Impact of Gender on Vocabulary Acquisition Using Augmented Reality Among Iranian Seventh Grades Students

Vocabulary learning is one of the most important factors that foreign language learners encounter during the process of learning a foreign language. Vocabulary learning used to be a neglected aspect of language learning. In recent years, however, interest in this area has grown enormously. Language teachers have been keen in searching for effective approaches to enhance vocabulary learning. Vocabulary learning is more important than familiarity with the form and meaning of a word. The acquisition of vocabulary plays a central role in learning a second language. The goal of this study is to obtain results regarding the level of students’ vocabulary knowledge, prove the researcher’s assumption about their low level of knowledge of English vocabulary, and show the difference between the boys’ and girls’ knowledge. Methods/Statistical Analysis: In this area, a primary sample of 200 students, consisting of 100 male and 100 female students studying in high-school were selected randomly from among the students in Tabriz, the city of Iran. Each student took an 8-score test based on the country’s standards. Findings: According to the results of the study, the level of the students in English language vocabulary knowledge is low, and the level of the female students in English language vocabulary knowledge is better than the boys’ level. Applications/Improvements: Therefore, the study recommends that a Multimedia Technology (Augmented Reality) as a tool to improve students’ vocabulary learning in a foreign language

Colour-taste correspondences: Designing food experiences to meet expectations or to surprise

Recent research demonstrates the existence of a number of surprising associations (otherwise known as crossmodal correspondences) between seemingly non-related features in different sensory modalities, such as between basic tastes and colours. These correspondences have been incorporated into a dish called ‘The Four Tastes’ by chef Jozef Youssef. The dish is presented with four separate elements, each having a distinctive colour. Diners are instructed to match the colour to the appropriate taste (bitter, sweet, salty and sour). After establishing the association, the modernist chef, molecular mixologist, food designer or culinary artist can then either choose to design tasting experiences that align with these crossmodal correspondences or else play against them (to create incongruency and surprise). The former strategy typically leads to increased liking, possibly as a result of the diner being able to process the sensory information more fluently. The latter, by contrast, can elicit disconfirmed expectations, which can result in positive or negative experiences. While surprise is something that a growing number of diners are coming to expect when they visit a modernist restaurant, it tends to be a much harder approach to implement successfully in other contexts. Here, we present the literature on colour/taste correspondences, and discuss the implications of crossmodal (in)congruence in food design

Ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer is not a single disease and can be subdivided into at least five different histological subtypes that have different identifiable risk factors, cells of origin, molecular compositions, clinical features and treatments. Ovarian cancer is a global problem, is typically diagnosed at a late stage and has no effective screening strategy. Standard treatments for newly diagnosed cancer consist of cytoreductive surgery and platinum-based chemotherapy. In recurrent cancer, chemotherapy, anti-angiogenic agents and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors are used, and immunological therapies are currently being tested. High-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) is the most commonly diagnosed form of ovarian cancer and at diagnosis is typically very responsive to platinum-based chemotherapy. However, in addition to the other histologies, HGSCs frequently relapse and become increasingly resistant to chemotherapy. Consequently, understanding the mechanisms underlying platinum resistance and finding ways to overcome them are active areas of study in ovarian cancer. Substantial progress has been made in identifying genes that are associated with a high risk of ovarian cancer (such as BRCA1 and BRCA2), as well as a precursor lesion of HGSC called serous tubal intraepithelial carcinoma, which holds promise for identifying individuals at high risk of developing the disease and for developing prevention strategies

The cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 5, 6-dichloro-1-beta-D-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole induces nongenotoxic, DNA replication-independent apoptosis of normal and leukemic cells, regardless of their p53 status

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Current chemotherapy of human cancers focuses on the DNA damage pathway to induce a p53-mediated cellular response leading to either G1 arrest or apoptosis. However, genotoxic treatments may induce mutations and translocations that result in secondary malignancies or recurrent disease. In addition, about 50% of human cancers are associated with mutations in the <it>p53 </it>gene. Nongenotoxic activation of apoptosis by targeting specific molecular pathways thus provides an attractive therapeutic approach.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Normal and leukemic cells were evaluated for their sensitivity to 5, 6-dichloro-1-beta-D-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole (DRB) through cell viability and caspase activation tests. The apoptotic pathway induced by DRB was analysed by immunfluorescence and immunoblot analysis. H2AX phosphorylation and cell cycle analysis were performed to study the dependance of apoptosis on DNA damage and DNA replication, respectively. To investigate the role of p53 in DRB-induced apoptosis, specific p53 inhibitors were used. Statistical analysis on cell survival was performed with the test of independence.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we report that DRB, an inhibitor of the transcriptional cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) 7 and 9, triggers DNA replication-independent apoptosis in normal and leukemic human cells regardless of their p53 status and without inducing DNA damage. Our data indicate that (i) in p53-competent cells, apoptosis induced by DRB relies on a cytosolic accumulation of p53 and subsequent Bax activation, (ii) in the absence of p53, it may rely on p73, and (iii) it is independent of ATM and NBS1 proteins. Notably, even apoptosis-resistant leukemic cells such as Raji were sensitive to DRB.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results indicate that DRB represents a potentially useful cancer chemotherapeutic strategy that employs both the p53-dependent and -independent apoptotic pathways without inducing genotoxic stress, thereby decreasing the risk of secondary malignancies.</p

Virtual reality 360 interactive panorama reproduction obstacles and issues

The research studies obstacles and issues for spherical panorama image reproduction. Virtual reality 360 interactive panorama presentation involves accurately reproduced spherical panorama images which can deliver pre-produced image information of the real-world location that allows user-controlled interactivity in virtual reality digital platforms with up to three hundred and sixty degrees of visibility. Spherical panorama image is also useful in various mixed and augmented reality applications. However, the photographic reproduction of spherical panorama image may tolerate various obstacles and issues that can cause visual abnormality. These can include parallax error, nadir angle difficulty, inconsistent white balance, insufficient dynamic range in multiple angle images, ghosting effect when working with high dynamic range imaging, high amount of multiple angle source images to manage correctly and overall lengthy acquisition time. Biased reproduction of spherical panorama would be inadequate to record and report authentic visual information. This case study investigation provides an overview of the occurrence of potential obstacles and issues with the intention of acquiring high-fidelity spherical panorama photographic reproduction

Eating with our eyes: From visual hunger to digital satiation

One of the brain’s key roles is to facilitate foraging and feeding. It is presumably no coincidence, then, that the mouth is situated close to the brain in most animal species. However, the environments in which our brains evolved were far less plentiful in terms of the availability of food resources (i.e., nutriments) than is the case for those of us living in the Western world today. The growing obesity crisis is but one of the signs that humankind is not doing such a great job in terms of optimizing the contemporary food landscape. While the blame here is often put at the doors of the global food companies – offering addictive foods, designed to hit ‘the bliss point’ in terms of the pleasurable ingredients (sugar, salt, fat, etc.), and the ease of access to calorie-rich foods – we wonder whether there aren’t other implicit cues in our environments that might be triggering hunger more often than is perhaps good for us. Here, we take a closer look at the potential role of vision; Specifically, we question the impact that our increasing exposure to images of desirable foods (what is often labelled ‘food porn’, or ‘gastroporn’) via digital interfaces might be having, and ask whether it might not inadvertently be exacerbating our desire for food (what we call ‘visual hunger’). We review the growing body of cognitive neuroscience research demonstrating the profound effect that viewing such images can have on neural activity, physiological and psychological responses, and visual attention, especially in the ‘hungry’ brain

Augmented reality using high fidelity spherical panorama with HDRI: demonstration

This demonstration presents an experimental method and apparatus configuration for producing spherical panoramas with high dynamic range imaging (HDRI). Our method is optimized for providing high fidelity augmented reality (AR) image-based environment recognition for mobile devices. We developed HDRI method that requires single acquisition which extends dynamic range from digital negative, this approach is to be used for multiple angles necessary for reconstructing accurately reproduced spherical panorama with sufficient luminance