Smartwatch aids time-based prospective memory in Korsakoff syndrome: A case study

Contains fulltext : 203608.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Prospective memory (PM) is the ability to remember to carry out an intention in the future. PM is particularly impaired in Korsakoff syndrome (KS). We investigated the benefit of a smartwatch and smartphone compared to no aid in supporting time accuracy and PM task performance in KS. Time accuracy was improved with a smartwatch compared to the other conditions. Furthermore, the smartwatch and phone conditions were more effective than no aid in assisting memory for task content. Together these results suggest that using an external memory aid is beneficial for successful PM in KS.5 p

Smartwatch aids time-based prospective memory in Korsakoff syndrome: a case study

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Unravelling moral cognition in acquired brain injury: a scoping review

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Episodic future thinking together with observational learning benefits propspective memory in high-functioning Korsakoff's syndrome patients

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Publisher correction:Resource landscapes explain contrasting patterns of aggregation and site fidelity by red knots at two wintering sites

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Improving (meta)comprehension: Feedback and self-assessment

Background: Monitoring is important for self-regulated learning from text, but is often inaccurate. Completing causal diagrams after reading texts has been shown to improve monitoring accuracy. Aims: We investigated whether providing one or two model answer diagrams and self-assessment instructions would improve learners' monitoring accuracy, regulation accuracy, and text comprehension. Because little is known about how accurately learners who are reading in a language other than their home language monitor their comprehension, we also explored whether effects differed between readers who have English or another language as their home language. Sample: Participants were 258 secondary school students at international schools in Singapore and Spain; 103 spoke a language other than English at home. Methods: Participants read 4 texts, completed diagrams on these texts, monitored comprehension, took a first comprehension test, self-assessed their diagram under one of 6 conditions resulting from a 3 (model answer: 0, 1, 2) x 2 (self-assessment instructions: yes, no) design, made restudy decisions, made monitoring judgments, and completed a final comprehension test. Results: Comprehension benefitted most when learners had access to two model answers. There were no effects of model answers or self-assessment instructions on monitoring accuracy. Regulation accuracy improved with model answers combined with self-assessment instructions. There was no differential effect of home language. Conclusions: This study supports prior research showing the benefit of model answer diagrams on comprehension. Yet, improvements in regulation accuracy suggest that model answers combined with self-assessment instructions support more effective self-regulated learning behaviors

Display of Bombyx mori Alcohol Dehydrogenases on the Bacillus subtilis Spore Surface to Enhance Enzymatic Activity under Adverse Conditions

Alcohol dehydrogenases (ADHs) are oxidoreductases catalyzing the reversible oxidation of alcohols to corresponding aldehydes or ketones accompanied by nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) or nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP) as coenzyme. ADHs attract major scientific and industrial interest for the evolutionary perspectives, afforded by their wide occurrence in nature, and for their use in industrial synthesis. However, the low activity of ADHs under extremes of pH and temperature often limits their application. To obtain ADH with high activity, in this study, we used Bombyx mori alcohol dehydrogenases (BmADH) as foreign gene and constructed a recombinant integrative plasmid pJS700-BmADH. This pJS700-BmADH was transformed into Bacillus subtilis by double cross-over and produced an amylase inactivated mutant. The fusion protein containing BmADH was expressed on the spore surface and recognized by BmADH-specific antibody. We also assayed the alcohol dehydrogenase activity of the fusion protein together with the native BmADH at different pH and temperature levels, which indicated the recombinant enzyme exhibits activity over wider ranges of temperature and pH than its native form, perhaps due to the resistance properties of B. subtilis spores against adverse conditions

Recent advances in understanding hypertension development in sub-Saharan Africa

Consistent reports indicate that hypertension is a particularly common finding in black populations. Hypertension occurs at younger ages and is often more severe in terms of blood pressure levels and organ damage than in whites, resulting in a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease and mortality. This review provides an outline of recent advances in the pathophysiological understanding of blood pressure elevation and the consequences thereof in black populations in Africa. This is set against the backdrop of populations undergoing demanding and rapid demographic transition, where infection with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus predominates, and where under and over-nutrition coexist. Collectively, recent findings from Africa illustrate an increased lifetime risk to hypertension from foetal life onwards. From young ages black populations display early endothelial dysfunction, increased vascular tone and reactivity, microvascular structural adaptions, as well as increased aortic stiffness resulting in elevated central and brachial blood pressures during the day and night, when compared to whites. Together with knowledge on the contributions of sympathetic activation and abnormal renal sodium handling, these pathophysiological adaptations result in subclinical and clinical organ damage at younger ages. This overall enhanced understanding on the determinants of blood pressure elevation in blacks encourages (a) novel approaches to assess and manage hypertension in Africa better, (b) further scientific discovery to develop more effective prevention and treatment strategies, and (c) policymakers and health advocates to collectively contribute in creating health-promoting environments in Africa