Comparison of engagement and emotional responses of older and younger adults interacting with 3D cultural heritage artefacts on personal devices

The availability of advanced software and less expensive hardware allows museums to preserve and share artefacts digitally. As a result, museums are frequently making their collections accessible online as interactive, 3D models. This could lead to the unique situation of viewing the digital artefact before the physical artefact. Experiencing artefacts digitally outside of the museum on personal devices may affect the user's ability to emotionally connect to the artefacts. This study examines how two target populations of young adults (18–21 years) and the elderly (65 years and older) responded to seeing cultural heritage artefacts in three different modalities: augmented reality on a tablet, 3D models on a laptop, and then physical artefacts. Specifically, the time spent, enjoyment, and emotional responses were analysed. Results revealed that regardless of age, the digital modalities were enjoyable and encouraged emotional responses. Seeing the physical artefacts after the digital ones did not lessen their enjoyment or emotions felt. These findings aim to provide an insight into the effectiveness of 3D artefacts viewed on personal devices and artefacts shown outside of the museum for encouraging emotional responses from older and younger people

The Importance of Static Correlation in the Band Structure of High Temperature Superconductors

Recently we presented a new band structure for La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO(4) and other high temperature superconductors in which a second narrow band was seen to cross the primary band at the Fermi level. The existence of this second Fermi level band is in complete disagreement with the commonly accepted LDA band structure. Yet it provided a crucial piece of physics which led to an explanation for superconductivity and other unusual phenomena in these materials. In this work we present details as to the nature of the failure of conventional methods in deriving the band structure of the cuprates. In particular, we use a number of chemical analogues to describe the problem of static correlation in the band structure calculations and show how this can be corrected with the predictable outcome of a Fermi level band crossing.Comment: The Journal of Physical Chemistry, in press. References and figures updated. See www.firstprinciples.com for more information related to this wor

Recent advances in electronic structure theory and their influence on the accuracy of ab initio potential energy surfaces

Recent advances in electronic structure theory and the availability of high speed vector processors have substantially increased the accuracy of ab initio potential energy surfaces. The recently developed atomic natural orbital approach for basis set contraction has reduced both the basis set incompleteness and superposition errors in molecular calculations. Furthermore, full CI calculations can often be used to calibrate a CASSCF/MRCI approach that quantitatively accounts for the valence correlation energy. These computational advances also provide a vehicle for systematically improving the calculations and for estimating the residual error in the calculations. Calculations on selected diatomic and triatomic systems will be used to illustrate the accuracy that currently can be achieved for molecular systems. In particular, the F+H2 yields HF+H potential energy hypersurface is used to illustrate the impact of these computational advances on the calculation of potential energy surfaces

Individual cognitive stimulation in people with dementia: Good practices

Background: Cognitive stimulation (CS) focuses on the intellectual and social stimulation of people with neurocognitive disorders (NCD or dementia). This intervention is widely disseminated in group settings and may not be accessible or adequate to all people with cognitive impairment. Making a Difference 3 (MD3) is an individual CS program in which family (informal) caregivers play the role of home care partners. These individual CS programs should be conducted based on key principles (good practices). Aim: To outline a set of good practices that should be adopted during the implementation of individual CS programs by caregivers. Methodology: Three main activities were conducted: i) Systematic review of the literature; ii) Translation and cultural adaptation of the MD3 to European Portuguese; iii) Randomized clinical trial with 52 dyads (caregiver and person with dementia) to assess the effectiveness of MD3 and its acceptability and applicability by older adults with dementia and their caregivers. Results: Thirteen good practices were outlined based on the values of respect, involvement, dignity, freedom of opinion and choice, understanding, tolerance, and cooperation with older adults with dementia. Conclusion: Several good practices were identified for the implementation of individual CS programs by caregivers of older adults with dementia. The healthcare professionals and experts in dementia care and the caregivers considered the recommended practices informative, inclusive, and valuable.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Producción de recursos educativos para la educación mediática en la escuela: Percepciones y necesidades de los profesores

A relevância da educação mediática tem sido crescentemente reconhecida no contexto internacional e também em Portugal. Às crianças e aos jovens é atribuída particular atenção, o que faz recair sobre a escola e os professores enorme responsabilidade, no sentido de contribuírem, desde cedo, para a formação de cidadãos informados, comunicadores eficazes e participantes ativos na cultura digital. A investigação realizada teve como principal objetivo conhecer as perceções dos professores do ensino básico e secundário sobre a educação mediática e sobre o seu papel e o da escola na promoção da literacia digital e mediática dos alunos, conhecer a sua formação e necessidades e, desta forma, reunir informação útil para orientar a elaboração de recursos educativos. Seguindo uma metodologia não experimental e descritiva, com base em dados obtidos a partir de um questionário online, elaborado pela equipa de investigadores, foi possível concluir que os professores atribuem grande relevância à educação mediática, reconhecem a importância da escola e de si próprios na formação dos alunos, mas revelam também uma formação deficitária neste domínio. Com base nestes resultados, foram elaborados dois recursos educativos, um livro e uma aplicação móvel, pensados para apoiar os professores na resposta ao desafio da implementação da educação mediática na escola.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Reliability and validity of the geriatric depression scale in a sample of Portuguese older adults with mild-to-moderate cognitive impairment

Although the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) is a well-established instrument for the assessment of depressive symptoms in older adults, this has not been validated specifically for Portuguese older adults with cognitive impairment. The objective of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of two Portuguese versions of the GDS (GDS-27 and GDS-15) in a sample of Portuguese older adults with mild-to-moderate cognitive impairment. Clinicians assessed for major depressive disorder and cognitive functioning in 117 participants with mild-to-moderate cognitive decline (76.9% female, Mage = 83.66 years). The internal consistency of GDS-27 and GDS-15 were 0.874 and 0.812, respectively. There was a significant correlation between GDS-27 and GDS-15 with the Beck Depression Inventory-II (GDS-27: rho = 0.738, p < 0.001; GDS-15: rho = 0.760, p < 0.001 ), suggesting good validity. A cutoff point of 15/16 in GDS-27 and 8/9 in GDS-15 resulted in the identification of persons with depression (GDS-27: sensitivity 100%, specificity 63%; GDS-15: sensitivity 90%, specificity 62%). Overall, the GDS-27 and GDS-15 are reliable and valid instruments for the assessment of depression in Portuguese-speaking older adults with cognitive impairment.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Size selective spectroscopy of Se microclusters

The electronic structure and photofragmentation in outer and inner valence regions of Se-n (n <= 8) clusters produced by direct vacuum evaporation have been studied with size-selective photoelectron-photoion coincidence technique by using vacuum-ultraviolet synchrotron radiation. The experimental ionization potentials of these clusters were extracted from the partial ion yield measurements. The calculations for the possible geometrical structures of the Se-n microclusters have been executed. The ionization energies of the clusters have been calculated and compared with the experimental results. In addition, theoretical fragment ion appearance energies were estimated. The dissociation energies of Se-n clusters were derived from the recurrent relation between the gas phase enthalpies of the formation of corresponding cationic clusters and experimental ionization energies. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4737633

MHC-I upregulation safeguards neoplastic T cells in the skin against NK cell-mediated eradication in mycosis fungoides

Cancer-associated immune dysfunction is a major challenge for effective therapies. The emergence of antibodies targeting tumor cell-surface antigens led to advancements in the treatment of hematopoietic malignancies, particularly blood cancers. Yet their impact is constrained against tumors of hematopoietic origin manifesting in the skin. In this study, we employ a clonality-supervised deep learning methodology to dissect key pathological features implicated in mycosis fungoides, the most common cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Our investigations unveil the prominence of the IL-32β–major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-I axis as a critical determinant in tumor T-cell immune evasion within the skin microenvironment. In patients’ skin, we find MHC-I to detrimentally impact the functionality of natural killer (NK) cells, diminishing antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and promoting resistance of tumor skin T-cells to cell-surface targeting therapies. Through murine experiments in female mice, we demonstrate that disruption of the MHC-I interaction with NK cell inhibitory Ly49 receptors restores NK cell anti-tumor activity and targeted T-cell lymphoma elimination in vivo. These findings underscore the significance of attenuating the MHC-I-dependent immunosuppressive networks within skin tumors. Overall, our study introduces a strategy to reinvigorate NK cell-mediated anti-tumor responses to overcome treatment resistance to existing cell-surface targeted therapies for skin lymphoma

Neonatal Administration of Thimerosal Causes Persistent Changes in Mu Opioid Receptors in the Rat Brain

Thimerosal added to some pediatric vaccines is suspected in pathogenesis of several neurodevelopmental disorders. Our previous study showed that thimerosal administered to suckling rats causes persistent, endogenous opioid-mediated hypoalgesia. Here we examined, using immunohistochemical staining technique, the density of μ-opioid receptors (MORs) in the brains of rats, which in the second postnatal week received four i.m. injections of thimerosal at doses 12, 240, 1,440 or 3,000 μg Hg/kg. The periaqueductal gray, caudate putamen and hippocampus were examined. Thimerosal administration caused dose-dependent statistically significant increase in MOR densities in the periaqueductal gray and caudate putamen, but decrease in the dentate gyrus, where it was accompanied by the presence of degenerating neurons and loss of synaptic vesicle marker (synaptophysin). These data document that exposure to thimerosal during early postnatal life produces lasting alterations in the densities of brain opioid receptors along with other neuropathological changes, which may disturb brain development