Symbol Coding Research Articles

Cognitive outcomes in trials of two BACE inhibitors in Alzheimer's disease.

The APECS and AMARANTH trials showed that beta-secretase (BACE) inhibitors verubecestat and lanabecestat failed to slow cognitive and functional decline in individuals with prodromal or early Alzheimer's disease. Here, the performance on secondary and exploratory cognitive measures in both studies is reported. APECS (verubecestat) and AMARANTH (lanabecestat) were randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, 104-week clinical trials conducted by different sponsors. Measures included the 3-Domain Composite Cognition Score (CCS-3D), Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS), Letter/Category Fluency, and Digit Symbol Coding. Verubecestat showed worsening on the CCS-3D Total Score, Episodic Memory, and Attention/Processing Speed domains. Lanabecestat showed worsening on the RBANS Total Score, Immediate Memory, and Visuospatial/Constructional Indexes. Both BACE inhibitors showed worsening on Digit Symbol Coding and improvements on Letter/Category Fluency. In both studies, many measures showed treatment-associated cognitive worsening, whereas verbal fluency tasks showed improvement.

Mental Health in Patients With Adrenal Incidentalomas: Is There a Relation With Different Degrees of Cortisol Secretion?

ContextCushing’s syndrome frequently causes mental health impairment. Data in patients with adrenal incidentaloma (AI) are lacking.ObjectiveWe aimed to evaluate psychiatric and neurocognitive functions in AI patients, in relation to the presence of subclinical hypercortisolism (SH), and the effect of adrenalectomy on mental health.DesignWe enrolled 62 AI patients (64.8 ± 8.9 years) referred to our centers. Subclinical hypercortisolism was diagnosed when cortisol after 1mg-dexamethasone suppression test was >50 nmol/L, in the absence of signs of overt hypercortisolism, in 43 patients (SH+).InterventionsThe structured clinical interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5, and 5 psychiatric scales were performed. The Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (Verbal and Working Memory, Token and Symbol Task, Verbal Fluency, Tower of London) was explored in 26 patients (≤65 years).ResultsThe prevalence of psychiatric disorders was 27.4% (SH+ 30.2% vs SH- 21.1%, P = 0.45). SH+ showed a higher prevalence of middle insomnia (by the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale) compared with SH- (51% vs 22%, P = 0.039). Considering the Sheehan Disability Scale, SH+ showed a higher disability score (7 vs 3, P = 0.019), higher perceived stress (4.2 ± 1.9 vs 2.9 ± 1.9, P = 0.015), and lower perceived social support (75 vs 80, P = 0.036) than SH-. High perceived stress was independently associated with SH (odds ratio [OR] = 5.46, confidence interval 95% 1.4–21.8, P = 0.016). Interestingly, SH+ performed better in verbal fluency (49.5 ± 38.9 vs 38.9 ± 9.0, P = 0.012), symbol coding (54.1 ± 6.7 vs 42.3 ± 15.5, P = 0.013), and Tower of London (15.1 vs 10.9, P = 0.009) than SH-. In 8 operated SH+, no significant changes were found.ConclusionsSubclinical hypercortisolism may influence patients’ mental health and cognitive performances, requiring an integrated treatment.

A Class of Codes With Availability and Multiple Local-Erasures Correction

In a locally recoverable code (LRC), any code symbol can be recovered by accessing at most $r$ other symbols (called a recovery set). In an LRC with availability , any information symbol has $t$ disjoint recovery sets. In this letter, we consider a new class of codes with availability, where the $l^{th}, 1 \leq l \leq t$ disjoint recovery set for any information symbol has locality $r_{l}$ and it is protected by a local code of minimum Hamming distance at least $\delta _{l}$ . We derive an upper-bound on the minimum Hamming distance of these codes. A family of systematic codes with information availability is constructed achieving the bound with equality.

Reduced regional homogeneity and neurocognitive impairment in patients with moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea

BackgroundNeurocognitive dysfunction and abnormal regional homogeneity (ReHo) have been reported in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). However, little is known about whether brain functional alteration could be used to differentiate from healthy controls (HCs) and its correlation with neurocognitive impairment. MethodsThirty-three treatment-naive patients with moderate-to-severe OSA and 22 HCs with matched age, sex and education underwent the evaluation of Epworth sleepiness scale, neurocognitive function, full night polysomnography and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. ReHo, support vector machine, and correlation with neurocognitive function were administrated to analyze the data. ResultsCompared with HCs, patients with OSA showed decreased ReHo in the bilateral superior frontal gyrus (FG), bilateral superior medial prefrontal cortex (PFC)/right supplementary motor area (SMA), left middle FG, and right precentral/postcentral gyrus. Negative correlations were observed between the ReHo values in the left superior FG/middle FG and apnea hypopnea index, oxygen desaturation index in the OSA group. The scores of Stroop word test, Stroop color-word test, symbol coding test were all negatively correlated with the ReHo values in the right precentral gyrus/postcentral gyrus in patients. Scores of the animal naming fluency test were positively correlated with the ReHo values in the left superior FG/middle FG in patients. Moreover, support vector machine analysis showed the ReHo values in the left superior FG/middle FG or bilateral superior medial PFC/right SMA both could discriminate patients from HCs with good accuracies, sensitivities, and specificities (85.45%, 87.88%, 81.82% and 81.82%, 84.85%, 77.27%, respectively). ConclusionDysfunction in the frontal lobe is a potentially pivotal neuro-pathophysiological mechanism of neurocognitive impairment in patients with moderate-to-severe OSA. And significantly lower ReHo values in the left superior FG/middle FG and/or superior medial PFC/SMA are promising imaging biomarkers to discriminate moderate-to-severe patients with OSA from HCs.

Bedenler Neye Sahiptir?

As the memory studies argue that forgetting can also emerge as a significant component in the creation of new identities, this is, however, rather challenged and opposed within the framework of religious institutionalism. The knowledge that constitutes the cultural memory is a construct of power, and power enforces symbolic codes to maintain the knowledge. In other words, the cultural symbols maintain the memory and reinforce the definitions of situations. The institutional significance attached to certain bodies suggest an astonishing instrument to sustain ideologies and the history of particular constitutions. Whether to be concrete or a relic, a body, with its sacred tranquility, creates an affiliation between the memory of the past and its transmittance toward the future. It is equally worth to consider how bodies are not only subject to institutionalization but also to a process of gendering. In this regard, I aim to explore the implementation of certain sacraments and rituals together with their highly structured power in sustaining the collective memory. Marian iconography, images and relics of saints are also examined insomuch as they foster the cultural memory through the manifestation of bodies.

A short digital eye-tracking assessment predicts cognitive status among adults.

Current cognitive assessments suffer from limited scalability and high user burden. This study aimed to (1) examine the relationship between a brief eye-tracking-based visual paired-comparison (VPC) and gold standard cognitive assessments, (2) examine longitudinal stability of the VPC task, (3) determine the ability of the VPC task to differentiate between cognitively normal (CN) individuals and individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Fifty-five adults (n = 44 CN, n = 11 MCI; 56.4 ± 26.7years) were tested on two occasions, separated by at least 14days. Visit 1 included VPC, Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Digit Symbol Coding test (DSC), and NIH Toolbox Cognitive Battery (NIHTB-CB). Visit 2 included VPC, DSC, NIHTB-CB, and dual-task (DT). Significant differences existed between baseline VPC scores for CN and MCI groups (p < .001). VPC scores remained stable over time in both groups (p < .05). Significant associations existed between VPC and MoCA (p < .01), DSC (p < .001), and various NIHTB-CB subtests at both time points. The VPC test significantly predicts cognitive outcomes (p < .05), with age and VPC being the only significant predictors. Additionally, area under the curve (receiver operator characteristic = 0.80) for VPC scores demonstrated good classification accuracy. VPC reliably predicted cognitive status while remaining stable over time and displayed significant associations with gold standard cognitive assessments. VPC is a less burdensome and more scalable assessment than traditional tests, enabling longitudinal monitoring of cognitive status in resource-limited environments.

KAJIAN SEMIOTIK DALAM NOVEL NY. TALIS (KISAH MENGENAI MADRAS)KARYA BUDI DARMA

This research is backed up by the desire to understand and interpret the semiotic meaning in Ny. Talis (Kisah Mengenai Madras) novel by Budi Darma. The purpose of this study is to describe: (1) hermeneutic code; (2) semantic/semes code; (3) symbolic codes; (4) proaretic code, and; (5) cultural codes in Ny. Talis (Kisah Mengenai Madras) by Budi Darma. The theory used to analyze the data is Roland Barthes' semiotics which focuses on semiotic codes. The approach used is poststructural semiotics by applying heuristic and hermeneutic semiotic reading methods. Research data in the form of dialog quotes, words, sentences, and paragraphs that are related to the focus of research on semiotic codes. research data sources come from Ny. Talis (Kisah Mengenai Madras) by Budi Darma (1996) published by Balai Pustaka.The results of the research and discussion show that the semiotic codes in Ny. Talis (Kisah Mengenai Madras) novel there is a lexias fragment that connects five semiotic codes. Liaison lexias is nothing but the meaning of signification about death and matters related to death. In addition, the reality of life refers to death.

A-136 Effect of Language Ability on Processing Speed in TBI

Abstract Objective Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are not uniformly represented across monolinguals and bilinguals. Processing speed is often impacted as a result of a TBI. The objective of this study is to examine how processing speed is influenced by linguistic abilities after sustaining a TBI. Hypothesis: bilinguals will perform better than monolinguals on measures of processing speed. Method A total of 89 subjects, 36 monolinguals with a mean age of 37.83 (SD = 13.25) and 53 bilinguals with a mean age of 37.74 (SD = 13.53) were grouped based on language ability and performance was compared on the Trail Making Test, Part-A (TMT-A), Processing Speed Index (PSI) of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, 4th Edition (WAIS-IV), and the Symbol Search (SS) and Coding (CD) subtests of the PSI. Results An independent samples t-test revealed a significant different between bilinguals and monolinguals on TMT-A [t (87) = .154, p = .003], CD subtest [t (87) = −.823, p = .008], and PSI [t (87) = −2.10, p = .014]. There was not a significant difference observed on the SS subtest [t (87) = −2.71, p = .364]. Conclusion This study revealed that bilinguals demonstrated better performance on measures that emphasize scanning, cognitive flexibility, sequencing abilities, and visual–spatial functioning. These data suggest that bilinguals perform at an average level while monolinguals perform on a low average level regarding processing speed after sustaining a TBI.

Long-term Change in Physiological Markers and Cognitive Performance in Type 2 Diabetes: The Look AHEAD Study.

The effects of physiological improvements on cognitive function among persons with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are not fully understood. To determine whether improvements in physiological markers (body weight, blood sugar control, and physical activity) during intensive lifestyle intervention (ILI) are associated with enhancements in cognitive function in older adults with T2DM. Multisite randomized controlled trial. Academic research centers. Participants were aged 45-76 years, with T2DM. The Action for Health in Diabetes (Look AHEAD) study, a randomized, controlled clinical trial of ILI. Two to 3 cognitive assessments were collected from 1089 participants, the first and last occurring a mean (standard deviation) of 8.6 (1.0) and 11.5 (0.7) years after enrollment. Greater improvement in blood sugar control was associated with better cognitive scores (fasting glucose and Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test [AVLT]: P = 0.0148; fasting glucose and Digit Symbol Coding (DSC): P = 0.0360; HbA1C and DSC: P = 0.0477); but weight loss had mixed associations with cognitive scores (greater body mass index [BMI] reduction and worse AVLT overall: P = 0.0053; and greater BMI reduction and better DSC scores among those overweight but not obese at baseline: P = 0.010). Associations were strongest among those who were overweight (not obese) at baseline, and among those with a history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) at baseline. Improvements in glycemic control, but not necessarily weight status, during ILI may be associated with better subsequent cognitive performance. These associations may differ by adiposity and CVD history.

Bounds and Constructions of Locally Repairable Codes: Parity-Check Matrix Approach

A locally repairable code (LRC) is a linear code such that every code symbol can be recovered by accessing a small number of other code symbols. In this paper, we study bounds and constructions of LRCs from the viewpoint of parity-check matrices. Firstly, a simple and unified framework based on parity-check matrix to analyze the bounds of LRCs is proposed, and several new explicit bounds on the minimum distance of LRCs in terms of the field size are presented. In particular, we give an alternate proof of the Singleton-like bound for LRCs first proved by Gopalan et al. Some structural properties on optimal LRCs that achieve the Singleton-like bound are given. Then, we focus on constructions of optimal LRCs over the binary field. It is proved that there are only five classes of possible parameters with which optimal binary LRCs exist. Moreover, by employing the proposed parity-check matrix approach, we completely enumerate all these five classes of optimal binary LRCs attaining the Singleton-like bound in the sense of equivalence of linear codes.

Physical Exercise and Fitness Level Are Related to Cognitive and Psychosocial Functioning in Adolescents.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationships among physical exercise and fitness with selective attention, concentration, processing speed, general self-efficacy, self-rated health, and satisfaction with life. 208 adolescents between 14 and 16 years, from the city of Malaga (Spain), participated in the study. A comparative and predictive design was used to carry out this research. The instruments used for the evaluation were the Tanita® BC-601 Body Composition Monitor, the Eurofit Physical Condition Test Battery, the D2 Test of Attention, the WISC-IV Symbol Search and Coding tests, the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE), the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). Analysis of variance (ANOVA), Kruskal–Wallis test, correlation analysis and linear regression were used to contrast the research objectives. The results indicated that adolescents who practiced more hours of physical exercise per week and were in better physical fitness achieved higher scores in selective attention, concentration, processing speed, general self-efficacy, self-rated health, and satisfaction with life. In addition, cardiorespiratory fitness was the physical fitness variable most closely related to and predictive of cognitive and psychosocial functioning. Cardiorespiratory fitness was predictor of all the variables analyzed, except the factor anxiety and insomnia (self-rated health), and life satisfaction that were predicted by horizontal jump measurements and fat mass, respectively. Thus, the study findings indicate that adolescents who practiced more weekly physical exercise and had a higher level of physical fitness scored better on the cognitive functioning and psychosocial tests evaluated. The data suggest that engaging in physical exercise and fitness in adolescence may be appropriate to improve health and well-being, contributing to better development at this stage.

Association Between the Duration of Untreated Psychosis and Selective Cognitive Performance in Community-Dwelling Individuals With Chronic Untreated Schizophrenia in Rural China

Cognitive deficits constitute core features of schizophrenia, but the trajectories of cognitive difficulties in chronic untreated schizophrenia remain unclear. To assess the association of neuropsychological deficits with duration of untreated psychosis in individuals with chronic untreated schizophrenia. Community-dwelling individuals with chronic untreated schizophrenia (untreated patient group) and individuals without mental illness (control group) were recruited from predominantly rural communities in Ningxia, China between June 20, 2016, and August 6, 2019, and administered the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, the Mini-Mental State Examination, an 8-test version of the MATRICS Consensus Cognition Battery adapted for use in individuals with low levels of education, and a measure of social cognition. Comparison of cognitive test scores between the two groups and association of cognitive test scores with duration of untreated schizophrenia. The patient group included 197 individuals with chronic untreated schizophrenia (101 men [51.3%]; mean [SD] age, 52.1 [11.8] years; median [interquartile range] years of schooling, 3 [0-6] years; median [interquartile range] years of untreated psychosis, 22.9 [14.9-32.8] years). The control group included 220 individuals (118 men [53.6%]; mean [SD] age, 52.1 [11.2] years; median [interquartile range] years of schooling, 4 [0-6] years). The untreated patient group performed significantly worse than the control group on all cognitive measures (adjusted partial Spearman correlation coefficient [Spearman ρ] ranged from -0.35 for the revised Chinese version of the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test to -0.60 for the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised; P < .001 for all comparisons). Longer durations of untreated psychosis were associated with lower performance in 3 MATRICS Consensus Cognition Battery measures assessing different aspects of executive functioning (Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised [ρ = -0.20; P = .04]; Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia, Symbol Coding subtest [ρ = -0.35; P < .001]; and Neuropsychological Assessment Battery, Mazes subtest [ρ = -0.24; P = .01]). The median duration of untreated psychosis (22.9 years) was associated with estimated score reductions in the 3 measures of 34% (95% CI, 10%-52%), 43% (95% CI, 28%-55%), and 57% (95% CI, 31%-73%), respectively. The findings of this study suggest that long-term untreated schizophrenia was associated with decreases in selective cognitive abilities; both neurodegenerative pathology and neurodevelopmental dysfunction may be factors in cognition in persistent psychosis. Expanding research to include cohorts of patients from underserved rural communities in low- and middle-income countries may provide new insights about the etiological factors, disease course, and management of schizophrenia.

Lapisan Budaya Keris Taming Sari dalam Hikayat Hang Tuah: Pendekatan Budaya dan Semiotik

The Keris is a short-bladed dagger considered to be the traditional weapon of the Malays. The dagger known as “keris Taming Sari” is the weapon of Hang Tuah in Hikayat Hang Tuah. This keris is not only a traditional Malay weapon but also a symbol of Malay culture. However, there have not been any systematic studies about the keris Taming Sari. Based on the cultural studies of Edgar H. Schein, Taming Sari can be seen as a cultural organization with a layered structure. Each cultural layer has a specific meaning. The first layer is the artifact layer and the second layer is the value layer; both of these are obvious or explicit. However, the third layer is hidden or unseen. For this, it is necessary to use Roland Barthes’s semiotics approach. Two codes have been selected, namely the symbolic code and the cultural code, to interpret the meanings within this third layer. This study finds that in the first layer, keris Taming Sari has a form that consists of the hilt, sheath and blade. In the second layer, the usage value is evident, as keris Taming Sari is a weapon and a gift. By using the symbolic code, this third layer of Taming Sari reveals magical and miraculous values, while the cultural code reveals that the third layer indicates two underlying beliefs: animism and feudalism. The three cultural layers together give keris Taming Sari its own identity as a cultural artifact in Malay culture

Cognitive performance of patients with opioid use disorder transitioned to extended-release injectable naltrexone from buprenorphine: Post hoc analysis of exploratory results of a phase 3 randomized controlled trial

BackgroundOpioid use disorder (OUD) is associated with cognitive dysfunction. Understanding how pharmacotherapy may affect cognition is an important treatment consideration. MethodsThis was a hybrid residential-outpatient, randomized trial assessing transition regimens (naltrexone/buprenorphine [NTX/BUP] vs placebo-NTX/buprenorphine [PBO-N]/BUP) to extended-release naltrexone (XR-NTX) in patients with OUD seeking BUP discontinuation. Cognition was assessed at baseline, Day 22 (XR-NTX Day 14), and Day 36 (XR-NTX Day 28) using a range of measures (Brief Assessment of Cognition Symbol Coding test, Controlled Oral Word Association Task, Wechsler Memory Scale-III Spatial Span test, Continuous Performance Test, and Test of Attentional Performance). Pre-specified exploratory analyses compared treatment groups. Post hoc analyses were treatment-arm–independent analyses overall and by baseline BUP dose (<8 mg/day [low-dose] or 8 mg/day [higher-dose]). ResultsBaseline cognitive measures were similar between NTX/BUP and PBO-N/BUP groups and between BUP low-dose and higher-dose groups. There were improvements in several cognitive outcomes at Day 22 and Day 36 relative to baseline for the overall population, but no differences between NTX/BUP and PBO-N/BUP treatment groups were observed. Participants entering the study on low-dose BUP showed improvements at Day 36 relative to baseline in 5 of 7 cognitive outcomes; participants entering the study on higher-dose BUP generally did not show improvements in cognitive outcomes. ConclusionsImprovements in most cognitive domains were associated with the transition from BUP to XR-NTX, particularly in participants entering the study on low-dose (<8 mg/day) BUP. These improvements may be due to the discontinuation of BUP, the treatment with XR-NTX, or both.

A Snare in the Narrative Structure: An Exploration of Hermeneutic Code in "The Kite Runner"

The present paper studies the novel The Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini through the lens of Barthe's narrative code theory. The paper primarily focuses on the Hermeneutic code works underlyingly to the narrative. The researchers in the present chapter analyze the mysterious and puzzling elements in the novel, which help in the formation of the text: the current study, the novel The Kite Runner through the Hermeneutic code of Barthes. Barthes gives the five codes theory in his book S/Z. The codes are Hermeneutic code, Proairetic code, Symbolic code, Cultural code and Semantic code. The Hermeneutic code is also termed as jamming, snare and delay or enigma code. The present study is important in the field of narratology because it minutely focusses on the one thread of the narrative to understand the role played by Hermeneutic code in the formation of the narrative structure.

Present Day Deviations of Thinking of the Internship Doctors

Within recent years, we have conducted a series of investigations on the diagnostics of mosaic thinking since presently, the process of substitution of the fragmented (mosaic) thinking for the medical judgment is progressively going on among the individuals getting the postgraduate medical education (Yekhalov, Yehorov, Pavlysh, &amp; Barannik, 2020). For the purpose of verbal estimate of the quality of thinking of the internship doctors, we have used a modified test of thinking and creativity, which was created by Bruner, an American psychologist. Over three years, an anonymous testing has been held in four peer groups of the 1st year internship doctors majoring in Anesthesiology, Stomatology and Neurology (exactly 100 respondents in each group). The test questionnaire was focused on the preference of the textual or pictorial information; on the character of the representation of information (i.e., as a text, as a visual imagery, or both these characters equally); on the using of the symbolic information coding; on the selection of a solution as for the representation of pictorial information; on the interrelation between the actions themselves and the discussing of such actions; on the extent and rate of the information handling; on the way-finding in a non-homogenous informational space; on the fatigue level, and so on.

BUDAYA BANJAR DALAM KITAB PUISI BALAHINDANG SAKUMPUL SAPALIMBAYAN KARYA IBERAMSYAH BARBARY: PERSPEKTIF ANTROPOSEMIOTIK

The poem book of Balahindang Sakumpul Sapalimbayan by Iberamsyah Barbary contains local cultural elements of the Banjar community in South Borneo; that reflects the daily life of the Banjar people as a character and identity in the poetic form that different from other ethnic groups. The objectives of this study are to describe the language, the livelihood system, the system of living equipment and technology, the religious system, the social organization system in the poetry book, the semiotic code in the Balahindang Sakumpul Sapalimbayan poem by Iberamsyah Barbary. This research uses an anthroposemiotic approach. The type of research is library research It applies a descriptive analysis method. The researcher takes the data source from the Book of Poetry Balahindang Sakumpul Sapalimbayan by Iberamsyah Barbary published by the Yayasan Kamar Sastra in 2014. The data collection applies text observation and documentation techniques. The data analysis technique of this research is descriptive. The results of this study are as follows: (1) It uses the Banjar Pahuluan language with denotation and the domination of vocal sound vowels such as a, i, and u. (2) the livelihood of Banjar people are farming and trading, (3) the living equipment systems that the Banjar people use are as follows: Ironwood logging, jukung, gumba, house, kindai, bungkalang, and lanting. (4) The religious system of Banjar people comprises tapung tawar, hakikat, makrifat, sharia, faith, and tauhid. (5) system of a social organization described is wife and king and (6) The use of semiotic codes includes the puzzle code, symbolic code, connotative code, and cultural code.

Distinct strategies for estimating the temporal average of numerical and perceptual information

Humans can estimate global trends in dynamic information presented either as perceptual features or as symbolic codes such as numbers. Previous studies on temporal statistics estimation have shown that observers judge the temporal average of visual attributes according to information from the last few frames of the presentation sequence (in what is referred to as the recency effect). Here, we investigated how humans estimate the temporal average of number vs. orientation using identical stimuli for the two tasks. In Experiment 1, a randomly-selected single-digit number was serially presented at orientations randomly varying over time. In Experiment 2, a texture comprising a random number of Gabor elements was shown at orientations randomly varying over time. In both experiments, observers judged the temporal averages of the numerical values and orientations in separate blocks. Results showed that observers judging the temporal average of orientation relied upon information from later frames as predicted by a typical model of perceptual decision making. By contrast, for the judgement of numerical values, we found that the impacts of each temporal frame were constant or varied little across temporal frames regardless of whether the numerical information was given as digits or by the number of texture elements. The results are interpreted as evidence that distinct computational strategies may be involved in estimating the temporal averages of perceptual features and numerical information.

Five Codes of Barthes: A Post-structuralist Analysis of the novel The Colour of Our Sky by Amita Trasi

Barthes’s five-code theory puts forward the idea of the reader as a producer of the text rather than its consumer. This typology of the codes, which constitutes plurality of the text, offers different meanings beyond the boundaries and limitations of the particular time and place. Thus, Barthes’ theoretical contribution is credited for rescuing the reading of fiction under the pressures of a local cultural to a more global orientation. Acknowledging the ‘rewriting’ of the text by readers, this paper adopts Barthes’ theory that includes proairetic, cultural, hermeneutic, semantic and symbolic codes, as an analytic method to examine the text The Colour of Our Sky written by Amita Trasi (2017) for the identification of what lies beyond the text, a network of collective socio-cultural norms that invokes complex modulations of meanings informed by the relations of discourse, power and subjectivity in different historical periods and in certain social and geographical spaces.

Synergy between the solution based on the Transversal Method Of Lines and the Leveque solution in the platform of the Graetz/Nusselt problem

The aim of the present study is to generate an approximate, semi–analytical solution of the Graetz/Nusselt problem for the demanding upstream sub-region of the tube employing the Transversal Method Of Lines (TMOL). In the heat convection literature, the approximate, semi–analytical solution of the Graetz/Nusselt problem in the upstream sub-region of the tube that is available refers to the traditional physics-based Lévêque problem that possesses certain idealizations. TMOL is a mathematics-based transformation that discretizes the partial derivative in the axial direction of the two–dimensional energy equation in cylindrical coordinates, while leaving the partial derivatives in the radial direction continuous. As a consequence, the TMOL procedure provides an adjoint one–dimensional energy equation in the radial variable linked to a transversal line placed in the cross-section of the tube. The resulting ordinary differential equation of second order with variable coefficients and inhomogeneous is named the confluent hypergeometric differential equation. This equation can be readily solved in exact, analytical form with a symbolic algebra code in terms of the Kummer function of first kind. This gives way to the approximate, analytical temperature profile in the upstream sub-region of the tube near the entrance. From here, the obtained approximate, analytical mean-bulk temperature profile based on TMOL gently overestimates the exact, analytical Graetz mean-bulk temperature profile, whereas the traditional approximate, analytical mean-bulk temperature profile rendered by Lévêque gently underestimates the exact, analytical Graetz mean-bulk temperature profile. Overall, the two dissimilar methodologies share reasonable quality levels in the specific upstream sub-region of the tube, X ≤ 0.01.