characteristics and intensities and to account for previously recommended food products no longer available. In addition, new reference scales for wetness, adhesiveness to lips, roughness, self‐adhesiveness, springiness, cohesiveness of mass, moisture absorption, adhesiveness to teeth, and manual adhesiveness were developed. The application of new texture reference scales reduced the variability among panelists and provided consistent judgments in texture evaluations. Expanded and improved definitions and evaluation procedures for texture attributes are presented. Also, special considerations for the use of reference scales in texture evaluations are discussed.

This study investigated the effect of substituting sunflower oil with two starch-based fatreplacers on the rheological, lubricating properties, as well sensory properties of reduced fat mayonnaise-type emulsions. Lipid-modified maize starch fat replacers containing amyloselipid complexes, maize starch with 1.5 % stearic acid and maize starch with 2 % monoglyceride, were used to formulate reduced-fat mayonnaise-type emulsions at 0 % (full-This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. 2 fat control), 50 %, 80 % and 98 % level of oil replacement. Reduced-fat emulsions containing starch/monoglyceride were rated similar (p > 0.05) to the full-fat mayonnaise at all the oil replacement levels in terms of smoothness, creaminess, melting and mouth-coating. They also had similarities in terms of thickness and easy-to-swallow sensory attributes, up to 50 % substitution level. For the corresponding starch/stearic acid emulsions, the smoothness, thickness, creaminess and mouth-coating attributes were rated lower while the melting and easy-to-swallow attributes were rated higher than for the starch/monoglyceride emulsions. In general, all the reduced-fat emulsions exhibited good lubrication. The ability of the reducedfat emulsions to support the highly viscous structure, provided by the presence of amyloselipid complexes in the fat replacers were better for the starch/monoglyceride fat replacer than for the starch/stearic acid fat replacer.

Resumo Introdução: Sistemas de estimulação elétrica funcional (FES) são usados na prática clínica para o fortalecimento muscular, assim como para a recuperação e preservação funcional dos músculos enfraquecidos. Porém, uma das dificuldades encontradas na sua aplicação é a falta de padrões adequados para a realização de um movimento pré-estabelecido, uma vez que os parâmetros da estimulação (frequência, intensidade de corrente e duração do pulso) são variados heuristicamente. O presente trabalho investigou a influência dos parâmetros da FES usada no estabelecimento da posição angular e força produzida na extensão de joelho. Métodos: O procedimento experimental foi dividido em duas fases chamadas Fase I e Fase II. A amostra total do estudo foi composta por 41 voluntários saudáveis de ambos os sexos (27 na Fase I e 14 na Fase II). Durante a Fase I cada voluntário foi estimulado com 18 combinações diferentes de parâmetros para a FES, com o objetivo de determinar um modelo capaz de prever o movimento realizado para cada padrão de estimulação. Resultados: As diferentes durações de pulso aplicadas não resultaram em alterações significativas nos movimentos produzidos. Dentre os valores de frequência investigados, 50 Hz foi escolhida para a Fase II, por ter apresentado maior diferença estatisticamente significativa para os valores de intensidade de corrente avaliados. Durante a Fase II, a intensidade de corrente da FES foi ajustada segundo um modelo linear estabelecido durante a primeira fase e que considerou características antropométricas dos sujeitos; encontrando-se um coeficiente de correlação r = 0,798 entre o ângulo pré-estabelecido e o ângulo alcançado. Conclusão: Este trabalho apresenta um modelo para a determinação de parâmetros de FES que permitem estabelecer variações angulares da articulação do joelho associadas à eletroestimulação. Considerando a frequência e a duração de pulsos constantes, se estima, usando uma equação de primeira ordem e com coeficiente de correlação em torno de 0,72, a intensidade de corrente dependente da variação de angulação desejada Palavras-chave Estimulação elétrica funcional FES, Variação angular, Força muscular. Influence of functional electrical stimulation parameters in quadriceps concentric contraction Abstract Introduction: Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is used in clinical practice for muscle strengthening, as well as for functional recovery and preservation of weakened muscles. However, one of the problems in clinical application is the lack of adequate standards for determining the attainment of a predetermined movement, since the stimulation parameters are often adjusted heuristically. The present study investigated the influence of some parameters (frequency, current intensity and pulse duration) of the FES used to establish the joint angle and force produced in knee extension. Methods: The experimental procedure was divided in two phases (Phase I and Phase II). The total sample included 41 healthy volunteers of both sexes (27 and 14 in Phase I and Phase II). During Phase I 18 profiles of FES were applied in the quadriceps muscle of subjects, changing the above-mentioned FES parameters. Results: It was observed that the pulse duration of the electrical stimulation pulse did not exhibit significant relevance in the evoked movements. Among the discrete values of frequency investigated, the stimulation at 50 Hz was selected because it showed higher statistical significant difference considering the values of current intensity measured. During the Phase II, devoted to place the knee joint angle in a predetermined value, the current intensity of the FES was adjusted according to the linear model established during the Phase I, which considered anthropometric characteristics of the subjects. In this Phase we found a correlation coefficient r = 0,798 between the predetermined angle and the reached one. Conclusion: This paper presents a model for the determination of FES parameters for establishing angular variations of the knee associated with electrical stimulation. Considering frequency and pulse duration constants we estimate, using a first order equation and correlation coefficient of 0.72, the current intensity dependent of desired angle variation.

This study assessed the usefulness of the miniature Kramer shear cell to determine relevant instrumental parameters of solid foods and bolus counterparts, examining their relationships with oral processing behaviors to obtain greater knowledge about the texture perception process. Six solid foods with different textural properties were tested. Bolus mechanical properties were also determined by means of cone penetration tests and rheological measurements, and their particle size distributions by sieving. Oral processing behavior (chewing time, number of chews, chewing rate, eating rate) and food saliva uptake (SU) of a young volunteer and a panel of 39 untrained participants were analyzed. The Kramer mechanical properties were very suitable for detecting different levels of food and bolus textural hardness and fracturability and the associated degrees of fragmentation achieved during mastication. Chewing time and number of chews were highly correlated with Kramer food and bolus mech...

The concept of sense perception constitutes considerable part of Aristotle’s De anima. As such, this concept is abundant source of his philosophical thoughts. In this paper, I shall focus on two Aristotle’s propositions about sense perception: 1) a sense organ is potentially as such, as his sense object is actually; 2) a sense is a capacity to receive sensible form without the matter. By analyzing this propositions, I shall expose their mutual connection. I shall also expose important and indispensable role of potentiality and actuality in Aristotle’s concept of sense perception. I shall sketch the modern debate between materialist and spiritualist interpretations and possible solution of this disputation, which may answer the question about the character of change during the act of sense perception, and also the question about the role and relation between physiological sense organ and formal sense. By this I shall clarify both propositions 1) and 2) their relation.