A dinner dish and being a testee for the cognitive function

This is the main dish for dinner today. Pork cooked with cabbage seasoned with chicken carcass and sake. Cabbage in winter tastes sweet since it has gone through the chillness. We have already run out cabbage grown in the farm. Unfortunately, this is a vegetable sold at a super market. Still very good.

It was the day for me to take a test of cognitive function to renew the driver's license in the upcoming May. Those aged older than 74 years are, as the police determined recently, ought to do that. 

Cognitive function ranges vast areas as you know. The test they have adopted among various function tests is regarding long term memory. A set of 4 pictures unrelated each other are shown to us for certain, rather short, time. We are supposed to memorize all of them. Four sets of picture panels are shown to us. In summary, we should remember 16 pictures of itmes. Yes, it is beyond short term memory handled by working memory. The police publishes 4 groups of sets, that is, 64 pictures in total, prior to the test in the internet. We, testees, should prepare memorizing all of them before taking the test. Only one set will be used for the test. I was almost exhausted to prepare for that. At age 74 years, it is really tough to remember those names of items on 64 pictures without any logic. 

I don't believe it would help us to avoid traffic accidents even if it could rule out some people with dementia. The facilities responsible for this tests are organizations where retired bureaucrats are parachuted from the police office. The facilities are to educate and examine those who would have the driver's license. Since the population in our country is decreasing drastically for now, they might have less profits from their businesses. 

I agree those with dementia could cause traffic accidents. Those with latent dementia or cognitive disorderes of any kind should be excluded from driver's licensees. But this long term memory test would be of little meaning in that respect. It is a matter of serious problem in life if one could go on driving a car or not, especially if the person lives in a country side like here. If this scheme is made for those parachuted bureaucrats, it should be totally dispised. 

There are the same kind of corruptive system in our society, I am afraid. As already reiterated in this blog, ham radio licensing system is not an exception in our country. I am afraid this curruption should be a reason why our country won't grow in industry/economy.

Well, another thing I thought about from this experience is that I am getting weaker and losing capabilities I could hold in young days. It won't be too long before I should give them up from one to another soon. In elderly, I should admit we lose our capabilities quite soon. How to replace or compensate them to the other ways is a question laid before me. Still hopeful for the good things left in the rest of my life. Reality is, however, cruelly progressing. Stay prepared myself.

 

Decoding Morse code still through the same process in brain as that for reading

An interesting research article on the brain science study of Morse code decoding. 

With the new method of investigation on activities and functions in areas of the brain, that is, magnetoencephalography, they have found Morse code decoding activates left inferior frontal cortex and angular gyrus. It means working memory encoding, long term memory retrieval and demanding cognitive control are involved in the process. Decoding Morse code, in a slow process of recognition, goes through the same neurological process as that for reading written text.

So what? Two points could be indicated from this research.

Morse code decoding, as told above, is done through the same neurological process as reading. In actual reading, we reflect what is written before the present sentence and expect what comes next, almost in unconsciousness, while reading certain sentence. We should be conscious of that process while learning decoding message with Morse code.

The other point should be that Morse code, the simplest mode of communication often slower than the other modes, could contribute as a subject to study neurological process of recognition. As told before, even if this mode gets extinct even in ham radio, it may survive as a subject of epistemological process in the brain. They say magnetoelectrography is a useful technique in time lapsing research even if not giving accurate spatial informations. It may yield further findings on the neurological process of Morse code decoding as a function of cognition.       

 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37792277/

. 2023 Dec 1;44(17):6185-6197.

 doi: 10.1002/hbm.26505. Epub 2023 Oct 4.

Temporal dynamics of oscillatory activity during nonlexical language decoding: Evidence from Morse code and magnetoencephalography

Frederick Benjamin Junker 1, Tobias Schmidt-Wilcke 1 2, Alfons Schnitzler 1, Joachim Lange 1

Affiliations 

• PMID: 37792277
 
• PMCID: PMC10619365
 
• DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26505

Free PMC article

Abstract

Understanding encoded languages, such as written script or Morse code, requires nonlexical and lexical processing components that act in a parallel and interactive fashion. Decoding written script-as for example in reading-is typically very fast, making the investigation of the lexical and nonlexical components and their underlying neural mechanisms challenging. In the current study, we aimed to accomplish this problem by using Morse code as a model for language decoding. The decoding of Morse code is slower and thus allows a better and more fine-grained investigation of the lexical and nonlexical components of language decoding. In the current study, we investigated the impact of various components of nonlexical decoding of Morse code using magnetoencephalography. For this purpose, we reconstructed the time-frequency responses below 40 Hz in brain regions significantly involved in Morse code decoding and word comprehension that were identified in a previous study. Event-related reduction in beta- and alpha-band power were found in left inferior frontal cortex and angular gyrus, respectively, while event-related theta-band power increase was found at frontal midline. These induced oscillations reflect working-memory encoding, long-term memory retrieval as well as demanding cognitive control, respectively. In sum, by using Morse code and MEG, we were able to identify a cortical network underlying language decoding in a time- and frequency-resolved manner.

Keywords: alpha oscillations; beta oscillations; cognitive control; frontal midline theta; nonlexical language decoding; phonological long-term memory; reading model; working memory.

© 2023 The Authors. Human Brain Mapping published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.

Warm months, ume fully out and catching up with house chores.

It was the warmest January on record by NOAA. Here. On the heels of that record hottest month, it has been much warmer this month also. It was like mid spring in the last few days. We should expect the hottest summer this year. It concerns us with regard to two points. One is how to deal with the heat wave at home. With the electricity charges soaring high, we should athermalize the house, especially the windows. The windows already have double glazed glasses. But maybe, doubling the windows is necessary, even though that remodelling requires much work/cost. Global warming won't recede easily so that we should prepare for that change now.

The other point is that this heat wave may degrade the growth of summer vegetables. Some kinds should be planted earlier than usual. And some tropical or subtropical vegetables should be tried. I am afraid people are too optimistic or indifferent to the future of farming.  They may think they could purchase them from other countries. But once our country is struck by famine with global warming, the others may also have the same disaster and won't export anything to us. It should be the reality of the consequence of global warming.

Ume flowers are fully out now. Some are starting falling on the ground. As repeatedly written, my parents used to enjoy them from the dining kitchen behind this tree. How many years have they had the blooming of this ume tree? How about us?

Still cooking dinner dishes. Roasted pork fillet for this evening meal. Together with chinese dimpling and warm vegetables.

Sometimes too tired to do with cooking all after a hectic day at the lawn and farm. My wife takes over that duty in such an occasion. When both of us are exhausted, we go for shopping some sushi. She is still busy with paper works for closing the medical corportion. All of the work will be finished by the end of next month. I find it interesting to cook something from time to time. In my 30s through 50s, I haven't dome much house work like cooking. I am catching up or making up for that at present.

Seiji Ozawa has passed away

 A renowned dirigent, Seiji Ozawa, has died at age 88 years today. He has suffered from a cancer for years and this has been expected. But still a sad news.

When I was interested in music in my teenage days, a vinyl of Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz was the very first one I bought by myself. It was performed by Toronto Symphony Orchestra with dirigent of Ozawa. Here. With home made amplifier and speakers, I have not been bored with listening it again and again. I still remember how it started with dreaming melody. It has lead me not only to the classical music but also to adolescence. 

Ever since, he has always been in the scenes of classical music, even though I have not attended to any concert he conducted. When I grew up, he was already world famous conductor and there was very little chance for me to listen to him at a hall. I have seen him through CD, TV programs, internet programs or books. The book of his dialogue with Toru Takemitsu, which I mentioned before, was a remarkable work. He has been energitic and willing to teach young musicians.

I could never forget his involvement with Saito Kinen Orchestra. It was organized by him and other disciples of Hideo Saito and has held a music festival in Shinshu every summer. A lot of musicians have been joining this event from all over the world. One of my friends in university orchestra days has been a practice pianist there. I would attend a concert of Saito Kinen Orchestra some day but it won't come true, at least,  while Ozawa was alive and taking tact on the podium. 

This performance of Matthews Passion by Saito Kinen Orchestra in 1997. One of the most memorable performances by Ozawa. Serious, grave but still light stepped.  

 

Trying to open the shelf door

Our cat, named Hikaru, likes eating. He knows where his favorite foods are hidden. On this shelf, he knows, his favorite item is stored. He has managed opening the door. When he opened it, it could be a disaster, that is, he scattered everything on the shelf down to the floor. 

I have made an instant lock at the door bending a metal plate with small holes, which was planned to prevent him from freely opening the shelf door. Hikaru dared to loosen it when he knew one of his finger nails fit in a hole of the plate. In this photo, he asked for help to my wife. She has not forgotten taking a photo before freeing him. In a bit messy kitchen...my work place other than the farm.

 

Another ham of good old days gone away

A few days ago, I received an e mail from Vic W9RGB, which told of K5FA Fred's passing. He seemed to have had dementia which caused a fatal complication. I have not heard him for over 10 years. That was the reason.

I have talked Fred quite often from 2000 through 2010. Vic used to say Fred was a typical southerner with good sense of humor. In addition, he loved old fashioned CW chat. While that period, having lasted not so long, we have met on 7026KHz plus or minus. Around 12Z, that was the dawn in Mississippi and evening hours after supper here. There was a good path from here to Mid Southern US around that time. 

He told me he had been a bachelor and took over the family business of furniture store. He seemed to have a big property. He has planted a lot of vegetables there and also never forgot putting up old fashioned wire antennas. Once he told me he had set a couple of V beams for VK/ZL and Europe. I can't recall what radios he has used but they should not be modern sets. 

He seemed to have close bonding with his family members. His two brothers were also ham. And one of them was a physician. Whenever he has had reunion with them, he always pleasantly told about that to me. He had an old aunt named Nora those days. She was sent into a nursing facility when her daughter thought it was not possible for her to live alone at her home. Nora was not very happy at the facility and would like to return to her home. Fred has worked hard to make it possible for her to live by herself again. Her daughter accepted Fred's proposal that he and some helpers would visit Nora at her home at regular interval. Nora could come back to sweet home again. I still remember how excited he was at that project. Fred was happily reporting that to me as if it were his own event. 

Fred was not, so far as I know, an avid DXer. I have never heard any episode he stayed up for a night or two for the hectic events in ham radio. He was an old fashioned ragchewer. That was why I had enjoyed talking to him so often. There used to be a group of CW operators hanging out on that frequency around the same time. Evidently, Don WB6BEE who had waked up after a long hibernation from ham radio activities was the key person in the group. Fred must be one of the gang or even the earliest operator who has activated that loosely united group. Later, Don has moved to the East Coast. The group had expired spontaneously so far as I realized in the last couple of years before I quit radio. Or, hopefully, there could still be some hams hanging out there.

However, the news of Fred's passing sure convinced me of a time being over for now. It was a good old days. 

Working on a lot and amazing music of Bach

Still alive and working hard at a portion of the property. Along the entrance, there is a pretty large land here. There used to be covered with beautiful lawn years ago. Without maintaining it at regular interval, it was replaced to a kind of weed mock to lawn. It is not so neat as lawn and aggressive in addition. I have long been hoping to restore it to what it was. Without much work at farm in this coldest season, I have started that project finally. All by hand but no digging machine etc. 

Soon I realized there had been costruction waste and crushed rock buried in a part of the land. About 3 decades ago, a constructor for the road nearby wanted to use the property for parking lot while they were working on a road just west of our property. My father, who were always kind to such workers, answered yes to them. In the end, they have left "the gift" a foot or less underground in certain area near to the azalea. I haven't known of that until I realized a portion of the azalea had not grown well there. Years have passed since the constructor had gone. 

While cutting the ween covering the land, I came across with that waste not too deep in the ground. I decided to clean it and replace to black soil with compost. With help from the gardener I often asked to do anything like that, I have been digging out it and sieve out smaller debris.

I would plant potatoes early in March. This new farm may prolific for that and vegetables planted after that.

Common sense utters to me let it go by itself but I won't be responsible for that. Not concious of the reason why I am doing such useless thing, that is, digging out waste buried underground, I still would straighten things while I am alive. I won't forgive the malpractice of the constructor and would leave the land as it used to be to the next generation. It seems no one would take this countryside place over and it may return to woods in the future, maybe. But I still work hard for the land. 

I am slowly rereading the biograph of J.S.Bach. I am again amazed at the music world Bach has left to us. In Koethen, he was productive of the chamber and/or instrumental music. There seem to be a lot of works lost. But those pieces of chamber music like trio sonata, solo sonata with obligato keyboard, unaccompanied sonate/partita for violin and suites for cello as well as Brandenburg concertos etc are shining brightly among his secular music repertoire. Most of them will be transformed to sacred music in the era of Leipzig. There should be little boundary between secular and sacred music for him. He must firmely believed music worked for the glory of God, whether it is genred in secular or sacred.     

One of my favorite violin sonata with obligato by Bach. Two virtuosi.