141 research outputs found
Dubbing versus subtitling in young and older adults: cognitive and evaluative aspects
Empirical evidence about the cognitive and evaluative consequences of viewing a dubbed vs. a subtitled film is scarce, theoretical views on the subject are mainly speculative and age-related differences have not been investigated within this comparison. To fill these gaps, we carried out two studies contrasting the consequences of viewing a dubbed vs. subtitled version of the same film excerpt in young and older adults, using a comprehensive array of verbal and visual measures. The findings clearly show that dubbing does not provide a cognitive or evaluative advantage over subtitling. Moreover, subtitling seems to be more effective than dubbing in supporting the lexical aspects of performance. Finally, although older adults always had a worse performance than young adults on all cognitive measures, they did not show a specific impairment in the subtitling condition. The results support the view that subtitled films are processed effectively and appreciated at least as much by both young and older adults
Is subtitling equally effective everywhere? A first cross-national study on the reception of interlingually subtitled messages
Recent research on the reception of interlingual subtitling revealed that it is cognitively effective: watching a subtitled film results in a good understanding of the film content, it does not require a significant tradeoff between image processing and text processing, and it leads to a good performance in the recognition of the words and expressions contained in the subtitles. To date, the studies that revealed the effectiveness of subtitle processing have been conducted mono-nationally - e.g. d'Ydewalle and De Bruycker (2007) in Belgium; Wissmath et al. (2009) in Switzerland; Perego et al. (2010, 2015) in Italy; Hinkin et al. (2014) in the US. However, it has not yet been demonstrated empirically whether subtitle effectiveness varies depending on the familiarity of viewers with subtitles. The crossnational study described in this paper aims to fill this gap and appraise the cognitive performance and overall appreciation of a moderately complex subtitled film by viewers with different degrees of familiarity with subtitles, i.e., viewers living in countries (Italy, Spain, Poland and Dutch-speaking Belgium) with different audiovisual translation traditions. The main findings reveal that subtitling is effective irrespective of users' familiarity with it, although it is not enjoyed equally among the tested populations
Stable hybrid myotubes: a new model for studying re-expression of enzymatic activities in vitro
Heterokaryons represent a stable and reproducible model system for the study of biochemical and molecular aspects responsible for muscle gene activation. Previous experiments have used this fusion system to demonstrate human gene activation in hybrids formed between human and non-human cells. The aim of this research was to apply this experimental model to the correction of a cytoplasmic activity, namely glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), in vitro, in hybrid myotubes formed between G6PD-negative and positive myoblasts. Different identification methods were used (Hoechst stain and Fluorescent Latex Microspheres, FLMs) to identify hybrid myotubes formed. We demonstrated the restoration of G6PD activity in all hybrid myotubes formed; we then tried to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the restoration of this specific activity and apply the results obtained to the understanding of more complex mechanisms involved in muscle gene activation
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Exploring the neural and behavioral correlates of cognitive telerehabilitation in mild cognitive impairment with three distinct approaches
Data management:
Study data will be recorded in the REDCap database in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). All participants will be registered with an identification code. The database will be kept updated to reflect the participant’s status at each stage during the course of the study. The collected data, after scientific publication, will be deposited in dedicated repositories according to the good practice of data sharing.Background: Currently, the impact of drug therapies on neurodegenerative conditions is limited. Therefore, there is a strong clinical interest in non-pharmacological interventions aimed at preserving functionality, delaying disease progression, reducing disability, and improving quality of life for both patients and their caregivers. This longitudinal multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) applies three innovative cognitive telerehabilitation (TR) methods to evaluate their impact on brain functional connectivity reconfigurations and on the overall level of cognitive and everyday functions.
Methods: We will include 110 participants with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Fifty-five participants will be randomly assigned to the intervention group who will receive cognitive TR via three approaches, namely: (a) Network-based Cognitive Training (NBCT), (b) Home-based Cognitive Rehabilitation (HomeCoRe), or (c) Semantic Memory Rehabilitation Training (SMRT). The control group (n = 55) will receive an unstructured home-based cognitive stimulation. The rehabilitative program will last either 4 (NBTC) or 6 weeks (HomeCoRe and SMRT), and the control condition will be adapted to each TR intervention. The effects of TR will be tested in terms of Δ connectivity change, obtained from high-density electroencephalogram (HD-EEG) or functional magnetic resonance imaging at rest (rs-fMRI), acquired before (T0) and after (T1) the intervention. All participants will undergo a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment at four time-points: baseline (T0), within 2 weeks (T1), and after 6 (T2) and 12 months (T3) from the end of TR.
Discussion: The results of this RCT will identify a potential association between improvement in performance induced by individual cognitive TR approaches and modulation of resting-state brain connectivity. The knowledge gained with this study might foster the development of novel TR approaches underpinned by established neural mechanisms to be validated and implemented in clinical practice.
Clinical trial registration: [https://classic.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT06278818], identifier [NCT06278818].The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study is supported by the Italian Ministry of Health (Ricerca Corrente 2022-2024 - IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia). SC, MM, RM research activities are supported by #NEXTGENERATIONEU (NGEU) and funded by the Ministry of University and Research (MUR), National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), project MNESYS (PE0000006) a multiscale integrated approach to the study of the nervous system in health and disease (DN. 1553 11.10.2022)
The Edinburgh Social Cognition Test (ESCoT):Examining the effects of age on a new measure of theory of mind and social norm understanding
<div><p>Current measures of social cognition have shown inconsistent findings regarding the effects of healthy aging. Moreover, no tests are currently available that allow clinicians and researchers to examine cognitive and affective theory of mind (ToM) and understanding of social norms within the same test. To address these limitations, we present the Edinburgh Social Cognition Test (ESCoT) which assesses cognitive and affective ToM and inter- and intrapersonal understanding of social norms. We examined the effects of age, measures of intelligence and the Broader Autism Phenotype (BAP) on the ESCoT and established tests of social cognition. Additionally, we investigated the convergent validity of the ESCoT based on traditional social cognition measures. The ESCoT was administered alongside Reading the Mind in Films (RMF), Reading the Mind in Eyes (RME), Judgement of Preference and Social Norm Questionnaire to 91 participants (30 aged 18–35 years, 30 aged 45–60 years and 31 aged 65–85 years). Poorer performance on the cognitive and affective ToM ESCoT subtests were predicted by increasing age. The affective ToM ESCoT subtest and RMF were predicted by gender, where being female predicted better performance. Unlike the ESCoT, better performance on the RMF was predicted by higher verbal comprehension and perceptual reasoning abilities, while better performance on the RME was predicted by higher verbal comprehension scores. Lower scores on inter-and intrapersonal understanding of social norms were both predicted by the presence of more autism-like traits while poorer interpersonal understanding of social norms performance was predicted by increasing age. These findings show that the ESCoT is a useful measure of social cognition and, unlike established tests of social cognition, performance is not predicted by measures of verbal comprehension and perceptual reasoning. This is particularly valuable to obtain an accurate assessment of the influence of age on our social cognitive abilities.</p></div
Timing the multiple cell death pathways initiated by Rose Bengal acetate photodynamic therapy
Rose Bengal acetate photodynamic therapy (RBAc–PDT) induced multiple cell death pathways in HeLa cells through ROS and ER stress. Indeed, apoptosis was the first preferred mechanism of death, and it was triggered by at least four different pathways, whose independent temporal activation ensures cell killing when one or several of the pathways are inactivated. Apoptosis occurred as early as 1 h after PDT through activation of intrinsic pathways, followed by activation of extrinsic, caspase-12-dependent and caspase-independent pathways, and by autophagy. The onset of the different apoptotic pathways and autophagy, that in our system had a pro-death role, was timed by determining the levels of caspases 9, 8, 3 and 12; Bcl-2 family; Hsp70; LC3B; GRP78 and phospho-eIF2α proteins. Interestingly, inhibition of one pathway, that is, caspase-9 (Z-LEHD-FMK), caspase-8 (Z-IETD-FMK), pan-caspases (Z-VAD-FMK), autophagy (3-MA) and necrosis (Nec-1), did not impair the activation of the others, suggesting that the independent onset of the different apoptotic pathways and autophagy did not occur in a subordinated manner. Altogether, our data indicate RBAc as a powerful photosensitiser that induces a prolonged cytotoxicity and time-related cell death onset by signals originating from or converging on almost all intracellular organelles. The fact that cancer cells can die through different mechanisms is a relevant clue in the choice and design of anticancer PDT
The effects of multi-domain versus single-domain cognitive training in non-demented older people: a randomized controlled trial
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Whether healthy older people can benefit from cognitive training (CogTr) remains controversial. This study explored the benefits of CogTr in community dwelling, healthy, older adults and compared the effects of single-domain with multi-domain CogTr interventions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A randomized, controlled, 3-month trial of CogTr with double-blind assessments at baseline and immediate, 6-month and 12-month follow-up after training completion was conducted. A total of 270 healthy Chinese older people, 65 to 75 years old, were recruited from the Ganquan-area community in Shanghai. Participants were randomly assigned to three groups: multi-domain CogTr, single-domain CogTr, and a wait-list control group. Twenty-four sessions of CogTr were administrated to the intervention groups over a three-month period. Six months later, three booster training sessions were offered to 60% of the initial training participants. The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS, Form A), the Color Word Stroop test (CWST), the Visual Reasoning test and the Trail Making test (TMT) were used to assess cognitive function.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Multi-domain CogTr produced statistically significant training effects on RBANS, visual reasoning, and immediate and delayed memory, while single-domain CogTr showed training effects on RBANS, visual reasoning, word interference, and visuospatial/constructional score (all <it>P </it>< 0.05). At the 12-month posttest, the multi-domain CogTr showed training effects on RBANS, delayed memory and visual reasoning, while single-domain CogTr only showed effects on word interference. Booster training resulted in effects on RBANS, visual reasoning, time of trail making test, and visuospatial/constructional index score.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Cognitive training can improve memory, visual reasoning, visuospatial construction, attention and neuropsychological status in community-living older people and can help maintain their functioning over time. Multi-domain CogTr enhanced memory proficiency, while single-domain CogTr augmented visuospatial/constructional and attention abilities. Multi-domain CogTr had more advantages in training effect maintenance.</p> <p>Clinical Trial Registration</p> <p>Chinese Clinical Trial Registry. Registration number: ChiCTR-TRC-09000732.</p
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