Sense Research Articles

Precise tactile localization on the human fingernail.

Fingernails are specialized features of the primate hand, which are believed to contribute to manual dexterity. The sensorimotor functions of fingernails, however, remain poorly understood. This study investigates the ability of humans to precisely localize touches applied to the fingernail plate. Nine different locations on the fingernail were touched and participants judged the location by clicking a mouse cursor on a photograph of their finger. Performance in this condition was compared with stimuli applied to the skin of the fingertip. The results showed that participants are able to localize touch on the fingernails at substantially higher than chance levels. Moreover, the precision of this ability is not appreciably lower than that of the fingertips. These results show that the fingernail is a highly sensitive sensory organ, which is capable of providing rich spatial information about tactile stimuli.

SPECIFIC FEATURES OF PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS IN ENGLISH AND UZBEK

The relationship between man and the world is considered the main theme of epistemology. A person strives to know himself, as well as the world around him. He studies the world around him in fragments and perceives it mentally. The sense organs transmit certain information about the outside world to the brain. The brain summarizes and processes this information. A person has the ability to think in his mind, distinguishing between general and particular signs of things and events of the material world.

Propagating cortical waves coordinate sensory encoding and memory retrieval in the human brain.

Complex behavior entails a balance between taking in sensory information from the environment and utilizing previously learned internal information. Experiments in behaving mice have demonstrated that the brain continually alternates between outward and inward modes of cognition, switching its mode of operation every few seconds. Further, each state transition is marked by a stereotyped cascade of neuronal spiking that pervades most forebrain structures. Here we analyzed large fMRI datasets to demonstrate that a similar switching mechanism governs the operation of the human brain. We found that human brain activity was punctuated every several seconds by coherent, propagating waves emerging in the exteroceptive sensorimotor regions and terminating in the interoceptive default mode network. As in the mouse, the issuance of such events coincided with fluctuations in pupil size, indicating a tight relationship with arousal fluctuations, and this phenomenon occurred across behavioral states. Strikingly, concurrent measurement of human performance in a visual memory task indicated that each cycle of propagating fMRI waves sequentially promoted the encoding of semantic information and self-directed retrieval of memories. Together, these findings indicate that human cognitive performance is governed by autonomous switching between exteroceptive and interoceptive states. This apparently conserved feature of mammalian brain physiology bears directly on the integration of sensory and mnemonic information during everyday behavior.

Nutrient Signaling-Dependent Quaternary Structure Remodeling Drives the Catalytic Activation of metazoan PASK.

The Per-Arnt-Sim (PAS) domains are characterized by diverse sequences and feature tandemly arranged PAS and PAS-associated C-terminal (PAC) motifs that fold seamlessly to generate the metabolite-sensing PAS domain. Here, using evolutionary scale sequence, domain mapping, and deep learning-based protein structure analysis, we deconstructed the sequence-structure relationship to unearth a novel example of signal-regulated assembly of PAS and PAC subdomains in metazoan PAS domain-regulated kinase (PASK). By comparing protein sequence, domain architecture, and computational protein models between fish, bird, and mammalian PASK orthologs, we propose the existence of previously unrecognized third PAS domain of PASK (PAS-C) formed through long-range intramolecular interactions between the N-terminal PAS fold and the C-terminal PAC fold. We experimentally validated this novel structural design using residue-level cross-linking assays and showed that the PAS-C domain assembly is nutrient-responsive. Furthermore, by combining structural phylogeny approaches with residue-level cross-linking, we revealed that the PAS-C domain assembly links nutrient sensing with quaternary structure reorganization in PASK, stabilizing the kinase catalytic core of PASK. Thus, PAS-C domain assembly likely integrates environmental signals, thereby relaying sensory information for catalytic control of the PASK kinase domain. In conclusion, we theorize that during their horizontal transfer from bacteria to multicellular organisms, PAS domains gained the capacity to integrate environmental signals through dynamic modulation of PAS and PAC motif interaction, adding a new regulatory layer suited for multicellular systems. We propose that metazoan PAS domains are likely to be more dynamic in integrating sensory information than previously considered, and their structural assembly could be targeted by regulatory signals and exploited to develop therapeutic strategies.

In search of a common basis for the diversity of approaches to the study of reflection in psychology

The article attempts to find a basis for combining a large number of currently existing concepts of reflection in psychology. Today, there is an awareness of the importance of the role of reflection in our knowledge of the world around us, but there is no sufficiently clear definition that would most consistently express its essence and contribute to the unification of the entire variety of existing approaches to the study of reflection. The article suggests that this state of affairs is largely due to the long-standing philosophical tradition of contrasting the subjective reality of a person with the outside world. The influence of this philosophical tradition is also felt in attempts to scientifically describe reflection. It is traditionally understood as the ability to think about our thoughts and is contrasted with human sensations and perceptions. It is assumed that this approach can and should be questioned, since it contributes to the creation of a large number of disparate concepts. It can be concluded that there are no separate, independent processes of cognition of the external and internal worlds, but there is a single process of constructing our consciousness, in which reflection always participates.

An Innovative Approach to Assessing the Quality of Organoleptic Properties of Base Polymers in Orthopedic Dentistry

Modern technologies using an «electronic nose» imitating the human sense of smell open up new prospects for the objective assessment of the organoleptic properties of polymer materials. The purpose of the study was to compare the level of emissions of volatile organic compounds from modern base materials used in various technological processes for the manufacture of removable denture structures, as well as to assess the possible organoleptic properties of the finished dentures in comparison with known analogues using an «electronic nose» gas analyzer. For this purpose, samples were made from different polymer base materials in the amount of 26 pieces, which were studied using an “electronic nose” gas analyzer using the author’s method [Kuchmenko et al., 2023]. The study confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed improved technology in reducing the noise level of volatile organic compounds in samples made from the «Belakril-E GO» base material by 29 % compared to similar samples produced using standard technology. A reduction in the amount of volatile organic compounds that can cause unwanted odors confirms the higher purity and quality of the polymer and will contribute to a more comfortable adaptation of patients to removable dentures made from this polymer.

SCALE TO MEASURE THE PERCEPTION OF FARMERS AND RESEARCHERS ABOUT CROP CRISIS AND ITS MANAGEMENT IN CROPS

Perception is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information to represent and understand the presented information. Perception also includes how we respond to the information. Keeping this in view a standardized scale has been developed to measure the perception of crop crisis and its management. A 'Scale Product method' technique was chosen to construct the perception scale which is a combination of the Thurstone's technique of equal appearing interval scale and Likert's technique of summated rating for ascertaining the response on the scale. The process started with identifying the dimension, and collection of items followed by, relevancy and item analysis and checking the reliability and validity for precision and consistency of the results. A total of 113 statements were selected for judgment and sent to 180 judges with a request to analyse the relevancy of items on the five-point continuum, ranging from, most unfavourable to most favourable. Out of them, 70 schedules were kept for the analysis. Based on the scale S (median) and Q values, 18 statements were finally selected to measure the perception of crop crisis and its management. The developed scale was found to be reliable and valid.

Radiative squeezed flow of magnetized Prandtl-Eyring fluid over a sensor surface under Soret effect

The central aim of this numerical analysis is to describe the effects of magnetic body force and thermal radiation on the boundary layer flow of Prandtl-Eyring fluid over a sensor surface suspended between two parallel plates. The considered fluid flow is two-dimensional unsteady electrically conducting and viscous incompressible in nature. A novel Soret effect is included in the concentration equation to reveal the significant features of mass diffusion mechanism under the influence of external squeezing mechanism. Surface permeable velocity concept is also included in the boundary conditions to describe the suction/injection process. However, squeezing flows find their abundant applications in bio-medicine, medical and bio-technology areas. Particularly, the micro-cantilevers with physical or chemical sensor surfaces are effectively used in the bio-medical applications for the finding of various hazardous or bio-warfare agents’, infections, hazardous virus, nuclear reactor cooling, polymer processing, pharmaceutical, blood flow, injection molding and many more. Thus, inspired by these practical applications of squeezing flows, the present problem is modeled based on the investigated geometry. The present physical problem gives the highly nonlinear coupled unsteady two-dimensional partial differential equations and which are not amenable to any of the direct methods. Owing to this reason, the appropriate similarity transformations are used to diminish the dimensional complexity of the emerged partial differential equations (PDEs). Thus, a robust Runge-Kutta -4th order scheme (RK-4) is used as a basic tool to obtain the similar solutions of the governing equations. The graphical visualization is used to analyze the computer generated numerical data in the boundary layer regime for the different set of physical parameters. It is observed that, the enhancing magnetic number ( 0.1 ≤ M ≤ 2.7 ) in the flow region 0 ≤ η ≤ 3 increases the velocity field and decreases the temperature and concentration fields. Increasing squeezed flow index ( 0.1 ≤ b ≤ 2.5 ) in the flow domain 0 ≤ η ≤ 3 decreased the fluid velocity, temperature and concentration fields. This result may be useful in sensor surface cooling process. Rising Prandtl-Eyring fluid parameters in the range 0 ≤ η ≤ 3 decreased the velocity field and enhanced the temperature and concentration profiles. Increasing Soret number ( 0.1 ≤ Sr ≤ 0.9 ) in the flow domain 0 ≤ η ≤ 3 enhances the concentration field. Enhancing magnetic and squeezed flow numbers amplifies the skin-friction coefficient on the sensor surface. Enhancing radiation parameter increases the heat transport rate. Increasing Soret number magnifies the concentration transport rate. Finally, it is explored that, the current similar results displaying good agreement with the formerly published results in the literature and this fact confirms the accuracy and guarantee of the RK-4 method and present similar results.

Comparative Evaluation of the Sensory Qualities of Refined and Wholegrain Rice as Ingredients within Mixed Dishes.

Low wholegrain food consumption is a leading dietary risk for avoidable morbidity and mortality globally, with limited sensory acceptability suggested to be a challenge for changing behaviour. This study aimed to evaluate the sensory acceptability of both wholegrain (brown) and refined (white) rice in common preparations. Four brown- and white-rice-containing dishes (Garlic Rice, Rice and Beans, Jollof Rice, and Rice Pudding) were tested. Quantitative (five-point scales) and qualitative (open question responses) sensory information were collected for dish appearance, aroma, taste, and texture. All four characteristics were scored equally acceptable in Rice and Beans and Rice Pudding (p > 0.05) between paired comparisons for brown and white rice. Scores were significantly lower for all characteristics for Jollof Rice (p ≤ 0.002), and lower for Aroma (median (lower quartile-upper quartile)) for brown (3.5 (3-4)) vs. white rice (4 (4-5)), p = 0.006). Appearance (brown (3 (3-4)) vs. white rice (4 (3.25-5)), p = 0.012), and Texture (brown 3 (2.25-4) vs. white rice (4 (4-5)), p < 0.001) for Garlic Rice. Familiarity and appealingness were qualitative themes aligned with the higher acceptability of white-rice-containing dishes. Certain dishes appear to mask key negative sensory attributes of wholegrain foods, possibly representing a means to increase wholegrain ingredient acceptability, thereby potentially improving individual/population-level intake.

Can Professionals Resist Cognitive Bias Elicited by the Visual System? Reversed Semantic Prime Effect and Decision Making in the Workplace: Reaction Times and Accuracy.

Information that comes from the environment reaches the brain-and-body system via sensory inputs that can operate outside of conscious awareness and influence decision processes in different ways. Specifically, decision-making processes can be influenced by various forms of implicit bias derived from individual-related factors (e.g., individual differences in decision-making style) and/or stimulus-related information, such as visual input. However, the relationship between these subjective and objective factors of decision making has not been investigated previously in professionals with varying seniority. This study explored the relationship between decision-making style and cognitive bias resistance in professionals compared with a group of newcomers in organisations. A visual "picture-picture" semantic priming task was proposed to the participants. The task was based on primes and probes' category membership (animals vs. objects), and after an animal prime stimulus presentation, the probe can be either five objects (incongruent condition) or five objects and an animal (congruent condition). Behavioural (i.e., accuracy-ACC, and reaction times-RTs) and self-report data (through the General Decision-Making Scale administration) were collected. RTs represent an indirect measure of the workload and cognitive effort required by the task, as they represent the time it takes the nervous system to receive and integrate incoming sensory information, inducing the body to react. For both groups, the same level of ACC in both conditions and higher RTs in the incongruent condition were found. Interestingly, for the group of professionals, the GDMS-dependent decision-making style negatively correlates with ACC and positively correlates with RTs in the congruent condition. These findings suggest that, under the incongruent decision condition, the resistance to cognitive bias requires the same level of cognitive effort, regardless of seniority. However, with advancing seniority, in the group of professionals, it has been demonstrated that a dependent decision-making style is associated with lower resistance to cognitive bias, especially in conditions that require simpler decisions. Whether this result depends on age or work experience needs to be disentangled from future studies.

Frequency-Dependent Neural Modulation of Dorsal Horn Neurons by Kilohertz Spinal Cord Stimulation in Rats.

Kilohertz high-frequency spinal cord stimulation (kHF-SCS) is a rapidly advancing neuromodulatory technique in the clinical management of chronic pain. However, the precise cellular mechanisms underlying kHF-SCS-induced paresthesia-free pain relief, as well as the neural responses within spinal pain circuits, remain largely unexplored. In this study, using a novel preparation, we investigated the impact of varying kilohertz frequency SCS on dorsal horn neuron activation. Employing calcium imaging on isolated spinal cord slices, we found that extracellular electric fields at kilohertz frequencies (1, 3, 5, 8, and 10 kHz) induce distinct patterns of activation in dorsal horn neurons. Notably, as the frequency of extracellular electric fields increased, there was a clear and significant monotonic escalation in neuronal activity. This phenomenon was observed not only in superficial dorsal horn neurons, but also in those located deeper within the dorsal horn. Our study demonstrates the unique patterns of dorsal horn neuron activation in response to varying kilohertz frequencies of extracellular electric fields, and we contribute to a deeper understanding of how kHF-SCS induces paresthesia-free pain relief. Furthermore, our study highlights the potential for kHF-SCS to modulate sensory information processing within spinal pain circuits. These insights pave the way for future research aimed at optimizing kHF-SCS parameters and refining its therapeutic applications in the clinical management of chronic pain.

Rapid rebalancing of co-tuned ensemble activity in the auditory cortex.

Sensory information is represented by small neuronal ensembles in sensory cortices. Neuronal activity shows high trial-by-trial variability in that repeated presentation of the same stimulus, e. g., multiple presentations of the same sound activate differing ensembles in the auditory cortex (AC). How the differing ensembles interact to selectively activate to process incoming sound inputs with reduced energy is unknown. Efficient processing of complex acoustic signals requires that these sparsely distributed neuronal ensembles actively interact in order to provide a constant percept. Here, we probe interactions within and across ensembles by combining in vivo 2-photon Ca 2+ imaging and holographic optogenetic stimulation to study how increased activity of single cells level affects the cortical network. We stimulated a small number of neurons sharing the same frequency preference alongside the presentation of a target pure tone, further increasing their tone-evoked activity. We found that other non-stimulated co-tuned neurons decreased their tone-evoked activity while non co-tuned neurons were unaffected. This shows that co-tuned ensembles communicated and balanced their total activity across the network. The rebalanced activity due to external stimulation remained constant. These effects suggest that co-tuned ensembles in AC interact and rapidly rebalance their activity to maintain encoding homeostasis, and that the rebalanced network is persistent.

Errors in the visual perception of the victim

A particularly complex activity, listening to people is often the object of criticism that mainly concerns the precarious balance required to be maintained between the desire of the persons involved for a broad interpretation in the field of limits needed to be imposed to the professional approach of the investigation and the desire of professionals to be able to use as many means and procedures as possible to put pressure on the interviewed person, to break his/her will in order to obtain as much useful information as possible. Perception is a cognitive psychic process, which consists in reflecting objects and phenomena in the integrity of their qualities at the moment of action on the sense organs. It is rightly considered that perceptual activities are the basis of all behaviors, as without prior perception it will not be possible to learn, speak, memorize, communicate. Perception allows us to become aware of the environment and to interact with it or act on it. Errors of perception, as well as other types of errors admitted by the person, are recognized by the legislature as a basis for criminal liability, and are therefore attributable, since in this case, by exercising a greater dose of care and prudence, the perpetrator should and could have been aware that he was admitting an error. A special role in the process of forming the statements of the injured party is played by visual sensations, in that they provide an accurate and complete picture of the surrounding world. The individuality of the one who is heard, both in the actual listening and during possible reconstructions, confrontations, or presentations for recognition, is likely to generate deviations from objective truth. Preconceived ideas and points of view influenced by discussions with others change the range of elements that the listened person might remember about the deed. The danger of influencing those who testify in cases of sensation is particularly great. Even if there are several statements that coincide, the fact itself gives only a conditional guarantee about the trust that the investigator can have in them.

The visual cortex in the blind but not the auditory cortex in the deaf becomes multiple-demand regions.

The fate of deprived sensory cortices - visual regions in the blind and auditory regions in the deaf - exemplifies the extent to which experience can change brain regions. These regions are frequently seen to activate during tasks involving other sensory modalities, leading many accounts to infer that these regions have started processing sensory information of other modalities. However, such observations can also imply that these regions are now activating to any task event regardless of the sensory modality. Activating to task events, irrespective of the sensory modality involved, is a feature of the multiple-demands (MD) network. These are a common set of regions within the frontal and parietal cortices that activate in response to any kind of control demand. Thus, demands as diverse as attention, perceptual difficulty, rule-switching, updating working memory, inhibiting responses, decision-making, and difficult arithmetic - all activate these same set of regions that are thought to instantiate domain-general cognitive control and underpin fluid intelligence. We investigated if deprived sensory cortices, or foci within them, become part of the MD network. We tested if the same foci within the visual regions of the blind and auditory regions of the deaf activated to different control demands. We found that control demands related to updating auditory working memory, difficult tactile decisions, time-duration judgments, and sensorimotor-speed - all activated the entire bilateral occipital regions in the blind but not in the sighted. These occipital regions in the blind were the only regions outside the canonical fronto-parietal MD regions to show such activation to multiple control demands. Further, compared to the sighted, these occipital regions in the blind had higher functional connectivity with fronto-parietal MD regions. Early deaf, in contrast, did not activate their auditory regions to different control demands, showing that auditory regions do not become MD regions in the deaf. We suggest that visual regions in the blind do not take a new sensory role but become part of the MD network, and this is not a response of all deprived sensory cortices but a feature unique to the visual regions.

Towards knowledge-infused automated disease diagnosis assistant

With the advancement of internet communication and telemedicine, people are increasingly turning to the web for various healthcare activities. With an ever-increasing number of diseases and symptoms, diagnosing patients becomes challenging. In this work, we build a diagnosis assistant to assist doctors, which identifies diseases based on patient–doctor interaction. During diagnosis, doctors utilize both symptomatology knowledge and diagnostic experience to identify diseases accurately and efficiently. Inspired by this, we investigate the role of medical knowledge in disease diagnosis through doctor–patient interaction. We propose a two-channel, knowledge-infused, discourse-aware disease diagnosis model (KI-DDI), where the first channel encodes patient–doctor communication using a transformer-based encoder, while the other creates an embedding of symptom-disease using a graph attention network (GAT). In the next stage, the conversation and knowledge graph embeddings are infused together and fed to a deep neural network for disease identification. Furthermore, we first develop an empathetic conversational medical corpus comprising conversations between patients and doctors, annotated with intent and symptoms information. The proposed model demonstrates a significant improvement over the existing state-of-the-art models, establishing the crucial roles of (a) a doctor’s effort for additional symptom extraction (in addition to patient self-report) and (b) infusing medical knowledge in identifying diseases effectively. Many times, patients also show their medical conditions, which acts as crucial evidence in diagnosis. Therefore, integrating visual sensory information would represent an effective avenue for enhancing the capabilities of diagnostic assistants.

Optical Devices for the Diagnosis and Management of Spinal Cord Injuries: A Review.

Throughout the central nervous system, the spinal cord plays a very important role, namely, transmitting sensory and motor information inwardly so that it can be processed by the brain. There are many different ways this structure can be damaged, such as through traumatic injury or surgery, such as scoliosis correction, for instance. Consequently, damage may be caused to the nervous system as a result of this. There is no doubt that optical devices such as microscopes and cameras can have a significant impact on research, diagnosis, and treatment planning for patients with spinal cord injuries (SCIs). Additionally, these technologies contribute a great deal to our understanding of these injuries, and they are also essential in enhancing the quality of life of individuals with spinal cord injuries. Through increasingly powerful, accurate, and minimally invasive technologies that have been developed over the last decade or so, several new optical devices have been introduced that are capable of improving the accuracy of SCI diagnosis and treatment and promoting a better quality of life after surgery. We aim in this paper to present a timely overview of the various research fields that have been conducted on optical devices that can be used to diagnose spinal cord injuries as well as to manage the associated health complications that affected individuals may experience.

Preliminary Evaluation of a Questionnaire to Measure Program-Level Sense of Belonging Among Student Physical Therapists.

A greater sense of belonging has been found to correspond with better academic performance/motivation, retention, and general mental well-being among college students. As a result, it is important to be able to meaningfully assess student physical therapists' sense of belonging. While there are questionnaires available to assess sense of belonging at the university level, it is also important to be able to assess students' sense of belonging in a narrower context, such as within their program of study. The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a program-specific tool, referred to as the Program Sense of Belonging (ProSB) questionnaire, that could be used to assess sense of belonging among student physical therapists. As part of this study, we examined the internal structure of the ProSB questionnaire items and assessed internal consistency. One hundred twenty-four student physical therapists from 2 different physical therapist education programs completed the ProSB questionnaire. We conducted an exploratory factor analysis to examine the internal structure of the ProSB questionnaire and examined Cronbach's alpha to assess the internal consistency of the items associated with each retained factor. For the final 10-item version of the ProSB questionnaire, 2 factors were retained, which explained 57.5% of the variance (factor 1 = 30.9%, factor 2 = 26.6%). The 5 items that loaded on factor 1 were related to "social acceptance," while the 5 items that loaded on factor 2 were related to "valued competence." Both subscales exhibited acceptable levels of internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha ≥0.84). The ProSB questionnaire appears to capture different dimensions of student physical therapists' sense of belonging (social acceptance, valued competence) at the program level. Based on our preliminary findings, the ProSB questionnaire appears to be a valid tool for assessing program-level sense of belonging among student physical therapists.

First Record of the Hammer-Headed Worm (Bipalium spp) along with Checklist of Invertebrate Fauna from Patna, Bihar, India

There are records of hammerhead flatworms from many parts of India, but no information from Bihar. The hammer-headed worm was first recorded in the campus of Patna Science College in August 2022. Hammer-headed worms (Bipalium spp.) are known for their unique appearance and behavior, which make them fascinating to researchers and nature enthusiasts alike. These worms have a distinct hammer-shaped head, which contains two eyes and sensory organs that help them detect prey. The authors noted that the spread of exotic land planarians in the region is likely due to human activities such as trade and transportation, and recommended further studies to assess their impact on native soil-dwelling invertebrates. This study emphasizes the importance of conducting regular surveys to document the biodiversity including the soil invertebrates.

Intersection of the lexical-semantic fields “Mentality” and “Physiology” in the poetic language of Igor-Severyanin

The intersection of two lexical-semantic fields “mentality” and “physiology” in the poetic texts of Igor-Severyanin is studied. The relevance of the research is determined by the fact that within the framework of modern anthropocentric approach and increased attention to the mental sphere lexical semantics is investigated, lexical-semantic fields, their intersections, semantic shifts are considered, actual problems of linguistic poetics are touched upon. The aim of the work is to explore the intersection of lexical-semantic fields “mentality” and “physiology” in the language of Severyanin's poems. The material includes lexemes of the mental sphere from Igor-Severyanin's poetic texts. While determining the usual meaning of these lexemes, the authors used the materials of “Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language” by S.I. Ozhegov. The methods of description, comparison, contrast, lexical-semantic and contextual analysis, and continuous sampling were applied; the lexical-semantic field - a generally accepted form of representing lexical units by their meaning - was used to structure the vocabulary. The intersections of the lexical-semantic fields “mentality” and “physiology” in Igor-Severyanin's texts, revealed in the research, are primarily due to the inseparable connection between the inner world of man and his bodily organs of sense. The language fixes stable expressions indicating the possibility of comprehending the human consciousness through analyzing the signals of his body. Words used to denote phenomena and processes related to the body, health, gestures, etc., are reinterpreted in poetic language and receive new semantics, which allows to refer these new lexical-semantic units to the lexical-semantic field of mentality. In Igor-Severyanin's poems the inner world of the lyrical subject dominates, which is reflected in the author's word usage. Even words and expressions with the semantics of physiology shift in their meanings, acquiring the semantics of mentality, at the same time thoughts and feelings are endowed with the author's positive evaluation. The prospects of the research are connected primarily with further study of the mental sphere in the Russian linguistic lexical-semantic system, its dynamics, as well as with the analysis of semantic shifts in the poetic language vocabulary.

Comprehensive Evaluation of the ‘Shixia’ Longan Quality under Postharvest Ambient Storage: The Volatile Compounds Played a Critical Part

Longan fruit generally undergoes rapid quality deterioration during the postharvest stage, with the manifestation of flavor loss as well as pronounced off-odor production. Nevertheless, the unapparent aroma makes people ignore the odor change in postharvest longan. Sensory analysis serves as an indispensable method combining instrumental detection and the perceptibility of human sensation in a comprehensive evaluation of quality during production and consumption. In this study, we established the evaluating data of the appearance, flavor, taste substances, volatile profiles, and deterioration of ‘Shixia’ longan throughout room-temperature storage using instrument assessment and descriptive measurements. Our results indicated that both the appearance state and the taste condition notably engendered confusion or trouble for consumers to judge under the quality transition period. Conversely, the development of odor was highly consistent with that of quality deterioration. Some unpleasant volatile substances including alcohol (ethanol), acid (acetic acid), and esters (acetic acid methyl ester and ethyl acetate) were probably the cause of off-odor during the storage. The result of the sensory evaluation also presents a more significant relevance between the overall quality and the odor. Generally, the work paved the way to reveal the importance of odor profiles for assessing the comprehensive quality condition of postharvest room-temperature stored longan.