God, Mind, Evolution, and Quantum Reality Based on Process Metaphysics

The genesis of actuality from potentiality, with the apparent role of the observer, is an important and unsolved problem which essentially defines science‟s view of reality in a variety of contexts. Observation then becomes lawful and not emergent. Panentheism is needed to provide a mechanism for order outside of blind efficient causality, in a Universal final causality. Classical physics is over a hundred years out of date, yet scientific models remain mechanistic and deterministic. Deism, a remnant of classical cosmology, is examined and rejected by scientists and philosophers, and certain pre-scientific notions of religion are scorned, putting the matter to rest. Quantum physics, in its basic form, is necessary if there is to be any philosophical or scientific notion of free will and self-determination, as potentiality. Quantum metaphysics is also needed because classical physics is fundamentally limited to localized external relations, lacking the internality and non-locality of relatedness. God, or the equivalent, is necessary to complete the equation. Physicists now tell us that reality is fundamentally mental and is created by observation. Observation is here taken to mean experience, with experience going all the way down to the lowest order of a Universal mentality

The Holographic Principle of Mind and the Evolution of Consciousness

The Holographic Principle holds the information in any region of space and time exists on the surface of that region. Layers of the holographic, universal “now” go from the inception of the universe to the present. Universal Consciousness is the timeless source of actuality and mentality. Information is experience, and the expansion of the “now” leads to higher and higher orders of experience in the Universe, with various levels of consciousness emerging from experience. The brain consists of a nested hierarchy of surfaces which range from the most elementary field though the neuron, neural group, and the whole brain. Evidence from the evolution and structure of the brain shows that optimal surface areas in a variety of structures are conserved with respect to underlying surfaces. Microgenesis, the becoming of the mental state through a process of recapitulation of development and evolution, is in full accord with the Holographic Principle. Evidence from a wide variety of contexts indicates the capacity of the mind for total recall of past life events and for access to universal information, indicating connection with the holographic surfaces of prior “nows” and with the Universal holographic boundary. In summation, the Holographic Principle can help us explain the unity and mechanisms of perception, experience, memory, and consciousness

Face Emotion Recognition is Related to Individual Differences in Psychosis-proneness

Background Deficits in face emotion recognition (FER) in schizophrenia are well documented, and have been proposed as a potential intermediate phenotype for schizophrenia liability. However, research on the relationship between psychosis vulnerability and FER has mixed findings and methodological limitations. Moreover, no study has yet characterized the relationship between FER ability and level of psychosis-proneness. If FER ability varies continuously with psychosis-proneness, this suggests a relationship between FER and polygenic risk factors. Method We tested two large internet samples to see whether psychometric psychosis-proneness, as measured by the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief (SPQ-B), is related to differences in face emotion identification and discrimination or other face processing abilities. Results Experiment 1 (n=2332) showed that psychosis-proneness predicts face emotion identification ability but not face gender identification ability. Experiment 2 (n=1514) demonstrated that psychosis-proneness also predicts performance on face emotion but not face identity discrimination. The tasks in Experiment 2 used identical stimuli and task parameters, differing only in emotion/identity judgment. Notably, the relationships demonstrated in Experiments 1 and 2 persisted even when individuals with the highest psychosis-proneness levels (the putative high-risk group) were excluded from analysis. Conclusions Our data suggest that FER ability is related to individual differences in psychosis-like characteristics in the normal population, and that these differences cannot be accounted for by differences in face processing and/or visual perception. Our results suggest that FER may provide a useful candidate intermediate phenotype.Psycholog

Exploration of the Risk Factors of Generalized and Central Obesity among Adolescents in North Lebanon

Adolescents’ obesity is an emerging public health problem globally and in the Arab countries. Alarming rates of overweight/obesity have been rising progressively in Lebanon. However, the risk factors for the development of adolescents’ obesity have not yet been thoroughly explored in North Lebanon. To determine the dietary and lifestyle risk factors associated with generalized and central obesity among adolescents living in Tripoli, a cross-sectional survey was conducted including a representative sample of 311 students aged 11–16 years from both sexes chosen from public and private schools in Tripoli. Data were collected using a standardized questionnaire to determine sociodemographic characteristics, dietary patterns, and physical activity and sedentary behaviors. Body mass index (BMI) was evaluated using the Center for Disease Control BMI for age percentiles. Central obesity was assessed using both waist-to-height ratio and gender-specific waist circumference for age indices. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that skipping breakfast and physical inactivity were the most significant independent risk factors associated with both generalized and central obesity. In addition, higher screen time and male gender were associated with increased risk for generalized and central obesity, respectively. Intervention strategies to prevent the development of obesity should be implemented among adolescent students to encourage regular breakfast intake and adopting healthy dietary and lifestyle behaviors

Planification d'un réseau de quatrième génération à partir d'un réseau de troisième génération

RÉSUMÉ Avec l'arrivée des technologies 3G, les réseaux de télécommunications ont connu une grande expansion. Ces réseaux ont permis l'intégration de nouveaux services et un débit adéquat, permettant ainsi aux opérateurs de répondre à la demande croissante des utilisateurs. Cette rapide évolution a porté les opérateurs à adapter leurs méthodes de planification aux nouvelles technologies qui, augmentent la complexité au niveau du réseau. Cette complexité devient plus importante quand ces réseaux regroupent plusieurs technologies d'accès différents en un réseau hétérogène, comme dans le cas des réseaux mobiles de prochaine génération ou réseaux 4G. La planification fait alors intervenir de nouveaux défis tels que: l'augmentation considérable des demandes de services, la compatibilité avec les réseaux actuels, la gestion de la mobilité intercellulaire des utilisateurs et l'offre d'une qualité de services les plus flexibles. Ainsi, pour créer un réseau flexible aux ajouts et aux retraits d'équipements, une bonne méthode de planification s'impose. C'est dans ce contexte que se situe ce mémoire, qui vise à faire la planification d'un réseau 4G à partir d'un réseau 3G existant. De façon générale, le problème de planification fait intervenir plusieurs sous-problèmes avec chacun un niveau de complexité différent. Dans ce travail, le sous-problème qui est traité concerne l'affectation des cellules aux commutateurs. Ce problème consiste à déterminer un patron d'affectation qui permet de minimiser le coût d'investissement des équipements du réseau 4G, tout en maximisant l'utilisation faite des équipements du réseau 3G déjà en place. Ainsi, la solution proposée est un modèle mathématique dont l’expression prend la forme d'un problème de minimisation de fonction, assujetti à un ensemble de contraintes. Il s’agit d’une fonction de coût qui regroupe: l’affectation des cellules (eNode B) aux MME et aux SGW, et l’affectation des SGSN aux MME et aux SGW. Puisque les MME et SGW peuvent être rassemblés dans une seule passerelle, une entité nommée SGM a été défini. Ainsi, la fonction prend en compte les coûts des affectations des eNode B et des SGSN aux SGM. Ce modèle est sujet aux contraintes de capacités des SGM et aux contraintes d'unicité sur les affectations des eNode B et SGSN aux SGM. Le modèle mathématique proposé est constitué des coûts de liaisons des équipements du réseau 4G, des coûts de liaisons inter-réseaux, des coûts de relèves horizontales (intra réseau 4G) et des coûts de relèves verticales (inter-réseau 3G-4G). Le problème étant prouvé NP-difficile, la performance du modèle sera évaluée au moyen d'une méthode heuristique basée sur la recherche taboue. Pour adapter l'heuristique au problème d'affectation dans les réseaux 4G, des mouvements de réaffectation et de déplacement des nœuds eNode B et SGSN ont été définis. De même, un mécanisme de calcul de gain a été proposé, permettant d'évaluer l'apport de chaque mouvement sur le coût de la solution courante. Ainsi, les résultats numériques obtenus de l'implémentation de cette méthode, montrent que la méthode taboue accuse un écart moyen ne dépassant pas 30\% par rapport à la solution optimale. Alors que pour certains réseaux, l'heuristique a été en mesure de trouver des résultats ayant un écart moyen ne dépassant pas 1\% par rapport à la solution optimale trouvée dans les simulations.----------ABSTRACT With the advent of 3G technologies, mobile networks have expanded greatly. These networks have enabled the integration of new services and an enough bandwidth, allowing operators to meet the growing demand of users. This rapid evolution has led the operators to adapt their planning approach that come with new challenges. Those challenges become more important when these networks are designed to support different radio access technologies within a heterogeneous mobile network, like 4G networks. In this case, planning those networks involves other challenges, such as the considerable increase in services requests, compatibility with existing networks, management of intercellular mobility of users and a good quality of offered services. Thus, in order to create a network that allows to add or to remove components, good planning approach is needed. It is in this context, this paper aims to address the problem that occurs when the planning of a 4G network is based on an existing 3G network. The planning issue involves several sub-issue with a different level of complexity for each of them. This work mainly addresses the cell assignment problem regarding the 4G networks. Thus, the proposed solution is a mathematical model. This model has mainly two objectives: the assignment between 4G nodes, and the assignment between 3G and 4G nodes. Since the MME and SGW can be aggregated into a single gateway, an entity named SGM has been set. Thus, the model becomes a cost function involving assignments eNode B and SGSN to SGM. This model is subject to capacity constraints of SGM, and unique constraints on assignments eNode B and SGSN to SGM. The proposed model includes: the link's costs of 4G-network equipment, the link's costs between 3G and 4G equipment, the horizontal handoff costs (intra 4G network) and the vertical handover costs (inter-3G-4G). The problem is NP-hard, a tabu search algorithm will be used. To adapt this heuristic, movements have been defined to reallocate and move nodes eNode B and SGSN in order to improve the cost of the current solution. The results of the implementation show a gap which is less then 30\% between the TS results and left bound value. For others networks size, the gap is sometimes less then 1\% compare to the left bound value

Face recognition: a model specific ability

In our everyday lives, we view it as a matter of course that different people are good at different things. It can be surprising, in this context, to learn that most of what is known about cognitive ability variation across individuals concerns the broadest of all cognitive abilities; an ability referred to as general intelligence, general mental ability, or just g. In contrast, our knowledge of specific abilities, those that correlate little with g, is severely constrained. Here, we draw upon our experience investigating an exceptionally specific ability, face recognition, to make the case that many specific abilities could easily have been missed. In making this case, we derive key insights from earlier false starts in the measurement of face recognition’s variation across individuals, and we highlight the convergence of factors that enabled the recent discovery that this variation is specific. We propose that the case of face recognition ability illustrates a set of tools and perspectives that could accelerate fruitful work on specific cognitive abilities. By revealing relatively independent dimensions of human ability, such work would enhance our capacity to understand the uniqueness of individual minds

Amygdala Response to Facial Expressions Reflects Emotional Learning

The functional role of the human amygdala in the evaluation of emotional facial expressions is unclear. Previous animal and human research shows that the amygdala participates in processing positive and negative reinforcement as well as in learning predictive associations between stimuli and subsequent reinforcement. Thus, amygdala response to facial expressions could reflect the processing of primary reinforcement or emotional learning. Here, using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we tested the hypothesis that amygdala response to facial expressions is driven by emotional association learning. We show that the amygdala is more responsive to learning object-emotion associations from happy and fearful facial expressions than it is to the presentation of happy and fearful facial expressions alone. The results provide evidence that the amygdala uses social signals to rapidly and flexibly learn threatening and rewarding associations that ultimately serve to enhance survival.Psycholog

Emotion Recognition and Psychosis-Proneness: Neural and Behavioral Perspectives

Schizophrenia is associated with deficits in social cognition and emotion processing, but it is not known how these deficits relate to other domains of neurocognition and whether they might contribute to psychosis development. The current dissertation approaches this question by looking at the relationship between psychosis proneness and face emotion recognition ability, a core domain of social-emotional processing. Psychosis proneness was inferred by the presence of psychosis-like characteristics in otherwise healthy individuals, using self-report measures. Face emotion recognition ability was found to be associated with psychosis-proneness across four large web-based samples and one lab sample. These associations were relatively specific, and could not be explained by differences in face processing or IQ. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), psychosis-proneness was linked with reduced neural activity in brain regions that underlie normal face emotion recognition, including regions that are implicated in self-representation. Additional experiments were conducted to explore psychosis-proneness related differences in self-representation, and a relationship was revealed between cognitive-perceptual (positive) dimensions of psychosis-proneness and (1) flexibility in the body representation (as measured by the rubber hand illusion), and (2) self-referential source memory (but not self-referential recognition memory). Neither of these relationships, however, explained the association between psychosis-proneness and face emotion recognition ability. These findings indicate that psychosis vulnerability is related to neural and behavioral differences in face emotion processing, and that these differences are not a secondary characteristic of psychotic illness. Moreover, poorer emotion recognition ability in psychosisprone individuals is not explained by generalized performance, IQ, or face processing deficits. Although some dimensions of psychosis-proneness were related to differences in measures of self-representation, no evidence was found that these abnormalities contribute to psychosisproneness related differences in emotion recognition ability.Psycholog

CONCEPT MAPPING VERSUS TRADITIONAL TEACHING METHOD ON HEALTH SCIENCES’ STUDENTS’ SCORE

In the recent years, health care systems have been dynamically changing which demanded modifications in health care education. Current educational models are becoming more and more obsolete in enhancing the professional level of both teachers and students. Concepts maps are effective tools in processing large amounts of information, comprehending new concepts, as well as in generating information and amplifying creativity levels. The aim of this study is to compare the concept mapping versus traditional teaching method on Health Sciences’ students’ score. A Quasi-experimental design was implemented in the study. The study revealed that there was a significant difference between learning by traditional method and by concept mapping that can be a predictor of better academic achievement. Concept maps prove to be an efficient teaching-learning method in health sciences education

Neural Activity During Social Signal Perception Correlates With Self-reported Empathy

Empathy is an important component of human relationships, yet the neural mechanisms that facilitate empathy are unclear. The broad construct of empathy incorporates both cognitive and affective components. Cognitive empathy includes mentalizing skills such as perspective-taking. Affective empathy consists of the affect produced in response to someone else's emotional state, a process which is facilitated by simulation or “mirroring.” Prior evidence shows that mentalizing tasks engage a neural network which includes the temporoparietal junction, superior temporal sulcus, and medial prefrontal cortex. On the other hand, simulation tasks engage the fronto-parietal mirror neuron system (MNS) which includes the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and the somotosensory related cortex (SRC). Here, we tested whether neural activity in these two neural networks was related to self-reports of cognitive and affective empathy in daily life. Participants viewed social scenes in which the shift of direction of attention of a character did or did not change the character's mental and emotional state. As expected, the task robustly activated both mentalizing and MNS networks. We found that when detecting the character's change in mental and emotional state, neural activity in both networks is strongly related to cognitive empathy. Specifically, neural activity in the IFG, SRC, and STS were related to cognitive empathy. Activity in the precentral gyrus was related to affective empathy. The findings suggest that both simulation and mentalizing networks contribute to multiple components of empathy.Psycholog