The Seaway Tracker Project

The purpose of this paper is to introduce an interpretation model for the deployment of new media in didactics, taking inspiration from theories coming both from Didactics and Semiotics. State of the art experiences are analysed, in order to evaluate and settle novelties and limits in an adequate context. Finally, the project of a new didactic system is described. This system takes advantage from the expert systems technology and from the latest media format research (MPEG-4 and MPEG-7). It exploits the potential of the new media in terms of enhanced dynamic hypertext navigation and interactivity through the use of semantic data

Influences of COMT and 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms on cognitive flexibility in healthy women: inhibition of prepotent responses and memory updating.

Understanding genetic factors that affect monoamine neurotransmitters flux in prefrontal cortex may help to further specify the complex neurobiological processes that underlie cognitive function and dysfunction in health and illness. The current study examined the associations between the polymorphisms of dopaminergic (COMT Met158Val) and serotoninergic (5-HTTLPR) genes and the sequential pattern of responses in a motor random generation task providing well-established indexes for executive functioning in a large sample of 255 healthy women. Participants homozygous for the Met allele of the COMT polymorphism showed impaired inhibition of prepotent responses, whereas individuals homozygous for the s-allele of the 5-HTTLPR showed a restricted ability to update information in working memory. Taken together the results indicate differentiated influences of dopaminergic and serotonergic genes on important and definite executive sub-processes related to cognitive flexibility

Distribution of COMT and 5-HTTLPR genotypes.

<p>Distribution of COMT and 5-HTTLPR genotypes.</p

Effect of COMT-polymorphism and 5-HTTLPR on the Context Redundancy (CR) of the MTP.

<p>Effect of COMT-polymorphism and 5-HTTLPR on the Context Redundancy (CR) of the MTP.</p

Effect of COMT-polymorphism and 5-HTTLPR on the Symbol Redundancy (SR) of the MTP.

<p>Effect of COMT-polymorphism and 5-HTTLPR on the Symbol Redundancy (SR) of the MTP.</p