Mathematical physiology

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Sneyd, James

2009-01-01

There has been a long history of interaction between mathematics and physiology. This book looks in detail at a wide selection of mathematical models in physiology, showing how physiological problems can be formulated and studied mathematically, and how such models give rise to interesting and challenging mathematical questions. With its coverage of many recent models it gives an overview of the field, while many older models are also discussed, to put the modern work in context. In this second edition the coverage of basic principles has been expanded to include such topics as stochastic differential equations, Markov models and Gibbs free energy, and the selection of models has also been expanded to include some of the basic models of fluid transport, respiration/perfusion, blood diseases, molecular motors, smooth muscle, neuroendrocine cells, the baroreceptor loop, turboglomerular oscillations, blood clotting and the retina. Owing to this extensive coverage, the second edition is published in two volumes. ...

Divergent Streams: Race-Gender Achievement Gaps at Selective Colleges and Universities.

Science.gov (United States)

Massey, Douglas S; Probasco, Lierin

2010-03-01

In this paper, we extend previous research on racial performance gaps at 28 selective US colleges and universities by examining differences in grade achievement and graduate rates across race-gender categories. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Freshmen, we show that black males, black females, and Hispanic males attain significantly lower grades than other race-gender groups, and that black males are 35% less likely to graduate on-time than other race-gender groups. Analyses consider an array of personal and institutional indicators of academic performance. Grades and graduation rates are improved by academic preparation (particularly high school GPA), scholarly effort, and, for graduation rates, membership in career-oriented or majority-white campus groups. Grade performance and graduation rates are undermined by a hostile racial climate on campus, family stress, and stereotype threat, all of which disproportionately affect minority students. We conclude with recommendations to college administrators for ways of selecting and supporting minority students to reduce differentials in academic achievement across race-gender groups.

Effects of prolonged running in the heat and cool environments on selected physiological parameters and salivary lysozyme responses

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Nur S. Ibrahim

2017-12-01

Conclusion: This study found similar lysozyme responses between both hot and cool trials. Thus, room/ambient temperature did not affect lysozyme responses among recreational athletes. Nevertheless, the selected physiological parameters were significantly affected by room temperature.

Physiological and Selective Attention Demands during an International Rally Motor Sport Event

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Anthony P. Turner

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose. To monitor physiological and attention responses of drivers and codrivers during a World Rally Championship (WRC event. Methods. Observational data were collected from ten male drivers/codrivers on heart rate (HR, core body (Tcore and skin temperature (Tsk, hydration status (urine osmolality, fluid intake (self-report, and visual and auditory selective attention (performance tests. Measures were taken pre-, mid-, and postcompetition day and also during the precompetition reconnaissance. Results. In ambient temperatures of 20.1°C (in-car peak 33.9°C mean (SD peak HR and Tcore were significantly elevated (P<0.05 during rally compared to reconnaissance (166 (17 versus 111 (16 beats·min−1 and 38.5 (0.4 versus 37.6 (0.2°C, resp.. Values during competitive stages were substantially higher in drivers. High urine osmolality was indicated in some drivers within competition. Attention was maintained during the event but was significantly lower prerally, though with considerable individual variation. Conclusions. Environmental and physical demands during rally competition produced significant physiological responses. Challenges to thermoregulation, hydration status, and cognitive function need to be addressed to minimise potentially negative effects on performance and safety.

Selected medical students achieve better than lottery-admitted students during clerkships.

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Urlings-Strop, Louise C; Themmen, Axel P N; Stijnen, Theo; Splinter, Ted A W

2011-10-01

A recent controlled study by our group showed that the dropout rate in the first 2 years of study of medical students selected for entry by the assessment of a combination of non-cognitive and cognitive abilities was 2.6 times lower than that of a control group of students admitted by lottery. The aim of the present study was to compare the performance of these two groups in the clinical phase. A prospective cohort study was performed to compare the performance of 389 medical students admitted by selection with that of 938 students admitted by weighted lottery between 2001 and 2004. Follow-up of these cohorts lasted 5.5-8.5 years. The main outcome measures were the mean grade obtained on the first five discipline-specific clerkships by all cohorts and the mean grade achieved on all 10 clerkships by the cohorts of 2001 and 2002. Selected students obtained a significantly higher mean grade during their first five clerkships than lottery-admitted students (mean ± standard error [SE] 7.95 ± 0.03, 95% confidence interval [CI] 7.90-8.00 versus mean ± SE 7.84 ± 0.02, 95% CI 7.81-7.87; p students achieved a grade of ≥ 8.0 1.5 times more often than lottery-admitted students. An analysis of all mean grades awarded on 10 clerkships revealed the same results. Moreover, the longer follow-up period over the clerkships showed that the relative risk for dropout was twice as low in the selected student group as in the lottery-admitted student group. The selected group received significantly higher mean grades on their first five clerkships, which could not be attributed to factors other than the selection procedure. Although the risk for dropout before the clinical phase increased somewhat in both groups, the actual dropout rate proved to be twice as low in the selected group. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2011.

Magnitude of physiological curvatures of the spine and the incidence of contractures of selected muscle groups in students

OpenAIRE

Olszewska Elżbieta; Tabor Piotr; Czarniecka Renata

2018-01-01

Study aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of contractures of selected muscle groups with respect to the magnitude of the physiological curvatures of the spine in young men with above-average levels of physical activity.

Recognition of American Physiological Society members whose research publications had a significant impact on the discipline of physiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Tipton, Charles M

2013-03-01

Society members whose research publication during the past 125 yr had an important impact on the discipline of physiology were featured at the American Physiological Society (APS)'s 125th Anniversary symposium. The daunting and challenging task of identifying and selecting significant publications was assumed by the Steering Committee of the History of Physiology Interest Group, who requested recommendations and rationales from all Sections, select Interest Groups, and active senior APS members. The request resulted in recommendations and rationales from nine Sections, one Interest Group, and 28 senior members, identifying 38 publications and 43 members for recognition purposes. The publication recommendations included 5 individuals (Cournand, Erlanger, Gasser, Hubel, and Wiesel) whose research significantly contributed to their selection for the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology, 4 individuals who received multiple recommendations [i.e., Cannon (3), Curran (2), Fenn (3), and Hamilton (2)], and 11 members who had been APS Presidents. Of the recommended articles, 33% were from the American Journal of Physiology, with the earliest being published in 1898 (Cannon) and the latest in 2007 (Sigmund). For the brief oral presentations, the History of Physiology Steering Committee selected the first choices of the Sections or Interest Group, whereas rationales and representation of the membership were used for the presentations by senior members.

Magnitude of physiological curvatures of the spine and the incidence of contractures of selected muscle groups in students

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Olszewska Elżbieta

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Study aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of contractures of selected muscle groups with respect to the magnitude of the physiological curvatures of the spine in young men with above-average levels of physical activity.

Selective attention reduces physiological noise in the external ear canals of humans. II: Visual attention

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Walsh, Kyle P.; Pasanen, Edward G.; McFadden, Dennis

2014-01-01

Human subjects performed in several behavioral conditions requiring, or not requiring, selective attention to visual stimuli. Specifically, the attentional task was to recognize strings of digits that had been presented visually. A nonlinear version of the stimulus-frequency otoacoustic emission (SFOAE), called the nSFOAE, was collected during the visual presentation of the digits. The segment of the physiological response discussed here occurred during brief silent periods immediately following the SFOAE-evoking stimuli. For all subjects tested, the physiological-noise magnitudes were substantially weaker (less noisy) during the tasks requiring the most visual attention. Effect sizes for the differences were >2.0. Our interpretation is that cortico-olivo influences adjusted the magnitude of efferent activation during the SFOAE-evoking stimulation depending upon the attention task in effect, and then that magnitude of efferent activation persisted throughout the silent period where it also modulated the physiological noise present. Because the results were highly similar to those obtained when the behavioral conditions involved auditory attention, similar mechanisms appear to operate both across modalities and within modalities. Supplementary measurements revealed that the efferent activation was spectrally global, as it was for auditory attention. PMID:24732070

Hydrazine selective dual signaling chemodosimetric probe in physiological conditions and its application in live cells

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Nandi, Sandip; Sahana, Animesh; Mandal, Sandip [Department of Chemistry, The University of Burdwan, Burdwan, 713104 West Bengal (India); Sengupta, Archya; Chatterjee, Ansuman [Department of Zoology, Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan, West Bengal (India); Safin, Damir A., E-mail: damir.a.safin@gmail.com [Institute of Condensed Matter and Nanosciences, Molecules, Solids and Reactivity (IMCN/MOST), Université catholique de Louvain, Place L. Pasteur 1, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium); Babashkina, Maria G.; Tumanov, Nikolay A.; Filinchuk, Yaroslav [Institute of Condensed Matter and Nanosciences, Molecules, Solids and Reactivity (IMCN/MOST), Université catholique de Louvain, Place L. Pasteur 1, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium); Das, Debasis, E-mail: ddas100in@yahoo.com [Department of Chemistry, The University of Burdwan, Burdwan, 713104 West Bengal (India)

2015-09-17

A rhodamine–cyanobenzene conjugate, (E)-4-((2-(3′,6′-bis(diethylamino)-3-oxospiro[isoindoline-1,9′-xanthene] -2-yl)ethylimino)methyl)benzonitrile (1), which structure has been elucidated by single crystal X-ray diffraction, was synthesized for selective fluorescent “turn-on” and colorimetric recognition of hydrazine at physiological pH 7.4. It was established that 1 detects hydrazine up to 58 nM. The probe is useful for the detection of intracellular hydrazine in the human breast cancer cells MCF-7 using a fluorescence microscope. Spirolactam ring opening of 1, followed by its hydrolysis, was established as a probable mechanism for the selective sensing of hydrazine. - Highlights: • A selective rhodamine–cyanobenzene conjugate is synthesized. • The conjugate is a selective dual signaling chemodosimetric probe towards hydrazine. • Spirolactam ring opening of the probe, followed by its hydrolysis, is the sensing mechanism. • The probe detects hydrazine in the human breast cancer cells MCF-7 imaging.

Maternal Confidence for Physiologic Childbirth: A Concept Analysis.

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Neerland, Carrie E

2018-06-06

Confidence is a term often used in research literature and consumer media in relation to birth, but maternal confidence has not been clearly defined, especially as it relates to physiologic labor and birth. The aim of this concept analysis was to define maternal confidence in the context of physiologic labor and childbirth. Rodgers' evolutionary method was used to identify attributes, antecedents, and consequences of maternal confidence for physiologic birth. Databases searched included Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Sociological Abstracts from the years 1995 to 2015. A total of 505 articles were retrieved, using the search terms pregnancy, obstetric care, prenatal care, and self-efficacy and the keyword confidence. Articles were identified for in-depth review and inclusion based on whether the term confidence was used or assessed in relationship to labor and/or birth. In addition, a hand search of the reference lists of the selected articles was performed. Twenty-four articles were reviewed in this concept analysis. We define maternal confidence for physiologic birth as a woman's belief that physiologic birth can be achieved, based on her view of birth as a normal process and her belief in her body's innate ability to birth, which is supported by social support, knowledge, and information founded on a trusted relationship with a maternity care provider in an environment where the woman feels safe. This concept analysis advances the concept of maternal confidence for physiologic birth and provides new insight into how women's confidence for physiologic birth might be enhanced during the prenatal period. Further investigation of confidence for physiologic birth across different cultures is needed to identify cultural differences in constructions of the concept. © 2018 by the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

Effects of gender and role selection in cooperative learning groups on science inquiry achievement

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Affhalter, Maria Geralyn

An action research project using science inquiry labs and cooperative learning groups examined the effects of same-gender and co-educational classrooms on science achievement and teacher-assigned or self-selected group roles on students' role preferences. Fifty-nine seventh grade students from a small rural school district participated in two inquiry labs in co-educational classrooms or in an all-female classroom, as determined by parents at the beginning of the academic year. Students were assigned to the same cooperative groups for the duration of the study. Pretests and posttests were administered for each inquiry-based science lab. Posttest assessments included questions for student reflection on role assignment and role preference. Instruction did not vary and a female science teacher taught all class sections. The same-gender classroom and co-ed classrooms produced similar science achievement scores on posttests. Students' cooperative group roles, whether teacher-assigned or self-selected, produced similar science achievement scores on posttests. Male and female students shared equally in favorable and unfavorable reactions to their group roles during the science inquiry labs. Reflections on the selection of the leader role revealed a need for females in co-ed groups to be "in charge". When reflecting on her favorite role of leader, one female student in a co-ed group stated, "I like to have people actually listen to me".

Divergent Streams: Race-Gender Achievement Gaps at Selective Colleges and Universities

OpenAIRE

Massey, Douglas S.; Probasco, LiErin

2010-01-01

In this paper, we extend previous research on racial performance gaps at 28 selective US colleges and universities by examining differences in grade achievement and graduate rates across race-gender categories. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Freshmen, we show that black males, black females, and Hispanic males attain significantly lower grades than other race-gender groups, and that black males are 35% less likely to graduate on-time than other race-gender groups. Analyse...

Increased Interest in Physiology and Science among Adolescents after Presentations and Activities Administered by Undergraduate Physiology Students

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da Silva de Vargas, Liane; Rosa de Menezes, Jefferson; Billig Mello-Carpes, Pâmela

2016-01-01

In this article, the authors describe a set of activities performed in south Brazil that are aligned with the objectives of PhUn Week and promote the integration between universities and public schools and the dissemination of knowledge of physiology. To achieve this goal, the authors adopted a program in which undergraduate physiology students…

Identifying and quantifying main components of physiological noise in functional near infrared spectroscopy on prefrontal cortex

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Evgeniya eKirilina

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS is a promising method to study functional organization of the prefrontal cortex. However, in order to realize the high potential of fNIRS, effective discrimination between physiological noise originating from forehead skin haemodynamic and cerebral signals is required. Main sources of physiological noise are global and local blood flow regulation processes on multiple time scales. The goal of the present study was to identify the main physiological noise contributions in fNIRS forehead signals and to develop a method for physiological de-noising of fNIRS data. To achieve this goal we combined concurrent time-domain fNIRS and peripheral physiology recordings with wavelet coherence analysis. Depth selectivity was achieved by analyzing moments of photon time-of-flight distributions provided by time-domain fNIRS. Simultaneously, mean arterial blood pressure (MAP, heart rate (HR, and skin blood flow (SBF on the forehead were recorded. Wavelet coherence analysis was employed to quantify the impact of physiological processes on fNIRS signals separately for different time scales. We identified three main processes contributing to physiological noise in fNIRS signals on the forehead. The first process with the period of about 3 s is induced by respiration. The second process is highly correlated with time lagged MAP and HR fluctuations with a period of about 10 s often referred as Mayer waves. The third process is local regulation of the facial skin blood flow time locked to the task-evoked fNIRS signals. All processes affect oxygenated haemoglobin concentration more strongly than that of deoxygenated haemoglobin. Based on these results we developed a set of physiological regressors, which were used for physiological de-noising of fNIRS signals. Our results demonstrate that proposed de-noising method can significantly improve the sensitivity of fNIRS to cerebral signals.

The physiology of follicle selection

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Zeleznik Anthony J

2004-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract During the follicular phase of the primate menstrual cycle, a single follicle usually matures to the preovulatory stage and releases its oocyte for fertilization and the potential establishment of pregnancy. In assisted reproductive technology procedures, it is desirable to override the natural process of follicle selection to produce many oocytes that are capable of being fertilized and undergoing normal embryo development. The goal of this chapter is to summarize the current views regarding the natural process of follicle selection in primates and to discuss how this process may be amplified to produce a greater number of oocytes.

Implementation of preference ranking organization method for enrichment evaluation (Promethee) on selection system of student’s achievement

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Karlitasari, L.; Suhartini, D.; Nurrosikawati, L.

2018-03-01

Selection of Student Achievement is conducted every year, starting from the level of Study Program, Faculty, to University, which then rank one will be sent to Kopertis level. The criteria made for the selection are Academic and Rich Scientific, Organizational, Personality, and English. In order for the selection of Student Achievement is Objective, then in addition to the presence of the jury is expected to use methods that support the decision to be more optimal in determining the Student Achievement. One method used is the Promethee Method. Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation (Promethee) is a method of ranking in Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM). PROMETHEE has the advantage that there is a preference type against the criteria that can take into account alternatives with other alternatives on the same criteria. The conjecture of alternate dominance over a criterion used in PROMETHEE is the use of values in the relationships between alternative ranking values. Based on the calculation result, from 7 applicants between Manual and Promethee Matrices, rank 1, 2, and 3, did not change, only 4 to 7 positions were changed. However, after the sensitivity test, almost all criteria experience a high level of sensitivity. Although it does not affect the students who will be sent to the next level, but can bring psychological impact on prospective student’s achievement

Physiological improvement in the copepod Eurytemora affinis through thermal and multi-generational selection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Souissi, Anissa; Souissi, Sami; Hansen, Benni Winding

2016-01-01

As a major part of fish larval diet in nature, copepods constitute an appropriate live prey for aquaculture purposes. Considering the difficulty of mastering copepod mass production, studies on their growth performance at different environmental conditions are needed to improve their productivity....... In this study a new selective approach based on temperature control is proposed to improve the physiological (body size, fecundity and lipid storage) performance of copepods. The estuarine copepod Eurytemora affinis known to have a high genetic variance in temperature tolerance was used as a biological model....... First two different copepod lines were obtained after long-term culture at constant cold (7°C) and warm (20°C) temperatures. Then both populations were transferred to a higher temperature of 24°C appropriate for aquaculture use and followed during five generations. During the first two generations (F1–F...

Selectively Fortifying Reconfigurable Computing Device to Achieve Higher Error Resilience

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Mingjie Lin

2012-01-01

Full Text Available With the advent of 10 nm CMOS devices and “exotic” nanodevices, the location and occurrence time of hardware defects and design faults become increasingly unpredictable, therefore posing severe challenges to existing techniques for error-resilient computing because most of them statically assign hardware redundancy and do not account for the error tolerance inherently existing in many mission-critical applications. This work proposes a novel approach to selectively fortifying a target reconfigurable computing device in order to achieve hardware-efficient error resilience for a specific target application. We intend to demonstrate that such error resilience can be significantly improved with effective hardware support. The major contributions of this work include (1 the development of a complete methodology to perform sensitivity and criticality analysis of hardware redundancy, (2 a novel problem formulation and an efficient heuristic methodology to selectively allocate hardware redundancy among a target design’s key components in order to maximize its overall error resilience, and (3 an academic prototype of SFC computing device that illustrates a 4 times improvement of error resilience for a H.264 encoder implemented with an FPGA device.

Students' Motivation toward Laboratory Work in Physiology Teaching

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Dohn, Niels Bonderup; Fago, Angela; Overgaard, Johannes; Madsen, Peter Teglberg; Malte, Hans

2016-01-01

The laboratory has been given a central role in physiology education, and teachers report that it is motivating for students to undertake experimental work on live animals or measuring physiological responses on the students themselves. Since motivation is a critical variable for academic learning and achievement, then we must concern ourselves…

Recognition of American Physiological Society Members Whose Research Publications Had a Significant Impact on the Discipline of Physiology

Science.gov (United States)

Tipton, Charles M.

2013-01-01

Society members whose research publication during the past 125 yr had an important impact on the discipline of physiology were featured at the American Physiological Society (APS)'s 125th Anniversary symposium. The daunting and challenging task of identifying and selecting significant publications was assumed by the Steering Committee of the…

Using physiologically based models for clinical translation: predictive modelling, data interpretation or something in-between?

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Niederer, Steven A; Smith, Nic P

2016-12-01

Heart disease continues to be a significant clinical problem in Western society. Predictive models and simulations that integrate physiological understanding with patient information derived from clinical data have huge potential to contribute to improving our understanding of both the progression and treatment of heart disease. In particular they provide the potential to improve patient selection and optimisation of cardiovascular interventions across a range of pathologies. Currently a significant proportion of this potential is still to be realised. In this paper we discuss the opportunities and challenges associated with this realisation. Reviewing the successful elements of model translation for biophysically based models and the emerging supporting technologies, we propose three distinct modes of clinical translation. Finally we outline the challenges ahead that will be fundamental to overcome if the ultimate goal of fully personalised clinical cardiac care is to be achieved. © 2016 The Authors. The Journal of Physiology © 2016 The Physiological Society.

Multi-signal Visualization of Physiology (MVP): a novel visualization dashboard for physiological monitoring of Traumatic Brain Injury patients.

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Sebastian, Kevin; Sari, Vivian; Loy, Liang Yu; Zhang, Feng; Zhang, Zhuo; Feng, Mengling

2012-01-01

To prevent Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) patients from secondary brain injuries, patients' physiological readings are continuously monitored. However, the visualization dashboards of most existing monitoring devices cannot effectively present all physiological information of TBI patients and are also ineffective in facilitating neuro-clinicians for fast and accurate diagnosis. To address these shortcomings, we proposed a new visualization dashboard, namely the Multi-signal Visualization of Physiology (MVP). MVP makes use of multi-signal polygram to collate various physiological signals, and it also utilizes colors and the concept of "safe/danger zones" to assist neuro-clinicians to achieve fast and accurate diagnosis. Moreover, MVP allows neuro-clinicians to review historical physiological statuses of TBI patients, which can guide and optimize clinicians' diagnosis and prognosis decisions. The performance of MVP is tested and justified with an actual Philips monitoring device.

Dose selection based on physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) approaches.

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Jones, Hannah M; Mayawala, Kapil; Poulin, Patrick

2013-04-01

Physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models are built using differential equations to describe the physiology/anatomy of different biological systems. Readily available in vitro and in vivo preclinical data can be incorporated into these models to not only estimate pharmacokinetic (PK) parameters and plasma concentration-time profiles, but also to gain mechanistic insight into compound properties. They provide a mechanistic framework to understand and extrapolate PK and dose across in vitro and in vivo systems and across different species, populations and disease states. Using small molecule and large molecule examples from the literature and our own company, we have shown how PBPK techniques can be utilised for human PK and dose prediction. Such approaches have the potential to increase efficiency, reduce the need for animal studies, replace clinical trials and increase PK understanding. Given the mechanistic nature of these models, the future use of PBPK modelling in drug discovery and development is promising, however some limitations need to be addressed to realise its application and utility more broadly.

A Double Selection Approach to Achieve Specific Expression of Toxin Genes for Ovarian Cancer Gene Therapy

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Curiel, David T; Siegal, Gene; Wang, Minghui

2007-01-01

...) to achieve efficient and selective gene transfer to target tumor cells. Proposed herein is a strategy to modify one candidate vector, recombinant adenovirus, such that it embodies the requisite properties of efficacy and specificity...

Genetic approaches in comparative and evolutionary physiology

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Bridgham, Jamie T.; Kelly, Scott A.; Garland, Theodore

2015-01-01

Whole animal physiological performance is highly polygenic and highly plastic, and the same is generally true for the many subordinate traits that underlie performance capacities. Quantitative genetics, therefore, provides an appropriate framework for the analysis of physiological phenotypes and can be used to infer the microevolutionary processes that have shaped patterns of trait variation within and among species. In cases where specific genes are known to contribute to variation in physiological traits, analyses of intraspecific polymorphism and interspecific divergence can reveal molecular mechanisms of functional evolution and can provide insights into the possible adaptive significance of observed sequence changes. In this review, we explain how the tools and theory of quantitative genetics, population genetics, and molecular evolution can inform our understanding of mechanism and process in physiological evolution. For example, lab-based studies of polygenic inheritance can be integrated with field-based studies of trait variation and survivorship to measure selection in the wild, thereby providing direct insights into the adaptive significance of physiological variation. Analyses of quantitative genetic variation in selection experiments can be used to probe interrelationships among traits and the genetic basis of physiological trade-offs and constraints. We review approaches for characterizing the genetic architecture of physiological traits, including linkage mapping and association mapping, and systems approaches for dissecting intermediary steps in the chain of causation between genotype and phenotype. We also discuss the promise and limitations of population genomic approaches for inferring adaptation at specific loci. We end by highlighting the role of organismal physiology in the functional synthesis of evolutionary biology. PMID:26041111

Selective Laser Melting Produced Ti-6Al-4V: Post-Process Heat Treatments to Achieve Superior Tensile Properties.

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Ter Haar, Gerrit M; Becker, Thorsten H

2018-01-17

Current post-process heat treatments applied to selective laser melting produced Ti-6Al-4V do not achieve the same microstructure and therefore superior tensile behaviour of thermomechanical processed wrought Ti-6Al-4V. Due to the growing demand for selective laser melting produced parts in industry, research and development towards improved mechanical properties is ongoing. This study is aimed at developing post-process annealing strategies to improve tensile behaviour of selective laser melting produced Ti-6Al-4V parts. Optical and electron microscopy was used to study α grain morphology as a function of annealing temperature, hold time and cooling rate. Quasi-static uniaxial tensile tests were used to measure tensile behaviour of different annealed parts. It was found that elongated α'/α grains can be fragmented into equiaxial grains through applying a high temperature annealing strategy. It is shown that bi-modal microstructures achieve a superior tensile ductility to current heat treated selective laser melting produced Ti-6Al-4V samples.

Selected factors associated with achievement of biology preparatory students and their follow-up to higher level biology courses

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Biermann, Carol A.; Sarinsky, Gary B.

This study was undertaken to determine whether a biology preparatory course given at an urban community college was helping students to develop the proper skills and background necessary for them to successfully complete follow-up courses in biology. A group of students who enrolled in a biology preparatory course, and subsequently, a follow-up anatomy and physiology or general biology course (experimental group) was compared to a group of students who should have registered for the preparatory course, but who enrolled directly into the anatomy and physiology or general biology course (control group). It was shown that there was no significant difference in their anatomy and physiology or general biology grades. Furthermore, only 16% of the initial group of preparatory students enrolled in and passed a follow-up biology course. Examination of the preparatory group using discriminant analysis ascertained that mathematics score was the principle discriminator between pass/fail groups. A stepwise multiple regression analysis of the variables explaining the preparatory grade showed that mathematics score, reading score, and type of high school degree explained 33% of the variance. Of the students who did pass the preparatory course and enrolled in a follow-up biology class, their preparatory grade was a good predictor of their achievement (measured by follow-up course grade), as determined by multiple regression.

The Interaction of Selective Attention and Cognitive Development on Achievement in Nigerian Secondary School Genetics

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Okoye, Namdi N. S.

2009-01-01

The study tried to examine the interaction between two independent variables of selective attention and cognitive development on Achievement in Genetics at the Secondary School level. In looking at the problem of this study three null hypotheses were generated for testing at 0.05 level of significance. Factorial Analysis of Variance design with…

Selective Laser Melting Produced Ti-6Al-4V: Post-Process Heat Treatments to Achieve Superior Tensile Properties

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gerrit M. Ter Haar

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Current post-process heat treatments applied to selective laser melting produced Ti-6Al-4V do not achieve the same microstructure and therefore superior tensile behaviour of thermomechanical processed wrought Ti-6Al-4V. Due to the growing demand for selective laser melting produced parts in industry, research and development towards improved mechanical properties is ongoing. This study is aimed at developing post-process annealing strategies to improve tensile behaviour of selective laser melting produced Ti-6Al-4V parts. Optical and electron microscopy was used to study α grain morphology as a function of annealing temperature, hold time and cooling rate. Quasi-static uniaxial tensile tests were used to measure tensile behaviour of different annealed parts. It was found that elongated α’/α grains can be fragmented into equiaxial grains through applying a high temperature annealing strategy. It is shown that bi-modal microstructures achieve a superior tensile ductility to current heat treated selective laser melting produced Ti-6Al-4V samples.

Physiological and perceptual responses of sedentary women while walking at a self-selected pace

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Tatiane Hallage

2007-06-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to investigate the physiological and perceptual responses of sedentary women while walking at a self-selected pace. The sample was made up of forty-one women with a median age of 32.6 ± 8.6 years. Subjects underwent an incremental test until exhaustion on a treadmill in order to determine their maximum physiological and perceptual responses. The subjects then a 20-minute walking test at their self-selected pace to determine physiological and perceptual responses. Descriptive analysis was in the form of measures of central tendency, variability and relative frequency. Mean exercise intensity during the walking bout was 57.3 ± 12.1% of peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak and 74.4 ± 9.3% of peak heart rate (HRpeak, corresponding to 88.4 ± 19.8% and 85.6 ± 21.6% of the fi gures obtained at ventilatory threshold (VT, respectively. Nevertheless, the rating of perceived effort (RPE and affective valence (AV during the walking session returned mean values of 11.9 ± 2.1 and 2.4 ± 2.0, which correspond to 100.7 ± 20.0% and 96.0 ± 2.0% of the fi gures obtained at VT, respectively. In conclusion, the exercise intensity that was self-selected by this group of sedentary women meets current recommendations for moderate intensity exercise and was associated with increased pleasure.RESUMO O objetivo desse estudo foi verifi car os parâmetros fi siológicos e perceptivos durante a realização de caminhada de intensidade preferida por mulheres adultas, previamente sedentárias. Foram investigados 41 sujeitos (idade 32,6 ± 8,6 anos, os quais realizaram, inicialmente, um teste de esteira incremental até a exaustão para a determinação de respostas fi siológicas e perceptivas máximas e, posteriormente, um teste de caminhada em esteira por 20 minutos em uma intensidade auto-selecionada, no qual parâmetros fi siológicos e perceptivos foram obtidos. Medidas de tendência central e variabilidade foram empregadas para a an

Achieving high permeability and enhanced selectivity for Angstrom-scale separations using artificial water channel membranes.

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Shen, Yue-Xiao; Song, Woochul C; Barden, D Ryan; Ren, Tingwei; Lang, Chao; Feroz, Hasin; Henderson, Codey B; Saboe, Patrick O; Tsai, Daniel; Yan, Hengjing; Butler, Peter J; Bazan, Guillermo C; Phillip, William A; Hickey, Robert J; Cremer, Paul S; Vashisth, Harish; Kumar, Manish

2018-06-12

Synthetic polymer membranes, critical to diverse energy-efficient separations, are subject to permeability-selectivity trade-offs that decrease their overall efficacy. These trade-offs are due to structural variations (e.g., broad pore size distributions) in both nonporous membranes used for Angstrom-scale separations and porous membranes used for nano to micron-scale separations. Biological membranes utilize well-defined Angstrom-scale pores to provide exceptional transport properties and can be used as inspiration to overcome this trade-off. Here, we present a comprehensive demonstration of such a bioinspired approach based on pillar[5]arene artificial water channels, resulting in artificial water channel-based block copolymer membranes. These membranes have a sharp selectivity profile with a molecular weight cutoff of ~ 500 Da, a size range challenging to achieve with current membranes, while achieving a large improvement in permeability (~65 L m -2  h -1  bar -1  compared with 4-7 L m -2  h -1  bar -1 ) over similarly rated commercial membranes.

Guttation fluid as a physiological marker for selection of nitrogen ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Oryza sativa L.) genotypes. Hukum Singh, Amit Verma, Alok Shukla. Abstract. A field experiment was conducted during the rainy season of 2008 and 2009 to use guttation fluid as a physiological marker for the screening of more nitrogen efficient ...

Nitric oxide: a physiologic messenger.

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Lowenstein, C J; Dinerman, J L; Snyder, S H

1994-02-01

To review the physiologic role of nitric oxide, an unusual messenger molecule that mediates blood vessel relaxation, neurotransmission, and pathogen suppression. A MEDLINE search of articles published from 1987 to 1993 that addressed nitric oxide and the enzyme that synthesizes it, nitric oxide synthase. Animal and human studies were selected from 3044 articles to analyze the clinical importance of nitric oxide. Descriptions of the structure and function of nitric oxide synthase were selected to show how nitric oxide acts as a biological messenger molecule. Biochemical and physiologic studies were analyzed if the same results were found by three or more independent observers. Two major classes of nitric oxide synthase enzymes produce nitric oxide. The constitutive isoforms found in endothelial cells and neurons release small amounts of nitric oxide for brief periods to signal adjacent cells, whereas the inducible isoform found in macrophages releases large amounts of nitric oxide continuously to eliminate bacteria and parasites. By diffusing into adjacent cells and binding to enzymes that contain iron, nitric oxide plays many important physiologic roles. It regulates blood pressure, transmits signals between neurons, and suppresses pathogens. Excess amounts, however, can damage host cells, causing neurotoxicity during strokes and causing the hypotension associated with sepsis. Nitric oxide is a simple molecule with many physiologic roles in the cardiovascular, neurologic, and immune systems. Although the general principles of nitric oxide synthesis are known, further research is necessary to determine what role it plays in causing disease.

Subcortical orientation biases explain orientation selectivity of visual cortical cells.

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Vidyasagar, Trichur R; Jayakumar, Jaikishan; Lloyd, Errol; Levichkina, Ekaterina V

2015-04-01

The primary visual cortex of carnivores and primates shows an orderly progression of domains of neurons that are selective to a particular orientation of visual stimuli such as bars and gratings. We recorded from single-thalamic afferent fibers that terminate in these domains to address the issue whether the orientation sensitivity of these fibers could form the basis of the remarkable orientation selectivity exhibited by most cortical cells. We first performed optical imaging of intrinsic signals to obtain a map of orientation domains on the dorsal aspect of the anaesthetized cat's area 17. After confirming using electrophysiological recordings the orientation preferences of single neurons within one or two domains in each animal, we pharmacologically silenced the cortex to leave only the afferent terminals active. The inactivation of cortical neurons was achieved by the superfusion of either kainic acid or muscimol. Responses of single geniculate afferents were then recorded by the use of high impedance electrodes. We found that the orientation preferences of the afferents matched closely with those of the cells in the orientation domains that they terminated in (Pearson's r = 0.633, n = 22, P = 0.002). This suggests a possible subcortical origin for cortical orientation selectivity. © 2015 The Authors. Physiological Reports published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of the American Physiological Society and The Physiological Society.

Selected personality traits and achievement motivation in university students of physical culture, education and natural sciences

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Martin Sigmund

2013-09-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Understanding personality variables and other important psychological traits in the university population appears topical particularly with respect to personality, motivation, health as well as overall academic achievement. A significant role is played by correlations of the monitored variables in relation to selected study specialization. OBJECTIVE: The main objective of the present study is to extend the knowledge on selected personality traits and the level of achievement motivation in a specific group of university students with respect to the diversity of their study specialization. METHODS: The study included a total of 522 students from Palacký University. These were students from the Faculty of Physical Culture (n = 118, Faculty of Education (n = 218 and Faculty of Science (n = 186. In terms of age, the study focused on young adults aged 19 to 26. In the research, psychodiagnostic methods were used to perform diagnostics and to fulfil the overall research plan. All diagnostic methods used are fully standardized and contain domestic normative values. We monitored variables such as personality, achievement motivation and achievement anxiety. Statistical result processing was conducted using the Statgraphics programme v. 9.0. Result processing was made using parametric as well as non-parametric statistical methods (Shapiro-Wilk, Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, Spearman’s correlation. RESULTS: University students specialized in physical culture showed the highest values of extraversion and psychoticism, and clearly the lowest values of neuroticism compared to the students of education and natural sciences. The highest values of openness were observed in the students specialized in sports. In terms of the overall achievement motivation related to study specialization, almost identical values were observed. However, the students of physical culture showed significantly lower values of achievement debilitating anxiety

An Appraisal Model Based on a Synthetic Feature Selection Approach for Students’ Academic Achievement

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Ching-Hsue Cheng

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Obtaining necessary information (and even extracting hidden messages from existing big data, and then transforming them into knowledge, is an important skill. Data mining technology has received increased attention in various fields in recent years because it can be used to find historical patterns and employ machine learning to aid in decision-making. When we find unexpected rules or patterns from the data, they are likely to be of high value. This paper proposes a synthetic feature selection approach (SFSA, which is combined with a support vector machine (SVM to extract patterns and find the key features that influence students’ academic achievement. For verifying the proposed model, two databases, namely, “Student Profile” and “Tutorship Record”, were collected from an elementary school in Taiwan, and were concatenated into an integrated dataset based on students’ names as a research dataset. The results indicate the following: (1 the accuracy of the proposed feature selection approach is better than that of the Minimum-Redundancy-Maximum-Relevance (mRMR approach; (2 the proposed model is better than the listing methods when the six least influential features have been deleted; and (3 the proposed model can enhance the accuracy and facilitate the interpretation of the pattern from a hybrid-type dataset of students’ academic achievement.

Chickens from lines artificially selected for juvenile low and high body weight differ in glucose homeostasis and pancreas physiology.

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Sumners, L H; Zhang, W; Zhao, X; Honaker, C F; Zhang, S; Cline, M A; Siegel, P B; Gilbert, E R

2014-06-01

Artificial selection of White Plymouth Rock chickens for juvenile (day 56) body weight resulted in two divergent genetic lines: hypophagic low weight (LWS) chickens and hyperphagic obese high weight (HWS) chickens, with the latter more than 10-fold heavier than the former at selection age. A study was designed to investigate glucose regulation and pancreas physiology at selection age in LWS chickens and HWS chickens. Oral glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity tests revealed differences in threshold sensitivity to insulin and glucose clearance rate between the lines. Results from real-time PCR showed greater pancreatic mRNA expression of four glucose regulatory genes (preproinsulin, PPI; preproglucagon, PPG; glucose transporter 2, GLUT2; and pancreatic duodenal homeobox 1, Pdx1) in LWS chickens, than HWS chickens. Histological analysis of the pancreas revealed that HWS chickens have larger pancreatic islets, less pancreatic islet mass, and more pancreatic inflammation than LWS chickens, all of which presumably contribute to impaired glucose metabolism. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Exercise, physiological function, and the selection of participants for aging research.

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Lazarus, Norman R; Harridge, Stephen D R

2010-08-01

Regular and vigorous exercisers appear to be the logical choice for studying the inherent aging process as they are essentially free from the complications of disuse. Cross-sectional studies of aging tend to depict an essentially smooth and progressive decrement of physiological function with increasing chronological age. On closer examination of such data, it is seen that although the young have high functional values and the very old low, between these limits, values are widely scattered. We have reevaluated published data from a meta-analysis of 242 studies on men and from a similar study on women. From both data sets, where VO2max was plotted against chronological age, we stratified the VO2max values into bandwidth intervals of 5 ml/kg/minute and then allocated data points to their respective bandwidth irrespective of chronological age. When replotted into bandwidths of functional equivalence, these data show that at the extremes of function, the young are separated from the old. Between these values, each functional bandwidth accommodates a wide age range. The decrement in function with chronological age is not smooth or well defined. We suggest that participants for research into healthy aging should be initially segregated into bands of functionally equivalent VO2max values irrespective of their chronological age. Subsequently, other physiological measurements should be made on every participant in the band in order to begin to define the physiological profile of the participants. By conducting longitudinal studies on every individual, it will be possible to chart the physiological history of each participant through various ages. Segregating participants into cohorts of functional equivalence with data handling blinded to chronological age may be of great utility in increasing our understanding of the inherent aging process.

Exploitation of physiological and genetic variability to enhance crop productivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harper, J.E.; Schrader, L.E.; Howell, R.W.

1985-01-01

The American Society of Plant Physiologists recognizes the need to identify primary physiological limitations to crop productivity. This basic information is essential to facilitate and accelerate progress towards the goal of enhanced productivity on a global scale. Plant breeders currently select for desirable physiological traits intuitively by selecting for enhanced yield capability. Identification of specific physiological limitations by plant physiologists could potentially foster interdisciplinary research and accelerate progress in breeding for improved cultivars. The recent upsurge in research interest and funding in the area of biotechnology further exemplifies the importance of identification of specific physiological traits which may be amenable to manipulation at the molecular as well as the whole plant level. The theme of this symposium was to focus attention on current progress in identification of possible physiological limitations. The purpose of this publication is to document that progress and hopefully to extend the stimulating ideas to those who were unable to attend the symposium

Introductory Anatomy and Physiology in an Undergraduate Nursing Curriculum

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Brown, S. J.; White, S.; Power, N.

2017-01-01

Using an educational data mining approach, first-year academic achievement of undergraduate nursing students, which included two compulsory courses in introductory human anatomy and physiology, was compared with achievement in a final semester course that transitioned students into the workplace. We hypothesized that students could be grouped…

Physiological, physical and on-ice performance criteria for selection of elite ice hockey teams

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R Roczniok

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to examine physiological and physical determinants of ice-hockey performance in order to assess their impact on the result during a selection for ice hockey. A total of 42 ice hockey players took part in the selection camp. At the end of the camp 20 best players were selected by team of expert coaches to the ice hockey team and created group G1, while the second group (G2 consisted of not selected players (non-successful group Evaluation of goodness of fit of the model to the data was based on the Hosmer Lemeshow test Ice hockey players selected to the team were taller 181.95±4.02 cm, had lower % body fat 13.17±3.17%, a shorter time to peak power 2.47±0.35 s , higher relative peak power 21.34±2.41 W • kg-1 and higher relative total work 305.18±28.41 J • kg-1. The results of the aerobic capacity test showed significant differences only in case of two variables. Ice hockey players in the G1 had higher VO2max 4.07±0.31 l • min-1 values than players in the G2 as well as ice hockey players in G1 showed a higher level of relative VO2max 51.75±2.99 ml • min-1 • kg-1 than athletes in G2. Ice hockey players selected to the team (G1 performed better in the 30 m Forwards Sprint 4.28±0.31 s; 6x9 Turns 12.19±0.75 s; 6x9 stops 12.79±0.49 s and Endurance test (6x30 m stops 32.01±0.80 s than players in G2. The logistic regression model showed that the best predictors of success in the recruitment process of top level ice hockey players were time to peak power, relative peak power, VO2max and 30 m sprint forwards on ice. On the basis of the constructed predictive logistic regression model it will be possible to determine the probability of success of the athletes during following the selection processes to the team.

Selecting boundary conditions in physiological strain analysis of the femur: Balanced loads, inertia relief method and follower load.

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Heyland, Mark; Trepczynski, Adam; Duda, Georg N; Zehn, Manfred; Schaser, Klaus-Dieter; Märdian, Sven

2015-12-01

Selection of boundary constraints may influence amount and distribution of loads. The purpose of this study is to analyze the potential of inertia relief and follower load to maintain the effects of musculoskeletal loads even under large deflections in patient specific finite element models of intact or fractured bone compared to empiric boundary constraints which have been shown to lead to physiological displacements and surface strains. The goal is to elucidate the use of boundary conditions in strain analyses of bones. Finite element models of the intact femur and a model of clinically relevant fracture stabilization by locking plate fixation were analyzed with normal walking loading conditions for different boundary conditions, specifically re-balanced loading, inertia relief and follower load. Peak principal cortex surface strains for different boundary conditions are consistent (maximum deviation 13.7%) except for inertia relief without force balancing (maximum deviation 108.4%). Influence of follower load on displacements increases with higher deflection in fracture model (from 3% to 7% for force balanced model). For load balanced models, follower load had only minor influence, though the effect increases strongly with higher deflection. Conventional constraints of fixed nodes in space should be carefully reconsidered because their type and position are challenging to justify and for their potential to introduce relevant non-physiological reaction forces. Inertia relief provides an alternative method which yields physiological strain results. Copyright © 2015 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tokay gecko photoreceptors achieve rod-like physiology with cone-like proteins.

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Zhang, Xue; Wensel, Theodore G; Yuan, Ching

2006-01-01

The retinal photoreceptors of the nocturnal Tokay gecko (Gekko gekko) consist exclusively of rods by the criteria of morphology and key features of their light responses. Unlike cones, they display robust photoresponses and have relatively slow recovery times. Nonetheless, the major and minor visual pigments identified in gecko rods are of the cone type by sequence and spectroscopic behavior. In the ongoing search for the molecular bases for the physiological differences between cones and rods, we have characterized the molecular biology and biochemistry of the gecko rod phototransduction cascade. We have cloned cDNAs encoding all or part of major protein components of the phototransduction cascade by RT-PCR with degenerate oligonucleotides designed to amplify cone- or rod-like sequences. For all proteins examined we obtained only cone-like and never rod-like sequences. The proteins identified include transducin alpha (Galphat), phosphodiesterase (PDE6) catalytic and inhibitory subunits, cyclic nucleotide-gated channel (CNGalpha) and arrestin. We also cloned cDNA encoding gecko RGS9-1 (Regulator of G Protein Signaling 9, splice variant 1), which is expressed in both rods and cones of all species studied but is typically found at 10-fold higher concentrations in cones, and found that gecko rods contain slightly lower RGS9-1 levels than mammalian rods. Furthermore, we found that the levels of GTPase accelerating protein (GAP) activity and cyclic GMP (cGMP) phosphodiesterase activity were similar in gecko and mammalian rods. These results place substantial constraints on the critical changes needed to convert a cone into a rod in the course of evolution: The many features of phototransduction molecules conserved between those expressed in gecko rods and those expressed in cones cannot explain the physiological differences, whereas the higher levels of RGS9-1 and GAP activity in cones are likely among the essential requirements for the rapid photoresponses of cones.

Functional neural correlates of reduced physiological falls risk

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Hsu Chun

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background It is currently unclear whether the function of brain regions associated with executive cognitive processing are independently associated with reduced physiological falls risk. If these are related, it would suggest that the development of interventions targeted at improving executive neurocognitive function would be an effective new approach for reducing physiological falls risk in seniors. Methods We performed a secondary analysis of 73 community-dwelling senior women aged 65 to 75 years old who participated in a 12-month randomized controlled trial of resistance training. Functional MRI data were acquired while participants performed a modified Eriksen Flanker Task - a task of selective attention and conflict resolution. Brain volumes were obtained using MRI. Falls risk was assessed using the Physiological Profile Assessment (PPA. Results After accounting for baseline age, experimental group, baseline PPA score, and total baseline white matter brain volume, baseline activation in the left frontal orbital cortex extending towards the insula was negatively associated with reduced physiological falls risk over the 12-month period. In contrast, baseline activation in the paracingulate gyrus extending towards the anterior cingulate gyrus was positively associated with reduced physiological falls risk. Conclusions Baseline activation levels of brain regions underlying response inhibition and selective attention were independently associated with reduced physiological falls risk. This suggests that falls prevention strategies may be facilitated by incorporating intervention components - such as aerobic exercise - that are specifically designed to induce neurocognitive plasticity. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00426881

Physiology is rocking the foundations of evolutionary biology.

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Noble, Denis

2013-08-01

The 'Modern Synthesis' (Neo-Darwinism) is a mid-20th century gene-centric view of evolution, based on random mutations accumulating to produce gradual change through natural selection. Any role of physiological function in influencing genetic inheritance was excluded. The organism became a mere carrier of the real objects of selection, its genes. We now know that genetic change is far from random and often not gradual. Molecular genetics and genome sequencing have deconstructed this unnecessarily restrictive view of evolution in a way that reintroduces physiological function and interactions with the environment as factors influencing the speed and nature of inherited change. Acquired characteristics can be inherited, and in a few but growing number of cases that inheritance has now been shown to be robust for many generations. The 21st century can look forward to a new synthesis that will reintegrate physiology with evolutionary biology.

Evaluation of the Virtual Physiology of Exercise Laboratory Program

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Dobson, John L.

2009-01-01

The Virtual Physiology of Exercise Laboratory (VPEL) program was created to simulate the test design, data collection, and analysis phases of selected exercise physiology laboratories. The VPEL program consists of four modules: (1) cardiovascular, (2) maximal O[subscript 2] consumption [Vo[subscript 2max], (3) lactate and ventilatory thresholds,…

Aptitude Tests Versus School Exams as Selection Tools for Higher Education and the Case for Assessing Educational Achievement in Context

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Stringer, Neil

2008-01-01

Advocates of using a US-style SAT for university selection claim that it is fairer to applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds than achievement tests because it assesses potential, not achievement, and that it allows finer discrimination between top applicants than GCEs. The pros and cons of aptitude tests in principle are discussed, focusing on…

Enabling women to achieve their breastfeeding goals.

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Stuebe, Alison M

2014-03-01

In mammalian physiology, lactation follows pregnancy, and disruption of this physiology is associated with adverse health outcomes for mother and child. Although lactation is the physiologic norm, cultural norms for infant feeding have changed dramatically over the past century. Breastfeeding initiation fell from 70% in the early 1900s to 22% in 1972. In the past 40 years, rates have risen substantially, to 77% in 2010. Although more mothers are initiating breastfeeding, many report that they do not continue as long as they desire. As reproductive health care experts, obstetricians are uniquely positioned to assist women to make an informed feeding decision, offer anticipatory guidance, support normal lactation physiology, and evaluate and treat breastfeeding complications. Integration of care among the obstetrician, pediatric provider, and lactation consultant may enable more women to achieve their breastfeeding goals, thereby improving health outcomes across two generations.

Predicting students' happiness from physiology, phone, mobility, and behavioral data.

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Jaques, Natasha; Taylor, Sara; Azaria, Asaph; Ghandeharioun, Asma; Sano, Akane; Picard, Rosalind

2015-09-01

In order to model students' happiness, we apply machine learning methods to data collected from undergrad students monitored over the course of one month each. The data collected include physiological signals, location, smartphone logs, and survey responses to behavioral questions. Each day, participants reported their wellbeing on measures including stress, health, and happiness. Because of the relationship between happiness and depression, modeling happiness may help us to detect individuals who are at risk of depression and guide interventions to help them. We are also interested in how behavioral factors (such as sleep and social activity) affect happiness positively and negatively. A variety of machine learning and feature selection techniques are compared, including Gaussian Mixture Models and ensemble classification. We achieve 70% classification accuracy of self-reported happiness on held-out test data.

The Relationship Between Selected Subtests of the Detroit Tests of Learning Aptitude and Second Grade Reading Achievement.

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Sherwood, Charles; Chambless, Martha

Relationships between reading achievement and perceptual skills as measured by selected subtests of the Detroit Tests of Learning Aptitude were investigated in a sample of 73 second graders. Verbal opposites, visual memory for designs, and visual attention span for letters were significantly correlated with both word meaning and vocabulary…

Space Physiology within an Exercise Physiology Curriculum

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Carter, Jason R.; West, John B.

2013-01-01

Compare and contrast strategies remain common pedagogical practices within physiological education. With the support of an American Physiological Society Teaching Career Enhancement Award, we have developed a junior- or senior-level undergraduate curriculum for exercise physiology that compares and contrasts the physiological adaptations of…

Success stories and emerging themes in conservation physiology.

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Madliger, Christine L; Cooke, Steven J; Crespi, Erica J; Funk, Jennifer L; Hultine, Kevin R; Hunt, Kathleen E; Rohr, Jason R; Sinclair, Brent J; Suski, Cory D; Willis, Craig K R; Love, Oliver P

2016-01-01

The potential benefits of physiology for conservation are well established and include greater specificity of management techniques, determination of cause-effect relationships, increased sensitivity of health and disturbance monitoring and greater capacity for predicting future change. While descriptions of the specific avenues in which conservation and physiology can be integrated are readily available and important to the continuing expansion of the discipline of 'conservation physiology', to date there has been no assessment of how the field has specifically contributed to conservation success. However, the goal of conservation physiology is to foster conservation solutions and it is therefore important to assess whether physiological approaches contribute to downstream conservation outcomes and management decisions. Here, we present eight areas of conservation concern, ranging from chemical contamination to invasive species to ecotourism, where physiological approaches have led to beneficial changes in human behaviour, management or policy. We also discuss the shared characteristics of these successes, identifying emerging themes in the discipline. Specifically, we conclude that conservation physiology: (i) goes beyond documenting change to provide solutions; (ii) offers a diversity of physiological metrics beyond glucocorticoids (stress hormones); (iii) includes approaches that are transferable among species, locations and times; (iv) simultaneously allows for human use and benefits to wildlife; and (v) is characterized by successes that can be difficult to find in the primary literature. Overall, we submit that the field of conservation physiology has a strong foundation of achievements characterized by a diversity of conservation issues, taxa, physiological traits, ecosystem types and spatial scales. We hope that these concrete successes will encourage the continued evolution and use of physiological tools within conservation-based research and management

5 CFR 317.501 - Recruitment and selection for initial SES career appointment be achieved from the brightest and...

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2010-01-01

.... OPM may review proposed career appointments to ensure that they comply with all merit staffing... career appointment be achieved from the brightest and most diverse pool possible. 317.501 Section 317.501... EXECUTIVE SERVICE Career Appointments § 317.501 Recruitment and selection for initial SES career appointment...

Do physiological measures predict selected CrossFit® benchmark performance?

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Butcher SJ

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Scotty J Butcher,1,2 Tyler J Neyedly,3 Karla J Horvey,1 Chad R Benko2,41Physical Therapy, University of Saskatchewan, 2BOSS Strength Institute, 3Physiology, University of Saskatchewan, 4Synergy Strength and Conditioning, Saskatoon, SK, CanadaPurpose: CrossFit® is a new but extremely popular method of exercise training and competition that involves constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity. Despite the popularity of this training method, the physiological determinants of CrossFit performance have not yet been reported. The purpose of this study was to determine whether physiological and/or muscle strength measures could predict performance on three common CrossFit "Workouts of the Day" (WODs.Materials and methods: Fourteen CrossFit Open or Regional athletes completed, on separate days, the WODs "Grace" (30 clean and jerks for time, "Fran" (three rounds of thrusters and pull-ups for 21, 15, and nine repetitions, and "Cindy" (20 minutes of rounds of five pull-ups, ten push-ups, and 15 bodyweight squats, as well as the "CrossFit Total" (1 repetition max [1RM] back squat, overhead press, and deadlift, maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max, and Wingate anaerobic power/capacity testing.Results: Performance of Grace and Fran was related to whole-body strength (CrossFit Total (r=-0.88 and -0.65, respectively and anaerobic threshold (r=-0.61 and -0.53, respectively; however, whole-body strength was the only variable to survive the prediction regression for both of these WODs (R2=0.77 and 0.42, respectively. There were no significant associations or predictors for Cindy.Conclusion: CrossFit benchmark WOD performance cannot be predicted by VO2max, Wingate power/capacity, or either respiratory compensation or anaerobic thresholds. Of the data measured, only whole-body strength can partially explain performance on Grace and Fran, although anaerobic threshold also exhibited association with performance. Along with their typical training

Success stories and emerging themes in conservation physiology

Science.gov (United States)

Madliger, Christine L.; Cooke, Steven J.; Crespi, Erica J.; Funk, Jennifer L.; Hultine, Kevin R.; Hunt, Kathleen E.; Rohr, Jason R.; Sinclair, Brent J.; Suski, Cory D.; Willis, Craig K. R.; Love, Oliver P.

2016-01-01

The potential benefits of physiology for conservation are well established and include greater specificity of management techniques, determination of cause–effect relationships, increased sensitivity of health and disturbance monitoring and greater capacity for predicting future change. While descriptions of the specific avenues in which conservation and physiology can be integrated are readily available and important to the continuing expansion of the discipline of ‘conservation physiology’, to date there has been no assessment of how the field has specifically contributed to conservation success. However, the goal of conservation physiology is to foster conservation solutions and it is therefore important to assess whether physiological approaches contribute to downstream conservation outcomes and management decisions. Here, we present eight areas of conservation concern, ranging from chemical contamination to invasive species to ecotourism, where physiological approaches have led to beneficial changes in human behaviour, management or policy. We also discuss the shared characteristics of these successes, identifying emerging themes in the discipline. Specifically, we conclude that conservation physiology: (i) goes beyond documenting change to provide solutions; (ii) offers a diversity of physiological metrics beyond glucocorticoids (stress hormones); (iii) includes approaches that are transferable among species, locations and times; (iv) simultaneously allows for human use and benefits to wildlife; and (v) is characterized by successes that can be difficult to find in the primary literature. Overall, we submit that the field of conservation physiology has a strong foundation of achievements characterized by a diversity of conservation issues, taxa, physiological traits, ecosystem types and spatial scales. We hope that these concrete successes will encourage the continued evolution and use of physiological tools within conservation-based research and

Singularity now: using the ventricular assist device as a model for future human-robotic physiology.

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Martin, Archer K

2016-04-01

In our 21 st century world, human-robotic interactions are far more complicated than Asimov predicted in 1942. The future of human-robotic interactions includes human-robotic machine hybrids with an integrated physiology, working together to achieve an enhanced level of baseline human physiological performance. This achievement can be described as a biological Singularity. I argue that this time of Singularity cannot be met by current biological technologies, and that human-robotic physiology must be integrated for the Singularity to occur. In order to conquer the challenges we face regarding human-robotic physiology, we first need to identify a working model in today's world. Once identified, this model can form the basis for the study, creation, expansion, and optimization of human-robotic hybrid physiology. In this paper, I present and defend the line of argument that currently this kind of model (proposed to be named "IshBot") can best be studied in ventricular assist devices - VAD.

CT perfusion-guided patient selection for endovascular recanalization in acute ischemic stroke: a multicenter study.

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Turk, Aquilla S; Magarick, Jordan Asher; Frei, Don; Fargen, Kyle Michael; Chaudry, Imran; Holmstedt, Christine A; Nicholas, Joyce; Mocco, J; Turner, Raymond D; Huddle, Daniel; Loy, David; Bellon, Richard; Dooley, Gwendolyn; Adams, Robert; Whaley, Michelle; Fanale, Chris; Jauch, Edward

2013-11-01

The treatment of acute ischemic stroke is traditionally centered on time criteria, although recent evidence suggests that physiologic neuroimaging may be useful. In a multicenter study we evaluated the use of CT perfusion, regardless of time from symptom onset, in patients selected for intra-arterial treatment of ischemic stroke. Three medical centers retrospectively assessed stroke patients with a National Institute of Health Stroke Scale of ≥ 8, regardless of time from symptom onset. CT perfusion maps were qualitatively assessed. Patients with defined salvageable penumbra underwent intra-arterial revascularization of their occlusion. Functional outcome using the modified Rankin Score (mRS) was recorded. Two hundred and forty-seven patients were selected to undergo intra-arterial treatment based on CT perfusion imaging. The median time from symptom onset to procedure was 6 h. Patients were divided into two groups for analysis: ≤ 8 h and >8 h from symptom onset to endovascular procedure. We found no difference in functional outcome between the two groups (42.8% and 41.9% achieved 90-day mRS ≤ 2, respectively (p=1.0), and 54.9% vs 55.4% (p=1.0) achieved 90-day mRS ≤ 3, respectively). Overall, 48 patients (19.4%) had hemorrhages, of which 20 (8.0%) were symptomatic, with no difference between the groups (p=1.0). In a multicenter study, we demonstrated similar rates of good functional outcome and intracranial hemorrhage in patients with ischemic stroke when endovascular treatment was performed based on CT perfusion selection rather than time-guided selection. Our findings suggest that physiologic imaging-guided patient selection rather than time for endovascular reperfusion in ischemic stroke may be effective and safe.

Critical osmotic, ionic and physiological indicators of salinity tolerance in cotton (gossypium hirsutum l.) for cultivar selection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Munis, M.F.H.; Tu, L.; Ziaf, K; Tan, J.; Deng, F.; Zhang, X.

2010-01-01

Salinity affects the germination, growth and ultimately the yield of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) which demands reliable traits for the evaluation and selection of salt tolerant cultivars. Here, ten major osmotic, ionic and physiological parameters have been studied to distinguish the effect of salinity in two different cultivars of cotton. Plants were grown in hydroponic system and exposed to different salinity levels of NaCl followed by its recovery under non saline conditions. Data was recorded at three different stages i.e., before stress, after stress and after recovery for comparative study. Recovery assay proved to be very helpful in extracting reliable results. Both cultivars showed significantly different response to Na+ and K+ accumulation and phenotypically salt tolerant cultivar (Coker 312) accumulated less Na+ and more K+ in comparison with susceptible (Simian 3). Decrease in leaf area, seed germination and seedling growth were also conclusive to differentiate these cultivars. We also found other physiological parameters like relative leaf water content (RLWC), plant fresh-weight (PFW), plant dry-weight (PDW), relative growth rate (RGR) and stomatal behavior as good indicators of salinity but could not find their significant role to differentiate two closely relevant cultivars regarding salinity tolerance. Our studies revealed that proline accumulation and chlorophyll concentration are not significant to be used as accurate indicators to characterize the sensitivity of cotton cultivars to salinity. We found post-recovery analysis to be very useful in understanding the role and behavior of different indicators of salinity. (author)

Tracking Undergraduate Student Achievement in a First-Year Physiology Course Using a Cluster Analysis Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, S. J.; White, S.; Power, N.

2015-01-01

A cluster analysis data classification technique was used on assessment scores from 157 undergraduate nursing students who passed 2 successive compulsory courses in human anatomy and physiology. Student scores in five summative assessment tasks, taken in each of the courses, were used as inputs for a cluster analysis procedure. We aimed to group…

Fostering improved anatomy and physiology instructor pedagogy.

Science.gov (United States)

Mattheis, Allison; Jensen, Murray

2014-12-01

Despite widespread calls for reform in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education, effecting lasting change in instructor practice is challenging to achieve. This article describes the results of a 2-yr research study that involved efforts to develop the pedagogical expertise of a group of anatomy and physiology instructors at the college level. Data were collected through a series of individual interviews that included the use of the Teacher Beliefs Inventory questionnaire (23) along with observations onsite in participants' college classrooms and at process-oriented guided inquiry learning (POGIL) curriculum writing workshops. Findings indicated attitudinal shifts on the part of participants from teacher-centered to more student-centered pedagogy and supported the benefits of long-term professional development for instructors. Here, we documented the successful progress of these professors as they participated in a curriculum development process that emphasized student-centered teaching with the goal of promoting broader change efforts in introductory anatomy and physiology. Copyright © 2014 The American Physiological Society.

Impact of human emotions on physiological characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Partila, P.; Voznak, M.; Peterek, T.; Penhaker, M.; Novak, V.; Tovarek, J.; Mehic, Miralem; Vojtech, L.

2014-05-01

Emotional states of humans and their impact on physiological and neurological characteristics are discussed in this paper. This problem is the goal of many teams who have dealt with this topic. Nowadays, it is necessary to increase the accuracy of methods for obtaining information about correlations between emotional state and physiological changes. To be able to record these changes, we focused on two majority emotional states. Studied subjects were psychologically stimulated to neutral - calm and then to the stress state. Electrocardiography, Electroencephalography and blood pressure represented neurological and physiological samples that were collected during patient's stimulated conditions. Speech activity was recording during the patient was reading selected text. Feature extraction was calculated by speech processing operations. Classifier based on Gaussian Mixture Model was trained and tested using Mel-Frequency Cepstral Coefficients extracted from the patient's speech. All measurements were performed in a chamber with electromagnetic compatibility. The article discusses a method for determining the influence of stress emotional state on the human and his physiological and neurological changes.

Citation Characteristics of Physiology Literature, 1970-72

Science.gov (United States)

Hafner, A. W.

1976-01-01

To identify and describe selected characteristics of the research literature of the basic medical science area of physiology during the three-year period 1970-72, this literature was analyzed to determine where, when, by what subject area, and in what countries it was published. (Author/PF)

Collaborative filtering for brain-computer interaction using transfer learning and active class selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Dongrui; Lance, Brent J; Parsons, Thomas D

2013-01-01

Brain-computer interaction (BCI) and physiological computing are terms that refer to using processed neural or physiological signals to influence human interaction with computers, environment, and each other. A major challenge in developing these systems arises from the large individual differences typically seen in the neural/physiological responses. As a result, many researchers use individually-trained recognition algorithms to process this data. In order to minimize time, cost, and barriers to use, there is a need to minimize the amount of individual training data required, or equivalently, to increase the recognition accuracy without increasing the number of user-specific training samples. One promising method for achieving this is collaborative filtering, which combines training data from the individual subject with additional training data from other, similar subjects. This paper describes a successful application of a collaborative filtering approach intended for a BCI system. This approach is based on transfer learning (TL), active class selection (ACS), and a mean squared difference user-similarity heuristic. The resulting BCI system uses neural and physiological signals for automatic task difficulty recognition. TL improves the learning performance by combining a small number of user-specific training samples with a large number of auxiliary training samples from other similar subjects. ACS optimally selects the classes to generate user-specific training samples. Experimental results on 18 subjects, using both k nearest neighbors and support vector machine classifiers, demonstrate that the proposed approach can significantly reduce the number of user-specific training data samples. This collaborative filtering approach will also be generalizable to handling individual differences in many other applications that involve human neural or physiological data, such as affective computing.

Collaborative filtering for brain-computer interaction using transfer learning and active class selection.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dongrui Wu

Full Text Available Brain-computer interaction (BCI and physiological computing are terms that refer to using processed neural or physiological signals to influence human interaction with computers, environment, and each other. A major challenge in developing these systems arises from the large individual differences typically seen in the neural/physiological responses. As a result, many researchers use individually-trained recognition algorithms to process this data. In order to minimize time, cost, and barriers to use, there is a need to minimize the amount of individual training data required, or equivalently, to increase the recognition accuracy without increasing the number of user-specific training samples. One promising method for achieving this is collaborative filtering, which combines training data from the individual subject with additional training data from other, similar subjects. This paper describes a successful application of a collaborative filtering approach intended for a BCI system. This approach is based on transfer learning (TL, active class selection (ACS, and a mean squared difference user-similarity heuristic. The resulting BCI system uses neural and physiological signals for automatic task difficulty recognition. TL improves the learning performance by combining a small number of user-specific training samples with a large number of auxiliary training samples from other similar subjects. ACS optimally selects the classes to generate user-specific training samples. Experimental results on 18 subjects, using both k nearest neighbors and support vector machine classifiers, demonstrate that the proposed approach can significantly reduce the number of user-specific training data samples. This collaborative filtering approach will also be generalizable to handling individual differences in many other applications that involve human neural or physiological data, such as affective computing.

The Moderating Role of Anxiety in Predicting Academic Achievement in Children

OpenAIRE

Bodas, Jaee

2003-01-01

The present study examined the relationship between anxiety and academic achievement in a sample of clinic-referred children. Specifically, the study investigated whether anxiety contributed to the prediction of academic achievement above and beyond the influence of IQ. Furthermore, the study explored whether anxiety moderated the already established relationship between IQ and academic achievement. In the present study, the WISC-III Verbal IQ, the RCMAS factors of physiological anxiety (i.e....

Physiology knowledge plays a role when novices learn technical echocardiography skills

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Dorte Guldbrand; Gøtzsche, Ole; Eika, Berit

2010-01-01

Purpose: Little is known about factors of relevance for achieving technical skills of echocardiography (TTE); one of the essential skills defined by the European Society of Cardiology Core Curriculum. In an earlier study we have shown that there is a strong correlation between physiology knowledge...... and interpretation skills of intermediately trained echocardiographers. This study investigates the role of physiology knowledge in the development of echocardiographic technical expertise. Methods: Forty-five physicians (15 novices, 15 intermediates and 15 experts) were evaluated on technical skills. Participants...... of echocardiography relevant physiology knowledge. Results: A strong and significant correlation between expertise level and technical checklist scores was found (r = .76, p

From physiological psychology to psychological physiology: Postnonclassical approach to ethnocultural phenomena.

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Asmolov, A.G.

2015-07-01

Full Text Available In modern science, along with the “classic” and “non-classical” approach to solving fundamental and applied problems, there is an actively developing “postnonclassical” research paradigm. This renovation of general scientific methodology has been accompanied by the emergence of new experimental technologies and new scientific research directions based on them. “Social psychophysiology” is one such direction. It is formed within the frame of postnonclassical methodology at the intersection of neuroscience and psychology. This work is devoted to the analytical review of the methods, achievements and prospects of contemporary social neuroscience and social psychophysiology studying brain structures that are specifically related to the implementation of social forms of behavior and intercultural communication. Physiological studies of brain activity during social interaction processes, which are simulated using virtual reality environments, are analyzed, and the physiological approach to the study of the brain mechanisms associated with social perception, social cognition and social behavior is used. Along with the analysis of psychophysiological studies of the mechanisms of social perception and social cognition, we discuss the theories of “Brain Reading” and “Theory of Mind” and the underlying data concerning “Gnostic neurons recognition of persons and recognition of emotional facial expressions”, “mirror neurons”, “emotional resonance” and “cognitive resonance”. Particular emphasis is placed on the discussion of a fundamentally new trend in the study of the relationship between the brain and culture (i.e., “cultural neuroscience”. Related to this connection, the following topics are raised: physiological mechanisms protecting the “individual distance” in communication between members of a personified community, psychophysiological approaches to the study of cross-cultural differences, physiological

The emergence of Applied Physiology within the discipline of Physiology.

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Tipton, Charles M

2016-08-01

Despite the availability and utilization of the physiology textbooks authored by Albrecht von Haller during the 18th century that heralded the modern age of physiology, not all physicians or physiologists were satisfied with its presentation, contents, or application to medicine. Initial reasons were fundamental disagreements between the "mechanists," represented by Boerhaave, Robinson, and von Haller, and the "vitalists," represented by the faculty and graduates of the Montpellier School of Medicine in France, notably, Bordeu and Barthez. Subsequently, objections originated from Europe, United Kingdom, and the United States in publications that focused not only on the teaching of physiology to medical and secondary students, but on the specific applications of the content of physiology to medicine, health, hygiene, pathology, and chronic diseases. At the turn of the 20th century, texts began to appear with applied physiology in their titles and in 1926, physician Samson Wright published a textbook entitled Applied Physiology that was intended for both medical students and the medical profession. Eleven years later, physicians Best and Taylor published The Physiological Basis of Medical Practice: A University of Toronto Texbook in Applied Physiology Although both sets of authors defined the connection between applied physiology and physiology, they failed to define the areas of physiology that were included within applied physiology. This was accomplished by the American Physiological Society (APS) Publications Committee in 1948 with the publication of the Journal of Appplied Physiology, that stated the word "applied" would broadly denote human physiology whereas the terms stress and environment would broadly include work, exercise, plus industrial, climatic and social factors. NIH established a study section (SS) devoted to applied physiology in 1964 which remained active until 2001 when it became amalgamated into other SSs. Before the end of the 20th century when

Creativity and sensory gating indexed by the P50: selective versus leaky sensory gating in divergent thinkers and creative achievers.

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Zabelina, Darya L; O'Leary, Daniel; Pornpattananangkul, Narun; Nusslock, Robin; Beeman, Mark

2015-03-01

Creativity has previously been linked with atypical attention, but it is not clear what aspects of attention, or what types of creativity are associated. Here we investigated specific neural markers of a very early form of attention, namely sensory gating, indexed by the P50 ERP, and how it relates to two measures of creativity: divergent thinking and real-world creative achievement. Data from 84 participants revealed that divergent thinking (assessed with the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking) was associated with selective sensory gating, whereas real-world creative achievement was associated with "leaky" sensory gating, both in zero-order correlations and when controlling for academic test scores in a regression. Thus both creativity measures related to sensory gating, but in opposite directions. Additionally, divergent thinking and real-world creative achievement did not interact in predicting P50 sensory gating, suggesting that these two creativity measures orthogonally relate to P50 sensory gating. Finally, the ERP effect was specific to the P50 - neither divergent thinking nor creative achievement were related to later components, such as the N100 and P200. Overall results suggest that leaky sensory gating may help people integrate ideas that are outside of focus of attention, leading to creativity in the real world; whereas divergent thinking, measured by divergent thinking tests which emphasize numerous responses within a limited time, may require selective sensory processing more than previously thought. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Instructional Methods and Students' End of Term Achievement in Biology in Selected Secondary Schools in Sokoto Metropolis, Sokoto State Nigeria

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Shamsuddeen, Abdulrahman; Amina, Hassan

2016-01-01

This study investigated the Correlation between instructional methods and students end of term achievement in Biology in selected secondary schools in Sokoto Metropolis, Sokoto State Nigeria. The study addressed three Specific objectives. To examine the relationship between; Cooperative learning methods, guided discovery, Simulation Method and…

Estimating the capability of microalgae to physiological acclimatization and genetic adaptation to petroleum and diesel oil contamination

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Romero-Lopez, Julia; Lopez-Rodas, Victoria [Genetica, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Avda. Puerta de Hierro s/n, E-28040 Madrid (Spain); Costas, Eduardo, E-mail: ecostas@vet.ucm.es [Genetica, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Avda. Puerta de Hierro s/n, E-28040 Madrid (Spain)

2012-11-15

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Microalgae are able to physiological acclimatization low doses of petroleum and diesel oil. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer When petroleum or oil concentration exceeds these limits, survival depend of rare mutations. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Petroleum-resistant and diesel oil mutants occur spontaneously prior to oil exposure. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer After 300 generations of artificial selection resistant strains were obtained. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Cyanobacteria has more difficulties to achieve petroleum resistance than Chlorophyta. - Abstract: There is increasing scientific interest in how phytoplankton reacts to petroleum contamination, since crude oil and its derivatives are generating extensive contamination of aquatic environments. However, toxic effects of short-term petroleum exposure are more widely known than the adaptation of phytoplankton to long-term petroleum exposure. An analysis of short-term and long-term effects of petroleum exposure was done using experimental populations of freshwater (Scenedesmus intermedius and Microcystis aeruginosa) and marine (Dunaliella tertiolecta) microalgae isolated from pristine sites without crude oil product contamination. These strains were exposed to increased levels of petroleum and diesel oil. Short-term exposure to petroleum or diesel oil revealed a rapid inhibition of photosynthetic performance and cell proliferation in freshwater and marine phytoplankton species. A broad degree of inter-specific variation in lethal contamination level was observed. When different strains were exposed to petroleum or diesel oil over the long-term, the cultures showed massive destruction of the sensitive cells. Nonetheless, after further incubation, some cultures were able to grow again due to cells that were resistant to the toxins. By means of a fluctuation analysis, discrimination between cells that had become resistant due to physiological acclimatization and resistant

Estimating the capability of microalgae to physiological acclimatization and genetic adaptation to petroleum and diesel oil contamination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Romero-Lopez, Julia; Lopez-Rodas, Victoria; Costas, Eduardo

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Microalgae are able to physiological acclimatization low doses of petroleum and diesel oil. ► When petroleum or oil concentration exceeds these limits, survival depend of rare mutations. ► Petroleum-resistant and diesel oil mutants occur spontaneously prior to oil exposure. ► After 300 generations of artificial selection resistant strains were obtained. ► Cyanobacteria has more difficulties to achieve petroleum resistance than Chlorophyta. - Abstract: There is increasing scientific interest in how phytoplankton reacts to petroleum contamination, since crude oil and its derivatives are generating extensive contamination of aquatic environments. However, toxic effects of short-term petroleum exposure are more widely known than the adaptation of phytoplankton to long-term petroleum exposure. An analysis of short-term and long-term effects of petroleum exposure was done using experimental populations of freshwater (Scenedesmus intermedius and Microcystis aeruginosa) and marine (Dunaliella tertiolecta) microalgae isolated from pristine sites without crude oil product contamination. These strains were exposed to increased levels of petroleum and diesel oil. Short-term exposure to petroleum or diesel oil revealed a rapid inhibition of photosynthetic performance and cell proliferation in freshwater and marine phytoplankton species. A broad degree of inter-specific variation in lethal contamination level was observed. When different strains were exposed to petroleum or diesel oil over the long-term, the cultures showed massive destruction of the sensitive cells. Nonetheless, after further incubation, some cultures were able to grow again due to cells that were resistant to the toxins. By means of a fluctuation analysis, discrimination between cells that had become resistant due to physiological acclimatization and resistant cells arising from rare spontaneous mutations was accomplished. In addition, an analysis was done as to the maximum capacity of

Circadian Activity Rhythms, Time Urgency, and Achievement Concerns.

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Watts, Barbara L.

Many physiological and psychological processes fluctuate throughout the day in fairly stable, rhythmic patterns. The relationship between individual differences in circadian activity rhythms and a sense of time urgency were explored as well as a number of achievement-related variables. Undergraduates (N=308), whose circadian activity rhythms were…

Post-harvest physiology

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Weather and management constraints, as well as the intended use of the harvested forage, all influence the forage harvest system selected by the producer. Generally, maximum retention of dry matter from harvested forage crops is achieved at moistures intermediate between the standing fresh crop and ...

Do physiological measures predict selected CrossFit(®) benchmark performance?

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Butcher, Scotty J; Neyedly, Tyler J; Horvey, Karla J; Benko, Chad R

2015-01-01

CrossFit(®) is a new but extremely popular method of exercise training and competition that involves constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity. Despite the popularity of this training method, the physiological determinants of CrossFit performance have not yet been reported. The purpose of this study was to determine whether physiological and/or muscle strength measures could predict performance on three common CrossFit "Workouts of the Day" (WODs). Fourteen CrossFit Open or Regional athletes completed, on separate days, the WODs "Grace" (30 clean and jerks for time), "Fran" (three rounds of thrusters and pull-ups for 21, 15, and nine repetitions), and "Cindy" (20 minutes of rounds of five pull-ups, ten push-ups, and 15 bodyweight squats), as well as the "CrossFit Total" (1 repetition max [1RM] back squat, overhead press, and deadlift), maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max), and Wingate anaerobic power/capacity testing. Performance of Grace and Fran was related to whole-body strength (CrossFit Total) (r=-0.88 and -0.65, respectively) and anaerobic threshold (r=-0.61 and -0.53, respectively); however, whole-body strength was the only variable to survive the prediction regression for both of these WODs (R (2)=0.77 and 0.42, respectively). There were no significant associations or predictors for Cindy. CrossFit benchmark WOD performance cannot be predicted by VO2max, Wingate power/capacity, or either respiratory compensation or anaerobic thresholds. Of the data measured, only whole-body strength can partially explain performance on Grace and Fran, although anaerobic threshold also exhibited association with performance. Along with their typical training, CrossFit athletes should likely ensure an adequate level of strength and aerobic endurance to optimize performance on at least some benchmark WODs.

Do physiological measures predict selected CrossFit® benchmark performance?

Science.gov (United States)

Butcher, Scotty J; Neyedly, Tyler J; Horvey, Karla J; Benko, Chad R

2015-01-01

Purpose CrossFit® is a new but extremely popular method of exercise training and competition that involves constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity. Despite the popularity of this training method, the physiological determinants of CrossFit performance have not yet been reported. The purpose of this study was to determine whether physiological and/or muscle strength measures could predict performance on three common CrossFit “Workouts of the Day” (WODs). Materials and methods Fourteen CrossFit Open or Regional athletes completed, on separate days, the WODs “Grace” (30 clean and jerks for time), “Fran” (three rounds of thrusters and pull-ups for 21, 15, and nine repetitions), and “Cindy” (20 minutes of rounds of five pull-ups, ten push-ups, and 15 bodyweight squats), as well as the “CrossFit Total” (1 repetition max [1RM] back squat, overhead press, and deadlift), maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max), and Wingate anaerobic power/capacity testing. Results Performance of Grace and Fran was related to whole-body strength (CrossFit Total) (r=−0.88 and −0.65, respectively) and anaerobic threshold (r=−0.61 and −0.53, respectively); however, whole-body strength was the only variable to survive the prediction regression for both of these WODs (R2=0.77 and 0.42, respectively). There were no significant associations or predictors for Cindy. Conclusion CrossFit benchmark WOD performance cannot be predicted by VO2max, Wingate power/capacity, or either respiratory compensation or anaerobic thresholds. Of the data measured, only whole-body strength can partially explain performance on Grace and Fran, although anaerobic threshold also exhibited association with performance. Along with their typical training, CrossFit athletes should likely ensure an adequate level of strength and aerobic endurance to optimize performance on at least some benchmark WODs. PMID:26261428

Tissue physiology and the response to heat

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Horsman, Michael Robert

2006-01-01

physiological effects should occur in normal tissues, such combination therapies must be carefully applied. Heating tumours to higher temperatures typically causes a transient increase in perfusion during heating, followed by vascular collapse which if sufficient will increase tumour necrosis. The speed...... and degree of vascular collapse is dependent on heating time, temperature and tumour model used. Such vascular collapse generally occurs at temperatures that cause a substantial blood flow increase in certain normal tissues, thus preferential anti-tumour effects can be achieved. The tumour vascular supply...... can also be exploited to improve the response to heat. Decreasing blood flow, using transient physiological modifiers or longer acting vascular disrupting agents prior to the initiation of heating, can both increase the accumulation of physical heat in the tumour, as well as increase heat sensitivity...

Nasal Physiology

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... Caregivers Contact ARS HOME ANATOMY Nasal Anatomy Sinus Anatomy Nasal Physiology Nasal Endoscopy Skull Base Anatomy Virtual Anatomy Disclosure ... Patient Education About this Website Font Size + - Home > ANATOMY > Nasal Physiology Nasal Anatomy Sinus Anatomy Nasal Physiology Nasal Endoscopy ...

The influence of selected teacher inputs on students’ academic achievement in the junior secondary school certificate mathematics in Namibia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simon E. Akpo

2013-12-01

Full Text Available This study explored the link between teachers’ inputs and students’ academic achievement in the JSC Mathematics for the period 2006 to 2010. One hundred and fifty secondary schools selected from 573 secondary schools in the country constituted the target population. One hundred and sixty-four JSC mathematics teachers from the 150 secondary schools participated in the study, with the final JSC Mathematics results of the students serving as the dependent variable of the study. Mathematics teachers’ input data (academic qualifications, teaching experience and subject specialisation were collected from a questionnaire developed by the researchers. Standard multiple regression was used to analyse the link between teachers’ inputs and students’ academic achievement in JSC Mathematics at P < 0.05and P < 0.10 respectively. The study found that teachers’ academic qualifications and subject specialisation had a significant and positive relationship with students’ academic achievement in JSC Mathematics. Teachers’ gender, however, was not significantly related to students’ academic achievement in JSC Mathematics. This is the first time within the Namibian context that we have empirically demonstrated the link between teachers’ inputs and students’ academic achievement in JSC Mathematics. The study therefore provides support for the policy initiatives that seek to link teachers’ academic qualifications, subject specialisation and teaching experience to employment and classroom allocation.

Misconceptions Highlighted among Medical Students in the Annual International Intermedical School Physiology Quiz

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Hwee-Ming; Durairajanayagam, Damayanthi

2012-01-01

The annual Intermedical School Physiology Quiz (IMSPQ), initiated in 2003, is now an event that attracts a unique, large gathering of selected medical students from medical schools across the globe. The 8th IMSPQ, in 2010, hosted by the Department of Physiology, University of Malaya, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, had 200 students representing 41…

Reading Achievement and In-Grade Retention Rate Differentials for Mexican-American and Black Students in Selected States of the Southwest.

Science.gov (United States)

Casavantes, Edward Joseph

Two sets of data from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights' Mexican American Education Study were selected for analysis in the areas of (1) comparative reading achievement rates of Mexican Americans and black students; and (2) differential in-grade retention rates of Anglo, Mexican American, and black students. Two separate issues were examined.…

Physiological coherence in healthy volunteers during laboratory-induced stress and controlled breathing.

Science.gov (United States)

Mejía-Mejía, Elisa; Torres, Robinson; Restrepo, Diana

2018-06-01

Physiological coherence has been related with a general sense of well-being and improvements in health and physical, social, and cognitive performance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between acute stress, controlled breathing, and physiological coherence, and the degree of body systems synchronization during a coherence-generation exercise. Thirty-four university employees were evaluated during a 20-min test consisting of four stages of 5-min duration each, during which basal measurements were obtained (Stage 1), acute stress was induced using validated mental stressors (Stroop test and mental arithmetic task, during Stage 2 and 3, respectively), and coherence states were generated using a controlled breathing technique (Stage 4). Physiological coherence and cardiorespiratory synchronization were assessed during each stage from heart rate variability, pulse transit time, and respiration. Coherence measurements derived from the three analyzed variables increased during controlled respiration. Moreover, signals synchronized during the controlled breathing stage, implying a cardiorespiratory synchronization was achieved by most participants. Hence, physiological coherence and cardiopulmonary synchronization, which could lead to improvements in health and better life quality, can be achieved using slow, controlled breathing exercises. Meanwhile, coherence measured during basal state and stressful situations did not show relevant differences using heart rate variability and pulse transit time. More studies are needed to evaluate the ability of coherence ratio to reflect acute stress. © 2017 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Evolutionary plant physiology: Charles Darwin's forgotten synthesis

Science.gov (United States)

Kutschera, Ulrich; Niklas, Karl J.

2009-11-01

Charles Darwin dedicated more than 20 years of his life to a variety of investigations on higher plants (angiosperms). It has been implicitly assumed that these studies in the fields of descriptive botany and experimental plant physiology were carried out to corroborate his principle of descent with modification. However, Darwin’s son Francis, who was a professional plant biologist, pointed out that the interests of his father were both of a physiological and an evolutionary nature. In this article, we describe Darwin’s work on the physiology of higher plants from a modern perspective, with reference to the following topics: circumnutations, tropisms and the endogenous oscillator model; the evolutionary patterns of auxin action; the root-brain hypothesis; phloem structure and photosynthesis research; endosymbioses and growth-promoting bacteria; photomorphogenesis and phenotypic plasticity; basal metabolic rate, the Pfeffer-Kleiber relationship and metabolic optimality theory with respect to adaptive evolution; and developmental constraints versus functional equivalence in relationship to directional natural selection. Based on a review of these various fields of inquiry, we deduce the existence of a Darwinian (evolutionary) approach to plant physiology and define this emerging scientific discipline as the experimental study and theoretical analysis of the functions of green, sessile organisms from a phylogenetic perspective.

Evolutionary plant physiology: Charles Darwin's forgotten synthesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kutschera, Ulrich; Niklas, Karl J

2009-11-01

Charles Darwin dedicated more than 20 years of his life to a variety of investigations on higher plants (angiosperms). It has been implicitly assumed that these studies in the fields of descriptive botany and experimental plant physiology were carried out to corroborate his principle of descent with modification. However, Darwin's son Francis, who was a professional plant biologist, pointed out that the interests of his father were both of a physiological and an evolutionary nature. In this article, we describe Darwin's work on the physiology of higher plants from a modern perspective, with reference to the following topics: circumnutations, tropisms and the endogenous oscillator model; the evolutionary patterns of auxin action; the root-brain hypothesis; phloem structure and photosynthesis research; endosymbioses and growth-promoting bacteria; photomorphogenesis and phenotypic plasticity; basal metabolic rate, the Pfeffer-Kleiber relationship and metabolic optimality theory with respect to adaptive evolution; and developmental constraints versus functional equivalence in relationship to directional natural selection. Based on a review of these various fields of inquiry, we deduce the existence of a Darwinian (evolutionary) approach to plant physiology and define this emerging scientific discipline as the experimental study and theoretical analysis of the functions of green, sessile organisms from a phylogenetic perspective.

Molecular Mechanism of Selectivity among G Protein-Coupled Receptor Kinase 2 Inhibitors

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Thal, David M.; Yeow, Raymond Y.; Schoenau, Christian; Huber, Jochen; Tesmer, John J.G. (Sanofi); (Michigan)

2012-07-11

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are key regulators of cell physiology and control processes ranging from glucose homeostasis to contractility of the heart. A major mechanism for the desensitization of activated GPCRs is their phosphorylation by GPCR kinases (GRKs). Overexpression of GRK2 is strongly linked to heart failure, and GRK2 has long been considered a pharmaceutical target for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. Several lead compounds developed by Takeda Pharmaceuticals show high selectivity for GRK2 and therapeutic potential for the treatment of heart failure. To understand how these drugs achieve their selectivity, we determined crystal structures of the bovine GRK2-G{beta}{gamma} complex in the presence of two of these inhibitors. Comparison with the apoGRK2-G{beta}{gamma} structure demonstrates that the compounds bind in the kinase active site in a manner similar to that of the AGC kinase inhibitor balanol. Both balanol and the Takeda compounds induce a slight closure of the kinase domain, the degree of which correlates with the potencies of the inhibitors. Based on our crystal structures and homology modeling, we identified five amino acids surrounding the inhibitor binding site that we hypothesized could contribute to inhibitor selectivity. However, our results indicate that these residues are not major determinants of selectivity among GRK subfamilies. Rather, selectivity is achieved by the stabilization of a unique inactive conformation of the GRK2 kinase domain.

Rice Physiology

Science.gov (United States)

P.A. Counce; Davidi R. Gealy; Shi-Jean Susana Sung

2002-01-01

Physiology occurs tn physical space through chemical reactions constrained by anatomy and morphology, yet guided by genetics. Physiology has been called the logic of life. Genes encode structural and fimcdonal proteins. These proteins are subsequently processed to produce enzymes that direct and govern the biomechanical processes involved in the physiology of the...

Students' motivation toward laboratory work in physiology teaching.

Science.gov (United States)

Dohn, Niels Bonderup; Fago, Angela; Overgaard, Johannes; Madsen, Peter Teglberg; Malte, Hans

2016-09-01

The laboratory has been given a central role in physiology education, and teachers report that it is motivating for students to undertake experimental work on live animals or measuring physiological responses on the students themselves. Since motivation is a critical variable for academic learning and achievement, then we must concern ourselves with questions that examine how students engage in laboratory work and persist at such activities. The purpose of the present study was to investigate how laboratory work influences student motivation in physiology. We administered the Lab Motivation Scale to assess our students' levels of interest, willingness to engage (effort), and confidence in understanding (self-efficacy). We also asked students about the role of laboratory work for their own learning and their experience in the physiology laboratory. Our results documented high levels of interest, effort, and self-efficacy among the students. Correlation analyses were performed on the three motivation scales and exam results, yet a significant correlation was only found between self-efficacy in laboratory work and academic performance at the final exam. However, almost all students reported that laboratory work was very important for learning difficult concepts and physiological processes (e.g., action potential), as the hands-on experiences gave a more concrete idea of the learning content and made the content easier to remember. These results have implications for classroom practice as biology students find laboratory exercises highly motivating, despite their different personal interests and subject preferences. This highlights the importance of not replacing laboratory work by other nonpractical approaches, for example, video demonstrations or computer simulations. Copyright © 2016 The American Physiological Society.

PVC membrane, coated-wire, and carbon-paste ion-selective electrodes for potentiometric determination of galantamine hydrobromide in physiological fluids.

Science.gov (United States)

Abdel-Haleem, Fatehy M; Saad, Mohamed; Barhoum, Ahmed; Bechelany, Mikhael; Rizk, Mahmoud S

2018-08-01

We report on highly-sensitive ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) for potentiometric determining of galantamine hydrobromide (GB) in physiological fluids. Galantamine hydrobromide (GB) was selected for this study due to its previous medical importance for treating Alzheimer's disease. Three different types of ISEs were investigated: PVC membrane electrode (PVCE), carbon-paste electrode (CPE), and coated-wire electrode (CWE). In the construction of these electrodes, galantaminium-reineckate (GR) ion-pair was used as a sensing species for GB in solutions. The modified carbon-paste electrode (MCPE) was prepared using graphene oxide (MCPE-GO) and sodium tetrakis (trifluoromethyl) phenyl borate (MCPE-STFPB) as ion-exchanger. The potentiometric modified CPEs (MCPE-GO and MCPE-STFPB) show an improved performance in term of Nernstian slope, selectivity, response time, and response stability compared to the unmodified CPE. The prepared electrodes PVCE, CWE, CPE, MCPE-GO and MCPE-STFPB show Nernstian slopes of 59.9, 59.5, 58.1, 58.3 and 57.0 mV/conc. decade, and detection limits of 5.0 × 10 -6 , 6.3 × 10 -6 , 8.0 × 10 -6 , 6.0 × 10 -6 and 8.0 × 10 -6  mol L -1 , respectively. The prepared ISEs also show high selectivity against cations (i.e. Na + , K + , NH 4 + , Ca 2+ , Al 3+ , Fe 3+ ), amino acids (i.e. glycine, L-alanine alanine), and sugars (i.e. fructose, glucose, maltose, lactose). The prepared ISEs are applicable for determining GB in spiked serums, urines, and pharmaceutical preparations, using a standard addition and a direct potentiometric method. The fast response time (<10 s), long lifetime (1-5 weeks), reversibility and stability of the measured signals facilitate the application of these sensors for routine analysis of the real samples. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Physiological parameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Natera, E.S.

1998-01-01

The physiological characteristics of man depend on the intake, metabolism and excretion of stable elements from food, water, and air. The physiological behavior of natural radionuclides and radionuclides from nuclear weapons testing and from the utilization of nuclear energy is believed to follow the pattern of stable elements. Hence information on the normal physiological processes occurring in the human body plays an important role in the assessment of the radiation dose received by man. Two important physiological parameters needed for internal dose determination are the pulmonary function and the water balance. In the Coordinated Research Programme on the characterization of Asian population, five participants submitted data on these physiological characteristics - China, India, Japan, Philippines and Viet Nam. During the CRP, data on other pertinent characteristics such as physical and dietary were simultaneously being collected. Hence, the information on the physiological characteristics alone, coming from the five participants were not complete and are probably not sufficient to establish standard values for the Reference Asian Man. Nonetheless, the data collected is a valuable contribution to this research programme

Physical and Physiological Characteristics of Judo Athletes: An Update

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gema Torres-Luque

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Judo competition is characterized structurally by weight category, which raises the importance of physiological control training in judo. The aim of the present review was to examine scientific papers on the physiological profile of the judokas, maintenance or loss of weight, framing issues, such as anthropometric parameters (body fat percentage, heart rate responses to training and combat, maximal oxygen uptake, hematological, biological and hormones indicators. The values shown in this review should be used as a reference for the evaluation of physical fitness and the effectiveness of training programs. Hence, this information is expected to contribute to the development of optimal training interventions aiming to achieve maximum athletic performance and to maintain the health of judokas.

ethiopian students' achievement challenges in science education

African Journals Online (AJOL)

IICBA01

Oli Negassa. Adama Science and Technology University, Ethiopia ... achievement in science education across selected preparatory schools of Ethiopia. The .... To what extent do students' achievements vary across grade levels, regions,.

Analog integrated circuits design for processing physiological signals.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yan; Poon, Carmen C Y; Zhang, Yuan-Ting

2010-01-01

Analog integrated circuits (ICs) designed for processing physiological signals are important building blocks of wearable and implantable medical devices used for health monitoring or restoring lost body functions. Due to the nature of physiological signals and the corresponding application scenarios, the ICs designed for these applications should have low power consumption, low cutoff frequency, and low input-referred noise. In this paper, techniques for designing the analog front-end circuits with these three characteristics will be reviewed, including subthreshold circuits, bulk-driven MOSFETs, floating gate MOSFETs, and log-domain circuits to reduce power consumption; methods for designing fully integrated low cutoff frequency circuits; as well as chopper stabilization (CHS) and other techniques that can be used to achieve a high signal-to-noise performance. Novel applications using these techniques will also be discussed.

Selective entrapment of the cationic form of norfloxacin within anionic sodium dodecyl sulfate micelles at physiological pH and its effect on the drug photodecomposition.

Science.gov (United States)

Sortino, Salvatore

2006-01-01

The binding of the photosensitizing fluoroquinolone (FQ) antibiotic norfloxacin (NX) to sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micelles and the photoreactivity of the NX/SDS complex under physiological pH conditions are investigated by means of absorption and emission spectroscopy, steady-state and laser flash photolysis. It is shown that the photolabile zwitterionic form of NX, which is dominant at physiological pH, is not the most abundant species in the presence of SDS micelles. This medium exhibits a high preference for the cationic form of the drug, which is selectively and successfully entrapped within the micellar cage (K(ass) = 6 x 10(4) M(-1) +/- 3000), becoming the largely dominant species at neutral pH. The effect of this trapping is drastically reflected on both efficiency and nature of the drug photodecomposition. It is observed that the photostability of NX incorporated in the micellar pseudophase increases of more than one order of magnitude if compared to that of the "free" drug. Furthermore, the radical photodecomposition mechanism occurring in phosphate buffered solution is suppressed by the micellar medium and the low photodegradation observed seems to take place preferentially through an ionic pathway. Hopefully, the results presented herein may contribute to a better understanding of the bio-distribution of NX in biological systems and provide helpful and stimulating information in order to get the control of FQ photoreactivity under physiological pH conditions.

Structure-function relations in physiology education: Where's the mechanism?

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Lira, Matthew E; Gardner, Stephanie M

2017-06-01

Physiology demands systems thinking: reasoning within and between levels of biological organization and across different organ systems. Many physiological mechanisms explain how structures and their properties interact at one level of organization to produce emergent functions at a higher level of organization. Current physiology principles, such as structure-function relations, selectively neglect mechanisms by not mentioning this term explicitly. We explored how students characterized mechanisms and functions to shed light on how students make sense of these terms. Students characterized mechanisms as 1 ) processes that occur at levels of organization lower than that of functions; and 2 ) as detailed events with many steps involved. We also found that students produced more variability in how they characterized functions compared with mechanisms: students characterized functions in relation to multiple levels of organization and multiple definitions. We interpret these results as evidence that students see mechanisms as holding a more narrow definition than used in the biological sciences, and that students struggle to coordinate and distinguish mechanisms from functions due to cognitive processes germane to learning in many domains. We offer the instructional suggestion that we scaffold student learning by affording students opportunities to relate and also distinguish between these terms so central to understanding physiology. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

Metabolic-flux dependent regulation of microbial physiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Litsios, Athanasios; Ortega, Álvaro D; Wit, Ernst C; Heinemann, Matthias

2018-04-01

According to the most prevalent notion, changes in cellular physiology primarily occur in response to altered environmental conditions. Yet, recent studies have shown that changes in metabolic fluxes can also trigger phenotypic changes even when environmental conditions are unchanged. This suggests that cells have mechanisms in place to assess the magnitude of metabolic fluxes, that is, the rate of metabolic reactions, and use this information to regulate their physiology. In this review, we describe recent evidence for metabolic flux-sensing and flux-dependent regulation. Furthermore, we discuss how such sensing and regulation can be mechanistically achieved and present a set of new candidates for flux-signaling metabolites. Similar to metabolic-flux sensing, we argue that cells can also sense protein translation flux. Finally, we elaborate on the advantages that flux-based regulation can confer to cells. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Napping and the Selective Consolidation of Negative Aspects of Scenes

Science.gov (United States)

Payne, Jessica D.; Kensinger, Elizabeth A.; Wamsley, Erin; Spreng, R. Nathan; Alger, Sara; Gibler, Kyle; Schacter, Daniel L.; Stickgold, Robert

2018-01-01

After information is encoded into memory, it undergoes an offline period of consolidation that occurs optimally during sleep. The consolidation process not only solidifies memories, but also selectively preserves aspects of experience that are emotionally salient and relevant for future use. Here, we provide evidence that an afternoon nap is sufficient to trigger preferential memory for emotional information contained in complex scenes. Selective memory for negative emotional information was enhanced after a nap compared to wakefulness in two control conditions designed to carefully address interference and time-of-day confounds. Although prior evidence has connected negative emotional memory formation to rapid eye movement (REM) sleep physiology, we found that non-REM delta activity and the amount of slow wave sleep (SWS) in the nap were robustly related to the selective consolidation of negative information. These findings suggest that the mechanisms underlying memory consolidation benefits associated with napping and nighttime sleep are not always the same. Finally, we provide preliminary evidence that the magnitude of the emotional memory benefit conferred by sleep is equivalent following a nap and a full night of sleep, suggesting that selective emotional remembering can be economically achieved by taking a nap. PMID:25706830

The Implementation of Analytical Hierarchy Process Method for Outstanding Achievement Scholarship Reception Selection at Universal University of Batam

Science.gov (United States)

Marfuah; Widiantoro, Suryo

2017-12-01

Universal University of Batam offers outstanding achievement scholarship to the current students to be each year of new academic year, seeing the large number of new Students who are interested to get it then the selection team should be able to filter and choose the eligible ones. The selection process starting with evaluation and judgement made by the experts. There were five criteria as the basic of selection and each had three alternatives that must be considered. Based on the policy of University the maximum number of recipients are five for each of six study programs. Those programs are art of music, dance, industrial engineering, environmental engineering, telecommunication engineering, and software engineering. The expert choice was subjective that AHP method was used to help in making decision consistently by doing pairwise comparison matrix process between criteria based on selected alternatives, by determining the priority order of criteria and alternatives used. The results of these calculations were used as supporting decision-making to determine the eligible students receiving scholarships based on alternatives of selected criteria determined by the final results of AHP method calculation with the priority criterion A (0.37%), C (0.23%), E (0.21%), D (0.14%) and B (0.06%), value of consistency ratio 0.05. Then the alternative priorities 1 (0.63), 2 (0.26) and 3 (0.11) the consistency ratio values 0.03, where each CR ≤ 0.1 or consistent weighting preference.

Synchronized mammalian cell culture: part I--a physical strategy for synchronized cultivation under physiological conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Barradas, Oscar Platas; Jandt, Uwe; Becker, Max; Bahnemann, Janina; Pörtner, Ralf; Zeng, An-Ping

2015-01-01

Conventional analysis and optimization procedures of mammalian cell culture processes mostly treat the culture as a homogeneous population. Hence, the focus is on cell physiology and metabolism, cell line development, and process control strategy. Impact on cultivations caused by potential variations in cellular properties between different subpopulations, however, has not yet been evaluated systematically. One main cause for the formation of such subpopulations is the progress of all cells through the cell cycle. The interaction of potential cell cycle specific variations in the cell behavior with large-scale process conditions can be optimally determined by means of (partially) synchronized cultivations, with subsequent population resolved model analysis. Therefore, it is desirable to synchronize a culture with minimal perturbation, which is possible with different yield and quality using physical selection methods, but not with frequently used chemical or whole-culture methods. Conventional nonsynchronizing methods with subsequent cell-specific, for example, flow cytometric analysis, can only resolve cell-limited effects of the cell cycle. In this work, we demonstrate countercurrent-flow centrifugal elutriation as a useful physical method to enrich mammalian cell populations within different phases of a cell cycle, which can be further cultivated for synchronized growth in bioreactors under physiological conditions. The presented combined approach contrasts with other physical selection methods especially with respect to the achievable yield, which makes it suitable for bioreactor scale cultivations. As shown with two industrial cell lines (CHO-K1 and human AGE1.HN), synchronous inocula can be obtained with overall synchrony degrees of up to 82% in the G1 phase, 53% in the S phase and 60% in the G2/M phase, with enrichment factors (Ysync) of 1.71, 1.79, and 4.24 respectively. Cells are able to grow with synchrony in bioreactors over several cell cycles. This

Environmental Physiology and Diving Medicine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gerardo Bosco

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Man’s experience and exploration of the underwater environment has been recorded from ancient times and today encompasses large sections of the population for sport enjoyment, recreational and commercial purpose, as well as military strategic goals. Knowledge, respect and maintenance of the underwater world is an essential development for our future and the knowledge acquired over the last few dozen years will change rapidly in the near future with plans to establish secure habitats with specific long-term goals of exploration, maintenance and survival. This summary will illustrate briefly the physiological changes induced by immersion, swimming, breath-hold diving and exploring while using special equipment in the water. Cardiac, circulatory and pulmonary vascular adaptation and the pathophysiology of novel syndromes have been demonstrated, which will allow selection of individual characteristics in order to succeed in various environments. Training and treatment for these new microenvironments will be suggested with description of successful pioneers in this field. This is a summary of the physiology and the present status of pathology and therapy for the field.

Changing undergraduate human anatomy and physiology laboratories: perspectives from a large-enrollment course.

Science.gov (United States)

Griff, Edwin R

2016-09-01

In the present article, a veteran lecturer of human anatomy and physiology taught several sections of the laboratory component for the first time and shares his observations and analysis from this unique perspective. The article discusses a large-enrollment, content-heavy anatomy and physiology course in relationship to published studies on learning and student self-efficacy. Changes in the laboratory component that could increase student learning are proposed. The author also points out the need for research to assess whether selective curricular changes could increase the depth of understanding and retention of learned material. Copyright © 2016 The American Physiological Society.

reaction of selected common bean genotypes to physiological races

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Prof. Adipala Ekwamu

Department of Biological Sciences, Egerton University, P. O. Box 536, Egerton, Kenya. 1Department of Plant ... order to identify potential sources of resistance to angular leaf spot. Selected bean ...... phaseolicola (Burk, 1926) Young, Dye and.

Drought-avoiding plants with low water use can achieve high rainfall retention without jeopardising survival on green roofs.

Science.gov (United States)

Szota, Christopher; Farrell, Claire; Williams, Nicholas S G; Arndt, Stefan K; Fletcher, Tim D

2017-12-15

Green roofs are increasingly being used among the suite of tools designed to reduce the volume of surface water runoff generated by cities. Plants provide the primary mechanism for restoring the rainfall retention capacity of green roofs, but selecting plants with high water use is likely to increase drought stress. Using empirically-derived plant physiological parameters, we used a water balance model to assess the trade-off between rainfall retention and plant drought stress under a 30-year climate scenario. We compared high and low water users with either drought avoidance or drought tolerance strategies. Green roofs with low water-using, drought-avoiding species achieved high rainfall retention (66-81%) without experiencing significant drought stress. Roofs planted with other strategies showed high retention (72-90%), but they also experienced >50days of drought stress per year. However, not all species with the same strategy behaved similarly, therefore selecting plants based on water use and drought strategy alone does not guarantee survival in shallow substrates where drought stress can develop quickly. Despite this, it is more likely that green roofs will achieve high rainfall retention with minimal supplementary irrigation if planted with low water users with drought avoidance strategies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Estimation of Physiological Cost Index as an Energy Expenditure Index using MacGregor’s Equation

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Binaya SJB Rana

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Physical activity and energy expenditure can be quantified by measuring heart rate, oxygen uptake and respiratory quotient. The Physiological Cost Index (PCI proposed by MacGregor is a simple and straightforward method to estimate the energy expenditure index. Here, we aim to estimate the energy expenditure among young Asian population using MacGregor’s equation. Methods: A total of 50 young randomly selected healthy females performed 50m, 100m and 150m walking test at their self-selected preferred speed. The physiological cost index values for 100 m walk at speeds slower and faster than the preferred speed were also obtained. The physiological cost index during exercise was calculated using MacGregor’s equation considering heart rate and speed of walking over the varying distances. Results: The PCI values on three different distances are consistent during self selected preferred speed. The PCI estimation on second and third tests for all three distances walked consistently reproducible. However for each distance walked, the first test the PCI was significantly higher than the second and third test values. The PCI values increased significantly when subjects walked either slower (p = 0.02 or faster (p = 0.001 than their normal preferred speed. Conclusion: The physiological cost index values were similar for varying distances walks. The PCI was the least at the preferred speed of walking and increased when the subjects either walked slower or faster than the preferred speed. The first estimation was higher than subsequent estimations. Keywords: energy expenditure index; exercise; physiological cost index. | PubMed

Effects of Gender, Mathematics Anxiety and Achievement Motivation on College Students’ Achievement in Mathematics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ajogbeje Oke James

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The urge to excel or perform maximally in mathematics varies from individual to individual because achievement motivation is often developed or learnt during socialization and learning experiences. The study examined the relationship between College of Education students’ achievement motivation and mathematics achievement, correlation coefficient between mathematics anxiety and college students’ achievement motivation as well as mathematics anxiety and mathematics achievement. The sample, 268 College of Education students offering mathematics as one of their subject combination, was selected using purposive sampling techniques. Three research instruments namely: Mathematics Anxiety Scale (MAS, Achievement Motivation Scale (AMS and Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT were used to collect data for the study. Data collected for the study were analyzed using correlational analysis and ANOVA. The results showed that a significantly low negative correlation coefficient existed between mathematics anxiety and mathematics achievement. There is a negative and significant correlation coefficient between mathematics anxiety and achievement motivation. Similarly, a positive and significant correlation coefficient also exists between achievement motivation and mathematics achievement. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that mathematics teachers should adopt activity based strategies and conducive learning environment in order to reduce college students’ anxieties in mathematics learning.

Supervised machine learning algorithms to diagnose stress for vehicle drivers based on physiological sensor signals.

Science.gov (United States)

Barua, Shaibal; Begum, Shahina; Ahmed, Mobyen Uddin

2015-01-01

Machine learning algorithms play an important role in computer science research. Recent advancement in sensor data collection in clinical sciences lead to a complex, heterogeneous data processing, and analysis for patient diagnosis and prognosis. Diagnosis and treatment of patients based on manual analysis of these sensor data are difficult and time consuming. Therefore, development of Knowledge-based systems to support clinicians in decision-making is important. However, it is necessary to perform experimental work to compare performances of different machine learning methods to help to select appropriate method for a specific characteristic of data sets. This paper compares classification performance of three popular machine learning methods i.e., case-based reasoning, neutral networks and support vector machine to diagnose stress of vehicle drivers using finger temperature and heart rate variability. The experimental results show that case-based reasoning outperforms other two methods in terms of classification accuracy. Case-based reasoning has achieved 80% and 86% accuracy to classify stress using finger temperature and heart rate variability. On contrary, both neural network and support vector machine have achieved less than 80% accuracy by using both physiological signals.

Quantitative Circulatory Physiology: an integrative mathematical model of human physiology for medical education.

Science.gov (United States)

Abram, Sean R; Hodnett, Benjamin L; Summers, Richard L; Coleman, Thomas G; Hester, Robert L

2007-06-01

We have developed Quantitative Circulatory Physiology (QCP), a mathematical model of integrative human physiology containing over 4,000 variables of biological interactions. This model provides a teaching environment that mimics clinical problems encountered in the practice of medicine. The model structure is based on documented physiological responses within peer-reviewed literature and serves as a dynamic compendium of physiological knowledge. The model is solved using a desktop, Windows-based program, allowing students to calculate time-dependent solutions and interactively alter over 750 parameters that modify physiological function. The model can be used to understand proposed mechanisms of physiological function and the interactions among physiological variables that may not be otherwise intuitively evident. In addition to open-ended or unstructured simulations, we have developed 30 physiological simulations, including heart failure, anemia, diabetes, and hemorrhage. Additional stimulations include 29 patients in which students are challenged to diagnose the pathophysiology based on their understanding of integrative physiology. In summary, QCP allows students to examine, integrate, and understand a host of physiological factors without causing harm to patients. This model is available as a free download for Windows computers at http://physiology.umc.edu/themodelingworkshop.

Book review of advances in insect physiology: pine bark beetles

Science.gov (United States)

If not the most destructive forest pest, bark beetles are probably a close second in their culpability for killing millions of trees in the Northern Hemisphere. This volume provides an aptly-timed interdisciplinary review on aspects of bark beetle physiology, especially how it relates to selecting, ...

The Influence of Self-Esteem and Selected Demographic Characteristics on First Semester Academic Achievement of Students Enrolled in a College of Agriculture

Science.gov (United States)

Gaspard, Mae B.; Burnett, Michael F.; Gaspard, Camile P.

2011-01-01

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the influence of self-esteem and selected demographic characteristics on academic achievement among students at the freshman level in the College of Agriculture at Louisiana State University. The sample of the study was all students at Louisiana State University enrolled in the Introduction to…

The joy of heartfelt music: An examination of emotional and physiological responses.

Science.gov (United States)

Lynar, Emily; Cvejic, Erin; Schubert, Emery; Vollmer-Conna, Ute

2017-10-01

Music-listening can be a powerful therapeutic tool for mood rehabilitation, yet quality evidence for its validity as a singular treatment is scarce. Specifically, the relationship between music-induced mood improvement and meaningful physiological change, as well as the influence of music- and person-related covariates on these outcomes are yet to be comprehensively explored. Ninety-four healthy participants completed questionnaires probing demographics, personal information, and musical background. Participants listened to two prescribed musical pieces (one classical, one jazz), an "uplifting" piece of their own choice, and an acoustic control stimulus (white noise) in randomised order. Physiological responses (heart rate, respiration, galvanic skin response) were recorded throughout. After each piece, participants rated their subjective responses on a series of Likert scales. Subjectively, the self-selected pieces induced the most joy, and the classical piece was perceived as most relaxing, consistent with the arousal ratings proposed by a music selection panel. These two stimuli led to the greatest overall improvement in composite emotional state from baseline. Psycho-physiologically, self-selected pieces often elicited a "eustress" response ("positive arousal"), whereas classical music was associated with the highest heart rate variability. Very few person-related covariates appeared to affect responses, and music-related covariates (besides self-selection) appeared arbitrary. These data provide strong evidence that optimal music for therapy varies between individuals. Our findings additionally suggest that the self-selected music was most effective for inducing a joyous state; while low arousal classical music was most likely to shift the participant into a state of relaxation. Therapy should attempt to find the most effective and "heartfelt" music for each listener, according to therapeutic goals. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

NUMBER OF SUCCESSIVE CYCLES NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE STABILITY OF SELECTED GROUND REACTION FORCE VARIABLES DURING CONTINUOUS JUMPING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jasmes M.W. Brownjohn

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Because of inherent variability in all human cyclical movements, such as walking, running and jumping, data collected across a single cycle might be atypical and potentially unable to represent an individual's generalized performance. The study described here was designed to determine the number of successive cycles due to continuous, repetitive countermovement jumping which a test subject should perform in a single experimental session to achieve stability of the mean of the corresponding continuously measured ground reaction force (GRF variables. Seven vertical GRF variables (period of jumping cycle, duration of contact phase, peak force amplitude and its timing, average rate of force development, average rate of force relaxation and impulse were extracted on the cycle-by-cycle basis from vertical jumping force time histories generated by twelve participants who were jumping in response to regular electronic metronome beats in the range 2-2.8 Hz. Stability of the selected GRF variables across successive jumping cycles was examined for three jumping rates (2, 2.4 and 2.8 Hz using two statistical methods: intra-class correlation (ICC analysis and segmental averaging technique (SAT. Results of the ICC analysis indicated that an average of four successive cycles (mean 4.5 ± 2.7 for 2 Hz; 3.9 ± 2.6 for 2.4 Hz; 3.3 ± 2.7 for 2.8 Hz were necessary to achieve maximum ICC values. Except for jumping period, maximum ICC values took values from 0.592 to 0.991 and all were significantly (p < 0.05 different from zero. Results of the SAT revealed that an average of ten successive cycles (mean 10.5 ± 3.5 for 2 Hz; 9.2 ± 3.8 for 2.4 Hz; 9.0 ± 3.9 for 2.8 Hz were necessary to achieve stability of the selected parameters using criteria previously reported in the literature. Using 10 reference trials, the SAT required standard deviation criterion values of 0.49, 0.41 and 0.55 for 2 Hz, 2.4 Hz and 2.8 Hz jumping rates, respectively, in order to approximate

Physiological selectivity and activity reduction of insecticides by rainfall to predatory wasps of Tuta absoluta.

Science.gov (United States)

Barros, Emerson C; Bacci, Leandro; Picanco, Marcelo C; Martins, Júlio C; Rosado, Jander F; Silva, Gerson A

2015-01-01

In this study, we carried out three bioassays with nine used insecticides in tomato crops to identify their efficiency against tomato leaf miner Tuta absoluta, the physiological selectivity and the activity reduction of insecticides by three rain regimes to predatory wasps Protonectarina sylveirae and Polybia scutellaris. We assessed the mortality caused by the recommended doses of abamectin, beta-cyfluthrin, cartap, chlorfenapyr, etofenprox, methamidophos, permethrin, phenthoate and spinosad to T. absoluta and wasps at the moment of application. In addition, we evaluated the wasp mortality due to the insecticides for 30 days on plants that did not receive rain and on plants that received 4 or 125 mm of rain. Spinosad, cartap, chlorfenapyr, phenthoate, abamectin and methamidophos caused mortality higher than 90% to T. absoluta, whereas the pyrethroids beta-cyfluthrin, etofenprox and permethrin caused mortality between 8.5% and 46.25%. At the moment of application, all the insecticides were highly toxic to the wasps, causing mortality higher than 80%. In the absence of rain, all the insecticides continued to cause high mortality to the wasps for 30 days after the application. The toxicity of spinosad and methamidophos on both wasp species; beta-cyfluthrin on P. sylveirae and chlorfenapyr and abamectin on P. scutellaris, decreased when the plants received 4 mm of rain. In contrast, the other insecticides only showed reduced toxicity on the wasps when the plants received 125 mm of rain.

[PSYCHO PHYSIOLOGICAL MARKERS OF ACCELERATED AGING AMONG THOSE WORKING WITH OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS].

Science.gov (United States)

Bashkireva, A S; Kachan, Ye Yu; Kulapina, M E

2015-01-01

We assessed the significance of psycho physiological markers of accelerated aging of the function of attention using comparative analysis of two occupational groups in order to reveal how the working process affects mental work capacity. We revealed peculiarities of systemic structure of functions which determine mental work capacity depending on the age and length of service in lorry drivers. It was proved that decrease in the mnestic functions of lorry-drivers takes place 10-15 years earlier compared to the control group. Psycho physiological indices, reflecting the functioning of attention, decreased not only with aging but also with longer driving experience. Our results show that it is necessary to conduct further studies of psycho physiological markers of age-related decrease in short-term memory depending on the activities at work in order to prevent accelerated aging and achieve professional longevity.

The Scientific Development of the Physiology of Plants in the American Tropics

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Marco V. Gutiérrez

2002-06-01

Full Text Available This paper is a research and journalistic work that summarizes and synthesizes the scientific development of the physiology of plants in the American tropics, also known as the Neotropics. It contains the contributions of numerous biologists interested in the physiology of tropical plants. The fabulous structural and functional diversity of tropical forests is still the major driver of research in this field. Classical physiological work involving tropical plants, such as the discovery of C4 photosynthesis in sugarcane, is invoked to exemplify the historical and current importance of physiological research in the tropics, and its applications in agriculture, forestry and conservation. An historical background describing the early and more recent development of a tradition on the physiological study of tropical plants is followed by a summary of the research conducted on the physiology of tropical crops. Common areas of interest and influence between the fields of crop physiology and plant ecophysiology are identified and exemplified with problems on the environmental physiology of crops like coffee and cassava. The physiology of tropical forest plants is discussed in terms of its contributions to general plant physiological knowledge in areas such as photosynthetic metabolism and plant water relations. Despite the impressive technical advances achieved during the past decade, the importance of continuous development of appropriate instrumentation to study and measure the physiology of plants in situ is stressed. Although the basic metabolic processes that underlie the mechanisms of plant responses to the environment are probably highly conserved and qualitatively similar among tropical and temperate plants, it is also apparent that tropical plants exhibit metabolic peculiarities. These include aspects of photosynthetic metabolism, phloem transport physiology, sensitivity to low temperatures, reproduction, responses to climatic seasonality, and a

Effect on School Language in Assessment of Achievement

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Eric Wilmot

hundred randomly selected Senior Secondary School II (SSS II) Agricultural Science ... interaction effect of treatment and gender on students' achievement in an ...... Self-concept and science achievement in co-educational and single-sex.

Focus on the emerging new fields of network physiology and network medicine

Science.gov (United States)

Ivanov, Plamen Ch; Liu, Kang K. L.; Bartsch, Ronny P.

2016-10-01

Despite the vast progress and achievements in systems biology and integrative physiology in the last decades, there is still a significant gap in understanding the mechanisms through which (i) genomic, proteomic and metabolic factors and signaling pathways impact vertical processes across cells, tissues and organs leading to the expression of different disease phenotypes and influence the functional and clinical associations between diseases, and (ii) how diverse physiological systems and organs coordinate their functions over a broad range of space and time scales and horizontally integrate to generate distinct physiologic states at the organism level. Two emerging fields, network medicine and network physiology, aim to address these fundamental questions. Novel concepts and approaches derived from recent advances in network theory, coupled dynamical systems, statistical and computational physics show promise to provide new insights into the complexity of physiological structure and function in health and disease, bridging the genetic and sub-cellular level with inter-cellular interactions and communications among integrated organ systems and sub-systems. These advances form first building blocks in the methodological formalism and theoretical framework necessary to address fundamental problems and challenges in physiology and medicine. This ‘focus on’ issue contains 26 articles representing state-of-the-art contributions covering diverse systems from the sub-cellular to the organism level where physicists have key role in laying the foundations of these new fields.

Selecting the Best: Evolutionary Engineering of Chemical Production in Microbes.

Science.gov (United States)

Shepelin, Denis; Hansen, Anne Sofie Lærke; Lennen, Rebecca; Luo, Hao; Herrgård, Markus J

2018-05-11

Microbial cell factories have proven to be an economical means of production for many bulk, specialty, and fine chemical products. However, we still lack both a holistic understanding of organism physiology and the ability to predictively tune enzyme activities in vivo, thus slowing down rational engineering of industrially relevant strains. An alternative concept to rational engineering is to use evolution as the driving force to select for desired changes, an approach often described as evolutionary engineering. In evolutionary engineering, in vivo selections for a desired phenotype are combined with either generation of spontaneous mutations or some form of targeted or random mutagenesis. Evolutionary engineering has been used to successfully engineer easily selectable phenotypes, such as utilization of a suboptimal nutrient source or tolerance to inhibitory substrates or products. In this review, we focus primarily on a more challenging problem-the use of evolutionary engineering for improving the production of chemicals in microbes directly. We describe recent developments in evolutionary engineering strategies, in general, and discuss, in detail, case studies where production of a chemical has been successfully achieved through evolutionary engineering by coupling production to cellular growth.

Development of sensitive holographic devices for physiological metal ion detection

Science.gov (United States)

Sabad-e.-Gul; Martin, Suzanne; Cassidy, John; Naydenova, Izabela

2017-08-01

The development of selective alkali metal ions sensors in particular is a subject of significant interest. In this respect, the level of blood electrolytes, particularly H+, Na+, K+ and Cl- , is widely used to monitor aberrant physiologies associated with pulmonary emphysema, acute and chronic renal failure, heart failure, diabetes. The sensors reported in this paper are created by holographic recording of surface relief structures in a self-processing photopolymer material. The structures are functionalized by ionophores dibenzo-18-crown-6 (DC) and tetraethyl 4-tert-butylcalix[4]arene (TBC) in plasticised polyvinyl chloride (PVC) matrix. Interrogation of these structures by light allows indirect measurements of chemical analytes' concentration in real time. We present results on the optimisation and testing of the holographic sensor. A self-processing acrylamide-based photopolymer was used to fabricate the required photonic structures. The performance of the sensors for detection of K+ and Na+ was investigated. It was observed that the functionalisation with DC provides a selective response of the devices to K+ over Na+ and TBC coated surface structures are selectively sensitive to Na+. The sensor responds to Na+ within the physiological ranges. Normal levels of Na+ and K+ in human serum lie within the ranges 135-148mM and 3.5-5.3 mM respectively.

Reminiscing about Jan Evangelista Purkinje: a pioneer of modern experimental physiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Cavero, Icilio; Guillon, Jean-Michel; Holzgrefe, Henry H

2017-12-01

This article reminisces about the life and key scientific achievements of Jan Evangelista Purkinje (1787-1869), a versatile 19th century Czech pioneer of modern experimental physiology. In 1804, after completing senior high school, Purkinje joined the Piarist monk order, but, after a 3-yr novitiate, he gave up the religious calling "to deal more freely with science." In 1818, he earned a Medical Doctor degree from Prague University by defending a dissertation on intraocular phenomena observed in oneself. In 1823, Purkinje became a Physiology and Pathology professor at the Prussian Medical University in Breslau, where he innovated the traditional teaching methods of physiology. Purkinje's contributions to physiology were manifold: accurate descriptions of various visual phenomena (e.g., Purkinje-Sanson images, Purkinje phenomenon), discovery of the terminal network of the cardiac conduction system (Purkinje fibers), identification of cerebellar neuronal bodies (Purkinje cells), formulation of the vertigo law (Purkinje's law), discovery of criteria to classify human fingerprints, etc. In 1850, Purkinje accepted and held until his death the Physiology chair at Prague Medical Faculty. During this period, he succeeded in introducing the Czech idiom (in addition to long-established German and Latin) as a Medical Faculty teaching language. Additionally, as a zealous Czech patriot, he actively contributed to the naissance and consolidation of a national Czech identity conscience. Purkinje was a trend-setting scientist who, throughout his career, worked to pave the way for the renovation of physiology from a speculative discipline, ancilla of anatomy, into a factual, autonomous science committed to the discovery of mechanisms governing in-life functions. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

Combining ability, heritability and genotypic relations of different physiological traits in cacao hybrids.

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, Allan Silva; de Almeida, Alex-Alan Furtado; Branco, Márcia Christina da Silva; Costa, Marcio Gilberto Cardoso; Ahnert, Dario

2017-01-01

Selecting parents and evaluating progenies is a very important step in breeding programs and involves approaches such as understanding the initial stages of growth and characterizing the variability among genotypes for different parameters, such as physiological, growth, biomass partitioning and nutrient translocation to the aerial part. In these cases, facilitating tools can be used to understand the involved gene dynamics, such as diallel crosses and genetic and phenotypic correlations. Our main hypothesis is that the contrasting phenotypes of these parental genotypes of cocoa used are due to genetic factors, and progenies derived from crosses of these parental genotypes are useful for breeding programs related to plant architecture, physiological parameters and translocation of mineral nutrients. We aimed to evaluate the combining abilities in progenies of cacao (Theobroma cacao L) originating from contrasting parents for canopy vigor. Emphasis was given to the evaluation of morphological and physiological parameters and the phenotypic and genotypic correlations to understand the dynamics of the action of the genes involved, as well as in expression profile from genes of gibberellins biosynthesis pathway in the parents. Fifteen F1 progenies were obtained from crosses of six clones (IMC 67, P4B, PUCALA, SCA 6, SCA 24 and SJ 02) that were evaluated in a randomized complete block design with four replicates of 12 plants per progeny, in a balanced half table diallel scheme. It is possible to identify and select plants and progenies of low, medium and high height, as there is expressive genetic variability for the evaluated parameters, some of these on higher additive effects, others on larger nonadditive effects and others under a balance of these effects. Most physiological parameters evaluated show that for selection of plants with the desired performance, no complex breeding methods would be necessary due to the high and medium heritability observed. Strong

Doppler radar physiological sensing

CERN Document Server

Lubecke, Victor M; Droitcour, Amy D; Park, Byung-Kwon; Singh, Aditya

2016-01-01

Presents a comprehensive description of the theory and practical implementation of Doppler radar-based physiological monitoring. This book includes an overview of current physiological monitoring techniques and explains the fundamental technology used in remote non-contact monitoring methods. Basic radio wave propagation and radar principles are introduced along with the fundamentals of physiological motion and measurement. Specific design and implementation considerations for physiological monitoring radar systems are then discussed in detail. The authors address current research and commercial development of Doppler radar based physiological monitoring for healthcare and other applications.

Physiologic correlates to background noise acceptance

Science.gov (United States)

Tampas, Joanna; Harkrider, Ashley; Nabelek, Anna

2004-05-01

Acceptance of background noise can be evaluated by having listeners indicate the highest background noise level (BNL) they are willing to accept while following the words of a story presented at their most comfortable listening level (MCL). The difference between the selected MCL and BNL is termed the acceptable noise level (ANL). One of the consistent findings in previous studies of ANL is large intersubject variability in acceptance of background noise. This variability is not related to age, gender, hearing sensitivity, personality, type of background noise, or speech perception in noise performance. The purpose of the current experiment was to determine if individual differences in physiological activity measured from the peripheral and central auditory systems of young female adults with normal hearing can account for the variability observed in ANL. Correlations between ANL and various physiological responses, including spontaneous, click-evoked, and distortion-product otoacoustic emissions, auditory brainstem and middle latency evoked potentials, and electroencephalography will be presented. Results may increase understanding of the regions of the auditory system that contribute to individual noise acceptance.

A density gradient of VAPG peptides on a cell-resisting surface achieves selective adhesion and directional migration of smooth muscle cells over fibroblasts.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Shan; Zuo, Xingang; Shen, Tao; Duan, Yiyuan; Mao, Zhengwei; Gao, Changyou

2018-05-01

Selective adhesion and migration of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) over fibroblasts (FIBs) is required to prevent adventitia fibrosis in vascular regeneration. In this study, a uniform cell-resisting layer of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) with a density gradient of azide groups was generated on a substrate by immobilizing two kinds of PEG molecules in a gradient manner. A density gradient of alkynyl-functionalized Val-Ala-Pro-Gly (VAPG) peptides was then prepared on the PEG layer via click chemistry. The VAPG density gradient was characterized by fluorescence imaging, revealing the gradual enhancement of the fluorescent intensity along the substrate direction. The adhesion and mobility of SMCs were selectively enhanced on the VAPG density gradient, leading to directional migration toward the higher peptide density (up to 84%). In contrast, the adhesion and mobility of FIBs were significantly weakened. The net displacement of SMCs also significantly increased compared with that on tissue culture polystyrene (TCPS) and that of FIBs on the gradient. The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways related to cell migration were studied, showing higher expressions of functional proteins from SMCs on the VAPG-modified surface in a density-dependent manner. For the first time the selective adhesion and directional migration of SMCs over FIBs was achieved by an elaborative design of a gradient surface, leading to a new insight in design of novel vascular regenerative materials. Selective cell adhesion and migration guided by regenerative biomaterials are extremely important for the regeneration of targeted tissues, which can avoid the drawbacks of incorrect and uncontrolled responses of tissue cells to implants. For example, selectivity of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) over fibroblasts (FIBs) is required to prevent adventitia fibrosis in vascular regeneration. Herein we prepare a uniform cell-repelling layer, on which SMCs-selective Val-Ala-Pro-Gly (VAPG) peptides

Identification an characterization of QTL underlying whole plant physiology in Arabidopsis taliana: 13C, stomatal conduction and transpiration efficiency

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Juenger, T.E.; McKay, J.K.; Hausmann, N.; Keurentjes, J.J.B.; Sen, S.; Stowe, K.A.; Dawson, T.E.; Simms, E.L.; Richards, J.H.

2005-01-01

Water limitation is one of the most important factors limiting crop productivity world-wide and has likely been an important selective regime influencing the evolution of plant physiology. Understanding the genetic and physiological basis of drought adaptation is therefore important for improving

PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL MARKERS OF SALINITY TOLERANCE IN PLANTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mustafa YILDIZ

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Salt stress limits plant productivity in arid and semi arid regions. Salt stress causes decrease in plant growth by adversely affecting physiological processes, especially photosynthesis. Salinity tolerance is defined as the ability of plant to maintain normal rowth and development under salt conditions. Salt stress results in accumulation of low molecular weight compounds, termed compatible solutes, which do not interfere with the normal biochemical reactions. These compatible solutes such as carbohydrates, polyols, amino acids and amides, quaternary ammonium compounds, polyamines andsoluble proteins may play a crucial role in osmotic adjustment, protection of macromolecules, maintenance of cellular pH and detoxification of free radicals. On the other hand, plants subjected to environmental stresses such as salinity produce reactive oxygen species (ROS and these ROS are efficiently eliminated by antioxidant enzyme systems. In plant breeding studies, the use of some physiological and biochemical markers for improving the salt tolerance in plants is crucial. In this review, the possibility of using some physiological and biochemical markers as selection criteria for salt tolerance is discussed.

A checkerboard selective absorber with excellent spectral selectivity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Liu, E-mail: optyang@zju.edu.cn [Centre for Optical and Electromagnetic Research, State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058 (China); School of Electrical, Computer, and Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287 (United States); Mo, Lei; Chen, Tuo [Centre for Optical and Electromagnetic Research, State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058 (China); Department of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027 (China); Forsberg, Erik [Centre for Optical and Electromagnetic Research, State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058 (China); He, Sailing [Centre for Optical and Electromagnetic Research, State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058 (China); Department of Electromagnetic Engineering, JORCEP, Roy Institute of Technology (KTH), S-100 44 Stockholm (Sweden)

2015-11-14

A selective absorber with excellent spectral selectivity is proposed and analyzed. The absorber is based on a germanium (Ge) checkerboard on top of a tantalum (Ta) substrate. At wavelengths shorter than the 1.2 μm cutoff, a very high absorption is achieved due to strong cavity resonances in the Ge nanosquares, and their interactions with adjacent nanocavities and the bottom Ta substrate. At longer wavelengths, absorption is greatly suppressed due to destructive interference between the transparent checkerboard layer and the highly reflective Ta substrate. To better describe the superior selectivity of our configuration, a new figure of merit (FOM) is introduced. We observe a FOM value of 0.88 compared to 0.69 for its planar counterpart. We also conduct a thermal analysis to verify the excellent selectivity of our absorber. A high temperature can be achieved and maintained, promising good potential for applications in solar thermophotovoltaic systems.

Physiological Assessment of Water Stress in Potato Using Spectral Information.

Science.gov (United States)

Romero, Angela P; Alarcón, Andrés; Valbuena, Raúl I; Galeano, Carlos H

2017-01-01

Water stress in potato ( Solanum tuberosum L.) causes considerable losses in yield, and therefore, potato is often considered to be a drought sensitive crop. Identification of water deficit tolerant potato genotypes is an adaptation strategy to mitigate the climatic changes that are occurring in the Cundiboyacense region in Colombia. Previous studies have evaluated potato plants under water stress conditions using physiological analyses. However, these methodologies require considerable amounts of time and plant material to perform these measurements. This study evaluated and compared the physiological and spectral traits between two genotypes, Diacol Capiro and Perla Negra under two drought levels (10 and 15 days without irrigation from flowering). Reflectance information was used to calculate indexes which were associated with the physiological behavior in plants. The results showed that spectral information was correlated (ρ < 0.0001) with physiological variables such as foliar area (FA), total water content (H 2 Ot), relative growth rate of potato tubers (RGTtub), leaf area ratio (LAR), and foliar area index (AFI). In general, there was a higher concentration of chlorophyll under drought treatments. In addition, Perla Negra under water deficit treatments did not show significant differences in its physiological variables. Therefore, it could be considered a drought tolerant genotype because its physiological performance was not affected under water stress conditions. However, yield was affected in both genotypes after being subject to 15 days of drought. The results suggested that reflectance indexes are a useful and affordable approach for potato phenotyping to select parent and segregant populations in breeding programs.

Knowledge on the subject of human physiology among Polish high school students--a cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Zwinczewska, Helena; Rozwadowska, Joanna; Traczyk, Anna; Majda, Szymon; Wysocki, Michał; Grabowski, Kamil; Kopeć, Sylwia; Głowacki, Roman; Węgrzyn, Katarzyna; Tomaszewski, Krzysztof A; Walocha, Jerzy A

2014-01-01

In most cases the only knowledge an individual will receive with regards to their own body and its proper functioning is during their high school education. The aim of this study was to evaluate high school students' knowledge about basic physiology. The research was carried out in five, randomly chosen high schools in Krakow, Poland. Young people in the age of 17-19 years were asked to fill in the questionnaire designed by the authors. The first part of the survey included personal data. The second part contained 20 close-ended questions assessing students' knowledge about the basics of human physiology. Question difficulty varied from easy through average, and up to difficult. The maximum number of points to achieve was 20. One-thousand-and eighty-three (out of 1179 invited--91.86%) Polish high school students (63.25% female) filled in a 20-item questionnaire constructed by the authors regarding basic human physiology. The mean age of the group was 17.66 ± 0.80 years. The mean score among the surveyed was 10.15 ± 3.48 (range 0-20). Only 26.04% of students achieved a grade of 60% or more, and only one person obtained the highest possible score. Females achieved significantly better scores than males (10.49 ± 3.38 vs. 9.56 ± 3.56; p physiology, obtained better results than those in their third year who had already finished the biology course (10.70 ± 3.27 vs. 9.81 ± 3.74 respectively; p physiology (10.70 ± 3.27 vs. 9.63 ± 2.74 respectively; p = 0.003). Over 23% of students did not know that mature red blood cells do not have cell nuclei and a similar number of them answered that humans have 500,000 erythrocytes in 1 mm3 of blood. Over 32% believed that plasma does not participate in the transport of respiratory gases, and 31% believed that endocrine glands secrete hormones within their immediate vicinity and into the blood. Our research has shown that young people, especially men, often lack basic physiological knowledge needed to make conscious and

Space physiology and medicine, 2nd ed

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nicogossian, A.E.; Huntoon, C.L.; Pool, S.L.; Johnson, P.C.

1988-01-01

The contents of this book are: Physiological Adaptation to Space Flight: Overall Adaptation to Space Flight and Implications; The Neurovestibular System; Performance; The Cardiopulmonary System; Nutrition; Bone and Mineral Metabolism; Hematology, Immunology, Endocrinology, and Biochemistry; Microgravity: Stimulations and Analogs; Health Maintenance of Space Crewmemebers: Medical Evaluation for Astronaut Selection and Longitudinal Studies; Biomedical Training of Space Crews; Ground-Based Medical Programs; Countermeasures to Space Deconditioning; Medical Problems of Space Flight: Toxic Hazards in Space Operations; Radiation Exposure Issues and Medical Care and Health Maintenance in Flight

Family Status and Students' Academic Achievement in Agricultural ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Annals of Modern Education ... This study investigated the relationship between family status and students' academic achievements in agricultural science subject. To achieve this goal, students from Katsina State Science and Technical Education Board (STEB) were purposively selected for the study.Random sampling ...

Study on Driver Visual Physiological Characteristics in Urban Traffic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fengyuan Wang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In the integrated traffic environment, human factor is always a main factor of the three elementary factors, besides the vehicle and road factor. The driver physiological and psychological characteristics have an important impact especially on traffic safety in urban road traffic conditions. Some typical traffic scenes in condition of urban road, such as light signal control at intersection, overtaking, and passing, are selected for condition analysis. An eye movement apparatus was used to obtain driver eye closure, blink frequency, and other visual physiological indicators in the traffic conditions of urban road. The regular patterns of driver visual characteristics in the corresponding scenes were analyzed in detail to provide data and theoretical support for the further research on traffic safety of urban environment from the viewpoint of driver psychology and behavior.

Personalized physiological medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Ince, Can

2017-12-28

This paper introduces the concept of personalized physiological medicine that is specifically directed at the needs of the critically ill patient. This differs from the conventional view of personalized medicine, characterized by biomarkers and gene profiling, instead focusing on time-variant changes in the pathophysiology and regulation of various organ systems and their cellular and subcellular constituents. I propose that personalized physiological medicine is composed of four pillars relevant to the critically ill patient. Pillar 1 is defined by the frailty and fitness of the patient and their physiological reserve to cope with the stress of critical illness and therapy. Pillar 2 involves monitoring of the key physiological variables of the different organ systems and their response to disease and therapy. Pillar 3 concerns the evaluation of the success of resuscitation by assessment of the hemodynamic coherence between the systemic and microcirculation and parenchyma of the organ systems. Finally, pillar 4 is defined by the integration of the physiological and clinical data into a time-learning adaptive model of the patient to provide feedback about the function of organ systems and to guide and assess the response to disease and therapy. I discuss each pillar and describe the challenges to research and development that will allow the realization of personalized physiological medicine to be practiced at the bedside for critically ill patients.

Plant Physiology in Greenhouses

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Heuvelink, E.; Kierkels, T.

2015-01-01

Since 2004 Ep Heuvelink and Tijs Kierkels have been writing a continuing series of plant physiology articles for the Dutch horticultural journal Onder Glas and the international edition In Greenhouses. The book Plant Physiology in Greenhouses consists of 50 of their plant physiology articles. The

The Relationship between Multiple Substance Use, Perceived Academic Achievements, and Selected Socio-Demographic Factors in a Polish Adolescent Sample

Science.gov (United States)

Mazur, Joanna; Tabak, Izabela; Dzielska, Anna; Wąż, Krzysztof; Oblacińska, Anna

2016-01-01

Predictors of high-risk patterns of substance use are often analysed in relation to demographic and school-related factors. The interaction between these factors and the additional impact of family wealth are still new areas of research. The aim of this study was to find determinants of the most common patterns of psychoactive substance use in mid-adolescence, compared to non-users. A sample of 1202 Polish students (46.1% boys, mean age of 15.6 years) was surveyed in 2013/2014. Four patterns of psychoactive substance use were defined using cluster analysis: non-users—71.9%, mainly tobacco and alcohol users—13.7%, high alcohol and cannabis users—7.2%, poly-users—7.2%. The final model contained the main effects of gender and age, and one three-way (perceived academic achievement × gender × family affluence) interaction. Girls with poor perception of school performance (as compared to girls with better achievements) were at significantly higher risk of being poly-users, in both less and more affluent families (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 5.55 and OR = 3.60, respectively). The impact of family affluence was revealed only in interaction with other factors. Patterns of substance use in mid-adolescence are strongly related to perceived academic achievements, and these interact with selected socio-demographic factors. PMID:28009806

The Relationship between Multiple Substance Use, Perceived Academic Achievements, and Selected Socio-Demographic Factors in a Polish Adolescent Sample

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joanna Mazur

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Predictors of high-risk patterns of substance use are often analysed in relation to demographic and school-related factors. The interaction between these factors and the additional impact of family wealth are still new areas of research. The aim of this study was to find determinants of the most common patterns of psychoactive substance use in mid-adolescence, compared to non-users. A sample of 1202 Polish students (46.1% boys, mean age of 15.6 years was surveyed in 2013/2014. Four patterns of psychoactive substance use were defined using cluster analysis: non-users—71.9%, mainly tobacco and alcohol users—13.7%, high alcohol and cannabis users—7.2%, poly-users—7.2%. The final model contained the main effects of gender and age, and one three-way (perceived academic achievement × gender × family affluence interaction. Girls with poor perception of school performance (as compared to girls with better achievements were at significantly higher risk of being poly-users, in both less and more affluent families (adjusted odds ratio (OR = 5.55 and OR = 3.60, respectively. The impact of family affluence was revealed only in interaction with other factors. Patterns of substance use in mid-adolescence are strongly related to perceived academic achievements, and these interact with selected socio-demographic factors.

Identification of water use strategies at early growth stages in durum wheat from shoot phenotyping and physiological measurements.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ALIREZA NAKHFOROOSH

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Modern imaging technology provides new approaches to plant phenotyping for traits relevant to crop yield and resource efficiency. Our objective was to investigate water use strategies at early growth stages in durum wheat genetic resources using shoot imaging at the ScreenHouse phenotyping facility combined with physiological measurements. 12 durum landraces from different pedoclimatic backgrounds were compared to three modern check cultivars in a greenhouse pot experiment under well watered (75 % plant available water, PAW and drought (25 % PAW conditions. Transpiration rate was analyzed for the underlying main morphological (leaf area duration and physiological (stomata conductance factors. Combining both morphological and physiological regulation of transpiration, four distinct water use types were identified. Most landraces had high transpiration rates either due to extensive leaf area (area types or both large leaf areas together with high stomata conductance (spender types. All modern cultivars were distinguished by high stomata conductance with comparatively compact canopies (conductance types. Only few landraces were water saver types with both small canopy and low stomata conductance. During early growth, genotypes with large leaf area had high dry-matter accumulation under both well watered and drought conditions compared to genotypes with compact stature. However, high stomata conductance was the basis to achieve high dry matter per unit leaf area, indicating high assimilation capacity as a key for productivity in modern cultivars. We conclude that the identified water use strategies based on early growth shoot phenotyping combined with stomata conductance provide an appropriate framework for targeted selection of distinct pre-breeding material adapted to different types of water limited environments.

Identification of Water Use Strategies at Early Growth Stages in Durum Wheat from Shoot Phenotyping and Physiological Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Nakhforoosh, Alireza; Bodewein, Thomas; Fiorani, Fabio; Bodner, Gernot

2016-01-01

Modern imaging technology provides new approaches to plant phenotyping for traits relevant to crop yield and resource efficiency. Our objective was to investigate water use strategies at early growth stages in durum wheat genetic resources using shoot imaging at the ScreenHouse phenotyping facility combined with physiological measurements. Twelve durum landraces from different pedoclimatic backgrounds were compared to three modern check cultivars in a greenhouse pot experiment under well-watered (75% plant available water, PAW) and drought (25% PAW) conditions. Transpiration rate was analyzed for the underlying main morphological (leaf area duration) and physiological (stomata conductance) factors. Combining both morphological and physiological regulation of transpiration, four distinct water use types were identified. Most landraces had high transpiration rates either due to extensive leaf area (area types) or both large leaf areas together with high stomata conductance (spender types). All modern cultivars were distinguished by high stomata conductance with comparatively compact canopies (conductance types). Only few landraces were water saver types with both small canopy and low stomata conductance. During early growth, genotypes with large leaf area had high dry-matter accumulation under both well-watered and drought conditions compared to genotypes with compact stature. However, high stomata conductance was the basis to achieve high dry matter per unit leaf area, indicating high assimilation capacity as a key for productivity in modern cultivars. We conclude that the identified water use strategies based on early growth shoot phenotyping combined with stomata conductance provide an appropriate framework for targeted selection of distinct pre-breeding material adapted to different types of water limited environments. PMID:27547208

The Physiological Response of Soybean Genotypes to VAM Inoculation on Selected Drought Stress Levels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

HAPSOH

2006-06-01

Full Text Available Present research was aimed to study physiological changes of soybean which were inoculated with vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (VAM. Glomus etunicatum was exposed to moderate and severe drought condition. Symbiotic association with VAM improved adaptability as it was shown by the increasing leaf proline content. The MLG 3474 and Sindoro are the more tolerant genotypes while the responses of plant to VAM on improving the adaptability to drought were larger on Lokon.

The physiology of the normal human breast: an exploratory study.

Science.gov (United States)

Mills, Dixie; Gordon, Eva J; Casano, Ashley; Lahti, Sarah Michelle; Nguyen, Tinh; Preston, Alex; Tondre, Julie; Wu, Kuan; Yanase, Tiffany; Chan, Henry; Chia, David; Esfandiari, Mahtash; Himmel, Tiffany; Love, Susan M

2011-12-01

The physiology of the nonlactating human breast likely plays a key role in factors that contribute to the etiology of breast cancer and other breast conditions. Although there has been extensive research into the physiology of lactation, few reports explore the physiology of the resting mammary gland, including mechanisms by which compounds such as hormones, drugs, and potential carcinogens enter the breast ducts. The purpose of this study was to explore transport of exogenous drugs into ductal fluid in nonlactating women and determine if their concentrations in the fluid are similar to those observed in the breast milk of lactating women. We selected two compounds that have been well characterized during lactation, caffeine and cimetidine. Caffeine passively diffuses into breast milk, but cimetidine is actively transported and concentrated in breast milk. After ingestion of caffeine and cimetidine, 14 nonlactating subjects had blood drawn and underwent ductal lavage at five time points over 12 h to measure drug levels in the fluid and blood. The concentrations of both caffeine and cimetidine in lavage fluid were substantially less than those observed in breast milk. Our results support recent evidence that the cimetidine transporter is not expressed in the nonlactating mammary gland, and highlight intriguing differences in the physiology and molecular transport of the lactating and nonlactating breast. The findings of this exploratory study warrant further exploration into the physiology of the nonlactating mammary gland to elucidate factors involved in disease initiation and progression.

The tell-tale heart: physiological reactivity during resolution of ambiguity in youth anxiety.

Science.gov (United States)

Rozenman, Michelle; Vreeland, Allison; Iglesias, Marisela; Mendez, Melissa; Piacentini, John

2018-03-01

In the past decade, cognitive biases and physiological arousal have each been proposed as mechanisms through which paediatric anxiety develops and is maintained over time. Preliminary studies have found associations between anxious interpretations of ambiguity, physiological arousal, and avoidance, supporting theories that link cognition, psychophysiology, and behaviour. However, little is known about the relationship between youths' resolutions of ambiguity and physiological arousal during acute stress. Such information may have important clinical implications for use of verbal self-regulation strategies and cognitive restructuring during treatments for paediatric anxiety. In this brief report, we present findings suggesting that anxious, but not typically developing, youth select avoidant goals via non-threatening resolution of ambiguity during a stressor, and that this resolution of ambiguity is accompanied by physiological reactivity (heart rate, heart rate variability, and respiratory sinus arrhythmia). We propose future empirical research on the interplay between interpretation bias, psychophysiology, and child anxiety, as well as clinical implications.

The Physiological Profile of Junior Soccer Players at SSBB Surabaya Bhakti

Science.gov (United States)

Nashirudin, M.; Kusnanik, N. W.

2018-01-01

Soccer players are required to have good physical fitness in order to achieve optimum accomplishment; physical fitness stands as the foundation of technical and tactical proficiency as well as the mental maturity during the matches. The purpose of this study was to identify the physiological profile of junior soccer players of SSB Surabaya Bhakti age 16-17. The research was conducted at 20 junior soccer players. This research was quantitative with descriptive analysis. Data were collected by testing of physiological (anaerobic power and capacity including explosive leg power, speed, agility; aerobic capacity: cardiovascular endurance). Data was analyzed using percentage. The result showed that the percentage of explosive leg power of junior soccer players were 30% (good category), speed was 85% (average category), right agility was 90% (average category), left agility was 75% (average category). On the other hand, the aerobic power and capacity of the junior soccer players in this study was 50% (average category). The conclusion of this research is that the physiological profile of junior soccer players at SSB Surabaya Bhakti age 16-17 was majority in average category.

Regulatory Physiology

Science.gov (United States)

Lane, Helen W.; Whitson, Peggy A.; Putcha, Lakshmi; Baker, Ellen; Smith, Scott M.; Stewart, Karen; Gretebeck, Randall; Nimmagudda, R. R.; Schoeller, Dale A.; Davis-Street, Janis

1999-01-01

As noted elsewhere in this report, a central goal of the Extended Duration Orbiter Medical Project (EDOMP) was to ensure that cardiovascular and muscle function were adequate to perform an emergency egress after 16 days of spaceflight. The goals of the Regulatory Physiology component of the EDOMP were to identify and subsequently ameliorate those biochemical and nutritional factors that deplete physiological reserves or increase risk for disease, and to facilitate the development of effective muscle, exercise, and cardiovascular countermeasures. The component investigations designed to meet these goals focused on biochemical and physiological aspects of nutrition and metabolism, the risk of renal (kidney) stone formation, gastrointestinal function, and sleep in space. Investigations involved both ground-based protocols to validate proposed methods and flight studies to test those methods. Two hardware tests were also completed.

Optimizing CT angiography in patients with Fontan physiology: single-center experience of dual-site power injection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sandler, K.L.; Markham, L.W.; Mah, M.L.; Byrum, E.P.; Williams, J.R.

2014-01-01

Aim: To identify adult patients with single-ventricle congenital heart disease and Fontan procedure palliation who have been misdiagnosed with or incompletely evaluated for pulmonary embolism. Additionally, this study was designed to demonstrate that simultaneous, dual-injection of contrast medium into an upper and lower extremity vein is superior to single-injection protocols for CT angiography (CTA) of the chest in this population. Materials and methods: Patients included in the study were retrospectively selected from the Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ACHD) database. Search criteria included history of Fontan palliation and available chest CT examination. Patients were evaluated for (1) type of congenital heart disease and prior operations;(2) indication for initial CT evaluation;(3) route of contrast medium administration for the initial CT examination and resulting diagnosis;(4) whether or not anticoagulation therapy was initiated; and (5) final diagnosis and treatment plan. Results: The query of the ACHD database resulted in 28 individuals or patients with Fontan palliation (superior and inferior venae cavae anastomosed to the pulmonary arteries). Of these, 19 patients with Fontan physiology underwent CTA of the pulmonary circulation, and 17 had suboptimal imaging studies. Unfortunately, seven of these 17 patients (41%) were started on anticoagulation therapy due to a diagnosis of pulmonary embolism that was later excluded. Conclusion: Patients with single-ventricle/Fontan physiology are at risk of thromboembolic disease. Therefore, studies evaluating their complex anatomy must be performed with the optimal imaging protocol to ensure diagnostic accuracy, which is best achieved with dual-injection of an upper and lower extremity central vein. - Highlights: • The adult congenital heart disease population is growing. • Many of these patients have single ventricle/Fontan physiology. • Patients with Fontan physiology are at increased risk for

Nigerian Journal of Physiological Sciences

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Nigerian Journal of Physiological Sciences (Niger. J. Physiol. Sci.) is a biannual publication of the Physiological Society of Nigeria. It covers diverse areas of research in physiological sciences, publishing reviews in current research areas and original laboratory and clinical research in physiological sciences. Other websites ...

Chewing Over Physiology Integration

Science.gov (United States)

Abdulkader, Fernando; Azevedo-Martins, Anna Karenina; de Arcisio Miranda, Manoel; Brunaldi, Kellen

2005-01-01

An important challenge for both students and teachers of physiology is to integrate the differentareas in which physiological knowledge is didactically divided. In developing countries, such an issue is even more demanding, because budget restrictions often affect the physiology program with laboratory classes being the first on the list when it…

Variability of anatomical-physiological traits in black locust clones - Robinia pseudoacacia L

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Orlović Saša S.

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Variability within R. pseudoacacia species represents an important factor in selection of fast-growing genotypes. Therefore, it is important to identify superior individuals according to their anatomical and physiological traits. This paper presents the results of a study of genotype variability of the main leaf anatomical (frequency, length and width of stomata, leaflet thickness among veins, leaflet thickness on the main vein, mesophyll thickness, length and width of vascular bundle of main vein and physiological (leaf area, photosynthetic pigments content and content of N P, K, Ca, Na parameters among five clones of Robinia pseudoacacia L. Significant interclonal variations were observed in the investigated parameters. Clone R-56 had the highest N, P, and K concentrations, the largest mesophyll volume and the highest pigment concentration. We concluded that the clone R-56, although without a remarkable leaf area, possesses the ability for high photosynthetic production. The results are going to be used in further work on selection.

A physiologically based nonhomogeneous Poisson counter model of visual identification

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Jeppe H; Markussen, Bo; Bundesen, Claus

2018-01-01

A physiologically based nonhomogeneous Poisson counter model of visual identification is presented. The model was developed in the framework of a Theory of Visual Attention (Bundesen, 1990; Kyllingsbæk, Markussen, & Bundesen, 2012) and meant for modeling visual identification of objects that are ......A physiologically based nonhomogeneous Poisson counter model of visual identification is presented. The model was developed in the framework of a Theory of Visual Attention (Bundesen, 1990; Kyllingsbæk, Markussen, & Bundesen, 2012) and meant for modeling visual identification of objects...... that mimicked the dynamics of receptive field selectivity as found in neurophysiological studies. Furthermore, the initial sensory response yielded theoretical hazard rate functions that closely resembled empirically estimated ones. Finally, supplied with a Naka-Rushton type contrast gain control, the model...

[Wavelength Selection in Hemolytic Evaluation Systems with Spectrophotometry Detection].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Hong; Su, Baochang; Ye, Xunda; Luo, Man

2016-04-01

Spectrophotometry is a simple hemolytic evaluation method commonly used in new drugs,biomedical materials and blood products.It is for the quantitative analysis of the characteristic absorption peaks of hemoglobin.Therefore,it is essential to select the correct detection wavelength when the evaluation system has influences on the conformation of hemoglobin.Based on the study of changes in the characteristic peaks over time of the hemolysis supernatant in four systems,namely,cell culture medium,phosphate buffered saline(PBS),physiological saline and banked blood preservation solution,using continuous wavelength scanning,the selections of detection wavelength were proposed as follows.In the cell culture medium system,the wavelength of 415 nm should be selected within 4h;,near 408 nm should be selected within 4~72h.In PBS system,within 4h,541 nm,577nm or 415 nm should be selected;4~72h,541 nm,577nm or near 406 nm should be selected.In physiological saline system,within 4h,414 nm should be selected;4~72h,near 405 nm should be selected;within 12 h,541nm or 577 nm could also be selected.In banked blood preservation solution system,within 72 h,415nm,540 nm or 576 nm should be selected.

The Effects of the Classroom Performance System on Student Participation, Attendance, and Achievement

Science.gov (United States)

Termos, Mohamad Hani

2013-01-01

The Classroom Performance System (CPS) is an instructional technology that increases student performance and promotes active learning. This study assessed the effect of the CPS on student participation, attendance, and achievement in multicultural college-level anatomy and physiology classes, where students' first spoken language is not English.…

Basic results and prospects for development of physiology of work of miners of Donbass coal mines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grebnyak, V.P. (Institut Gigieny Truda i Profzabolevanii, Donetsk (USSR))

1988-11-01

In the Donbass, tunnelers and stopers work under unfavorable factors of the underground environment: heavy physical work in limited space, increased possibility of accidents and personal risk, a warming microclimate, noise and dust. In view of this, role of physiology of work consists in guaranteeing normalization of work load, in development of rational regiments of work and rest, and a basis of psychophysical criteria of professional choice, development of physiologically based methods of rehabilitation, preparation of miners for factors of underground medium. Physiologic normalization of work of miners can be achieved by establishing norms of work and rest. With mechanization of mining, level of tension of work has increased, requiring longer rest periods after work. Increased temperatures of deep mines necessitate corresponding increase in rest periods, reducing exhaustion of workers and physiologically increasing productivity of work 12-15%. Investigations in physiology of work of miners have established norms of loads, national regimens of work and rest, ways to prevent disease and reduce physiologic tension of organism to prevent functional breakdowns and illnesses. For the future, further study of mechanisms causing strain and exhaustion affecting work capacity of miners is recommended. 14 refs.

Rapid Evaluation of Germinability of Primed China Aster (Callistephus Chinensis Ness. Seeds with Physiological and Biochemical Markers

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Badek Bogumiła

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The correlation between the sowing value of primed China aster seeds represented by germination percentage (GP, mean germination time (MGT, germination uniformity expressed as the time between 25% and 75% of germinated seeds (T75-25 and some selected physiological characteristics - total activity of dehydrogenases (TAD, activity of catalase (AC, activity of cell cycle (ACC and electrolyte leakage (EL has been analysed in order to find useful markers of biological quality of seeds. To achieve this objective, analyses of effects of three methods of water supply to seeds viz. - hydroconditioning by soaking in excessive amount of water (M1, hydroconditioning by soaking in limited amount of water (M2 or hydroconditioning by contact with solid carrier of water - matriconditioning (M3, three levels (30.0, 35.0 and 40.0% of seed moisture content (m.c. and three incubation periods (1, 8 and 10 days during priming and hence their influence on germination properties (GP, MGT, T75-25 in comparison with TAD, AC, ACC and EL were determined. The results showed that MGT and T75-25 were correlated with TAD, AC, ACC and EL, irrespective of their priming method and sowing value. Therefore, all the investigated physiological/biochemical parameters of seed quality can be used as markers of germinability and sowing value reached by primed China aster seeds. The results also proved that, irrespective of the water supply method applied, hydration of seeds up to 37.5% m.c., and their incubation at 20 °C for 8 days, followed by drying to their initial moisture content, increased to the greatest extent the speed and uniformity of seed germination and their physiological activity.

Physiological effects of indomethacin and celecobix: an S-transform laser Doppler flowmetry signal analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Assous, S; Humeau, A; Tartas, M; Abraham, P; L'Huillier, J P

2005-01-01

Conventional signal processing typically involves frequency selective techniques which are highly inadequate for nonstationary signals. In this paper, we present an approach to perform time-frequency selective processing of laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) signals using the S-transform. The approach is motivated by the excellent localization, in both time and frequency, afforded by the wavelet basis functions. Suitably chosen Gaussian wavelet functions are used to characterize the subspace of signals that have a given localized time-frequency support, thus enabling a time-frequency partitioning of signals. In this paper, the goal is to study the influence of various pharmacological substances taken by the oral way (celecobix (Celebrex (registered) ), indomethacin (Indocid (registered) ) and placebo) on the physiological activity behaviour. The results show that no statistical differences are observed in the energy computed from the time-frequency representation of LDF signals, for the myogenic, neurogenic and endothelial related metabolic activities between Celebrex and placebo, and Indocid and placebo. The work therefore proves that these drugs do not affect these physiological activities. For future physiological studies, there will therefore be no need to exclude patients having taken cyclo-oxygenase 1 inhibitions

Physiological effects of indomethacin and celecobix: an S-transform laser Doppler flowmetry signal analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Assous, S.; Humeau, A.; Tartas, M.; Abraham, P.; L'Huillier, J. P.

2005-05-01

Conventional signal processing typically involves frequency selective techniques which are highly inadequate for nonstationary signals. In this paper, we present an approach to perform time-frequency selective processing of laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) signals using the S-transform. The approach is motivated by the excellent localization, in both time and frequency, afforded by the wavelet basis functions. Suitably chosen Gaussian wavelet functions are used to characterize the subspace of signals that have a given localized time-frequency support, thus enabling a time-frequency partitioning of signals. In this paper, the goal is to study the influence of various pharmacological substances taken by the oral way (celecobix (Celebrex®), indomethacin (Indocid®) and placebo) on the physiological activity behaviour. The results show that no statistical differences are observed in the energy computed from the time-frequency representation of LDF signals, for the myogenic, neurogenic and endothelial related metabolic activities between Celebrex and placebo, and Indocid and placebo. The work therefore proves that these drugs do not affect these physiological activities. For future physiological studies, there will therefore be no need to exclude patients having taken cyclo-oxygenase 1 inhibitions.

Recognition of emotions using multimodal physiological signals and an ensemble deep learning model.

Science.gov (United States)

Yin, Zhong; Zhao, Mengyuan; Wang, Yongxiong; Yang, Jingdong; Zhang, Jianhua

2017-03-01

Using deep-learning methodologies to analyze multimodal physiological signals becomes increasingly attractive for recognizing human emotions. However, the conventional deep emotion classifiers may suffer from the drawback of the lack of the expertise for determining model structure and the oversimplification of combining multimodal feature abstractions. In this study, a multiple-fusion-layer based ensemble classifier of stacked autoencoder (MESAE) is proposed for recognizing emotions, in which the deep structure is identified based on a physiological-data-driven approach. Each SAE consists of three hidden layers to filter the unwanted noise in the physiological features and derives the stable feature representations. An additional deep model is used to achieve the SAE ensembles. The physiological features are split into several subsets according to different feature extraction approaches with each subset separately encoded by a SAE. The derived SAE abstractions are combined according to the physiological modality to create six sets of encodings, which are then fed to a three-layer, adjacent-graph-based network for feature fusion. The fused features are used to recognize binary arousal or valence states. DEAP multimodal database was employed to validate the performance of the MESAE. By comparing with the best existing emotion classifier, the mean of classification rate and F-score improves by 5.26%. The superiority of the MESAE against the state-of-the-art shallow and deep emotion classifiers has been demonstrated under different sizes of the available physiological instances. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assisting at-risk community college students' acquisition of critical thinking learning strategies in human anatomy and physiology

Science.gov (United States)

Arburn, Theresa Morkovsky

1998-11-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether learning thinking strategies within the context of a community college course in Human Anatomy and Physiology would result in increased academic performance and the incidence of critical thinking skills. Included in the study sample were 68 community college students, many of whom would be categorized as "at-risk," who were enrolled in four sections of a Human Anatomy and Physiology class. Two of the class sections served as the experimental group and two sections served as the control group. During the course of one semester, members of the experimental group participated in the use of a student-generated questioning technique in conjunction with lecture presentations, while members of the control group did not. All students were pretested using the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) and the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST). Posttesting was completed using these same instruments and an end-of-course comprehensive examination. Analysis of data revealed no significant differences between the experimental and control groups with regard to their overall achievement, their ability to process information, or their demonstration of critical thinking. It was interesting to note, however, that members of the experimental group did exhibit a change in their ability to select main ideas, apply deductive reasoning, and use inference. While the use of thinking strategies within the context of the course did not effect a significant change in academic achievement or critical thinking among at-risk community college students, it should be noted that application of a non-lecture method of class participation had no negative impact on student performance. Whether more abstruse changes have occurred with regard to the acquisition of cognitive skills remains to be elucidated.

Simple, Fast and Selective Detection of Adenosine Triphosphate at Physiological pH Using Unmodified Gold Nanoparticles as Colorimetric Probes and Metal Ions as Cross-Linkers

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Huan Pang

2012-11-01

Full Text Available We report a simple, fast and selective colorimetric assay of adenosine triphosphate (ATP using unmodified gold nanoparticles (AuNPs as probes and metal ions as cross-linkers. ATP can be assembled onto the surface of AuNPs through interaction between the electron-rich nitrogen atoms and the electron-deficient surface of AuNPs. Accordingly, Cu2+ ions induce a change in the color and UV/Vis absorbance of AuNPs by coordinating to the triphosphate groups and a ring nitrogen of ATP. A detection limit of 50 nM was achieved, which is comparable to or lower than that achievable by the currently used electrochemical, spectroscopic or chromatographic methods. The theoretical simplicity and high selectivity reported herein demonstrated that AuNPs-based colorimetric assay could be applied in a wide variety of fields by rationally designing the surface chemistry of AuNPs. In addition, our results indicate that ATP-modified AuNPs are less stable in Cu2+, Cd2+ or Zn2+-containing solutions due to the formation of the corresponding dimeric metal-ATP complexes.

Physiologically anaerobic microorganisms of the deep subsurface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stevens, S.E. Jr.; Chung, K.T.

1993-10-01

Anaerobic bacteria were isolated from deep subsurface sediment samples taken at study sites in Idaho (INEL) and Washington (HR) by culturing on dilute and concentrated medium. Morphologically distinct colonies were purified, and their responses to 21 selected physiological tests were determined. Although the number of isolates was small (18 INEL, 27 HR) some general patterns could be determined. Most strains could utilize all the carbon sources, however the glycerol and melizitose utilization was positive for 50% or less of the HR isolates. Catalase activity (27.78% at INEL, 74.07% at HR) and tryptophan metabolism (11.12% at INEL, 40.74% at HR) were significantly different between the two study sites. MPN and viable counts indicate that sediments near the water table yield the greatest numbers of anaerobes. Deeper sediments also appear to be more selective with the greatest number of viable counts on low-nutrient mediums. Likewise, only strictly obligate anaerobes were found in the deepest sediment samples. Selective media indicated the presence of methanogens, acetogens, and sulfate reducers at only the HR site

Compositional Changes in Selected Minimally Processed Vegetables

OpenAIRE

O'Reilly, Emer, (Thesis)

2000-01-01

Compositional, physiological and microbiological changes in selected minimally processed vegetables packaged under a modified atmosphere of 2% oxygen and 5% carbon dioxide were monitored over a ten day storage period at 40 C and 80 C. The analysis targeted specific changes in the nutritional, chemical and physiological make up of the vegetables as well as the changes in the microbial levels. In addition the changes in the gas atmospheres within the packs were monitored. It has been widely acc...

To Achieve or Not To Achieve: A Self-Regulation Perspective on Adolescents' Academic Decision Making.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, David C.; Byrnes, James P.

2001-01-01

This study investigated the utility of the self-regulation model of decision making for explaining and predicting adolescents' academic decision making. Measures included an assessment of decision-making skill; academic goals; select scales of Learning and Study Strategies Inventory; and teacher ratings of achievement behavior. Adolescents'…

BrainSignals Revisited: Simplifying a Computational Model of Cerebral Physiology.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew Caldwell

Full Text Available Multimodal monitoring of brain state is important both for the investigation of healthy cerebral physiology and to inform clinical decision making in conditions of injury and disease. Near-infrared spectroscopy is an instrument modality that allows non-invasive measurement of several physiological variables of clinical interest, notably haemoglobin oxygenation and the redox state of the metabolic enzyme cytochrome c oxidase. Interpreting such measurements requires the integration of multiple signals from different sources to try to understand the physiological states giving rise to them. We have previously published several computational models to assist with such interpretation. Like many models in the realm of Systems Biology, these are complex and dependent on many parameters that can be difficult or impossible to measure precisely. Taking one such model, BrainSignals, as a starting point, we have developed several variant models in which specific regions of complexity are substituted with much simpler linear approximations. We demonstrate that model behaviour can be maintained whilst achieving a significant reduction in complexity, provided that the linearity assumptions hold. The simplified models have been tested for applicability with simulated data and experimental data from healthy adults undergoing a hypercapnia challenge, but relevance to different physiological and pathophysiological conditions will require specific testing. In conditions where the simplified models are applicable, their greater efficiency has potential to allow their use at the bedside to help interpret clinical data in near real-time.

From Physiology to Prevention: Further remarks on a physiological imperative

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B Jouanjean

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Physiology, is the fundamental and functional expression of life. It is the study of all the representative functions of Man in all his capacities, and in particular, his capacity to work. It is very possible to establish a link between a physiological and physiopathological state, the capacity of work and the economy, which can be understood as the articulation between the physiological capacities of Man and the production of work. If these functions are innately acquired by Man they are likewise maintained by regulatory functions throughout life. The stability of these regulatory mechanisms represent the state of good health. The management of this state, constitutes Primary Prevention where both chronic and acute physiopathology defines an alteration in these regulatory mechanisms. We deduce from this reasoning that a tripartite management adapted to the physiological situation is viable and that by choosing parameters specific to individual and collective behavior, it is possible to inject, and combine, at each level and to each demand in order to budget a healthcare system in a more balanced and equitable way. 

Effectiveness of inquiry-based learning in an undergraduate exercise physiology course.

Science.gov (United States)

Nybo, Lars; May, Michael

2015-06-01

The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of changing a laboratory physiology course for undergraduate students from a traditional step-by-step guided structure to an inquiry-based approach. With this aim in mind, quantitative and qualitative evaluations of learning outcomes (individual subject-specific tests and group interviews) were performed for a laboratory course in cardiorespiratory exercise physiology that was conducted in one year with a traditional step-by-step guided manual (traditional course) and the next year completed with an inquiry-based structure (I-based course). The I-based course was a guided inquiry course where students had to design the experimental protocol and conduct their own study on the basis of certain predefined criteria (i.e., they should evaluate respiratory responses to submaximal and maximal exercise and provide indirect and direct measures of aerobic exercise capacity). The results indicated that the overall time spent on the experimental course as well as self-evaluated learning outcomes were similar across groups. However, students in the I-based course used more time in preparation (102 ± 5 min) than students in the traditional course (42 ± 3 min, P traditional course. Furthermore, students in the I-based course achieved a higher (P traditional course (31 ± 4%). Although students were unfamiliar with cardiorespiratory exercise physiology and the experimental methods before the course, it appears that an inquiry-based approach rather than one that provides students with step-by-step instructions may benefit learning outcomes in a laboratory physiology course. Copyright © 2015 The American Physiological Society.

Comparison and Description o f Fitness Level ، Physiological a nd Anthropometric Profiles o f Selected Versus Non Selected Iranian National Team Table Tennis Players

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Reza BEHDARİ

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Objectives: The aims of this study were to comparison and describe the anthropometric characteristics physical fitness and physiological profile of the f irst 5 and the lower ranked elite male Iranian national table tennis players, who participated in table tennis championship, to compare the anthropometric data, physical fitness and physiological profile of the first 5elite tennis players on the ranking wi th the lower ranked players, and to establish an anthropometric and physiological profile chart for elite tennis players. Methods: On the direction of this aim 16 male National table tennis Players' participated in this study. According to ranked some phy sical fitness, physiological and anthropometric variables were recorded of each subject. In this research; Physical fitness was determined using the following test: 1 speed; 36m sprint, 2 shoulder, back and hamstring flexibility; sit and reach, 3 lower limb power; side jump, 4 Anaerobic power; wingate test, 5 Aerobic power; 1600 m running, 6 reaction time; visual reaction time, 7 mussel endurance; sit - ups. In addition to anthropometric analysis (height, weight, siting height, arm length, body com position and somatotype of participants have been assessed. The kolmogorof - smirnov test was applied to determine the nature of data distribution. Since a normal distribution was confirmed, a t - test for independent samples was performed to examine statisti cal differences between groups and p value < 0.05 was considered to be significant. Results: There were no significant differences in height, jump, shoulder, back and hamstring flexibility, speed, visual reaction time, anaerobic power and BMI between th e first 5 and the lower ranked table tennis players, while there were significant differences in weight, side jump, aerobic power, present body fat and somatotype component. A mesomorph – endomorph somatotype was registered for the lower ranked and somat otype of first 5 table tennis players

Study on human physiological parameters for monitoring of mental works in the nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takano, Ken-ichi; Yoshino, Kenji; Ishii, Keiichiro; Nakasa, Hiroyasu; Shigeta, Sadayoshi.

1982-01-01

To prevent outbreaks of the wrong operation and judgement in the nuclear power plant, human conditions of body and mind should be taken into consideration particularly for the mental works such as inspection and monitoring. To estimate human conditions quantitatively by the measurement of human physiological parameters, this paper presents the following experimental results. (1) Physiological parameters are estimated from both sides of biological meanings and the applicability to field works. (2) Time variation of the parameters is investigated in mental simulation tests in order to select a good indicator of mental fatigue. (3) Correlation analysis between mental fatigue indexes and physiological parameters shows that the heart rate is a best indicator. (author)

The Moderating Role of Popular Peers’ Achievement Goals in 5th- and 6th- graders Achievement-related Friendships : A Social Network Analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wijnen, A.M.; Ryan, Allison; Harakeh, Z.; Shin, Huiyoung; Vollebergh, W.A.M.

This research investigated whether classroom-based peer norms for achievement goals moderate friendship selection, maintenance and influence processes related to academic achievement in 46 5th and 6th grade classrooms (N = 901, 58.7% 5th grade students, 48.5% boys). A distinction was made between

What factors determine academic achievement in high achieving undergraduate medical students? A qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Abdulghani, Hamza M; Al-Drees, Abdulmajeed A; Khalil, Mahmood S; Ahmad, Farah; Ponnamperuma, Gominda G; Amin, Zubair

2014-04-01

Medical students' academic achievement is affected by many factors such as motivational beliefs and emotions. Although students with high intellectual capacity are selected to study medicine, their academic performance varies widely. The aim of this study is to explore the high achieving students' perceptions of factors contributing to academic achievement. Focus group discussions (FGD) were carried out with 10 male and 9 female high achieving (scores more than 85% in all tests) students, from the second, third, fourth and fifth academic years. During the FGDs, the students were encouraged to reflect on their learning strategies and activities. The discussion was audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed qualitatively. Factors influencing high academic achievement include: attendance to lectures, early revision, prioritization of learning needs, deep learning, learning in small groups, mind mapping, learning in skills lab, learning with patients, learning from mistakes, time management, and family support. Internal motivation and expected examination results are important drivers of high academic performance. Management of non-academic issues like sleep deprivation, homesickness, language barriers, and stress is also important for academic success. Addressing these factors, which might be unique for a given student community, in a systematic manner would be helpful to improve students' performance.

Ageing Drosophila selected for longevity retain a young gene expression profile

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sarup, Pernille Merete

and longevity selected lines. Among the latter genes we found a clear overrepresentation of genes involved in immune functions supporting the hypothesis of the life shortening effect of an overactive immune system (inflammaging). Eighty-four genes were differentially expressed at the same physiological age...... between control and longevity selected lines, and the overlap between the same chronological and physiological age gene lists counted 40 candidate genes for increased longevity. Among these were genes with functions in starvation resistance, a regulator of immune responses and several genes which have......  We have investigated how the gene-expression profile of longevity selected lines of Drosophila melanogaster differed from control lines in young, middle-aged and old male flies. 530 genes were differentially expressed between selected and control flies at the same chronological age. We used...

Metabolic fuels: regulating fluxes to select mix.

Science.gov (United States)

Weber, Jean-Michel

2011-01-15

Animals must regulate the fluxes of multiple fuels to support changing metabolic rates that result from variation in physiological circumstances. The aim of fuel selection strategies is to exploit the advantages of individual substrates while minimizing the impact of disadvantages. All exercising mammals share a general pattern of fuel selection: at the same %V(O(2,max)) they oxidize the same ratio of lipids to carbohydrates. However, highly aerobic species rely more on intramuscular fuels because energy supply from the circulation is constrained by trans-sarcolemmal transfer. Fuel selection is performed by recruiting different muscles, different fibers within the same muscles or different pathways within the same fibers. Electromyographic analyses show that shivering humans can modulate carbohydrate oxidation either through the selective recruitment of type II fibers within the same muscles or by regulating pathway recruitment within type I fibers. The selection patterns of shivering and exercise are different: at the same %V(O(2,max)), a muscle producing only heat (shivering) or significant movement (exercise) strikes a different balance between lipid and carbohydrate oxidation. Long-distance migrants provide an excellent model to characterize how to increase maximal substrate fluxes. High lipid fluxes are achieved through the coordinated upregulation of mobilization, transport and oxidation by activating enzymes, lipid-solubilizing proteins and membrane transporters. These endurance athletes support record lipolytic rates in adipocytes, use lipoprotein shuttles to accelerate transport and show increased capacity for lipid oxidation in muscle mitochondria. Some migrant birds use dietary omega-3 fatty acids as performance-enhancing agents to boost their ability to process lipids. These dietary fatty acids become incorporated in membrane phospholipids and bind to peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors to activate membrane proteins and modify gene expression.

Rootstock alleviates PEG-induced water stress in grafted pepper seedlings: physiological responses.

Science.gov (United States)

Penella, Consuelo; Nebauer, Sergio G; Bautista, Alberto San; López-Galarza, Salvador; Calatayud, Ángeles

2014-06-15

Recent studies have shown that tolerance to abiotic stress, including water stress, is improved by grafting. In a previous work, we took advantage of the natural variability of Capsicum spp. and selected accessions tolerant and sensitive to water stress as rootstocks. The behavior of commercial cultivar 'Verset' seedlings grafted onto the selected rootstocks at two levels of water stress provoked by adding 3.5 and 7% PEG (polyethylene glycol) was examined over 14 days. The objective was to identify the physiological traits responsible for the tolerance provided by the rootstock in order to determine if the tolerance is based on the maintenance of the water relations under water stress or through the activation of protective mechanisms. To achieve this goal, various physiological parameters were measured, including: water relations; proline accumulation; gas exchange; chlorophyll fluorescence; nitrate reductase activity; and antioxidant capacity. Our results indicate that the effect of water stress on the measured parameters depends on the duration and intensity of the stress level, as well as the rootstock used. Under control conditions (0% PEG) all plant combinations showed similar values for all measured parameters. In general terms, PEG provoked a strong decrease in the gas exchange parameters in the cultivar grafted onto the sensitive accessions, as also observed in the ungrafted plants. This effect was related to lower relative water content in the plants, provoked by an inefficient osmotic adjustment that was dependent on reduced proline accumulation. At the end of the experiment, chronic photoinhibition was observed in these plants. However, the plants grafted onto the tolerant rootstocks, despite the reduction in photosynthetic rate, maintained the protective capacity of the photosynthetic machinery mediated by osmotic adjustment (based on higher proline content). In addition, water stress limited uptake and further NO3(-) transfer to the leaves. Increased

Life-Stage Physiologically-Based Pharmacokinetic (PBPK) ...

Science.gov (United States)

This presentation discusses methods used to extrapolate from in vitro high-throughput screening (HTS) toxicity data for an endocrine pathway to in vivo for early life stages in humans, and the use of a life stage PBPK model to address rapidly changing physiological parameters. Adverse outcome pathways (AOPs), in this case endocrine disruption during development, provide a biologically-based framework for linking molecular initiating events triggered by chemical exposures to key events leading to adverse outcomes. The application of AOPs to human health risk assessment requires extrapolation of in vitro HTS toxicity data to in vivo exposures (IVIVE) in humans, which can be achieved through the use of a PBPK/PD model. Exposure scenarios for chemicals in the PBPK/PD model will consider both placental and lactational transfer of chemicals, with a focus on age dependent dosimetry during fetal development and after birth for a nursing infant. This talk proposes a universal life-stage computational model that incorporates changing physiological parameters to link environmental exposures to in vitro levels of HTS assays related to a developmental toxicological AOP for vascular disruption. In vitro toxicity endpoints discussed are based on two mechanisms: 1) Fetal vascular disruption, and 2) Neurodevelopmental toxicity induced by altering thyroid hormone levels in neonates via inhibition of thyroperoxidase in the thyroid gland. Application of our Life-stage computati

Physiology and pathophysiology of apoptosis in epithelial cells of the liver, pancreas, and intestine.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, B A; Gores, G J

1997-12-01

Cell death of gastrointestinal epithelial cells occurs by a process referred to as apoptosis. In this review, we succinctly define apoptosis and summarize the role of apoptosis in the physiology and pathophysiology of epithelial cells in the liver, pancreas, and small and large intestine. The physiological mediators regulating apoptosis in gastrointestinal epithelial cells, when known, are discussed. Selected pathophysiological consequences of excessive apoptosis and inhibition of apoptosis are used to illustrate the significance of apoptosis in disease processes. These examples demonstrate that excessive apoptosis may result in epithelial cell atrophy, injury, and dysfunction, whereas inhibition of apoptosis results in hyperplasia and promotes malignant transformation. The specific cellular mechanisms responsible for dysregulation of epithelial cell apoptosis during pathophysiological disturbances are emphasized. Potential future areas of physiological research regarding apoptosis in gastrointestinal epithelia are highlighted when appropriate.

EFFECT OF THE SELECTED IMMUNOSTIMULATORS ON PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PRODUCTION PARAMETERS OF SOWS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna REKIEL

2008-11-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study was to determine the effect of immunostimulation of sows during the perinatal period (Biostymine, Lydium-KLP on physiological-production parameters of the sows: haematological and biochemical blood indices, colostrum and milk composition and fatty acid profile, physical (pH and cytological (somatic cells count - SCC parameters as well as results of reproduction and rearing of piglets. None effect of the examined immunostimulators on the most of the studied traits and indices was found. There were the changes in pH, energy level and composition of milk. Additionally, the changes in fatty acid profile in milk fat were recorded; they consisted in significantly lower or higher participation of certain fatty acids in the samples, collected from the sows which received Biostymine, as compared to the group, receiving Lydium-KLP and/or groups which did not receive any additive.

Nanostructured conducting molecularly imprinted polymer for selective extraction of salicylate from urine and serum samples by electrochemically controlled solid-phase micro-extraction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ameli, Akram [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Tarbiat Modares University, P.O. Box 14115-175, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Alizadeh, Naader, E-mail: alizaden@modares.ac.ir [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Tarbiat Modares University, P.O. Box 14115-175, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2011-11-30

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Overoxidized polypyrrole templated with salicylate has been utilized as conducting molecular imprinted polymer for EC-SPME. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer This first study reported on conducting molecular imprinted polymer was used to EC-SPME of salicylate. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Proposed method, is particularly effective in sample clean-up and selective monitoring of salicylate in physiological samples. - Abstract: Overoxidized polypyrrole (OPPy) films templated with salicylate (SA) have been utilized as conducting molecular imprinted polymers (CMIPs) for potential-induced selective solid-phase micro-extraction processes. Various important fabrication factors for controlling the performance of the OPPy films have been investigated using fluorescence spectrometry. Several key parameters such as applied potential for uptake, release, pH of uptake and release solution were varied to achieve the optimum micro-extraction procedure. The film template with SA exhibited excellent selectivity over some interference. The calibration graphs were linear in the ranges of 5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -8} to 5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -4} and 1.2 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -6} to 5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -4} mol mL{sup -1} and the detection limit was 4 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -8} mol L{sup -1}. The OPPy film as the solid-phase micro-extraction absorbent has been applied for the selective clean-up and quantification of trace amounts of SA from physiological samples. The results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) have confirmed the nano-structure morphologies of the films.

Nanostructured conducting molecularly imprinted polymer for selective extraction of salicylate from urine and serum samples by electrochemically controlled solid-phase micro-extraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ameli, Akram; Alizadeh, Naader

2011-01-01

Highlights: ► Overoxidized polypyrrole templated with salicylate has been utilized as conducting molecular imprinted polymer for EC-SPME. ► This first study reported on conducting molecular imprinted polymer was used to EC-SPME of salicylate. ► Proposed method, is particularly effective in sample clean-up and selective monitoring of salicylate in physiological samples. - Abstract: Overoxidized polypyrrole (OPPy) films templated with salicylate (SA) have been utilized as conducting molecular imprinted polymers (CMIPs) for potential-induced selective solid-phase micro-extraction processes. Various important fabrication factors for controlling the performance of the OPPy films have been investigated using fluorescence spectrometry. Several key parameters such as applied potential for uptake, release, pH of uptake and release solution were varied to achieve the optimum micro-extraction procedure. The film template with SA exhibited excellent selectivity over some interference. The calibration graphs were linear in the ranges of 5 × 10 −8 to 5 × 10 −4 and 1.2 × 10 −6 to 5 × 10 −4 mol mL −1 and the detection limit was 4 × 10 −8 mol L −1 . The OPPy film as the solid-phase micro-extraction absorbent has been applied for the selective clean-up and quantification of trace amounts of SA from physiological samples. The results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) have confirmed the nano-structure morphologies of the films.

Cushing's syndrome: from physiological principles to diagnosis and clinical care

Science.gov (United States)

Raff, Hershel; Carroll, Ty

2015-01-01

The physiological control of cortisol synthesis in the adrenal cortex involves stimulation of adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) by hypothalamic corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) and then stimulation of the adrenal by ACTH. The control loop of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis is closed by negative feedback of cortisol on the hypothalamus and pituitary. Understanding this system is required to master the diagnosis, differential diagnosis and treatment of endogenous hypercortisolism – Cushing's syndrome. Endogenous Cushing's syndrome is caused either by excess ACTH secretion or by autonomous cortisol release from the adrenal cortex. Diagnosis of cortisol excess exploits three physiological principles: failure to achieve the normal nadir in the cortisol diurnal rhythm, loss of sensitivity of ACTH-secreting tumours to cortisol negative feedback, and increased excretion of free cortisol in the urine. Differentiating a pituitary source of excess ACTH (Cushing's disease) from an ectopic source is accomplished by imaging the pituitary and sampling for ACTH in the venous drainage of the pituitary. With surgical removal of ACTH or cortisol-secreting tumours, secondary adrenal insufficiency ensues because of the prior suppression of the HPA axis by glucocorticoid negative feedback. Medical therapy is targeted to the anatomical location of the dysregulated component of the HPA axis. Future research will focus on new diagnostics and treatments of Cushing's syndrome. These are elegant examples of translational research: understanding basic physiology informs the development of new approaches to diagnosis and treatment. Appreciating pathophysiology generates new areas for inquiry of basic physiological and biochemical mechanisms. PMID:25480800

Physiological Adaptations to Training in Competitive Swimming: A Systematic Review

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Costa Mário J.

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this systematic review was to summarize longitudinal studies on swimming physiology and get implications for daily practice. A computerized search of databases according to the PRISMA statement was employed. Studies were screened for eligibility on inclusion criteria: (i present two testing points; (ii on swimming physiology; (iii using adult elite swimmers; (iv no case-studies or with small sample sizes. Two independent reviewers used a checklist to assess the methodological quality of the studies. Thirty-four studies selected for analysis were gathered into five main categories: blood composition (n=7, endocrine secretion (n=11, muscle biochemistry (n=7, cardiovascular response (n=8 and the energetic profile (n=14. The mean quality index was 10.58 ± 2.19 points demonstrating an almost perfect agreement between reviewers (K = 0.93. It can be concluded that the mixed findings in the literature are due to the diversity of the experimental designs. Micro variables obtained at the cellular or molecular level are sensitive measures and demonstrate overtraining signs and health symptoms. The improvement of macro variables (i.e. main physiological systems is limited and may depend on the athletes’ training background and experience.

Determining the most important physiological and agronomic traits contributing to maize grain yield through machine learning algorithms: a new avenue in intelligent agriculture.

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Avat Shekoofa

Full Text Available Prediction is an attempt to accurately forecast the outcome of a specific situation while using input information obtained from a set of variables that potentially describe the situation. They can be used to project physiological and agronomic processes; regarding this fact, agronomic traits such as yield can be affected by a large number of variables. In this study, we analyzed a large number of physiological and agronomic traits by screening, clustering, and decision tree models to select the most relevant factors for the prospect of accurately increasing maize grain yield. Decision tree models (with nearly the same performance evaluation were the most useful tools in understanding the underlying relationships in physiological and agronomic features for selecting the most important and relevant traits (sowing date-location, kernel number per ear, maximum water content, kernel weight, and season duration corresponding to the maize grain yield. In particular, decision tree generated by C&RT algorithm was the best model for yield prediction based on physiological and agronomical traits which can be extensively employed in future breeding programs. No significant differences in the decision tree models were found when feature selection filtering on data were used, but positive feature selection effect observed in clustering models. Finally, the results showed that the proposed model techniques are useful tools for crop physiologists to search through large datasets seeking patterns for the physiological and agronomic factors, and may assist the selection of the most important traits for the individual site and field. In particular, decision tree models are method of choice with the capability of illustrating different pathways of yield increase in breeding programs, governed by their hierarchy structure of feature ranking as well as pattern discovery via various combinations of features.

The Conservative Physiology of the Immune System. A Non-Metaphoric Approach to Immunological Activity

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Nelson M. Vaz

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Historically, immunology emerged as a biomedical science, concerned with host defense and production of anti-infectious vaccines. In the late 50s, selective theories were proposed and from then on, immunology has been based in a close association with the neo-Darwinian principles, such as random generation of variants (lymphocyte clones, selection by extrinsic factors (antigens—and, more generally, on genetic determinism and functionalism. This association has had major consequences: (1 immunological jargon is full of “cognitive” metaphors, founded in the idea of “foreignness”; (2 the immune system is described with a random clonal origin, coupled to selection by random encounters; and (3 physiological events are virtually absent from immunological descriptions. In the present manuscript, we apply systemic notions to bring forth an explanation including systemic mechanisms able to generate immunological phenomena. We replace “randomness plus selection” and the notion of foreignness by a history of structural changes which are determined by the coherences of the system internal architecture at any given moment. The importance of this systemic way of seeing is that it explicitly attends to the organization that defines the immune system, within which it is possible to describe the conservative physiology of the immune system. Understanding immune physiology in a systemic way of seeing also suggests mechanisms underlying the origin of immunopathogeny and therefore suggests new insights to therapeutic approaches. However, if seriously acknowledged, this systemic/historic approach to immunology goes along with a global conceptual change which modifies virtually everything in the domain of biology, as suggested by Maturana.

Using measures of single-cell physiology and physiological state to understand organismic aging.

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Mendenhall, Alexander; Driscoll, Monica; Brent, Roger

2016-02-01

Genetically identical organisms in homogeneous environments have different lifespans and healthspans. These differences are often attributed to stochastic events, such as mutations and 'epimutations', changes in DNA methylation and chromatin that change gene function and expression. But work in the last 10 years has revealed differences in lifespan- and health-related phenotypes that are not caused by lasting changes in DNA or identified by modifications to DNA or chromatin. This work has demonstrated persistent differences in single-cell and whole-organism physiological states operationally defined by values of reporter gene signals in living cells. While some single-cell states, for example, responses to oxygen deprivation, were defined previously, others, such as a generally heightened ability to make proteins, were, revealed by direct experiment only recently, and are not well understood. Here, we review technical progress that promises to greatly increase the number of these measurable single-cell physiological variables and measureable states. We discuss concepts that facilitate use of single-cell measurements to provide insight into physiological states and state transitions. We assert that researchers will use this information to relate cell level physiological readouts to whole-organism outcomes, to stratify aging populations into groups based on different physiologies, to define biomarkers predictive of outcomes, and to shed light on the molecular processes that bring about different individual physiologies. For these reasons, quantitative study of single-cell physiological variables and state transitions should provide a valuable complement to genetic and molecular explanations of how organisms age. © 2015 The Authors. Aging Cell published by the Anatomical Society and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A naphthalene exciplex based Al3+ selective on-type fluorescent probe for living cells at the physiological pH range: experimental and computational studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Banerjee, Arnab; Sahana, Animesh; Das, Sudipta; Lohar, Sisir; Guha, Subarna; Sarkar, Bidisha; Mukhopadhyay, Subhra Kanti; Mukherjee, Asok K; Das, Debasis

2012-05-07

2-((Naphthalen-6-yl)methylthio)ethanol (HL) was prepared by one pot synthesis using 2-mercaptoethanol and 2-bromomethylnaphthalene. It was found to be a highly selective fluorescent sensor for Al(3+) in the physiological pH (pH 7.0-8.0). It could sense Al(3+) bound to cells through fluorescence microscopy. Metal ions like Mn(2+), Fe(3+), Co(2+), Ni(2+), Cu(2+), Zn(2+), Ag(+), Cd(2+), Hg(2+), Cr(3+) and Pb(2+) did not interfere. No interference was also observed with anions like Cl(-), Br(-), F(-), SO(4)(2-), NO(3)(-), CO(3)(2-), HPO(4)(2-) and SCN(-). Experimentally observed structural and spectroscopic features of HL and its Al(3+) complex have been substantiated by computational calculations using density functional theory (DFT) and time dependent density functional theory (TDDFT).

Nursery cultural practices to achieve targets: A case study in western larch irrigation

Science.gov (United States)

Anthony S. Davis; Robert F. Keefe

2011-01-01

Nursery cultural practices are used to help growers achieve pre-determined size and physiological targets for seedlings. In that regard, irrigation is used to accelerate or slow growth and as a trigger for changing growth phase. In a case study highlighting the effects of irrigation on seedling development, western larch (Larix occidentalis Nutt.) seedlings were grown...

Selection of seed lots of Pinus taeda L. for tissue culture

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Diego Pascoal Golle

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The aim of this work was to identify the fungi genera associated with three Pinus taeda L. seed lots and to assess the sanitary and physiological quality of these lots for use as selection criteria for tissue culture and evaluate the in vitro establishment of explants from seminal origin in different nutritive media. It was possible to discriminate the lots on the sanitary and physiological quality, as well as to establish in vitro plants of Pinus taeda from cotyledonary nodes obtained from aseptic seed germination of a selected lot by the sanitary and physiological quality higher. The nutritive media MS, ½ MS and WPM were equally suitable for this purpose. For the sanitary analysis the fungal genera Fusarium, Penicillium and Trichoderma were those of the highest sensitivity. For the physiological evaluation were important the variables: abnormal seedlings, strong normal seedlings; length, fresh and dry weight of strong normal seedlings. The analyzes were favorable to choose lots of seeds for in vitro culture and all culture media were adequate for the establishment of this species in tissue culture.

Mother and newborn baby: mutual regulation of physiology and behavior--a selective review.

Science.gov (United States)

Winberg, Jan

2005-11-01

This article reviews 30 years of work demonstrating that interactions between mother and newborn infant in the period just after birth influence the physiology and behavior of both. Close body contact of the infant with his/her mother helps regulate the newborn's temperature, energy conservation, acid-base balance, adjustment of respiration, crying, and nursing behaviors. Similarly, the baby may regulate--i.e., increase--the mother's attention to his/her needs, the initiation and maintenance of breastfeeding, and the efficiency of her energy economy through vagus activation and a surge of gastrointestinal tract hormone release resulting in better exploitation of ingested calories. The effects of some of these changes can be detected months later. Parallels to animal research and possible mechanisms are discussed.

Genetic search feature selection for affective modeling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Martínez, Héctor P.; Yannakakis, Georgios N.

2010-01-01

Automatic feature selection is a critical step towards the generation of successful computational models of affect. This paper presents a genetic search-based feature selection method which is developed as a global-search algorithm for improving the accuracy of the affective models built....... The method is tested and compared against sequential forward feature selection and random search in a dataset derived from a game survey experiment which contains bimodal input features (physiological and gameplay) and expressed pairwise preferences of affect. Results suggest that the proposed method...

A physiologically-inspired model of numerical classification based on graded stimulus coding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John Pearson

2010-01-01

Full Text Available In most natural decision contexts, the process of selecting among competing actions takes place in the presence of informative, but potentially ambiguous, stimuli. Decisions about magnitudes—quantities like time, length, and brightness that are linearly ordered—constitute an important subclass of such decisions. It has long been known that perceptual judgments about such quantities obey Weber’s Law, wherein the just-noticeable difference in a magnitude is proportional to the magnitude itself. Current physiologically inspired models of numerical classification assume discriminations are made via a labeled line code of neurons selectively tuned for numerosity, a pattern observed in the firing rates of neurons in the ventral intraparietal area (VIP of the macaque. By contrast, neurons in the contiguous lateral intraparietal area (LIP signal numerosity in a graded fashion, suggesting the possibility that numerical classification could be achieved in the absence of neurons tuned for number. Here, we consider the performance of a decision model based on this analog coding scheme in a paradigmatic discrimination task—numerosity bisection. We demonstrate that a basic two-neuron classifier model, derived from experimentally measured monotonic responses of LIP neurons, is sufficient to reproduce the numerosity bisection behavior of monkeys, and that the threshold of the classifier can be set by reward maximization via a simple learning rule. In addition, our model predicts deviations from Weber Law scaling of choice behavior at high numerosity. Together, these results suggest both a generic neuronal framework for magnitude-based decisions and a role for reward contingency in the classification of such stimuli.

Gut feedback mechanisms and food intake: a physiological approach to slow carbohydrate bioavailability.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Genyi; Hasek, Like Y; Lee, Byung-Hoo; Hamaker, Bruce R

2015-04-01

Glycemic carbohydrates in foods are an important macronutrient providing the biological fuel of glucose for a variety of physiological processes. A classification of glycemic carbohydrates into rapidly digestible carbohydrate (RDC) and slowly digestible carbohydrate (SDC) has been used to specify their nutritional quality related to glucose homeostasis that is essential to normal functioning of the brain and critical to life. Although there have been many studies and reviews on slowly digestible starch (SDS) and SDC, the mechanisms of their slow digestion and absorption were mostly investigated from the material side without considering the physiological processes of their in vivo digestion, absorption, and most importantly interactions with other food components and the gastrointestinal tract. In this article, the physiological processes modulating the bioavailability of carbohydrates, specifically the rate and extent of their digestion and absorption as well as the related locations, in a whole food context, will be discussed by focusing on the activities of the gastrointestinal tract including glycolytic enzymes and glucose release, sugar sensing, gut hormones, and neurohormonal negative feedback mechanisms. It is hoped that a deep understanding of these physiological processes will facilitate the development of innovative dietary approaches to achieve desired carbohydrate or glucose bioavailability for improved health.

Predicting delayed cerebral ischemia after subarachnoid hemorrhage using physiological time series data.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Soojin; Megjhani, Murad; Frey, Hans-Peter; Grave, Edouard; Wiggins, Chris; Terilli, Kalijah L; Roh, David J; Velazquez, Angela; Agarwal, Sachin; Connolly, E Sander; Schmidt, J Michael; Claassen, Jan; Elhadad, Noemie

2018-03-20

To develop and validate a prediction model for delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) using a temporal unsupervised feature engineering approach, demonstrating improved precision over standard features. 488 consecutive SAH admissions from 2006 to 2014 to a tertiary care hospital were included. Models were trained on 80%, while 20% were set aside for validation testing. Baseline information and standard grading scales were evaluated: age, sex, Hunt Hess grade, modified Fisher Scale (mFS), and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). An unsupervised approach applying random kernels was used to extract features from physiological time series (systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation). Classifiers (Partial Least Squares, linear and kernel Support Vector Machines) were trained on feature subsets of the derivation dataset. Models were applied to the validation dataset. The performances of the best classifiers on the validation dataset are reported by feature subset. Standard grading scale (mFS): AUC 0.58. Combined demographics and grading scales: AUC 0.60. Random kernel derived physiologic features: AUC 0.74. Combined baseline and physiologic features with redundant feature reduction: AUC 0.77. Current DCI prediction tools rely on admission imaging and are advantageously simple to employ. However, using an agnostic and computationally inexpensive learning approach for high-frequency physiologic time series data, we demonstrated that our models achieve higher classification accuracy.

Physiology can contribute to better understanding, management, and conservation of coral reef fishes.

Science.gov (United States)

Illing, Björn; Rummer, Jodie L

2017-01-01

Coral reef fishes, like many other marine organisms, are affected by anthropogenic stressors such as fishing and pollution and, owing to climate change, are experiencing increasing water temperatures and ocean acidification. Against the backdrop of these various stressors, a mechanistic understanding of processes governing individual organismal performance is the first step for identifying drivers of coral reef fish population dynamics. In fact, physiological measurements can help to reveal potential cause-and-effect relationships and enable physiologists to advise conservation management by upscaling results from cellular and individual organismal levels to population levels. Here, we highlight studies that include physiological measurements of coral reef fishes and those that give advice for their conservation. A literature search using combined physiological, conservation and coral reef fish key words resulted in ~1900 studies, of which only 99 matched predefined requirements. We observed that, over the last 20 years, the combination of physiological and conservation aspects in studies on coral reef fishes has received increased attention. Most of the selected studies made their physiological observations at the whole organism level and used their findings to give conservation advice on population dynamics, habitat use or the potential effects of climate change. The precision of the recommendations differed greatly and, not surprisingly, was least concrete when studies examined the effects of projected climate change scenarios. Although more and more physiological studies on coral reef fishes include conservation aspects, there is still a lack of concrete advice for conservation managers, with only very few published examples of physiological findings leading to improved management practices. We conclude with a call to action to foster better knowledge exchange between natural scientists and conservation managers to translate physiological findings more

Spectroelectrochemical Sensing Based on Multimode Selectivity simultaneously Achievable in a Single Device. 11. Design and Evaluation of a Small Portable Sensor for the Determination of Ferrocyanide in Hanford Waste Samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stegemiller, Michael L.; Heineman, William R.; Seliskar, Carl J.; Ridgway, Thomas H.; Bryan, Samuel A.; Hubler, Timothy L.; Sell, Richard L.

2003-01-01

Spectroelectrochemical sensing based on multimode selectivity simultaneously achievable in a single device. 11. Design and evaluation of a small portable sensor for the determination of ferrocyanide in Hanford waste samples

Investigation on maternal physiological and psychological factors of cheilopalatognathus.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, J; Zhao, W; Ma, R M; Li, X J; Wen, Z H; Liu, X F; Hu, W D; Zhang, C B

2013-01-01

Case-control study on mothers of cheilopalatognathus children was conducted, to investigate the maternal physiological and psychological factors for occurrence of cheilopalatognathus. One hundred ten mothers of cheilopalatognathus children who were scheduled for one-stage surgery were selected as a research group, and 110 mothers of normal children served as a normal control group at the same time. Trait Anxiety Inventory (T-AI), Life Events Scale (LES), Trait Coping Style Questionnaire (TCSQ), Type C Behavior Scale (CBS), adult Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), and homemade general questionnaire survey were employed for the investigation. Compared with the control group, the scores for negative event tension value, anxiety, and depressive factors were higher in the study group (p introvert and extrovert personalities. The study results suggest that pregnant women's physiological and psychological factors can cause changes in cheilopalatognathus incidence, which is expected to be guidance for healthcare during pregnancy, to prevent the occurrence of cheilopalatognathus.

A single session of meditation reduces of physiological indices of anger in both experienced and novice meditators.

Science.gov (United States)

Fennell, Alexander B; Benau, Erik M; Atchley, Ruth Ann

2016-02-01

The goal of the present study was to explore how anger reduction via a single session of meditation might be measured using psychophysiological methodologies. To achieve this, 15 novice meditators (Experiment 1) and 12 practiced meditators (Experiment 2) completed autobiographical anger inductions prior to, and following, meditation training while respiration rate, heart rate, and blood pressure were measured. Participants also reported subjective anger via a visual analog scale. At both stages, the experienced meditators' physiological reaction to the anger induction reflected that of relaxation: slowed breathing and heart rate and decreased blood pressure. Naïve meditators exhibited physiological reactions that were consistent with anger during the pre-meditation stage, while after meditation training and a second anger induction they elicited physiological evidence of relaxation. The current results examining meditation training show that the naïve group's physiological measures mimicked those of the experienced group following a single session of meditation training. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Outstanding engineering achievement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1984-01-01

The annual award of the South African Institution of Civil Engineers for 'The Most Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement of 1982' was made to Escom for the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station. In the site selection a compromise had to be made between an area remote from habitation, and an area relatively close to the need for power, sources of construction materials, transportation, operational staff and large quantities of cooling water. In the construction of Koeberg the safety of the workers and the public was regarded with the utmost concern

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN EMOTIONAL VARIABLES AND SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT

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Christoph Randler

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Recent psychological studies highlight emotional aspects, and they show an important role within individual learning processes. Hereby, positive emotions were supposed to positively influence learning and achievement processes and negative ones do the contrary. In this study, an educational unit “ecosystem lake” was used during which achievement (three tests and emotional variables (interest, well-being, anxiety and boredom; measured at the end of three pre-selected lessons were monitored. The research question was to explore correlations between emotional variables and the learning outcome of the teaching unit. Prior knowledge was regressed against the subsequent tests to account for its confounding effect. Regressions showed a highly significant influence of prior knowledge on the subsequent measurements of achievement. However, after accounting for prior knowledge, a positive correlation between interest/well-being and achievement and a negative correlation between anxiety/boredom and achievement was found. Further research and interventions should try to enhance positive emotions in biology lessons to positively influence achievement.

Conservation physiology of marine fishes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Christian; Peck, Myron A.; Antognarelli, Fabio

2012-01-01

At the end of May, 17 scientists involved in an EU COST Action on Conservation Physiology of Marine Fishes met in Oristano, Sardinia, to discuss how physiology can be better used in modelling tools to aid in management of marine ecosystems. Current modelling approaches incorporate physiology...... to different extents, ranging from no explicit consideration to detailed physiological mechanisms, and across scales from a single fish to global fishery resources. Biologists from different sub-disciplines are collaborating to rise to the challenge of projecting future changes in distribution and productivity...

The relieving effects of shelter modes on physiological stress of traffic police in summer

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, G. Z.; Wang, Y. J.; Bu, W. T.; Lu, Y. Z.; Li, Ke; Li, Z. H.

2018-03-01

In summer, high temperature and strong sun radiation last for a long time. However, traffic police still stick to their positions to ensure normal traffic order. Therefore, the health and safety of traffic police are challenged by the high temperature weather. To protect the safety of the traffic police in the outdoor high temperature environment, some shelter modes, such as sun hat and sun umbrella are selected for duty traffic police. The relieving effects on the physiological stress of the shelter modes are analyzed by comparison of the physiological parameters in these shelter modes. The results show that sun umbrella has a good effect on relieving physiological stress. And sun hat has no effect on relieving physiological stress, although it avoids the direct sunlight on the face. However, it causes the increase of the thermal sensation. This study can provide important methods for health protecting of traffic police in the outdoor high temperature environment. It also provides a theoretical support for the revision of the outdoor high temperature labour protection standard.

Physiological pseudomyopia.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, R

1990-08-01

Objective refraction through plus fogging lenses and base-in prisms revealed that normally accommodation is not completely relaxed when the stimulus to accommodation is zero. The myopic shift in the refractive error due to this focus error of accommodation was defined as physiological pseudomyopia. Two previously established features of accommodation are responsible for this behavior: (1) accommodation acts as a proportional control system for steady-state responses; and (2) the rest focus of accommodation is nonzero. It is proposed that the hyperopic shift in refraction observed in cycloplegia is the result of elimination of physiological pseudomyopia.

Economic Selection Theory

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knudsen, Thorbjørn

2003-01-01

principles of variation, continuity and selection, it is argued that economic selection theory should mimic the causal structure of neo-Darwinian theory. Two of the most influential explanations of economic evolution, Alchian's and Nelson and Winter's, are used to illustrate how this could be achieved.......The present article provides a minimal description of the causal structure of economic selection theory and outlines how the internal selection dynamics of business organisations can be reconciled with selection in competitive markets. In addition to generic similarity in terms of the Darwinian...

Presentations of scientific research results as a strategy to increase the interest of students in physiology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caroline Dalla Colletta Altermann

2016-06-01

Full Text Available In the search for strategies to arouse the interest of undergraduate students in science, it was proposed the project "Colloquiums in Physiology" in order to disseminate and discuss scientific discoveries and improve the students’ interest in Physiology. This work aimed to verify the perception of participants about the impact of this activity. The activity included lectures throughout the semester and at the end of each lecture, a questionnaire was applied to listeners. Among the 171 students who answered the questionnaire, 81% (n=139 considers that this proposal increased their interest in physiology, 96% (n=164 believes that it is an important activity and achieved its goal of promote science disclosure, and 83% (n=142 stated that the project promotes interaction between research, teaching and outreach activities. Thus, it highlights the importance of this type of event for the academic formation.

Conceptual design of wearpack with physiology detector feature based on wearable instrumentation

Science.gov (United States)

Sukirman, Melani; Laksono, Pringgo Widyo; Priadythama, Ilham; Susmartini, Susy; Suhardi, Bambang

2017-11-01

Every company in Indonesia is responsible for their worker health and safety condition as mentioned in UU No I year 1970. In manufacturing industries, there are many manual tasks dealing with high work load and risk, so that they require excellent concentration and physical condition. There is no ideal way to guarantee worker safety without a real time physiological monitoring. This paper reports our ongoing study in conceptual design development of worker's clothing which is equipped with a wearable instrumentation system. The system is designed to detect and measure body temperature and pulse in real time. Some electrical components such as, LCD (liquid crystal display), LEDs (light emitting diode), batteries, and physiological sensors were assembled. All components are controlled by a wearable on board controller. LEDs is used as alert which can indicate abnormal physical conditions. The LCD was added to provide more detail information. TMP 36 and XD-58C were selected as the physiological sensors. Finally, an Arduino Lilypad was chosen for the controller. This instrumentation system was verified by accurately detected and inform physiological condition of 3 subjects. Further we are going to attach the system to a worker's clothing which was specifically designed to simplify and comfortable usage.

Advances in physiological computing

CERN Document Server

Fairclough, Stephen H

2014-01-01

This edited collection will provide an overview of the field of physiological computing, i.e. the use of physiological signals as input for computer control. It will cover a breadth of current research, from brain-computer interfaces to telemedicine.

Ecology of Exercise in Wild Fish: Integrating Concepts of Individual Physiological Capacity, Behavior, and Fitness Through Diverse Case Studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Brownscombe, Jacob W; Cooke, Steven J; Algera, Dirk A; Hanson, Kyle C; Eliason, Erika J; Burnett, Nicholas J; Danylchuk, Andy J; Hinch, Scott G; Farrell, Anthony P

2017-08-01

Wild animals maximize fitness through certain behaviors (e.g., foraging, mating, predator avoidance) that incur metabolic costs and often require high levels of locomotor activity. Consequently, the ability of animals to achieve high fitness often relies on their physiological capacity for exercise (aerobic scope) and/or their ability to acquire and utilize energy judiciously. Here, we explore how environmental factors and physiological limitations influence exercise and metabolism in fish while foraging, migrating to spawning grounds, and providing parental care. We do so with three case studies that use a number of approaches to studying exercise in wild fish using biologging and biotelemetry platforms. Bonefish (Albula vulpes) selectively use shallow water tropical marine environments to forage when temperatures are near optimal for aerobic scope and exercise capacity. Bonefish energy expenditure at upper thermal extremes is maximal while activity levels diminish, likely caused by reduced aerobic scope. Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) reproductive migrations frequently involve passage through hydraulically challenging areas, and their ability to successfully pass these regions is constrained by their physiological capacity for exercise. Aerobic scope and swim performance are correlated with migration difficulty among sockeye salmon (O. nerka) populations; however, depletion of endogenous energy stores can also limit migration success. In another example, male smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) allocate a significant amount of energy to nest-guarding behaviors to protect their developing brood. Smallmouth bass body size, endogenous energy reserves, and physiological state influence nest-guarding behaviors and reproductive success. We suggest that in some scenarios (e.g., bonefish foraging, Pacific salmon dam passage) metabolic capacity for exercise may be the strongest determinant of biological fitness, while in others (e.g., long distance salmon migration

Cochlear Implant Spatial Selectivity with Monopolar, Bipolar and Tripolar Stimulation

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Ziyan; Tang, Qing; Zeng, Fan-Gang; Guan, Tian; Ye, Datian

2011-01-01

Sharp spatial selectivity is critical to auditory performance, particularly in pitch related tasks. Most contemporary cochlear implants have employed monopolar stimulation that produces broad electric fields, which presumably contribute to poor pitch and pitch-related performance by implant users. Bipolar or tripolar stimulation can generate focused electric fields but requires higher current to reach threshold and, more interestingly, has not produced any apparent improvement in cochlear implant performance. The present study addressed this dilemma by measuring psychophysical and physiological spatial selectivity with both broad and focused stimulations in the same cohort of subjects. Different current levels were adjusted by systematically measuring loudness growth for each stimulus, each stimulation mode, and in each subject. Both psychophysical and physiological measures showed that, although focused stimulation produced significantly sharper spatial tuning than monopolar stimulation, it could shift the tuning position or even split the tuning tips. The altered tuning with focused stimulation is interpreted as a result of poor electrode-to-neuron interface in the cochlea, and is suggested to be mainly responsible for the lack of consistent improvement in implant performance. A linear model could satisfactorily quantify the psychophysical and physiological data and derive the tuning width. Significant correlation was found between the individual physiological and psychophysical tuning widths, and the correlation was improved by log-linearly transforming the physiological data to predict the psychophysical data. Because the physiological measure took only one-tenth of the time of the psychophysical measure, the present model is of high clinical significance in terms of predicting and improving cochlear implant performance. PMID:22138630

Personality Type and Academic Achievement of Secondary School Students

Science.gov (United States)

Lawrence, Arul A. S.; Lawrence, John A.

2014-01-01

Personality is the man. The successful living of an individual, as a man, depends to a large extent on the academic achievement of that individual, as a student. This article attempts to find out personality type, academic achievement of secondary school students and relationship between them by selecting a sample of 300 secondary school students…

Channel Selection and Feature Projection for Cognitive Load Estimation Using Ambulatory EEG

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tian Lan

2007-01-01

Full Text Available We present an ambulatory cognitive state classification system to assess the subject's mental load based on EEG measurements. The ambulatory cognitive state estimator is utilized in the context of a real-time augmented cognition (AugCog system that aims to enhance the cognitive performance of a human user through computer-mediated assistance based on assessments of cognitive states using physiological signals including, but not limited to, EEG. This paper focuses particularly on the offline channel selection and feature projection phases of the design and aims to present mutual-information-based techniques that use a simple sample estimator for this quantity. Analyses conducted on data collected from 3 subjects performing 2 tasks (n-back/Larson at 2 difficulty levels (low/high demonstrate that the proposed mutual-information-based dimensionality reduction scheme can achieve up to 94% cognitive load estimation accuracy.

The role of physiology in the development of golf performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Mark F

2010-08-01

The attainment of consistent high performance in golf requires effective physical conditioning that is carefully designed and monitored in accordance with the on-course demands the player will encounter. Appreciating the role that physiology plays in the attainment of consistent performance, and how a player's physicality can inhibit performance progression, supports the notion that the application of physiology is fundamental for any player wishing to excel in golf. With cardiorespiratory, metabolic, hormonal, musculoskeletal and nutritional demands acting on the golfer within and between rounds, effective physical screening of a player will ensure physiological and anatomical deficiencies that may influence performance are highlighted. The application of appropriate golf-specific assessment methods will ensure that physical attributes that have a direct effect on golf performance can be measured reliably and accurately. With the physical development of golf performance being achieved through a process of conditioning with the purpose of inducing changes in structural and metabolic functions, training must focus on foundation whole-body fitness and golf-specific functional strength and flexibility activities. For long-term player improvement to be effective, comprehensive monitoring will ensure the player reaches an optimal physical state at predetermined times in the competitive season. Through continual assessment of a player's physical attributes, training effectiveness and suitability, and the associated adaptive responses, key physical factors that may impact most on performance success can be determined.

Five Conditions Commonly Used to Down-regulate Tor Complex 1 Generate Different Physiological Situations Exhibiting Distinct Requirements and Outcomes*

Science.gov (United States)

Tate, Jennifer J.; Cooper, Terrance G.

2013-01-01

Five different physiological conditions have been used interchangeably to establish the sequence of molecular events needed to achieve nitrogen-responsive down-regulation of TorC1 and its subsequent regulation of downstream reporters: nitrogen starvation, methionine sulfoximine (Msx) addition, nitrogen limitation, rapamycin addition, and leucine starvation. Therefore, we tested a specific underlying assumption upon which the interpretation of data generated by these five experimental perturbations is premised. It is that they generate physiologically equivalent outcomes with respect to TorC1, i.e. its down-regulation as reflected by TorC1 reporter responses. We tested this assumption by performing head-to-head comparisons of the requirements for each condition to achieve a common outcome for a downstream proxy of TorC1 inactivation, nuclear Gln3 localization. We demonstrate that the five conditions for down-regulating TorC1 do not elicit physiologically equivalent outcomes. Four of the methods exhibit hierarchical Sit4 and PP2A phosphatase requirements to elicit nuclear Gln3-Myc13 localization. Rapamycin treatment required Sit4 and PP2A. Nitrogen limitation and short-term nitrogen starvation required only Sit4. G1 arrest-correlated, long-term nitrogen starvation and Msx treatment required neither PP2A nor Sit4. Starving cells of leucine or treating them with leucyl-tRNA synthetase inhibitors did not elicit nuclear Gln3-Myc13 localization. These data indicate that the five commonly used nitrogen-related conditions of down-regulating TorC1 are not physiologically equivalent and minimally involve partially differing regulatory mechanisms. Further, identical requirements for Msx treatment and long-term nitrogen starvation raise the possibility that their effects are achieved through a common regulatory pathway with glutamine, a glutamate or glutamine metabolite level as the sensed metabolic signal. PMID:23935103

Extended Near-Infrared Optoacoustic Spectrometry for Sensing Physiological Concentrations of Glucose

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Ara Ghazaryan

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Glucose sensing is pursued extensively in biomedical research and clinical practice for assessment of the carbohydrate and fat metabolism as well as in the context of an array of disorders, including diabetes, morbid obesity, and cancer. Currently used methods for real-time glucose measurements are invasive and require access to body fluids, with novel tools and methods for non-invasive sensing of the glucose levels highly desired. In this study, we introduce a near-infrared (NIR optoacoustic spectrometer for sensing physiological concentrations of glucose within aqueous media and describe the glucose spectra within 850–1,900 nm and various concentration ranges. We apply the ratiometric and dictionary learning methods with a training set of data and validate their utility for glucose concentration measurements with optoacoustics in the probe dataset. We demonstrate the superior signal-to-noise ratio (factor of ~3.9 achieved with dictionary learning over the ratiometric approach across the wide glucose concentration range. Our data show a linear relationship between the optoacoustic signal intensity and physiological glucose concentration, in line with the results of optical spectroscopy. Thus, the feasibility of detecting physiological glucose concentrations using NIR optoacoustic spectroscopy is demonstrated, enabling the sensing glucose with ±10 mg/dl precision.

A student-centered approach for developing active learning: the construction of physical models as a teaching tool in medical physiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Rezende-Filho, Flávio Moura; da Fonseca, Lucas José Sá; Nunes-Souza, Valéria; Guedes, Glaucevane da Silva; Rabelo, Luiza Antas

2014-09-15

Teaching physiology, a complex and constantly evolving subject, is not a simple task. A considerable body of knowledge about cognitive processes and teaching and learning methods has accumulated over the years, helping teachers to determine the most efficient way to teach, and highlighting student's active participation as a means to improve learning outcomes. In this context, this paper describes and qualitatively analyzes an experience of a student-centered teaching-learning methodology based on the construction of physiological-physical models, focusing on their possible application in the practice of teaching physiology. After having Physiology classes and revising the literature, students, divided in small groups, built physiological-physical models predominantly using low-cost materials, for studying different topics in Physiology. Groups were followed by monitors and guided by teachers during the whole process, finally presenting the results in a Symposium on Integrative Physiology. Along the proposed activities, students were capable of efficiently creating physiological-physical models (118 in total) highly representative of different physiological processes. The implementation of the proposal indicated that students successfully achieved active learning and meaningful learning in Physiology while addressing multiple learning styles. The proposed method has proved to be an attractive, accessible and relatively simple approach to facilitate the physiology teaching-learning process, while facing difficulties imposed by recent requirements, especially those relating to the use of experimental animals and professional training guidelines. Finally, students' active participation in the production of knowledge may result in a holistic education, and possibly, better professional practices.

Anatomical physiology of spatial extinction.

Science.gov (United States)

Ciçek, Metehan; Gitelman, Darren; Hurley, Robert S E; Nobre, Anna; Mesulam, Marsel

2007-12-01

Neurologically intact volunteers participated in a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment that simulated the unilateral (focal) and bilateral (global) stimulations used to elicit extinction in patients with hemispatial neglect. In peristriate areas, attentional modulations were selectively sensitive to contralaterally directed attention. A higher level of mapping was observed in the intraparietal sulcus (IPS), inferior parietal lobule (IPL), and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). In these areas, there was no distinction between contralateral and ipsilateral focal attention, and the need to distribute attention globally led to greater activity than either focal condition. These physiological characteristics were symmetrically distributed in the IPS and IFG, suggesting that the effects of unilateral lesions in these 2 areas can be compensated by the contralateral hemisphere. In the IPL, the greater activation by the bilateral attentional mode was seen only in the right hemisphere. Its contralateral counterpart displayed equivalent activations when attention was distributed to the right, to the left, or bilaterally. Within the context of this experiment, the IPL of the right hemisphere emerged as the one area where unilateral lesions can cause the most uncompensated and selective impairment of global attention (without interfering with unilateral attention to either side), giving rise to the phenomenon of extinction.

Factors related to women's childbirth satisfaction in physiologic and routine childbirth groups

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Elham Jafari

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Women's satisfaction with childbirth is an important measure of the quality of maternity care services. This study aims to address factors related to women's childbirth satisfaction in physiological and routine childbirth groups. Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted among 340 women in physiological and routine childbirth groups in 2012. Women were selected through convenience sampling method in the routine group and by census in the physiological group. Data were collected using a 5-part questionnaire composed of demographic and obstetrics details, Mackey's Childbirth Satisfaction Rating Scale (CSRS, satisfied with birth setting, Labor Agentry Scale (LAS, and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS, which was completed by interview 24 hours after childbirth. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 18 software using Pearson correlation test, independent t-test, analysis of variance, and linear, multivariate regression model at the significant level of P 0.05. Conclusions: Improved physical structure and setting of birth room, nonmedical pain relief, mothers' involvement in the process of labor, and sense of being in control are associated with mothers' satisfaction.

Optimizing individual iron deficiency prevention strategies in physiological pregnancy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kramarskiy V.A.

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Sideropenia by the end of pregnancy takes place in all mothers without exception. Moreover, the selective administration of iron preparations, in contrast to the routine, makes it possible to avoid hemochromatosis, frequency of which in the general population makes from 0.5 to 13 %. The aim of the study was to optimize the individual strategy for the prevention of iron deficiency in physiological pregnancy. A prospective pre-experimental study was conducted, the criterion of inclusion in which was the mother’s extragenital and obstetrical pathology during the first half of pregnancy, a burdened obstetric and gynecological anamnesis. The study group of 98 women with a physiological pregnancy in the period of 20 to 24 weeks was recruited by simple ran- dom selection. Serum ferritin, hemoglobin, and serum iron were used to estimate iron deficiency. In the latent stage of iron deficiency against a background of monthly correction with Fenules ® in a dose of 90 mg of elemental iron per day, there was a significant increase in ferritin and iron in the blood rotor. In healthy mothers, during the gestational period of 20–24 weeks, a regularity arises in the replenishment of iron status, especially in the case of repeated pregnancy, which is successfully satisfied during the month of Fenules ® intake in doses of 45 mg or 90 mg per day with a serum ferritin level of, respectively, 30 up to 70 μg/l or less than 30 μg/l.

The Effects Of An Exercise Physiology Program on Physical Fitness Variables, Body Satisfaction, and Physiology Knowledge.

Science.gov (United States)

Perry, Arlette C.; Rosenblatt, Evelyn S.; Kempner, Lani; Feldman, Brandon B.; Paolercio, Maria A.; Van Bemden, Angie L.

2002-01-01

Examined the effects of an exercise physiology program on high school students' physical fitness, body satisfaction, and physiology knowledge. Intervention students received exercise physiology theory and active aerobic and resistance exercise within their biology course. Data from student surveys and measurements indicated that the integrated…

Assessment of physiological noise modelling methods for functional imaging of the spinal cord.

Science.gov (United States)

Kong, Yazhuo; Jenkinson, Mark; Andersson, Jesper; Tracey, Irene; Brooks, Jonathan C W

2012-04-02

The spinal cord is the main pathway for information between the central and the peripheral nervous systems. Non-invasive functional MRI offers the possibility of studying spinal cord function and central sensitisation processes. However, imaging neural activity in the spinal cord is more difficult than in the brain. A significant challenge when dealing with such data is the influence of physiological noise (primarily cardiac and respiratory), and currently there is no standard approach to account for these effects. We have previously studied the various sources of physiological noise for spinal cord fMRI at 1.5T and proposed a physiological noise model (PNM) (Brooks et al., 2008). An alternative de-noising strategy, selective averaging filter (SAF), was proposed by Deckers et al. (2006). In this study we reviewed and implemented published physiological noise correction methods at higher field (3T) and aimed to find the optimal models for gradient-echo-based BOLD acquisitions. Two general techniques were compared: physiological noise model (PNM) and selective averaging filter (SAF), along with regressors designed to account for specific signal compartments and physiological processes: cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), motion correction (MC) parameters, heart rate (HR), respiration volume per time (RVT), and the associated cardiac and respiratory response functions. Functional responses were recorded from the cervical spinal cord of 18 healthy subjects in response to noxious thermal and non-noxious punctate stimulation. The various combinations of models and regressors were compared in three ways: the model fit residuals, regression model F-tests and the number of activated voxels. The PNM was found to outperform SAF in all three tests. Furthermore, inclusion of the CSF regressor was crucial as it explained a significant amount of signal variance in the cord and increased the number of active cord voxels. Whilst HR, RVT and MC explained additional signal (noise) variance

Opportunistic Relay Selection With Limited Feedback

KAUST Repository

Eltayeb, Mohammed E.; Elkhalil, Khalil; Bahrami, Hamid Reza; Al-Naffouri, Tareq Y.

2015-01-01

Relay selection is a simple technique that achieves spatial diversity in cooperative relay networks. Generally, relay selection algorithms require channel state information (CSI) feedback from all cooperating relays to make a selection decision

Procedures of Exercise Physiology Laboratories

Science.gov (United States)

Bishop, Phillip A.; Fortney, Suzanne; Greenisen, Michael; Siconolfi, Steven F.; Bamman, Marcas M.; Moore, Alan D., Jr.; Squires, William

1998-01-01

This manual describes the laboratory methods used to collect flight crew physiological performance data at the Johnson Space Center. The Exercise Countermeasures Project Laboratory is a standard physiology laboratory; only the application to the study of human physiological adaptations to spaceflight is unique. In the absence of any other recently published laboratory manual, this manual should be a useful document staffs and students of other laboratories.

Alterations in biochemical and physiological characters in radiation-induced mutants of grain legumes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mueller, H.P.

1984-01-01

Selected examples from different grain legumes are studied. The biochemically and physiologically detectable alterations in distintc characters as caused by the action of mutant genes are presented comparatively. The interactions between different mutant genes in order to evaluated the influence of the genotypic constitution on the expression of mutated genes are emphasized. (M.A.C.) [pt

Network Physiology: How Organ Systems Dynamically Interact

Science.gov (United States)

Bartsch, Ronny P.; Liu, Kang K. L.; Bashan, Amir; Ivanov, Plamen Ch.

2015-01-01

We systematically study how diverse physiologic systems in the human organism dynamically interact and collectively behave to produce distinct physiologic states and functions. This is a fundamental question in the new interdisciplinary field of Network Physiology, and has not been previously explored. Introducing the novel concept of Time Delay Stability (TDS), we develop a computational approach to identify and quantify networks of physiologic interactions from long-term continuous, multi-channel physiological recordings. We also develop a physiologically-motivated visualization framework to map networks of dynamical organ interactions to graphical objects encoded with information about the coupling strength of network links quantified using the TDS measure. Applying a system-wide integrative approach, we identify distinct patterns in the network structure of organ interactions, as well as the frequency bands through which these interactions are mediated. We establish first maps representing physiologic organ network interactions and discover basic rules underlying the complex hierarchical reorganization in physiologic networks with transitions across physiologic states. Our findings demonstrate a direct association between network topology and physiologic function, and provide new insights into understanding how health and distinct physiologic states emerge from networked interactions among nonlinear multi-component complex systems. The presented here investigations are initial steps in building a first atlas of dynamic interactions among organ systems. PMID:26555073

Network Physiology: How Organ Systems Dynamically Interact.

Science.gov (United States)

Bartsch, Ronny P; Liu, Kang K L; Bashan, Amir; Ivanov, Plamen Ch

2015-01-01

We systematically study how diverse physiologic systems in the human organism dynamically interact and collectively behave to produce distinct physiologic states and functions. This is a fundamental question in the new interdisciplinary field of Network Physiology, and has not been previously explored. Introducing the novel concept of Time Delay Stability (TDS), we develop a computational approach to identify and quantify networks of physiologic interactions from long-term continuous, multi-channel physiological recordings. We also develop a physiologically-motivated visualization framework to map networks of dynamical organ interactions to graphical objects encoded with information about the coupling strength of network links quantified using the TDS measure. Applying a system-wide integrative approach, we identify distinct patterns in the network structure of organ interactions, as well as the frequency bands through which these interactions are mediated. We establish first maps representing physiologic organ network interactions and discover basic rules underlying the complex hierarchical reorganization in physiologic networks with transitions across physiologic states. Our findings demonstrate a direct association between network topology and physiologic function, and provide new insights into understanding how health and distinct physiologic states emerge from networked interactions among nonlinear multi-component complex systems. The presented here investigations are initial steps in building a first atlas of dynamic interactions among organ systems.

"Physiology in the News": Using Press Releases to Enhance Lay Communication and Introduce Current Physiology Research to Undergraduates

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Kevin L.; Poteracki, James M.; Steury, Michael D.; Wehrwein, Erica A.

2015-01-01

Michigan State University's senior-level undergraduate physiology capstone laboratory uses a simple exercise termed "Physiology in the News," to help students explore the current research within the field of physiology while also learning to communicate science in lay terms. "Physiology in the News" is an activity that charges…

The Moderating Role of Popular Peers' Achievement Goals in 5th- and 6th-Graders' Achievement-Related Friendships: A Social Network Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Laninga-Wijnen, Lydia; Ryan, Allison M.; Harakeh, Zeena; Shin, Huiyoung; Vollebergh, Wilma A. M.

2018-01-01

This research investigated whether classroom-based peer norms for achievement goals moderate friendship selection, maintenance and influence processes related to academic achievement in 46 Grade 5 and Grade 6 classrooms (N = 901, 58.7% Grade 5 students, 48.5% boys). A distinction was made between peer norms for mastery (i.e., developing…

[Effects of Different Genres of Music on the Psycho-Physiological Responses of Undergraduates].

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hsin-Ping; Liu, Yu-Chen; Lin, Mei-Feng

2016-12-01

Undergraduate students face tremendous stressors from learning, interpersonal relationships, and life. Stress may cause adaptation exhaustion and stress-related disorders. While the results of recent clinical studies indicate that music interventions may alleviate stress, there is a dearth of research exploring the discrete effects of various genres of music on psycho-physiological status. To explore the effects of listening to different genres of music on the psycho-physiological responses of undergraduates. A one-group, pretest-posttest design was used. A total of 122 undergraduates were assigned to the following four music subgroups according to their musical preference: joyful, tense, sad, and peaceful. Students in each subgroup listened to the self-selected music for 15 minutes during the experiment. A physiological data acquisition systems, the State Anxiety Inventory, and the Visual Analogue Scale for anxiety and depression were used to measure the psycho-physiological responses of participants before, during, and after music listening. Descriptive and inferential analyses were performed using SPSS 20.0. Results: Depression significantly decreased in the peaceful music group compared to the sad music group after the intervention. Further, significant differences in heart rate variability were identified during the intervention among the groups. The change in low frequency (LF) in the joyful music group was lower than the other three groups; the change in high frequency (HF) in the peaceful music group was lower than in the tension and joyful music groups; and the change in LF/HF in the peaceful music group was lower than in the sad and joyful music groups. Additionally, the subsamples with high state anxiety experienced more change in HF while listening to tense music than to peaceful music, reflecting an upward trend after listening for 10 minutes. The findings indicate that listening to different genres of music induces different psycho-physiological

Physiologic stress interventions in cardiac imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buda, A.J.

1985-01-01

Physiologic stress interventions are designed to assess the reserve capability of coronary flow and myocardial function. In the normal individual, a sufficiently intense physiologic stress may increase coronary flow and cardiac output by 500% to 600%. However, in patients with cardiac disease, these reserve responses may be absent, or considerably blunted. Thus, physiologic stress testing has proved extremely helpful in detecting cardiac abnormalities when resting cardiac function appears normal. Although dynamic exercise remains the standard approach to physiologic stress testing, a number of other interventions have been used, including: (1) isometric exercise, (2) atrial pacing, (3) cold pressor testing, (4) postextrasystolic potentiation, (5) volume loading, and (6) negative intrathoracic pressure. Each of these may be considered an alternative physiologic intervention whenever dynamic exercise is not feasible. These alternative approaches are important since, in our experience, 20% to 30% of subjects are unable to perform dynamic exercise, or exercise inadequately to produce a sufficiently intense cardiac stress. This chapter reviews physiologic considerations, indications, contraindications, protocols, and results of these physiologic stress interventions when used in combination with cardiac radionuclide procedures

Herbivory and body size: allometries of diet quality and gastrointestinal physiology, and implications for herbivore ecology and dinosaur gigantism.

Science.gov (United States)

Clauss, Marcus; Steuer, Patrick; Müller, Dennis W H; Codron, Daryl; Hummel, Jürgen

2013-01-01

Digestive physiology has played a prominent role in explanations for terrestrial herbivore body size evolution and size-driven diversification and niche differentiation. This is based on the association of increasing body mass (BM) with diets of lower quality, and with putative mechanisms by which a higher BM could translate into a higher digestive efficiency. Such concepts, however, often do not match empirical data. Here, we review concepts and data on terrestrial herbivore BM, diet quality, digestive physiology and metabolism, and in doing so give examples for problems in using allometric analyses and extrapolations. A digestive advantage of larger BM is not corroborated by conceptual or empirical approaches. We suggest that explanatory models should shift from physiological to ecological scenarios based on the association of forage quality and biomass availability, and the association between BM and feeding selectivity. These associations mostly (but not exclusively) allow large herbivores to use low quality forage only, whereas they allow small herbivores the use of any forage they can physically manage. Examples of small herbivores able to subsist on lower quality diets are rare but exist. We speculate that this could be explained by evolutionary adaptations to the ecological opportunity of selective feeding in smaller animals, rather than by a physiologic or metabolic necessity linked to BM. For gigantic herbivores such as sauropod dinosaurs, other factors than digestive physiology appear more promising candidates to explain evolutionary drives towards extreme BM.

Herbivory and body size: allometries of diet quality and gastrointestinal physiology, and implications for herbivore ecology and dinosaur gigantism.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcus Clauss

Full Text Available Digestive physiology has played a prominent role in explanations for terrestrial herbivore body size evolution and size-driven diversification and niche differentiation. This is based on the association of increasing body mass (BM with diets of lower quality, and with putative mechanisms by which a higher BM could translate into a higher digestive efficiency. Such concepts, however, often do not match empirical data. Here, we review concepts and data on terrestrial herbivore BM, diet quality, digestive physiology and metabolism, and in doing so give examples for problems in using allometric analyses and extrapolations. A digestive advantage of larger BM is not corroborated by conceptual or empirical approaches. We suggest that explanatory models should shift from physiological to ecological scenarios based on the association of forage quality and biomass availability, and the association between BM and feeding selectivity. These associations mostly (but not exclusively allow large herbivores to use low quality forage only, whereas they allow small herbivores the use of any forage they can physically manage. Examples of small herbivores able to subsist on lower quality diets are rare but exist. We speculate that this could be explained by evolutionary adaptations to the ecological opportunity of selective feeding in smaller animals, rather than by a physiologic or metabolic necessity linked to BM. For gigantic herbivores such as sauropod dinosaurs, other factors than digestive physiology appear more promising candidates to explain evolutionary drives towards extreme BM.

Avian reproductive physiology

Science.gov (United States)

Gee, G.F.; Gibbons, Edward F.; Durrant, Barbara S.; Demarest, Jack

1995-01-01

Knowledge of the many physiological factors associated with egg production , fertility, incubation, and brooding in nondomestic birds is limited. Science knows even less about reproduction in most of the 238 endangered or threatened birds. This discussion uses studies of nondomestic and, when necessary, domestic birds to describe physiological control of reproduction. Studies of the few nondomestic avian species show large variation in physiological control of reproduction. Aviculturists, in order to successfully propagate an endangered bird, must understand the bird's reproductive peculiarities. First, investigators can do studies with carefully chosen surrogate species, but eventually they need to confirm the results in the target endangered bird. Studies of reproduction in nondomestic birds increased in the last decade. Still, scientists need to do more comparative studies to understand the mechanisms that control reproduction in birds. New technologies are making it possible to study reproductive physiology of nondomestic species in less limiting ways. These technologies include telemetry to collect information without inducing stress on captives (Howey et al., 1987; Klugman, 1987), new tests for most of the humoral factors associated with reproduction, and the skill to collect small samples and manipulate birds without disrupting the physiological mechanisms (Bercovitz et al., 1985). Managers are using knowledge from these studies to improve propagation in zoological parks, private and public propagation facilities, and research institutions. Researchers need to study the control of ovulation, egg formation, and oviposition in the species of nondomestic birds that lay very few eggs in a season, hold eggs in the oviduct for longer intervals, or differ in other ways from the more thoroughly studied domestic birds. Other techniques that would enhance propagation for nondomestlc birds include tissue culture of cloned embryonic cells, cryopreservation of embryos

Capacity-achieving CPM schemes

OpenAIRE

Perotti, Alberto; Tarable, Alberto; Benedetto, Sergio; Montorsi, Guido

2008-01-01

The pragmatic approach to coded continuous-phase modulation (CPM) is proposed as a capacity-achieving low-complexity alternative to the serially-concatenated CPM (SC-CPM) coding scheme. In this paper, we first perform a selection of the best spectrally-efficient CPM modulations to be embedded into SC-CPM schemes. Then, we consider the pragmatic capacity (a.k.a. BICM capacity) of CPM modulations and optimize it through a careful design of the mapping between input bits and CPM waveforms. The s...

Effect of terminal drought stress on morpho-physiological traits of wheat genotypes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baloch, M.J.; Chandio, I.A.

2016-01-01

Development of wheat varieties with low moisture requirements and their ability to withstand moisture stress may cope-up well with the on-coming peril of drought conditions. Ten wheat genotypes including two new strains, PBGST-3, Hero, Bhittai, Marvi, Inqlab, Sarsabz, Abadgar, Kiran, Khirman and PBGST-4 were sown in split plot design with factorial arrangement in four replications at Experimental Field, Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Sindh Agricutlure University, Pakistan during 2012-13. The results revealed that water stress caused significant reductions in all morpho-physiological traits. The genotypes differed significantly for all the yield and physiological traits. The interaction of treatments * genotypes were also significant for all the traits except plant height, productive tillers/plant, grains/spike and harvest index, were non-significant which indicated that cultivars responded variably over the stress treatments suggesting that breeders can select the promising genotypes for both stress and non-stress environments. Among the genotypes evaluated Bhittai, Kiran-95, PBGST-3 and Sarsabz showed good performance as minimum reductions occurred under terminal stress conditions for all the traits studied. Hence, above mentioned genotypes were considered as drought tolerant group. The high positive correlations of physiological traits like chlorophyll content and relative water content with almost all yield traits indicated that these physiological traits could serve as reliable criteria for breeding drought tolerance in wheat. The negative correlations of electrolyte leakage with several important yield traits indicated that though this physiological trait has adverse effect on yield attributes, yet it could reliably be used to distinguish between drought tolerant and susceptible wheat genotypes. (author)

Phun Week: Understanding Physiology

Science.gov (United States)

Limson, Mel; Matyas, Marsha Lakes

2009-01-01

Topics such as sports, exercise, health, and nutrition can make the science of physiology relevant and engaging for students. In addition, many lessons on these topics, such as those on the cardiovascular, respiratory, and digestive systems, align with national and state life science education standards. Physiology Understanding Week (PhUn…

Cochlear-implant spatial selectivity with monopolar, bipolar and tripolar stimulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Ziyan; Tang, Qing; Zeng, Fan-Gang; Guan, Tian; Ye, Datian

2012-01-01

Sharp spatial selectivity is critical to auditory performance, particularly in pitch-related tasks. Most contemporary cochlear implants have employed monopolar stimulation that produces broad electric fields, which presumably contribute to poor pitch and pitch-related performance by implant users. Bipolar or tripolar stimulation can generate focused electric fields but requires higher current to reach threshold and, more interestingly, has not produced any apparent improvement in cochlear-implant performance. The present study addressed this dilemma by measuring psychophysical and physiological spatial selectivity with both broad and focused stimulations in the same cohort of subjects. Different current levels were adjusted by systematically measuring loudness growth for each stimulus, each stimulation mode, and in each subject. Both psychophysical and physiological measures showed that, although focused stimulation produced significantly sharper spatial tuning than monopolar stimulation, it could shift the tuning position or even split the tuning tips. The altered tuning with focused stimulation is interpreted as a result of poor electrode-to-neuron interface in the cochlea, and is suggested to be mainly responsible for the lack of consistent improvement in implant performance. A linear model could satisfactorily quantify the psychophysical and physiological data and derive the tuning width. Significant correlation was found between the individual physiological and psychophysical tuning widths, and the correlation was improved by log-linearly transforming the physiological data to predict the psychophysical data. Because the physiological measure took only one-tenth of the time of the psychophysical measure, the present model is of high clinical significance in terms of predicting and improving cochlear-implant performance. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Salt- and pH-Triggered Helix-Coil Transition of Ionic Polypeptides under Physiology Conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Jingsong; Zhang, Yi; Sun, Yue; Cai, Zhicheng; Yang, Lijiang; Lu, Hua

2018-06-11

Controlling the helix-coil transition of polypeptides under physiological conditions is an attractive way toward smart functional materials. Here, we report the synthesis of a series of tertiary amine-functionalized ethylene glycol (EG x )-linked polypeptide electrolytes with their secondary structures tunable under physiological conditions. The resultant polymers, denoted as P(EG x DMA-Glu) ( x = 1, 2, and 3), show excellent aqueous solubility (>20 mg/mL) regardless of their charge states. Unlike poly-l-lysine that can form a helix only at pH above 10, P(EG x DMA-Glu) undergo a pH-dependent helix-coil switch with their transition points within the physiological range (pH ∼5.3-6.5). Meanwhile, P(EG x DMA-Glu) exhibit an unusual salt-induced helical conformation presumably owing to the unique properties of EG x linkers. Together, the current work highlights the importance of fine-tuning the linker chemistry in achieving conformation-switchable polypeptides and represents a facile approach toward stimuli-responsive biopolymers for advanced biological applications.

Physiology Applied to Everyday: The Practice of Professional Contextualization of Physiology Concepts as a Way of Facilitating Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Borges, Sidnei; Mello-Carpes, Pâmela Billig

2014-01-01

The teaching of Physiology is indispensable in many biological and health disciplines. Physiology is one of the major components of the curriculum in a number of life science courses, including the study of life, cells, tissues, and organisms as well as their functions. A bigger challenge for physiology teachers is to make physiological concepts…

The effectiveness of familiar auditory stimulus on hospitalized neonates' physiologic responses to procedural pain.

Science.gov (United States)

Azarmnejad, Elham; Sarhangi, Forogh; Javadi, Mahrooz; Rejeh, Nahid; Amirsalari, Susan; Tadrisi, Seyed Davood

2017-06-01

Hospitalized neonates usually undergo different painful procedures. This study sought to test the effects of a familiar auditory stimulus on the physiologic responses to pain of venipuncture among neonates in intensive care unit. The study design is quasi-experimental. The randomized clinical trial study was done on 60 full-term neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit between March 20 to June 20, 2014. The neonates were conveniently selected and randomly allocated to the control and the experimental groups. Recorded maternal voice was played for the neonates in the experimental group from 10 minutes before to 10 minutes after venipuncture while the neonates in the control group received no sound therapy intervention. The participants' physiologic parameters were assessed 10 minutes before, during, and after venipuncture. At baseline, the study groups did not differ significantly regarding the intended physiologic parameters (P > .05). During venipuncture, maternal voice was effective in reducing the neonates' heart rate, respiratory rate, and diastolic blood pressure (P familiar sounds to effectively manage neonates' physiologic responses to procedural pain of venipuncture. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Genetic and physiology basis of the quality of livestock products.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcello Mele

2011-02-01

Full Text Available The animal research gives more attention, for more than twenty years, to the improvement of food quality, because this aspect plays an important role in the consumer choice. In this paper are browsed the principal foods of animal origin (milk, meat and eggs, paying attention on the actual genetic and physiologic knowledge, which influence the quality characteristic. Particularly, we examined the role of Quantitative Genetic in bovine and swine and the growing knowledge about animal genomes and individuation of QTL. Information on genomic regions that control QTL, allow to organize genetic improvement programs, using Markers Assisted Selection (MAS and Markers Assisted Introgression (MAI. Moreover are reported the knowledge about metabolic processes that influence quality especially on lipid and protein component. About other productions are considered the physiology of eggs production and the genetic improvement of hens. Finally the qualitative aspects about poultry and rabbit meat and the actual genetic improvement strategy are reported.

Linking Insects with Crustacea: Physiology of the Pancrustacea: An Introduction to the Symposium.

Science.gov (United States)

Tamone, Sherry L; Harrison, Jon F

2015-11-01

Insects and crustaceans represent critical, dominant animal groups (by biomass and species number) in terrestrial and aquatic systems, respectively. Insects (hexapods) and crustaceans are historically grouped under separate taxonomic classes within the Phylum Arthropoda, and the research communities studying hexapods and crustaceans are quite distinct. More recently, the hexapods have been shown to be evolutionarily derived from basal crustaceans, and the clade Pancrustacea recognizes this relationship. This recent evolutionary perspective, and the fact that the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology has strong communities in both invertebrate biology and insect physiology, provides the motivation for this symposium. Speakers in this symposium were selected because of their expertise in a particular field of insect or crustacean physiology, and paired in such a way as to provide a comparative view of the state of the current research in their respective fields. Presenters discussed what aspects of the physiological system are clearly conserved across insects and crustaceans and how cross-talk between researchers utilizing insects and crustaceans can fertilize understanding of such conserved systems. Speakers were also asked to identify strategies that would enable improved understanding of the evolution of physiological systems of the terrestrial insects from the aquatic crustaceans. The following collection of articles describes multiple recent advances in our understanding of Pancrustacean physiology. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Positive expiratory pressure - Common clinical applications and physiological effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Fagevik Olsén, Monika; Lannefors, Louise; Westerdahl, Elisabeth

2015-03-01

Breathing out against resistance, in order to achieve positive expiratory pressure (PEP), is applied by many patient groups. Pursed lips breathing and a variety of devices can be used to create the resistance giving the increased expiratory pressure. Effects on pulmonary outcomes have been discussed in several publications, but the expected underlying physiology of the effect is seldom discussed. The aim of this article is to describe the purpose, performance, clinical application and underlying physiology of PEP when it is used to increase lung volumes, decrease hyperinflation or improve airway clearance. In clinical practice, the instruction how to use an expiratory resistance is of major importance since it varies. Different breathing patterns during PEP increase or reduce expiratory flow, result in movement of EPP centrally or peripherally and can increase or decrease lung volume. It is therefore necessary to give the right instructions to obtain the desired effects. As the different PEP techniques are being used by diverse patient groups it is not possible to give standard instructions. Based on the information given in this article the instructions have to be adjusted to give the optimal effect. There is no consensus regarding optimal treatment frequency and number of cycles included in each treatment session and must also be individualized. In future research, more precise descriptions are needed about physiological aims and specific instructions of how the treatments have been performed to assure as good treatment quality as possible and to be able to evaluate and compare treatment effects. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Physiological adjustment to salt stress in Jatropha curcas is associated with accumulation of salt ions, transport and selectivity of K+, osmotic adjustment and K+/Na+ homeostasis.

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, E N; Silveira, J A G; Rodrigues, C R F; Viégas, R A

2015-09-01

This study assessed the capacity of Jatropha curcas to physiologically adjust to salinity. Seedlings were exposed to increasing NaCl concentrations (25, 50, 75 and 100 mm) for 15 days. Treatment without NaCl was adopted as control. Shoot dry weight was strongly reduced by NaCl, reaching values of 35% to 65% with 25 to 100 mm NaCl. The shoot/root ratio was only affected with 100 mm NaCl. Relative water content (RWC) increased only with 100 mm NaCl, while electrolyte leakage (EL) was much enhanced with 50 mm NaCl. The Na(+) transport rate to the shoot was more affected with 50 and 100 mm NaCl. In parallel, Cl(-) transport rate increased with 75 and 100 mm NaCl, while K(+) transport rate fell from 50 mm to 100 mm NaCl. In roots, Na(+) and Cl(-) transport rates fell slightly only in 50 mm (to Na(+)) and 50 and 100 mm (to Cl(-)) NaCl, while K(+) transport rate fell significantly with increasing NaCl. In general, our data demonstrate that J. curcas seedlings present changes in key physiological processes that allow this species to adjust to salinity. These responses are related to accumulation of Na(+) and Cl(-) in leaves and roots, K(+)/Na(+) homeostasis, transport of K(+) and selectivity (K-Na) in roots, and accumulation of organic solutes contributing to osmotic adjustment of the species. © 2015 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

Morphological, Physiological, and Taxonomic Characterization of Actinobacterial Isolates Living as Endophytes of Cacao Pods and Cacao Seeds.

Science.gov (United States)

Tchinda, Romaric Armel Mouafo; Boudjeko, Thaddée; Simao-Beaunoir, Anne-Marie; Lerat, Sylvain; Tsala, Éric; Monga, Ernest; Beaulieu, Carole

2016-01-01

Vascular plants are commonly colonized by endophytic actinobacteria. However, very little is known about the relationship between these microorganisms and cacao fruits. In order to determine the physiological and taxonomic relationships between the members of this community, actinobacteria were isolated from cacao fruits and seeds. Among the 49 isolates recovered, 11 morphologically distinct isolates were selected for further characterization. Sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene allowed the partition of the selected isolates into three phylogenetic clades. Most of the selected endophytic isolates belonged to the Streptomyces violaceusniger clade. Physiological characterization was carried out and a similarity index was used to cluster the isolates. However, clustering based on physiological properties did not match phylogenetic lineages. Isolates were also characterized for traits commonly associated with plant growth-promoting bacteria, including antibiosis and auxin biosynthesis. All isolates exhibited resistance to geldanamycin, whereas only two isolates were shown to produce this antibiotic. Endophytes were inoculated on radish seedlings and most isolates were found to possess plant growth-promoting abilities. These endophytic actinobacteria inhibited the growth of various plant pathogenic fungi and/or bacteria. The present study showed that S. violaceusniger clade members represent a significant part of the actinobacterial community living as endophytes in cacao fruits and seeds. While several members of this clade are known to be geldanamycin producers and efficient biocontrol agents of plant diseases, we herein established the endophytic lifestyle of some of these microorganisms, demonstrating their potential as plant health agents.

Nigerian Journal of Physiological Sciences: Editorial Policies

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Focus and Scope. Nigerian Journal of Physiological Sciences (Niger. J. Physiol. Sci.) is a biannual publication of the Physiological Society of Nigeria. It covers diverse areas of research in physiological sciences, publishing reviews in current research areas and original laboratory and clinical research in physiological ...

Physiological and biochemical response to high temperature stress in Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L. Moench)

Science.gov (United States)

Hayamanesh, Shahnoosh; Keitel, Claudia; Ahmad, Nabil; Trethowan, Richard

2016-04-01

High temperature has been shown to lower the growth and yield of Okra, an important summer vegetable crop grown in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Australia. We aimed to characterise the physiological and biochemical response of Okra to heat stress. 150 genotypes from Pakistan and the AVRDC (The World Vegetable Centre) were screened for their physiological response (fluorescence, electrolyte leakage and yield) to heat in a greenhouse. Four genotypes (including heat tolerant and sensitive) were selected and subsequently grown in control and hot greenhouses. Daytime temperatures were on average 10°C warmer in the hot greenhouse, whereas nighttime temperatures were similar between the two temperature treatments. During a 12 week period, the physiological (assimilation rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, fluorescence, electrolyte leakage, water potential) and biochemical (carbohydrates, sugar alcohols, C content) response of the four genotypes to heat stress was assessed. The effect of heat stress on the C allocation patterns and yield in Okra will be discussed.

Physiological responses to hypothermia.

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, Thomas; Thoresen, Marianne

2015-04-01

Therapeutic hypothermia is the only treatment currently recommended for moderate or severe encephalopathy of hypoxic‒ischaemic origin in term neonates. Though the effects of hypothermia on human physiology have been explored for many decades, much of the data comes from animal or adult studies; the latter originally after accidental hypothermia, followed by application of controlled hypothermia after cardiac arrest or trauma, or during cardiopulmonary bypass. Though this work is informative, the effects of hypothermia on neonatal physiology after perinatal asphyxia must be considered in the context of a prolonged hypoxic insult that has already induced a number of significant physiological sequelae. This article reviews the effects of therapeutic hypothermia on respiratory, cardiovascular, and metabolic parameters, including glycaemic control and feeding requirements. The potential pitfalls of blood‒gas analysis and overtreatment of physiological changes in cardiovascular parameters are also discussed. Finally, the effects of hypothermia on drug metabolism are covered, focusing on how the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and dosing requirements of drugs frequently used in neonatal intensive care may change during therapeutic hypothermia. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Identifying blood biomarkers and physiological processes that distinguish humans with superior performance under psychological stress.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amanda M Cooksey

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Attrition of students from aviation training is a serious financial and operational concern for the U.S. Navy. Each late stage navy aviator training failure costs the taxpayer over $1,000,000 and ultimately results in decreased operational readiness of the fleet. Currently, potential aviators are selected based on the Aviation Selection Test Battery (ASTB, which is a series of multiple-choice tests that evaluate basic and aviation-related knowledge and ability. However, the ASTB does not evaluate a person's response to stress. This is important because operating sophisticated aircraft demands exceptional performance and causes high psychological stress. Some people are more resistant to this type of stress, and consequently better able to cope with the demands of naval aviation, than others.Although many psychological studies have examined psychological stress resistance none have taken advantage of the human genome sequence. Here we use high-throughput -omic biology methods and a novel statistical data normalization method to identify plasma proteins associated with human performance under psychological stress. We identified proteins involved in four basic physiological processes: innate immunity, cardiac function, coagulation and plasma lipid physiology.The proteins identified here further elucidate the physiological response to psychological stress and suggest a hypothesis that stress-susceptible pilots may be more prone to shock. This work also provides potential biomarkers for screening humans for capability of superior performance under stress.

Contact Selectivity Engineering in a 2 μm Thick Ultrathin c-Si Solar Cell Using Transition-Metal Oxides Achieving an Efficiency of 10.8.

Science.gov (United States)

Xue, Muyu; Islam, Raisul; Meng, Andrew C; Lyu, Zheng; Lu, Ching-Ying; Tae, Christian; Braun, Michael R; Zang, Kai; McIntyre, Paul C; Kamins, Theodore I; Saraswat, Krishna C; Harris, James S

2017-12-06

In this paper, the integration of metal oxides as carrier-selective contacts for ultrathin crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells is demonstrated which results in an ∼13% relative improvement in efficiency. The improvement in efficiency originates from the suppression of the contact recombination current due to the band offset asymmetry of these oxides with Si. First, an ultrathin c-Si solar cell having a total thickness of 2 μm is shown to have >10% efficiency without any light-trapping scheme. This is achieved by the integration of nickel oxide (NiO x ) as a hole-selective contact interlayer material, which has a low valence band offset and high conduction band offset with Si. Second, we show a champion cell efficiency of 10.8% with the additional integration of titanium oxide (TiO x ), a well-known material for an electron-selective contact interlayer. Key parameters including V oc and J sc also show different degrees of enhancement if single (NiO x only) or double (both NiO x and TiO x ) carrier-selective contacts are integrated. The fabrication process for TiO x and NiO x layer integration is scalable and shows good compatibility with the device.

Playing vs. nonplaying aerobic training in tennis: physiological and performance outcomes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vincent Pialoux

Full Text Available This study compared the effects of playing and nonplaying high intensity intermittent training (HIIT on physiological demands and tennis stroke performance in young tennis players. Eleven competitive male players (13.4 ± 1.3 years completed both a playing and nonplaying HIIT session of equal distance, in random order. During each HIIT session, heart rate (HR, blood lactate, and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE were monitored. Before and after each HIIT session, the velocity and accuracy of the serve, and forehand and backhand strokes were evaluated. The results demonstrated that both HIIT sessions achieved an average HR greater than 90% HRmax. The physiological demands (average HR were greater during the playing session compared to the nonplaying session, despite similar lactate concentrations and a lower RPE. The results also indicate a reduction in shot velocity after both HIIT sessions; however, the playing HIIT session had a more deleterious effect on stroke accuracy. These findings suggest that 1 both HIIT sessions may be sufficient to develop maximal aerobic power, 2 playing HIIT sessions provide a greater physiological demand with a lower RPE, and 3 playing HIIT has a greater deleterious effect on stroke performance, and in particular on the accuracy component of the ground stroke performance, and should be incorporated appropriately into a periodization program in young male tennis players.

Playing vs. Nonplaying Aerobic Training in Tennis: Physiological and Performance Outcomes

Science.gov (United States)

Pialoux, Vincent; Genevois, Cyril; Capoen, Arnaud; Forbes, Scott C.; Thomas, Jordan; Rogowski, Isabelle

2015-01-01

This study compared the effects of playing and nonplaying high intensity intermittent training (HIIT) on physiological demands and tennis stroke performance in young tennis players. Eleven competitive male players (13.4 ± 1.3 years) completed both a playing and nonplaying HIIT session of equal distance, in random order. During each HIIT session, heart rate (HR), blood lactate, and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were monitored. Before and after each HIIT session, the velocity and accuracy of the serve, and forehand and backhand strokes were evaluated. The results demonstrated that both HIIT sessions achieved an average HR greater than 90% HRmax. The physiological demands (average HR) were greater during the playing session compared to the nonplaying session, despite similar lactate concentrations and a lower RPE. The results also indicate a reduction in shot velocity after both HIIT sessions; however, the playing HIIT session had a more deleterious effect on stroke accuracy. These findings suggest that 1) both HIIT sessions may be sufficient to develop maximal aerobic power, 2) playing HIIT sessions provide a greater physiological demand with a lower RPE, and 3) playing HIIT has a greater deleterious effect on stroke performance, and in particular on the accuracy component of the ground stroke performance, and should be incorporated appropriately into a periodization program in young male tennis players. PMID:25816346

Extradural cold block for selective neurostimulation of the bladder: development of a new technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Schumacher, S; Bross, S; Scheepe, J R; Seif, C; Jünemann, K P; Alken, P

1999-03-01

Cryotechnique for selective block of the urethral sphincter and simultaneous activation of the bladder was developed to achieve physiological micturition during sacral anterior root stimulation (SARS). In ten foxhounds SARS of S2 was carried out while extradurally both spinal nerves S2 were cooled down from positive 25C in a stepwise fashion until a sphincter block was observed. Subsequently, SARS of S2 was performed while the pudendal nerves were cooled down from + 15C. The effects of spinal and pudendal nerve cold block on the urethral sphincter and bladder during SARS and the recovery time were monitored by urodynamic investigation. A complete cold block of the urethral sphincter during spinal nerve cooling was achieved in all cases. During pudendal nerve cooling, the sphincter was completely blocked in two, and incompletely blocked in four dogs. Cold block temperature of the spinal nerves averaged +11.7C and of the pudendal nerves +6.2C. During SARS and spinal nerve cooling, an increase in intravesical pressure up to 13 cm. water was recognized, and recovery time was on average 6.6 minutes. Intravesical pressure remained unchanged during pudendal nerve cooling, with recovery time being less than 1 minute. The cold block was always reversible. Cryotechnique is an excellent method for selective and reversible block of the urethral sphincter during SARS to avoid detrusor-sphincter-dyssynergia. The application of cryotechnique in functional electrical stimulation leads to an improvement of quality of life in para- or tetraplegic patients because of selective nerve stimulation with optimization of micturition, standing, walking and grasping and does so without the necessity of surgical dorsal root rhizotomy.

The XIIIth International Physiological Congress in Boston in 1929: American physiology comes of age.

Science.gov (United States)

Rall, Jack A

2016-03-01

In the 19th century, the concept of experimental physiology originated in France with Claude Bernard, evolved in Germany stimulated by the teaching of Carl Ludwig, and later spread to Britain and then to the United States. The goal was to develop a physicochemical understanding of physiological phenomena. The first International Physiological Congress occurred in 1889 in Switzerland with an emphasis on experimental demonstrations. The XIIIth Congress, the first to be held outside of Europe, took place in Boston, MA, in 1929. It was a watershed meeting and indicated that American physiology had come of age. Meticulously organized, it was the largest congress to date, with over 1,200 participants from more than 40 countries. Getting to the congress was a cultural adventure, especially for the 400 scientists and their families from over 20 European countries, who sailed for 10 days on the S.S. Minnekahda. Many of the great physiologists of the world were in attendance, including 22 scientists who were either or would become Nobel Laureates. There were hundreds of platform presentations and many experimental demonstrations. The meeting was not without controversy as a conflict, still not completely settled, arose over the discovery of ATP. After the meeting, hundreds of participants made a memorable trip to the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, MA, which culminated in a "good old fashioned Cape Cod Clambake." Although not as spectacular as the 1929 congress, the physiological congresses have continued with goals similar to those established more than a century ago. Copyright © 2016 The American Physiological Society.

Physiology of excitable membranes: proceedings of the 28th International Congress of Physiological Sciences, Budapest, 1980

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Salánki, J; Meves, H

1981-01-01

... - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Regulatory Functions of the CNS. Principles of Motion and Organization Regulatory Functions of the CNS. Subsystems Physiology of Non-excitable Cells Physiology...

Teaching Animal Physiology: a 12-year experience transitioning from a classical to interactive approach with continual assessment and computer alternatives.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaisarevic, Sonja N; Andric, Silvana A; Kostic, Tatjana S

2017-09-01

In response to the Bologna Declaration and contemporary trends in Animal Physiology education, the Animal Physiology course at the Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Serbia, has evolved over a 12-yr period (2001-2012): from a classical two-semester course toward a one-semester course utilizing computer simulations of animal experiments, continual assessment, lectures, and an optional oral exam. This paper presents an overview of student achievement, the impact of reforms on learning outcomes, and lessons that we as educators learned during this process. The reforms had a positive impact on the percentage of students who completed the course within the same academic year. In addition, the percentage of students who completed the practical exam increased from 54% to >95% following the transition to a Bologna-based approach. However, average final grades declined from 8.0 to 6.8 over the same period. Students also appear reluctant to take the optional oral exam, and 82-91% of students were satisfied with the lower final grade obtained from only assessments and tests administered during the semester. In our endeavor to achieve learning outcomes set during the pre-Bologna period, while adopting contemporary teaching approaches, we sought to increase students' motivation to strive toward better performance, while ensuring that the increased quantity of students who complete the course is coupled with increased quality of education and a more in-depth understanding of animal physiology. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

Positive impact of integrating histology and physiology teaching at a medical school in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Sherer, Renslow; Wan, Yu; Dong, Hongmei; Cooper, Brian; Morgan, Ivy; Peng, Biwen; Liu, Jun; Wang, Lin; Xu, David

2014-12-01

To modernize its stagnant, traditional curriculum and pedagogy, the Medical School of Wuhan University in China adopted (with modifications) the University of Chicago's medical curriculum model. The reform effort in basic sciences was integrating histology and physiology into one course, increasing the two subjects' connection to clinical medicine, and applying new pedagogies and assessment methods. This study assessed the results of the reform by comparing the attitudes and academic achievements of students in the reform curriculum (n = 41) and their traditional curriculum peers (n = 182). An attitude survey was conducted to obtain students' views of their respective histology and physiology instruction. Survey items covered lectures, laboratory teaching, case analyses and small-group case discussions, assessment of students, and overall quality of the courses and instruction. A knowledge test consisting of questions from three sources was given to measure students' mastery of topics that they had learned. Results showed that reform curriculum students were rather satisfied with their course and new teaching methods in most cases. When these students' attitudes were compared with those of their traditional curriculum peers, several significant differences favoring the reform were identified regarding physiology teaching. No other significant difference was found for physiology or histology teaching. Reform curriculum students outperformed their peers on four of five subcategories of the knowledge test questions. These findings support the benefits of integration and state-of-the-art teaching methods. Our study may offer lessons to medical schools in China and other countries whose medical education is in need of change. Copyright © 2014 The American Physiological Society.

Translational physiology: from molecules to public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Seals, Douglas R

2013-07-15

The term 'translational research' was coined 20 years ago and has become a guiding influence in biomedical research. It refers to a process by which the findings of basic research are extended to the clinical research setting (bench to bedside) and then to clinical practice and eventually health policy (bedside to community). It is a dynamic, multidisciplinary research approach. The concept of translational physiology applies the translational research model to the physiological sciences. It differs from the traditional areas of integrative and clinical physiology by its broad investigative scope of basic research to community health. Translational physiology offers exciting opportunities, but presently is under-developed and -utilized. A key challenge will be to expand physiological research by extending investigations to communities of patients and healthy (or at risk) individuals. This will allow bidirectional physiological investigation throughout the translational continuum: basic research observations can be studied up to the population level, and mechanisms can be assessed by 'reverse translation' in clinical research settings and preclinical models based on initial observations made in populations. Examples of translational physiology questions, experimental approaches, roadblocks and strategies for promotion are discussed. Translational physiology provides a novel framework for physiology programs and an investigational platform for physiologists to study function from molecular events to public health. It holds promise for enhancing the completeness and societal impact of our work, while further solidifying the critical role of physiology in the biomedical research enterprise.

Physiology of High-Altitude Acclimatization

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Author Affiliations. Sonam Chawla1 Shweta Saxena2. Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences, Delhi; Experimental Biology Division Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences Defence Research and Development Organisation Lucknow Road, Timarpur Delhi 110054 ...

Predation risk affects reproductive physiology and demography of elk.

Science.gov (United States)

Creel, Scott; Christianson, David; Liley, Stewart; Winnie, John A

2007-02-16

Elk (Cervus elaphus) in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem alter patterns of aggregation, habitat selection, vigilance, and foraging in the presence of wolves (Canis lupus). Antipredator behaviors like these can reduce predation risk but are also likely to carry costs. Data from five elk populations studied for 16 site years showed that progesterone concentrations (from 1489 fecal samples) declined with the ratio of elk to wolves. In turn, progesterone concentrations were a good predictor of calf recruitment in the subsequent year. Together, these data suggest that wolves indirectly affect the reproductive physiology and the demography of elk through the costs of antipredator behavior.

Conservation physiology of animal migration

Science.gov (United States)

Lennox, Robert J.; Chapman, Jacqueline M.; Souliere, Christopher M.; Tudorache, Christian; Wikelski, Martin; Metcalfe, Julian D.; Cooke, Steven J.

2016-01-01

Migration is a widespread phenomenon among many taxa. This complex behaviour enables animals to exploit many temporally productive and spatially discrete habitats to accrue various fitness benefits (e.g. growth, reproduction, predator avoidance). Human activities and global environmental change represent potential threats to migrating animals (from individuals to species), and research is underway to understand mechanisms that control migration and how migration responds to modern challenges. Focusing on behavioural and physiological aspects of migration can help to provide better understanding, management and conservation of migratory populations. Here, we highlight different physiological, behavioural and biomechanical aspects of animal migration that will help us to understand how migratory animals interact with current and future anthropogenic threats. We are in the early stages of a changing planet, and our understanding of how physiology is linked to the persistence of migratory animals is still developing; therefore, we regard the following questions as being central to the conservation physiology of animal migrations. Will climate change influence the energetic costs of migration? Will shifting temperatures change the annual clocks of migrating animals? Will anthropogenic influences have an effect on orientation during migration? Will increased anthropogenic alteration of migration stopover sites/migration corridors affect the stress physiology of migrating animals? Can physiological knowledge be used to identify strategies for facilitating the movement of animals? Our synthesis reveals that given the inherent challenges of migration, additional stressors derived from altered environments (e.g. climate change, physical habitat alteration, light pollution) or interaction with human infrastructure (e.g. wind or hydrokinetic turbines, dams) or activities (e.g. fisheries) could lead to long-term changes to migratory phenotypes. However, uncertainty remains

Physiology of fish endocrine pancreas.

Science.gov (United States)

Plisetskaya, E M

1989-06-01

From the very beginning of physiological studies on the endocine pancreas, fish have been used as experimental subjects. Fish insulin was one of the first vertebrate insulins isolated and one of the first insulins whose primary and then tertiary structures were reported. Before a second pancreatic hormone, glucagon, was characterized, a physiologically active 'impurity', similar to that in mammalian insulin preparations, was found in fish insulins.Fish have become the most widely used model for studies of biosynthesis and processing of the pancreatic hormones. It seems inconceivable, therefore, that until the recent past cod and tuna insulins have been the only purified piscine islet hormones available for physiological experiments. The situation has changed remarkably during the last decade.In this review the contemporary status of physiological studies on the fish pancreas is outlined with an emphasis on the following topics: 1) contents of pancreatic peptides in plasma and in islet tissue; 2) actions of piscine pancreatic hormones in fish; 3) specific metabolic consequences of an acute insufficiency of pancreatic peptides; 4) functional interrelations among pancreatic peptides which differ from those of mammals. The pitfalls, lacunae and the perspectives of contemporary physiological studies on fish endocrine pancreas are outlined.

The Face of Physiology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul White

2008-10-01

Full Text Available This article explores the relationship between the physiology of the emotions and the display of character in Victorian Britain. Charles Bell and others had begun to link certain physiological functions, such as respiration, with the expression of feelings such as fear, regarding the heart and other internal organs as instruments by which the emotions were made visible. But a purely functional account of the emotions, which emerged through the development of reflex physiology during the second half of the century, would dramatically alter the nature of feelings and the means of observing them. At the same time, instinctual or acquired sympathy, which had long underpinned the accurate reading of expressions, became a problem to be surmounted by new 'objectively'. Graphic recording instruments measuring a variety of physiological functions and used with increasing frequency in clinical diagnostics became of fundamental importance for tracing the movement of feelings during the period prior to the development of cinematography. They remained, in the form of devices such as the polygraph, a crucial and controversial means of measuring affective states, beneath the potentially deceptive surface of the body.

A review of the effect of the psychosocial working environment on physiological changes in blood and urine

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Åse Marie; Larsen, Ann Dyreborg; Rugulies, Reiner

2009-01-01

using the key words job, work-related and stress in combination with selected physiological parameters. In total, 51 work place studies investigated the associations between the psychosocial working environment and physiological changes, of which 20 were longitudinal studies and 12 population......The aim of the present survey was to provide a literary review of current knowledge of the possible association between the psychosocial working environment and relevant physiological parameters measured in blood and urine. Literature databases (PubMed, Toxline, Biosis and Embase) were screened......-based studies. The studied exposures in work place/population-based studies included: job demands (26/8 studies), job control (24/10 studies), social support and/or leadership behaviour (12/3 studies), effort-reward imbalance (three/one studies), occupational changes (four studies), shift work (eight studies...

Physiological plant investigations for the purpose of growing smoke resistant conifers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Polster, H; Bortitz, S; Vogl, M

1965-01-01

Spruce and pine are the main commercial wood varieties used in East Germany. These are also the most sensitive to smoke. Usually replacement of the damaged trees is necessary. The Department of Smoke Research of the Institute for Plant Chemistry of the Dresden Institute of Technology has been able to develop conifers resistant to SO2. In order to select smoke resistant trees for breeding, the Institute for Forestry and Plant Physiology of the Institute of Forestry Breeding in Graupa, East Germany has developed a rapid selection test. It is based on subjecting a small branch to doses of SO2. A method of breeding smoke resistant conifers is given in detail. It takes approximately ten years to produce the seeds.

Adaptive divergence in a scleractinian coral: physiological adaptation of Seriatopora hystrix to shallow and deep reef habitats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

van Oppen Madeleine JH

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Divergent natural selection across environmental gradients has been acknowledged as a major driver of population and species divergence, however its role in the diversification of scleractinian corals remains poorly understood. Recently, it was demonstrated that the brooding coral Seriatopora hystrix and its algal endosymbionts (Symbiodinium are genetically partitioned across reef environments (0-30 m on the far northern Great Barrier Reef. Here, we explore the potential mechanisms underlying this differentiation and assess the stability of host-symbiont associations through a reciprocal transplantation experiment across habitats ('Back Reef', 'Upper Slope' and 'Deep Slope', in combination with molecular (mtDNA and ITS2-DGGE and photo-physiological analyses (respirometry and HPLC. Results The highest survival rates were observed for native transplants (measured 14 months after transplantation, indicating differential selective pressures between habitats. Host-symbiont assemblages remained stable during the experimental duration, demonstrating that the ability to "shuffle" or "switch" symbionts is restricted in S. hystrix. Photo-physiological differences were observed between transplants originating from the shallow and deep habitats, with indirect evidence of an increased heterotrophic capacity in native deep-water transplants (from the 'Deep Slope' habitat. Similar photo-acclimatisation potential was observed between transplants originating from the two shallow habitats ('Back Reef' and 'Upper Slope', highlighting that their genetic segregation over depth may be due to other, non-photo-physiological traits under selection. Conclusions This study confirms that the observed habitat partitioning of S. hystrix (and associated Symbiodinium is reflective of adaptive divergence along a depth gradient. Gene flow appears to be reduced due to divergent selection, highlighting the potential role of ecological mechanisms, in addition to

Conflicts between Two Religious Cultures: Achieving Reconciliation ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Religion Dept

Conflicts between Two Religious Cultures: Achieving Reconciliation. Patrick E. Nmah ... origins of human life in Africa in order to underline in an African way the new kind of life of an African ... oneself fast to God”, while religere means to choose and select again. .... create development, tolerance, love and lasting peace.

Student Involvement in Learning and School Achievement.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Lorin W.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between selected student characteristics, student involvement in learning, and achievement. Both naturalistic (n = 28, 27) and experimental studies were conducted. In the experimental study, two classes (n = 29, 26) learned a sequence of matrix arithmetic by mastery learning strategies.…

Ischemic Stroke with Cardiac Pacemaker Implantation: Comparison of Physiological and Ventricular Pacing Modes.

Science.gov (United States)

Kato, Yuji; Hayashi, Takeshi; Kato, Ritsushi; Tanahashi, Norio; Takao, Masaki

2017-09-01

The clinical characteristics of ischemic stroke in patients with a pacemaker (PM) are not well understood. Forty-six ischemic stroke patients with a PM were investigated retrospectively, and the impact of different pacing modes was compared. The patients were divided into a physiological pacing group (n = 22) and a ventricular pacing group (n = 24). The prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) was significantly higher in the ventricular pacing group (36% versus 75%; P = .008). The mean left atrial dimension was relatively large in the ventricular pacing group than in the physiological pacing group (44.5 ± 6.7 mm versus 39.1 ± 8.5 mm, respectively; P = .071). Twenty-four percent of the patients were receiving anticoagulants, whereas 41% of the patients were receiving antiplatelet drugs. Cardioembolism was the most common stroke subtype in both groups. Although there was no statistically significant difference, neurological severity on admission was higher in the ventricular pacing group than in the physiological pacing group (P = .061). Functional outcomes, excluding patients with transient ischemic attack or prior stroke, significantly declined in the ventricular pacing group compared with the physiological pacing group (P = .044). The avoidance of the ventricular pacing mode may result in improved clinical outcomes. In patients without persistent AF, it may be important to select physiological pacing instead of ventricular pacing to decrease potential stroke severity. Copyright © 2017 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Relay Selection with Limited and Noisy Feedback

KAUST Repository

Eltayeb, Mohammed E.

2016-01-28

Relay selection is a simple technique that achieves spatial diversity in cooperative relay networks. Nonetheless, relay selection algorithms generally require error-free channel state information (CSI) from all cooperating relays. Practically, CSI acquisition generates a great deal of feedback overhead that could result in significant transmission delays. In addition to this, the fed back channel information is usually corrupted by additive noise. This could lead to transmission outages if the central node selects the set of cooperating relays based on inaccurate feedback information. In this paper, we propose a relay selection algorithm that tackles the above challenges. Instead of allocating each relay a dedicated channel for feedback, all relays share a pool of feedback channels. Following that, each relay feeds back its identity only if its effective channel (source-relay-destination) exceeds a threshold. After deriving closed-form expressions for the feedback load and the achievable rate, we show that the proposed algorithm drastically reduces the feedback overhead and achieves a rate close to that obtained by selection algorithms with dedicated error-free feedback from all relays. © 2015 IEEE.

Evaluation of physiological and biochemical responses in different seasons in Surti buffaloes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandhya S. Chaudhary

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Aim: This study was conducted to evaluate the impact of hot dry, hot humid and comfortable season on physiological, hematological, biochemical, and oxidative stress parameters in Surti buffaloes. Materials and Methods: Ten lactating Surti buffaloes of similar physiological status were selected. Based on the temperature-humidity index (THI, their natural exposure to the environment was categorized as hot dry (THI1, hot humid (THI2 and moderate winter/comfort season (THI3. Blood/serum samples were collected and analyzed for physiological, hematological, biochemical, and oxidative stress parameters. The results were analyzed using standard statistical methods. Results: With increase in THI, significant rise in physiological parameters such as respiration rate (RR, hematological parameters such as red blood cell (RBC, hematocrit, hemoglobin (Hb and mean cell Hb concentration (MCHC, biochemical parameters such as alanine aminotransferase (ALT, Na, K, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, Mn, Cu and Zn, hormones such as cortisol and oxidative stress parameters such as glutathione peroxidase (GPx, superoxide dismutase (SOD, lipid peroxide (LPO and total antioxidant status (TAS and significant decline in glucose, cholesterol and triiodothyronine (T3 was observed. Conclusion: It was concluded that THI is a sensitive indicator of heat stress and is impacted by ambient temperature more than the relative humidity in buffaloes. Higher THI is associated with significantly increased RR, total RBC count, Hb, hematocrit, MCHC, ALT, urea, sodium, creatinine, triiodothyronine, SOD, GPx, LPO and TAS and with significant decrease in glucose, cholesterol and triiodothyronine (T3.

Plant Physiology and Development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Taiz, Lincoln; Zeiger, Eduardo; Møller, Ian Max

Throughout its twenty-two year history, the authors of Plant Physiology have continually updated the book to incorporate the latest advances in plant biology and implement pedagogical improvements requested by adopters. This has made Plant Physiology the most authoritative, comprehensive......, and widely used upper-division plant biology textbook. In the Sixth Edition, the Growth and Development section (Unit III) has been reorganized and expanded to present the complete life cycle of seed plants from germination to senescence. In recognition of this enhancement, the text has been renamed Plant...... Physiology and Development. As before, Unit III begins with updated chapters on Cell Walls and Signals and Signal Transduction. The latter chapter has been expanded to include a discussion of major signaling molecules, such as calcium ions and plant hormones. A new, unified chapter entitled Signals from...

Physiologic effects of bowel preparation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holte, Kathrine; Nielsen, Kristine Grubbe; Madsen, Jan Lysgård

2004-01-01

PURPOSE: Despite the universal use of bowel preparation before colonoscopy and colorectal surgery, the physiologic effects have not been described in a standardized setting. This study was designed to investigate the physiologic effects of bowel preparation. METHODS: In a prospective study, 12...

Efficient Multi-Label Feature Selection Using Entropy-Based Label Selection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaesung Lee

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Multi-label feature selection is designed to select a subset of features according to their importance to multiple labels. This task can be achieved by ranking the dependencies of features and selecting the features with the highest rankings. In a multi-label feature selection problem, the algorithm may be faced with a dataset containing a large number of labels. Because the computational cost of multi-label feature selection increases according to the number of labels, the algorithm may suffer from a degradation in performance when processing very large datasets. In this study, we propose an efficient multi-label feature selection method based on an information-theoretic label selection strategy. By identifying a subset of labels that significantly influence the importance of features, the proposed method efficiently outputs a feature subset. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can identify a feature subset much faster than conventional multi-label feature selection methods for large multi-label datasets.

Physiological stress and refuge behavior by African elephants.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David S Jachowski

Full Text Available Physiological stress responses allow individuals to adapt to changes in their status or surroundings, but chronic exposure to stressors could have detrimental effects. Increased stress hormone secretion leads to short-term escape behavior; however, no studies have assessed the potential of longer-term escape behavior, when individuals are in a chronic physiological state. Such refuge behavior is likely to take two forms, where an individual or population restricts its space use patterns spatially (spatial refuge hypothesis, or alters its use of space temporally (temporal refuge hypothesis. We tested the spatial and temporal refuge hypotheses by comparing space use patterns among three African elephant populations maintaining different fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM concentrations. In support of the spatial refuge hypothesis, the elephant population that maintained elevated FGM concentrations (iSimangaliso used 20% less of its reserve than did an elephant population with lower FGM concentrations (Pilanesberg in a reserve of similar size, and 43% less than elephants in the smaller Phinda reserve. We found mixed support for the temporal refuge hypothesis; home range sizes in the iSimangaliso population did not differ by day compared to nighttime, but elephants used areas within their home ranges differently between day and night. Elephants in all three reserves generally selected forest and woodland habitats over grasslands, but elephants in iSimangaliso selected exotic forest plantations over native habitat types. Our findings suggest that chronic stress is associated with restricted space use and altered habitat preferences that resemble a facultative refuge behavioral response. Elephants can maintain elevated FGM levels for ≥ 6 years following translocation, during which they exhibit refuge behavior that is likely a result of human disturbance and habitat conditions. Wildlife managers planning to translocate animals, or to initiate other

Relationship of Study Habits with Mathematics Achievement

Science.gov (United States)

Odiri, Onoshakpokaiye E.

2015-01-01

The study examined the relationship of study habits of students and their achievement in mathematics. The method used for the study was correlation design. A sample of 500 students were randomly selected from 25 public secondary schools in Delta Central Senatorial District, Delta State, Nigeria. Questionnaires were drawn to gather data on…

Sequence Based Prediction of Antioxidant Proteins Using a Classifier Selection Strategy.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lina Zhang

Full Text Available Antioxidant proteins perform significant functions in maintaining oxidation/antioxidation balance and have potential therapies for some diseases. Accurate identification of antioxidant proteins could contribute to revealing physiological processes of oxidation/antioxidation balance and developing novel antioxidation-based drugs. In this study, an ensemble method is presented to predict antioxidant proteins with hybrid features, incorporating SSI (Secondary Structure Information, PSSM (Position Specific Scoring Matrix, RSA (Relative Solvent Accessibility, and CTD (Composition, Transition, Distribution. The prediction results of the ensemble predictor are determined by an average of prediction results of multiple base classifiers. Based on a classifier selection strategy, we obtain an optimal ensemble classifier composed of RF (Random Forest, SMO (Sequential Minimal Optimization, NNA (Nearest Neighbor Algorithm, and J48 with an accuracy of 0.925. A Relief combined with IFS (Incremental Feature Selection method is adopted to obtain optimal features from hybrid features. With the optimal features, the ensemble method achieves improved performance with a sensitivity of 0.95, a specificity of 0.93, an accuracy of 0.94, and an MCC (Matthew's Correlation Coefficient of 0.880, far better than the existing method. To evaluate the prediction performance objectively, the proposed method is compared with existing methods on the same independent testing dataset. Encouragingly, our method performs better than previous studies. In addition, our method achieves more balanced performance with a sensitivity of 0.878 and a specificity of 0.860. These results suggest that the proposed ensemble method can be a potential candidate for antioxidant protein prediction. For public access, we develop a user-friendly web server for antioxidant protein identification that is freely accessible at http://antioxidant.weka.cc.

Integrative Physiology: At the Crossroads of Nutrition, Microbiota, Animal Physiology, and Human Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Leulier, François; MacNeil, Lesley T; Lee, Won-Jae; Rawls, John F; Cani, Patrice D; Schwarzer, Martin; Zhao, Liping; Simpson, Stephen J

2017-03-07

Nutrition is paramount in shaping all aspects of animal biology. In addition, the influence of the intestinal microbiota on physiology is now widely recognized. Given that diet also shapes the intestinal microbiota, this raises the question of how the nutritional environment and microbial assemblages together influence animal physiology. This research field constitutes a new frontier in the field of organismal biology that needs to be addressed. Here we review recent studies using animal models and humans and propose an integrative framework within which to define the study of the diet-physiology-microbiota systems and ultimately link it to human health. Nutritional Geometry sits centrally in the proposed framework and offers means to define diet compositions that are optimal for individuals and populations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Intragroup Emotions: Physiological Linkage and Social Presence.

Science.gov (United States)

Järvelä, Simo; Kätsyri, Jari; Ravaja, Niklas; Chanel, Guillaume; Henttonen, Pentti

2016-01-01

We investigated how technologically mediating two different components of emotion-communicative expression and physiological state-to group members affects physiological linkage and self-reported feelings in a small group during video viewing. In different conditions the availability of second screen text chat (communicative expression) and visualization of group level physiological heart rates and their dyadic linkage (physiology) was varied. Within this four person group two participants formed a physically co-located dyad and the other two were individually situated in two separate rooms. We found that text chat always increased heart rate synchrony but HR visualization only with non-co-located dyads. We also found that physiological linkage was strongly connected to self-reported social presence. The results encourage further exploration of the possibilities of sharing group member's physiological components of emotion by technological means to enhance mediated communication and strengthen social presence.

The wettability modification of bio-grade stainless steel in contact with simulated physiological liquids by the means of laser irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hao, L.; Lawrence, J.; Li, L.

2005-01-01

Early surface events that occur rapidly upon implantation of a biomaterial into biological fluids determine the subsequent response. These involve wetting by physiological liquids followed by adsorption of proteins and cells to the biomaterials surface. A CO 2 laser and high power diode laser (HPDL) were used to modify the surface properties of the material and thus manipulate the wettability of the material and its interaction with physiological liquids. The contact angles, θ, of selected test liquids including simulated physiological liquids shows that the wettability of the stainless steel improved after CO 2 and HPDL treatment. The determined adhesion work of stainless steel towards stimulated physiological fluid enhanced after laser treatment, implying better interaction with the biological liquids. It is demonstrated that the laser could be a novel and controllable technique for enhancing the biocompatibility of bio-grade stainless steel

Evolution of basal metabolic rate in bank voles from a multidirectional selection experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Sadowska, Edyta T.; Stawski, Clare; Rudolf, Agata; Dheyongera, Geoffrey; Chrząścik, Katarzyna M.; Baliga-Klimczyk, Katarzyna; Koteja, Paweł

2015-01-01

A major theme in evolutionary and ecological physiology of terrestrial vertebrates encompasses the factors underlying the evolution of endothermy in birds and mammals and interspecific variation of basal metabolic rate (BMR). Here, we applied the experimental evolution approach and compared BMR in lines of a wild rodent, the bank vole (Myodes glareolus), selected for 11 generations for: high swim-induced aerobic metabolism (A), ability to maintain body mass on a low-quality herbivorous diet (H) and intensity of predatory behaviour towards crickets (P). Four replicate lines were maintained for each of the selection directions and an unselected control (C). In comparison to C lines, A lines achieved a 49% higher maximum rate of oxygen consumption during swimming, H lines lost 1.3 g less mass in the test with low-quality diet and P lines attacked crickets five times more frequently. BMR was significantly higher in A lines than in C or H lines (60.8, 56.6 and 54.4 ml O2 h−1, respectively), and the values were intermediate in P lines (59.0 ml O2 h−1). Results of the selection experiment provide support for the hypothesis of a positive association between BMR and aerobic exercise performance, but not for the association of adaptation to herbivorous diet with either a high or low BMR. PMID:25876844

Human physiology in space

Science.gov (United States)

Vernikos, J.

1996-01-01

The universality of gravity (1 g) in our daily lives makes it difficult to appreciate its importance in morphology and physiology. Bone and muscle support systems were created, cellular pumps developed, neurons organised and receptors and transducers of gravitational force to biologically relevant signals evolved under 1g gravity. Spaceflight provides the only microgravity environment where systematic experimentation can expand our basic understanding of gravitational physiology and perhaps provide new insights into normal physiology and disease processes. These include the surprising extent of our body's dependence on perceptual information, and understanding the effect and importance of forces generated within the body's weightbearing structures such as muscle and bones. Beyond this exciting prospect is the importance of this work towards opening the solar system for human exploration. Although both appear promising, we are only just beginning to taste what lies ahead.

The role of plant physiology in hydrology: looking backwards and forwards

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, J.

2007-01-01

The implementation of plant physiological studies at the Institute of Hydrology focussed both on examining and understanding the physiological controls of transpiration as well as evaluating the value of using physiological methods to measure transpiration. Transpiration measurement by physiological methods would be particularly valuable where this could not be achieved by micrometeorological and soil physics methods. The principal physiological measurements used were determinations of leaf stomatal conductance and leaf water relations to monitor plant water stress. In this paper the value of these approaches is illustrated by describing a few case studies in which plant physiological insight, provided both as new measurements and existing knowledge, would aid in the interpretation of the hydrological behaviour of important vegetation. Woody vegetation figured largely in these studies, conducted in the UK and overseas. Each of these case studies is formulated as a quest to answer a particular question. A collaborative comparison of conifer forest transpiration in Thetford forest using micrometeorological and soil physics techniques exhibited a substantially larger (~1 mm day-1) estimate from the micrometeorological approach. So the question - Why is there a disagreement in the estimates of forest transpiration made using micrometeorological and soil physics approaches? A range of physiological studies followed that suggested that there was no one simple answer but that the larger estimate from the micrometeorology technique might include contributions of water taken up by deep roots, from shallow-rooted vegetation and possibly also from water previously stored in trees. These sources of water were probably not included in the soil physics estimate of transpiration. The annual transpiration from woodlands in NW Europe shows a low magnitude and notable similarity between different sites raising the question - Why is transpiration from European forests low and

Physiology of Ramadan fasting

OpenAIRE

Shokoufeh Bonakdaran

2016-01-01

Considering the emphasis of Islam on the importance of fasting, Muslims attempt to fast from dawn until sunset during the holy month of Ramadan. Fasting is associated with several benefits for normal and healthy individuals. However, it could pose high risks to the health of diabetic patients due to certain physiological changes. This study aimed to compare the physiological changes associated with fasting in healthy individuals and diabetic patients during Ramadan. Furthermore, we reviewed t...

Aerobic dive limits of seals with mutant myoglobin using combined thermochemical and physiological data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dasmeh, Pouria; Davis, Randall W.; Kepp, Kasper Planeta

2013-01-01

This paper presents an integrated model of convective O2-transport, aerobic dive limits (ADL), and thermochemical data for oxygen binding to mutant myoglobin (Mb), used to quantify the impact of mutations in Mb on the dive limits of Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii). We find that wild-type ...... that such conditions are mostly selected upon in seals. The model is capable of roughly quantifying the physiological impact of single-protein mutations and thus bridges an important gap between animal physiology and molecular (protein) evolution.......This paper presents an integrated model of convective O2-transport, aerobic dive limits (ADL), and thermochemical data for oxygen binding to mutant myoglobin (Mb), used to quantify the impact of mutations in Mb on the dive limits of Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii). We find that wild-type Mb...... traits are only superior under specific behavioral and physiological conditions that critically prolong the ADL, action radius, and fitness of the seals. As an extreme example, the mutations in the conserved His-64 reduce ADL up to 14±2 min for routine aerobic dives, whereas many other mutations...

Features and selection of vascular access devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Sansivero, Gail Egan

2010-05-01

To review venous anatomy and physiology, discuss assessment parameters before vascular access device (VAD) placement, and review VAD options. Journal articles, personal experience. A number of VAD options are available in clinical practice. Access planning should include comprehensive assessment, with attention to patient participation in the planning and selection process. Careful consideration should be given to long-term access needs and preservation of access sites. Oncology nurses are uniquely suited to perform a key role in VAD planning and placement. With knowledge of infusion therapy, anatomy and physiology, device options, and community resources, nurses can be key leaders in preserving vascular access and improving the safety and comfort of infusion therapy. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Intragroup emotions: physiological linkage and social presence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simo eJärvelä

2016-02-01

Full Text Available We investigated how technologically mediating two different components of emotion – communicative expression and physiological state – to group members affects physiological linkage and self-reported feelings in a small group during video viewing. In different conditions the availability of second screen text chat (communicative expression and visualization of group level physiological heart rates and their dyadic linkage (physiology was varied. Within this four person group two participants formed a physically co-located dyad and the other two were individually situated in two separate rooms. We found that text chat always increased heart rate synchrony but HR visualization only with non-co-located dyads. We also found that physiological linkage was strongly connected to self-reported social presence. The results encourage further exploration of the possibilities of sharing group member’s physiological components of emotion by technological means to enhance mediated communication and strengthen social presence.

Intragroup Emotions: Physiological Linkage and Social Presence

Science.gov (United States)

Järvelä, Simo; Kätsyri, Jari; Ravaja, Niklas; Chanel, Guillaume; Henttonen, Pentti

2016-01-01

We investigated how technologically mediating two different components of emotion—communicative expression and physiological state—to group members affects physiological linkage and self-reported feelings in a small group during video viewing. In different conditions the availability of second screen text chat (communicative expression) and visualization of group level physiological heart rates and their dyadic linkage (physiology) was varied. Within this four person group two participants formed a physically co-located dyad and the other two were individually situated in two separate rooms. We found that text chat always increased heart rate synchrony but HR visualization only with non-co-located dyads. We also found that physiological linkage was strongly connected to self-reported social presence. The results encourage further exploration of the possibilities of sharing group member's physiological components of emotion by technological means to enhance mediated communication and strengthen social presence. PMID:26903913

A Physiologically Based, Multi-Scale Model of Skeletal Muscle Structure and Function

Science.gov (United States)

Röhrle, O.; Davidson, J. B.; Pullan, A. J.

2012-01-01

Models of skeletal muscle can be classified as phenomenological or biophysical. Phenomenological models predict the muscle’s response to a specified input based on experimental measurements. Prominent phenomenological models are the Hill-type muscle models, which have been incorporated into rigid-body modeling frameworks, and three-dimensional continuum-mechanical models. Biophysically based models attempt to predict the muscle’s response as emerging from the underlying physiology of the system. In this contribution, the conventional biophysically based modeling methodology is extended to include several structural and functional characteristics of skeletal muscle. The result is a physiologically based, multi-scale skeletal muscle finite element model that is capable of representing detailed, geometrical descriptions of skeletal muscle fibers and their grouping. Together with a well-established model of motor-unit recruitment, the electro-physiological behavior of single muscle fibers within motor units is computed and linked to a continuum-mechanical constitutive law. The bridging between the cellular level and the organ level has been achieved via a multi-scale constitutive law and homogenization. The effect of homogenization has been investigated by varying the number of embedded skeletal muscle fibers and/or motor units and computing the resulting exerted muscle forces while applying the same excitatory input. All simulations were conducted using an anatomically realistic finite element model of the tibialis anterior muscle. Given the fact that the underlying electro-physiological cellular muscle model is capable of modeling metabolic fatigue effects such as potassium accumulation in the T-tubular space and inorganic phosphate build-up, the proposed framework provides a novel simulation-based way to investigate muscle behavior ranging from motor-unit recruitment to force generation and fatigue. PMID:22993509

A physiologically based, multi-scale model of skeletal muscle structure and function

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oliver eRöhrle

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Models of skeletal muscle can be classified as phenomenological or biophysical. Phenomenological models predict the muscle's response to a specified input based on experimental measurements. Prominent phenomenological models are the Hill-type muscle models, which have been incorporated into rigid-body modelling frameworks, and three-dimensional continuum-mechanical models. Biophysically based models attempt to predict the muscle's response as emerging from the underlying physiology of the system. In this contribution, the conventional biophysically based modelling methodology is extended to include several structural and functional characteristics of skeletal muscle. The result is a physiologically based, multi-scale skeletal muscle finite element model that is capable of representing detailed, geometrical descriptions of skeletal muscle fibres and their grouping. Together with a well-established model of motor unit recruitment, the electro-physiological behaviour of single muscle fibres within motor units is computed and linked to a continuum-mechanical constitutive law. The bridging between the cellular level and the organ level has been achieved via a multi-scale constitutive law and homogenisation. The effect of homogenisation has been investigated by varying the number of embedded skeletal muscle fibres and/or motor units and computing the resulting exerted muscle forces while applying the same excitatory input. All simulations were conducted using an anatomically realistic finite element model of the Tibialis Anterior muscle. Given the fact that the underlying electro-physiological cellular muscle model is capable of modelling metabolic fatigue effects such as potassium accumulation in the T-tubular space and inorganic phosphate build-up, the proposed framework provides a novel simulation-based way to investigate muscle behaviour ranging from motor unit recruitment to force generation and fatigue.

The Beliefs of Students, Parents and Teachers about Internal Factors of Academic Achievement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Helena Smrtnik Vitulić

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The main purpose of this paper was to determine the beliefs of students, teachers and parents about the internal factors of academic achievement and to verify whether their beliefs vary. In this paper the beliefs about the internal factors of academic achievement: personality traits, intellectual ability, language competence, interest in the subject and locus of control are thematised. The sample included 516 students from grades 5, 7 and 9 of 12 different basic schools in central Slovenia, 408 of their parents and 195 teachers. Amongst the broad range of personality traits in the survey questionnaire, parents selected openness and conscientiousness as the most important traits for academic success, while students selected openness and extroversion, and teachers selected agreeableness and emotional stability. In the opinion of the participants in the research, amongst other internal factors of academic success emphasised, those that have the greatest influence on academic achievement are interest in the subject and internal locus of control, while students’ intellectual ability and language competence are attributed slightly less importance. Beliefs regarding the individual factors of academic achievement vary between the groups of participants. In the future, it would be sensible to encourage students, teachers and parents to reflect on the meaning of the individual factors of academic achievement, and especially to speak with them about the factors on which each respective group can exert an influence in order to improve students’ academic achievement.

[Construction and analysis of a monitoring system with remote real-time multiple physiological parameters based on cloud computing].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Lingyun; Li, Lianjie; Meng, Chunyan

2014-12-01

There have been problems in the existing multiple physiological parameter real-time monitoring system, such as insufficient server capacity for physiological data storage and analysis so that data consistency can not be guaranteed, poor performance in real-time, and other issues caused by the growing scale of data. We therefore pro posed a new solution which was with multiple physiological parameters and could calculate clustered background data storage and processing based on cloud computing. Through our studies, a batch processing for longitudinal analysis of patients' historical data was introduced. The process included the resource virtualization of IaaS layer for cloud platform, the construction of real-time computing platform of PaaS layer, the reception and analysis of data stream of SaaS layer, and the bottleneck problem of multi-parameter data transmission, etc. The results were to achieve in real-time physiological information transmission, storage and analysis of a large amount of data. The simulation test results showed that the remote multiple physiological parameter monitoring system based on cloud platform had obvious advantages in processing time and load balancing over the traditional server model. This architecture solved the problems including long turnaround time, poor performance of real-time analysis, lack of extensibility and other issues, which exist in the traditional remote medical services. Technical support was provided in order to facilitate a "wearable wireless sensor plus mobile wireless transmission plus cloud computing service" mode moving towards home health monitoring for multiple physiological parameter wireless monitoring.

Semi-physiologic model validation and bioequivalence trials simulation to select the best analyte for acetylsalicylic acid.

Science.gov (United States)

Cuesta-Gragera, Ana; Navarro-Fontestad, Carmen; Mangas-Sanjuan, Victor; González-Álvarez, Isabel; García-Arieta, Alfredo; Trocóniz, Iñaki F; Casabó, Vicente G; Bermejo, Marival

2015-07-10

The objective of this paper is to apply a previously developed semi-physiologic pharmacokinetic model implemented in NONMEM to simulate bioequivalence trials (BE) of acetyl salicylic acid (ASA) in order to validate the model performance against ASA human experimental data. ASA is a drug with first-pass hepatic and intestinal metabolism following Michaelis-Menten kinetics that leads to the formation of two main metabolites in two generations (first and second generation metabolites). The first aim was to adapt the semi-physiological model for ASA in NOMMEN using ASA pharmacokinetic parameters from literature, showing its sequential metabolism. The second aim was to validate this model by comparing the results obtained in NONMEM simulations with published experimental data at a dose of 1000 mg. The validated model was used to simulate bioequivalence trials at 3 dose schemes (100, 1000 and 3000 mg) and with 6 test formulations with decreasing in vivo dissolution rate constants versus the reference formulation (kD 8-0.25 h (-1)). Finally, the third aim was to determine which analyte (parent drug, first generation or second generation metabolite) was more sensitive to changes in formulation performance. The validation results showed that the concentration-time curves obtained with the simulations reproduced closely the published experimental data, confirming model performance. The parent drug (ASA) was the analyte that showed to be more sensitive to the decrease in pharmaceutical quality, with the highest decrease in Cmax and AUC ratio between test and reference formulations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An online formative assessment tool to prepare students for summative assessment in physiology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samantha Kerr

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Background. The didactic approach to teaching physiology in our university has traditionally included the delivery of lectures to large groups, illustrating concepts and referencing recommended textbooks. Importantly, at undergraduate level, our assessments demand a level of application of physiological mechanisms to recognised pathophysiological conditions. Objective. To bridge the gap between lectured material and the application of physiological concepts to pathophysiological conditions, we developed a technological tool approach that augments traditional teaching. Methods. Our e-learning initiative, eQuip, is a custom-built e-learning platform specifically created to align question types included in the program to be similar to those used in current assessments. We describe our formative e-learning system and present preliminary results after the first year of introduction, reporting on the performances and perceptions of 2nd-year physiology students. Results. Students who made use of eQuip for at least three of the teaching blocks achieved significantly better results than those who did not use the program (p=0.0032. Questionnaire feedback was positive with regard to the administration processes and usefulness of eQuip. Students reported particularly liking the ease of access to information; however, <60% of them felt that eQuip motivated them to learn. Conclusion. These results are consistent with the literature, which shows that students who made use of an online formative assessment tool performed better in summative assessment tasks. Despite the improved performance of students, the questionnaire results showed that student motives for using online learning tools indicated that they lack self-directed learning skills and seek easy access to information.

Positron emission tomography probe to monitor selected sugar metabolism in vivo

Science.gov (United States)

Witte, Owen; Clark, Peter M.; Castillo, Blanca Graciela Flores; Jung, Michael E.; Evdokimov, Nikolai M.

2017-03-14

The invention disclosed herein discloses selected ribose isomers that are useful as PET probes (e.g. [18F]-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-arabinose). These PET probes are useful, for example, in methods designed to monitor physiological processes including ribose metabolism and/or to selectively observe certain tissue/organs in vivo. The invention disclosed herein further provides methods for making and using such probes.

Factors Affecting Academic Achievement of Students in Senior ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study investigated the factors affecting academic achievement ofstudents in Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) in ChristianReligious Knowledge. A total of three hundred students in SS III from five secondary schools were randomly selected and used as sample for the study. Five hypotheses were tested, ...

Report on achievements of research and development of a technology to apply human senses to measurements in fiscal 1995. 2. Main subject (Part 1. Physiologic indexing technology); 1995 nendo ningen kankaku kesoku oyo gijutsu no kenkyu kaihatsu. 2. Honronhen (Seiri shihyoka gijutsu no kenkyu kaihatsu)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-03-01

This paper describes the physiological indexing technology, extracted from the achievements in the development of a technology to apply human senses to measurements in fiscal 1995. In work stress evaluation using mainly autonomic nervous system indexes, factors for the work stresses were extracted and experimental environments were put in order in applying the technology to the indexing at higher levels and the coordinative works. Use of common primary indexes was introduced for transitory stress, and the common primary indexes were introduced also for chronic stress. In the stress evaluation using composite physiological function measurement, data analyses were made, and discussions were given on the time series basis on the action indexes and the physiological indexes as the work performance of a work load assigning work to elucidate points of the problems. In stress indexing using skin temperatures, a possibility was obtained in indexing by using the skin temperatures on transitory stresses during tension and monotonous work. Measurement of stresses with hormone placed as the main subject tries to apply to human being the changes in hormones which have been verified since quite some time ago by animal experiments. However, it is difficult to find a definite trend because of complexity of stresses in the human society. For the basic arousal indexing, studies were made on improvement of accuracy of the monitor and quantification of actions of physical stimulation. (NEDO)

Biophysics and cell physiology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mazur, P.

1975-01-01

Progress is reported on research activities in the fields of physiology and low-temperature biology of mammalian embryos; effects of sub-zero temperatures on eggs and embryos of sea urchins; survival of frozen-thawed human red cells; effects of radiation on physiology of Escherichia coli; transfer of triplet electronic energy in dinucleotides; effects of x radiation on DNA degradation; energy deposition by neutrons; photosynthesis; excision repair of uv-induced pyrimidine dimers in DNA of plant cells

Physiological Parameters Database for Older Adults

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The Physiological Parameters Database for Older Adults is available for download and contains physiological parameters values for healthy older human adults (age 60...

Relationship between dysfunctional breathing patterns and ability to achieve target heart rate variability with features of "coherence" during biofeedback.

Science.gov (United States)

Courtney, Rosalba; Cohen, Marc; van Dixhoorn, Jan

2011-01-01

Heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback is a self-regulation strategy used to improve conditions including asthma, stress, hypertension, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Respiratory muscle function affects hemodynamic influences on respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), and HRV and HRV-biofeedback protocols often include slow abdominal breathing to achieve physiologically optimal patterns of HRV with power spectral distribution concentrated around the 0.1-Hz frequency and large amplitude. It is likely that optimal balanced breathing patterns and ability to entrain heart rhythms to breathing reflect physiological efficiency and resilience and that individuals with dysfunctional breathing patterns may have difficulty voluntarily modulating HRV and RSA. The relationship between breathing movement patterns and HRV, however, has not been investigated. This study examines how individuals' habitual breathing patterns correspond with their ability to optimize HRV and RSA. Breathing pattern was assessed using the Manual Assessment of Respiratory Motion (MARM) and the Hi Lo manual palpation techniques in 83 people with possible dysfunctional breathing before they attempted HRV biofeedback. Mean respiratory rate was also assessed. Subsequently, participants applied a brief 5-minute biofeedback protocol, involving breathing and positive emotional focus, to achieve HRV patterns proposed to reflect physiological "coherence" and entrainment of heart rhythm oscillations to other oscillating body systems. Thoracic-dominant breathing was associated with decreased coherence of HRV (r = -.463, P = .0001). Individuals with paradoxical breathing had the lowest HRV coherence (t(8) = 10.7, P = .001), and the negative relationship between coherence of HRV and extent of thoracic breathing was strongest in this group (r = -.768, P = .03). Dysfunctional breathing patterns are associated with decreased ability to achieve HRV patterns that reflect cardiorespiratory efficiency and

Physiology of man and animals in the Tenth Five-Year Plan: Proceedings of the Thirteenth Congress of the I. P. Pavlov All-Union Physiological Society

Science.gov (United States)

Lange, K. A.

1980-01-01

Research in the field of animal and human physiology is reviewed. The following topics on problems of physiological science and related fields of knowledge are discussed: neurophysiology and higher nervous activity, physiology of sensory systems, physiology of visceral systems, evolutionary and ecological physiology, physiological cybernetics, computer application in physiology, information support of physiological research, history and theory of development of physiology. Also discussed were: artificial intelligence, physiological problems of reflex therapy, correlation of structure and function of the brain, adaptation and activity, microcirculation, and physiological studies in nerve and mental diseases.

Predicting organismal vulnerability to climate warming: roles of behaviour, physiology and adaptation

Science.gov (United States)

Huey, Raymond B.; Kearney, Michael R.; Krockenberger, Andrew; Holtum, Joseph A. M.; Jess, Mellissa; Williams, Stephen E.

2012-01-01

A recently developed integrative framework proposes that the vulnerability of a species to environmental change depends on the species' exposure and sensitivity to environmental change, its resilience to perturbations and its potential to adapt to change. These vulnerability criteria require behavioural, physiological and genetic data. With this information in hand, biologists can predict organisms most at risk from environmental change. Biologists and managers can then target organisms and habitats most at risk. Unfortunately, the required data (e.g. optimal physiological temperatures) are rarely available. Here, we evaluate the reliability of potential proxies (e.g. critical temperatures) that are often available for some groups. Several proxies for ectotherms are promising, but analogous ones for endotherms are lacking. We also develop a simple graphical model of how behavioural thermoregulation, acclimation and adaptation may interact to influence vulnerability over time. After considering this model together with the proxies available for physiological sensitivity to climate change, we conclude that ectotherms sharing vulnerability traits seem concentrated in lowland tropical forests. Their vulnerability may be exacerbated by negative biotic interactions. Whether tropical forest (or other) species can adapt to warming environments is unclear, as genetic and selective data are scant. Nevertheless, the prospects for tropical forest ectotherms appear grim. PMID:22566674

Archives: Nigerian Journal of Physiological Sciences

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Items 1 - 19 of 19 ... Archives: Nigerian Journal of Physiological Sciences. Journal Home > Archives: Nigerian Journal of Physiological Sciences. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

The physiological challenges of the 1952 Copenhagen poliomyelitis epidemic and a renaissance in clinical respiratory physiology

Science.gov (United States)

West, John B.

2005-01-01

The 1952 Copenhagen poliomyelitis epidemic provided extraordinary challenges in applied physiology. Over 300 patients developed respiratory paralysis within a few weeks, and the ventilator facilities at the infectious disease hospital were completely overwhelmed. The heroic solution was to call upon 200 medical students to provide round-the-clock manual ventilation using a rubber bag attached to a tracheostomy tube. Some patients were ventilated in this way for several weeks. A second challenge was to understand the gas exchange and acid-base status of these patients. At the onset of the epidemic, the only measurement routinely available in the hospital was the carbon dioxide concentration in the blood, and the high values were initially misinterpreted as a mysterious “alkalosis.” However, pH measurements were quickly instituted, the PCO2 was shown to be high, and modern clinical respiratory acid-base physiology was born. Taking a broader view, the problems highlighted by the epidemic underscored the gap between recent advances made by physiologists and their application to the clinical environment. However, the 1950s ushered in a renaissance in clinical respiratory physiology. In 1950 the coverage of respiratory physiology in textbooks was often woefully inadequate, but the decade saw major advances in topics such as mechanics and gas exchange. An important development was the translation of the new knowledge from departments of physiology to the clinical setting. In many respects, this period was therefore the beginning of modern clinical respiratory physiology. PMID:16020437

Three-dimensional printing physiology laboratory technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Sulkin, Matthew S; Widder, Emily; Shao, Connie; Holzem, Katherine M; Gloschat, Christopher; Gutbrod, Sarah R; Efimov, Igor R

2013-12-01

Since its inception in 19th-century Germany, the physiology laboratory has been a complex and expensive research enterprise involving experts in various fields of science and engineering. Physiology research has been critically dependent on cutting-edge technological support of mechanical, electrical, optical, and more recently computer engineers. Evolution of modern experimental equipment is constrained by lack of direct communication between the physiological community and industry producing this equipment. Fortunately, recent advances in open source technologies, including three-dimensional printing, open source hardware and software, present an exciting opportunity to bring the design and development of research instrumentation to the end user, i.e., life scientists. Here we provide an overview on how to develop customized, cost-effective experimental equipment for physiology laboratories.

Selective Attentional Effects of Adjunct Study Questions on Achievement in Nigerian Secondary School Science

Science.gov (United States)

Okoye, Nnamdi S.

2008-01-01

The study investigated the selective attentional effects of adjunct study questions inserted before or after the presentation of science flow diagrams. The basic design for the study was a post-test only control group design involving a total of 252 students randomly selected from six secondary schools in Ile-Ife, Oshun State Nigeria. These were…

Effects of aerobic exercise on selected physiological parameters and quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bello AI

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Ajediran I Bello1, Emmanuel Owusu-Boakye1, Babatunde OA Adegoke2, David N Adjei3 1Department of Physiotherapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Accra, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana; 2Department of Physiotherapy, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria; 3Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Allied Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of an 8-week aerobic exercise program on physiological parameters and quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods: Patients attending a diabetes clinic participated in this randomized control trial. They were randomly assigned to an intervention or control group by ballot. The intervention group, in addition to regular conventional treatment, received individually prescribed aerobic exercise for 30 minutes, at 50%–75% of maximum heart rate three times weekly. Main outcome measures included fasting blood sugar, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, and a World Health Organization quality of life questionnaire (WHOQoL-BREF. Data analysis involved paired and unpaired t-tests and mixed-design two-way analysis of variance. Results: Eighteen patients with type 2 diabetes and of mean age 46.22 ± 9.79 years participated in the study. Mean duration since onset of diabetes in the intervention and control groups was 4.44 ± 3.33 years and 3.92 ± 2.66 years, respectively. Both groups were similar for duration since onset, baseline physiological parameters, and quality of life. Within-group comparison did not show any significant differences (P > 0.05 for HbA1c, fasting blood sugar, low-density lipoprotein, or high-density lipoprotein. The intervention group improved significantly (P < 0.05 in their postexercise quality of life compared with baseline. Between-group comparison did not show

Acute physiological responses to recreational in-line skating in young adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Orepic, Paula; Mikulic, Pavle; Soric, Maroje; Ruzic, Lana; Markovic, Goran

2014-01-01

We examined the physiological responses to in-line skating exercise at self-selected paces in recreationally trained adults. Seven men and 10 women performed in-line skating exercise during which oxygen uptake (VO2) and heart rate (HR) were recorded continuously. Ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and blood lactate concentration were also obtained at the end of exercise. Furthermore, subjects' peak VO2, peak HR, RPE and gas-exchange thresholds were determined in laboratory settings. The average exercise intensity during in-line skating was 90% of peak HR, 67% of peak VO2, 84% of HR reserve and 64% of VO2 reserve. When expressed as RPE and as metabolic equivalents (METs), the average exercise intensity was 13.1 RPE and 9.4 METs. Overall, these indicators of exercise intensity categorise in-line skating at self-selected paces as a vigorous physical activity. Notably, at similar VO2 values, significantly higher HR (174 ± 16 vs. 156 ± 6 bpm; pskating compared with treadmill running. We conclude that 1. recreational in-line skating induces physiological responses that are sufficient for improving and maintaining cardiovascular fitness in healthy adults, 2. HR- and RPE-based methods for quantifying the exercise intensity during in-line skating may overestimate the actual metabolic load and 3. the derivation of exercise prescriptions for in-line skating should be preferably based on specific (i.e. in-line skating) graded exhaustive exercise test.

Role of hypoxia and hypoxia inducible factor in physiological and pathological conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mozhgan Jahani

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Organisms are exposed to oxygen deprivation (Hypoxia in various physiological and pathological conditions. There are different conserve evolutionary responses to counterview with this stress that primary transcriptional response to stress related to hypoxia is interceded by hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-1 in mammals. This factor can regulate different genes that have essential roles in adaptation to this condition. In this review, the role of this factor in physiological and pathological conditions under hypoxic condition has been evaluated after examining structural features and regulation characteristics of HIF-1. Methods: First, articles related to the keywords of hypoxia and HIF-1 (from 1991-2016 were searched from valid databases such as Springer Link, Google Scholar, PubMed and Science direct. Then, the articles correlated with hypoxia, HIF-1 and their roles in physiological and pathological conditions (120 articles were searched and just 64 articles were selected for this study. Result: According to studies, there are different genes in cells and organs that can be regulated by HIF-1. Activation of genes expression by this protein occurs through its linkage to cis-acting of 50 base pair hypoxia response element (HRE region located in their promotor and enhancer. Depending on circumstances, activation of these genes can be beneficial or harmful. Conclusion: Activation of different genes in hypoxia by HIF-1 has different effects on physiological and pathological conditions. Therefore, HIF-1, as a hypoxia-inducible factor in hypoxic conditions, plays an essential role in the adaptation of cells and organs to changes related to the presence of oxygen.

Distinguish self- and hetero-perceived stress through behavioral imaging and physiological features.

Science.gov (United States)

Spodenkiewicz, Michel; Aigrain, Jonathan; Bourvis, Nadège; Dubuisson, Séverine; Chetouani, Mohamed; Cohen, David

2018-03-02

Stress reactivity is a complex phenomenon associated to multiple and multimodal expressions. Response to stressors has an obvious survival function and may be seen as an internal regulation to adapt to threat or danger. The intensity of this internal response can be assessed as the self-perception of the stress response. In species with social organization, this response also serves a communicative function, so-called hetero-perception. Our study presents multimodal stress detection assessment - a new methodology combining behavioral imaging and physiological monitoring for analyzing stress from these two perspectives. The system is based on automatic extraction of 39 behavioral (2D+3D video recording) and 62 physiological (Nexus-10 recording) features during a socially evaluated mental arithmetic test. The analysis with machine learning techniques for automatic classification using Support Vector Machine (SVM) show that self-perception and hetero-perception of social stress are both close but different phenomena: self-perception was significantly correlated with hetero-perception but significantly differed from it. Also, assessing stress with SVM through multimodality gave excellent classification results (F1 score values: 0.9±0.012 for hetero-perception and 0.87±0.021 for self-perception). In the best selected feature subsets, we found some common behavioral and physiological features that allow classification of both self- and hetero-perceived stress. However, we also found the contributing features for automatic classifications had opposite distributions: self-perception classification was mainly based on physiological features and hetero-perception was mainly based on behavioral features. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Effect of altitude on physiological performance: a statistical analysis using results of international football games.

Science.gov (United States)

McSharry, Patrick E

2007-12-22

To assess the effect of altitude on match results and physiological performance of a large and diverse population of professional athletes. Statistical analysis of international football (soccer) scores and results. FIFA extensive database of 1460 football matches in 10 countries spanning over 100 years. Altitude had a significant (Pnegative impact on physiological performance as revealed through the overall underperformance of low altitude teams when playing against high altitude teams in South America. High altitude teams score more and concede fewer goals with increasing altitude difference. Each additional 1000 m of altitude difference increases the goal difference by about half of a goal. The probability of the home team winning for two teams from the same altitude is 0.537, whereas this rises to 0.825 for a home team with an altitude difference of 3695 m (such as Bolivia v Brazil) and falls to 0.213 when the altitude difference is -3695 m (such as Brazil v Bolivia). Altitude provides a significant advantage for high altitude teams when playing international football games at both low and high altitudes. Lowland teams are unable to acclimatise to high altitude, reducing physiological performance. As physiological performance does not protect against the effect of altitude, better predictors of individual susceptibility to altitude illness would facilitate team selection.

Bacterial diversity in Adélie penguin, Pygoscelis adeliae, guano: molecular and morpho-physiological approaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Zdanowski, Marek K; Weglenski, Piotr; Golik, Pawel; Sasin, Joanna M; Borsuk, Piotr; Zmuda, Magdalena J; Stankovic, Anna

2004-11-01

The total number of bacteria and culturable bacteria in Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) guano was determined during 42 days of decomposition in a location adjacent to the rookery in Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Antarctica. Of the culturable bacteria, 72 randomly selected colonies were described using 49 morpho-physiological tests, 27 of which were subsequently considered significant in characterizing and differentiating the isolates. On the basis of the nucleotide sequence of a fragment of the 16S rRNA gene in each of 72 pure isolates, three major phylogenetic groups were identified, namely the Moraxellaceae/Pseudomonadaceae (29 isolates), the Flavobacteriaceae (14), and the Micrococcaceae (29). Grouping of the isolates on the basis of morpho-physiological tests (whether 49 or 27 parameters) showed similar results to those based on 16S rRNA gene sequences. Clusters were characterized by considerable intra-cluster variation in both 16S rRNA gene sequences and morpho-physiological responses. High diversity in abundance and morphometry of total bacterial communities during penguin guano decomposition was supported by image analysis of epifluorescence micrographs. The results indicate that the bacterial community in penguin guano is not only one of the richest in Antarctica, but is extremely diverse, both phylogenetically and morpho-physiologically.

Video-based lectures: An emerging paradigm for teaching human anatomy and physiology to student nurses

OpenAIRE

Rabab El-Sayed Hassan El-Sayed; Samar El-Hoseiny Abd El-Raouf El-Sayed

2013-01-01

Video-based teaching material is a rich and powerful medium being used in computer assisted learning. This paper aimed to assess the learning outcomes and student nurses’ acceptance and satisfaction with the video-based lectures versus the traditional method of teaching human anatomy and physiology courses. Data were collected from 27 students in a Bachelor of Nursing program and experimental control was achieved using an alternating-treatments design. Overall, students experienced 10 lecture...

Circadian physiology of metabolism.

Science.gov (United States)

Panda, Satchidananda

2016-11-25

A majority of mammalian genes exhibit daily fluctuations in expression levels, making circadian expression rhythms the largest known regulatory network in normal physiology. Cell-autonomous circadian clocks interact with daily light-dark and feeding-fasting cycles to generate approximately 24-hour oscillations in the function of thousands of genes. Circadian expression of secreted molecules and signaling components transmits timing information between cells and tissues. Such intra- and intercellular daily rhythms optimize physiology both by managing energy use and by temporally segregating incompatible processes. Experimental animal models and epidemiological data indicate that chronic circadian rhythm disruption increases the risk of metabolic diseases. Conversely, time-restricted feeding, which imposes daily cycles of feeding and fasting without caloric reduction, sustains robust diurnal rhythms and can alleviate metabolic diseases. These findings highlight an integrative role of circadian rhythms in physiology and offer a new perspective for treating chronic diseases in which metabolic disruption is a hallmark. Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Identification and characterization of contrasting sunflower genotypes to early leaf senescence process combining molecular and physiological studies (Helianthus annuus L.).

Science.gov (United States)

López Gialdi, A I; Moschen, S; Villán, C S; López Fernández, M P; Maldonado, S; Paniego, N; Heinz, R A; Fernandez, P

2016-09-01

Leaf senescence is a complex mechanism ruled by multiple genetic and environmental variables that affect crop yields. It is the last stage in leaf development, is characterized by an active decline in photosynthetic rate, nutrients recycling and cell death. The aim of this work was to identify contrasting sunflower inbred lines differing in leaf senescence and to deepen the study of this process in sunflower. Ten sunflower genotypes, previously selected by physiological analysis from 150 inbred genotypes, were evaluated under field conditions through physiological, cytological and molecular analysis. The physiological measurement allowed the identification of two contrasting senescence inbred lines, R453 and B481-6, with an increase in yield in the senescence delayed genotype. These findings were confirmed by cytological and molecular analysis using TUNEL, genomic DNA gel electrophoresis, flow sorting and gene expression analysis by qPCR. These results allowed the selection of the two most promising contrasting genotypes, which enables future studies and the identification of new biomarkers associated to early senescence in sunflower. In addition, they allowed the tuning of cytological techniques for a non-model species and its integration with molecular variables. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Science.gov (United States)

... Educational - Medicine Prize Related The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to people and ... this page MLA style: "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine – Educational". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media ...

Report on achievements of research and development of a technology to apply human senses to measurements in fiscal 1995. 2. Main issue (Research and development of a human sense index applying technology); 1995 nendo ningen kankaku keisoku oyo gijutsu no kenkyu kaihatsu seika hokokusho. 2. Honronhen (ningen kankaku shihyo oyo bijutsu no kenkyu kaihatsu)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-03-01

This paper describes the achievements in fiscal 1995 on research and development of a human sense index applying technology. Total system design and fabrication were launched on a human comfort meter. A resin-made human shaped body attached with warm heat sensing elements and a software logic for a control system for whole body movements were devised. Fabrication was carried out on a driver's seat, a simulated visual field generating device and a system to calculate the machine's movements on a real time basis to perform experiments to evaluate operation reliability by using a 25-ton lifting crane. A system was created that can measure in situ the physiology, psychology and activity reactions. An experimental environment was set that can be operation reliability evaluation indexes by measuring physiological and psychological reactions during crane works, and selection was launched on physiological index candidates. Elucidation was made on characteristics of parallax of both eyes being the main visual function to structure the VR space. At the same time, sensual and physiological verification was given on how important the conditions presented by merged images created by the parallax of both eyes can be in raising the reality of the VR space. The paper also describes the relationship between muscle fatigue and physiological indexes. (NEDO)

Physiological markers of motor inhibition during human behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Duque, Julie; Greenhouse, Ian; Labruna, Ludovica; Ivry, Richard B.

2017-01-01

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies in humans have shown that many behaviors engage processes that suppress excitability within the corticospinal tract. Inhibition of the motor output pathway has been extensively studied in the context of action stopping, where a planned movement needs to be abruptly aborted. Recent TMS work has also revealed markers of motor inhibition during the preparation of movement. Here, we review the evidence for motor inhibition during action stopping and action preparation, focusing on studies that have used TMS to monitor changes in the excitability of the corticospinal pathway. We discuss how these physiological results have motivated theoretical models of how the brain selects actions, regulates movement initiation and execution, and switches from one state to another. PMID:28341235

Correlations between radiological technology graduates academic achievement and their obtainment of a license

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Myeong Hwan; Kwon, Deok Moon; Seo, Soo Kyo

2006-01-01

The study analyzed the correlations between variables like characteristics related to admission, academic achievement, obtainment of a radiological technology license. A majority of participants were from Daegu and academic high schools. Many participants were accepted by general admission selection, and their reason to apply to Daegu Health College was high graduate employment. Their selection for the academic program was made by their parents and themselves. Those who took the same course twice held 35.1%, and those who got an academic warning took 8.5%. The degree of participants' academic achievement showed somewhat low, and they had difficulty in taking their major courses. The average grade for admission was lower in a following selection order: college graduates, general, special, and rural areas. The admission selections and taking science courses in high school showed little significant correlations with obtainment of a radiological technology license. However, the obtainment of the license had significant correlations with retaking the same course, getting an academic warning, and the degree of academic achievement. The results also revealed that the obtainment of the license had little significant correlations with a part-time job experience, having a boy/girlfriend, and student club participation, but it had significant correlations with accommodations and study club participation. In conclusion, it is important to point out that radiological technology graduates' obtainment of a license is closely related with the degree of their academic achievement and their college life

Elasticity and breaking strength of synthetic suture materials incubated in various equine physiological and pathological solutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Kearney, C M; Buckley, C T; Jenner, F; Moissonnier, P; Brama, P A J

2014-07-01

Selection of suture material in equine surgery is often based on costs or subjective factors, such as the surgeon's personal experience, rather than objective facts. The amount of objective data available on durability of suture materials with regard to specific equine physiological conditions is limited. To evaluate the effect of various equine physiological and pathological fluids on the rate of degradation of a number of commonly used suture materials. In vitro material testing. Suture materials were exposed in vitro to physiological fluid, followed by biomechanical analysis. Three absorbable suture materials, glycolide/lactide copolymer, polyglactin 910 and polydioxanone were incubated at 37°C for 7, 14 or 28 days in phosphate-buffered saline, equine serum, equine urine and equine peritoneal fluid from an animal with peritonitis. Five strands of each suture material type were tested to failure in a materials testing machine for each time point and each incubation medium. Yield strength, strain and Young's modulus were calculated, analysed and reported. For all suture types, the incubation time had a significant effect on yield strength, percentage elongation and Young's modulus in all culture media (Ptype was also shown significantly to influence changes in each of yield strength, percentage elongation and Young's modulus in all culture media (Ptype of fluid have significant effects on the biomechanical properties of various suture materials. These findings are important for evidence-based selection of suture material in clinical cases. © 2013 EVJ Ltd.

Towards Individualized Physiology Lecturing in Africa

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Dr Olaleye Samuel

1 (1): 13 - 16. Journal of African Association of Physiological Sciences ... import from validated text format question series and seamless use of any computer program or internet .... Silverthorn D U, Human Physiology, an Integrated. Approach ...

Scanpath-based analysis of objects conspicuity in context of human vision physiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Augustyniak, Piotr

2007-01-01

This paper discusses principal aspects of objects conspicuity investigated with use of an eye tracker and interpreted on the background of human vision physiology. Proper management of objects conspicuity is fundamental in several leading edge applications in the information society like advertisement, web design, man-machine interfacing and ergonomics. Although some common rules of human perception are applied since centuries in the art, the interest of human perception process is motivated today by the need of gather and maintain the recipient attention by putting selected messages in front of the others. Our research uses the visual tasks methodology and series of progressively modified natural images. The modifying details were attributed by their size, color and position while the scanpath-derived gaze points confirmed or not the act of perception. The statistical analysis yielded the probability of detail perception and correlations with the attributes. This probability conforms to the knowledge about the retina anatomy and perception physiology, although we use noninvasive methods only.

Tuning a Protein-Labeling Reaction to Achieve Highly Site Selective Lysine Conjugation.

Science.gov (United States)

Pham, Grace H; Ou, Weijia; Bursulaya, Badry; DiDonato, Michael; Herath, Ananda; Jin, Yunho; Hao, Xueshi; Loren, Jon; Spraggon, Glen; Brock, Ansgar; Uno, Tetsuo; Geierstanger, Bernhard H; Cellitti, Susan E

2018-04-16

Activated esters are widely used to label proteins at lysine side chains and N termini. These reagents are useful for labeling virtually any protein, but robust reactivity toward primary amines generally precludes site-selective modification. In a unique case, fluorophenyl esters are shown to preferentially label human kappa antibodies at a single lysine (Lys188) within the light-chain constant domain. Neighboring residues His189 and Asp151 contribute to the accelerated rate of labeling at Lys188 relative to the ≈40 other lysine sites. Enriched Lys188 labeling can be enhanced from 50-70 % to >95 % by any of these approaches: lowering reaction temperature, applying flow chemistry, or mutagenesis of specific residues in the surrounding protein environment. Our results demonstrated that activated esters with fluoro-substituted aromatic leaving groups, including a fluoronaphthyl ester, can be generally useful reagents for site-selective lysine labeling of antibodies and other immunoglobulin-type proteins. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Basic anatomical and physiological data for use in radiological protection: reference values ICRP Publication 89

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valentin, J.

2002-01-01

This report presents detailed information on age- and gender-related differences in the anatomical and physiological characteristics of reference individuals. These reference values provide needed input to prospective dosimetry calculations for radiation protection purposes for both workers and members of the general public. The purpose of this report is to consolidate and unify in one publication, important new information on reference anatomical and physiological values that has become available since Publication 23 was published by the ICRP in 1975. There are two aspects of this work. The first is to revise and extend the information in Publication 23 as appropriate. The second is to provide additional information on individual variation among grossly normal individuals resulting from differences in age, gender, race, or other factors. This publication collects, unifies, and expands the updated ICRP reference values for the purpose of providing a comprehensive and consistent set of age- and gender-specific reference values for anatomical and physiological features of the human body pertinent to radiation dosimetry. The reference values given in this report are based on: (a) anatomical and physiological information not published before by the ICRP; (b) recent ICRP publications containing reference value information; and (c) information in Publication 23 that is still considered valid and appropriate for radiation protection purposes. Moving from the past emphasis on 'Reference Man', the new report presents a series of reference values for both male and female subjects of six different ages: newborn, 1 year, 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, and adult. In selecting reference values, the Commission has used data on Western Europeans and North Americans because these populations have been well studied with respect to anatomy, body composition, and physiology. When appropriate, comparisons are made between the chosen reference values and data from several Asian

Basic anatomical and physiological data for use in radiological protection: reference values ICRP Publication 89

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Valentin, J

2002-12-01

This report presents detailed information on age- and gender-related differences in the anatomical and physiological characteristics of reference individuals. These reference values provide needed input to prospective dosimetry calculations for radiation protection purposes for both workers and members of the general public. The purpose of this report is to consolidate and unify in one publication, important new information on reference anatomical and physiological values that has become available since Publication 23 was published by the ICRP in 1975. There are two aspects of this work. The first is to revise and extend the information in Publication 23 as appropriate. The second is to provide additional information on individual variation among grossly normal individuals resulting from differences in age, gender, race, or other factors. This publication collects, unifies, and expands the updated ICRP reference values for the purpose of providing a comprehensive and consistent set of age- and gender-specific reference values for anatomical and physiological features of the human body pertinent to radiation dosimetry. The reference values given in this report are based on: (a) anatomical and physiological information not published before by the ICRP; (b) recent ICRP publications containing reference value information; and (c) information in Publication 23 that is still considered valid and appropriate for radiation protection purposes. Moving from the past emphasis on 'Reference Man', the new report presents a series of reference values for both male and female subjects of six different ages: newborn, 1 year, 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, and adult. In selecting reference values, the Commission has used data on Western Europeans and North Americans because these populations have been well studied with respect to anatomy, body composition, and physiology. When appropriate, comparisons are made between the chosen reference values and data from several Asian

Relay Selection with Limited and Noisy Feedback

KAUST Repository

Eltayeb, Mohammed E.; Elkhalil, Khalil; Mas'ud, Abdullahi Abubakar; Al-Naffouri, Tareq Y.

2016-01-01

Relay selection is a simple technique that achieves spatial diversity in cooperative relay networks. Nonetheless, relay selection algorithms generally require error-free channel state information (CSI) from all cooperating relays. Practically, CSI

Bengt Saltin and exercise physiology: a perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Joyner, Michael J

2017-01-01

This perspective highlights some of the key contributions of Professor Bengt Saltin (1935-2014) to exercise physiology. The emergence of exercise physiology from work physiology as his career began is discussed as are his contributions in a number of areas. Saltin's open and question-based style of leadership is a model for the future of our field.

Metal-organic framework based highly selective fluorescence turn-on probe for hydrogen sulphide

Science.gov (United States)

Nagarkar, Sanjog S.; Saha, Tanmoy; Desai, Aamod V.; Talukdar, Pinaki; Ghosh, Sujit K.

2014-11-01

Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) is known to play a vital role in human physiology and pathology which stimulated interest in understanding complex behaviour of H2S. Discerning the pathways of H2S production and its mode of action is still a challenge owing to its volatile and reactive nature. Herein we report azide functionalized metal-organic framework (MOF) as a selective turn-on fluorescent probe for H2S detection. The MOF shows highly selective and fast response towards H2S even in presence of other relevant biomolecules. Low cytotoxicity and H2S detection in live cells, demonstrate the potential of MOF towards monitoring H2S chemistry in biological system. To the best of our knowledge this is the first example of MOF that exhibit fast and highly selective fluorescence turn-on response towards H2S under physiological conditions.

Perceptions around teacher's social support with student achievement motivation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Oktasari

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Several indications that indicate student in low achievement motivation, among others: (1 lack of enthusiasm to follow the lesson, (2 less attention to the teacher, (3 the students have not targeted yet, (4 students tend to ignore the task, (5 (6 students are less harmonious with teachers, (7 students are lazy to learn, and (8 some students feel scared with the teacher. Students 'perceptions of teacher's social support are factors that allegedly influence students' achievement motivation. This study aims to determine the relationship of students' perceptions of the social support of teachers with achievement motivation. The method used throughout this research is quantitative with regression technique. Samples numbered to 206 students of SMA Negeri 1 V Koto Timur Padang Pariaman, and selected by proportional random sampling. The instrument used is the student's perception scale of teacher's social support and achievement motivation. The research findings indicate that there is a significant correlation between around teacher's social support with student achievement motivation.

International Union of Physiological Sciences Physiology Teaching Workshop, March 31-April 1, 2012, Arabian Gulf University, Kingdom of Bahrain

Science.gov (United States)

Subhan, M. M. F.

2013-01-01

Since 2009, the Department of Physiology had planned an International Union of Physiological Sciences Physiology Teaching Workshop at Arabian Gulf University. The date was set for March 5-6, 2011; however, due to civil unrest, the workshop was postponed to March 31-April 1, 2012. The workshop was a success, bringing together 92 speakers and…

COMPARATIVE GUT PHYSIOLOGY SYMPOSIUM: Comparative physiology of glucagon-like peptide-2: Implications and applications for production and health of ruminants.

Science.gov (United States)

Connor, E E; Evock-Clover, C M; Walker, M P; Elsasser, T H; Kahl, S

2015-02-01

Glucagon-like peptide-2 (GLP-2) is a 33-amino acid peptide derived from proteolytic cleavage of proglucagon by prohormone convertase 1/3 in enteroendocrine L cells. Studies conducted in humans, in rodent models, and in vitro indicate that GLP-2 is secreted in response to the presence of molecules in the intestinal lumen, including fatty acids, carbohydrates, amino acids, and bile acids, which are detected by luminal chemosensors. The physiological actions of GLP-2 are mediated by its G protein-coupled receptor expressed primarily in the intestinal tract on enteric neurons, enteroendocrine cells, and myofibroblasts. The biological activity of GLP-2 is further regulated by dipeptidyl peptidase IV, which rapidly cleaves the N-terminus of GLP-2 that is responsible for GLP-2 receptor activation. Within the gut, GLP-2 increases nutrient absorption, crypt cell proliferation, and mesenteric blood flow and decreases gut permeability and motility, epithelial cell apoptosis, and inflammation. Outside the gut, GLP-2 reduces bone resorption, can suppress appetite, and is cytoprotective in the lung. Thus, GLP-2 has been studied intensively as a therapeutic to improve intestinal function of humans during parenteral nutrition and following small bowel resection and, more recently, as a treatment for osteoporosis and obesity-related disorders and to reduce cellular damage associated with inflammation of the gut and lungs. Recent studies demonstrate that many biological actions and properties of GLP-2 in ruminants are similar to those in nonruminants, including the potential to reduce intestinal nitro-oxidative stress in calves caused by parasitic diseases such as coccidiosis. Because of its beneficial impacts on nutrient absorption, gut healing, and normal gut development, GLP-2 therapy offers significant opportunities to improve calf health and production efficiency. However, GLP-2 therapies require an extended time course to achieve desired physiological responses, as well as

Integrating chemistry, biophysics and physiology in the evolution of mammalian Myoglobins

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dasmeh, Pouria

a general protein phenotype such as folding stability, that was shown as an example to be positively selected in cetacean Mbs in the iv third part of this thesis, affects the rate of protein evolution. Using a model that combines explicit evolution of Mb sequences, folding stability, and application...... of dN/dS ~ 1.5. Overall, this thesis provides one of the first examples in the study of evolution of function and thermodynamic stability in a mammalian protein with implications for fitness. We quantify and highlight the biological relevance for the selection of a higher concentration of Mb...... in the skeletal muscle of marine mammals and provide an explanation for the increase in folding stability of Mb. Moreover, this thesis provides number of theoretical findings directly testable with future experimental studies regarding the function, physiology and thermodynamic stability of mammalian Mbs....

Corynebacterium glutamicum for Sustainable Bioproduction: From Metabolic Physiology to Systems Metabolic Engineering.

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, Judith; Gießelmann, Gideon; Hoffmann, Sarah Lisa; Wittmann, Christoph

Since its discovery 60 years ago, Corynebacterium glutamicum has evolved into a workhorse for industrial biotechnology. Traditionally well known for its remarkable capacity to produce amino acids, this Gram-positive soil bacterium, has become a flexible, efficient production platform for various bulk and fine chemicals, materials, and biofuels. The central turnstile of all these achievements is our excellent understanding of its metabolism and physiology. This knowledge base, together with innovative systems metabolic engineering concepts, which integrate systems and synthetic biology into strain engineering, has upgraded C. glutamicum into one of the most successful industrial microorganisms in the world.

Evaluating physiological responses of plants to salinity stress

KAUST Repository

Negrão, Sónia

2016-10-06

Background Because soil salinity is a major abiotic constraint affecting crop yield, much research has been conducted to develop plants with improved salinity tolerance. Salinity stress impacts many aspects of a plant’s physiology, making it difficult to study in toto. Instead, it is more tractable to dissect the plant’s response into traits that are hypothesized to be involved in the overall tolerance of the plant to salinity. Scope and conclusions We discuss how to quantify the impact of salinity on different traits, such as relative growth rate, water relations, transpiration, transpiration use efficiency, ionic relations, photosynthesis, senescence, yield and yield components. We also suggest some guidelines to assist with the selection of appropriate experimental systems, imposition of salinity stress, and obtaining and analysing relevant physiological data using appropriate indices. We illustrate how these indices can be used to identify relationships amongst the proposed traits to identify which traits are the most important contributors to salinity tolerance. Salinity tolerance is complex and involves many genes, but progress has been made in studying the mechanisms underlying a plant’s response to salinity. Nevertheless, several previous studies on salinity tolerance could have benefited from improved experimental design. We hope that this paper will provide pertinent information to researchers on performing proficient assays and interpreting results from salinity tolerance experiments.

Exercise physiology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kiens, Bente; Richter, Erik; Wojtaszewski, Jørgen

2014-01-01

The passing of Professor Bengt Saltin on September 12, 2014 truly marks the end of an era. As editor of the Journal of Applied Physiology and one of Bengt’s many collaborators and colleagues, I wanted the Journal to celebrate his many seminal contributions by means of an Editorial. Professor Bent...

Ion Channel ElectroPhysiology Ontology (ICEPO) - a case study of text mining assisted ontology development.

Science.gov (United States)

Elayavilli, Ravikumar Komandur; Liu, Hongfang

2016-01-01

Computational modeling of biological cascades is of great interest to quantitative biologists. Biomedical text has been a rich source for quantitative information. Gathering quantitative parameters and values from biomedical text is one significant challenge in the early steps of computational modeling as it involves huge manual effort. While automatically extracting such quantitative information from bio-medical text may offer some relief, lack of ontological representation for a subdomain serves as impedance in normalizing textual extractions to a standard representation. This may render textual extractions less meaningful to the domain experts. In this work, we propose a rule-based approach to automatically extract relations involving quantitative data from biomedical text describing ion channel electrophysiology. We further translated the quantitative assertions extracted through text mining to a formal representation that may help in constructing ontology for ion channel events using a rule based approach. We have developed Ion Channel ElectroPhysiology Ontology (ICEPO) by integrating the information represented in closely related ontologies such as, Cell Physiology Ontology (CPO), and Cardiac Electro Physiology Ontology (CPEO) and the knowledge provided by domain experts. The rule-based system achieved an overall F-measure of 68.93% in extracting the quantitative data assertions system on an independently annotated blind data set. We further made an initial attempt in formalizing the quantitative data assertions extracted from the biomedical text into a formal representation that offers potential to facilitate the integration of text mining into ontological workflow, a novel aspect of this study. This work is a case study where we created a platform that provides formal interaction between ontology development and text mining. We have achieved partial success in extracting quantitative assertions from the biomedical text and formalizing them in ontological

Relationship between the Learning Styles Preferences and Academic Achievement

Science.gov (United States)

Awang, H.; Samad, N. Abd; Faiz, N. S. Mohd; Roddin, R.; Kankia, J. D.

2017-08-01

The individual learning differences that have been much explored relate to differences in personality, learning styles, strategies and conceptual of learning. This article studies the learning style profile exhibited by students towards the academic achievement in Malaysian Polytechnic. The relationship between learning styles of Polytechnic students and their academic achievement based on VARK learning styles model. The target population was international business students of Malaysian Polytechnic. By means of randomly sampling method, 103 students were selected as sample of research. By descriptive - survey research method and a questionnaire adapted from VARK Learning Style Index, required data were collected. According to the results, no significantly difference between learning style and academic achievement of students. Students academic achievement was quite similar to their individual learning styles. These facts reveal that each learning style has its own strengths and weaknesses.

Functional genomics of physiological plasticity and local adaptation in killifish.

Science.gov (United States)

Whitehead, Andrew; Galvez, Fernando; Zhang, Shujun; Williams, Larissa M; Oleksiak, Marjorie F

2011-01-01

Evolutionary solutions to the physiological challenges of life in highly variable habitats can span the continuum from evolution of a cosmopolitan plastic phenotype to the evolution of locally adapted phenotypes. Killifish (Fundulus sp.) have evolved both highly plastic and locally adapted phenotypes within different selective contexts, providing a comparative system in which to explore the genomic underpinnings of physiological plasticity and adaptive variation. Importantly, extensive variation exists among populations and species for tolerance to a variety of stressors, and we exploit this variation in comparative studies to yield insights into the genomic basis of evolved phenotypic variation. Notably, species of Fundulus occupy the continuum of osmotic habitats from freshwater to marine and populations within Fundulus heteroclitus span far greater variation in pollution tolerance than across all species of fish. Here, we explore how transcriptome regulation underpins extreme physiological plasticity on osmotic shock and how genomic and transcriptomic variation is associated with locally evolved pollution tolerance. We show that F. heteroclitus quickly acclimate to extreme osmotic shock by mounting a dramatic rapid transcriptomic response including an early crisis control phase followed by a tissue remodeling phase involving many regulatory pathways. We also show that convergent evolution of locally adapted pollution tolerance involves complex patterns of gene expression and genome sequence variation, which is confounded with body-weight dependence for some genes. Similarly, exploiting the natural phenotypic variation associated with other established and emerging model organisms is likely to greatly accelerate the pace of discovery of the genomic basis of phenotypic variation.

Exercise Effects on Sleep Physiology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sunao eUchida

2012-04-01

Full Text Available This mini-review focuses on the effects of exercise on sleep. In its early days, sleep research largely focused on central nervous system (CNS physiology using standardized tabulations of several sleep-specific landmark electroencephalogram (EEG waveforms. Though coarse, this method has enabled the observation and inspection of numerous uninterrupted sleep phenomena. Thus, research on the effects of exercise on sleep began, in the 1960’s, with a focus primarily on sleep EEG (CNS sleep changes. Those early studies found only small effects of exercise on sleep. More recent sleep research has explored not only CNS functioning, but somatic physiology as well. As physical exercise mostly affects somatic functions, endocrine and autonomic nervous system (ANS changes that occur during sleep should be affected by daytime exercise. Since endocrinological, metabolic and autonomic changes can be measured during sleep, it should be possible to assess exercise effects on somatic physiology in addition to CNS sleep quality, building from standard polysomnographic (PSG techniques. Incorporating measures of somatic physiology in the quantitative assessment of sleep could further our understanding of sleep's function as an auto-regulatory, global phenomenon.

A Model for Predicting Learning Flow and Achievement in Corporate e-Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Joo, Young Ju; Lim, Kyu Yon; Kim, Su Mi

2012-01-01

The primary objective of this study was to investigate the determinants of learning flow and achievement in corporate online training. Self-efficacy, intrinsic value, and test anxiety were selected as learners' motivational factors, while perceived usefulness and ease of use were also selected as learning environmental factors. Learning flow was…

Assessment of daytime physiologic comfort, its perception and coping strategies among people in tertiary institutions in Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oyenike Mary Eludoyin

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Adequate understanding of the extreme thermal condition is as important as that of the averages for planners and policy makers. A significant knowledge gap exists in the physiologic comfort in many developing countries, particularly in the tropical region where thermal stress can pose significant threat to life because of inadequate infrastructure. This study examines the hourly variations in the physiologic comfort of Nigeria using the effective temperature, temperature–humidity and relative strain indices (ETI, THI and RSI, respectively. It also examines the perceptions of a selected sample of Nigerians, and their coping strategies to extreme conditions of cold and heat stress. The results showed that physiologic comfort in Nigeria exhibits variations across the different latitudinal locations; shows seasonal variations and is affected by local geography. Perception of the comfortable climate exhibits variation based on the latitudinal location of the respondents but the coping strategies vary with the wealth of individuals. The study showed that physiologic discomfort is severe in many parts of Nigeria (especially in the climate regions outside the montane climate but the infrastructure to cope with the thermal stress is either poorly known or unaffordable for the majority of the people.

HARMONIC DRIVE SELECTION

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Piotr FOLĘGA

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The variety of types and sizes currently in production harmonic drive is a problem in their rational choice. Properly selected harmonic drive must meet certain requirements during operation, and achieve the anticipated service life. The paper discusses the problems associated with the selection of the harmonic drive. It also presents the algorithm correct choice of harmonic drive. The main objective of this study was to develop a computer program that allows the correct choice of harmonic drive by developed algorithm.

Physiological responses of genotypes soybean to simulated drought stress

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Eleonóra Krivosudská

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The objective of this research was to investigate possible genetic variation in the sensitivity of soybean cultivars for nitrogen fixation rates in response to soil drying. The work confirmed that the selected physiological characteristics (RWC, osmotic potential, stress index and created nodules on roots are good evaluating parameters for the determination of water stress in plant. In the floricultural year 2014 an experiment with four genetic resources of soybean was launched. Sowing of Maverick (USA, Drina (HRV, Nigra (SVK and Polanka (CZK genotypes was carried out in the containers of 15 l capacity. This stress had a negative impact on the physiological parameters. By comparing the RWC values, the decrease was more significant at the end of dehydration, which was monitored in Maverick and Drina genotypes using the Nitrazon inoculants and water stress effect. Inoculated stressed Nigra and Polanka genotypes have kept higher water content till the end of dehydration period. Also the proline accumulation was monitored during the water stress, whilst higher content of free proline reached of Maverick. More remarkable decrease of osmotic potential was again registered in a foreign Drina and Maverick genotypes in the inoculated variations. Nigra and Polanka genotypes responses not so significant in the given conditions.

Emerging role of mitophagy in human diseases and physiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Um, Jee-Hyun; Yun, Jeanho

2017-06-01

Mitophagy is a process of selective removal of damaged or unnecessary mitochondria using autophagic machinery. Mitophagy plays an essential role in maintaining mitochondrial quality control and homeostasis. Mitochondrial dysfunctions and defective mitophagy in neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, and metabolic diseases indicate a close link between human disease and mitophagy. Furthermore, recent studies showing the involvement of mitophagy in differentiation and development, suggest that mitophagy may play a more active role in controlling cellular functions. A better understanding of mitophagy will provide insights about human disease and offer novel chance for treatment. This review mainly focuses on the recent implications for mitophagy in human diseases and normal physiology. [BMB Reports 2017; 50(6): 299-307].

Fast Recognition of BCI-Inefficient Users Using Physiological Features from EEG Signals: A Screening Study of Stroke Patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaokang Shu

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Motor imagery (MI based brain-computer interface (BCI has been developed as an alternative therapy for stroke rehabilitation. However, experimental evidence demonstrates that a significant portion (10–50% of subjects are BCI-inefficient users (accuracy less than 70%. Thus, predicting BCI performance prior to clinical BCI usage would facilitate the selection of suitable end-users and improve the efficiency of stroke rehabilitation. In the current study, we proposed two physiological variables, i.e., laterality index (LI and cortical activation strength (CAS, to predict MI-BCI performance. Twenty-four stroke patients and 10 healthy subjects were recruited for this study. Each subject was required to perform two blocks of left- and right-hand MI tasks. Linear regression analyses were performed between the BCI accuracies and two physiological predictors. Here, the predictors were calculated from the electroencephalography (EEG signals during paretic hand MI tasks (5 trials; approximately 1 min. LI values exhibited a statistically significant correlation with two-class BCI (left vs. right performance (r = −0.732, p < 0.001, and CAS values exhibited a statistically significant correlation with brain-switch BCI (task vs. idle performance (r = 0.641, p < 0.001. Furthermore, the BCI-inefficient users were successfully recognized with a sensitivity of 88.2% and a specificity of 85.7% in the two-class BCI. The brain-switch BCI achieved a sensitivity of 100.0% and a specificity of 87.5% in the discrimination of BCI-inefficient users. These results demonstrated that the proposed BCI predictors were promising to promote the BCI usage in stroke rehabilitation and contribute to a better understanding of the BCI-inefficiency phenomenon in stroke patients.

A Moodle-based blended learning solution for physiology education in Montenegro: a case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Popovic, Natasa; Popovic, Tomo; Rovcanin Dragovic, Isidora; Cmiljanic, Oleg

2018-03-01

This study evaluates the impact of web-based blended learning in the physiology course at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Montenegro. The two main goals of the study were: to determine the impact of e-learning on student success in mastering the course, and to assess user satisfaction after the introduction of e-learning. The study compared a group of students who attended the physiology course before, with a group of students who attended the physiology course after the Moodle platform was fully implemented as an educational tool. Formative and summative assessment scores were compared between these two groups. The impact of high vs. low Moodle use on the assessment scores was analyzed. The satisfaction among Moodle users was assessed by the survey. The study found that attendance of face-to-face lectures had a positive impact on academic performance. The introduction of Moodle in the presented model of teaching increased interest of students, attendance of face-to-face lectures, as well as formative and summative scores. High frequency of Moodle use was not always associated with better academic performance, suggesting that the introduction of a new method of teaching was most likely equally accepted by low- and high-achieving students. Most of the students agreed that Moodle was easy to use and it complemented traditional teaching very well, but it could not completely replace traditional face-to-face lectures. The study supports continuing the use of web-based learning in a form of blended learning for physiology, as well as for other courses in medical education.

A physiological skeletal model for radionuclide and stable element biokinetics in children and adults

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Richardson, R.B.

2010-01-01

A physiological skeletal model (PSM) is described that represents the skeletal uptake, retention and clearance of both bone-surface-seeking and bone-volume-seeking radionuclides and stable elements. A key objective of the PSM is to model the higher skeletal growth and bone turnover in infants and children (compared to adults) in order to to account for their greater uptake and cancer risk from bone-seeking contaminants such as lead and plutonium. The PSM is a compartmental model that allows for the incorporation of organic and inorganic material in the bone volume via quiescent bone surfaces, forming bone surfaces and the lacuno-canaliculi system. The model uniquely incorporates a tertiary phase of mineralization via bone fluids. The PSM's structural concepts and biokinetic parameters - such as realistic mass transfers, organ and tissue masses, and bone remodelling half times - are selected mainly on the basis of physiological and anatomical criteria. For brevity, model parameter values or evaluated for adults only. The PSM is an improvement on existing skeletal models that are based more on compartment structures and pathways that rendered good fits to biokinetic data rather than on being anatomically and physiologically accurate. (author)

Sensorineural hearing loss degrades behavioral and physiological measures of human spatial selective auditory attention

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Lengshi; Best, Virginia; Shinn-Cunningham, Barbara G.

2018-01-01

Listeners with sensorineural hearing loss often have trouble understanding speech amid other voices. While poor spatial hearing is often implicated, direct evidence is weak; moreover, studies suggest that reduced audibility and degraded spectrotemporal coding may explain such problems. We hypothesized that poor spatial acuity leads to difficulty deploying selective attention, which normally filters out distracting sounds. In listeners with normal hearing, selective attention causes changes in the neural responses evoked by competing sounds, which can be used to quantify the effectiveness of attentional control. Here, we used behavior and electroencephalography to explore whether control of selective auditory attention is degraded in hearing-impaired (HI) listeners. Normal-hearing (NH) and HI listeners identified a simple melody presented simultaneously with two competing melodies, each simulated from different lateral angles. We quantified performance and attentional modulation of cortical responses evoked by these competing streams. Compared with NH listeners, HI listeners had poorer sensitivity to spatial cues, performed more poorly on the selective attention task, and showed less robust attentional modulation of cortical responses. Moreover, across NH and HI individuals, these measures were correlated. While both groups showed cortical suppression of distracting streams, this modulation was weaker in HI listeners, especially when attending to a target at midline, surrounded by competing streams. These findings suggest that hearing loss interferes with the ability to filter out sound sources based on location, contributing to communication difficulties in social situations. These findings also have implications for technologies aiming to use neural signals to guide hearing aid processing. PMID:29555752

Social motivation in Qatari schools and their relation to school achievement.

Science.gov (United States)

Nasser, Ramzi

2014-10-01

This study assessed the relation between school-social motivation and student academic achievement. A factor analysis was performed on a set of school-social items selected a priori from three measures of school motivation: the Inventory of School Motivation, the General Achievement Goals Orientation Scale, and the Facilitating Conditions Scale. Three factors with fewer items represented Global Motivation, Peer Help, and Social Power. Hierarchical regression analysis showed social motivation measures were weak predictors of achievement scores in the various content areas. Findings are discussed in the context of Qatari education and culture.

The 'wise list'- a comprehensive concept to select, communicate and achieve adherence to recommendations of essential drugs in ambulatory care in Stockholm.

Science.gov (United States)

Gustafsson, Lars L; Wettermark, Björn; Godman, Brian; Andersén-Karlsson, Eva; Bergman, Ulf; Hasselström, Jan; Hensjö, Lars-Olof; Hjemdahl, Paul; Jägre, Ingrid; Julander, Margaretha; Ringertz, Bo; Schmidt, Daniel; Sjöberg, Susan; Sjöqvist, Folke; Stiller, Carl-Olav; Törnqvist, Elisabeth; Tryselius, Rolf; Vitols, Sigurd; von Bahr, Christer

2011-04-01

The aim was to present and evaluate the impact of a comprehensive strategy over 10 years to select, communicate and achieve adherence to essential drug recommendations (EDR) in ambulatory care in a metropolitan healthcare region. EDRs were issued and launched as a 'Wise List' by the regional Drug and Therapeutics Committee in Stockholm. This study presents the concept by: (i) documenting the process for selecting, communicating and monitoring the impact of the 'Wise List'; (ii) analysing the variation in the number of drug substances recommended between 2000 and 2010; (iii) assessing the attitudes to the 'Wise List' among prescribers and the public; (iv) evaluating the adherence to recommendations between 2003 and 2009. The 'Wise List' consistently contained 200 drug substances for treating common diseases. The drugs were selected based on their efficacy, safety, suitability and cost-effectiveness. The 'Wise List' was known among one-third of a surveyed sample of the public in 2002 after initial marketing campaigns. All surveyed prescribers knew about the concept and 81% found the recommendations trustworthy in 2005. Adherence to recommendations increased from 69% in 1999 to 77% in 2009. In primary care, adherence increased from 83% to 87% from 2003 to 2009. The coefficient of variation (CV%) decreased from 6.1% to 3.8% for 156 healthcare centres between these years. The acceptance of the 'Wise List' in terms of trust among physicians and among the public and increased adherence may be explained by clear criteria for drug recommendations, a comprehensive communication strategy, electronic access to recommendations, continuous medical education and involvement of professional networks and patients.

Are Adults Diagnosed with Diabetes achieving the American Diabetes Association Clinical Practice Recommendations?

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez, Cynthia M.; Febo-Vázquez, Isaedmarie; Guzmán, Manuel; Ortiz, Ana Patricia; Suárez, Erick

2012-01-01

Objective This study assessed the proportion of adults with previously diagnosed diabetes mellitus (DM) who met selected preventive practices and treatment goals according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA) standards of medical care. Methods A secondary analysis of data collected for a previous epidemiologic study that used a probability cluster design to select 859 persons aged 21–79 years in the San Juan metropolitan area was undertaken. This study focused on 136 (15.8%) adults who self-reported DM. The Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes published by the ADA in 2011 were used to determine the proportion of adults achieving selected clinical practice recommendations. Results Less than half of adults achieved recommended treatment goals for LDL-cholesterol (47.8%), HDL-cholesterol (44.1%), blood pressure (41.2%) and HbA1c (28.7%). The percentage of adults achieving recommended levels of HbA1c, blood pressure and LDL-cholesterol simultaneously was 6.6%; the percentage achieving HbA1c, blood pressure, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides and albumin-to-creatinine ratio target levels was only 2.2%. More than half (60.2%) reported daily self-monitoring of foot ulcers and HbA1c testing at least twice over the past year (52.3%). However, less than half reported annual dilated eye examination (49.2%), annual comprehensive foot examination (43.8%), daily self-monitoring blood glucose (37.5%), moderate or vigorous physical activity (33.8%), and self-management DM education (28.9%). Conclusion This study showed that a substantial proportion of adults with DM did not achieve ADA recommendations on selected preventive practices and treatment goals. Strategies to improve DM medical care and surveillance of preventive-care practices and treatment goals among affected individuals are essential for planning further initiatives that contribute to reduce the burden of DM complications. PMID:22432404

Physiological analysis for enhancing radiation use efficiency (RUE) in rice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Punzalan, B.; Calibo, S.; Jagadish, S.V.K.

2012-01-01

Global dimming, or the decrease in global irradiance has been observed in the last 50 years at a rate of 2.7% per decade. Potential consequences of reduced solar radiation include a decline in total biomass production and productivity. Systematic studies involving rice and its ability to utilize available radiation efficiently under tropical conditions are limited. The study was conducted at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines, during the wet season of 2011 to physiologically analyze enhanced radiation use efficiency (RUE) under natural field conditions with limited sunlight. Five varieties were selected from previous seasons' experiments involving 48 different entries. Among the five entries, two with low yield under low solar radiation were selected to serve as checks. Growth analysis for estimating total biomass production and partitioning was done at key growth stages i.e. mid-tillering, panicle initiation, flowering, 15 days after flowering (15 DAF), and physiological maturity, coupled with analysis of non-structural carbohydrates (NSC). Yield and yield components were recorded at maturity. Results show that poor-performing varieties IR40 and IR54 had significantly more panicles than the other three varieties at flowering, indicating a higher sink to source ratio. NSIC RC 222 had the highest RUE of 1.33, while a 22% reduction in RUE was observed among the poor-performing varieties, which also had the lowest leaf area index (LAI) at 15 DAF. Data on thousand-grain weight revealed that IR40 and IR54 had smaller grain size. In conclusion, the authors hypothesize that either insufficient production or inefficient translocation of NSC might be causing the reduced grain size in poor-performing varieties

Physiological responses induced by pleasant stimuli.

Science.gov (United States)

Watanuki, Shigeki; Kim, Yeon-Kyu

2005-01-01

The specific physiological responses induced by pleasant stimuli were investigated in this study. Various physiological responses of the brain (encephaloelectrogram; EEG), autonomic nervous system (ANS), immune system and endocrine system were monitored when pleasant stimuli such as odors, emotional pictures and rakugo, a typical Japanese comical story-telling, were presented to subjects. The results revealed that (i) EEG activities of the left frontal brain region were enhanced by a pleasant odor; (ii) emotional pictures related to primitive element such as nudes and erotic couples elevated vasomotor sympathetic nervous activity; and (iii) an increase in secretory immunoglobulin A (s-IgA) and a decrease in salivary cortisol (s-cortisol) were induced by rakugo-derived linguistic pleasant emotion. Pleasant emotion is complicated state. However, by considering the evolutionary history of human being, it is possible to assess and evaluate pleasant emotion from certain physiological responses by appropriately summating various physiological parameters.

Klismaphilia--a physiological perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Agnew, J

1982-10-01

Dr. Joanne Denko coined the work klismaphilia to describe the practices of some of her patients who enjoyed the use of enemas as a sexual stimulant. Since then questions occasionally appear in the professional literature asking about the relationship between enemas and sexual pleasure. This paper considers some of the physiological aspects of the human sexual apparatus that relate to anal sensitivity and explores why klismaphilia can be sexually grafifying. The paper starts with a discussion of the physiological basis for anal sensitivity and anal masturbation in both the human male and the human female. The paper then goes on to relate all this to the sexual sensations received from an enema, and discusses the similarities and differences between all these types of stimulation. Some of the psychological aspects of klismaphilia are also considered in relationship to the physiology involved. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of masked anal masturbation among the population at large. A comprehensive list of references from the literature is given to support these findings.

TIMSS 2011 Student and Teacher Predictors for Mathematics Achievement Explored and Identified via Elastic Net

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jin Eun Yoo

2018-03-01

Full Text Available A substantial body of research has been conducted on variables relating to students' mathematics achievement with TIMSS. However, most studies have employed conventional statistical methods, and have focused on selected few indicators instead of utilizing hundreds of variables TIMSS provides. This study aimed to find a prediction model for students' mathematics achievement using as many TIMSS student and teacher variables as possible. Elastic net, the selected machine learning technique in this study, takes advantage of both LASSO and ridge in terms of variable selection and multicollinearity, respectively. A logistic regression model was also employed to predict TIMSS 2011 Korean 4th graders' mathematics achievement. Ten-fold cross-validation with mean squared error was employed to determine the elastic net regularization parameter. Among 162 TIMSS variables explored, 12 student and 5 teacher variables were selected in the elastic net model, and the prediction accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were 76.06, 70.23, and 80.34%, respectively. This study showed that the elastic net method can be successfully applied to educational large-scale data by selecting a subset of variables with reasonable prediction accuracy and finding new variables to predict students' mathematics achievement. Newly found variables via machine learning can shed light on the existing theories from a totally different perspective, which in turn propagates creation of a new theory or complement of existing ones. This study also examined the current scale development convention from a machine learning perspective.

TIMSS 2011 Student and Teacher Predictors for Mathematics Achievement Explored and Identified via Elastic Net.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoo, Jin Eun

2018-01-01

A substantial body of research has been conducted on variables relating to students' mathematics achievement with TIMSS. However, most studies have employed conventional statistical methods, and have focused on selected few indicators instead of utilizing hundreds of variables TIMSS provides. This study aimed to find a prediction model for students' mathematics achievement using as many TIMSS student and teacher variables as possible. Elastic net, the selected machine learning technique in this study, takes advantage of both LASSO and ridge in terms of variable selection and multicollinearity, respectively. A logistic regression model was also employed to predict TIMSS 2011 Korean 4th graders' mathematics achievement. Ten-fold cross-validation with mean squared error was employed to determine the elastic net regularization parameter. Among 162 TIMSS variables explored, 12 student and 5 teacher variables were selected in the elastic net model, and the prediction accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were 76.06, 70.23, and 80.34%, respectively. This study showed that the elastic net method can be successfully applied to educational large-scale data by selecting a subset of variables with reasonable prediction accuracy and finding new variables to predict students' mathematics achievement. Newly found variables via machine learning can shed light on the existing theories from a totally different perspective, which in turn propagates creation of a new theory or complement of existing ones. This study also examined the current scale development convention from a machine learning perspective.

Endogenous Pyrogen Physiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Beisel, William R.

1980-01-01

Discusses the physiology of endogenous pyrogen (EP), the fever-producing factor of cellular origin. Included are: its hormone-like role, its molecular nature, bioassay procedures, cellular production and mechanisms of EP action. (SA)

Influence of Population Variation of Physiological Parameters in Computational Models of Space Physiology

Science.gov (United States)

Myers, J. G.; Feola, A.; Werner, C.; Nelson, E. S.; Raykin, J.; Samuels, B.; Ethier, C. R.

2016-01-01

The earliest manifestations of Visual Impairment and Intracranial Pressure (VIIP) syndrome become evident after months of spaceflight and include a variety of ophthalmic changes, including posterior globe flattening and distension of the optic nerve sheath. Prevailing evidence links the occurrence of VIIP to the cephalic fluid shift induced by microgravity and the subsequent pressure changes around the optic nerve and eye. Deducing the etiology of VIIP is challenging due to the wide range of physiological parameters that may be influenced by spaceflight and are required to address a realistic spectrum of physiological responses. Here, we report on the application of an efficient approach to interrogating physiological parameter space through computational modeling. Specifically, we assess the influence of uncertainty in input parameters for two models of VIIP syndrome: a lumped-parameter model (LPM) of the cardiovascular and central nervous systems, and a finite-element model (FEM) of the posterior eye, optic nerve head (ONH) and optic nerve sheath. Methods: To investigate the parameter space in each model, we employed Latin hypercube sampling partial rank correlation coefficient (LHSPRCC) strategies. LHS techniques outperform Monte Carlo approaches by enforcing efficient sampling across the entire range of all parameters. The PRCC method estimates the sensitivity of model outputs to these parameters while adjusting for the linear effects of all other inputs. The LPM analysis addressed uncertainties in 42 physiological parameters, such as initial compartmental volume and nominal compartment percentage of total cardiac output in the supine state, while the FEM evaluated the effects on biomechanical strain from uncertainties in 23 material and pressure parameters for the ocular anatomy. Results and Conclusion: The LPM analysis identified several key factors including high sensitivity to the initial fluid distribution. The FEM study found that intraocular pressure and

Selection and Participation in Higher Education: University Selection in Support of Student Success and Diversity of Participation

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Palmer, Nigel; Bexley, Emmaline; James, Richard

2011-01-01

A range of imperatives underpin university selection practices. These include demonstrating merit based on prior academic achievement and supporting successful graduate outcomes in the professions and in broader fields of endeavour. They also include improving diversity of participation and equality of educational opportunity. Selection for…

The Graphical Representation of the Digital Astronaut Physiology Backbone

Science.gov (United States)

Briers, Demarcus

2010-01-01

This report summarizes my internship project with the NASA Digital Astronaut Project to analyze the Digital Astronaut (DA) physiology backbone model. The Digital Astronaut Project (DAP) applies integrated physiology models to support space biomedical operations, and to assist NASA researchers in closing knowledge gaps related to human physiologic responses to space flight. The DA physiology backbone is a set of integrated physiological equations and functions that model the interacting systems of the human body. The current release of the model is HumMod (Human Model) version 1.5 and was developed over forty years at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC). The physiology equations and functions are scripted in an XML schema specifically designed for physiology modeling by Dr. Thomas G. Coleman at UMMC. Currently it is difficult to examine the physiology backbone without being knowledgeable of the XML schema. While investigating and documenting the tags and algorithms used in the XML schema, I proposed a standard methodology for a graphical representation. This standard methodology may be used to transcribe graphical representations from the DA physiology backbone. In turn, the graphical representations can allow examination of the physiological functions and equations without the need to be familiar with the computer programming languages or markup languages used by DA modeling software.

Polyploidy and the relationship between leaf structure and function: implications for correlated evolution of anatomy, morphology, and physiology in Brassica.

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Robert L; Yarkhunova, Yulia; Vidal, Katherine; Ewers, Brent E; Weinig, Cynthia

2017-01-05

Polyploidy is well studied from a genetic and genomic perspective, but the morphological, anatomical, and physiological consequences of polyploidy remain relatively uncharacterized. Whether these potential changes bear on functional integration or are idiosyncratic remains an open question. Repeated allotetraploid events and multiple genomic combinations as well as overlapping targets of artificial selection make the Brassica triangle an excellent system for exploring variation in the connection between plant structure (anatomy and morphology) and function (physiology). We examine phenotypic integration among structural aspects of leaves including external morphology and internal anatomy with leaf-level physiology among several species of Brassica. We compare diploid and allotetraploid species to ascertain patterns of phenotypic correlations among structural and functional traits and test the hypothesis that allotetraploidy results in trait disintegration allowing for transgressive phenotypes and additional evolutionary and crop improvement potential. Among six Brassica species, we found significant effects of species and ploidy level for morphological, anatomical and physiological traits. We identified three suites of intercorrelated traits in both diploid parents and allotetraploids: Morphological traits (such as leaf area and perimeter) anatomic traits (including ab- and ad- axial epidermis) and aspects of physiology. In general, there were more correlations between structural and functional traits for allotetraploid hybrids than diploid parents. Parents and hybrids did not have any significant structure-function correlations in common. Of particular note, there were no significant correlations between morphological structure and physiological function in the diploid parents. Increased phenotypic integration in the allotetraploid hybrids may be due, in part, to increased trait ranges or simply different structure-function relationships. Genomic and chromosomal

Physiology and biochemistry of honey bees

Science.gov (United States)

Despite their tremendous economic importance, honey bees are not a typical model system for studying general questions of insect physiology. This is primarily due to the fact that honey bees live in complex social settings which impact their physiological and biochemical characteristics. Not surpris...

Alterations in physiology and anatomy during pregnancy.

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Eng Kien; Tan, Eng Loy

2013-12-01

Pregnant women undergo profound anatomical and physiological changes so that they can cope with the increased physical and metabolic demands of their pregnancies. The cardiovascular, respiratory, haematological, renal, gastrointestinal and endocrine systems all undergo important physiological alterations and adaptations needed to allow development of the fetus and to allow the mother and fetus to survive the demands of childbirth. Such alterations in anatomy and physiology may cause difficulties in interpreting signs, symptoms, and biochemical investigations, making the clinical assessment of a pregnant woman inevitably confusing but challenging. Understanding these changes is important for every practicing obstetrician, as the pathological deviations from the normal physiological alterations may not be clear-cut until an adverse outcome has resulted. Only with a sound knowledge of the physiology and anatomy changes can the care of an obstetric parturient be safely optimized for a better maternal and fetal outcome. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Physiological, biomechanical and anthropometrical predictors of sprint swimming performance in adolescent swimmers.

Science.gov (United States)

Lätt, Evelin; Jürimäe, Jaak; Mäestu, Jarek; Purge, Priit; Rämson, Raul; Haljaste, Kaja; Keskinen, Kari L; Rodriguez, Ferran A; Jürimäe, Toivo

2010-01-01

.3% of variability in performance), followed by anthropometrical (45.8%) and physiological (45.2%) parameters.Two selected variables (stroke index and stroke rate) explained 92.6% of the variance in competitive performance in these adolescent swimmers.

Opportunistic Relay Selection With Limited Feedback

KAUST Repository

Eltayeb, Mohammed E.

2015-08-01

Relay selection is a simple technique that achieves spatial diversity in cooperative relay networks. Generally, relay selection algorithms require channel state information (CSI) feedback from all cooperating relays to make a selection decision. This requirement poses two important challenges, which are often neglected in the literature. Firstly, the fed back channel information is usually corrupted by additive noise. Secondly, CSI feedback generates a great deal of feedback overhead (air-time) that could result in significant performance hits. In this paper, we propose a compressive sensing (CS) based relay selection algorithm that reduces the feedback overhead of relay networks under the assumption of noisy feedback channels. The proposed algorithm exploits CS to first obtain the identity of a set of relays with favorable channel conditions. Following that, the CSI of the identified relays is estimated using least squares estimation without any additional feedback. Both single and multiple relay selection cases are considered. After deriving closed-form expressions for the asymptotic end-to-end SNR at the destination and the feedback load for different relaying protocols, we show that CS-based selection drastically reduces the feedback load and achieves a rate close to that obtained by selection algorithms with dedicated error-free feedback. © 1972-2012 IEEE.

The effectiveness of concept mapping and retrieval practice as learning strategies in an undergraduate physiology course.

Science.gov (United States)

Burdo, Joseph; O'Dwyer, Laura

2015-12-01

Concept mapping and retrieval practice are both educational methods that have separately been reported to provide significant benefits for learning in diverse settings. Concept mapping involves diagramming a hierarchical representation of relationships between distinct pieces of information, whereas retrieval practice involves retrieving information that was previously coded into memory. The relative benefits of these two methods have never been tested against each other in a classroom setting. Our study was designed to investigate whether or not concept mapping or retrieval practice produced a significant learning benefit in an undergraduate physiology course as measured by exam performance and, if so, was the benefit of one method significantly greater than the other. We found that there was a trend toward increased exam scores for the retrieval practice group compared with both the control group and concept mapping group, and that trend achieved statistical significance for one of the four module exams in the course. We also found that women performed statistically better than men on the module exam that contained a substantial amount of material relating to female reproductive physiology. Copyright © 2015 The American Physiological Society.

Mechanisms for Selective Single-Cell Reactivation during Offline Sharp-Wave Ripples and Their Distortion by Fast Ripples.

Science.gov (United States)

Valero, Manuel; Averkin, Robert G; Fernandez-Lamo, Ivan; Aguilar, Juan; Lopez-Pigozzi, Diego; Brotons-Mas, Jorge R; Cid, Elena; Tamas, Gabor; Menendez de la Prida, Liset

2017-06-21

Memory traces are reactivated selectively during sharp-wave ripples. The mechanisms of selective reactivation, and how degraded reactivation affects memory, are poorly understood. We evaluated hippocampal single-cell activity during physiological and pathological sharp-wave ripples using juxtacellular and intracellular recordings in normal and epileptic rats with different memory abilities. CA1 pyramidal cells participate selectively during physiological events but fired together during epileptic fast ripples. We found that firing selectivity was dominated by an event- and cell-specific synaptic drive, modulated in single cells by changes in the excitatory/inhibitory ratio measured intracellularly. This mechanism collapses during pathological fast ripples to exacerbate and randomize neuronal firing. Acute administration of a use- and cell-type-dependent sodium channel blocker reduced neuronal collapse and randomness and improved recall in epileptic rats. We propose that cell-specific synaptic inputs govern firing selectivity of CA1 pyramidal cells during sharp-wave ripples. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Physiological demands of off-road vehicle riding.

Science.gov (United States)

Burr, Jamie F; Jamnik, Veronica K; Shaw, Jim A; Gledhill, Norman

2010-07-01

The purpose of this study was to characterize the physiological demands of recreational off-road vehicle riding under typical riding conditions using habitual recreational off-road vehicle riders (n = 128). Comparisons of the physical demands of off-road vehicle riding were made between vehicle types (all-terrain vehicle (ATV) and off-road motorcycle (ORM)) to the demands of common recreational activities. Habitual riders (ATV = 56, ORM = 72) performed strength assessments before and after a representative trail ride (48 +/- 24.2 min), and ambulatory oxygen consumption was measured during one lap (24.2 +/- 11.8 min) of the ride. The mean VO2 requirement (mL x kg(-1) x min(-1)) while riding an off-road vehicle was 12.1 +/- 4.9 for ATV and 21.3 +/- 7.1 for ORM (P = 0.002), which is comparable to the VO2 required of many common recreational activities. Temporal analysis of activity intensity revealed approximately 14% of an ATV ride and 38% of an ORM ride are within the intensity range (940% VO2 reserve) required to achieve changes in aerobic fitness. Riding on a representative course also led to muscular fatigue, particularly in the upper body. On the basis of the measured metabolic demands, evidence of muscular strength requirements, and the associated caloric expenditures with off-road vehicle riding, this alternative form of activity conforms to the recommended physical activity guidelines and can be effective for achieving beneficial changes in health and fitness.

Development of a screening approach for exploring cell factory potential through metabolic flux analysis and physiology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knudsen, Peter Boldsen; Nielsen, Kristian Fog; Thykær, Jette

2012-01-01

The recent developments within the field of metabolic engineering have significantly increased the speed by which fungal recombinant strains are being constructed, pushing focus towards physiological characterisation and analysis. This raises demand for a tool for diligent analysis of the recombi......The recent developments within the field of metabolic engineering have significantly increased the speed by which fungal recombinant strains are being constructed, pushing focus towards physiological characterisation and analysis. This raises demand for a tool for diligent analysis...... of the validation, already well described fungal strains were selected and tested using the described method and the developed method was subsequently used to test recombinant fungal strains producing the model polyketide 6-methylsalicylic acid. Diligent application of this strategy significantly reduces the cost...

Validity and Reliability of Trichotomous Achievement Goal Scale

Science.gov (United States)

Ilker, Gokce Erturan; Arslan, Yunus; Demirhan, Giyasettin

2011-01-01

The Trichotomous Achievement Goal Scale was developed by Agbuga and Xiang (2008) by including selected items from the scales of Duda and Nicholls (1992), Elliot (1999), and Elliot and Church (1997) and adapting them into Turkish. The scale consists of 18 items, and students rated each item on a 7-point Likert scale. To ascertain the validity and…

The link between middle school mathematics course placement and achievement.

Science.gov (United States)

Domina, Thurston

2014-01-01

The proportion of eighth graders in United States public schools enrolled in algebra or a more advanced mathematics course doubled between 1990 and 2011. This article uses Early Childhood Longitudinal Study's Kindergarten Cohort data to consider the selection process into advanced middle school mathematics courses and estimate the effects of advanced courses on students' mathematics achievement (n = 6,425; mean age at eighth grade = 13.7). Eighth-grade algebra and geometry course placements are academically selective, but considerable between-school variation exists in students' odds of taking these advanced courses. While analyses indicate that advanced middle school mathematics courses boost student achievement, these effects are most pronounced in content areas closely related to class content and may be contingent on student academic readiness. © 2014 The Author. Child Development © 2014 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Physical and Physiological Profile of Elite Iranian Karate Athletes

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Hassan Faraji

2017-01-01

Full Text Available No study to date, has investigated the physiologic and anthropometric of Iranian elite Karatekas profile. Forty men internationally ranked karatekas in kumite field took part in this study. They were selected for national camp for participation in world karate championships in Germany 2014. The anthropometric and physiological profiles were measured. The major results were as follows: body height (177.9±6.20 kg, weight (72.8±9.98 cm, BMI (23.2±2.36 kg/m2, fat mass (9.5±2.47 kg, lean body mass (64.1±8.89 kg, percentage of body fat (12.9±2.36, sitting height (95.1±4.21 cm, arm span (180.5±7.87 cm, sit and reach (38.7±5.71 cm, pull up (15.7±8.37 rep, shuttle run 4×9 m (8.4±0.28 sec, 40-yd sprint (5.0±0.16 sec, vertical jump Sargent (56.6±8.14 cm, standing broad jump (151.1±13.90 cm, peak power (957.5±164.11 W, anaerobic threshold (165.5±8.05 HR pm and visual reaction time (378.8±63.82 ms. Significant correlations occurred between peak power with weight, BMI, height, lean body mass, arm span and sitting height (r = 0.75, 0.70, 0.53, 0.77, 0.44, and 0.63, respectively. Also, both arm span and height was negatively correlated to standing broad jump results (r= -0.41 and -0.34, respectively (p< 0.05. These anthropometric and physiological profiles from elite Iranian Karatekas can be used in evaluating for talent identification and are important for the optimal construction of training programs the sport scientific, coaches and these athletes.

Phage Therapy: Eco-Physiological Pharmacology

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Stephen T. Abedon

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Bacterial virus use as antibacterial agents, in the guise of what is commonly known as phage therapy, is an inherently physiological, ecological, and also pharmacological process. Physiologically we can consider metabolic properties of phage infections of bacteria and variation in those properties as a function of preexisting bacterial states. In addition, there are patient responses to pathogenesis, patient responses to phage infections of pathogens, and also patient responses to phage virions alone. Ecologically, we can consider phage propagation, densities, distribution (within bodies, impact on body-associated microbiota (as ecological communities, and modification of the functioning of body “ecosystems” more generally. These ecological and physiological components in many ways represent different perspectives on otherwise equivalent phenomena. Comparable to drugs, one also can view phages during phage therapy in pharmacological terms. The relatively unique status of phages within the context of phage therapy as essentially replicating antimicrobials can therefore result in a confluence of perspectives, many of which can be useful towards gaining a better mechanistic appreciation of phage therapy, as I consider here. Pharmacology more generally may be viewed as a discipline that lies at an interface between organism-associated phenomena, as considered by physiology, and environmental interactions as considered by ecology.

Segregation of Form, Color, Movement, and Depth: Anatomy, Physiology, and Perception

Science.gov (United States)

Livingstone, Margaret; Hubel, David

1988-05-01

Anatomical and physiological observations in monkeys indicate that the primate visual system consists of several separate and independent subdivisions that analyze different aspects of the same retinal image: cells in cortical visual areas 1 and 2 and higher visual areas are segregated into three interdigitating subdivisions that differ in their selectivity for color, stereopsis, movement, and orientation. The pathways selective for form and color seem to be derived mainly from the parvocellular geniculate subdivisions, the depth- and movement-selective components from the magnocellular. At lower levels, in the retina and in the geniculate, cells in these two subdivisions differ in their color selectivity, contrast sensitivity, temporal properties, and spatial resolution. These major differences in the properties of cells at lower levels in each of the subdivisions led to the prediction that different visual functions, such as color, depth, movement, and form perception, should exhibit corresponding differences. Human perceptual experiments are remarkably consistent with these predictions. Moreover, perceptual experiments can be designed to ask which subdivisions of the system are responsible for particular visual abilities, such as figure/ground discrimination or perception of depth from perspective or relative movement--functions that might be difficult to deduce from single-cell response properties.

Bayesian Population Physiologically-Based Pharmacokinetic (PBPK Approach for a Physiologically Realistic Characterization of Interindividual Variability in Clinically Relevant Populations.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Markus Krauss

Full Text Available Interindividual variability in anatomical and physiological properties results in significant differences in drug pharmacokinetics. The consideration of such pharmacokinetic variability supports optimal drug efficacy and safety for each single individual, e.g. by identification of individual-specific dosings. One clear objective in clinical drug development is therefore a thorough characterization of the physiological sources of interindividual variability. In this work, we present a Bayesian population physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK approach for the mechanistically and physiologically realistic identification of interindividual variability. The consideration of a generic and highly detailed mechanistic PBPK model structure enables the integration of large amounts of prior physiological knowledge, which is then updated with new experimental data in a Bayesian framework. A covariate model integrates known relationships of physiological parameters to age, gender and body height. We further provide a framework for estimation of the a posteriori parameter dependency structure at the population level. The approach is demonstrated considering a cohort of healthy individuals and theophylline as an application example. The variability and co-variability of physiological parameters are specified within the population; respectively. Significant correlations are identified between population parameters and are applied for individual- and population-specific visual predictive checks of the pharmacokinetic behavior, which leads to improved results compared to present population approaches. In the future, the integration of a generic PBPK model into an hierarchical approach allows for extrapolations to other populations or drugs, while the Bayesian paradigm allows for an iterative application of the approach and thereby a continuous updating of physiological knowledge with new data. This will facilitate decision making e.g. from preclinical to

Physiological and Biomechanical Mechanisms of Distance Specific Human Running Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, M A

2017-08-01

Running events range from 60-m sprints to ultra-marathons covering 100 miles or more, which presents an interesting diversity in terms of the parameters for successful performance. Here, we review the physiological and biomechanical variations underlying elite human running performance in sprint to ultramarathon distances. Maximal running speeds observed in sprint disciplines are achieved by high vertical ground reaction forces applied over short contact times. To create this high force output, sprint events rely heavily on anaerobic metabolism, as well as a high number and large cross-sectional area of type II fibers in the leg muscles. Middle distance running performance is characterized by intermediates of biomechanical and physiological parameters, with the possibility of unique combinations of each leading to high-level performance. The relatively fast velocities in mid-distance events require a high mechanical power output, though ground reaction forces are less than in sprinting. Elite mid-distance runners exhibit local muscle adaptations that, along with a large anaerobic capacity, provide the ability to generate a high power output. Aerobic capacity starts to become an important aspect of performance in middle distance events, especially as distance increases. In distance running events, V˙O2max is an important determinant of performance, but is relatively homogeneous in elite runners. V˙O2 and velocity at lactate threshold have been shown to be superior predictors of elite distance running performance. Ultramarathons are relatively new running events, as such, less is known about physiological and biomechanical parameters that underlie ultra-marathon performance. However, it is clear that performance in these events is related to aerobic capacity, fuel utilization, and fatigue resistance. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology 2017. This work is written by US Government employees and is in

High resolution NMR spectroscopy of physiological fluids: from metabolism to physiology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vion-Dury, J.; Nicoli, F.; Torri, G.; Torri, J.; Kriat, M.; Sciaky, M.; Davin, A.; Viout, P.; Confort-Gouny, S.; Cozzone, P.J.

1992-01-01

High resolution NMR spectroscopy of physiological fluids provides quantitative, qualitative and dynamic information on the metabolic status of the interstitial and plasma compartments under a variety of pathophysiological conditions. The simultaneous detection and quantitation by NMR spectroscopy of numerous compounds of the intermediary metabolism offers a new insight in the understanding of the 'milieu interieur'.NMR spectroscopy of physiological fluids offers a unique way to define and monitor the global metabolic homeostasis in humans. The development of this analytical approach is still limited by the scarcity of pluridisciplinary teams able to fully exploit the wealth of information present on the NMR spectrum of a fluid. While application in pharmacology and toxicology is already established, the main areas of current development are cancer, hereditary metabolic disorders, organ transplantation and neurological diseases

Achievement Goals and Achievement Emotions: A Meta-Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Chiungjung

2011-01-01

This meta-analysis synthesized 93 independent samples (N = 30,003) in 77 studies that reported in 78 articles examining correlations between achievement goals and achievement emotions. Achievement goals were meaningfully associated with different achievement emotions. The correlations of mastery and mastery approach goals with positive achievement…

Selection for increased voluntary wheel-running affects behavior and brain monoamines in mice

Science.gov (United States)

Waters, R.Parrish; Pringle, R.B.; Forster, G.L.; Renner, K.J.; Malisch, J.L.; Garland, T.; Swallow, J.G.

2013-01-01

Selective-breeding of house mice for increased voluntary wheel-running has resulted in multiple physiological and behavioral changes. Characterizing these differences may lead to experimental models that can elucidate factors involved in human diseases and disorders associated with physical inactivity, or potentially treated by physical activity, such as diabetes, obesity, and depression. Herein, we present ethological data for adult males from a line of mice that has been selectively bred for high levels of voluntary wheel-running and from a non-selected control line, housed with or without wheels. Additionally, we present concentrations of central monoamines in limbic, striatal, and midbrain regions. We monitored wheel-running for 8 weeks, and observed home-cage behavior during the last 5 weeks of the study. Mice from the selected line accumulated more revolutions per day than controls due to increased speed and duration of running. Selected mice exhibited more active behaviors than controls, regardless of wheel access, and exhibited less inactivity and grooming than controls. Selective-breeding also influenced the longitudinal patterns of behavior. We found statistically significant differences in monoamine concentrations and associated metabolites in brain regions that influence exercise and motivational state. These results suggest underlying neurochemical differences between selected and control lines that may influence the observed differences in behavior. Our results bolster the argument that selected mice can provide a useful model of human psychological and physiological diseases and disorders. PMID:23352668

Bio-photonic detection method for morphological analysis of anthracnose disease and physiological disorders of Diospyros kaki

Science.gov (United States)

Wijesinghe, Ruchire Eranga; Lee, Seung-Yeol; Ravichandran, Naresh Kumar; Shirazi, Muhammad Faizan; Moon, Byungin; Jung, Hee-Young; Jeon, Mansik; Kim, Jeehyun

2017-04-01

The pathological and physiological defects in various types of fruits lead to large amounts of economical waste. It is well recognized that internal fruit defects due to pathological infections and physiological disorders can be effectively visualized at an initial stage of the disease using a well-known bio-photonic detection method called optical coherence tomography (OCT). This work investigates the use of OCT for identifying the morphological variations of anthracnose (bitter rot) disease infected and physiologically disordered Diospyros kaki (Asian Persimmon) fruits. An experiment was conducted using fruit samples that were carefully selected from persimmon orchards. Depth-resolved images with a high axial resolution were acquired using 850-nm-based spectral-domain OCT (SD-OCT) system. The obtained exemplary high-resolution two-dimensional and volumetric three-dimensional images revealed complementary morphological differences between healthy and defected samples. Moreover, the obtained depth-profile analysis results confirmed the disappearance of the healthy cell layers among the healthy-infected boundary regions. Thus, the proposed method has the potential to increase the diagnostic accuracy of the OCT technique used in agricultural plantations.

Physiological stress response to loss of social influence and threats to masculinity.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Catherine J

2014-02-01

Social influence is an important component of contemporary conceptualizations of masculinity in the U.S. Men who fail to achieve masculinity by maintaining social influence in the presence of other men may be at risk of stigmatization. As such, men should be especially likely to exhibit a stress response to loss of social influence in the presence of other men. This study assesses whether men who lose social influence exhibit more of a stress response than men who gain social influence, using data collected in a laboratory setting where participants were randomly assigned into four-person groups of varying sex compositions. The groups were videotaped working on two problem-solving tasks. Independent raters assessed change in social influence using a well-validated measure borrowed from experimental work in the Status Characteristics Theory tradition. Cortisol is used as a measure of stress response because it is known to increase in response to loss of social esteem. Results show that young men who lose social influence while working with other young men exhibit cortisol response. In contrast women do not exhibit cortisol response to loss of social influence, nor do men working with women. Results are consistent with the hypothesis that loss of social influence in men may be associated with a physiological stress response because maintaining social influence is very important to men while in the presence of other men. This physiological response to loss of social influence underscores the importance to men of achieving masculinity through gaining and maintaining social influence, and avoiding the stigma associated with the failure to do so. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

When pain and hunger collide; psychological influences on differences in brain activity during physiological and non-physiological gastric distension.

Science.gov (United States)

Coen, S J

2011-06-01

Functional neuroimaging has been used extensively in conjunction with gastric balloon distension in an attempt to unravel the relationship between the brain, regulation of hunger, satiety, and food intake tolerance. A number of researchers have also adopted a more physiological approach using intra-gastric administration of a liquid meal which has revealed different brain responses to gastric balloon distension. These differences are important as they question the utility and relevance of non-physiological models such as gastric balloon distension, especially when investigating mechanisms of feeding behavior such as satiety. However, an assessment of the relevance of physiological versus non-physiological gastric distension has been problematic due to differences in distension volumes between studies. In this issue of Neurogastroenterology and Motility, Geeraerts et al. compare brain activity during volume matched nutrient gastric distension and balloon distension in healthy volunteers. Gastric balloon distension activated the 'visceral pain neuromatrix'. This network of brain regions was deactivated during nutrient infusion, supporting the notion that brain activity during physiological versus non-physiological distension is indeed different. The authors suggest deactivation of the pain neuromatrix during nutrient infusion serves as a prerequisite for tolerance of normal meal volumes in health. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Modulation of GABAergic Transmission in Development and Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Investigating Physiology and Pathology to Gain Therapeutic Perspectives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriele eDeidda

2014-05-01

Full Text Available During mammalian ontogenesis, the neurotransmitter GABA is a fundamental regulator of neuronal networks. In neuronal development, GABAergic signaling regulates neural proliferation, migration, differentiation, and neuronal-network wiring. In the adult, GABA orchestrates the activity of different neuronal cell-types largely interconnected, by powerfully modulating synaptic activity. GABA exerts these functions by binding to chloride-permeable ionotropic GABAA receptors and metabotropic GABAB receptors. According to its functional importance during development, GABA is implicated in a number of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, Fragile X, Rett syndrome, Down syndrome, schizophrenia, Tourette's syndrome and neurofibromatosis.The strength and polarity of GABAergic transmission is continuously modulated during physiological, but also pathological conditions. For GABAergic transmission through GABAA receptors, strength regulation is achieved by different mechanisms such as modulation of GABAA receptors themselves, variation of intracellular chloride concentration, and alteration in GABA metabolism. In the never-ending effort to find possible treatments for GABA-related neurological diseases, of great importance would be modulating GABAergic transmission in a safe and possibly physiological way, without the dangers of either silencing network activity or causing epileptic seizures. In this review, we will discuss the different ways to modulate GABAergic transmission normally at work both during physiological and pathological conditions. Our aim is to highlight new research perspectives for therapeutic treatments that reinstate natural and physiological brain functions in neuro-pathological conditions.

A Comparison of Physiological Signal Analysis Techniques and Classifiers for Automatic Emotional Evaluation of Audiovisual Contents.

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Colomer Granero, Adrián; Fuentes-Hurtado, Félix; Naranjo Ornedo, Valery; Guixeres Provinciale, Jaime; Ausín, Jose M; Alcañiz Raya, Mariano

2016-01-01

This work focuses on finding the most discriminatory or representative features that allow to classify commercials according to negative, neutral and positive effectiveness based on the Ace Score index. For this purpose, an experiment involving forty-seven participants was carried out. In this experiment electroencephalography (EEG), electrocardiography (ECG), Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) and respiration data were acquired while subjects were watching a 30-min audiovisual content. This content was composed by a submarine documentary and nine commercials (one of them the ad under evaluation). After the signal pre-processing, four sets of features were extracted from the physiological signals using different state-of-the-art metrics. These features computed in time and frequency domains are the inputs to several basic and advanced classifiers. An average of 89.76% of the instances was correctly classified according to the Ace Score index. The best results were obtained by a classifier consisting of a combination between AdaBoost and Random Forest with automatic selection of features. The selected features were those extracted from GSR and HRV signals. These results are promising in the audiovisual content evaluation field by means of physiological signal processing.

ClueConnect: a word array game to promote student comprehension of key terminology in an introductory anatomy and physiology course.

Science.gov (United States)

Burleson, Kathryn M; Olimpo, Jeffrey T

2016-06-01

The sheer amount of terminology and conceptual knowledge required for anatomy and physiology can be overwhelming for students. Educational games are one approach to reinforce such knowledge. In this activity, students worked collaboratively to review anatomy and physiology concepts by creating arrays of descriptive tiles to define a term. Once guessed, students located the structure or process within diagrams of the body. The game challenged students to think about course vocabulary in novel ways and to use their collective knowledge to get their classmates to guess the terms. Comparison of pretest/posttest/delayed posttest data revealed that students achieved statistically significant learning gains for each unit after playing the game, and a survey of student perceptions demonstrated that the game was helpful for learning vocabulary as well as fun to play. The game is easily adaptable for a variety of lower- and upper-division courses. Copyright © 2016 The American Physiological Society.

Human factors estimation methods using physiological informations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takano, Ken-ichi; Yoshino, Kenji; Nakasa, Hiroyasu

1984-01-01

To enhance the operational safety in the nuclear power plant, it is necessary to decrease abnormal phenomena due to human errors. Especially, it is essential to basically understand human behaviors under the work environment for plant maintenance workers, inspectors, and operators. On the above stand point, this paper presents the results of literature survey on the present status of human factors engineering technology applicable to the nuclear power plant and also discussed the following items: (1) Application fields where the ergonomical evaluation is needed for workers safety. (2) Basic methodology for investigating the human performance. (3) Features of the physiological information analysis among various types of ergonomical techniques. (4) Necessary conditions for the application of in-situ physiological measurement to the nuclear power plant. (5) Availability of the physiological information analysis. (6) Effectiveness of the human factors engineering methodology, especially physiological information analysis in the case of application to the nuclear power plant. The above discussions lead to the demonstration of high applicability of the physiological information analysis to nuclear power plant, in order to improve the work performance. (author)

An Improved User Selection Algorithm in Multiuser MIMO Broadcast with Channel Prediction

Science.gov (United States)

Min, Zhi; Ohtsuki, Tomoaki

In multiuser MIMO-BC (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output Broadcasting) systems, user selection is important to achieve multiuser diversity. The optimal user selection algorithm is to try all the combinations of users to find the user group that can achieve the multiuser diversity. Unfortunately, the high calculation cost of the optimal algorithm prevents its implementation. Thus, instead of the optimal algorithm, some suboptimal user selection algorithms were proposed based on semiorthogonality of user channel vectors. The purpose of this paper is to achieve multiuser diversity with a small amount of calculation. For this purpose, we propose a user selection algorithm that can improve the orthogonality of a selected user group. We also apply a channel prediction technique to a MIMO-BC system to get more accurate channel information at the transmitter. Simulation results show that the channel prediction can improve the accuracy of channel information for user selections, and the proposed user selection algorithm achieves higher sum rate capacity than the SUS (Semiorthogonal User Selection) algorithm. Also we discuss the setting of the algorithm threshold. As the result of a discussion on the calculation complexity, which uses the number of complex multiplications as the parameter, the proposed algorithm is shown to have a calculation complexity almost equal to that of the SUS algorithm, and they are much lower than that of the optimal user selection algorithm.

Nigerian Journal of Physiological Sciences: Submissions

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Editor-in-Chief, Nigerian Journal of Physiological Sciences, Department of Physiology ... (c) The page following the title page should contain a brief summary and up to six key words. ... (g) Discussion: Should be related to the results presented. ... should be followed; however references must be kept to a maximum of 10.

Behavioral, psycho-physiological and salivary cortisol modifications after short-term alprazolam treatment in patients with recent myocardial infarction.

Science.gov (United States)

Pruneti, Carlo; Giusti, Mariarosa; Boem, Adriano; Luisi, Michele

2002-01-01

The aim of this study was to determine the behavioral and physiological effects of the central nervous system depressant alprazolam on a group of cardiac patients. Immediately after hospital discharge, the Crown and Crisp Experiential Index (CCEI) was administered, the salivary cortisol was detected and a psycho-physiological profile was recorded in 52 subjects who had suffered from myocardial infarction. Half of the subjects represented the experimental group and the remaining 26 individuals acted as a control group not undergoing treatment. The benzodiazepine alprazolam (0.25 mg) was administered twice daily to the treated group only. With the exception of the administration of the drug, all recruited subjects underwent the same clinical evaluation. The CCEI data of the treated group showed significant decreases for the following scales: free floating anxiety (p anxiety (p < 0.01), somatic complaints (p < 0.05), and depression (p < 0.01). In the same group, with regard to the physiological parameters, the skin conductance response significantly decreased during the baseline phase (p < 0.01), and almost all parameters showed decreased values during mental stress test administration. Cortisol levels also decreased during the recovery phase of the psycho-physiological profile assessment. Alprazolam seems to be able to reduce sympathetic discharge and some stress-related behavioral and physiological responses. This could be of benefit for selected cardiac patients for whom increases in sympathetic tone may constitute a risk factor.

A simple physiologically based pharmacokinetic model evaluating the effect of anti-nicotine antibodies on nicotine disposition in the brains of rats and humans

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saylor, Kyle, E-mail: saylor@vt.edu; Zhang, Chenming, E-mail: chzhang2@vt.edu

2016-09-15

Physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling was applied to investigate the effects of anti-nicotine antibodies on nicotine disposition in the brains of rats and humans. Successful construction of both rat and human models was achieved by fitting model outputs to published nicotine concentration time course data in the blood and in the brain. Key parameters presumed to have the most effect on the ability of these antibodies to prevent nicotine from entering the brain were selected for investigation using the human model. These parameters, which included antibody affinity for nicotine, antibody cross-reactivity with cotinine, and antibody concentration, were broken down into different, clinically-derived in silico treatment levels and fed into the human PBPK model. Model predictions suggested that all three parameters, in addition to smoking status, have a sizable impact on anti-nicotine antibodies' ability to prevent nicotine from entering the brain and that the antibodies elicited by current human vaccines do not have sufficient binding characteristics to reduce brain nicotine concentrations. If the antibody binding characteristics achieved in animal studies can similarly be achieved in human studies, however, nicotine vaccine efficacy in terms of brain nicotine concentration reduction is predicted to meet threshold values for alleviating nicotine dependence. - Highlights: • Modelling of nicotine disposition in the presence of anti-nicotine antibodies • Key vaccine efficacy factors are evaluated in silico in rats and in humans. • Model predicts insufficient antibody binding in past human nicotine vaccines. • Improving immunogenicity and antibody specificity may lead to vaccine success.

A simple physiologically based pharmacokinetic model evaluating the effect of anti-nicotine antibodies on nicotine disposition in the brains of rats and humans

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saylor, Kyle; Zhang, Chenming

2016-01-01

Physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling was applied to investigate the effects of anti-nicotine antibodies on nicotine disposition in the brains of rats and humans. Successful construction of both rat and human models was achieved by fitting model outputs to published nicotine concentration time course data in the blood and in the brain. Key parameters presumed to have the most effect on the ability of these antibodies to prevent nicotine from entering the brain were selected for investigation using the human model. These parameters, which included antibody affinity for nicotine, antibody cross-reactivity with cotinine, and antibody concentration, were broken down into different, clinically-derived in silico treatment levels and fed into the human PBPK model. Model predictions suggested that all three parameters, in addition to smoking status, have a sizable impact on anti-nicotine antibodies' ability to prevent nicotine from entering the brain and that the antibodies elicited by current human vaccines do not have sufficient binding characteristics to reduce brain nicotine concentrations. If the antibody binding characteristics achieved in animal studies can similarly be achieved in human studies, however, nicotine vaccine efficacy in terms of brain nicotine concentration reduction is predicted to meet threshold values for alleviating nicotine dependence. - Highlights: • Modelling of nicotine disposition in the presence of anti-nicotine antibodies • Key vaccine efficacy factors are evaluated in silico in rats and in humans. • Model predicts insufficient antibody binding in past human nicotine vaccines. • Improving immunogenicity and antibody specificity may lead to vaccine success.

The effects of chronic achievement motivation and achievement primes on the activation of achievement and fun goals.

Science.gov (United States)

Hart, William; Albarracín, Dolores

2009-12-01

This research examined the hypothesis that situational achievement cues can elicit achievement or fun goals depending on chronic differences in achievement motivation. In 4 studies, chronic differences in achievement motivation were measured, and achievement-denoting words were used to influence behavior. The effects of these variables were assessed on self-report inventories, task performance, task resumption following an interruption, and the pursuit of means relevant to achieving or having fun. Findings indicated that achievement priming (vs. control priming) activated a goal to achieve and inhibited a goal to have fun in individuals with chronically high-achievement motivation but activated a goal to have fun and inhibited a goal to achieve in individuals with chronically low-achievement motivation.

The biology of human sexuality: evolution, ecology and physiology

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PW Bateman

2006-09-01

Full Text Available Many evolutionary biologists argue that human sexual behaviour can be studied in exactly the same way as that of other species. Many sociologists argue that social influences effectively obscure, and are more important than, a reductionist biological approach to human sexual behaviour. Here,we authors attempt to provide a broad introduction to human sexual behaviour from a biological standpoint and to indicate where the ambiguous areas are. We outline the evolutionary selective pressures that are likely to have influenced human behaviour and mate choice in the past and in the present; ecological features that influence such things as degree of parental care and polygamy; and the associated physiology of human sexuality. Then they end with a discussion of �abnormal� sexuality.

Personalized physiological medicine

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ince, Can

2017-01-01

This paper introduces the concept of personalized physiological medicine that is specifically directed at the needs of the critically ill patient. This differs from the conventional view of personalized medicine, characterized by biomarkers and gene profiling, instead focusing on time-variant

Magnitude of stress and academic achievement of female students ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Stress is a universal phenomenon which no human being is free from. This paper examined the magnitude of stress and academic achievement of female students of the University of Ilorin. It was a description survey type. The target population comprised the 400 level female students from the four randomly selected ...

Students' Achievement Goals, Learning-Related Emotions and Academic Achievement

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Marko eLüftenegger

2016-05-01

Full Text Available In the present research, the recently proposed 3x2 model of achievement goals is tested and associations with achievement emotions and their joint influence on academic achievement are investigated. The study was conducted with 388 students using the 3x2 Achievement Goal Questionnaire including the six proposed goal constructs (task-approach, task-avoidance, self-approach, self-avoidance, other-approach, other-avoidance and the enjoyment and boredom scales from the Achievement Emotion Questionnaire. Exam grades were used as an indicator of academic achievement. Findings from CFAs provided strong support for the proposed structure of the 3x2 achievement goal model. Self-based goals, other-based goals and task-approach goals predicted enjoyment. Task-approach goals negatively predicted boredom. Task-approach and other-approach predicted achievement. The indirect effects of achievement goals through emotion variables on achievement were assessed using bias-corrected bootstrapping. No mediation effects were found. Implications for educational practice are discussed.

Back to the future! Revisiting the physiological cost of negative work as a team-based activity for exercise physiology students.

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Kilgas, Matthew A; Elmer, Steven J

2017-03-01

We implemented a team-based activity in our exercise physiology teaching laboratory that was inspired from Abbott et al.'s classic 1952 Journal of Physiology paper titled "The physiological cost of negative work." Abbott et al. connected two bicycles via one chain. One person cycled forward (muscle shortening contractions, positive work) while the other resisted the reverse moving pedals (muscle lengthening contractions, negative work), and the cost of work was compared. This study was the first to link human whole body energetics with isolated muscle force-velocity characteristics. The laboratory activity for our students ( n = 35) was designed to reenact Abbott et al.'s experiment, integrate previously learned techniques, and illustrate differences in physiological responses to muscle shortening and lengthening contractions. Students (11-12 students/laboratory section) were split into two teams (positive work vs. negative work). One student from each team volunteered to cycle against the other for ~10 min. The remaining students in each team were tasked with measuring: 1 ) O 2 consumption, 2 ) heart rate, 3 ) blood lactate, and 4 ) perceived exertion. Students discovered that O 2 consumption during negative work was about one-half that of positive work and all other physiological parameters were also substantially lower. Muscle lengthening contractions were discussed and applied to rehabilitation and sport training. The majority of students (>90%) agreed or strongly agreed that they stayed engaged during the activity and it improved their understanding of exercise physiology. All students recommended the activity be performed again. This activity was engaging, emphasized teamwork, yielded clear results, was well received, and preserved the history of classic physiological experiments. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

Multivalent calix[4]arene-based fluorescent sensor for detecting silver ions in aqueous media and physiological environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Lotfi, Behzad; Tarlani, Aliakbar; Akbari-Moghaddam, Peyman; Mirza-Aghayan, Maryam; Peyghan, Ali Ahmadi; Muzart, Jacques; Zadmard, Reza

2017-04-15

A new derivative of dipodal 1,3-calix[4]arene-based chemosensor (R), which was containing several binding sites have been synthesized and characterized by NMR, IR and LC-MS spectroscopic methods. The selectivity of Rhas been investigated in aqueous methanol, resulting in fluorescence shift and selective recognition of Ag + among 20 various alkali, alkaline earth and transition metal ions. Microstructural features of R and its complex with Ag + have been investigated by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). AFM images can clearly differentiate R from its complex of Ag + . Moreover; the complicated binding mode of metal-ligand complex has been explored by UV-Vis, LC-MS, FIR, Fluorescence titration, Job's plot method and theoretical approaches. Density functional theory (DFT) method at B3LYP/LANL2DZ level of theory was employed for computational studies. Theoretical calculations revealed that selectivity and specificity of R toward Ag + could be attributed to structural conformation of 1,3-alternate-calix[4]arene scaffold and molecular electrostatic potential of its surface. Furthermore; the competitive experiments were carried out to test sensor's ability for practical uses. Finally, the efficiency of R in matrix of physiological cations was examined and showed gradual emission enhancement which makes R an ideal candidate for monitoring of Ag + in physiological environment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Physiology in Relation to Anesthesia Practice: Preface and Comments].

Science.gov (United States)

Yamada, Yoshitsugu

2016-05-01

It has been long recognized that anesthesia practice is profoundly based in physiology. With the advance of the technology of imaging, measurement and information, a serious gap has emerged between anesthesia mainly handling gross systemic parameters and molecular physiology. One of the main reasons is the lack of establishment of integration approach. This special series of reviews deals with systems physiology covering respiratory, cardiovascular, and nervous systems. It also includes metabolism, and fluid, acid-base, and electrolyte balance. Each review focuses on several physiological concepts in each area, explaining current understanding and limits of the concepts based on the new findings. They reaffirm the importance of applying physiological inference in anesthesia practice and underscore the needs of advancement of systems physiology.

A Brief History of Bacterial Growth Physiology

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Moselio eSchaechter

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Arguably, microbial physiology started when Leeuwenhoek became fascinated by observing a Vorticella beating its cilia, my point being that almost any observation of microbes has a physiological component. With the advent of modern microbiology in the mid 19th century, the field became recognizably distinctive with such discoveries as anaerobiosis, fermentation as a biological phenomenon, and the nutritional requirements of microbes. Soon came the discoveries of Winogradsky and his followers of the chemical changes in the environment that result from microbial activities. Later, during the first half of the 20th century, microbial physiology became the basis for much of the elucidation of central metabolism.Bacterial physiology then became a handmaiden of molecular biology and was greatly influenced by the discovery of cellular regulatory mechanisms. Microbial growth, which had come of age with the early work of Hershey, Monod, and others, was later pursued by studies on a whole cell level by what became known as the Copenhagen School. During this time, the exploration of physiological activities became coupled to modern inquiries into the structure of the bacterial cell.Recent years have seen the development of a further phase in microbial physiology, one seeking a deeper quantitative understanding of phenomena on a whole cell level. This pursuit is exemplified by the emergence of systems biology, which is made possible by the development of technologies that permit the gathering of information in huge amounts. As has been true through history, the research into microbial physiology continues to be guided by the development of new methods of analysis. Some of these developments may well afford the possibility of making stunning breakthroughs.

Achievement Effects of Homework in Sixth Grade Classrooms.

Science.gov (United States)

Easton, John Q.; Bennett, Albert

This study examines the relationship between the amount of time sixth graders reported spending on homework and their achievement gains on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) between the spring of 1988 and the spring of 1989. Selected for participation were one or two classes in each of 30 public elementary schools in Chicago. Of the 30 schools,…

Mechanical and physiological factors in knee joint contact mechanics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mølgaard, Carsten

conservative treatment modalities also increases. The aim of this thesis was to 1) identify relationships between footwear and laterally wedged insoles in a healthy group, 2) to evaluate the mechanical and physiological factors of experimental pain when introducing a laterally wedged insoles to otherwise...... not to the level of healthy matched controls. In conclusion, although similar reductions can be achieved by choice of shoe design the difference between a neutral running shoe and Oxford leather shoes are similar in magnitude compared to the effect of lateral wedges in any type of shoe. Experimental pain does...... not seem to change the effect of lateral wedges independently. The knee adduction moment in patients 3-5 years after a medial arthroscopic partial meniscectomy was at a similar level to what is observed with advanced knee osteoarthritis. Therefore, laterally wedged insoles should be considered part...

Variables Associated With Reading and Math Achievement among a Heterogeneous Group of Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Oakland, Thomas; Stern, William

1989-01-01

Delineated characteristics of over- and under-achievers within a sample of 372 randomly selected public school students aged 6 through 17 years from 3 racial-ethnic groups and 2 levels of socioeconomic status. Found discrepant achievement not to be unique to particular race, intelligence, gender, age, family size, or degree of family intactness.…

Bridging different perspectives of the physiological and mathematical disciplines.

Science.gov (United States)

Batzel, Jerry Joseph; Hinghofer-Szalkay, Helmut; Kappel, Franz; Schneditz, Daniel; Kenner, Thomas; Goswami, Nandu

2012-12-01

The goal of this report is to discuss educational approaches for bridging the different perspectives of the physiological and mathematical disciplines. These approaches can enhance the learning experience for physiology, medical, and mathematics students and simultaneously act to stimulate mathematical/physiological/clinical interdisciplinary research. While physiology education incorporates mathematics, via equations and formulas, it does not typically provide a foundation for interdisciplinary research linking mathematics and physiology. Here, we provide insights and ideas derived from interdisciplinary seminars involving mathematicians and physiologists that have been conducted over the last decade. The approaches described here can be used as templates for giving physiology and medical students insights into how sophisticated tools from mathematics can be applied and how the disciplines of mathematics and physiology can be integrated in research, thereby fostering a foundation for interdisciplinary collaboration. These templates are equally applicable to linking mathematical methods with other life and health sciences in the educational process.

Influence of physiologic motion on the appearance of tissue in MR images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ehman, R.L.; McNamara, M.T.; Brasch, R.C.; Felmlee, J.P.; Gray, J.E.; Higgins, C.B.

1986-01-01

Studies were performed to determine the possible influence of physiologic motion on the parenchymal intensity of organs in magnetic resonance (MR) images. It is known that periodic motion associated with respiration and cardiac function causes characteristic artifacts in spin-warp images. The present study shows that bulk motion can also cause striking intensity changes at velocities equivalent to the craniocaudal respiratory excursion of organs in the upper abdomen. The magnitude of the effect depends on the velocity and direction of motion with respect to the three orthogonal axes of the imager and on the technical details of the imager and pulse sequence. Large systematic errors in calculated tissue relaxation times are possible due to this phenomenon. The findings have important implications for clinical imaging because motion can cause artifactual changes in the gray-scale relationships among tissues. Some pulse sequences are much less sensitive to these effects. These results provide guidance for selecting MR techniques that reduce the detrimental effect of respiratory and other physiologic motion on examinations of the upper abdomen and thorax

Behavior of physiological variables during a water gymnastics class in women

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Mabel Micheline Olkoski

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to analyze the behavior of physiological variables and rating of perceived exertion (RPE during the different phases of a water gymnastics class. Seventeen female university students (age: 23 ± 3.5 years were evaluated in two steps: 1 incremental treadmill test (peak VO2 and HRmax; 2 assessment of body composition and achievement in the water gymnastics class (HR, VO2, [lac], and RPE. Descriptive statistics and repeated measures ANOVA with the post hoc Student-Newman-Keuls were used (p< 0.05. The results showed that both HR and VO2 differed significantly (p=0.000 between the three phases of the class. Blood lactate only differed significantly (p=0.001 between the early (1.55 mM and the main phase (3.58 mM. The mean RPE was 11 and total calorie expenditure was 262.10 kcal. In conclusion, the physiological variables studied and RPE vary significantly according to the phase of the water gymnastics class. In addition, the intensity of effort (HR, VO2 and [lac] obtained for the main phase is within the parameters established in the literature for aerobic exercise. Thus, regular water gymnastics classes with this structure may improve the physical condition of young adult women.

Physiologic and Pharmacokinetic Changes in Pregnancy

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Maged eCostantine

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Physiologic changes in pregnancy induce profound alterations to the pharmacokinetic properties of many medications. These changes affect distribution, absorption, metabolism, and excretion of drugs, and thus may impact their pharmacodynamic properties during pregnancy. Pregnant women undergo several adaptations in many organ systems. Some adaptations are secondary to hormonal changes in pregnancy, while others occur to support the gravid woman and her developing fetus. Some of the changes in maternal physiology during pregnancy include, for example, increased maternal fat and total body water, decreased plasma protein concentrations, especially albumin, increased maternal blood volume, cardiac output and blood flow to the kidneys and uteroplacental unit, and decreased blood pressure. The maternal blood volume expansion occurs at a larger proportion than the increase in red blood cell mass, which results in physiologic anemia and hemodilution. Other physiologic changes include increased tidal volume, partially compensated respiratory alkalosis, delayed gastric emptying and gastrointestinal motility, and altered activity of hepatic drug metabolizing enzymes. Understating these changes and their profound impact on the pharmacokinetic properties of drugs in pregnancy is essential to optimize maternal and fetal health.

Reducing the socio-economic status achievement gap at University by promoting mastery-oriented assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Smeding, Annique; Darnon, Céline; Souchal, Carine; Toczek-Capelle, Marie-Christine; Butera, Fabrizio

2013-01-01

In spite of official intentions to reduce inequalities at University, students' socio-economic status (SES) is still a major determinant of academic success. The literature on the dual function of University suggests that University serves not only an educational function (i.e., to improve students' learning), but also a selection function (i.e., to compare people, and orient them towards different positions in society). Because current assessment practices focus on the selection more than on the educational function, their characteristics fit better with norms and values shared by dominant high-status groups and may favour high-SES students over low-SES students in terms of performances. A focus on the educational function (i.e., mastery goals), instead, may support low-SES students' achievement, but empirical evidence is currently lacking. The present research set out to provide such evidence and tested, in two field studies and a randomised field experiment, the hypothesis that focusing on University's educational function rather than on its selection function may reduce the SES achievement gap. Results showed that a focus on learning, mastery-oriented goals in the assessment process reduced the SES achievement gap at University. For the first time, empirical data support the idea that low-SES students can perform as well as high-SES students if they are led to understand assessment as part of the learning process, a way to reach mastery goals, rather than as a way to compare students to each other and select the best of them, resulting in performance goals. This research thus provides a theoretical framework to understand the differential effects of assessment on the achievement of high and low-SES students, and paves the way toward the implementation of novel, theory-driven interventions to reduce the SES-based achievement gap at University.

Reducing the socio-economic status achievement gap at University by promoting mastery-oriented assessment.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Annique Smeding

Full Text Available In spite of official intentions to reduce inequalities at University, students' socio-economic status (SES is still a major determinant of academic success. The literature on the dual function of University suggests that University serves not only an educational function (i.e., to improve students' learning, but also a selection function (i.e., to compare people, and orient them towards different positions in society. Because current assessment practices focus on the selection more than on the educational function, their characteristics fit better with norms and values shared by dominant high-status groups and may favour high-SES students over low-SES students in terms of performances. A focus on the educational function (i.e., mastery goals, instead, may support low-SES students' achievement, but empirical evidence is currently lacking. The present research set out to provide such evidence and tested, in two field studies and a randomised field experiment, the hypothesis that focusing on University's educational function rather than on its selection function may reduce the SES achievement gap. Results showed that a focus on learning, mastery-oriented goals in the assessment process reduced the SES achievement gap at University. For the first time, empirical data support the idea that low-SES students can perform as well as high-SES students if they are led to understand assessment as part of the learning process, a way to reach mastery goals, rather than as a way to compare students to each other and select the best of them, resulting in performance goals. This research thus provides a theoretical framework to understand the differential effects of assessment on the achievement of high and low-SES students, and paves the way toward the implementation of novel, theory-driven interventions to reduce the SES-based achievement gap at University.

Physiological correlates of skating performance in women's and men's ice hockey.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilenstam, Kajsa M; Thorsen, Kim; Henriksson-Larsén, Karin B

2011-08-01

The purpose of the current investigation was to identify relationships between physiological off-ice tests and on-ice performance in female and male ice hockey players on a comparable competitive level. Eleven women, 24 ± 3.0 years, and 10 male ice hockey players, 23 ± 2.4 years, were tested for background variables: height, body weight (BW), ice hockey history, and lean body mass (LBM) and peak torque (PT) of the thigh muscles, VO2peak and aerobic performance (Onset of Blood Lactate Accumulation [OBLA], respiratory exchange ratio [RER1]) during an incremental bicycle ergometer test. Four different on-ice tests were used to measure ice skating performance. For women, skating time was positively correlated (p skating time was positively correlated to VO2peak (L O2·min(-1)) in the Acceleration test. The male group had significantly higher physiological test values in all variables (absolute and relative to BW) but not in relation to LBM. Selected off-ice tests predict skating performance for women but not for men. The group of women was significantly smaller and had a lower physiological performance than the group of men and were slower in the on-ice performance tests. However, gender differences in off-ice variables were reduced or disappeared when values were related to LBM, indicating a similar capacity of producing strength and aerobic power in female and male hockey players. Skating performance in female hockey players may be improved by increasing thigh muscle strength, oxygen uptake, and relative muscle mass.

Physiological determinants of human acute hypoxia tolerance.

Science.gov (United States)

2013-11-01

AbstractIntroduction. We investigated possible physiological determinants of variability in hypoxia tolerance in subjects given a 5-minute normobaric exposure to 25,000 ft equivalent. Physiological tolerance to hypoxia was defined as the magnitude of...

Fractal physiology and the fractional calculus: a perspective

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Bruce J West

2010-10-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a restricted overview of Fractal Physiology focusing on the complexity of the human body and the characterization of that complexity through fractal measures and their dynamics, with fractal dynamics being described by the fractional calculus. We review the allometric aggregation approach to the processing of physiologic time series as a way of determining the fractal character of the underlying phenomena. This straight forward method establishes the scaling behavior of complex physiologic networks and some dynamic models capable of generating such scaling are reviewed. These models include simple and fractional random walks, which describe how the scaling of correlation functions and probability densities are related to time series data. Subsequently, it is suggested that a proper methodology for describing the dynamics of fractal time series may well be the fractional calculus, either through the fractional Langevin equation or the fractional diffusion equation. Fractional operators acting on fractal functions yield fractal functions, allowing us to construct a fractional Langevin equation to describe the evolution of a fractal statistical process. Control of physiologic complexity is one of the goals of medicine. Allometric control incorporates long-time memory, inverse power-law (IPL correlations, and long-range interactions in complex phenomena as manifest by IPL distributions. We hypothesize that allometric control, rather than homeostatic control, maintains the fractal character of erratic physiologic time series to enhance the robustness of physiological networks. Moreover, allometric control can be described using the fractional calculus to capture the dynamics of complex physiologic networks. This hypothesis is supported by a number of physiologic time series data.

[Relationship between occupational stress, recovery experience, and physiological health of nurses in a municipal grade A tertiary hospital].

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He, L; Zhang, C L; Yang, T; Lan, Y J

2017-06-20

Objective: To examine the relationship between recovery experience, occupational stress, and physiological health of nurses in a municipal grade A tertiary hospital. Methods: A total of 296 in-service nurses from 7 municipal grade A tertiary hospitals were selected from October 2015 to February 2016. Individual characteristics of the subjects were collected using a self-made questionnaire. The recovery experience, occupational stress, and physiological health of the subjects were assessed based on the physiological health dimensions in the Chinese version of Recovery Experience Questionnaire (REQ-C) , Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) , and Quality of Work Life (QWL7-32) . Results: The mean recovery experience score of nurses from the municipal grade A tertiary hospital was 45.04±7.72, and 51.35% of the nurses had satisfactory recovery experience. Occupational stress was identified in 81.76% of the nurses. Based on the four categories of occupational stress, 65 nurses were identified with high-strain jobs (21.95%) , 56 with relaxed (low-strain) jobs (18.92%) , 49 with passive jobs (16.55%) , and 126 with active jobs (42.57%) . In addition, the mean physiological health score of the nurses was 21.20±4.24. Physiological health was negatively correlated with occupational stress ( r =-0.173, P stress ( r =-0.116, P stress, where subjects with high-demand active jobs had the poorest recovery experience ( F =2.610, P stress of nurses, where increased job demand can lead to stronger stress response, reduced recovery experience, and poorer physiological health.

Cardiac anatomy and physiology: a review.

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Gavaghan, M

1998-04-01

This article reviews the normal anatomy and physiology of the heart. Understanding the normal anatomic and physiologic relationships described in this article will help perioperative nurses care for patients who are undergoing cardiac procedures. Such knowledge also assists nurses in educating patients about cardiac procedures and about activities that can prevent, reverse, or improve cardiac illness.

Design Projects in Human Anatomy & Physiology

Science.gov (United States)

Polizzotto, Kristin; Ortiz, Mary T.

2008-01-01

Very often, some type of writing assignment is required in college entry-level Human Anatomy and Physiology courses. This assignment can be anything from an essay to a research paper on the literature, focusing on a faculty-approved topic of interest to the student. As educators who teach Human Anatomy and Physiology at an urban community college,…

Status of physiology education in US Doctor of Pharmacy programs.

Science.gov (United States)

Islam, Mohammed A; Khan, Seher A; Talukder, Rahmat M

2016-12-01

The purpose of the present study was to assess the current status of physiology education in US Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) programs. A survey instrument was developed and distributed through SurveyMonkey to American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Biological Sciences section members of 132 PharmD programs. Survey items focused on soliciting qualitative and quantitative information on the delivery of physiology curricular contents and faculty perceptions of physiology education. A total of 114 programs responded to the survey, resulting in a response rate of 86%. Out of 114 schools/colleges, 61 programs (54%) offered standalone physiology courses, and 53 programs (46%) offered physiology integrated with other courses. When integrated, the average contact hours for physiology contents were significantly reduced compared with standalone courses (30 vs. 84 h, P US PharmD programs remains. The reduction of physiology contents is evident when physiology is taught as a component of integrated courses. Given current trends that favor integrated curricula, these data suggest that additional collaboration among basic and clinical science faculty is required to ensure that physiology contents are balanced and not underemphasized in a PharmD curriculum. Copyright © 2016 the American Physiological Society.

Metabolism of ketone bodies during exercise and training: physiological basis for exogenous supplementation.

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Evans, Mark; Cogan, Karl E; Egan, Brendan

2017-05-01

Optimising training and performance through nutrition strategies is central to supporting elite sportspeople, much of which has focused on manipulating the relative intake of carbohydrate and fat and their contributions as fuels for energy provision. The ketone bodies, namely acetoacetate, acetone and β-hydroxybutyrate (βHB), are produced in the liver during conditions of reduced carbohydrate availability and serve as an alternative fuel source for peripheral tissues including brain, heart and skeletal muscle. Ketone bodies are oxidised as a fuel source during exercise, are markedly elevated during the post-exercise recovery period, and the ability to utilise ketone bodies is higher in exercise-trained skeletal muscle. The metabolic actions of ketone bodies can alter fuel selection through attenuating glucose utilisation in peripheral tissues, anti-lipolytic effects on adipose tissue, and attenuation of proteolysis in skeletal muscle. Moreover, ketone bodies can act as signalling metabolites, with βHB acting as an inhibitor of histone deacetylases, an important regulator of the adaptive response to exercise in skeletal muscle. Recent development of ketone esters facilitates acute ingestion of βHB that results in nutritional ketosis without necessitating restrictive dietary practices. Initial reports suggest this strategy alters the metabolic response to exercise and improves exercise performance, while other lines of evidence suggest roles in recovery from exercise. The present review focuses on the physiology of ketone bodies during and after exercise and in response to training, with specific interest in exploring the physiological basis for exogenous ketone supplementation and potential benefits for performance and recovery in athletes. © 2016 The Authors. The Journal of Physiology © 2016 The Physiological Society.

Common “transmission block” in understanding cardiovascular physiology

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Hwee-Ming Cheng

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We obtained responses from 69 medical and 65 pharmacy students who had cardiovascular (CVS physiology taught in the previous academic year. A real-time response exercise using an online game-based learning platform (Kahoot! (https://getkahoot.com/ was conducted during a lecture class using true/false questions that cover certain core aspects of CVS physiology. Comments will be made on some of the common, incomplete understanding of CVS conceptual mechanisms. Some follow-up thoughts on our role as physiology educators in fine-tuning our teaching as we encounter persistent mistakes among our students' learning physiology.

Cognitive Processing and Mathematical Achievement: A Study with Schoolchildren between Fourth and Sixth Grade of Primary Education

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Iglesias-Sarmiento, Valentin; Deano, Manuel

2011-01-01

This investigation analyzed the relation between cognitive functioning and mathematical achievement in 114 students in fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. Differences in cognitive performance were studied concurrently in three selected achievement groups: mathematical learning disability group (MLD), low achieving group (LA), and typically achieving…

Physiological and health implications of a sedentary lifestyle.

Science.gov (United States)

Tremblay, Mark Stephen; Colley, Rachel Christine; Saunders, Travis John; Healy, Genevieve Nissa; Owen, Neville

2010-12-01

Sedentary behaviour is associated with deleterious health outcomes, which differ from those that can be attributed to a lack of moderate to vigorous physical activity. This has led to the field of "sedentary physiology", which may be considered as separate and distinct from exercise physiology. This paper gives an overview of this emerging area of research and highlights the ways that it differs from traditional exercise physiology. Definitions of key terms associated with the field of sedentary physiology and a review of the self-report and objective methods for assessing sedentary behaviour are provided. Proposed mechanisms of sedentary physiology are examined, and how they differ from those linking physical activity and health are highlighted. Evidence relating to associations of sedentary behaviours with major health outcomes and the population prevalence and correlates of sedentary behaviours are reviewed. Recommendations for future research are proposed.

Factors Related to Women's Childbirth Satisfaction in Physiologic and Routine Childbirth Groups.

Science.gov (United States)

Jafari, Elham; Mohebbi, Parvin; Mazloomzadeh, Saeideh

2017-01-01

Women's satisfaction with childbirth is an important measure of the quality of maternity care services. This study aims to address factors related to women's childbirth satisfaction in physiological and routine childbirth groups. This descriptive-analytical study was conducted among 340 women in physiological and routine childbirth groups in 2012. Women were selected through convenience sampling method in the routine group and by census in the physiological group. Data were collected using a 5-part questionnaire composed of demographic and obstetrics details, Mackey's Childbirth Satisfaction Rating Scale (CSRS), satisfied with birth setting, Labor Agentry Scale (LAS), and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), which was completed by interview 24 hours after childbirth. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 18 software using Pearson correlation test, independent t -test, analysis of variance, and linear, multivariate regression model at the significant level of P toward the recent pregnancy ( P = 0.007), and perceived severity of pain ( P = 0.016). However, in the routine group, satisfaction was related only to intentional pregnancy ( P = 0.002). In neither group, satisfaction was related to demographic characteristics, maternal parity, and participation in pregnancy and childbirth classes or maternal feelings toward the onset of childbirth ( P > 0.05). Improved physical structure and setting of birth room, nonmedical pain relief, mothers' involvement in the process of labor, and sense of being in control are associated with mothers' satisfaction.

Dehydration: physiology, assessment, and performance effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheuvront, Samuel N; Kenefick, Robert W

2014-01-01

This article provides a comprehensive review of dehydration assessment and presents a unique evaluation of the dehydration and performance literature. The importance of osmolality and volume are emphasized when discussing the physiology, assessment, and performance effects of dehydration. The underappreciated physiologic distinction between a loss of hypo-osmotic body water (intracellular dehydration) and an iso-osmotic loss of body water (extracellular dehydration) is presented and argued as the single most essential aspect of dehydration assessment. The importance of diagnostic and biological variation analyses to dehydration assessment methods is reviewed and their use in gauging the true potential of any dehydration assessment method highlighted. The necessity for establishing proper baselines is discussed, as is the magnitude of dehydration required to elicit reliable and detectable osmotic or volume-mediated compensatory physiologic responses. The discussion of physiologic responses further helps inform and explain our analysis of the literature suggesting a ≥ 2% dehydration threshold for impaired endurance exercise performance mediated by volume loss. In contrast, no clear threshold or plausible mechanism(s) support the marginal, but potentially important, impairment in strength, and power observed with dehydration. Similarly, the potential for dehydration to impair cognition appears small and related primarily to distraction or discomfort. The impact of dehydration on any particular sport skill or task is therefore likely dependent upon the makeup of the task itself (e.g., endurance, strength, cognitive, and motor skill). © 2014 American Physiological Society.

Physiological and biochemical constituents as predictive appreciation for selection of drought tolerant cultivars in wheat (triticum aestivum L.)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jalal-ud-Din; Khan, S.U.; Gurmani, A.R.

2012-01-01

A pot study was undertaken to assess the effect of drought stress imposed at various growth stages on growth, physiological and biochemical attributes of wheat. Five commercial wheat cultivars viz. Chakwal-97, Inqalab-91, Margalla-99, NR-234 and Wafaq-2001 were grown in pots. The plants were subjected to three consecutive drought cycles at tillering, pre-anthesis and milky growth stages. Measurements pertaining to various physiological and biochemical parameters such as relative water content (RWC), proline, superoxide dismutase (SOD), membrane stability index (MSI), yield and yield components were made. Significant reduction in grain yield was observed in all the test varieties when drought was imposed at any growth stage. The reduction was highest (39-64%) when stress was imposed at pre-anthesis followed by tillering growth stage. The wheat variety Wafaq-2001 and Inqalab-91 performed better by giving higher yield and produced greater numbers of filled seeds per spike compared to other varieties. Under water stress proline contents were higher in the drought-tolerant cultivar Wafaq-2001. The same variety showed higher membrane stability index and antioxidant enzymes (SOD) activity under drought stress conditions. The results suggest that pre-anthesis growth stage is the most sensitive towards drought stress. Wheat cultivars: Wafaq-2001 and Inqalab-91 showed best tolerance response against drought stress. Higher proline, RWC and SOD activity under drought stress seems to be the most reliable parameters enabling the discrimination of varieties for drought tolerance. (author)

Growth and Physiological Performance of Aerobic and Lowland Rice as Affected by Water Stress at Selected Growth Stages

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nadzariah Kamarul Zaman

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Aerobic rice technology is still new in Malaysia, and information regarding MARDI Aerob 1 (MA1, the first local aerobic rice variety, is still lacking. Therefore, comparative studies were carried out to determine the physiological performance of aerobic rice variety MA1 and lowland rice variety MR253 under water stress given at the panicle initiation, flowering and ripening stages. This experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design. Stomatal conductance (gs, chlorophyll a fluorescence (Fv/Fm, leaf relative water content (leaf RWC, and soil moisture content (SMC as well as yield component parameters such as panicle number, grain yield and 100-grain weight were measured. Results revealed that gs and leaf RWC for both varieties decreased with depletion of SMC. The correlation study between the physiological parameters and SMC indicated that Fv/Fm was not affected by water stress, regardless of varieties. The yield components (panicle number, grain yield and 100-grain weight for both varieties greatly decreased when water stress was imposed at the panicle initiation stage. This study showed that the panicle initiation period was the most sensitive stage to water stress that contributed to a substantial reduction in yield for both varieties. Under the aerobic condition (control, MR253 produced higher panicle number, 100-grain weight and yield than MA1. Although MR253 is bred for lowland, it is well adapted to aerobic condition.

A modular, programmable measurement system for physiological and spaceflight applications

Science.gov (United States)

Hines, John W.; Ricks, Robert D.; Miles, Christopher J.

1993-02-01

The NASA-Ames Sensors 2000] Program has developed a small, compact, modular, programmable, sensor signal conditioning and measurement system, initially targeted for Life Sciences Spaceflight Programs. The system consists of a twelve-slot, multi-layer, distributed function backplane, a digital microcontroller/memory subsystem, conditioned and isolated power supplies, and six application-specific, physiological signal conditioners. Each signal condition is capable of being programmed for gains, offsets, calibration and operate modes, and, in some cases, selectable outputs and functional modes. Presently, the system has the capability for measuring ECG, EMG, EEG, Temperature, Respiration, Pressure, Force, and Acceleration parameters, in physiological ranges. The measurement system makes heavy use of surface-mount packaging technology, resulting in plug in modules sized 125x55 mm. The complete 12-slot system is contained within a volume of 220x150x70mm. The system's capabilities extend well beyond the specific objectives of NASA programs. Indeed, the potential commercial uses of the technology are virtually limitless. In addition to applications in medical and biomedical sensing, the system might also be used in process control situations, in clinical or research environments, in general instrumentation systems, factory processing, or any other applications where high quality measurements are required.

Symposium on Biophysics and Physiology of Biological Transport

CERN Document Server

Capraro, V; Porter, K; Robertson, J

1967-01-01

The study of cell membranes began to attract increasing interest before the turn of the present century with the observations of 0 verton. Since that time many investigators have become interested in the broad problem of structure and function of the membrane and today we find ourselVes at a stage in which several branches of research, particularly physical chemistry, biochemistry, biophysics, physiology and pharmacology have come together, leading to the possibility of obtaining a better perspective of the overall problems. The purpose of this Symposium was to assemble in an orderly sequence representations of the knowledge of membranes achieved to date in the areas of the various disciplines. It was thought that to bring together many points of view on a problem should allow the conferees to see better what had been accomplished, what has been overlooked and what needs further development. It is to be hoped that efforts of this type have and will fulfill the desired purpose. This volume contains the majorit...

Induction and selection of mutants from in vitro cultured plant cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Yung Il; Kim, Jae Sung; Shin, In Chul; Lee, Sang Jae [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

1994-07-01

Mutant cell lines are useful for biochemical, physiological and genetical material for marker in various genetic manipulation experiments and for the direct use in crop plant improvement. Mutant selection may lead to the production of plants showing resistance or tolerance to specific environmental stress, such as solinity, drought, toxed metals, herbicides, pathogens and low temperature. In this review, these included the production of the somatic variation, the selection process itself and stability of the selected characters in cell culture and regenerated plant. Which would seem to be useful for improving plants and securring genetic resources. 45 refs. (Author).

Induction and selection of mutants from in vitro cultured plant cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Yung Il; Kim, Jae Sung; Shin, In Chul; Lee, Sang Jae

1994-07-01

Mutant cell lines are useful for biochemical, physiological and genetical material for marker in various genetic manipulation experiments and for the direct use in crop plant improvement. Mutant selection may lead to the production of plants showing resistance or tolerance to specific environmental stress, such as solinity, drought, toxed metals, herbicides, pathogens and low temperature. In this review, these included the production of the somatic variation, the selection process itself and stability of the selected characters in cell culture and regenerated plant. Which would seem to be useful for improving plants and securring genetic resources. 45 refs. (Author)

The Achievement Ideology and Whiteness: "Achieving Whiteness" or "Achieving Middle Class?"

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, Ricky Lee

Over the past few decades, social reproduction theorists have criticized achievement ideology as a dominant and dominating myth that hides the true nature of class immobility. Social reproductionists' primary criticism of achievement ideology is that it blinds the working class, regardless of race or gender, to the possibilities of collective…

INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE «PLANT PHYSIOLOGY AND GENETICS – SUCCESSES AND CHALLENGES», 24\\26 SEPTEMBER 2014, SOFIA, REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA

OpenAIRE

F. B. Musayev; E. G. Kozar

2014-01-01

24-26 September 2014 in the Republic of Bulgaria the International scientific and practical conference entitled «Plant Physiology and Genetics – Achievements and Challenges» was hold. The forum discussed the biotechnology and genetic approaches for environmental and sustainable agriculture; genetic resources and biodiversity; efficient use of plant nutrition and symbiotic interaction; regulation of plant growth and development; photosynthesis under stress conditions.

The Limits of Exercise Physiology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gabriel, Brendan M; Zierath, Juleen R

2017-01-01

Many of the established positive health benefits of exercise have been documented by historical discoveries in the field of exercise physiology. These investigations often assess limits: the limits of performance, or the limits of exercise-induced health benefits. Indeed, several key findings have...... been informed by studying highly trained athletes, in addition to healthy or unhealthy people. Recent progress has been made in regard to skeletal muscle metabolism and personalized exercise regimes. In this perspective, we review some of the historical milestones of exercise physiology, discuss how...

Subject-independent emotion recognition based on physiological signals: a three-stage decision method.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jing; Hu, Bin; Wang, Yue; Moore, Philip; Dai, Yongqiang; Feng, Lei; Ding, Zhijie

2017-12-20

Collaboration between humans and computers has become pervasive and ubiquitous, however current computer systems are limited in that they fail to address the emotional component. An accurate understanding of human emotions is necessary for these computers to trigger proper feedback. Among multiple emotional channels, physiological signals are synchronous with emotional responses; therefore, analyzing physiological changes is a recognized way to estimate human emotions. In this paper, a three-stage decision method is proposed to recognize four emotions based on physiological signals in the multi-subject context. Emotion detection is achieved by using a stage-divided strategy in which each stage deals with a fine-grained goal. The decision method consists of three stages. During the training process, the initial stage transforms mixed training subjects to separate groups, thus eliminating the effect of individual differences. The second stage categorizes four emotions into two emotion pools in order to reduce recognition complexity. The third stage trains a classifier based on emotions in each emotion pool. During the testing process, a test case or test trial will be initially classified to a group followed by classification into an emotion pool in the second stage. An emotion will be assigned to the test trial in the final stage. In this paper we consider two different ways of allocating four emotions into two emotion pools. A comparative analysis is also carried out between the proposal and other methods. An average recognition accuracy of 77.57% was achieved on the recognition of four emotions with the best accuracy of 86.67% to recognize the positive and excited emotion. Using differing ways of allocating four emotions into two emotion pools, we found there is a difference in the effectiveness of a classifier on learning each emotion. When compared to other methods, the proposed method demonstrates a significant improvement in recognizing four emotions in the

Incorporating High-Frequency Physiologic Data Using Computational Dictionary Learning Improves Prediction of Delayed Cerebral Ischemia Compared to Existing Methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Megjhani, Murad; Terilli, Kalijah; Frey, Hans-Peter; Velazquez, Angela G; Doyle, Kevin William; Connolly, Edward Sander; Roh, David Jinou; Agarwal, Sachin; Claassen, Jan; Elhadad, Noemie; Park, Soojin

2018-01-01

Accurate prediction of delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) can be critical for planning interventions to prevent poor neurological outcome. This paper presents a model using convolution dictionary learning to extract features from physiological data available from bedside monitors. We develop and validate a prediction model for DCI after SAH, demonstrating improved precision over standard methods alone. 488 consecutive SAH admissions from 2006 to 2014 to a tertiary care hospital were included. Models were trained on 80%, while 20% were set aside for validation testing. Modified Fisher Scale was considered the standard grading scale in clinical use; baseline features also analyzed included age, sex, Hunt-Hess, and Glasgow Coma Scales. An unsupervised approach using convolution dictionary learning was used to extract features from physiological time series (systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation). Classifiers (partial least squares and linear and kernel support vector machines) were trained on feature subsets of the derivation dataset. Models were applied to the validation dataset. The performances of the best classifiers on the validation dataset are reported by feature subset. Standard grading scale (mFS): AUC 0.54. Combined demographics and grading scales (baseline features): AUC 0.63. Kernel derived physiologic features: AUC 0.66. Combined baseline and physiologic features with redundant feature reduction: AUC 0.71 on derivation dataset and 0.78 on validation dataset. Current DCI prediction tools rely on admission imaging and are advantageously simple to employ. However, using an agnostic and computationally inexpensive learning approach for high-frequency physiologic time series data, we demonstrated that we could incorporate individual physiologic data to achieve higher classification accuracy.

TOP PRIORITI QMS PRINCIPLES FOR ACHIEVING BUSINESS EXCELLENCE

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Aleksandar Vujović

2010-06-01

Full Text Available The main target of this paper is to select top priority principles of QMS for achieving business excellence. This could be done from the standpoint of significant of principles. That means that. organization should make more attention to this principles in the way for making excellent results. This paper has been developed as a tendency of researchers in the Center for quality-Faculty of mechanical engineering in Podgorica to establish a model for improvement of business processes performances based on quality management system through comparison with top organizational performances characterized by criteria i.e. particularities of the business excellence model. Correlation of principles of the quality management system with QMS principles has been established to that effect. Weight coefficients have been also determined for each principle individually. Thereby key principles were identified, namely priorities in terms of achieving business excellence i.e. areas (principles were given priorities, that is to say principles that play the biggest part in achieving business excellence.

21 CFR 870.2910 - Radiofrequency physiological signal transmitter and receiver.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Radiofrequency physiological signal transmitter... Devices § 870.2910 Radiofrequency physiological signal transmitter and receiver. (a) Identification. A radiofrequency physiological signal transmitter and receiver is a device used to condition a physiological signal...

Physiology for the pulmonary functional imager

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Levin, David L., E-mail: levin.david@mayo.edu [Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905 (United States); Schiebler, Mark L. [Department of Radiology, UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, 600 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53792-3252 (United States); Hopkins, Susan R., E-mail: shopkins@ucsd.edu [Division of Physiology 0623A, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla, CA 92093 (United States)

2017-01-15

Highlights: • An understanding of the relevant pulmonary physiology is crucial to functional lung imaging. • Spatial resolution for pulmonary functional imaging can be substantially less than that used for anatomic/clinical imaging. • Regional deformation of the lung under the influence of gravity significantly affects the measurement of pulmonary perfusion. • Large vessels identified on perfusion imaging do not represent local blood flow. • Pulmonary diseases are typically characterized by a change in the matching of ventilation and perfusion. - Abstract: As pulmonary functional imaging moves beyond the realm of the radiologist and physicist, it is important that imagers have a common language and understanding of the relevant physiology of the lung. This review will focus on key physiological concepts and pitfalls relevant to functional lung imaging.

Physiology for the pulmonary functional imager

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levin, David L.; Schiebler, Mark L.; Hopkins, Susan R.

2017-01-01

Highlights: • An understanding of the relevant pulmonary physiology is crucial to functional lung imaging. • Spatial resolution for pulmonary functional imaging can be substantially less than that used for anatomic/clinical imaging. • Regional deformation of the lung under the influence of gravity significantly affects the measurement of pulmonary perfusion. • Large vessels identified on perfusion imaging do not represent local blood flow. • Pulmonary diseases are typically characterized by a change in the matching of ventilation and perfusion. - Abstract: As pulmonary functional imaging moves beyond the realm of the radiologist and physicist, it is important that imagers have a common language and understanding of the relevant physiology of the lung. This review will focus on key physiological concepts and pitfalls relevant to functional lung imaging.

Physiological conjunction of allelochemicals and desert plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Yosef Friedjung, Avital; Choudhary, Sikander Pal; Dudai, Nativ; Rachmilevitch, Shimon

2013-01-01

Plants exchange signals with other physical and biological entities in their habitat, a form of communication termed allelopathy. The underlying principles of allelopathy and secondary-metabolite production are still poorly understood, especially in desert plants. The coordination and role of secondary metabolites were examined as a cause of allelopathy in plants thriving under arid and semiarid soil conditions. Desert plant species, Origanum dayi, Artemisia sieberi and Artemisia judaica from two different sources (cultivar cuttings and wild seeds) were studied in their natural habitats. Growth rate, relative water content, osmotic potential, photochemical efficiency, volatile composition and vital factors of allelopathy were analyzed at regular intervals along four seasons with winter showing optimum soil water content and summer showing water deficit conditions. A comprehensive analysis of the volatile composition of the leaves, ambient air and soil in the biological niche of the plants under study was carried out to determine the effects of soil water conditions and sample plants on the surrounding flora. Significant morpho-physiological changes were observed across the seasons and along different soil water content. Metabolic analysis showed that water deficit was the key for driving selective metabolomic shifts. A. judaica showed the least metabolic shifts, while A. sieberi showed the highest shifts. All the species exhibited high allelopathic effects; A. judaica displayed relatively higher growth-inhibition effects, while O. dayi showed comparatively higher germination-inhibition effects in germination assays. The current study may help in understanding plant behavior, mechanisms underlying secondary-metabolite production in water deficit conditions and metabolite-physiological interrelationship with allelopathy in desert plants, and can help cull economic benefits from the produced volatiles.

Physiological conjunction of allelochemicals and desert plants.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Avital Yosef Friedjung

Full Text Available Plants exchange signals with other physical and biological entities in their habitat, a form of communication termed allelopathy. The underlying principles of allelopathy and secondary-metabolite production are still poorly understood, especially in desert plants. The coordination and role of secondary metabolites were examined as a cause of allelopathy in plants thriving under arid and semiarid soil conditions. Desert plant species, Origanum dayi, Artemisia sieberi and Artemisia judaica from two different sources (cultivar cuttings and wild seeds were studied in their natural habitats. Growth rate, relative water content, osmotic potential, photochemical efficiency, volatile composition and vital factors of allelopathy were analyzed at regular intervals along four seasons with winter showing optimum soil water content and summer showing water deficit conditions. A comprehensive analysis of the volatile composition of the leaves, ambient air and soil in the biological niche of the plants under study was carried out to determine the effects of soil water conditions and sample plants on the surrounding flora. Significant morpho-physiological changes were observed across the seasons and along different soil water content. Metabolic analysis showed that water deficit was the key for driving selective metabolomic shifts. A. judaica showed the least metabolic shifts, while A. sieberi showed the highest shifts. All the species exhibited high allelopathic effects; A. judaica displayed relatively higher growth-inhibition effects, while O. dayi showed comparatively higher germination-inhibition effects in germination assays. The current study may help in understanding plant behavior, mechanisms underlying secondary-metabolite production in water deficit conditions and metabolite-physiological interrelationship with allelopathy in desert plants, and can help cull economic benefits from the produced volatiles.

Selection and Breeding of Suitable Crop Genotypes for Drought and Heat Periods in a Changing Climate: Which Morphological and Physiological Properties Should Be Considered?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lyudmila Simova-Stoilova

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Selection and breeding of genotypes with improved drought/heat tolerance become key issues in the course of global change with predicted increased frequency of droughts or heat waves. Several morphological and physiological plant traits must be considered. Rooting depth, root branching, nutrient acquisition, mycorrhization, nodulation in legumes and the release of nutrients, assimilates or phytohormones to the shoot are relevant in root systems. Xylem embolism and its repair after a drought, development of axillary buds and solute channeling via xylem (acropetal and phloem (basipetal and acropetal are key processes in the stem. The photosynthetically active biomass depends on leaf expansion and senescence. Cuticle thickness and properties, epicuticular waxes, stomatal regulation including responses to phytohormones, stomatal plugs and mesophyll resistance are involved in optimizing leaf water relations. Aquaporins, dehydrins, enzymes involved in the metabolism of compatible solutes (e.g., proline and Rubisco activase are examples for proteins involved in heat or drought susceptibility. Assimilate redistribution from leaves to maturing fruits via the phloem influences yield quantity and quality. Proteomic analyses allow a deeper insight into the network of stress responses and may serve as a basis to identify suitable genotypes, although improved stress tolerance will have its price (often lowered productivity under optimal conditions.

Effects of aluminum on nucleoli in root tip cells and selected physiological and biochemical characters in Allium cepa var. agrogarum L.

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Qin, Rong; Jiao, Yunqiu; Zhang, Shanshan; Jiang, Wusheng; Liu, Donghua

2010-10-21

Increased Al concentration causes reduction of mitotic activity, induction of nucleolar alteration, increase of the production of ROS and alteration of several antioxidant enzyme activities in plant cells. Allium cepa is an excellent plant and a useful biomarker for environmental monitoring. Limited information is available about the effects of Al on nucleoli, antioxidant enzyme system, contents of MDA and soluble protein in A. cepa. Therefore, we carried out the investigation in order to better understand the effects of Al on the growth, nucleoli in root tip cells and selected physiological and biochemical characters. The results showed that the root growth exposed to 50 μM Al was inhibited significantly. 50 μM Al could induce some particles of argyrophilic proteins scattered in the nuclei and extruded from the nucleoli into the cytoplasm. The nucleolus did not disaggregate normally and still remained its characteristic structure during metaphase. Nucleolar reconstruction was inhibited. 50 μM Al induced high activities of SOD and POD in leaves and roots significantly (P nucleoli and the alterations of antioxidant enzyme activities, MDA and soluble protein contents in Allium cepa can serve as useful biomarkers, which can provide valuable information for monitoring and forecasting effects of exposure to Al in real scenarios conditions. Among the antioxidant enzymes SOD and POD appear to play a key role in the antioxidant defense mechanism under Al toxicity condition. Data from MDA concentration show that Al indirectly produces superoxide radicals, resulting in increased lipid peroxidative products and oxidative stress.

Physiological responses of root-less epiphytic plants to acid rain.

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Kováčik, Jozef; Klejdus, Bořivoj; Bačkor, Martin; Stork, František; Hedbavny, Josef

2011-03-01

Selected physiological responses of Tillandsia albida (Bromeliaceae) and two lichens (Hypogymnia physodes and Xanthoria parietina) exposed to simulated acid rain (AR) over 3 months were studied. Pigments were depressed in all species being affected the most in Tillandsia. Amounts of hydrogen peroxide and superoxide were elevated and soluble proteins decreased only in AR-exposed Hypogymnia. Free amino acids were slightly affected among species and only glutamate sharply decreased in AR-exposed Xanthoria. Slight increase in soluble phenols but decrease in flavonoids in almost all species suggests that the latter are not essential for tolerance to AR. Almost all phenolic acids in Tillandsia leaves decreased in response to AR and activities of selected enzymes (phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, polyphenol oxidase, ascorbate- and guaiacol-peroxidase) were enhanced by AR. In lichens, considerable increase in metabolites (physodalic acid, atranorin and parietin) in response to AR was found but amount of ergosterol was unchanged. Macronutrients (K, Ca, Mg) decreased more pronouncedly in comparison with micronutrients in all species. Xanthoria showed higher tolerance in comparison with Hypogymnia, suggesting that could be useful for long-term biomonitoring.

Basic versus applied research: Julius Sachs (1832-1897) and the experimental physiology of plants.

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Kutschera, Ulrich

2015-01-01

The German biologist Julius Sachs was the first to introduce controlled, accurate, quantitative experimentation into the botanical sciences, and is regarded as the founder of modern plant physiology. His seminal monograph Experimental-Physiologie der Pflanzen (Experimental Physiology of Plants) was published 150 y ago (1865), when Sachs was employed as a lecturer at the Agricultural Academy in Poppelsdorf/Bonn (now part of the University). This book marks the beginning of a new era of basic and applied plant science. In this contribution, I summarize the achievements of Sachs and outline his lasting legacy. In addition, I show that Sachs was one of the first biologists who integrated bacteria, which he considered to be descendants of fungi, into the botanical sciences and discussed their interaction with land plants (degradation of wood etc.). This "plant-microbe-view" of green organisms was extended and elaborated by the laboratory botanist Wilhelm Pfeffer (1845-1920), so that the term "Sachs-Pfeffer-Principle of Experimental Plant Research" appears to be appropriate to characterize this novel way of performing scientific studies on green, photoautotrophic organisms (embryophytes, algae, cyanobacteria).

CASSAVA BREEDING II: PHENOTYPIC CORRELATIONS THROUGH THE DIFFERENT STAGES OF SELECTION

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Orlando Joaqui Barandica

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Breeding cassava relies on a phenotypic recurrent selection that takes advantage of the vegetative propagation of this crop. Successive stages of selection (single row trial- SRT; preliminary yield trial – PYT; advanced yield trial – AYT; and uniform yield trials UYT, gradually reduce the number of genotypes as the plot size, number of replications and locations increase. An important feature of this scheme is that, because of the clonal, reproduction of cassava, the same identical genotypes are evaluated throughout these four successive stages of selection. For this study data, from 14 years (more than 30,000 data points of evaluation in a sub-humid tropical environment was consolidated for a meta-analysis. Correlation coefficients for fresh root yield (FRY, dry matter content (DMC, harvest index (HIN and plant type score (PTS along the different stages of selection were estimated. DMC and PTS measured in different trials showed the highest correlation coefficients, indicating a relatively good repeatability. HIN had an intermediate repeatability, whereas FRY had the lowest value. The association between HIN and FRY was lower than expected, suggesting that HIN in early stages was not reliable as indirect selection for FRY in later stages. There was a consistent decrease in the average performance of clones grown in PYTs compared with the earlier evaluation of the same genotypes at SRTs. A feasible explanation for this trend is the impact of the environment on the physiological and nutritional status of the planting material and/or epigenetic effects. The usefulness of HIN is questioned. Measuring this variable takes considerable efforts at harvest time. DMC and FRY showed a weak positive association in SRT (r= 0.21 but a clearly negative one at UYT (r= -0.42. The change if the relationship between these variables is the result of selection. In later stages of selection, the plant is forced to maximize productivity on a dry weight basis

Selective separation of pyrite and chalcopyrite by biomodulation.

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Chandraprabha, M N; Natarajan, K A; Modak, Jayant M

2004-09-01

Selective separation of pyrite from other associated ferrous sulphides at acidic and neutral pH has been a challenging problem. This paper discusses the utility of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans for the selective flotation of chalcopyrite from pyrite. Consequent to interaction with bacterial cells, pyrite remained depressed even in the presence of potassium isopropyl xanthate collector while chalcopyrite exhibited significant flotability. However, when the minerals were conditioned together, the selectivity achieved was poor due to the activation of pyrite surface by the copper ions in solution. The selectivity was improved when the sequence of conditioning with bacterial cells and collector was reversed, since the bacterial cells were able to depress collector interacted pyrite effectively, while having negligible effect on chalcopyrite. The observed behaviour is analysed and discussed in detail. The separation obtained was significant both at acidic and alkaline pH. This selectivity achieved was retained when the minerals were interacted with both bacterial cells and collector simultaneously.

Stimulating Student Interest in Physiology: The Intermedical School Physiology Quiz

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Cheng, Hwee-Ming

2010-01-01

The Intermedical School Physiology Quiz (IMSPQ) was initiated in 2003 during the author's last sabbatical from the University of Malaya. At this inaugural event, there were just seven competing teams from Malaysian medical schools. The challenge trophy for the IMSPQ is named in honor of Prof. A. Raman, who was the first Malaysian Professor of…

The influence of professional teachers on Padang vocational school students' achievement

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Ramli Bakar

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This study determined: (1 the competency of professional teachers teaching in the classroom, (2 students' achievement in vocational schools in Padang, and (3 the influence of professional teachers on vocational school students' achievement in Padang. The population was 2,647 students in vocational schools. The sample, consisting of 160 students, was selected using a multistage, random sampling technique. Data were collected using questionnaires and documentation, and then analyzed and presented using the SPSS software. The results showed: (1 overall, the professional teachers of vocational schools in Padang had good qualifications in pedagogical competence, professional competence, social competence, and personal competence, (2 the learning process of vocational schools in Padang was going well and in general, student achievement was at a good level of performance, and (3 there was a significant influence of professional teachers on vocational school students' achievement in Padang. Keywords: professional teacher, student achievement, vocational school

Note: A micro-perfusion system for use during real-time physiological studies under high pressure

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Maltas, Jeff; Long, Zac; Huff, Alison; Maloney, Ryan; Ryan, Jordan; Urayama, Paul

2014-10-01

We construct a micro-perfusion system using piston screw pump generators for use during real-time, high-pressure physiological studies. Perfusion is achieved using two generators, with one generator being compressed while the other is retracted, thus maintaining pressurization while producing fluid flow. We demonstrate control over perfusion rates in the 10-μl/s range and the ability to change between fluid reservoirs at up to 50 MPa. We validate the screw-pump approach by monitoring the cyanide-induced response of UV-excited autofluorescence from Saccharomyces cerevisiae under pressurization.

Reference values for basic human anatomical and physiological characteristics for use in radiation protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boecker, B.B.

2003-01-01

A new publication prepared by the ICRP Task Group on Reference Man. Basic anatomical and physiological data for use in radiological protection: reference values, is focused on those human characteristics that are important for dosimetric calculations. Moving from the past emphasis on a Reference Man. the new report presents a series of reference values for both male and female subjects of six different ages - newborn, 1, 5, 10, 15 y, and adult. In selecting reference values, the task group has used data on Western Europeans and North Americans because these populations have been well studied with respect to anatomy, body composition and physiology. When appropriate, comparisons are made between the chosen reference values and data from several Asian populations. The reference values for height and body mass are higher than those reported for various Asian populations. However, the reported masses of individual organs and tissues, particularly for China and Japan, are similar to the reference values. (author)

Physiological mechanisms underlying animal social behaviour.

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Seebacher, Frank; Krause, Jens

2017-08-19

Many species of animal live in groups, and the group represents the organizational level within which ecological and evolutionary processes occur. Understanding these processes, therefore, relies on knowledge of the mechanisms that permit or constrain group formation. We suggest that physiological capacities and differences in physiology between individuals modify fission-fusion dynamics. Differences between individuals in locomotor capacity and metabolism may lead to fission of groups and sorting of individuals into groups with similar physiological phenotypes. Environmental impacts such as hypoxia can influence maximum group sizes and structure in fish schools by altering access to oxygenated water. The nutritional environment determines group cohesion, and the increase in information collected by the group means that individuals should rely more on social information and form more cohesive groups in uncertain environments. Changing environmental contexts require rapid responses by individuals to maintain group coordination, which are mediated by neuroendocrine signalling systems such as nonapeptides and steroid hormones. Brain processing capacity may constrain social complexity by limiting information processing. Failure to evaluate socially relevant information correctly limits social interactions, which is seen, for example, in autism. Hence, functioning of a group relies to a large extent on the perception and appropriate processing of signals from conspecifics. Many if not all physiological systems are mechanistically linked, and therefore have synergistic effects on social behaviour. A challenge for the future lies in understanding these interactive effects, which will improve understanding of group dynamics, particularly in changing environments.This article is part of the themed issue 'Physiological determinants of social behaviour in animals'. © 2017 The Author(s).

Evaluation of treatment related fear using a newly developed fear scale for children: "Fear assessment picture scale" and its association with physiological response.

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Tiwari, Nishidha; Tiwari, Shilpi; Thakur, Ruchi; Agrawal, Nikita; Shashikiran, N D; Singla, Shilpy

2015-01-01

Dental treatment is usually a poignant phenomenon for children. Projective scales are preferred over psychometric scales to recognize it, and to obtain the self-report from children. The aims were to evaluate treatment related fear using a newly developed fear scale for children, fear assessment picture scale (FAPS), and anxiety with colored version of modified facial affective scale (MFAS) - three faces along with physiologic responses (pulse rate and oxygen saturation) obtained by pulse oximeter before and during pulpectomy procedure. Total, 60 children of age 6-8 years who were visiting the dental hospital for the first time and needed pulpectomy treatment were selected. Children selected were of sound physical, physiological, and mental condition. Two projective scales were used; one to assess fear - FAPS and to assess anxiety - colored version of MFAS - three faces. These were co-related with the physiological responses (oxygen saturation and pulse rate) of children obtained by pulse oximeter before and during the pulpectomy procedure. Shapiro-Wilk test, McNemar's test, Wilcoxon signed ranks test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Mann-Whitney test were applied in the study. The physiological responses showed association with FAPS and MFAS though not significant. However, oxygen saturation with MFAS showed a significant change between "no anxiety" and "some anxiety" as quantified by Kruskal-Wallis test value 6.287, P = 0.043 (test is easy and fast to apply on children and reduces the chair-side time.

State of the interface between conservation and physiology: a bibliometric analysis

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Lennox, Robert; Cooke, Steven J.

2014-01-01

Contemporary conservation science benefits from the perspectives of a variety of different disciplines, including a recent synergy with physiology, an interface known as ‘conservation physiology’. To evaluate the degree of interaction between conservation and animal/plant physiology, we conducted three bibliometric analyses. We first pursued the use of the term ‘conservation physiology’ since its first definition in 2006 to determine how frequently it has been used and in which publications. Secondly, we evaluated the occurrence of conservation terms in animal and plant physiology journals, physiological terms in conservation journals, and a combination of terms in ecology journals. Thirdly, we explored trends in a subset of conservation physiology articles published between 2006 and 2012. We identified a surge in the use of the term ‘conservation physiology’ in 2012, after only a slow increase in usage between 2006 and 2011. Conservation journals tend to have been significantly more active in publishing conservation physiology than animal physiology, plant physiology or ecology journals. However, we found evidence that ecology and animal physiology journals began to incorporate more conservation physiology after 2006, while conservation- and plant physiology-themed journals did not. Among 299 conservation physiology articles that we identified, vertebrate taxa have been over-represented in conservation physiology compared with their relative taxonomic abundance, invertebrate taxa have been under-represented, and plants have been represented in proportion to their relative taxonomic abundance; however, those findings are reasonably consistent with publication trends in conservation biology. Diffuse distribution of conservation physiology papers throughout the literature may have been a barrier to the growth of the subdiscipline when the interface was emerging. The introduction of the focused journal Conservation Physiology in 2013 may address that

Egr-1 mediated cardiac miR-99 family expression diverges physiological hypertrophy from pathological hypertrophy.

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Ramasamy, Subbiah; Velmurugan, Ganesan; Rekha, Balakrishnan; Anusha, Sivakumar; Shanmugha Rajan, K; Shanmugarajan, Suresh; Ramprasath, Tharmarajan; Gopal, Pandi; Tomar, Dhanendra; Karthik, Karuppusamy V; Verma, Suresh Kumar; Garikipati, Venkata Naga Srikanth; Sudarsan, Rajan

2018-04-01

The physiological cardiac hypertrophy is an adaptive condition without myocyte cell death, while pathological hypertrophy is a maladaptive condition associated with myocyte cell death. This study explores the miRNome of α-2M-induced physiologically hypertrophied cardiomyocytes and the role of miRNA-99 family during cardiac hypertrophy. Physiological and pathological cardiac hypertrophy was induced in H9c2 cardiomyoblast cell lines using α-2M and isoproterenol respectively. Total RNA isolation and small RNA sequencing were executed for physiological hypertrophy model. The differentially expressed miRNAs and its target mRNAs were validated in animal models. Transcription factor binding sites were predicted in the promoter of specific miRNAs and validated by ChIP-PCR. Subsequently, the selected miRNA was functionally characterized by overexpression and silencing. The effects of silencing of upstream regulator and downstream target gene were studied. Analysis of small RNA reads revealed the differential expression of a large set of miRNAs during hypertrophy, of which miR-99 family was highly downregulated upon α-2M treatment. However, this miR-99 family expression was upregulated during pathological hypertrophy and confirmed in animal models. ChIP-PCR confirms the binding of Egr-1 transcription factor to the miR-99 promoter. Further, silencing of Egr-1 decreased the expression of miR-99. The overexpression or silencing of miR-99 diverges the physiological hypertrophy to pathological hypertrophy and vice versa by regulating Akt-1 pathway. Silencing of Akt-1 replicates the effect of overexpression of miR-99. The results proved Egr-1 mediated regulation of miR-99 family that plays a key role in determining the fate of cardiac hypertrophy by regulating Akt-1 signaling. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Physiological and genetics studies of highly radiation-resistant bacteria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keller, L.C.

1981-01-01

The phenomenon of radiation resistance was studied using micrococci and Moraxella-Acinetobacter capable of surviving very high doses of gamma radiation which were isolated from foods. Physiological age, or growth phase, was found to be an important factor in making comparisons of radiation-resistance among different bacteria and their mutants. Radiation-resistant bacteria were highly resistant to the lethal effect of nitrosoguanidine used for mutagenesis. Studies of relative resistance of radiation-resistant bacteria, radiation-sensitive mutants, and nonradiation-resistant bacteria to killing by different chemical mutagens did not reveal a correlation between the traits of radiation resistance and mutagen resistance among different strains. Comparisons of plasmid profiles of radiation-resistant bacteria and selected radiation-sensitive mutants suggested the possibility that plasmids may carry genes involved in radiation resistance

Water stress and recovery in the performance of two Eucalyptus globulus clones: physiological and biochemical profiles.

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Correia, Barbara; Pintó-Marijuan, Marta; Neves, Lucinda; Brossa, Ricard; Dias, Maria Celeste; Costa, Armando; Castro, Bruno B; Araújo, Clara; Santos, Conceição; Chaves, Maria Manuela; Pinto, Glória

2014-04-01

Eucalyptus plantations are among the most productive forest stands in Portugal and Spain, being mostly used for pulp production and, more recently, as an energy crop. However, the region's Mediterranean climate, with characteristic severe summer drought, negatively affects eucalypt growth and increases mortality. Although the physiological response to water shortage is well characterized for this species, evidence about the plants' recovery ability remains scarce. In order to assess the physiological and biochemical response of Eucalyptus globulus during the recovery phase, two genotypes (AL-18 and AL-10) were submitted to a 3-week water stress period at two different intensities (18 and 25% of field capacity), followed by 1 week of rewatering. Recovery was assessed 1 day and 1 week after rehydration. Drought reduced height, biomass, water potential, NPQ and gas exchange in both genotypes. Contrarily, the levels of pigments, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters (F(v) /F(m) and (φPSII)), MDA and ABA increased. During recovery, the physiological and biochemical profile of stressed plants showed a similar trend: they experienced reversion of altered traits (MDA, ABA, E, g(s), pigments), while other parameters did not recover ((φPSII), NPQ). Furthermore, an overcompensation of CO(2) assimilation was achieved 1 week after rehydration, which was accompanied by greater growth and re-establishment of oxidative balance. Both genotypes were tolerant to the tested conditions, although clonal differences were found. AL-10 was more productive and showed a more rapid and dynamic response to rehydration (namely in carotenoid content, (φPSII) and NPQ) compared to clone AL-18. © 2013 Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society.

An introduction to the 'Psycho-Physiological-Stress-Test' (PPST-A standardized instrument for evaluating stress reactions.

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Elisabeth Neureiter

Full Text Available Using a standardized instrument to evaluate patients' stress reactions has become more important in daily clinical routines. Different signs or symptoms of stress are often unilaterally explored: the physiological, psychological or social aspects of stress disorders are each viewed on a single dimension. However, all dimensions afflict patients who have persistent health problems due to chronic stress. Therefore, it is important to use a multidimensional approach to acquire data. The 'Psycho-Physiological-Stress-Test' (PPST was established to achieve a comprehensive understanding of stress and was further developed at the Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin in collaboration with the Psychological Department of Freie Universität Berlin. The PPST includes a series of varying stress phases, embedded in two periods of rest. Physiological and psychological parameters are simultaneously measured throughout the test session. Specifically, the PPST activates the sympathetic stress axis, which is measured by heart rate, blood pressure, respiration depth and rate, electro dermal activation and muscle tension (frontalis, masseter, trapezius. Psychological data are simultaneously collected, and include performance, motivation, emotion and behavior. After conducting this diagnostic test, it is possible to identify individual stress patterns that can be discussed with the individual patient to develop and recommend (outpatient treatment strategies. This paper introduces the PPST as a standardized way to evaluate stress reactions by presenting the results from a sample of psychosomatic inpatients (n = 139 who were treated in Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany. We observed that the varying testing conditions provoked adjusted changes in the different physiological parameters and psychological levels.

Outcomes of physiological and active third stage labour care amongst women in New Zealand.

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Dixon, Lesley; Tracy, Sally K; Guilliland, Karen; Fletcher, Lynn; Hendry, Chris; Pairman, Sally

2013-01-01

during the third stage of labour there are two approaches for care provision - active management or physiological (expectant) care. The aim of this research was to describe, analyse and compare the midwifery care pathway and outcomes provided to a selected cohort of New Zealand women during the third stage of labour between the years 2004 and 2008. These women received continuity of care from a midwife Lead Maternity Carer and gave birth in a variety of birth settings (home, primary, secondary and tertiary maternity units). retrospective aggregated clinical information was extracted from the New Zealand College of Midwives research database. Factors such as type of third stage labour care provided; estimated blood loss; rate of treatment (separate to prophylaxis) with a uterotonic; and placental condition were compared amongst women who had a spontaneous onset of labour and no further assistance during the labour and birth. The results were adjusted for age, ethnicity, parity, place of birth, length of labour and weight of the baby. the rates of physiological third stage care (expectant) and active management within the cohort were similar (48.1% vs. 51.9%). Women who had active management had a higher risk of a blood loss of more than 500mL, the risk was 2.761 when a woman was actively managed (95% CI: 2.441-3.122) when compared to physiological management. Women giving birth at home and in a primary unit were more likely to have physiological management. A longer labour and higher parity increased the odds of having active management. Manual removal of the placenta was more likely with active management (0.7% active management - 0.2% physiological pwomen who were given a uterotonic drug as a treatment rather than prophylaxis a postpartum haemorrhage of more than 500mL was twice as likely in the actively managed group compared to the physiological managed group (6.9% vs. 3.7%, RR 0.54, CI: 0.5, 0.6). the use of physiological care during the third stage of labour

Elbow helical axes of motion are not the same in physiologic and kinetic joint simulators.

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Muriuki, Muturi G; Mohagheh-Motlagh, Amin; Smolinski, Patrick J; Miller, Mark Carl

2012-08-31

Physiologic and kinetic joint simulators have been widely used for investigations of joint mechanics. The two types of simulator differ in the way joint motion is achieved; through prescribed motions and/or forces in kinetic joint simulators and by tendon loads in physiologic joint simulators. These two testing modalities have produced important insights, as in elucidating the importance of soft tissue structures to joint stability. However, the equivalence of the modalities has not been tested. This study sequentially tested five cadaveric elbows using both a physiologic simulator and a robot/6DOF system. Using position data from markers on the humerus and ulna, we calculated and compared the helical axes of motion of the specimens as the elbows were flexed from full extension. Six step size increments were used in the helical axis calculation. Marker position data at each test's full extension and full flexion point were also used to calculate a datum (overall) helical axis. The angles between the datum axis and step-wise movements were computed and stored. Increasing step size monotonically decreased the variability and the average conical angle encompassing the helical axes; a repeated measures ANOVA using test type (robot or physiologic simulator) and step size found that both type and step caused statistically significant differences (p<0.001). The large changes in helical axis angle observed for small changes in elbow flexion angle, especially in the robot tests, are a caveat for investigators using similar control algorithms. Controllers may need to include increased joint compliance and/or C(1) continuity to reduce variability. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Selecting and optimizing eco-physiological parameters of Biome-BGC to reproduce observed woody and leaf biomass growth of Eucommia ulmoides plantation in China using Dakota optimizer

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Miyauchi, T.; Machimura, T.

2013-12-01

In the simulation using an ecosystem process model, the adjustment of parameters is indispensable for improving the accuracy of prediction. This procedure, however, requires much time and effort for approaching the simulation results to the measurements on models consisting of various ecosystem processes. In this study, we tried to apply a general purpose optimization tool in the parameter optimization of an ecosystem model, and examined its validity by comparing the simulated and measured biomass growth of a woody plantation. A biometric survey of tree biomass growth was performed in 2009 in an 11-year old Eucommia ulmoides plantation in Henan Province, China. Climate of the site was dry temperate. Leaf, above- and below-ground woody biomass were measured from three cut trees and converted into carbon mass per area by measured carbon contents and stem density. Yearly woody biomass growth of the plantation was calculated according to allometric relationships determined by tree ring analysis of seven cut trees. We used Biome-BGC (Thornton, 2002) to reproduce biomass growth of the plantation. Air temperature and humidity from 1981 to 2010 was used as input climate condition. The plant functional type was deciduous broadleaf, and non-optimizing parameters were left default. 11-year long normal simulations were performed following a spin-up run. In order to select optimizing parameters, we analyzed the sensitivity of leaf, above- and below-ground woody biomass to eco-physiological parameters. Following the selection, optimization of parameters was performed by using the Dakota optimizer. Dakota is an optimizer developed by Sandia National Laboratories for providing a systematic and rapid means to obtain optimal designs using simulation based models. As the object function, we calculated the sum of relative errors between simulated and measured leaf, above- and below-ground woody carbon at each of eleven years. In an alternative run, errors at the last year (at the

Interpreting Research on School Resources and Student Achievement: A Rejoinder to Hanushek.

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Greenwald, Rob; Hedges, Larry V.; Laine, Richard

1996-01-01

Supports the findings of a meta-analysis that demonstrates that student achievement is related to the availability of resources, disagreeing with criticisms of method and sample selection made by E. Hanushek (1996). (SLD)

DigitalHuman (DH): An Integrative Mathematical Model ofHuman Physiology

Science.gov (United States)

Hester, Robert L.; Summers, Richard L.; lIescu, Radu; Esters, Joyee; Coleman, Thomas G.

2010-01-01

Mathematical models and simulation are important tools in discovering the key causal relationships governing physiological processes and improving medical intervention when physiological complexity is a central issue. We have developed a model of integrative human physiology called DigitalHuman (DH) consisting of -5000 variables modeling human physiology describing cardiovascular, renal, respiratory, endocrine, neural and metabolic physiology. Users can view time-dependent solutions and interactively introduce perturbations by altering numerical parameters to investigate new hypotheses. The variables, parameters and quantitative relationships as well as all other model details are described in XML text files. All aspects of the model, including the mathematical equations describing the physiological processes are written in XML open source, text-readable files. Model structure is based upon empirical data of physiological responses documented within the peer-reviewed literature. The model can be used to understand proposed physiological mechanisms and physiological interactions that may not be otherwise intUitively evident. Some of the current uses of this model include the analyses of renal control of blood pressure, the central role of the liver in creating and maintaining insulin resistance, and the mechanisms causing orthostatic hypotension in astronauts. Additionally the open source aspect of the modeling environment allows any investigator to add detailed descriptions of human physiology to test new concepts. The model accurately predicts both qualitative and more importantly quantitative changes in clinically and experimentally observed responses. DigitalHuman provides scientists a modeling environment to understand the complex interactions of integrative physiology. This research was supported by.NIH HL 51971, NSF EPSCoR, and NASA