KATCHAR
SCIENTIFIC PERIODICAL
I, 2022
Recommended by the Scientific Council of the International
Scientific–Educational Center of NAS RA
KAREN SARGSYAN
National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia
International Scientific-Educational Center
Head of the Management Department
PhD in Economic Sciences, Associate Professor
ARMEN SARGSYAN
National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia
International Scientific-Educational Center
Director PhD in Economics
THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES AND IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
Abstract
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the world economy entered another phase of crisis at a fairly rapid pace from the beginning of 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected more than 50 million people in almost every country in the world. Because of the crisis caused by COVID-19, governments around the world were operating in complete uncertainty, facing a difficult situation. with the choice of compromises, taking into account the existing health, economic and social challenges. By the spring of 2020, more than half of the world's population had been restricted by strong restraint measures. The widespread coronavirus pandemic, in addition to a health and human tragedy, caused the most serious economic crisis in the world since World War II.
The main feature of the pandemic crisis was the emergence of a double shock in terms of "supply" and "demand". It was truly unprecedented for the world economy, which led to unusually large economic shocks and unpredictability of future developments.
Naturally, the levels of economic decline varied from country to country, depending on the nature of the economy, the factors of influence, the extent of the pandemic, the nature of the restrictions applied, the range of support measures, and the targets. In particular, in 2020, the average economic decline in the region of Central East Asia was -2.9%, and the decline in world GDP - -3.1%. As for European countries, the level of economic decline in some countries has been quite high. Although the full assessment of the effects of the pandemic was unpredictable from the beginning, the effects of the global economic crisis may persist for a long time, which is likely to cause major structural changes in the world economy.
It should be noted that judging by the development trends of late 2020, the world economy has entered a V-recovery phase, as evidenced by the high dynamics of 5.9% economic growth in 2021, as well as the forecasts of international organizations that in 2022 World economic growth will be 4.4%.
Keywords and phrases: pandemic, economic impact, world economy, global oil market, financial markets․
ARPINE ARAKELYAN
Head of the Department for the Execution of the Judgments
of the European Court of Human Rights,
Office of the Representative on International Legal Matters,
Office of the Prime Minister
PHD student, Public Administration Academy
ASHOT KHACHATRYAN
NAS Institute of Philosophy, Sociology and Law
Doctor of Sciences in Law, Professor,
MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE EUROPEAN COURT
Abstract
Within the framework of this Article, an attempt was made to establish the legal notion of human rights protection standards and consider the applicability of the latter in relation to the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. In particular, the issue was considered according to the principles underlying the conventional system of human rights protection, as well as based on the ideological particularities of the European Convention on Human Rights, and in the context of the characteristic features of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. In this regard:
- The characteristic features of the international standard for the protection of human rights, typology and descriptive meaning were established, subsequently their content was revealed;
- The following principles and doctrines underlying the conventional system for the protection of human rights were studied: the principle of subsidiarity, the principle of establishing minimum standards for the protection of human rights, the doctrine of margin of appreciation and the pan-European consensus;
- In the context of this Article, focusing on the specificity of the European Convention on Human Rights as a document defining the minimum standards for international legal protection of human rights, the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights were considered as interpretative guidelines for the legal standards established in the European Convention.
The Article is based on a comprehensive study of the academic sources and practice of the European Court of Human Rights, as a result of which it has been established that the European Court, interpreting the conventional provisions under the jurisprudence of the European Court, reveals the scope of legal standards prescribed in the European Convention, forming new standards in practice.
Keywords and phrases: legal standards, ECtHR judgments, typology and indicative nature, minimum standards.
GAYANE GHAZARYAN
YSMU after M Heratsi, Associate professor department of medical psychology,
Phd of Psychology, associate professor
LILIT BABAYAN
YSMU after M.Heratsi
Lecturer of department of medical psychology
DAVID ARISTAKESYAN
YSMU after M.Heratsi
Faculty of Military Medicine; Intern
(University “Dunarea de Jos”, Galati Romania)
MENTAL CONDITION OF HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS IN THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA AND REPUBLIC OF ROMANIA WHO PROVIDED PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE TO PATIENTS WITH COVID-19
Abstract
In these difficult days, the "white army" - doctors and paramedics perform the most important, responsible work with a number of risks, fighting for the lives of people on the front line. The article represents the types of emotional temperament of medical personnel working in various medical institutions of the Republic of Armenia and Republic of Romania providing professional aid to patients infected with COVID-19.
Since 2019 and then in 2020, the COVID-19 epidemic has expanded and spread even more, which continues at the same pace and claims many lives. The flow of information about the coronavirus in Armenia, which is repeatedly duplicated on all channels, forms in our society (already saturated with stress) another, new, extraordinary stress.
The new coronavirus epidemic has paralyzed the global health system. The health care system of the Republic of Armenia and Republic of Romania did not stand aside either. In these difficult days, doctors and healthcare professionals are working on a range of more important and responsible risks in an effort to save lives. Doctors and healthcare professionals use their full professional potential to help patients, while sparing their own physical and mental health. The work of doctors is increasing, as well as responsibility for the life of each patient. Insomnia, responsible daily work leads to the development of stress, psychological disorder, physical weakness, decreased ability to work and even suicide. In this respect, healthcare workers are among the most vulnerable. The coronavirus epidemic endangers not only physical health, but also contributes to the emergence and development of a number of psychological problems.
As a result of the study we revealed the following data: 56 per cent of respondents showed an immature type of emotional temperament, that is the way to develop a predisposition to depressive, manic, psychopathological emotional reaction, which can be already found in the clinical picture of the spectrum of affective disorders. Only about 4% had a mature type of emotional temperament. However, we received a different indication from the employees of the medical institutions of the Republic of Romania: only 15% of the subjects were observed immature types of emotional temperament, and about 5% were mature types of temperament.
Thus, in order to prevent the above-mentioned negative phenomena among doctors and medical staff, it is necessary to ensure a high level of organization of work in medical institutions, particularly, the organization of medical-psychological care, which will lead to a reduction of poor mental conditions in the crisis time.
Analysis of various factors affecting the decline in the mental well-being of medical personnel showed the importance of organizing activities to reduce psychological stress, stress levels, physical discomfort and psychological risks. And also for doctors and medical staff, it is necessary to ensure a high level of organization of work in medical institutions, in particular, the organization of medical and psychological assistance, which will lead to a decrease in unfavorable mental performance in these crisis conditions.
Medical and psychological assistance to medical staff working with patients with COVID should be considered as a complex stage of specialized anti-stress medical care based on a systematic approach to the provision of medical care - medical and psychological, psychotherapeutic or psychiatric.
Keywords and phrases: coronavirus, medical staff, emotional response, types of adult immature emotional temperament, the organization of medical-psychological care.
LEVON (FATHER NERSEH) ALOYAN
PhD Candidate at the Chair of History of Armenian Literature
after Hr. Tamrazyan
THE LINGUOSTYLISTIC CHARACTERISTICS OF TSERENTS'S HISTORICAL NOVELS
Abstract
Considering the fact that the linguostylistic characteristics of Tserents’s works have not been studied thoroughly, this study aims to fill in that gap, shedding a light on the language, linguistic peculiarities and modes of expression which contribute to the creation of the unique language and style of his historical novels “Toros, Son of Levon,” “Travails of the 9th Century,” and “Theodoros Rshtuni.” Since all the three novels share linguistic similarities, they are not examined here separately, but in unity.
The language of Tserents’s novels is emotional, colorful and expressive. He was able to attach a specific color and shade to a single word and sentence, presenting the characters of his novels and their deeds under a unique light through the use of rich linguistic means and figures of speech. The significance of the events and ideas that are described in his novels are reflected in his great use of metaphors and similes. When describing the characters of his novels, Tserents tends to praise their patriotic deeds in such a way that the readers can easily envision them. Although Tserents’s novels are set out in different historical periods, they have many similarities in terms of linguostylistic structure. One can notice similarities between his novels’ subjects, ideas, linguostylistic and typological traits. Using his creativity and linguistic competence, Tserents was able to recreate the events and occurrences of specific historical periods by using various images and linguistic means of expression to communicate the described events to his readers. The characters of his novels are impressive and determined, reflecting the epoch.
The novelist was well aware of the linguostylistic means of both old and new Armenian, as well as of dialects and idioms, using the rich vocabulary of the language, sometimes creating new words and attaching new connotations to those. Tserents also mastered the art of using linguostylistic means, old Armenian words, archaisms, and idioms typical to the historical period in which his novels are set. Tserents’s novels contain old Armenian words and expressions, which, apart from carrying important connotations, also allow the reader to imagine a specific historical setting. Still, his use of too many archaisms and stylistic means, as well as whole passages and sentences taken from the writings of historians reduce the linguistic value of his novels. As a result, Tserents’s novels become difficult to read and to grasp for the reader.
Tserents’s novels also indicate that he was knowledgeable about church ceremonies, prayers, and ways of greeting the clergy.
This study is an academic and theoretical generalization of the linguostylistic characteristics of Tserents’s novels, and it may be of interest to linguists engaged in stylistics, and philologists at large.
Keywords and phrases: Tserents, historical novel, language and style, unique style, work of fiction, vocabulary, lexicon, archaisms, linguostylistic peculiarities.
LEVON HOVNANYAN
Postgraduate student of the institute of Economics
after M. Kotanyan of NAS RA
levon.hovnanyan@gmail.com
ZOYA TADEVOSYAN
Armenian State University of Economics
Professor at the Chair of International Economic Relations
Doctor of Sciences
ASSESSING THE ATTRACTIVENESS OF THE INVESTMENT MARKET IN THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
Abstract
Due to the global financial and economic crisis that began in 2008, the Armenian economy found itself in a period of deep decline and, naturally, as expected, both domestic and foreign investment fell sharply. In the post-crisis years, as the economy gradually began to emerge from the crisis and gradually recover from the positive dynamics of macroeconomic indicators, however, no significant increase in investment flows was recorded; the investment market is still characterized by low activity.
To clarify the impact of gross domestic investment and net foreign investment on the gross domestic product of Armenia in the period under review. In this regard, we considered it necessary to assess the correlation between gross domestic investment (GDP) and net foreign investment (GDP). It is clear from the construction of the cross-correlation matrix that the growth of the RA GDP in 2000-2020. The impact of gross domestic investment has been greater than that of net foreign investment. This is partly due to the fact that their volumes were not large, especially in the period after the financial and economic crisis, they had a very fluctuating trend, they were directed mainly to the extraction and sale of raw materials in the mining sector, in which case the surplus value was quite low.
In parallel with the analysis of the assessments of the international structures on the attractiveness of the RA investment field, which particularly refer to the assessment of political risk, we also used the assessment of the RA investment environment on the basis of expert surveys. The experts were offered to assess the investment field of the Republic of Armenia within the framework of the options presented in the questionnaire.
From the analysis of the survey results, we can conclude that regardless of the assessments of the investment situation in Armenia by various international organizations, which emphasize the existence of political risk, however, according to expert assessments, it is quite attractive. Of course, the investment situation is far from perfect, but in case of administration, modernization of management institutions, improvement of legislation, elimination of bureaucratic hassles, it will be possible to make the investment environment even more perceptible and accessible for foreign investors.
Keywords and phrases: investment market, gross domestic investment, foreign direct investment, expert assessment.
NAIRA HAKOBYAN
National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia
International Scientific-Educational Center
Deputy Director on Research Affairs
Doctor of Psychology, Professor
ARTAK DABAGHYAN
National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia
Researcher at the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography
PhD in Historical Sciences
ANNA KHACHATRYAN
National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia
International Scientific-Educational Center
Department of Psychology, Lecturer
PhD in Psychological Sciences
THE PHENOMENON OF ANOMIE IN THE CONTEXT OF MARGINALITY
Abstract
It’s difficult to imagine any social community without marginal phenomena – marginal groups, people, social roles, displays of marginal consciousness and behavior. In every society individuals, social and ethnic groups and social strata act as bearers of marginal qualities. In other words, marginality is a social-cultural and social-psychological phenomenon, which has always been an indivisible part of different historical societies of various social types. In this sense, the study of the phenomenon of anomie, considered in the context of marginality, is especially important. The importance of problems of anomic identities increases especially in transforming societies, where in the result of political, economic, social and cultural reconstructions once-stable social structures are changed. Their elements – the social institutes, social groups and individuals appear in intermediate and transitional situations. In a sense, anomie becomes one of the main characteristics of marginality in transforming societies.
A transforming society where the tempo of social mobility is high, by its nature, creates a favourable environment for the intensive displays of anomic happenings. In the transitional society and evident index of the problems of social-psychological anomic and cultural-marginal identities is the exhibition of the phenomenon of parallelism: on the one hand old institutes and the values and relations exclusive to them continue to work mechanically, and on the other hand, new social institutes and interpersonal relations, stipulated by transformation processes, begin to work. Irrespective of their will and wish with objective reasons people appear in the intersection of two realities, two different social-cultural worlds, and under the influence of new realities they develop an ambiguous behaviour towards everything around. The created situations make people get into unknown relations and roles. In this psychological process, the old and new realities begin to unite, coexisting in parallel, which underlies the formation of double social attitudes and marginalization of behavior.
Keywords and phrases: anomie, marginality, behaviour, social relations system, identity, transforming society.
MARIANA AVETISYAN
National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia
International Scientific-Educational Center
PhD in Psychological Sciences, Associate Professor
SENSORY INTEGRATION, DESCRIPTION FEATURES
Abstract
The article describes the problem of "sensory integration", the need to study it, the peculiarities of its manifestation. Sensory integration is the regulation of emotions, which must then be applied in some way. Emotions give us information about the physical state of the world around us and the body. Every second, sensory information reaches our brain through five senses, the corresponding receptors. The vestibular system's work is very important, too; it helps a person perceive his own body in space. By integration we mean the organization of something. To integrate means to assemble or organize different parts into one whole. When something is integrated, its various parts work in an organized way as a whole. The central nervous system and brain is designed to be able to organize a myriad of sensory information into a complete system [1].
Sensations are the flow of electrical impulses. Chemical reactions that take place in the nervous system are also involved in generating impulses. In order for impulses to play a role in the system, they must be integrated. Integration allows you to perceive emotions. We perceive our bodies and other people's objects due to the fact that the brain integrates sensory signals into semantic forms and relationships.
Attempts are being made to draw the attention of professionals to a problem that is often encountered today, but is not evaluated or corrected accordingly in either children or adults. The problem is especially acute among schoolchildren, as our observations have shown that this problem may be at the root of negative educational motivation, failure to complete the curriculum, and bad behavior.
In other words, the child has an age-appropriate intellect, educated parents, but exhibits bad behavior or fails to learn school subjects.
The article also discusses the case of a 5-year-old child. In our opinion, the boy has a problem of sensory integration. The symptoms of sensory integration dysfunction are described.
The article also suggests different methods and means that are aimed at regulating the functions of individual senses by frequently directing stimuli to those senses. We have carried out psychological intervention to work and activate all the senses as much as possible. Because we think that a child has an emotional hunger that is why he exhibits strange behavior from the outside. We used color-light therapy, music therapy, as well as Isotherapy and etc, which are described in detail in the article.
Keywords and phrases։ Sensory integration, autism, autism spectrum, sensitivity, analyzer.
PAYTSAR ABRAHAMYAN
Administration of the President of RA
National Academy of Sciences of RA, PhD
ASHOT KHACHATRYAN
NAS Institute of Philosophy, Sociology and Law
Doctor of Sciences in Law, Professor
THE STATE SOVEREIGNTY ISSUE IN THE EUROPEAN UNION
Abstract
The following article touches upon the issue of state sovereignty in the European Union and their correlation. Analytical, historical and generalizing methods, as well as a number of specific methods, such as historical-legal methods, were used during the following research.
In the beginning of the article a reference is made to the concept of state sovereignty and its development during time. Moreover, the article highlights the importance of sovereignty in any state and indicates that sovereignty is a necessary legal and political property and indeed an important attribute to a state. Although state sovereignty is a fundamental principle of international law, the precise meaning of the term sovereignty is not clearly defined so far. Views and approaches about state sovereignty may vary from time to time, as changing times necessitate various approaches. Scholars believe that the concept of sovereignty has become highly adaptable and that sovereignty is a collective term, which indicates the rights and duties that a state is granted by an international law at a certain given time. Although it seems impossible to give an overall definition of sovereignty, however, there are two major points of view with regard to the concept of sovereignty that can continuously be identified. The first view is that sovereignty means absolute power above the law and that absolute sovereignty is one of the most powerful and inviolable principles in international law. The second view is that it is of utmost significance that states – as the most important subjects of international law that do not claim that they are above the law or that international law does not bind them.
Later, the author highlights the core idea of the following article and presents the correlation of state sovereignty and the European Union. A short highlight is given to the historical development of the European Union and the idea behind the creation of the supranational entity. The sovereignty issue in the European Union is not a new idea and it is possible to distinguish between three specific perspectives concerning sovereignty in the European Union. The first approach claims that state sovereignty diminishes through the EU membership, the second one analyses the transformation of sovereignty through regional integration and finally, the third approach discovers the disappearance of sovereignty as an object of study.
Within the framework of the following article, the author comes to the conclusion that the state sovereignty continues to stay on the top of agenda of European Institutions and despite different approaches it can’t be stated that by joining the European Union, its Member State loses its sovereignty. The country transfers some powers to the Union; however, this cannot be considered as a deprivation of sovereignty.
Keywords and phrases: state sovereignty, internal and external sovereignty, European Union, Member State, founding treaty, world order, international law, supranational international entity, European integration.
NARINE VARDANYAN
National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia
International Scientific-Educational Center
Head of Quality Assurance Department, Associate Professor
PhD in Philological Sciences
ANZHELA GHALAMDARYAN
National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia
International Scientific-Educational Center
Sociologist at the Quality Assurance Department
YSU, PhD student
ENSURING THE EDUCATION QUALITY BY THE EXAMPLE OF REGULATION ON STUDENT SURVEY ON TEACHING QUALITY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC EDUCATIONAL CENTER OF NAS RA
Abstract
Higher education quality issues continue to be the focus of education experts, researchers, and policymakers in this context.
The issue of involvement in the process of education quality assurance is also important, moreover, we are talking about both "internal" and "external" stakeholders. Stakeholders’ involvement is important in the sense that decisions are based on their opinions, and the education quality is continuously improved by identifying their needs, assessing their satisfaction, and studying their views on various issues.
This article presents an example of tools and mechanisms for data collection, processing, feedback in the process of education quality assurance․ The article examines in detail the main principles of the student survey on “Teaching Quality and Effectiveness” carried out by the International Scientific-Educational Center of the NAS RA, presents the data collection tool: measurable variables, measurement scales, data processing features.
The article also discusses the participation of internal stakeholders in the quality assurance process of education, the study of their opinion through quantitative research, and the use of research-based data in decision-making.
The article is based on the example of this research, because it differs from the rest of the research carried out at ISEC:
- It is carried out with the most regularity evaluating all courses in the current semester,
- Still, the largest research databases have been collected from the results of these surveys,
- Students separately assess all lecturers’ activities with the defined points, the work with students of the head of the chair and the coordinator,
- It has clear mechanisms for providing feedback, which is fixed by the regulations.
It should be noted that in order to effectively organize the process of education quality assurance in ISEC, and to carry out the implemented activities following the criteria set by the National Center for Quality Assurance of ESCS RA, the QA Department of ISEC develops and executes many documents.
Keywords and phrases: Quality of Education, Quality Assurance, Quality Improvement of Education, Stakeholders, Satisfaction Assessment, Student-Centered Learning․
DEVELOPMENTS OF DOCTORAL STUDIES MANAGEMENT PROCESS IN NAS RA
ATOM MKHITARYAN
National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia
International Scientific-Educational Center
PhD in Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Associate Professor
KARINE BEGOYAN
National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia
International Scientific-Educational Center
Head of Postgraduate Department
Abstract
The paper analyzes the developments of doctoral studies in National Academy of Sciences of RA since 1997 and the management process. Education and training of highly qualified personnel is increasingly seen as a fundamental platform that ensures the development of the state. Reforming the national institute for doctoral studies (aspirantura) is aimed at improving the quality of human resources in science, optimizing research topics in accordance with the priority areas of development of science and technology, increasing publication and innovative activities, bringing national science and research closer to the world level and achieving international recognition.We present numbers of defended dissertations both in Armenia and in NAS RA during the last 25 years, the dynamics and the main trends of development of academic degree awarding system. We discuss the possible impact of reforming of the system of training and certification of highly qualified personnel on the organization of third – level doctoral education (doctoral schools) and specialized / dissertation councils in NAS RA. The results of the SWOT-analysis of doctoral education and academic degree awarding processes in the NAS RA are shown. The article presents the main activities and projects aimed at using the advantages and strong points of the NAS RA network in order to improve the quality of doctoral education and training. The paper explores the mechanisms of organizational, methodological and infrastructural support for research and innovation activities of doctoral students and young scientists. There are also suggested the approaches to organization of strong networking between NAS RA research institutes, foreign universities for training and certification of highly qualified personnel. The authors define the role of ISEC in management of doctoral studies at NAS RA and establishment of a competitive third-level education for the sphere of research and development in Armenia.
Keywords and phrases: doctoral studies, academic degree, PhD, certification, highly qualified personnel, dissertation, research and development, innovation, networking, management of doctoral school, NAS RA.
ARMINE MURADYAN
National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia
International Scientific-Educational Center
Ph.D. in Psichological Sciences
PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICE AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
Abstract
This article discusses the peculiarities of psychological work, which are considered an integral part of the educational system, with a special emphasis on working with early, middle, and older adolescents. The adolescent-parent-teacher relationship is also discussed in the article in the context of psychological work. The changes taking place in all the spheres of the rapidly developing world require revising of values and establishment of new ones. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, completely new realities have been established in the post-soviet countries. The economic collapse and the hard social conditions have had an adverse impact also on the whole educational process. Since 1991 the public educational system of the Republic of Armenia, being the successor of the Soviet educational system, has entered the phase of difficult transitional changes that can be characterized as a survival period of the system. From 1996-to 1997, along with the economic development of the country, reformation of the educational sector has started, being mainly of constructive nature. [2]. Globalization, intensifying integration processes, democracy the establishment of civic society requires a new quality of a human being, not only with knowledge but also with capacities of indulgence, cooperation, orientating in various situations, estimating his/her or others' actions. The reformation that has been implemented in our country since 2003, within the framework of the program on “Quality of Education And Appropriacy”, is aimed at the formation of citizens prepared and ready for establishing a free, independent, and developed society. Along with the performance and high efficiency, as well as cooperation capacities of students, great importance is attached to providing a higher level of psychological health. To get the anticipated outcomes within the planned period, public care is to be continued, at the same time making the psychological-pedagogical requirements for the teachers stricter. Teachers must know the regularities and problems of the spiritual development of students and take into account the social environment where they were born and brought up. Based on the interests of comprehensive education of students, teachers must often meet their parents and provide psychological-pedagogical consulting. However, it is not a secret that far not all teachers can deeply understand the peculiarities of the spiritual world of the students. Following the way of educational reformations, the pedagogical institutes of higher education still have many things to do in preparing pedagogues- psychologists that meet the requirements of the time, in terms of revising numerous questions occurring in the theory and practice of pedagogy and psychology.
Keywords and phrases: teenagers, early, middle, and senior teenagers, educational component, teacher, parent, student, school, psychological service at school, psychological-pedagogical work.
TIGRAN GHEVONDYAN
National Academy of Sciences
Institute of Physiology after Levon Orbeli
Head of the Laboratory of Electron Microscopy and Histochemistry
Doctor of Medicine, Senior Researcher of the USSR Higher Attestation Commission
HAKOB GHEVONDYAN
National Academy of Sciences
Institute of Physiology after Levon Orbeli
applicant
Medical Doctor in sport medicine
INNA ANTONYAN
National Academy of Sciences
Institute of Physiology after Levon Orbeli
Laboratory of Electron Microscopy and Histochemistry
Senior laboratory assistant
A NEW METHOD OF VISUALIZATION OF THE BRAIN FUNCTIONAL ACTIVITY DYNAMICS
Abstract
Mankind is tirelessly working on improving existing devices, developing new devices for studying the brain, for assessing the cognitive and psycho-emotional state of a person. Currently, to study the functional activity of the brain, devices are used which combine the concepts of PET / CT, fMRT, fNIRS. These methods use X-rays, powerful magnetic fields, infrared rays, and visible light rays.
The purpose of this study was to try to use a heat infrared chamber to visualize the processes of functional activity of the human brain. Several types of infrared cameras were used in our studies, among which the FLIR thermal camera in the CATS62Pro cell phone became the main research hardware. More than 500 thermal images of the head and about 50 thermal video recordings of the head were filmed with it. A comparative analysis of images and video recordings showed a significant advantage of the method of thermal video recordings for studying the functional activity of the brain.
Video recordings of the heads of six men aged 32-85 formed the basis of this study. All six men were united by one sign - the absence of hair on their heads or the fact that they shaved their head hair. In men, non-contact imaging of five parts of the head was made: parietal, frontal, occipital, right and left temporal. Five static frames were cut from each video recordings, respectively, the 1st, 6th, 11th, 16th and 21st seconds. The arrangement of these static images in a row and their comparative evaluation made it possible to carry out a more detailed assessment of brain activity. During filming, the men sat in a chair and looked at a dimly neutrally painted wall from a distance of about two meters. Filming was carried out in a moderately lit room, at a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius.
Based on the analysis of thermal records, the following results were obtained. Video recordings of the head with a thermal imager make it possible to obtain information of a qualitatively new level compared to thermal photographs and, therefore, video recordings should become the basic method for studying the functional activity of the brain using thermography.
The thermal camera detects and registers the occurrence, presence, movement, extinguishing of warm foci and fields that correspond to functionally active areas of the grey matter of brain.
The functional activity of the brain is observed in all five parts of the head: parietal, frontal, occipital, in both temporal regions. In the simple sitting test used in this study, brain activity is more pronounced in the parietal and occipital parts of the head, which can be explained by the work of the sensorimotor zones of the anterior and posterior central gyri of both hemispheres of the brain, and the cerebellum, to maintain body position.
The movement speed of the active zones on the surface of the head is very high, however, they are completely captured and recorded by the thermal camera due to the high frame rate in infrared video mode (30 frames per second).
A relatively long video recording made it possible to detect an unexpected phenomenon that was remained undetected in thermal photographs [8]. We are talking about "flashes" of infrared radiation, which have different distribution over the area and different intensity. Flashes illuminate the entire or almost the entire head of the subject.
It was found that the frequency of outbreaks varies in different men: from one to five outbreaks in 30 seconds. Preliminary data indicate a possible connection or relationship between the frequency of outbreaks, on the one hand, and the general state of the body, brain functional activity, on the other hand.
To date, the method has three disadvantages: a) the impossibility of recording radiation from the cortex of the lower and inner parts of the brain, including the hippocampus and amygdala, b) the inferiority of thermal images of the head in persons with thick hair on the head, especially in women, c) the need to have at your disposal five of the same type of thermal imaging cameras, since in some studies of the brain it may be necessary to synchronize video recording of brain activity in all five of the above-mentioned sections of the head at the same time.
However, along with its shortcomings, the method has broad prospects for being applied due to its advantages. The advantages are: no contact with the body of the subject during recording or video filming, high spatial, temporal, temperature resolution of the thermal camera, relative cheapness, absolute absence of influence of the thermal camera on the body, high autonomy from external power sources. Thermal video recording, along with director transcutaneous electroencephalocorticography, allows getting a picture of the “thought construction” in the brain even before these thoughts are realized by a person. And in comparison with the method of electroencephalocorticography, which is excessively traumatic and fraught with complications, thermal video recording has an important advantage, which gives a live, direct picture on-line. In addition, in the case of corticography, obtaining a picture is mediated through the transformation of electrical impulses into a color picture, through image reconstruction programs. Already today, the use of thermal video recording of the head is able to independently solve a number of problems in the areas of clinical resuscitation, neurosurgery, neurology, psychiatry, psychophysiology, for the early detection of autism in children, in the field of lie detection, in assessing the condition of astronauts in spaceships and stations. Undoubtedly, with all its limitations, the presented method of thermal videography is a valuable addition to the well-known widely used methods for studying the brain.
Keywords and phrases: brain, visualization of dynamic brain activity, infrared radiation of human brain.
SEDA STEPANYAN
Center for Ecological-Noosphere Studies National Academy of Sciences, RA
Junior Scientific researcher
MONIKA KHACHATRYAN
Center for Ecological-Noosphere Studies National Academy of Sciences, RA
Expert
DAVIT PIPOYAN
Center for Ecological-Noosphere Studies National Academy of Sciences, RA
Head of the “Informational - analytical center for risk assessment of food chain”
Doctor of Food Science (Italy)
NICKEL RISK ASSESSMENT THROUGH THE CONSUMPTION OF FLOUR-BASED PRODUCTS AND CEREALS
Abstract
Flour-based products and cereals are one of the most consumed food items in Armenia. The aim of this study is to conduct Ni risk assessment through the consumption of flour-based products and cereals. The consumption data of flour-based products and cereals has been gathered through a 24-hour recall survey, including 1400 adult respondents of the Republic of Armenia. Ni risk assessment has been conducted through a Margin of Exposure (MOE) approach. Ni contents were analyzed using atomic absorption spectrometry. The Estimated Daily Intake (EDI) values ranged from 8.63E-06 to 5.55E-04 mg/kg bw per day and did not exceed the threshold. The average EDI was equal to 1.53E-04 mg/kg bw per day. In all the regions, MOE values were lower than 30 in case of the intake of bread, lavash, buckwheat, emmer and groat. In case of pasta intake, the MOEs were lower than 30 only in Armavir and Lori regions, while in other regions MOEs were slightly above 30. Only for rice, the MOE values were higher than 30, indicating no possible health risks. Overall, the intake of products with MOEs lower than 30 may cause health problems and allergies, especially for Ni sensitized individuals.
Keywords and phrases: nickel, flour-based products, cereals, risk, estimated daily intake, margin of exposure
Technical University of Munich
Master’s student
HAYK AKARMAZYAN
National Polytechnic University of Armenia
PhD in Engineering, Associate Professor
IMPROVING DIFFERENTIABLE NEURAL ARCHITECTURE SEARCH WITH SPARSE CONNECTIONS AND MODEL PRUNING
Abstract
Neural networks have contributed to many breakthroughs across several disciplines. Their ease of use and scalability have motivated the development of many techniques in computer vision, natural language processing, audio analysis, etc. The neural network architecture plays a dominant role in its performance, and there have been many advances on designs and strategies for defining efficient neural networks. However, manually tuning neural architectures requires a significant amount of time and expert knowledge. To overcome the difficulty of manually setting up the architecture for a neural network, Neural Architecture Search (NAS) has gained popularity. NAS methods involve three general dimensions, namely search space, search strategies, and performance estimation strategies [1]. Different approaches vary in these dimensions.
DARTS [2] corresponds to a cornerstone work for differentiable NAS. It is an order of magnitude faster than evolutionary and reinforcement learning-based algorithms and produces intuitive results which have shown a good performance on several computer vision and natural language processing tasks. Still, DARTS has several pitfalls which have motivated this work. Namely, the method suffers from instability to hyperparameters, as shown in NAS-Bench-201 experiments [4]. Moreover, it can quickly lead to degenerate neural architectures, which do not perform well at all, in case the structure of the network is not configured properly in the search phase. DARTS also depends on several humandesigned heuristics, which can affect the final performance significantly if not selected properly. Finally, the heuristics for building the final architecture lead to a big discrepancy from the architecture used in the search phase, which leads to instability between the search phase and the final network performance.
In this work, we focus on tackling the drawbacks of DARTS, by incorporating in the search phase a gradual pruning strategy while using single-level optimization, promoting the network connections to be sparse. Careful analysis of the weights shows that our method achieves more stable results, is less prone to degenerate architectures and indeed leads to better ones, and does not require heuristics to get the final neural architecture. The source code is available on demand, to facilitate reproducibility.
Keywords and phrases։ Neural Architecture Search, DARTS, Sparse Models, Deep Learning
