This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of using a social science mixed-methods approach to stimulate creativity and improve the attainment of creative outcomes in teaching design. In a focused study framed through a design collaborative experiment within a classroom context, sketches produced by a sample of 351 students were analyzed and the impact of stimuli was categorized by visual, physical, quantitative and contextual information on creative processes and outcomes in product design. Sixteen combinations of these stimuli were integrated as parameters of design briefs (DBs) given to the participating students. This research was augmented with a survey to understand participants’ perceptions and reactions and was rated by expert judges. The results demonstrate that certain combinations of quantitative and qualitative stimuli have a positive impact on creative processes and outcomes. These findings will inform new techniques for engaging and inspiring students in design studies.

Avec le vieillissement de la population, la maladie d’Alzheimer et les pathologies neurodégénératives représentent un défi majeur de santé publique. Dans la maladie d’Alzheimer, le stade démentiel est diagnostiqué quand la symptomatologie cognitive et psycho-comportementale interfère avec le fonctionnement social et entraîne une désadaptation du sujet dans les activités de vie quotidienne. Parallèlement, les nouvelles Technologies de l’Information et de la Communication (nTIC) prennent une part de plus en plus importante dans notre vie quotidienne et peuvent être un support tant pour l’évaluation que pour une aide directe des usagers. Cette communication a pour objectif de présenter les recommandations venant d’experts ingénieurs et professionnels de santé concernant l’utilisation des nTIC :

– pour l’évaluation en pratique quotidienne et dans le cadre des essais thérapeutiques ;

– pour la stimulation des patients.

Dans ce cadre, sera présenté le site MEMO dédié à l’entraînement des patients.

Heavy alcohol use is pervasive and one of our most significant global health burdens. Early theories posited that certain alcohol response phenotypes, notably low sensitivity to alcohol (‘low-level response’) imparts risk for alcohol use disorder (AUD). However, other theories, and newer measures of subjective alcohol responses, have challenged that contention and argued that high sensitivity to some alcohol effects are equally important for AUD risk. This study presents results of a unique longitudinal study in 294 young adult non-dependent drinkers examined with alcohol and placebo testing in the laboratory at initial enrolment and repeated 5 years later, with regular follow-up intervals assessing AUD (trial registration: http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00961792). Findings showed that alcohol sedation was negatively correlated with stimulation across the breath alcohol curve and at initial and re-examination testing. A higher rather than lower alcohol response phenotype was predictive of future AUD. The findings underscore a new understanding of factors increasing vulnerability to AUD.

Glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine] (30, 125, 250 mg/L) in petri dishes had no effect on germination of prickly sida (Sida spinosa L.), velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti Medic), barnyardgrass [Echinocloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv.] and johnsongrass [Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers.] seeds, but additional experimentation indicated that glyphosate stimulated germination of redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.) seeds. Paraquat (1,1′-dimethyl-4,4′-bipyridinium ion) (30, 125, 250 mg/L) did not affect germination of the three broadleaf species, but inhibited johnsongrass and barnyardgrass germination. In the greenhouse, soil surface applications of glyphosate (1.1, 2.2, 9.0 kg/ha) did not significantly affect emergence of these five weed species when they were on or beneath the soil surface at time of treatment. Paraquat (same rates) did not affect broadleaf weed emergence but some rates inhibited grass weed emergence when the seeds were treated while on the soil surface. It is unlikely that normal field use rates of glyphosate will influence weed emergence; whereas paraquat may inhibit the emergence of some grass weeds if the herbicide contacts seeds on the soil surface.

Observations in a citrus grove indicated that hairy beggarticks numbers were higher in plots receiving thiazopyr alone or thiazopyr with oxyfluorfen than in nontreated plots. At 120 days after treatment (DAT), approximately 90% more hairy beggarticks plants had emerged in plots receiving thiazopyr at 0.56 kg ai/ha than in nontreated plots. A tank mix of thiazopyr plus oxyfluorfen, each at 0.56 kg/ha, resulted in a 55% increase in hairy beggarticks number at 120 DAT. Greenhouse studies using seeds collected from sites with or without herbicide history produced similar results. Oxyfluorfen at 0.28 kg/ha stimulated seed germination but injured seedlings by 47% or more at 36 DAT when applied at higher rates. Thiazopyr applied at 0.56 kg/ha antagonized the preemergence activity of oxyfluorfen at 0.28 or 0.56 kg/ha. Thiazopyr at 1.12 kg/ha stimulated hairy beggarticks germination by 37% compared with nontreated containers.

The effect of glyphosate on growth and reproduction of two pathogenic fungi of green peas was evaluated in laboratory studies. Liquid and agar media containing 0 to 50 mM glyphosate were inoculated with two isolates each of Fusarium solani f. sp. pisi and Pythium ultimum. Mycelial growth and spore production of the fungi were inhibited or stimulated by glyphosate, depending on concentration. Glyphosate did not affect pathogenicity of F. solani f. sp. pisi. The effect of glyphosate on pathogenicity of P. ultimum was not determined. Under field conditions, glyphosate probably would not affect pathogenicity or survival of either fungus.

Bioassay experiments were conducted to determine the phytotoxicity of methanol and ethyl acetate extracts of hairy vetch and cowpea residues on the germination and radicle elongation of three vegetable crops and three weed species. The species tested included common chickweed, redroot pigweed, wild carrot, tomato, corn, and cucumber. The extracts of both species were dissolved in methanol to yield seven concentrations ranging from 0 to 8 g/L. Germination was significantly reduced by methanol and ethyl acetate extracts of hairy vetch extracts except for corn and tomato. Common chickweed and wild carrot were the only species that showed consistent reduction in germination with the methanol and ethyl acetate cowpea extracts. The radicle growth of most species, with the exception of corn and cucumber, was reduced by the extracts of both cover crops. Corn and cucumber radicle elongation was stimulated at low concentrations of the extracts; however, these observations were not significantly different among treatments. This study demonstrated that methanol and ethyl acetate extracts of hairy vetch and cowpea contained allelopathic compounds and that their phytotoxicity is likely species specific. Future studies should focus on the identification and isolation of the allelochemical(s) found in the methanol and ethyl acetate extracts of the hairy vetch and cowpea residues.

Greenhouse experiments evaluated azafenidin and thiazopyr applied separately, as a tank mix, or in rapid succession, for preemergence control of yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus) and hairy beggarticks (Bidens pilosa). Average of yellow nutsedge shoot dry weights at 21 and 42 d after treatment (DAT), indicated that azafenidin at 0.28, 0.56, and 1.12 kg ai/ha controlled 70, 86, and 90%, respectively, and thiazopyr at 1.12 kg/ha controlled 10% of yellow nutsedge. However, when thiazopyr at 1.12 kg/ha was tank-mixed with azafenidin at 0.28, 0.56, and 1.12 kg/ha, yellow nutsedge control averaged for 21 and 42 DAT was reduced to 41, 69, and 78%, respectively. Root plus tuber dry weight of yellow nutsedge increased threefold when 1.12 kg/ha thiazopyr was mixed with 0.28 kg/ha azafenidin, compared to azafenidin applied alone at the above rate. When the herbicides were applied sequentially, within minutes of each other, the antagonistic responses were reproduced, independent of the order of herbicide application. Thiazopyr applied at 0.56 and 1.12 kg/ha stimulated the emergence and establishment of hairy beggarticks and antagonized azafenidin for the control of yellow nutsedge based on a mathematical model. Although thiazopyr reduced the preemergence herbicidal efficacy of azafenidin on hairy beggarticks control, antagonism could not be determined because of the stimulatory effects of thiazopyr on hairy beggarticks emergence.

Conceptual design is a creative process. Designers create functions to satisfy customer needs and behaviors and forms to fulfill their functions. Although cognitive processes are at the center in developing new ideas, they are rarely taken into account in research and development of design support methods and systems. It is conceivable that if one understands how cognitive processes are stimulated to generate design ideas, then more effective methods and tools can be developed to support conceptual design. In this article, a cognitive model of conceptual design is developed to capture the relationships among design entities, design operations, and cognitive processes. A protocol analysis is performed to evaluate the model, and a cognitive experiment carried out to study the creative patterns and stimulating relationships. The results show that designers exhibit patterns of creative design behavior, and that these patterns can be captured and instilled into the design process to promote creativity.

A model for the organization of language in the adult humans brain is derived from electrical stimulation mapping of several language-related functions: naming, reading, short-term verbal memory, mimicry of orofacial movements, and phoneme identification during neurosurgical operations under local anesthesia. A common peri-Sylvian cortex for motor and language functions is identified in the language dominant hemisphere, including sites common to sequencing of movements and identification of phonemes that may represent an anatomic substrate for the “motor theory of speech perception.” This is surrounded by sites related to short-term verbal memory, with sites specialized for such language functions as naming or syntax at the interface between these motor and memory areas. Language functions are discretely and differentially localized in association cortex, including some differential localization of the same function, naming, in multiple languages. There is substantial individual variability in the exact location of sites related to a particular function, a variability which can be partly related to the patient's sex and overall language ability and which may depend on prior brain injury and, perhaps subtly, on prior experience. A common “specific alerting response” mechanism for motor and language functions is identified in the lateral thalamus of the language–dominant hemisphere, a mechanism that may select the cortical areas appropriate for a particular language function.

Hospitalized older adults with dementia often have few opportunities for social interaction and psychological stimulation. Their psychological functioning is affected by the dementing illness, sensory impairment and the effects of living in an institutional environment. The adverse effects of sensory deprivation may be particularly relevant for this client group. Using a multiple single case design, we evaluated the effects of individual sensory stimulation sessions on four elderly patients with dementia. All were living on a hospital continuing care psychiatric ward. Detailed behavioural observations were made before, during and after sessions to assess patients’ responses. Adaptive functioning and wellbeing were also investigated. Results indicated that the intervention led to observable changes in levels of interaction, active looking and interest. The effects were transitory with the exception of active looking, which endured following the session. Adaptive behaviours also improved, though there was no change in wellbeing. The study indicates that sensory stimulation is a valuable therapeutic intervention with this client group.