Term Retention Research Articles

PREPARATION OF PICKLED PRODUCT FROM ANCHOVIES(STOLEPHORUS SP.)AND STUDIES ON QUALITY CHANGES DURING STORAGE

ABSTRACT In the present study, low cost anchovy pickled product has been developed using traditional technology application of different inhibitory factors to achieve a reasonable shelf life at ambient tropical temperature. Microbial safety, nutrient retention and product quality in terms of flavor and texture after rehydration have been tested. This product has been subjected to storage studies, with respect to product quality and microbial status. It can be kept well for a period of 15 weeks. The quality changes during storage are decreased in sensory scores for the overall acceptance and also for the individual attributes. Increase in nitrogenous components such as total volatile bases nitrogen, trimethylamine nitrogen and alpha amino nitrogen was obtained with the advancement of the storage period. The lipid quality of the fish showed gradual increase in preoxide value and free fatty acid accompanied by decrease in flavor and odor scores. Activity of microorganisms showed a marginal increase with increase in storage period. It is ready-to-eat product or can be lightly fried along with spices. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Anchovies are one of the important pelagic fish species found in the Indian Ocean, which can grow up to 20 cm (8 in), and prefer the warmer waters around the world. The limiting factors in the effective utilization of anchovies are their small size, seasonal nature of the fishery forming gluts, sensitive to physical, time and temperature changes. Anchovies are rich in omega-3 oils, calcium and iron. They can be cooked fresh, usually sold packed in salt, tinned in oil, as a paste in jars or tubes, or as a sauce. Anchovy pickled products have been developed using application of different inhibitory factors to achieve a reasonable shelf life at ambient tropical temperature. Microbial safety, nutrient retention and product quality in terms of flavor and texture after rehydration have been tested. This product has been subjected to storage studies, with respect to product quality and microbial status. It can be kept well for a period of 15 weeks. Activity of microorganisms showed a marginal increase with increase in storage period. It is a ready-to-eat product or can be lightly fried along with spices. This product is helpful in value addition and better utilization of anchovy catch.

Effect of Material Organization on Memory in an Incidental Learning Task Performed under Repeated Maintenance

The present paper investigates the effect of organizational variables on long term retention of material recycled under maintenance rehearsal. Subjects repeated a series of words as a distracting task, expecting to be tested on the recall of numbers (GLENBERG & ADAMS, 1978). An unexpected test on the recall of words showed the superiority of the recall of organized words, and a significant interaction of organization by time spent in repetition of the distractor material. The present experiment, because of the requirement of written, and not oral, repetition of the distractor material, is a more stringent test of the postulated consequences of type I rehearsal according to leve1 of processing theory. The usefulness of the clear-cut distinction between type I and type II processing is put into question.

Creating Long Term Connections with Nature

The field of interpretation has a difficult challenge in attempting to develop connections between its constituents and the environment. One of the major hurdles is the episodic nature of this medium and the ability to evaluate these brief encounters in relation to everyday influences. However, one area that can be assessed is the long term retention of an interpretive program that attempts to promote relationships with nature and people. This article outlines a model of learning related to long term memory and variables that can enhance recall of episodic events. Studies that have shown support for the model are reviewed and particular experiences or strategies that seem to promote environmental awareness and stewardship are discussed.

Family intervention for co-occurring substance use and severe psychiatric disorders: Participant characteristics and correlates of initial engagement and more extended exposure in a randomized controlled trial

Clients with severe mental illness and substance use disorder (i.e., dual disorders) frequently have contact with family members, who may provide valuable emotional and material support, but have limited skills and knowledge to promote recovery. Furthermore, high levels of family conflict and stress are related to higher rates of relapse. The present study was a two-site randomized controlled trial comparing a comprehensive, behaviorally-based family intervention for dual disorders program (FIDD) to a shorter-term family psychoeducational program (FPE). The modal family was a single male son in his early 30s diagnosed with both alcohol and drug problems and a schizophrenia-spectrum disorder participating with his middle-aged mother, with whom he lived. Initial engagement rates following consent to participate in the study and the family intervention programs were moderately high for both programs (88% and 84%, respectively), but rates of longer term retention and exposure to the core elements of each treatment model were lower (61% and 55%, respectively). Characteristics of the relatives were the strongest predictors of successful initial engagement in the family programs with the most important predictor being relatives who reported higher levels of benefit related to the relationship with the client. Subsequent successful exposure to the family treatment models was more strongly associated with client factors, including less severity of drug abuse and male client gender. The results suggest that attention to issues of motivating relatives to participate in family intervention, and more focused efforts to address the disruptive effects of drug abuse on the family could improve rates of engagement and retention in family programs for dual disorders.

The effectiveness of real time ultrasound as a biofeedback tool for muscle retraining

Background: Real time ultrasound (RTUS) is being used by physiotherapists as a tool for enhancing biofeedback.Aim: The aim of this systematic review was to summarise and evaluate the available literature on the effectiveness of RTUS as a biofeedback tool for muscle retraining.Method: A systematic review of the literature was performed to identify primary research examining the effect of RTUS muscle retraining. Studies were ranked according to the National Health and Medical Research Council hierarchy of evidence. The methodological quality of the randomised controlled trials was systematically assessed using the PEDro rating scale while a modified tool for case series studies was used.Results: Three RCTs, one case series and one case study were included. The methodological quality of the five studies was average to good, ranging from 55 to 82%. The studies used abdominal, multifidus and pelvic floor muscles to demonstrate the effects of RTUS biofeedback. The results varied depending on the purpose of the tool and the muscles re-trained. The effectiveness of RTUS as a teaching tool is moderate for multifidus, modest for abdominal muscles and weak for pelvic floor muscles. There was a paucity of available literature on the long term retention of muscle control following use of RTUS as a biofeedback tool.Conclusion: While research in this field is limited in quantity at the current time, the results warrant further investigation. However, future researchers must make an effort to ensure that their study design is of the highest quality and also demonstrate the long term effects of using RTUS to enhance muscle retraining.

A novel paradigm, the allothetic place avoidance alternation task (APAAT), for testing spatial working memory in rat models

Event Abstract Back to Event A novel paradigm, the allothetic place avoidance alternation task (APAAT), for testing spatial working memory in rat models Colleen Dockery1*, Iwona Adamska2, Pawel Popowski2 and Malgorzata Wesierska2 1 University of Tuebingen, Institute of Medical Psychology & Behavioral Neurobiology, Germany 2 Polish Academy of Sciences, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Poland This study was designed to investigate a new paradigm for working memory using a task known as the Place Avoidance Test (PAT). The PAT is a useful tool to test long-term memory, cognitive coordination, cognitive flexibility and motor performance in normal and lesioned rats [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. The Allothetic Place Avoidance Alternation Task (APAAT), a variant of the PAT, is a delayed-response avoidance task to test working memory, skill learning and long term retention. In the APAAT, an unmarked 45 ° sector of the arena comprises a shock-zone which is stable relative to distal landmarks. Slow rotation of the arena forces the rat to move in order to avoid the shock sector. The aim of APAAT use is to further our understanding of how hippocampal-prefrontal circuitry regulates behavior and represents internally sustained information, thereby subserving working memory, planning, time integration and decision-making. A given session includes habituation (5 min), training (10-15 min), a delay interval (5 min) and a retention test trial (5 min). This task involves a wide range of dependent variables and successful learning is evidenced by a decreased number of entrances into the shock sector and a long maximal avoidance time during the training and transferred to the test trial. We found that learning occurred over the three consecutive sessions and was maintained in the follow-up session despite spatial alternation of the shock sector to a novel place on arena. The impact of this new paradigm is that the design provides highly sensitive measures which allow for disassociation between cognitive, learning, sensorimotor, olfactory or motivational states under pharmacological, lesion and stimulation interventions.

Déficit de memoria en pacientes con deterioro cognitivo vascular subcortical frente a demencia tipo Alzheimer: sensibilidad del subtest ‘lista de palabras’ de la escala de memoria de Wechsler-III

Memory deficits are frequent in mild subcortical vascular pathology and in the early stage of Alzheimer's disease.To study the memory deficits in patients with subcortical vascular cognitive impairment (SVCI) vs. mild stage Alzheimer's disease patients (AD), using the Weschler Memory Scale-III (WMS-III) word lists test, to examine the adequacy of this test to show the different memory patterns in this population, that could contribute to early differential diagnosis.Three groups of patients were compared: AD (n = 25), SVCI-leukoaraiosis (n = 17) and SVCI-multi infarct (n = 16). The three groups did not differ in age, education or severity of illness.Patients with SVCI showed a memory impairment in free recall with an improvement in their performance on the recognition task. The AD group, however, showed low scores in free recall as in recognition tasks, with a major number of false positive errors. Significant differences were also found between the SVCI-leukoaraiosis and SVCI-multi infarct groups, with the latter showing the best performance in long term retention and a minor trend to respond with false positive errors.The WMS-III word lists test is a good instrument to differentiate the memory profile between SVCI and AD, with the recognition task being the most discriminative one. The worst impairment in leukoaraiosis patients in comparison to the multi infarct group, suggests that white matter diffuse lesion could affect more directly the recall processes mediatised by the frontal lobe.

Determination of Retention of Students Knowledge and the Effect of Conceptual Understanding

ABSTRACTIn our study it was aimed to investigate secondary school students' understandings of some concepts about the unit of “Basic Components of Living Things” in biology, the relationship between their conceptual understanding and usable longer term retention of their knowledge, and the effect of misconceptions held by students over longer term retention of their knowledge. The results of achievement test itself imply that without any effort the longer term retention of students' knowledge fade away over time.The second stage of our study implicates that there is negative relationship between the success level and misconceptions students held. In other words, as the success descending, students hold more misconceptions. Another conclusion we can reach from the results obtained from open-ended conceptual understanding test and interview results that students who had more misconceptions, reflected lower maintenance of their prior knowledge related to topic.

The Immigration Triangle: Quebec, Canada, and the Rest of the World

As with many other immigrant destination areas, Quebec has experienced difficulty in retaining its original set of newcomers. This paper addresses the issue of retention in terms of a brain circulation model, under which immigrants enter a niche area (Quebec) and receive more subsidized human capital benefits in the form of education, language training, and skill certification than in any other province in Canada. The results suggest that a triangular migration model explains the internal migration decision for both the foreign-born and Canadian-born populations in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada.

Is Video-Assisted Teaching Better in Long-Term Retention of Learning

Purpose: To analyze the results of lecture-room teaching compared to Video-assisted teaching in Hernia Surgery in terms of long term retention of knowledge and Staffing issues. Methods: Inguinal hernia surgery was taught to a batch of 25-medical students posted in surgery as traditional lecture teaching and this lecture was video-recorded. The students were assessed at the end of the lecture on inguinal hernia by 10 multiple choice questions. This group was again assessed at 3 months and 6-months by multiple choice questions. The next batch of 25 medical students were shown the previously recorded video of the lecture and their queries were answered after the end of the video lecture. The video lecture was edited slightly to give time for queries with in one hour of teaching time. This group was similarily reassessed. Results: There was no significant difference in correct response score at day 1, 94%-lecture-room-teaching v/s 97%-Video-assisted-teaching but at 3-months the correct response score was 56%-lecture-room-teaching v/s 78%-Video-assisted-teaching and at 6-months the correct response score was 44%-lecture-room-teaching v/s 73%-Video-assisted-teaching. The Staff input was reduced by 66% (2 staff hours-lecture-room-teaching v/s 6 staff hours-Video-assisted-teaching). Conclusion: Video-assisted teaching minimizes staff input, maximizes knowledge dispersion and helps in long term retention of learning.

Effect of temperature and phytoplankton concentration of Partitioned Aquaculture System water on freshwater mussel filtration

AbstractThe freshwater mussel Elliptio complanata wasprovided green algal-dominated water from a Parti-tioned Aquaculture System (PAS) over a range ofwater temperatures (6.1^32.41C) and suspendedparticulate organic carbon (POC) concentrations(o1^32.2mgCL 1 ) to determine ¢ltration rates asmgPOCkg 1 wet tissue weighth . The lowest ¢l-tration rates were observed at lowest temperaturesand POC concentrations while thehighest rates wereat intermediate temperatures and the highest POClevels. The predicted ¢ltration rate (PFR) in responseto water temperature and POC concentrations wasas follows: lnPFR51.4352 10.1192 POC 10.1399T 0.0001 T 3 . Within the experimental conditions,PFRs at any POC concentration increased withincreased water temperature to a peak at 221Candthen decreased. The maximum PFR occurredat 22 1Cand32mgCL 1 and the minimum PFRat 7 1Cand1mgCL 1 . A model to describe themussel ¢ltration rate responses to PAS waterconditions involves both water temperature and POCconcentration.Keywords: ¢ltration rate, freshwater mussel, PAS,culturesystemIntroductionA Partitioned Aquaculture System (PAS) separates aculture pond into four distinct components (paddle-wheels, algal basin, ¢lter-feeder area and culturespeciesarea)linkedbyahomogeneouswatervelocity¢eld (Brune, Schwartz, Eversole, Collier & Schwedler2004). Paddlewheels provide watercurrent, nutrientmixing,uniformsunlightexposuretophytoplanktonandcontinuous£owoverthealgalbasin,¢lterfeederand cultured species areas. Phytoplankton inthe al-galbasin(95%ofthePASarea)useinorganic¢shme-tabolic wastes (nutrients) to sustain high primaryproductivity levels. Feeding rates and ¢sh carryingcapacityof thePASisaboutthreeto ¢vetimesthatofconventional cat¢sh culture ponds because of sus-tained high phytoplanktonproductivity (Brune etal.2004).Filter-feedingorganisms,byharvestingphyto-plankton, reduce cell age and stabilize a standingcrop of faster-growing phytoplankton cells at re-duced respiration rates and increased oxygen pro-ductionper watervolume(Bruneetal.2004).Someofthetermsusedinliteraturetoexpress¢ltra-tion activity of suspension feeders include clearancerate, pumping rate, ¢ltration rate, ingestion rate, up-take rate, and retention rate (see, e.g. Foster-Smith1975; Walz 1978, Winter 1978; Riisgrd 2001a). Theterm ¢ltration rate inthis studyand inthis paper re-fers strictly to the amount of suspended phytoplank-ton(seston)removedfromthewatercolumnperunittimeandincludesboththose¢lteredparticlesconso-lidated in pseudofaeces and those consumed, and isidentical to the terms uptake rate and retention rateof Foster-Smith (1975) andWalz (1978).The role of a¢lterfeederinstabilizingalgalstandingcropbiomassin PAS water is more appropriately estimated usingthis de¢nition of ¢ltration rate than measures esti-matingtheamountofwater¢lteredoringestionrate.

A development environment for distributed synchronous collaborative programming

While collaborative approaches in the classroom have been shown to be highly beneficial for students of computer science, obstacles inherent in today's academic environment often prevent collocated collaborative approaches from being implemented. One solution to the collocation problem may lie with tools that facilitate distributed collaboration. This paper presents R IPPLE (Remote Interactive Pair Programming and Learning Environment), a development environment for distributed synchronous collaborative programming. R IPPLE is an open source software tool. Initial user tests demonstrate positive responses from students, and the potential for long term learning, motivation, and retention benefits is significant. In addition to its benefits for students, R IPPLE is a tool for computing education researchers who wish to collect data on collaborative programming.

Long term charge retention dynamics of SONOS cells

We present a model for charge retention dynamics in SONOS non volatile memory cells which accounts for the space and energy distributions of the trapped charge in the silicon nitride, self consistently with the potential. Long term retention measurements (beyond 106s) versus temperature allowed us to decouple two charge loss mechanisms, to calibrate the model parameters and then to reproduce a large set of measurements on devices featuring different gate stacks, initial threshold voltages (including negative ones) and operation temperatures. A detailed analysis has been also carried out to compare the retention dynamics of cells featuring thin or thick tunnel oxide barriers.

What Happens to Patients on Antiretroviral Therapy Who Transfer Out to Another Facility?

BackgroundLong term retention of patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Africa's rapidly expanding programmes is said to be 60% at 2 years. Many reports from African ART programmes make little mention of patients who are transferred out to another facility, yet Malawi's national figures show a transfer out of 9%. There is no published information about what happens to patients who transfer-out, but this is important because if they transfer-in and stay alive in these other facilities then national retention figures will be better than previously reported.Methodology/Principal FindingsOf all patients started on ART over a three year period in Mzuzu Central Hospital, North Region, Malawi, those who transferred out were identified from the ART register and master cards. Clinic staff attempted to trace these patients to determine whether they had transferred in to a new ART facility and their outcome status. There were 805 patients (19% of the total cohort) who transferred out, of whom 737 (92%) were traced as having transferred in to a new ART facility, with a median time of 1.3 months between transferring-out and transferring-in. Survival probability was superior and deaths were lower in the transfer-out patients compared with those who did not transfer.Conclusion/SignificanceIn Mzuzu Central Hospital, patients who transfer-out constitute a large proportion of patients not retained on ART at their original clinic of registration. Good documentation of transfer-outs and transfer-ins are needed to keep track of national outcomes. Furthermore, the current practice of regarding transfer-outs as being double counted in national cohorts and subtracting this number from the total national registrations to get the number of new patients started on ART is correct.

A Nonvolatile Refresh Scheme Adopted 1T-FeRAM for Alternative 1T-DRAM

1T1C DRAM has been facing technological and physical constraints that make more difficult their further scaling. Thus there are much industrial interests for alternative technologies that exploit new devices and concepts to go beyond the 1T1C DRAM technology, to allow better scaling, and to enlarge the memory performance. The technologies of DRAM cell are changing from 1T1C cell type to capacitor-less 1T-gain cell type for more scalable cell size. But floating body cell (FBC) of 1T-gain DRAM has weak retention properties than 1T1C DRAM. FET-type 1T-FeRAM is not adequate for long term nonvolatile applications, but could be a good alternative for the short term retention applications of DRAM. The proposed nonvolatile refresh scheme is based on utilizing the short nonvolatile retention properties of 1T-FeRAM in both after power-off and power-on operation condition.

Effects of iron oxide incorporation for long term cell tracking on MSC differentiation in vitro and in vivo

Successful cell therapy will depend on the ability to monitor transplanted cells. With cell labeling, it is important to demonstrate efficient long term labeling without deleterious effects on cell phenotype and differentiation capacity. We demonstrate long term (7 weeks) retention of superparamagnetic iron oxide particles (SPIO) by mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in vivo, detectable by MRI. In vitro, multilineage differentiation (osteogenic, chondrogenic and adipogenic) was demonstrated by histological evaluation and molecular analysis in SPIO labeled and unlabeled cells. Gene expression levels were comaparable to unlabeled controls in adipogenic and chondrogenic conditions however not in the osteogenic condition. MSCs seeded into a scaffold for 21 days and implanted subcutaneously into nude mice for 4 weeks, showed profoundly altered phenotypes in SPIO labeled samples compared to implanted unlabeled control scaffolds, indicating chondrogenic differentiation. This study demonstrates long term MSC traceability using SPIO and MRI, uninhibited multilineage MSC differentiation following SPIO labeling, though with subtle but significant phenotypical alterations.

Deficits in Verbal Long-Term Memory and Learning in Children with Poor Phonological Short-Term Memory Skills

Possible links between phonological short-term memory and both longer term memory and learning in 8-year-old children were investigated in this study. Performance on a range of tests of long-term memory and learning was compared for a group of 16 children with poor phonological short-term memory skills and a comparison group of children of the same age with matched nonverbal reasoning abilities but memory scores in the average range. The low-phonological-memory group were impaired on longer term memory and learning tasks that taxed memory for arbitrary verbal material such as names and nonwords. However, the two groups performed at comparable levels on tasks requiring the retention of visuo-spatial information and of meaningful material and at carrying out prospective memory tasks in which the children were asked to carry out actions at a future point in time. The results are consistent with the view that poor short-term memory function impairs the longer-term retention and ease of learning of novel verbal material.

Improved break-in-slope analysis of the plasma energy response in tokamaks

The break-in-slope method is a simple—although powerful—data analysis technique that is commonly used to determine the power absorption profiles of the plasma species during auxiliary heating experiments in tokamaks. It is based on the study of the energy response of the particles to sudden changes in the external power applied to the plasma. Even though some experimental conditions are favorable for the straightforward application of the break-in-slope analysis in its most simple form (linear fit of the experimental temperature signals), most situations require the retention of additional terms in the linearized energy conservation equation for a successful use of this technique. In this paper, important corrections necessary to extend the applicability of the traditional break-in-slope technique will be presented: (i) the numerical determination of the break-in-slope instants in the plasma energy response allowing the study of indirect (collisional) heating scenarios; (ii) the inclusion of the density variations due to the external power step based on fast density measurements; (iii) the exponential representation of the plasma energy evolution after the power break, describing the saturation of the experimental signals in slow modulation or single power step experiments; (iv) a first assessment of the influence of the change in the radiated power on the break-in-slope results. As will be shown, these corrections are particularly important in low absorption scenarios and in single power step studies, where the change in the external power cannot be considered ‘non-perturbative’ and the standard break-in-slope analysis usually leads to integrated power levels well below the actual power injected into the plasma.

Left posterior hippocampal density reduction using VBM and stereological MRI procedures in schizophrenia

Structural deficits in the hippocampus have been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. However the role played by structural impairments in the hippocampus in the memory deficits of schizophrenic patients remains unclear. Magnetic resonance imaging was used in this study to investigate left, right, anterior and posterior hippocampal volume and density in 28 schizophrenic patients and 33 normal controls. Voxel-based morphometry analysis showed that schizophrenics had significantly lower density in the right and posterior hippocampus than controls. MRI stereological analysis revealed significant differences in left posterior hippocampus than controls. MRI stereological analysis revealed significant differences in anterior and posterior on both sides, with the left posterior region predominating. Schizophrenics showed significant impairments in verbal learning and long term retention ( P < 0.001). The correlation analyses between hippocampal density and memory variables yielded a significant correlation between forgetting and density of the anterior hippocampus. These findings support the hypothesis of a regional atrophy within the hippocampus in schizophrenic patients.

Distribution of BDE-99 and effects on metamorphosis of BDE-99 and -47 after oral exposure in Xenopus tropicalis

The high concentrations of polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs) in the environment have raised the need for generating more information about the impact of these substances on animals. To study the distribution of 14C-labelled 2,2′,4,4′,5-pentabromodiphenyl ether ( 14C-BDE-99) in Xenopus tropicalis (West African clawed frog) 14C-BDE-99 was administered by dietary exposure to tadpoles at stage 54 or to juvenile frogs at stage 66. Whole-body autoradiography and liquid scintillation counting were used to examine the distribution of the substance at different survival times. Further, X. tropicalis tadpoles were dietarily exposed to the PBDE congeners BDE-47 and BDE-99 to study the effects on metamorphosis process. Measurements like body weight, body length, hind limb length and developmental stage as well as histological measurements on thyroid glands were performed after 14 days of exposure. Autoradiograms revealed high concentrations and long term retention of 14C-BDE-99 in adipose tissue and melanin in frogs exposed both as tadpoles and juveniles. Further, a difference in uptake was recorded between the exposures at stages 54 and 66, implying that the juvenile frogs have higher uptake and more prolonged retention of the chemical than the tadpoles. Hind limb length was reduced in tadpoles dietarily exposed to 1 mg/g feed of both BDE congeners. This was associated with reduced body weight and body length for BDE-47, suggesting general toxicity. Tadpoles exposed to BDE-99 also showed lower developmental stage but no effects on body weight or body length, suggesting possible thyroid hormone disruption. Higher concentrations of both congeners caused increased mortality. Thus, it can be concluded that in the present study, BDE-99 was retained for a longer period in the juvenile frogs than in metamorphosing tadpoles and that BDE-99 had an impact on X. tropicalis metamorphosis that might be of thyroid disrupting origin.