Positive and Negative Peer Influence in Residential Care.

Science.gov (United States)

Huefner, Jonathan C; Smith, Gail L; Stevens, Amy L

2017-10-13

The potential for negative peer influence has been well established in research, and there is a growing interest in how positive peer influence also impacts youth. No research, however, has concurrently examined positive and negative peer influence in the context of residential care. Clinical records for 886 residential care youth were used in a Hierarchical Linear Model analysis to examine the impact of negative and positive peer influence on naturally occurring patterns of serious problem behavior over time. Negative peer influence, where the majority of youth in a home manifested above the average number of serious behavior problems, occurred 13.7% of the time. Positive peer influence, where the majority of youth manifested no serious problem behaviors for the month, occurred 47.7% of the time. Overall, youth problem behavior improved over time. There were significantly lower rates of serious problem behavior in target youth during positive peer influence months. Conversely, there were significantly higher rates of serious problem behaviors in target youth during negative peer influence months. Negative peer influence had a relatively greater impact on target peers' serious behavior problems than did positive peer influence. Caregiver experience significantly reduced the impact of negative peer influence, but did not significantly augment positive peer influence. Months where negative peer influence was combined with inexperienced caregivers produced the highest rates of serious problem behavior. Our results support the view that residential programs for troubled youth need to create circumstances that promote positive and control for negative peer influence.

Characterization and management trends of negative and positive impacts of tourism in show caves

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heros Augusto Santos Lobo

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Caves are one of the most fragile environments on Earth ’s surface, in function of physical, atmospheric and biological specificities. The natural characteristics associated with cultural aspects of local people are the reasons to tourist potential of caves. However, the tourist use of caves can generate negative impacts on the environment. This consequence happens when inappropriate procedures of planning and management of tourism are used. Negative impacts are described in this review, as also indications of management techniques to avoid, decrease or eliminate the negative consequences of tourism in caves. Positive impacts are also presented, in order to achieve a sustainable tourism in show caves. The conclusion argues that the negative impacts should not be considered as impediments to tourism in caves. It is important to know these impacts and use it as a key to get previous answers which allow to raise the sustainability of show caves.

Impact of Negative Sequence Current Injection by Wind Power Plants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chaudhary, Sanjay; Göksu, Ömer; Teodorescu, Remus

2013-01-01

This paper presents an analysis of the impact from negative sequence current injection by wind power plants in power systems under steady-state and short-term unbalanced conditions, including faults. The separate positive and negative sequence current control capability of the grid-side converters...... of full scale converter type wind turbines may be utilized to alter voltage imbalance at the point of connection and further into the grid, in turn changing the resultant negative sequence current flow in the grid. The effects of such control actions have been analyzed and discussed through theoretical...

The Stereotype-Matching Effect: Greater Influence on Functioning When Age Stereotypes Correspond to Outcomes

Science.gov (United States)

Levy, Becca R.; Leifheit-Limson, Erica

2009-01-01

Older individuals assimilate, and are targeted by, contradictory positive and negative age stereotypes. It was unknown whether the influence of stereotype valence is stronger when the stereotype content corresponds to the outcome domain. We randomly assigned older individuals to either positive-cognitive, negative-cognitive, positive-physical, or negative-physical subliminal-age-stereotype groups and assessed cognitive and physical outcomes. As predicted, when the age stereotypes corresponded to the outcome domains, their valence had a significantly greater impact on cognitive and physical performance. This suggests that if a match occurs, it is more likely to generate expectations that become self-fulfilling prophecies. PMID:19290757

Filter paper inhibits in vitro protocorm-like body formation in hybrid Cymbidium and reduces synseed germination, but buffers the negative impact of antibiotics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

TEIXEIRA DA SILVA JAIME A.

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Only few studies in the plant tissue culture literature have examined the impact of filter paper on in vitro plant organogenesis. In this study, using a model plant, hybrid Cymbidium Twilight Moon ‘Day Light’, the impact of a single or double layer of Advantec #2 or Whatman #1 filter paper on new protocorm-like body (neo-PLB formation on Teixeira Cymbidium (TC medium was examined for half-PLBs (transgenic and non-transgenic, PLB-derived transverse thin cell layers (tTCLs, and PLB synseeds. In addition, the response of half-PLBs or tTCLs to two antibiotics (kanamycin and cefotaxime, commonly used in plant genetic transformation studies was investigated either directly on gelled medium or on filter paper-overlaid medium. Filter paper negatively affected most growth and developmental parameters of all the explants tested, both transgenic and non-transgenic. A double sheet of filter paper had a significantly (P ≤ 0.05 more negative impact than a single sheet, relative to the control values (i.e., no filter paper. Kanamycin inhibited neo-PLB formation on TC medium, the negative impact being greater on a single layer than on a double layer of filter paper, i.e., filter paper buffered the growth-inhibiting characteristics of kanamycin. Up to 100 mg/l, cefotaxime showed no apparent negative effects on neo-PLBs formation and growth, although hyperhydricity was observed when filter paper was not used.

Ion-impact secondary emission in negative corona with photoionization

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B. X. Lu

2017-03-01

Full Text Available A corona discharge measurement system and simulation model are presented to investigate the effects of photoionization and ion-impact secondary emission process in negative corona discharge. The simulation results obtained is shown good agreement with experimental observations. Distribution of electron density along the symmetry axis at three critical moments is shown and the role of photoionization in negative corona discharge is clearly explained. Moreover, the current pulses are also presented under different secondary emission coefficients and the effect of the secondary emission coefficient is discussed.

Satellite monitoring of urban sprawl and assessment of its potential environmental impact in the Greater Toronto Area between 1985 and 2005.

Science.gov (United States)

Furberg, Dorothy; Ban, Yifang

2012-12-01

This research investigates urban sprawl in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) between 1985 and 2005 and the nature of the resulting landscape fragmentation, particularly with regard to the Oak Ridges Moraine (ORM), an ecologically important area for the region. Six scenes of Landsat TM imagery were acquired in summer of 1985, 1995, and 2005. These images and their texture measures were classified into eight land cover classes with very satisfactory final overall accuracies (93-95 %). Analysis of the classifications indicated that urban areas grew by 20 % between 1985 and 1995 and by 15 % between 1995 and 2005. Landscape fragmentation due to spatio-temporal land cover changes was evaluated using urban compactness indicators and landscape metrics, and results from the latter were used to draw conclusions about probable environmental impact. The indicator results showed that urban proportions increased in nearly all areas outside of the metropolitan center, including on portions of the ORM. The landscape metrics reveal that low density urban areas increased significantly in the GTA between 1985 and 2005, mainly at the expense of agricultural land. The metric results indicate increased vulnerability and exposure to adverse effects for natural and semi-natural land cover through greater contrast and lowered connectivity. The degree of urban perimeter increased around most environmentally significant areas in the region. Changes like these negatively impact species and the regional water supply in the GTA. Further investigation into specific environmental impacts of urban expansion in the region and which areas on the ORM are most at risk is recommended.

The radiological impact on the Greater London population of postulated accidental releases from the Sizewell PWR

CERN Document Server

Kelly, G N; Charles, D; Hemming, C R

1983-01-01

This report contains an assessment of the radiological impact on the Greater London population of postulated accidental releases from the Sizewell PWR. Three of the degraded core accident releases postulated by the CEGB are analysed. The consequences, conditional upon each release, are evaluated in terms of the health impact on the exposed population and the impact of countermeasures taken to limit the exposure. Consideration is given to the risk to the Greater London population as a whole and to individuals within it. The consequences are evaluated using the NRPB code MARC (Methodology for Assessing Radiological Consequences). The results presented in this report are all conditional upon the occurrence of each release. In assessing the significance of the results, due account must be taken of the frequency with which such releases may be predicted to occur.

Advancing grate-firing for greater environmental impacts and efficiency for decentralized biomass/wastes combustion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yin, Chungen; Li, Shuangshuang

2017-01-01

to well suit decentralized biomass and municipal/industrial wastes combustion. This paper discusses with concrete examples how to advance grate-firing for greater efficiency and environmental impacts, e.g., use of advanced secondary air system, flue gas recycling and optimized grate assembly, which...

Self-esteem and perceptions of conveyed impressions: is negative affectivity associated with greater realism?

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, J D; Fehr, B

1990-01-01

Two studies examined the notion that negative affectivity (Watson & Clark, 1984) is associated with more accurate perceptions of conveyed impressions in social interactions. In Study 1 (n = 160), low self-esteem (LSE) and high self-esteem (HSE) subjects were paired with either an LSE or an HSE partner. After a 15-min interaction, they rated themselves, their partners, and how they believed their partners would rate them on 20 adjectives related to social competence. Study 2 (n = 40) was identical except that each interaction was observed by 2 observers who rated each participant, and participants also rated how they believed an observer would rate them. LSE subjects exhibited greater accuracy only with respect to the elevation component of observers' ratings; HSE subjects overestimated the positivity of observers' evaluations, whereas LSE subjects were relatively accurate. However, LSE subjects exhibited less overall accuracy with respect to their partners' ratings. We argue that when these results are considered with earlier research, there is no support for the notion of depressive realism in assessing conveyed impressions.

Will Automated Vehicles Negatively Impact Traffic Flow?

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S. C. Calvert

2017-01-01

Full Text Available With low-level vehicle automation already available, there is a necessity to estimate its effects on traffic flow, especially if these could be negative. A long gradual transition will occur from manual driving to automated driving, in which many yet unknown traffic flow dynamics will be present. These effects have the potential to increasingly aid or cripple current road networks. In this contribution, we investigate these effects using an empirically calibrated and validated simulation experiment, backed up with findings from literature. We found that low-level automated vehicles in mixed traffic will initially have a small negative effect on traffic flow and road capacities. The experiment further showed that any improvement in traffic flow will only be seen at penetration rates above 70%. Also, the capacity drop appeared to be slightly higher with the presence of low-level automated vehicles. The experiment further investigated the effect of bottleneck severity and truck shares on traffic flow. Improvements to current traffic models are recommended and should include a greater detail and understanding of driver-vehicle interaction, both in conventional and in mixed traffic flow. Further research into behavioural shifts in driving is also recommended due to limited data and knowledge of these dynamics.

Negative Impact of HRM Complementarity on Knowledge Transfer in MNCs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Minbaeva, Dana

2005-01-01

This paper explores reasons for negative complementarity among HRM practices. It isbuilt upon the premise that there are certain HRM practices influencing extrinsic andintrinsic motivation of knowledge receivers. If those HRM practices are applied in acomplementary way, their impact on knowledge...

The effects of positive versus negative impact reflection on change in job performance and work-life conflict.

Science.gov (United States)

Cardador, M Teresa

2014-01-01

Research on task significance and relational job design suggests that information from beneficiaries of one's work fosters perceptions of impact, and thus improved work outcomes. This paper presents results from a longitudinal field experiment examining the effect of another strategy for fostering perceptions of impact - engaging employees in regular reflection about how their work benefits others. With a sample of professionals from multiple organizations, this longitudinal study examined the effect on job performance and work-life conflict of both positive and negative impact reflection. Results show that negative impact reflection had a pronounced negative effect on job performance, but no effect on work-life conflict. Positive impact reflection had a weak positive effect on work-life conflict, but no significant effect on job performance. The direction of effects seen in the no intervention condition mirrored that of the negative impact reflection condition, suggesting a possible buffering effect for positive impact reflection. This research provides empirical and theoretical contributions to the literatures on relational job design and task significance.

Impact of physical maltreatment on the regulation of negative affect and aggression.

Science.gov (United States)

Shackman, Jessica E; Pollak, Seth D

2014-11-01

Physically maltreated children are at risk for developing externalizing behavioral problems characterized by reactive aggression. The current experiment tested the relationships between individual differences in a neural index of social information processing, histories of child maltreatment, child negative affect, and aggressive behavior. Fifty boys (17 maltreated) performed an emotion recognition task while the P3b component of the event-related potential was recorded to index attention allocation to angry faces. Children then participated in a peer-directed aggression task. Negative affect was measured by recording facial electromyography, and aggression was indexed by the feedback that children provided to a putative peer. Physically maltreated children exhibited greater negative affect and more aggressive behavior, compared to nonmaltreated children, and this relationship was mediated by children's allocation of attention to angry faces. These data suggest that physical maltreatment leads to inappropriate regulation of both negative affect and aggression, which likely place maltreated children at increased risk for the development and maintenance of externalizing behavior disorders.

Socially anxious smokers experience greater negative affect and withdrawal during self-quit attempts.

Science.gov (United States)

Buckner, Julia D; Langdon, Kirsten J; Jeffries, Emily R; Zvolensky, Michael J

2016-04-01

Despite evidence of a strong and consistent relation between smoking and elevated social anxiety, strikingly little empirical work has identified mechanisms underlying the smoking-social anxiety link. Persons with elevated social anxiety may rely on smoking to cope with more severe nicotine withdrawal and post-quit negative mood states; yet, no known studies have investigated the relation of social anxiety to withdrawal severity. The current study examined the relation of social anxiety to post-quit nicotine withdrawal severity among 51 (33.3% female, Mage = 34.6) community-recruited smokers during the first two weeks following an unaided (i.e., no treatment) cessation attempt. Ecological momentary assessment was used to collect multiple daily ratings of withdrawal and negative mood states. Baseline social anxiety was related to increases in negative affect during the monitoring period and remained significantly related to post-quit withdrawal after controlling for negative affect, gender, lapses, and substance use. Persons with elevated social anxiety experience more severe post-quit withdrawal symptoms and increases in negative affect during a cessation attempt and may therefore benefit from intervention and treatment strategies geared toward helping them learn to cope with withdrawal and negative affect to improve cessation rates among these vulnerable smokers.

Effects of wind energy development on nesting ecology of greater prairie-chickens in fragmented grasslands.

Science.gov (United States)

McNew, Lance B; Hunt, Lyla M; Gregory, Andrew J; Wisely, Samantha M; Sandercock, Brett K

2014-08-01

Wind energy is targeted to meet 20% of U.S. energy needs by 2030, but new sites for development of renewable energy may overlap with important habitats of declining populations of grassland birds. Greater Prairie-Chickens (Tympanuchus cupido) are an obligate grassland bird species predicted to respond negatively to energy development. We used a modified before-after control-impact design to test for impacts of a wind energy development on the reproductive ecology of prairie-chickens in a 5-year study. We located 59 and 185 nests before and after development, respectively, of a 201 MW wind energy facility in Greater Prairie-Chicken nesting habitat and assessed nest site selection and nest survival relative to proximity to wind energy infrastructure and habitat conditions. Proximity to turbines did not negatively affect nest site selection (β = 0.03, 95% CI = -1.2-1.3) or nest survival (β = -0.3, 95% CI = -0.6-0.1). Instead, nest site selection and survival were strongly related to vegetative cover and other local conditions determined by management for cattle production. Integration of our project results with previous reports of behavioral avoidance of oil and gas facilities by other species of prairie grouse suggests new avenues for research to mitigate impacts of energy development. © 2014 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology.

Positive and Negative Impacts of Non-Native Bee Species around the World.

Science.gov (United States)

Russo, Laura

2016-11-28

Though they are relatively understudied, non-native bees are ubiquitous and have enormous potential economic and environmental impacts. These impacts may be positive or negative, and are often unquantified. In this manuscript, I review literature on the known distribution and environmental and economic impacts of 80 species of introduced bees. The potential negative impacts of non-native bees include competition with native bees for nesting sites or floral resources, pollination of invasive weeds, co-invasion with pathogens and parasites, genetic introgression, damage to buildings, affecting the pollination of native plant species, and changing the structure of native pollination networks. The potential positive impacts of non-native bees include agricultural pollination, availability for scientific research, rescue of native species, and resilience to human-mediated disturbance and climate change. Most non-native bee species are accidentally introduced and nest in stems, twigs, and cavities in wood. In terms of number of species, the best represented families are Megachilidae and Apidae, and the best represented genus is Megachile . The best studied genera are Apis and Bombus , and most of the species in these genera were deliberately introduced for agricultural pollination. Thus, we know little about the majority of non-native bees, accidentally introduced or spreading beyond their native ranges.

Positive and Negative Impacts of Non-Native Bee Species around the World

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura Russo

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Though they are relatively understudied, non-native bees are ubiquitous and have enormous potential economic and environmental impacts. These impacts may be positive or negative, and are often unquantified. In this manuscript, I review literature on the known distribution and environmental and economic impacts of 80 species of introduced bees. The potential negative impacts of non-native bees include competition with native bees for nesting sites or floral resources, pollination of invasive weeds, co-invasion with pathogens and parasites, genetic introgression, damage to buildings, affecting the pollination of native plant species, and changing the structure of native pollination networks. The potential positive impacts of non-native bees include agricultural pollination, availability for scientific research, rescue of native species, and resilience to human-mediated disturbance and climate change. Most non-native bee species are accidentally introduced and nest in stems, twigs, and cavities in wood. In terms of number of species, the best represented families are Megachilidae and Apidae, and the best represented genus is Megachile. The best studied genera are Apis and Bombus, and most of the species in these genera were deliberately introduced for agricultural pollination. Thus, we know little about the majority of non-native bees, accidentally introduced or spreading beyond their native ranges.

Negative Trauma Appraisals and PTSD Symptoms in Sri Lankan Adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Ponnamperuma, Thyagi; Nicolson, Nancy A

2016-02-01

The cognitive model posits that negative appraisals play an important role in posttraumatic stress disorder, in children as well as in adults. This study examined correlates of negative appraisals in relation to trauma exposure and their relationship to posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in 414 Sri Lankan adolescents, aged 12 to 16, living in areas impacted in varying degrees by the 2004 tsunami. In 2008, participants completed measures of negative appraisals, lifetime traumatic events, posttraumatic stress symptoms, internalizing symptoms, ongoing adversity, and social support. The majority (70 %) of the participants reported multiple traumatic events; 25 % met DSM-IV criteria for full or partial PTSD. Adolescents who had experienced more severe events, abusive events, greater cumulative trauma, or greater current adversity reported more negative appraisals. In regression analyses controlling for known risk factors such as female gender, cumulative trauma, ongoing adversity, and low social support, negative appraisals were the best predictor of PTSS, explaining 22 % of the variance. This relationship appeared specific to PTSS, as negative appraisals did not predict internalizing symptoms. Findings confirm the link between negative cognitions concerning traumatic events and persistent PTSS in adolescents, but longitudinal studies are needed to determine whether appraisals contribute to symptom maintenance over time.

Environmental Impacts of Wind Power Development on the Population Biology of Greater Prairie-Chickens

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sandercock, Brett K. [Kansas State University

2013-05-22

correlograms of genetic distance among males at leks were a more sensitive measure of population structure, and indicated a weak effect of wind energy development on the spatial genetic structure of prairie chickens. 7. We tested the effects of wind power development on female survival with time-to-event models, and on residual body mass of males with analyses of covariance. Distance to turbine and the interaction of distance and treatment period had no effect on female survival. Contrary to predictions of negative impacts of wind power development, the probability of female was lowest during the preconstruction period (0.274) and increased significantly during the postconstruction period (0.543). Inspection of hazard functions indicated that the difference in annual survival could be attributed to a higher risk of mortality during the lekking season in the preconstruction period. We suggest that wind power development may have improved ecological conditions for prairie chickens by disrupting the foraging behavior of diurnal raptors that kill prairie chickens at lek sites. In support of this idea, raptor kills tended to be farther from turbines during the postconstruction period whereas mammalian kills were closer. Analyses of the major causes of mortality did not support our hypothesis because the odds of raptor predation were greater after development was completed. Most mortality losses of radio-marked females were due to predation, and losses to collision mortality or harvest were rare events. Low rates of natural mortality during fall and winter imply that harvest is likely to be additive mortality in prairie chickens. Wind energy development reduced the residual body mass of male Greater Prairie-Chickens at lek sites near turbines. Low values of residual body mass could have a negative impact on individual survival or fecundity rates, or may be related to predation risk and flight performance of males displaying at open lek sites. 8. We tested for impacts of wind power

Doing good buffers against feeling bad : prosocial impact compensates for negative task and self-evaluations

OpenAIRE

Grant, Adam M.; Sonnentag, Sabine

2010-01-01

Although evidence suggests that negative task and self-evaluations are associated with emotional exhaustion, little research has examined factors that buffer against these affects. We propose that perceived prosocial impact, the experience of helping others, compensates for negative task and self-evaluations by focusing attention on positive outcomes for others. In Study 1, perceived prosocial impact attenuated the associations of low intrinsic motivation and core self-evaluations with emotio...

Invasive Asian Earthworms Negatively Impact Keystone Terrestrial Salamanders.

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Julie L Ziemba

Full Text Available Asian pheretimoid earthworms (e.g. Amynthas and Metaphire spp. are invading North American forests and consuming the vital detrital layer that forest floor biota [including the keystone species Plethodon cinereus (Eastern Red-backed Salamander], rely on for protection, food, and habitat. Plethodon cinereus population declines have been associated with leaf litter loss following the invasion of several exotic earthworm species, but there have been few studies on the specific interactions between pheretimoid earthworms and P. cinereus. Since some species of large and active pheretimoids spatially overlap with salamanders beneath natural cover objects and in detritus, they may distinctively compound the negative consequences of earthworm-mediated resource degradation by physically disturbing important salamander activities (foraging, mating, and egg brooding. We predicted that earthworms would exclude salamanders from high quality microhabitat, reduce foraging efficiency, and negatively affect salamander fitness. In laboratory trials, salamanders used lower quality microhabitat and consumed fewer flies in the presence of earthworms. In a natural field experiment, conducted on salamander populations from "non-invaded" and "pheretimoid invaded" sites in Ohio, salamanders and earthworms shared cover objects ~60% less than expected. Earthworm abundance was negatively associated with juvenile and male salamander abundance, but had no relationship with female salamander abundance. There was no effect of pheretimoid invasion on salamander body condition. Juvenile and non-resident male salamanders do not hold stable territories centered beneath cover objects such as rocks or logs, which results in reduced access to prey, greater risk of desiccation, and dispersal pressure. Habitat degradation and physical exclusion of salamanders from cover objects may hinder juvenile and male salamander performance, ultimately reducing recruitment and salamander abundance

Invasive Asian Earthworms Negatively Impact Keystone Terrestrial Salamanders.

Science.gov (United States)

Ziemba, Julie L; Hickerson, Cari-Ann M; Anthony, Carl D

2016-01-01

Asian pheretimoid earthworms (e.g. Amynthas and Metaphire spp.) are invading North American forests and consuming the vital detrital layer that forest floor biota [including the keystone species Plethodon cinereus (Eastern Red-backed Salamander)], rely on for protection, food, and habitat. Plethodon cinereus population declines have been associated with leaf litter loss following the invasion of several exotic earthworm species, but there have been few studies on the specific interactions between pheretimoid earthworms and P. cinereus. Since some species of large and active pheretimoids spatially overlap with salamanders beneath natural cover objects and in detritus, they may distinctively compound the negative consequences of earthworm-mediated resource degradation by physically disturbing important salamander activities (foraging, mating, and egg brooding). We predicted that earthworms would exclude salamanders from high quality microhabitat, reduce foraging efficiency, and negatively affect salamander fitness. In laboratory trials, salamanders used lower quality microhabitat and consumed fewer flies in the presence of earthworms. In a natural field experiment, conducted on salamander populations from "non-invaded" and "pheretimoid invaded" sites in Ohio, salamanders and earthworms shared cover objects ~60% less than expected. Earthworm abundance was negatively associated with juvenile and male salamander abundance, but had no relationship with female salamander abundance. There was no effect of pheretimoid invasion on salamander body condition. Juvenile and non-resident male salamanders do not hold stable territories centered beneath cover objects such as rocks or logs, which results in reduced access to prey, greater risk of desiccation, and dispersal pressure. Habitat degradation and physical exclusion of salamanders from cover objects may hinder juvenile and male salamander performance, ultimately reducing recruitment and salamander abundance following Asian

Negative Aging Attitudes Predict Greater Reactivity to Daily Stressors in Older Adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Bellingtier, Jennifer A; Neupert, Shevaun D

2016-08-03

In order to understand conflicting findings regarding the emotional reactions of older adults to daily stressors, we examined the possibility that negative aging attitudes could function as an important individual differences factor related to stressor reactivity. Using a daily dairy design, we examined the aging attitudes of 43 older adults reporting on 380 total days. Participants reported their aging attitudes on Day 1, followed by their stressor exposure and negative affect on Days 2-9. Covariates included age, gender, education, and personality. Using multilevel modeling, our results suggest that individuals with more positive aging attitudes report consistent levels of affect across study days regardless of stressors, whereas those with more negative aging attitudes reported increased emotional reactivity to daily stressors. Positive aging attitudes may serve as a resource that helps buffer reactions to daily stressors. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Non-linear feeding functional responses in the Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) predict immediate negative impact of wetland degradation on this flagship species

Science.gov (United States)

Deville, Anne-Sophie; Grémillet, David; Gauthier-Clerc, Michel; Guillemain, Matthieu; Von Houwald, Friederike; Gardelli, Bruno; Béchet, Arnaud

2013-01-01

Accurate knowledge of the functional response of predators to prey density is essential for understanding food web dynamics, to parameterize mechanistic models of animal responses to environmental change, and for designing appropriate conservation measures. Greater flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus), a flagship species of Mediterranean wetlands, primarily feed on Artemias (Artemia spp.) in commercial salt pans, an industry which may collapse for economic reasons. Flamingos also feed on alternative prey such as Chironomid larvae (e.g., Chironomid spp.) and rice seeds (Oryza sativa). However, the profitability of these food items for flamingos remains unknown. We determined the functional responses of flamingos feeding on Artemias, Chironomids, or rice. Experiments were conducted on 11 captive flamingos. For each food item, we offered different ranges of food densities, up to 13 times natural abundance. Video footage allowed estimating intake rates. Contrary to theoretical predictions for filter feeders, intake rates did not increase linearly with increasing food density (type I). Intake rates rather increased asymptotically with increasing food density (type II) or followed a sigmoid shape (type III). Hence, flamingos were not able to ingest food in direct proportion to their abundance, possibly because of unique bill structure resulting in limited filtering capabilities. Overall, flamingos foraged more efficiently on Artemias. When feeding on Chironomids, birds had lower instantaneous rates of food discovery and required more time to extract food from the sediment and ingest it, than when filtering Artemias from the water column. However, feeding on rice was energetically more profitable for flamingos than feeding on Artemias or Chironomids, explaining their attraction for rice fields. Crucially, we found that food densities required for flamingos to reach asymptotic intake rates are rarely met under natural conditions. This allows us to predict an immediate

Negative emotion impacts memory for verbal discourse in pediatric bipolar disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobs, Rachel H; Pavuluri, Mani N; Schenkel, Lindsay S; Palmer, Anne; Shah, Khushbu; Vemuri, Deepthi; Whited, Stefanie; Little, Deborah M

2011-05-01

Cognitive and emotional deficits have been documented in youth with pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD); however, to date, a systematic evaluation of comprehension and memory for verbally presented information has not been conducted. The effect of emotion on comprehension and memory for verbally presented material also has not been examined. We examined whether youth with PBD have difficulty recalling the big picture (macrostructure) as well as the story details (microstructure). A total of 35 youth with PBD and 25 healthy controls completed an Affective Story Task. A psychological processing model allowed for the examination of both the macrostructure and microstructure of language comprehension. Youth with PBD were capable of comprehending the gist of the stories and were not impaired by emotion when comprehending and remembering macrostructure. However, negative emotional material was found to proactively interfere with the encoding and recall of microstructure. Level of depression appeared to impact recall of microstructure, but not macrostructure. Negatively valenced material may impair subsequent comprehension and memory for details among youth with PBD. This deficit could impact the daily functioning of these youth, as the perception of negative affect may derail aspects of successful comprehension and learning. © 2011 John Wiley and Sons A/S.

Socio-economic considerations of cleaning Greater Vancouver's air

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-08-01

Socio-economic considerations of better air quality on the Greater Vancouver population and economy were discussed. The purpose of the study was to provide socio-economic information to staff and stakeholders of the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) who are participating in an Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP) development process and the Sustainable Region Initiative (SRI) process. The study incorporated the following methodologies: identification and review of Canadian, American, and European quantitative socio-economic, cost-benefit, cost effectiveness, competitiveness and health analyses of changes in air quality and measures to improve air quality; interviews with industry representatives in Greater Vancouver on competitiveness impacts of air quality changes and ways to improve air quality; and a qualitative analysis and discussion of secondary quantitative information that identifies and evaluates socio-economic impacts arising from changes in Greater Vancouver air quality. The study concluded that for the Greater Vancouver area, the qualitative analysis of an improvement in Greater Vancouver air quality shows positive socio-economic outcomes, as high positive economic efficiency impacts are expected along with good social quality of life impacts. 149 refs., 30 tabs., 6 appendices

Differential influences of local subpopulations on regional diversity and differentiation for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus)

Science.gov (United States)

Row, Jeffery R.; Oyler-McCance, Sara J.; Fedy, Brad C.

2016-01-01

The distribution of spatial genetic variation across a region can shape evolutionary dynamics and impact population persistence. Local population dynamics and among-population dispersal rates are strong drivers of this spatial genetic variation, yet for many species we lack a clear understanding of how these population processes interact in space to shape within-species genetic variation. Here, we used extensive genetic and demographic data from 10 subpopulations of greater sage-grouse to parameterize a simulated approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) model and (i) test for regional differences in population density and dispersal rates for greater sage-grouse subpopulations in Wyoming, and (ii) quantify how these differences impact subpopulation regional influence on genetic variation. We found a close match between observed and simulated data under our parameterized model and strong variation in density and dispersal rates across Wyoming. Sensitivity analyses suggested that changes in dispersal (via landscape resistance) had a greater influence on regional differentiation, whereas changes in density had a greater influence on mean diversity across all subpopulations. Local subpopulations, however, varied in their regional influence on genetic variation. Decreases in the size and dispersal rates of central populations with low overall and net immigration (i.e. population sources) had the greatest negative impact on genetic variation. Overall, our results provide insight into the interactions among demography, dispersal and genetic variation and highlight the potential of ABC to disentangle the complexity of regional population dynamics and project the genetic impact of changing conditions.

Combined impact of negative lifestyle factors on cardiovascular risk in children: a randomized prospective study

OpenAIRE

Meyer, Ursina; Schindler, Christian; Bloesch, Tamara; Schmocker, Eliane; Zahner, Lukas; Puder, Jardena J; Kriemler, Susi

2014-01-01

PURPOSE: Negative lifestyle factors are known to be associated with increased cardiovascular risk (CVR) in children, but research on their combined impact on a general population of children is sparse. Therefore, we aimed to quantify the combined impact of easily assessable negative lifestyle factors on the CVR scores of randomly selected children after 4 years. METHODS: Of the 540 randomly selected 6- to 13-year-old children, 502 children participated in a baseline health assessment, and ...

Positive and negative psychological impact after secondary exposure to politically motivated violence among body handlers and rehabilitation workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Shiri, Shimon; Wexler, Isaiah D; Alkalay, Yasmin; Meiner, Zeev; Kreitler, Shulamith

2008-12-01

The positive and negative psychological impact of secondary exposure to politically motivated violence was examined among body handlers and hospital rehabilitation workers, 2 groups that differed in their proximity and immediacy to violent events. Survivors of politically motivated violence served as a comparison group. Body handlers experienced high levels of positive psychological impact and traumatic stress symptoms. Levels of positive psychological impact among on-scene body handlers were higher than those experienced by rehabilitation workers. Traumatic stress symptoms predicted positive psychological impact among body handlers. These findings indicate that proximity to stressors is associated with higher levels of positive and negative psychological impact. Physical proximity is a major contributory factor to both positive and negative psychological effects of secondary exposure to trauma.

Surrogate obesity negatively impacts pregnancy rates in third-party reproduction.

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DeUgarte, Daniel A; DeUgarte, Catherine M; Sahakian, Vicken

2010-02-01

In a retrospective cohort review of third-party reproduction, we observed that surrogate body mass index (BMI) negatively impacts implantation rates in oocyte-donor in vitro fertilization cycles. A BMI > or =35 kg/m(2) cutoff is associated with a statistically significant decrease in pregnancy rates but not miscarriage rates. Copyright 2010 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The impact of negative emotions on self-concept abstraction depends on accessible information processing styles.

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Isbell, Linda M; Rovenpor, Daniel R; Lair, Elicia C

2016-10-01

Research suggests that anger promotes global, abstract processing whereas sadness and fear promote local, concrete processing (see Schwarz & Clore, 2007 for a review). Contrary to a large and influential body of work suggesting that specific affective experiences are tethered to specific cognitive outcomes, the affect-as-cognitive-feedback account maintains that affective experiences confer positive or negative value on currently dominant processing styles, and thus can lead to either global or local processing (Huntsinger, Isbell, & Clore, 2014). The current work extends this theoretical perspective by investigating the impact of discrete negative emotions on the self-concept. By experimentally manipulating information processing styles and discrete negative emotions that vary in appraisals of certainty, we demonstrate that the impact of discrete negative emotions on the spontaneous self-concept depends on accessible processing styles. When global processing was accessible, individuals in angry (negative, high certainty) states generated more abstract statements about themselves than individuals in either sad (Experiment 1) or fearful (Experiment 2; negative, low certainty) states. When local processing was made accessible, however, the opposite pattern emerged, whereby individuals in angry states generated fewer abstract statements than individuals in sad or fearful states. Together these studies provide new insights into the mechanisms through which discrete emotions influence cognition. In contrast to theories assuming a dedicated link between emotions and processing styles, these results suggest that discrete emotions provide feedback about accessible ways of thinking, and are consistent with recent evidence suggesting that the impact of affect on cognition is highly context-dependent. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

[Negative hallucination, self-onsciousness and ageing].

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Hazif-Thomas, C; Stephan, F; Walter, M; Thomas, P

2015-04-01

Negative hallucinations are characterized by a defect in perception of an object or a person, or a denial of the existence of their perception. Negative hallucinations create blank spaces, due to both an impossible representation and an incapability of investment in reality. They have a close relationship with Cotard's syndrome, delusional theme of organ denial observed in melancholic syndromes in the elderly. Phenomenological approach. The phenomenology of negative hallucinations provides quite an amount of information on the origin of the psychotic symptoms when one is rather old. The connections between hallucinations, mood disorders and negative symptoms are often difficult to live with for the nearest and dearest. Negative hallucinations require a strict approach to identify their expression that is crucial because a wide heterogeneity exists within the pathological pictures, as in Cotard's syndrome. Although the negative hallucination has an anti traumatic function in elderly people fighting against mental pain, it still represents a deficiency in symbolization. The prevalence of this symptom is without doubt underestimated, although its presence often underlines thymic suffering that is more striking. These hallucinatory symptoms have an important impact on the patients' daily life, and they appear to be prisoners of a suffering, which cannot be revealed. We propose in this article to review the clinical symptoms of negative hallucinations in the elderly and the way to manage them. The medicinal approaches are not always effective. A greater place must be given to what is in connection with the body, aiming at a strong impact and thus to offer non-pharmacological approaches, such as somatic ones, which can be either invasive (electroconvulsive therapy) or not (transcranial magnetic stimulation). Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

Energy impacts of heat island reduction strategies in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada; FINAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Konopacki, Steven; Akbari, Hashem

2001-01-01

In 2000, the Toronto Atmospheric Fund (TAF) embarked on an initiative to quantify the potential benefits of Heat Island Reduction (HIR) strategies (shade trees, reflective roofs and pavements) in reducing cooling energy use in buildings, lowering the ambient air temperature and improve air quality. This report summarizes the efforts of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) to assess the impacts of HIR measures on building cooling- and heating-energy use. We discuss our efforts to calculate annual energy savings and peak-power avoidance of HIR strategies in the building sector of the Greater Toronto Area. The analysis is focused on three major building types that offer most saving potentials: residence, office and retail store. Using an hourly building energy simulation model, we quantify the energy saving potentials of (1) using cool roofs on individual buildings[direct effect], (2) planting deciduous shade trees near south and west walls of building[direct effect], (3) planting coniferous wind-shielding vegetation near building[direct effect], (4) ambient cooling by a large-scale program of urban reforestation with reflective building roofs and pavements[indirect effect], (5) and the combined direct and indirect effects. Results show potential annual energy savings of over$11M (with uniform residential and commercial electricity and gas prices of$0.084/kWh and$5.54/GJ) could be realized by ratepayers from the combined direct and indirect effects of HIR strategies. Of that total, about 88 percent was from the direct impact roughly divided equally among reflective roofs, shade trees and wind-shielding, and the remainder (12 percent) from the indirect impact of the cooler ambient air temperature. The residential sector accounts for over half (59 percent) of the total, offices 13 percent and retail stores 28 percent. Savings from cool roofs were about 20 percent, shade trees 30 percent, wind shielding of tree 37 percent, and indirect effect 12 percent. These

The positives of negative emotions: willingness to express negative emotions promotes relationships.

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Graham, Steven M; Huang, Julie Y; Clark, Margaret S; Helgeson, Vicki S

2008-03-01

Four studies support the hypothesis that expressing negative emotion is associated with positive relationship outcomes, including elicitation of support, building of new close relationships, and heightening of intimacy in the closest of those relationships. In Study 1, participants read vignettes in which another person was experiencing a negative emotion. Participants reported they would provide more help when the person chose to express the negative emotion. In Study 2, participants watched a confederate preparing for a speech. Participants provided more help to her when she expressed nervousness. In Study 3, self-reports of willingness to express negative emotions predicted having more friends, controlling for demographic variables and extraversion. In Study 4, self-reports of willingness to express negative emotion measured prior to arrival at college predicted formation of more relationships, greater intimacy in the closest of those relationships, and greater received support from roommates across participants' first semester of college.

Biofuels and the Greater Mekong Subregion: Assessing the impact on prices, production and trade

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Jun; Huang, Jikun; Qiu, Huanguang [Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Jia 11, Datun Road, Beijing 100101 (China); Rozelle, Scott [Freeman Spogli Institute of International Studies, Stanford University, East Encina Hall, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States); Sombilla, Mercy A. [Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture, College, Laguna 4031 (Philippines)

2009-11-15

Similar to many other countries, all nations in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) have planned or are planning to develop strong national biofuel programs. The overall goal of this paper is to better understand the impacts of global and regional biofuels on agriculture and the rest of the economy, with a specific focus on the GMS. Based on a modified multi-country, multi-sector computable general equilibrium model, this study reveals that global biofuel development will significantly increase agricultural prices and production and change trade in agricultural commodities in the GMS and the rest of world. While biofuel in the GMS will have little impacts on global prices, it will have significant effects on domestic agricultural production, land use, trade, and food security. The results also show that the extent of impacts from biofuel is highly dependent on international oil prices and the degree of substitution between biofuel and gasoline. The findings of this study have important policy implications for the GMS countries and the rest of world. (author)

Biofuels and the Greater Mekong Subregion: Assessing the impact on prices, production and trade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Jun; Huang, Jikun; Qiu, Huanguang; Rozelle, Scott; Sombilla, Mercy A.

2009-01-01

Similar to many other countries, all nations in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) have planned or are planning to develop strong national biofuel programs. The overall goal of this paper is to better understand the impacts of global and regional biofuels on agriculture and the rest of the economy, with a specific focus on the GMS. Based on a modified multi-country, multi-sector computable general equilibrium model, this study reveals that global biofuel development will significantly increase agricultural prices and production and change trade in agricultural commodities in the GMS and the rest of world. While biofuel in the GMS will have little impacts on global prices, it will have significant effects on domestic agricultural production, land use, trade, and food security. The results also show that the extent of impacts from biofuel is highly dependent on international oil prices and the degree of substitution between biofuel and gasoline. The findings of this study have important policy implications for the GMS countries and the rest of world. (author)

Negative Attitudes, Network and Education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bennett, Patrick; la Cour, Lisbeth; Larsen, Birthe

We consider the impact of negative attitudes against immigrants and immigration on educational choice in a search and wage bargaining model including networking. We consider two cases in terms of the importance of negative attitudes againts immigrants for high and low educated individuals and find...... that more negative attitudes against immigrants has a positive impact on education in one case and a negative impact in the other and has no impact on natives. Immigration improves employment perspectives for immigrants and thereby increases immigrant education whereas endogenous negative attitudes lead...... use Danish register data to find a signficant positive correlation between negative attitudes towards immigrants and high school attendance and find a positive impact of networking on high school attendance. In both the macro and the micro-econometric analysis we run the same regressions for natives...

The role of multiple negative social relationships in inflammatory cytokine responses to a laboratory stressor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sunmi Song

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The present study examined the unique impact of perceived negativity in multiple social relationships on endocrine and inflammatory responses to a laboratory stressor. Via hierarchical cluster analysis, those who reported negative social exchanges across relationships with a romantic partner, family, and their closest friend had higher mean IL-6 across time and a greater increase in TNF-α from 15 min to 75 min post stress. Those who reported negative social exchanges across relationships with roommates, family, and their closest friend showed greater IL-6 responses to stress. Differences in mean IL-6 were accounted for by either depressed mood or hostility, whereas differences in the cytokine stress responses remained significant after controlling for those factors. Overall, this research provides preliminary evidence to suggest that having multiple negative relationships may exacerbate acute inflammatory responses to a laboratory stressor independent of hostility and depressed mood.

The role of multiple negative social relationships in inflammatory cytokine responses to a laboratory stressor.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Sunmi; Graham-Engeland, Jennifer E; Corwin, Elizabeth J; Ceballos, Rachel M; Taylor, Shelley E; Seeman, Teresa; Klein, Laura Cousino

2015-01-01

The present study examined the unique impact of perceived negativity in multiple social relationships on endocrine and inflammatory responses to a laboratory stressor. Via hierarchical cluster analysis, those who reported negative social exchanges across relationships with a romantic partner, family, and their closest friend had higher mean IL-6 across time and a greater increase in TNF-α from 15 min to 75 min post stress. Those who reported negative social exchanges across relationships with roommates, family, and their closest friend showed greater IL-6 responses to stress. Differences in mean IL-6 were accounted for by either depressed mood or hostility, whereas differences in the cytokine stress responses remained significant after controlling for those factors. Overall, this research provides preliminary evidence to suggest that having multiple negative relationships may exacerbate acute inflammatory responses to a laboratory stressor independent of hostility and depressed mood.

The power to resist: The relationship between power, stigma, and negative symptoms in schizophrenia

Science.gov (United States)

Campellone, Timothy R.; Caponigro, Janelle M.; Kring, Ann M.

2014-01-01

Stigmatizing beliefs about mental illness can be a daily struggle for people with schizophrenia. While investigations into the impact of internalizing stigma on negative symptoms have yielded mixed results, resistance to stigmatizing beliefs has received little attention. In this study, we examined the linkage between internalized stigma, stigma resistance, negative symptoms, and social power, or perceived ability to influence others during social interactions among people with schizophrenia. Further, we sought to determine whether resistance to stigma would be bolstered by social power, with greater power in relationships with other possibly buffering against motivation/pleasure negative symptoms. Fifty-one people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder completed measures of social power, internalized stigma, and stigma resistance. Negative symptoms were assessed using the Clinical Assessment Interview for Negative Symptoms (CAINS). Greater social power was associated with less internalized stigma and negative symptoms as well as more stigma resistance. Further, the relationship between social power and negative symptoms was partially mediated by stigma resistance. These findings provide evidence for the role of stigma resistance as a viable target for psychosocial interventions aimed at improving motivation and social power in people with schizophrenia. PMID:24326180

The power to resist: the relationship between power, stigma, and negative symptoms in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Campellone, Timothy R; Caponigro, Janelle M; Kring, Ann M

2014-02-28

Stigmatizing beliefs about mental illness can be a daily struggle for people with schizophrenia. While investigations into the impact of internalizing stigma on negative symptoms have yielded mixed results, resistance to stigmatizing beliefs has received little attention. In this study, we examined the linkage between internalized stigma, stigma resistance, negative symptoms, and social power, or perceived ability to influence others during social interactions among people with schizophrenia. Further, we sought to determine whether resistance to stigma would be bolstered by social power, with greater power in relationships with other possibly buffering against motivation/pleasure negative symptoms. Fifty-one people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder completed measures of social power, internalized stigma, and stigma resistance. Negative symptoms were assessed using the Clinical Assessment Interview for Negative Symptoms (CAINS). Greater social power was associated with less internalized stigma and negative symptoms as well as more stigma resistance. Further, the relationship between social power and negative symptoms was partially mediated by stigma resistance. These findings provide evidence for the role of stigma resistance as a viable target for psychosocial interventions aimed at improving motivation and social power in people with schizophrenia. © 2013 Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

An Influence Study of Hydrogen Evolution Characteristics on the Negative Strap Corrosion of Lead Acid Battery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhong Guobin

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Negative strap corrosion is an important reason for the failure of valve regulated lead acid battery. This paper selected the Pb-Sb alloy material and Pb-Sn alloy material, made an investigation on the negative corrosion resistance and hydrogen evolution of these two alloy materials by scanning electron microscope analysis, metallographic analysis, chemical study and linear sweep voltammetry, and discussed the influence of lead alloy hydrogen evolution on the negative strap corrosion. The results showed that the hydrogen evolution reaction rates of the alloys had an impact on the corrosion areas with the maximum thickness of the alloys and the depth of corrosion layers. Greater hydrogen evolution reaction rate can lead to shorter distance between the corrosion area with the maximum thickness and the liquid level; whereas the greater corrosion layer thickness can bring aggravated risk of negative strap corrosion failure.

Sleep deprivation affects reactivity to positive but not negative stimuli.

Science.gov (United States)

Pilcher, June J; Callan, Christina; Posey, J Laura

2015-12-01

The current study examined the effects of partial and total sleep deprivation on emotional reactivity. Twenty-eight partially sleep-deprived participants and 31 totally sleep-deprived participants rated their valence and arousal responses to positive and negative pictures across four testing sessions during the day following partial sleep deprivation or during the night under total sleep deprivation. The results suggest that valence and arousal ratings decreased under both sleep deprivation conditions. In addition, partial and total sleep deprivation had a greater negative effect on positive events than negative events. These results suggest that sleep-deprived persons are more likely to respond less to positive events than negative events. One explanation for the current findings is that negative events could elicit more attentive behavior and thus stable responding under sleep deprivation conditions. As such, sleep deprivation could impact reactivity to emotional stimuli through automated attentional and self-regulatory processes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Explanation of Significant Differences Between Models used to Assess Groundwater Impacts for the Disposal of Greater-Than-Class C Low-Level Radioactive Waste and Greater-Than-Class C-Like Waste Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/EIS-0375-D) and the

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Annette Schafer; Arthur S. Rood; A. Jeffrey Sondrup

2011-08-01

Models have been used to assess the groundwater impacts to support the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Disposal of Greater-Than-Class C (GTCC) Low-Level Radioactive Waste and GTCC-Like Waste (DOE-EIS 2011) for a facility sited at the Idaho National Laboratory and the Environmental Assessment for the INL Remote-Handled Low-Level Waste Disposal Project (INL 2011). Groundwater impacts are primarily a function of (1) location determining the geologic and hydrologic setting, (2) disposal facility configuration, and (3) radionuclide source, including waste form and release from the waste form. In reviewing the assumptions made between the model parameters for the two different groundwater impacts assessments, significant differences were identified. This report presents the two sets of model assumptions and discusses their origins and implications for resulting dose predictions. Given more similar model parameters, predicted doses would be commensurate.

What determines positive, neutral, and negative impacts of Solidago canadensis invasion on native plant species richness?

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Li-Jia; Yu, Hong-Wei; He, Wei-Ming

2015-11-17

Whether plant invasions pose a great threat to native plant diversity is still hotly debated due to conflicting findings. More importantly, we know little about the mechanisms of invasion impacts on native plant richness. We examined how Solidago canadensis invasion influenced native plants using data from 291 pairs of invaded and uninvaded plots covering an entire invaded range, and quantified the relative contributions of climate, recipient communities, and S. canadensis to invasion impacts. There were three types of invasion consequences for native plant species richness (i.e., positive, neutral, and negative impacts). Overall, the relative contributions of recipient communities, S. canadensis and climate to invasion impacts were 71.39%, 21.46% and 7.15%, respectively; furthermore, the roles of recipient communities, S. canadensis and climate were largely ascribed to plant diversity, density and cover, and precipitation. In terms of direct effects, invasion impacts were negatively linked to temperature and native plant communities, and positively to precipitation and soil microbes. Soil microbes were crucial in the network of indirect effects on invasion impacts. These findings suggest that the characteristics of recipient communities are the most important determinants of invasion impacts and that invasion impacts may be a continuum across an entire invaded range.

Impact of molar-incisor hypomineralization on oral health-related quality of life in schoolchildren.

Science.gov (United States)

Dantas-Neta, Neusa Barros; Moura, Lúcia de Fátima Almeida de Deus; Cruz, Priscila Figueiredo; Moura, Marcoeli Silva; Paiva, Saul Martins; Martins, Carolina Castro; Lima, Marina de Deus Moura de

2016-10-24

This study evaluated the impact of molar-incisor hypomineralization (MIH) on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) according to the perceptions of schoolchildren and their parents/caregivers. This cross-sectional study consisted of a sample of 594 schoolchildren between 11 and 14 years of age and their parents/caregivers who answered the questionnaires CPQ11-14ISF:16 and P-CPQ, respectively. The main independent variable of this study was MIH of the schoolchildren. Experience of dental caries, malocclusion, and socioeconomic status were treated as confounding variables. Statistical analysis used descriptive analysis and Poisson regression with robust variance. The prevalence of MIH was 18.9%. The overall P-CPQ score ranged from 0 to 35 (average = 7.26 ± 6.84), and the overall CPQ11-14ISF:16 score ranged from 0 to 47 (average = 11.92 ± 7.98). Severe MIH was associated with a greater negative impact of the "functional limitation" domain (RR = 1.41; 95%CI = 1.01-1.97), according to parents'/caregivers' perceptions. Severe MIH was associated with a greater negative impact of the "oral symptom" domain (RR = 1.30; 95%CI = 1.06-1.60) and functional limitation domain (RR = 1.42; 95%CI = 1.08-1.86), according to the schoolchildren's perceptions. Schoolchildren with severe MIH had a greater negative impact on the oral symptom and functional limitation domains than those without MIH. According to parents'/caregivers' perceptions, schoolchildren with severe MIH had a greater negative impact on the functional limitation domain than those without MIH.

Motivation enhances control of positive and negative emotional distractions.

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Walsh, Amy T; Carmel, David; Harper, David; Grimshaw, Gina M

2018-01-03

Using cognitive control to ignore distractions is essential for successfully achieving our goals. In emotionally-neutral contexts, motivation can reduce interference from irrelevant stimuli by enhancing cognitive control. However, attention is commonly biased towards emotional stimuli, making them potent distractors. Can motivation aid control of emotional distractions, and does it do so similarly for positive and negative stimuli? Here, we examined how task motivation influences control of distraction from positive, negative, and neutral scenes. Participants completed a simple perceptual task while attempting to ignore task-irrelevant images. One group received monetary reward for fast and accurate task performance; another (control) group did not. Overall, both negative (mutilation) and positive (erotic) images caused greater slowing of responses than neutral images of people, but emotional distraction was reduced with reward. Crucially, despite the different motivational directions associated with negative and positive stimuli, reward reduced negative and positive distraction equally. Our findings suggest that motivation may encourage the use of a sustained proactive control strategy that can effectively reduce the impact of emotional distraction.

T100. NICOTINE USE IMPACTS NEGATIVE SYMPTOMS SEVERITY IN SCHIZOPHRENIA

Science.gov (United States)

Oliveira, Hianna; Coutinho, Luccas; Higuchi, Cinthia; Noto, Cristiano; Bressan, Rodrigo; Gadelha, Ary

2018-01-01

Abstract Background Nicotine use is higher among patients with schizophrenia (50–98%) than in general population (25–30%). This association can reflect a non-specific liability to substance use or specific effects of tobacco on symptoms severity or side effects. Studies about nicotine use and schizophrenia symptoms dimensions are controversial. Some of them showed a relation between severe nicotine use and higher positive symptoms and others presented a correlation between lower negative symptoms and nicotine use. That is why we aimed to verify whether nicotine use is associated with symptoms dimensions in patients with schizophrenia. Methods Two hundred and seven outpatients were enrolled from the Programa de Esquizofrenia da Universidade Federal de São Paulo (PROESQ/UNIFESP). Schizophrenia diagnosis was confirmed by Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I). Dimensional psychopathology was assessed with Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence. The PANSS items were grouped in five dimensions: positive, negative, disorganized/cognitive, mood/depression and excitement/hostility. The total score of Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence was the index used for severity in nicotine dependence. We used Wilcoxon-mann- whitney test to compare the means of PANSS dimensions between nicotine users versus non nicotine use. Results The patients mean age was 36.75 (SD 10.648), 69.1% were male, 48.3% reported lifetime tobacco use and 34.3% reported current tobacco use. Lower scores on negative dimension were associated with nicotine use (W = 5642.5, p-value = 0.046, effect size = 0.446). All p-values were corrected by Bonferroni test. Tests that evaluated the relationship between nicotine use and the total PANSS score or other dimensions were not statistically significant. Discussion This study shows that nicotine use impacts negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Increase in hepatic metabolism leading

Adverse child health impacts resulting from food adulterations in the Greater China Region.

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Li, Wai Chin; Chow, Chin Fung

2017-09-01

Food adulteration has a long history in human society, and it still occurs in modern times. Because children are relatively vulnerable to food adulterants, studying the health impacts of food adulteration on children is important. This article provides an overview of the child health impacts of food adulterants in two recent food adulteration incidents in the Greater China Region: (1) a plasticizer incident in Taiwan and (2) a 2,4,6-triamino-1,3,5-triazine (melamine)-tainted milk incident in China. The involved food adulterants, di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), diisononyl phthalate (DiNP) and melamine, are harmful to the hippocampus, kidneys, reproductive organs and immune system of children, and they also increase the risk of cancer. To detect food adulteration and to avoid further harm caused by food adulteration, simple screening methods have been developed, and they have recently emerged as a new focus area for research. This article also summarizes the simple screening methods used to analyse the aforementioned food adulterants and reports how governments reacted to the recent food incidents. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

The Impact of Positive and Negative Affect and Issue Framing on Issue Interpretation and Risk Taking.

Science.gov (United States)

Mittal; Ross

1998-12-01

Two studies examined the influence of transient affective states and issue framing on issue interpretation and risk taking within the context of strategic decision making. In Study 1, participants in whom transient positive or negative affective states were induced by reading a short story showed systematic differences in issue interpretation and risk taking in a strategic decision making context. Compared to negative mood participants, those in a positive mood were more likely to interpret the strategic issue as an opportunity and displayed lower levels of risk taking. Study 2 replicated and extended these results by crossing affective states with threat and opportunity frames. Results showed that framing an issue (as a threat or an opportunity) had a stronger impact on issue interpretation among negative affect participants than among positive affect participants. Affective states also moderated the impact of issue framing on risk taking: the effect of framing on risk-taking was stronger under negative rather than positive affect. These results are interpreted via information-processing and motivational effects of affect on a decision maker. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.

Negative and positive impact of internet addiction on young adults: Empericial study in Malaysia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Syed Shah Alam

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore and identify the impact of internet addictions of young adults in Malaysia. There are six impacts identified, of which five are negative impacts and one is positive impact.Design/methodology/approach: This study comprised sample of 200 young adults in Malaysia. A cross-sectional research design was used to examine the impact of Internet addiction. Data were gathered based on personal administered questionnaire.Findings and Originality/value: This study results show that five negative impacts of excessive internet usages such as interpersonal problem, behavioural problem, physical problem, psychological problem, and work problem of young adults.The young adults believed that the internet usage can help them to improve their skills for doing their work better. This study also reveals that males have a great impact on working problems, psychological problems, behavioural problems and interpersonal problems than female adults. On the other hand, females are leading with their physical problems by getting Internet addiction.Research limitations/implications: The data for this study are collected by self-administered questionnaire, a method with well-known shortcomings. Secondly, this study done only on young adults from only two universities in Malaysia.Practical implications: An important implication of this research is that the interesting findings give some insight to the Internet users to focus on improving Internet usage habits. Originality/value: The findings are original and unique and are based on the literature from different western researches. The results are based on a sample of young adults in Malaysia. The research findings are useful to academics and heavy Internet users those are hooked with Internet to their everyday life.

The Influence of Green Infrastructure on Urban Resilience in Greater London

Science.gov (United States)

Oh, Yukyung

2017-04-01

High population densities and diverse economic activities in urban areas create social issues as well as a range of environmental impacts including air pollution, soil contamination, loss of biodiversity and health problems (Alberti et al., 2003; Dobbs, Escobedo, & Zipperer, 2011; Grimm et al., 2008). The concept of urban resilience has been used for increasing the capacity of the entities and players to adapt to rapid changes, and urban green spaces play a crucial role in increasing urban resilience. Greater London has a good case for increasing urban green spaces and resilience under the London Plan. The relevance of urban open spaces and several socioeconomic indicators would provide researchers and policy makers with the information for managing green coverage. The correlation analysis of two quantitative data such as open space and socioeconomic data of Greater London was conducted with SPSS. The data for open spaces in Greater London was gained through Greenspace Information for Greater London. The data was converted from vector to raster in Geographic Information System (GIS), so as to calculate landscape metrics for open spaces in Greater London through a spatial pattern analysis program, FRAGSTATS 4.2. The socioeconomic data was obtained from "London Borough Profile", London Datastore. In addition, data on total carbon emissions from Industry and Commercial, Domestic, Transport, LULUCF Net Emissions, and per capita emissions were gained from UK local authority and regional carbon dioxide emissions national statistics: 2005-2014 released from Department of Energy and Climate Change. The indicators from open spaces are total area of open space and patch density or contagion of open spaces. The latter indicator allows to figure out the level of fragmentation of open spaces. The socioeconomic indicators cover number of jobs by workplace, jobs density, crime rates per thousand population, and several wellbeing indicators such as life satisfaction

Negative HPV screening test predicts low cervical cancer risk better than negative Pap test

Science.gov (United States)

Based on a study that included more than 1 million women, investigators at NCI have determined that a negative test for HPV infection compared to a negative Pap test provides greater safety, or assurance, against future risk of cervical cancer.

Harsh parenting and fearfulness in toddlerhood interact to predict amplitudes of preschool error-related negativity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rebecca J. Brooker

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Temperamentally fearful children are at increased risk for the development of anxiety problems relative to less-fearful children. This risk is even greater when early environments include high levels of harsh parenting behaviors. However, the mechanisms by which harsh parenting may impact fearful children's risk for anxiety problems are largely unknown. Recent neuroscience work has suggested that punishment is associated with exaggerated error-related negativity (ERN, an event-related potential linked to performance monitoring, even after the threat of punishment is removed. In the current study, we examined the possibility that harsh parenting interacts with fearfulness, impacting anxiety risk via neural processes of performance monitoring. We found that greater fearfulness and harsher parenting at 2 years of age predicted greater fearfulness and greater ERN amplitudes at age 4. Supporting the role of cognitive processes in this association, greater fearfulness and harsher parenting also predicted less efficient neural processing during preschool. This study provides initial evidence that performance monitoring may be a candidate process by which early parenting interacts with fearfulness to predict risk for anxiety problems.

Emotional rigidity negatively impacts remission from anxiety and recovery of well-being.

Science.gov (United States)

Wiltgen, Anika; Shepard, Christopher; Smith, Ryan; Fowler, J Christopher

2018-08-15

Emotional rigidity is described in clinical literature as a significant barrier to recovery; however, few there are few empirical measures of the construct. The current study had two aims: Study 1 aimed to identify latent factors that may bear on the construct of emotional rigidity while Study 2 assessed the potential impact of the latent factor(s) on anxiety remission rates and well-being. This study utilized data from 2472 adult inpatients (1176 females and 1296 males) with severe psychopathology. Study 1 utilized exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to identify latent factors of emotional rigidity. Study 2 utilized hierarchical logistic regression analyses to assess the relationships among emotional rigidity factors and anxiety remission and well-being recovery at discharge. Study 1 yielded a two-factor solution identified in EFA was confirmed with CFA. Factor 1 consisted of neuroticism, experiential avoidance, non-acceptance of emotions, impaired goal-directed behavior, impulse control difficulties and limited access to emotion regulation strategies when experiencing negative emotions. Factor 2 consisted of lack of emotional awareness and lack of emotional clarity when experiencing negative emotions. Results of Study 2 indicated higher scores on Factor 1 was associated with lower remission rates from anxiety and poorer well-being upon discharge. Factor 2 was not predictive of outcome. Emotional rigidity appears to be a latent construct that negatively impacts remission rates from anxiety. Limitations of the present study include its retrospective design, and inefficient methods of assessing emotional rigidity. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Early intervention for relapse in schizophrenia: impact of cognitive behavioural therapy on negative beliefs about psychosis and self-esteem.

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Gumley, Andrew; Karatzias, Athanasios; Power, Kevin; Reilly, James; McNay, Lisa; O'Grady, Margaret

2006-06-01

The study aimed to test two hypotheses. Firstly, that participants who relapsed during the 12-month follow-up period of our randomized controlled trial, would show increased negative beliefs about their illness and reduced self-esteem, in comparison to the non-relapsed participants. Secondly, that cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for early signs of relapse would result in a reduction in negative beliefs about psychosis and an improvement in self-esteem at 12 months. A total of 144 participants with schizophrenia or a related disorder were randomized to receive either treatment as usual (TAU; N=72) or CBT (N=72). Participants completed the Personal Beliefs about Illness Questionnaire (PBIQ; Birchwood, Mason, MacMillan, & Healy, 1993) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES; Rosenberg, 1965) at entry, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months. At 12 months, relapsers showed greater increase in scores for PBIQ entrapment compared with non-relapsers. In addition, after controlling for baseline covariates (treatment group and PBIQ self versus illness), relapsers also showed greater increase in scores for PBIQ self versus illness at 12 months. Furthermore, in comparison to treatment as usual, participants who received CBT showed greater improvement in PBIQ loss and in Rosenberg self-esteem. The study provides evidence that relapse is associated with the development of negative appraisals of entrapment and self-blame (self vs. illness). In addition, this is the first study to show that CBT reduces negative appraisals of loss arising from psychosis and improvements in self-esteem. Implications for future research and treatment are discussed.

Evidence for the negative impact of reward on self-regulated learning.

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Wehe, Hillary S; Rhodes, Matthew G; Seger, Carol A

2015-01-01

The undermining effect refers to the detrimental impact rewards can have on intrinsic motivation to engage in a behaviour. The current study tested the hypothesis that participants' self-regulated learning behaviours are susceptible to the undermining effect. Participants were assigned to learn a set of Swahili-English word pairs. Half of the participants were offered a reward for performance, and half were not offered a reward. After the initial study phase, participants were permitted to continue studying the words during a free period. The results were consistent with an undermining effect: Participants who were not offered a reward spent more time studying the words during the free period. The results suggest that rewards may negatively impact self-regulated learning behaviours and provide support for the encouragement of intrinsic motivation.

Impact of molar-incisor hypomineralization on oral health-related quality of life in schoolchildren

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Neusa Barros DANTAS-NETA

Full Text Available Abstract This study evaluated the impact of molar–incisor hypomineralization (MIH on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL according to the perceptions of schoolchildren and their parents/caregivers. This cross-sectional study consisted of a sample of 594 schoolchildren between 11 and 14 years of age and their parents/caregivers who answered the questionnaires CPQ11–14ISF:16 and P-CPQ, respectively. The main independent variable of this study was MIH of the schoolchildren. Experience of dental caries, malocclusion, and socioeconomic status were treated as confounding variables. Statistical analysis used descriptive analysis and Poisson regression with robust variance. The prevalence of MIH was 18.9%. The overall P-CPQ score ranged from 0 to 35 (average = 7.26 ± 6.84, and the overall CPQ11-14ISF:16 score ranged from 0 to 47 (average = 11.92 ± 7.98. Severe MIH was associated with a greater negative impact of the “functional limitation” domain (RR = 1.41; 95%CI = 1.01–1.97, according to parents’/caregivers’ perceptions. Severe MIH was associated with a greater negative impact of the “oral symptom” domain (RR = 1.30; 95%CI = 1.06–1.60 and functional limitation domain (RR = 1.42; 95%CI = 1.08–1.86, according to the schoolchildren’s perceptions. Schoolchildren with severe MIH had a greater negative impact on the oral symptom and functional limitation domains than those without MIH. According to parents’/caregivers’ perceptions, schoolchildren with severe MIH had a greater negative impact on the functional limitation domain than those without MIH.

Mindfulness during romantic conflict moderates the impact of negative partner behaviors on cortisol responses.

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Laurent, Heidemarie K; Hertz, Robin; Nelson, Benjamin; Laurent, Sean M

2016-03-01

This study was designed to test whether romantic partners' mindfulness-present moment, nonjudgmental awareness-during a conflict discussion could buffer the effects of negative partner behaviors on neuroendocrine stress responses. Heterosexual couples (n=88 dyads) provided 5 saliva samples for cortisol assay during a laboratory session involving a conflict discussion task. Conflict behaviors were coded by outside observers using the System for Coding Interactions in Dyads, and partners rated their mindfulness during the task using the Toronto Mindfulness Scale. Interactions tested using multilevel modeling revealed that participants with higher levels of mindfulness during the conflict showed either quicker cortisol recovery or an absence of slowed recovery in the presence of more negative partner behaviors. Whereas the attitudinal component of mindfulness (curiosity) moderated effects of negative partner engagement in the conflict (i.e., attempts to control, coerciveness, negativity and conflict), the attentional component of mindfulness (decentering) moderated the effect of partner disengagement (i.e., withdrawal). These findings lend support to the idea that mindfulness during a stressful interaction can mitigate the physiological impacts of negative behaviors. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sexual predators, energy development, and conservation in greater Yellowstone.

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Berger, Joel; Beckmann, Jon P

2010-06-01

In the United States, as elsewhere, a growing debate pits national energy policy and homeland security against biological conservation. In rural communities the extraction of fossil fuels is often encouraged because of the employment opportunities it offers, although the concomitant itinerant workforce is often associated with increased wildlife poaching. We explored possible positive and negative factors associated with energy extraction in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), an area known for its national parks, intact biological diversity, and some of the New World's longest terrestrial migrations. Specifically, we asked whether counties with different economies-recreation (ski), agrarian (ranching or farming), and energy extractive (petroleum)-differed in healthcare (gauged by the abundance of hospital beds) and in the frequency of sexual predators. The absolute and relative frequency of registered sex offenders grew approximately two to three times faster in areas reliant on energy extraction. Healthcare among counties did not differ. The strong conflation of community dishevel, as reflected by in-migrant sexual predators, and ecological decay in Greater Yellowstone is consistent with patterns seen in similar systems from Ecuador to northern Canada, where social and environmental disarray exist around energy boomtowns. In our case, that groups (albeit with different aims) mobilized campaigns to help maintain the quality of rural livelihoods by protecting open space is a positive sign that conservation can matter, especially in the face of rampant and poorly executed energy extraction projects. Our findings further suggest that the public and industry need stronger regulatory action to instill greater vigilance when and where social factors and land conversion impact biological systems.

Impact of Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci and Other Germs on Sperm Forms

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Ricardo Lozano-Hernández

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Coagulase-negative Staphylococci (CoNS is part of the microbiota of the male genitourinary tract, sometimes it has been considered as possible pathogenic microorganism. In the 5th version of sperm manual (WHO, 2010 sperm morphology criterion is very restricted to 4% of normal heads whereas David’s criterion evaluates several spermatic forms. The abnormalities of sperm forms were evaluated according to criteria of spermatic morphology: WHO and David in semen samples with bacterial concentrations ≤ 103, 104 and ≥ 105 CFU/mL of CoNS as of other bacteria. Spermogram, sperm culture and antibodies anti-Chlamydia trachomatis IgA detection in 281 semen samples men were performed. CoNS was the most frequent germ isolated in pure culture (9.25%. Semen samples with CoNS showed higher round cells and microcephalus forms by means of David’s criterion. CoNS in higher concentrations than 104 CFU/mL may have a negative impact on sperm cellularity, sperm head and probably on fertility.

Impact of geometrical parameters on the optical properties of negative curvature hollow-core fibers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alagashev, G K; Pryamikov, A D; Kosolapov, A F; Kolyadin, A N; Lukovkin, A Yu; Biriukov, A S

2015-01-01

We analyze the impact of geometrical parameters on such important optical characteristics of negative curvature hollow-core fibers (NCHCFs) as waveguide dispersion, waveguide losses and the structure of transmission bands. We consider both theoretically and experimentally the resonance effects and formation of band edges under bending in NCHCFs. (paper)

Variability in impact of air pollution on subjective well-being

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Du, Guodong; Shin, Kong Joo; Managi, Shunsuke

2018-06-01

This paper examines the impact of variability in impact of air pollution on life satisfaction (LS). Previous studies have shown robust negative impact of air pollution on subjective well-being (SWB). However, empirical studies that consider variability in air pollution effects through comparative city study are limited. This study provides comparative evaluation of two major Chinese cities: Beijing and Shanghai. We apply a geo-statistical spatial interpolation technique on pollution data from monitoring sites to estimate the Sulfur Dioxide (SO2), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), coarse particles with a diameter between 2.5 and 10 μm (PM10) and fine particles with a diameter of 2.5 μm or less (PM2.5) pollution exposure of respondents of a survey conducted in 2016. The results show that all pollutants have robust negative impacts on LS for Beijing residents, whereas only SO2 and NO2 have significant negative impacts on LS for Shanghai residents; Per unit impact of SO2 is greater in Shanghai, and that of NO2 is greater in Beijing. Beijing and Shanghai residents have almost same monetary valuation for SO2 reduction but Beijing residents place approximately 1.5 times valuation on NO2 reduction compared to Shanghai residents. Moreover, the LS of Beijing residents is sensitive to temporal changes in the pollution level, whereas Shanghai residents are unaffected by such changes.

Eyewitness memory: The impact of a negative mood during encoding and/or retrieval upon recall of a non-emotive event.

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Thorley, Craig; Dewhurst, Stephen A; Abel, Joseph W; Knott, Lauren M

2016-07-01

The police often appeal for eyewitnesses to events that were unlikely to have been emotive when observed. An eyewitness, however, may be in a negative mood whilst encoding or retrieving such events as mood can be influenced by a range of personal, social, and environmental factors. For example, bad weather can induce a negative mood. This experiment compared the impact of negative and neutral moods during encoding and/or retrieval upon eyewitness recall of a non-emotive event. A negative mood during encoding had no impact upon the number of correct details recalled (provided participants were in a neutral mood at retrieval) but a negative mood during retrieval impaired the number of correct details recalled (provided participants were in a neutral mood at encoding). A negative mood at both time points enhanced the number of correct details recalled, demonstrating a mood-dependent memory enhancement. The forensic implications of these findings are discussed.

Can Cultural Behavior Have a Negative Impact on the Development of Visual Integration Pathways?

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Pretorius, E.; Naude, H.; van Vuuren, C. J.

2002-01-01

Contends that cultural practices such as carrying the baby on the mother's back for prolonged periods can impact negatively on development of visual integration during the sensorimotor stage pathways by preventing adequate or enough crawling. Maintains that crawling is essential for cross- modality integration and that higher mental functions may…

Can nanotechnology deliver the promised benefits without negatively impacting soil microbial life?

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Dimkpa, Christian O

2014-09-01

Nanotechnology exploits the enhanced reactivity of materials at the atomic scale to improve various applications for humankind. In agriculture, potential nanotechnology applications include crop protection and fertilization. However, such benefits could come with risks for the environment: non-target plants, plant-beneficial soil microbes and other life forms could be impacted if nanoparticles (nanomaterials) contaminate the environment. This review evaluates the impact of the major metallic nanoparticles (Ag, ZnO, CuO, CeO2 , TiO2 , and FeO-based nanoparticles) on soil microbes involved in agricultural processes. The current literature indicate that in addition to population and organismal-scale effects on microbes, other subtle impacts of nanoparticles are seen in the nitrogen cycle, soil enzyme activities, and processes involved in iron metabolism, phytohormone, and antibiotic production. These effects are negative or positive, the outcome being dependent on specific nanoparticles. Collectively, published results suggest that nanotechnology portends considerable, many negative, implications for soil microbes and, thus, agricultural processes that are microbially driven. Nonetheless, the potential of plant and soil microbial processes to mitigate the bioreactivity of nanoparticles also are observed. Whereas the roots of most terrestrial plants are associated with microbes, studies of nanoparticle interactions with plants and microbes are generally conducted separately. The few studies in actual microbe-plant systems found effects of nanoparticles on the functioning of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, nitrogen fixation, as well as on the production of microbial siderophores in the plant rhizosphere. It is suggested that a better understanding of the agro-ecological ramifications of nanoparticles would require more in-depth interactive studies in combined plant-microbe-nanoparticle systems. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Harsh parenting and fearfulness in toddlerhood interact to predict amplitudes of preschool error-related negativity.

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Brooker, Rebecca J; Buss, Kristin A

2014-07-01

Temperamentally fearful children are at increased risk for the development of anxiety problems relative to less-fearful children. This risk is even greater when early environments include high levels of harsh parenting behaviors. However, the mechanisms by which harsh parenting may impact fearful children's risk for anxiety problems are largely unknown. Recent neuroscience work has suggested that punishment is associated with exaggerated error-related negativity (ERN), an event-related potential linked to performance monitoring, even after the threat of punishment is removed. In the current study, we examined the possibility that harsh parenting interacts with fearfulness, impacting anxiety risk via neural processes of performance monitoring. We found that greater fearfulness and harsher parenting at 2 years of age predicted greater fearfulness and greater ERN amplitudes at age 4. Supporting the role of cognitive processes in this association, greater fearfulness and harsher parenting also predicted less efficient neural processing during preschool. This study provides initial evidence that performance monitoring may be a candidate process by which early parenting interacts with fearfulness to predict risk for anxiety problems. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Negative impacts of climate change on cereal yields: statistical evidence from France

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Gammans, Matthew; Mérel, Pierre; Ortiz-Bobea, Ariel

2017-05-01

In several world regions, climate change is predicted to negatively affect crop productivity. The recent statistical yield literature emphasizes the importance of flexibly accounting for the distribution of growing-season temperature to better represent the effects of warming on crop yields. We estimate a flexible statistical yield model using a long panel from France to investigate the impacts of temperature and precipitation changes on wheat and barley yields. Winter varieties appear sensitive to extreme cold after planting. All yields respond negatively to an increase in spring-summer temperatures and are a decreasing function of precipitation about historical precipitation levels. Crop yields are predicted to be negatively affected by climate change under a wide range of climate models and emissions scenarios. Under warming scenario RCP8.5 and holding growing areas and technology constant, our model ensemble predicts a 21.0% decline in winter wheat yield, a 17.3% decline in winter barley yield, and a 33.6% decline in spring barley yield by the end of the century. Uncertainty from climate projections dominates uncertainty from the statistical model. Finally, our model predicts that continuing technology trends would counterbalance most of the effects of climate change.

A first insight into high prevalence of undiagnosed smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis in Northern Ethiopian prisons: implications for greater investment and quality control.

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Fantahun Biadglegne

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB transmission in prisons poses significant risks to inmates as well as the general population. Currently, there are no data on smear-negative pulmonary TB cases in prisons and by extension no data on the impact such cases have on TB incidence. This study was designed to obtain initial data on the prevalence of smear-negative cases of TB in prisons as well as preliminary risk factor analysis for such TB cases. METHODS: This cross-sectional survey was conducted in November 2013 at eight main prisons located in the state of Amhara, Ethiopia. Interviews using a structured and pretested questionnaire were done first to identify symptomatic prisoners. Three consecutive sputum samples were collected and examined using acid fast bacilli (AFB microscopy at the point of care. All smear-negative sputum samples were taken for culture and Xpert testing. Descriptive and multivariate analysis was done using SPSS version 16. RESULTS: Overall the prevalence of smear-negative pulmonary TB cases in the study prisons was 8% (16/200. Using multivariate analysis, a contact history to TB patients in prison, educational level, cough and night sweating were found to be predictors of TB positivity among smear-negative pulmonary TB cases (p ≤ 0.05. CONCLUSIONS: In the studied prisons, high prevalence of undiagnosed TB cases using AFB microscopy was documented, which is an important public health concern that urgently needs to be addressed. Furthermore, patients with night sweating, non-productive cough, a contact history with TB patients and who are illiterate merit special attention, larger studies are warranted in the future to assess the associations more precisely. Further studies are also needed to examine TB transmission dynamics by patients with smear-negative pulmonary TB in a prison setting.

Addressing the negative impact of scholarship on dental education.

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Mackenzie, R S

1984-09-01

Defined broadly, scholarship is the essence of academic and professional life. In several ways, however, scholarship as defined, perceived, and applied within the university has a negative impact on dental education. When scholarship is defined in terms of numbers of publications, faculty efforts are turned away from other important forms of scholarship. The review process for publication quality is unreliable, and the focus on numbers of publications encourages multiple authorship and papers of less practical significance. The proposed solution of nontenure tracks for clinicians creates its own difficulties. Broadening the definition of scholarship will encourage better clinical teaching, clinical judgment, and clinical assessment of student performance, and will result in more satisfied teachers, students, and alumni, and ultimately in better health care through improved judgments and decision processes. The perception that scholarship is a meaningless university hurdle for clinicians must be dispelled.

Simulating the Earth System Response to Negative Emissions

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Jackson, R. B.; Milne, J.; Littleton, E. W.; Jones, C.; Canadell, J.; Peters, G. P.; van Vuuren, D.; Davis, S. J.; Jonas, M.; Smith, P.; Ciais, P.; Rogelj, J.; Torvanger, A.; Shrestha, G.

2016-12-01

The natural carbon sinks of the land and oceans absorb approximately half the anthropogenic CO2 emitted every year. The CO2 that is not absorbed accumulates in the Earth's atmosphere and traps the suns rays causing an increase in the global mean temperature. Removing this left over CO2 using negative emissions technologies (NETs) has been proposed as a strategy to lessen the accumulating CO2 and avoid dangerous climate change. Using CMIP5 Earth system model simulations this study assessed the impact on the global carbon cycle, and how the Earth system might respond, to negative emissions strategies applied to low emissions scenarios, over different times horizons from the year 2000 to 2300. The modeling results suggest that using NETs to remove atmospheric CO2 over five 50-year time horizons has varying effects at different points in time. The effects of anthropogenic and natural sources and sinks, can result in positive or negative changes in atmospheric CO2 concentration. Results show that historic emissions and the current state of the Earth System have impacts on the behavior of atmospheric CO2, as do instantaneous anthropogenic emissions. Indeed, varying background scenarios seemed to have a greater effect on atmospheric CO2 than the actual amount and timing of NETs. These results show how NETs interact with the physical climate-carbon cycle system and highlight the need for more research on earth-system dynamics as they relate to carbon sinks and sources and anthropogenic perturbations.

Rethinking a Negative Event: The Affective Impact of Ruminative versus Imagery-Based Processing of Aversive Autobiographical Memories.

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Slofstra, Christien; Eisma, Maarten C; Holmes, Emily A; Bockting, Claudi L H; Nauta, Maaike H

2017-01-01

Ruminative (abstract verbal) processing during recall of aversive autobiographical memories may serve to dampen their short-term affective impact. Experimental studies indeed demonstrate that verbal processing of non-autobiographical material and positive autobiographical memories evokes weaker affective responses than imagery-based processing. In the current study, we hypothesized that abstract verbal or concrete verbal processing of an aversive autobiographical memory would result in weaker affective responses than imagery-based processing. The affective impact of abstract verbal versus concrete verbal versus imagery-based processing during recall of an aversive autobiographical memory was investigated in a non-clinical sample ( n  = 99) using both an observational and an experimental design. Observationally, it was examined whether spontaneous use of processing modes (both state and trait measures) was associated with impact of aversive autobiographical memory recall on negative and positive affect. Experimentally, the causal relation between processing modes and affective impact was investigated by manipulating the processing mode during retrieval of the same aversive autobiographical memory. Main findings were that higher levels of trait (but not state) measures of both ruminative and imagery-based processing and depressive symptomatology were positively correlated with higher levels of negative affective impact in the observational part of the study. In the experimental part, no main effect of processing modes on affective impact of autobiographical memories was found. However, a significant moderating effect of depressive symptomatology was found. Only for individuals with low levels of depressive symptomatology, concrete verbal (but not abstract verbal) processing of the aversive autobiographical memory did result in weaker affective responses, compared to imagery-based processing. These results cast doubt on the hypothesis that ruminative processing of

Vaccination against yellow fever in French Guiana: The impact of educational level, negative beliefs and attitude towards vaccination.

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Koïvogui, Akoï; Carbunar, Aurel; Imounga, Laure-Manuella; Laruade, Christelle; Laube, Sylvaine

Analyze the impact of educational level, negative beliefs and negative attitudes on the yellow fever vaccination coverage (YFVC). This analytical study involved a sample of 2763 people from 866 households. Educational status was described in six levels: No level (Respondent had never attended school), level-1 (respondent left before intermediate school), level-2 (Respondent attended intermediate school), level-3 (respondent attended high school), level-4 (Respondent attended university), Other level (When the level could not be determined). The Attitude towards vaccination was described in terms of person's availability to recommend vaccination to third. The relationships were analyzed by multivariate mixed logistic regression. Among the 2763 peoples, 2039 (73.8%) were vaccinated against yellow fever. People who left high school with or without the French baccalaureate were more likely to be vaccinated against YF than people without any diploma (OR = 1.4; p < 0.05). The probability of being vaccinated among people with negative attitudes was reduced by 40% (OR = 0.6; p < 0.05). Low level of education, negative beliefs and negative attitudes have significant impacts on YFVC. Negatives beliefs and attitudes result often from a major lack of information about the benefits of vaccination. This deficit is exacerbated in persons with low educational level. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Predator cannibalism can intensify negative impacts on heterospecific prey.

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Takatsu, Kunio; Kishida, Osamu

2015-07-01

of hatching can strengthen predatory effects on heterospecific prey and can have impacts on various, traits of both predator and prey. Because animals commonly broaden their diet as they grow, such negative impacts of predator cannibalism on the heterospecific prey may be common in interactions between predators and prey species of similar size.

Combined impact of negative lifestyle factors on cardiovascular risk in children: a randomized prospective study.

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Meyer, Ursina; Schindler, Christian; Bloesch, Tamara; Schmocker, Eliane; Zahner, Lukas; Puder, Jardena J; Kriemler, Susi

2014-12-01

Negative lifestyle factors are known to be associated with increased cardiovascular risk (CVR) in children, but research on their combined impact on a general population of children is sparse. Therefore, we aimed to quantify the combined impact of easily assessable negative lifestyle factors on the CVR scores of randomly selected children after 4 years. Of the 540 randomly selected 6- to 13-year-old children, 502 children participated in a baseline health assessment, and 64% were assessed again after 4 years. Measures included anthropometry, fasting blood samples, and a health assessment questionnaire. Participants scored one point for each negative lifestyle factor at baseline: overweight; physical inactivity; high media consumption; little outdoor time; skipping breakfast; and having a parent who has ever smoked, is inactive, or overweight. A CVR score at follow-up was constructed by averaging sex- and age-related z-scores of waist circumference, blood pressure, glucose, inverted high-density lipoprotein, and triglycerides. The age-, sex-, pubertal stage-, and social class-adjusted probabilities (95% confidence interval) for being in the highest CVR score tertile at follow-up for children who had at most one (n = 48), two (n = 64), three (n = 56), four (n = 41), or five or more (n = 14) risky lifestyle factors were 15.4% (8.9-25.3), 24.3% (17.4-32.8), 36.0% (28.6-44.2), 49.8% (38.6-61.0), and 63.5% (47.2-77.2), respectively. Even in childhood, an accumulation of negative lifestyle factors is associated with higher CVR scores after 4 years. These negative lifestyle factors are easy to assess in clinical practice and allow early detection and prevention of CVR in childhood. Copyright © 2014 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The negative impact of sugar-sweetened beverages on children’s health: an update of the literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sara N. Bleich

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract While sugar sweetened beverage (SSB consumption has declined in the last 15 years, consumption of SSBs is still high among children and adolescents. This research synthesis updates a prior review on this topic and examines the evidence regarding the various health impacts of SSBs on children’s health (overweight/obesity, insulin resistance, dental caries, and caffeine-related effects. We searched PubMed, CAB Abstracts and PAIS International to identify cross-sectional, longitudinal and intervention studies examining the health impacts of SSBs in children published after January 1, 2007. We also searched reference lists of relevant articles. Overall, most studies found consistent evidence for the negative impact of SSBs on children’s health, with the strongest support for overweight/obesity risk and dental caries, and emerging evidence for insulin resistance and caffeine-related effects. The majority of evidence was cross-sectional highlighting the need for more longitudinal and intervention studies to address this research question. There is substantial evidence that SSBs increase the risk of overweight/obesity and dental caries and developing evidence for the negative impact of SSBs on insulin resistance and caffeine-related effects. The vast majority of literature supports the idea that a reduction in SSB consumption would improve children’s health.

The impact of heat on mortality and morbidity in the Greater Metropolitan Sydney Region: a case crossover analysis

OpenAIRE

Wilson, Leigh Ann; Gerard Morgan, Geoffrey; Hanigan, Ivan Charles; Johnston, Fay H; Abu-Rayya, Hisham; Broome, Richard; Gaskin, Clive; Jalaludin, Bin

2013-01-01

Background This study examined the association between unusually high temperature and daily mortality (1997?2007) and hospital admissions (1997?2010) in the Sydney Greater Metropolitan Region (GMR) to assist in the development of targeted health programs designed to minimise the public health impact of extreme heat. Methods Sydney GMR was categorized into five climate zones. Heat-events were defined as severe or extreme. Using a time-stratified case-crossover design with a conditional logisti...

The developmental origins of cognitive vulnerability to depression: temperament, parenting, and negative life events in childhood as contributors to negative cognitive style.

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Mezulis, Amy H; Hyde, Janet Shibley; Abramson, Lyn Y

2006-11-01

Cognitive models of depression have been well supported with adults, but the developmental origins of cognitive vulnerability are not well understood. The authors hypothesized that temperament, parenting, and negative life events in childhood would contribute to the development of cognitive style, with withdrawal negativity and negative parental feedback moderating the effects of negative life events to predict more depressogenic cognitive styles. These constructs were assessed in 289 children and their parents followed longitudinally from infancy to 5th grade; a subsample (n = 120) also participated in a behavioral task in which maternal feedback to child failure was observed. Results indicated that greater withdrawal negativity in interaction with negative life events was associated with more negative cognitive styles. Self-reported maternal anger expression and observed negative maternal feedback to child's failure significantly interacted with child's negative events to predict greater cognitive vulnerability. There was little evidence of paternal parenting predicting child negative cognitive style.

COMT Val(108/158)Met polymorphism effects on emotional brain function and negativity bias.

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Williams, Leanne M; Gatt, Justine M; Grieve, Stuart M; Dobson-Stone, Carol; Paul, Robert H; Gordon, Evian; Schofield, Peter R

2010-11-15

Biases toward processing negative versus positive information vary as a function of level of awareness, and are modulated by monoamines. Excessive biases are associated with individual differences in mood and emotional stability, and emotional disorder. Here, we examined the impact of the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val(108/158)Met polymorphism, involved in dopamine and norepinephrine catabolism, on both emotional brain function and self-reported negativity bias. COMT genotyping and self-reported level of negativity bias were completed for 46 healthy participants taking part in the Brain Resource International Database. Functional MRI was undertaken during perception of facial expressions of fear and happiness presented under unmasked (consciously identified) and masked (to prevent conscious detection) conditions. Structural MR images were also acquired. A greater number of COMT Met alleles predicted increased activation in brainstem, amygdala, basal ganglia and medial prefrontal regions for conscious fear, but decreased activation for conscious happiness. This pattern was also apparent for brainstem activation for the masked condition. Effects were most apparent for females. These differences could not be explained by gray matter variations. The Met-related profile of activation, particularly prefrontally, predicted greater negativity bias associated with risk for emotional disorder. The findings suggest that the COMT Met allele modulates neural substrates of negative versus positive emotion processing. This effect may contribute to negativity biases, which confer susceptibility for emotional disorders. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Does complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use reduce negative life impact of headaches for chronic migraineurs? A national survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jieun; Bhowmick, Amrita; Wachholtz, Amy

2016-01-01

Chronic migraine is a disabling condition that impacts multiple aspects of migraineurs' lives. Although pharmacological treatments can help to treat the pain associated with migraine headache, chronic migraineurs often experience side-effects of pharmacological treatments. Those experiences may contribute to the observed growth in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among migraineurs. Relatively little is known about the patterns of CAM treatment and the characteristics of chronic migraineurs. Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to investigate the characteristics of chronic migraineurs who use CAM treatment and the relationship among satisfaction with current CAM use, negative life impact, migraine outcomes, and psychiatric comorbidities among chronic migraineurs. 2907 participants were recruited from a well-known online migraine headache resource. All participants were US adults aged 18 years or older. Migraineurs are referred to this website through various routes (e.g., referral from healthcare providers, internet search, obtaining information from research papers, personal invitation from other users, and information shared on social media etc.). Participants completed a 30-min self-report-survey in the spring of 2014. Almost half of the participants reported that they are currently using more than three different CAM treatments even though the majority of the participants reported neutral or dissatisfied with their current CAM treatment. Chronic migraineurs who use CAM treatments were more likely to experience prolonged or frequent migraine headaches (p = .018, η(2) = .0021), and experience greater negative life impact from their headaches (p = .000, η(2) = .0172) compared to non-CAM users. CAM treatment satisfaction was inversely related to the number of psychiatric comorbidities, frequency of migraines, and number of migraine symptoms (p's < .05). However, CAM treatment satisfaction was more strongly correlated with

Strategies for Talent Management: Greater Philadelphia Companies in Action

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Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (NJ1), 2008

2008-01-01

Human capital is one of the critical issues that impacts the Greater Philadelphia region's ability to grow and prosper. The CEO Council for Growth (CEO Council) is committed to ensuring a steady and talented supply of quality workers for this region. "Strategies for Talent Management: Greater Philadelphia Companies in Action" provides…

Socially Anxious Smokers Experience Greater Negative Affect and Withdrawal during Self-Quit Attempts

OpenAIRE

Buckner, Julia D.; Langdon, Kirsten J.; Jeffries, Emily R.; Zvolensky, Michael J.

2016-01-01

Despite evidence of a strong and consistent relation between smoking and elevated social anxiety, strikingly little empirical work has identified mechanisms underlying the smoking-social anxiety link. Persons with elevated social anxiety may rely on smoking to cope with more severe nicotine withdrawal and post-quit negative mood states; yet, no known studies have investigated the relation of social anxiety to withdrawal severity. The current study examined the relation of social anxiety to po...

Negative impact of asthma on patients in different age groups.

Science.gov (United States)

Alith, Marcela Batan; Gazzotti, Mariana Rodrigues; Montealegre, Federico; Fish, James; Nascimento, Oliver Augusto; Jardim, José Roberto

2015-01-01

To evaluate the impact of asthma on patients in Brazil, by age group (12-17 years, 18-40 years, and ≥ 41 years). From a survey conducted in Latin America in 2011, we obtained data on 400 patients diagnosed with asthma and residing in one of four Brazilian state capitals (São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba, and Salvador). The data had been collected using a standardized questionnaire in face-to-face interviews. For the patients who were minors, the parents/guardians had completed the questionnaire. The questions addressed asthma control, number of hospitalizations, number of emergency room visits, and school/work absenteeism, as well as the impact of asthma on the quality of life, sleep, and leisure. We stratified the data by the selected age groups. The proportions of patients who responded in the affirmative to the following questions were significantly higher in the 12- to 17-year age group than in the other two groups: "Have you had at least one episode of severe asthma that prevented you from playing/exercising in the last 12 months?" (p = 0.012); "Have you been absent from school/work in the last 12 months?" (p age group reported that normal physical exertion was very limiting (p = 0.010 vs. the other groups), whereas 14% of the patients in the ≥ 41-year age group described social activities as very limiting (p = 0.011 vs. the other groups). In this sample, asthma had a greater impact on the patients between 12 and 17 years of age, which might be attributable to poor treatment compliance.

The comparative analysis of payments for negative environmental impact in Russia and Kazakhstan

Science.gov (United States)

Tsibulnikova, M. R.; Ospanov, A. T.; Salata, D. V.; Strelnikova, A. B.

2015-11-01

The article represents the calculation of the payment for negative environmental impact caused by the development of the uranium ores deposits in the Republic of Kazakhstan. To compare the deposits in Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation, the event is simulated as if the object were located in the territory of the Russian Federation. The comparison of the results serves as an evidence to substantiate the experts’ claim that the financial mechanism of land management in Russia should be reformed.

Schizophrenia and smoking: impact on negative symptoms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miriam Saliba

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction: it has been hypothesized that individuals with schizophrenia use nicotine to reduce negative symptoms and improve cognitive function. There is an inconsistency in the literature suggesting that nicotine could help decrease negative symptoms in schizophrenic patients. Objective: to investigate the effects of nicotine on the expression of the negative symptoms in smokers and non-smokers with schizophrenia. Methods: a cross sectional study, conducted between April and August 2016, 100 inpatients with schizophrenia (54 smokers and 46 non-smokers diagnosed according to DSM-V, at Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross Lebanon, were compared to changes in clinical parameters using CDSS, PANSS, and nicotine dependence using FTND. The Student’s t-test was used to compare between 2 groups, while the ANOVA test was used to compare between 3 or more groups. For categorical variables, the chi-2 test was used. Results: the mean age was 47.16 years (SD = 7.14 for smokers compared to 47.02 years (SD = 7.92 for non-smokers. 64.8% of smokers were males versus 45.7% of non-smokers. Smoking (high nicotine dependence significantly decreases the PANSS negative symptoms score between the 2 groups (p .05 for both variables. Discussion and conclusion: this study is the first to investigate the relationship between the expression of negative symptoms in individuals with schizophrenia and smoking in Lebanon. Cigarette smoking rates remain remarkably high in patients with schizophrenia. Smoking is a complex process which involves psychopathological, biochemical and neuropharmacological aspects among schizophrenic patients. Further studies are needed to acknowledge these findings and the reasons behind it.

Positive and Negative Impacts of Oil Palm Expansion in Indonesia and the Prospect to Achieve Sustainable Palm Oil

Science.gov (United States)

Shahputra, M. A.; Zen, Z.

2018-02-01

The aim of the study is to deepen understanding the role of palm oil on Indonesian economy, poverty elevation and to investigate the positive and negative impacts of oil palm expansion, due to the burden of GHG emissions; and prospect to be more sustainable palm oil industry. The statistics show that average rural poverty tends to be lower and Gross Regional Product tends to be higher in provinces which have greater levels of oil palm cultivation. Indonesian oil palm will grow from 10.6 in 2013 to 13.7 million ha by 2020. This will release 135.59 million tons of CO2 if nothing is done to mitigate BAU emissions. Unless there are sustained efforts to redirect development and expansion of oil palm, plantation growth will continue to encroach on intact forest and peat land.. In fact Indonesia has large areas of degraded land, an estimated total 19,144,000 ha is available for planting oil palm and other crops. A large-scale expansion program driven by estate companies needs to be accompanied by effective smallholder development program in order to achieve the best outcome for local farmers and avoid the conflicts.

Greater trochanteric fracture with occult intertrochanteric extension.

Science.gov (United States)

Reiter, Michael; O'Brien, Seth D; Bui-Mansfield, Liem T; Alderete, Joseph

2013-10-01

Proximal femoral fractures are frequently encountered in the emergency department (ED). Prompt diagnosis is paramount as delay will exacerbate the already poor outcomes associated with these injuries. In cases where radiography is negative but clinical suspicion remains high, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the study of choice as it has the capability to depict fractures which are occult on other imaging modalities. Awareness of a particular subset of proximal femoral fractures, namely greater trochanteric fractures, is vital for both radiologists and clinicians since it has been well documented that they invariably have an intertrochanteric component which may require surgical management. The detection of intertrochanteric or cervical extension of greater trochanteric fractures has been described utilizing MRI but is underestimated with both computed tomography (CT) and bone scan. Therefore, if MRI is unavailable or contraindicated, the diagnosis of an isolated greater trochanteric fracture should be met with caution. The importance of avoiding this potential pitfall is demonstrated in the following case of an elderly woman with hip pain and CT demonstrating an isolated greater trochanteric fracture who subsequently returned to the ED with a displaced intertrochanteric fracture.

Rethinking a Negative Event: The Affective Impact of Ruminative versus Imagery-Based Processing of Aversive Autobiographical Memories

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christien Slofstra

2017-05-01

Full Text Available IntroductionRuminative (abstract verbal processing during recall of aversive autobiographical memories may serve to dampen their short-term affective impact. Experimental studies indeed demonstrate that verbal processing of non-autobiographical material and positive autobiographical memories evokes weaker affective responses than imagery-based processing. In the current study, we hypothesized that abstract verbal or concrete verbal processing of an aversive autobiographical memory would result in weaker affective responses than imagery-based processing.MethodsThe affective impact of abstract verbal versus concrete verbal versus imagery-based processing during recall of an aversive autobiographical memory was investigated in a non-clinical sample (n = 99 using both an observational and an experimental design. Observationally, it was examined whether spontaneous use of processing modes (both state and trait measures was associated with impact of aversive autobiographical memory recall on negative and positive affect. Experimentally, the causal relation between processing modes and affective impact was investigated by manipulating the processing mode during retrieval of the same aversive autobiographical memory.ResultsMain findings were that higher levels of trait (but not state measures of both ruminative and imagery-based processing and depressive symptomatology were positively correlated with higher levels of negative affective impact in the observational part of the study. In the experimental part, no main effect of processing modes on affective impact of autobiographical memories was found. However, a significant moderating effect of depressive symptomatology was found. Only for individuals with low levels of depressive symptomatology, concrete verbal (but not abstract verbal processing of the aversive autobiographical memory did result in weaker affective responses, compared to imagery-based processing.DiscussionThese results cast doubt

Impact of Oral Antibiotics on Health-related Quality of life after ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2016-04-16

Apr 16, 2016 ... Results: This study showed that surgical removal of impacted teeth exerted a negative ... for greater understanding of the effects of third molar removal on ... of prophylactic antibiotic include; reduction in the incidence of ...

Welfare impacts of the illegal wildlife trade in a cohort of confiscated greater slow lorises, Nycticebus coucang.

Science.gov (United States)

Fuller, Grace; Eggen, Wilhelmina Frederica; Wirdateti, Wirdateti; Nekaris, K A I

2018-01-01

Illegal harvesting and trade are major forces behind population declines of wild slow lorises (genus Nycticebus). The impacts of the wildlife trade on individual slow lorises have not been as well described. In this article, we describe quantitatively the consequences of the wildlife trade for 77 greater slow lorises, N. coucang, who were confiscated en masse and brought to Cikananga Wildlife Center in Indonesia. Medical records indicated that in total, 28.6% of the slow lorises died within the first 6 months, mostly due to traumatic injury, and all the infants died. The greatest sources of morbidity were external wounds (33.1% of 166 total medical events) and dental problems (19.3%). Of the surviving individuals, 25.4% displayed abnormal behavior. Behavioral observations indicated that healthy adults (n = 3) spent 48.2% of their active period performing stereotypies. These data illustrate the physical and behavioral impacts of the illegal wildlife trade on the welfare of slow lorises. We suggest that sharing these individual stories may help generate empathy and educate the public about the impacts of the exotic companion-animal (pet) trade on nonhuman animal welfare.

Expressive Suppression Tendencies, Projection Bias in Memory of Negative Emotions, and Well-Being.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Valerie T; Overall, Nickola C; Madden, Helen; Low, Rachel S T

2018-02-01

The current research extends prior research linking negative emotions and emotion regulation tendencies to memory by investigating whether (a) naturally occurring negative emotions during routine weekly life are associated with more negatively biased memories of prior emotional experiences-a bias called projection; (b) tendencies to regulate emotions via expressive suppression are associated with greater projection bias in memory of negative emotions; and (c) greater projection bias in memory is associated with poorer future well-being. Participants (N = 308) completed a questionnaire assessing their general tendencies to engage in expressive suppression. Then, every week for 7 weeks, participants reported on (a) the negative emotions they experienced across the current week (e.g., "This week, I felt 'sad'"), (b) their memories of the negative emotions they experienced the prior week (e.g., "Last week, I felt 'sad'"), and (c) their well-being. First, participants demonstrated significant projection bias in memory: Greater negative emotions in a given week were associated with remembering emotions in the prior week more negatively than those prior emotions were originally reported. Second, projection bias in memory of negative emotions was greater for individuals who reported greater tendencies to regulate emotions via expressive suppression. Third, greater projection bias in memory of negative emotions was associated with reductions in well-being across weeks. These 3 novel findings indicate that (a) current negative emotions bias memory of past emotions, (b) this memory bias is magnified for people who habitually use expressive suppression to regulate emotions, and (c) this memory bias may undermine well-being over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Bystander chronic infection negatively impacts development of CD8+ T cell memory

Science.gov (United States)

Stelekati, Erietta; Shin, Haina; Doering, Travis A.; Dolfi, Douglas V.; Ziegler, Carly G.; Beiting, Daniel P.; Dawson, Lucas; Liboon, Jennifer; Wolski, David; Ali, Mohammed-Alkhatim A.; Katsikis, Peter D.; Shen, Hao; Roos, David S.; Haining, W. Nicholas; Lauer, Georg M.; Wherry, E. John

2014-01-01

Summary Epidemiological evidence suggests that chronic infections impair immune responses to unrelated pathogens and vaccines. The underlying mechanisms, however, are unclear and distinguishing effects on priming versus development of immunological memory has been challenging. We investigated whether bystander chronic infections impact differentiation of memory CD8+ T cells, the hallmark of protective immunity against intracellular pathogens. Chronic bystander infections impaired development of memory CD8+ T cells in several mouse models and humans. These effects were independent of initial priming and were associated with chronic inflammatory signatures. Chronic inflammation negatively impacted the number of bystander CD8+ T cells and their memory development. Distinct underlying mechanisms of altered survival and differentiation were revealed with the latter regulated by the transcription factors T-bet and Blimp-1. Thus, exposure to prolonged bystander inflammation impairs the effector to memory transition. These data have relevance for immunity and vaccination during persisting infections and chronic inflammation. PMID:24837104

Impact of the endoscopist's experience on the negative predictive value of capsule endoscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Velayos Jiménez, Benito; Alcaide Suárez, Noelia; González Redondo, Guillermo; Fernández Salazar, Luis; Aller de la Fuente, Rocío; Del Olmo Martínez, Lourdes; Ruiz Rebollo, Lourdes; González Hernández, José Manuel

2017-01-01

The impact of the accumulated experience of the capsule endoscopy (CE) reader on the accuracy of this test is discussed. To determine whether the negative predictive value of CE findings changes along the learning curve. We reviewed the first 900 CE read by 3 gastroenterologists experienced in endoscopy over 8 years. These 900 CE were divided into 3 groups (300 CE each): group 1 consisted of the sum of the first 100 CE read by each of the 3 endoscopists; group 2, the sum of the second 100 and groups 3, the sum of the third 100. Patients with normal CE were monitored for at least 28 months to estimate the negative predictive value. A total of 54 (18%) CE in group 1, 58 (19.3%) in group 2 and 47 (15.6%) in group 3 were normal, although only 34 patients in group 1, 38 in group 2 and 36 in group 3 with normal CE completed follow up and were eventually studied. The negative predictive value was 88.2% in group 1, 89.5% in group 2 and 97% in group 3 (P>.05). The negative predictive value tended to increase, but remained high and did not change significantly after the first 100 when readers are experienced in conventional endoscopy and have preliminary specific training. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier España, S.L.U., AEEH y AEG. All rights reserved.

Greater absolute risk for all subtypes of breast cancer in the US than Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Horne, Hisani N; Beena Devi, C R; Sung, Hyuna; Tang, Tieng Swee; Rosenberg, Philip S; Hewitt, Stephen M; Sherman, Mark E; Anderson, William F; Yang, Xiaohong R

2015-01-01

Hormone receptor (HR) negative breast cancers are relatively more common in low-risk than high-risk countries and/or populations. However, the absolute variations between these different populations are not well established given the limited number of cancer registries with incidence rate data by breast cancer subtype. We, therefore, used two unique population-based resources with molecular data to compare incidence rates for the 'intrinsic' breast cancer subtypes between a low-risk Asian population in Malaysia and high-risk non-Hispanic white population in the National Cancer Institute's surveillance, epidemiology, and end results 18 registries database (SEER 18). The intrinsic breast cancer subtypes were recapitulated with the joint expression of the HRs (estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor) and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2). Invasive breast cancer incidence rates overall were fivefold greater in SEER 18 than in Malaysia. The majority of breast cancers were HR-positive in SEER 18 and HR-negative in Malaysia. Notwithstanding the greater relative distribution for HR-negative cancers in Malaysia, there was a greater absolute risk for all subtypes in SEER 18; incidence rates were nearly 7-fold higher for HR-positive and 2-fold higher for HR-negative cancers in SEER 18. Despite the well-established relative breast cancer differences between low-risk and high-risk countries and/or populations, there was a greater absolute risk for HR-positive and HR-negative subtypes in the US than Malaysia. Additional analytical studies are sorely needed to determine the factors responsible for the elevated risk of all subtypes of breast cancer in high-risk countries like the United States.

Impact of wearing fixed orthodontic appliances on quality of life among adolescents: Case-control study.

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, Andréa A; Serra-Negra, Júnia M; Bendo, Cristiane B; Pordeus, Isabela A; Paiva, Saul M

2016-01-01

To investigate the impact of wearing a fixed orthodontic appliance on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among adolescents. A case-control study (1 ∶ 2) was carried out with a population-based randomized sample of 327 adolescents aged 11 to 14 years enrolled at public and private schools in the City of Brumadinho, southeast of Brazil. The case group (n  =  109) was made up of adolescents with a high negative impact on OHRQoL, and the control group (n  =  218) was made up of adolescents with a low negative impact. The outcome variable was the impact on OHRQoL measured by the Brazilian version of the Child Perceptions Questionnaire (CPQ 11-14) - Impact Short Form (ISF:16). The main independent variable was wearing fixed orthodontic appliances. Malocclusion and the type of school were identified as possible confounding variables. Bivariate and multiple conditional logistic regressions were employed in the statistical analysis. A multiple conditional logistic regression model demonstrated that adolescents wearing fixed orthodontic appliances had a 4.88-fold greater chance of presenting high negative impact on OHRQoL (95% CI: 2.93-8.13; P appliances. A bivariate conditional logistic regression demonstrated that malocclusion was significantly associated with OHRQoL (P  =  .017), whereas no statistically significant association was found between the type of school and OHRQoL (P  =  .108). Adolescents who wore fixed orthodontic appliances had a greater chance of reporting a negative impact on OHRQoL than those who did not wear such appliances.

Technical concept for a greater-confinement-disposal test facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hunter, P.H.

1982-01-01

Greater confinement disposal (GCO) has been defined by the National Low-Level Waste Program as the disposal of low-level waste in such a manner as to provide greater containment of radiation, reduce potential for migration or dispersion or radionuclides, and provide greater protection from inadvertent human and biological intrusions in order to protect the public health and safety. This paper discusses: the need for GCD; definition of GCD; advantages and disadvantages of GCD; relative dose impacts of GCD versus shallow land disposal; types of waste compatible with GCD; objectives of GCD borehole demonstration test; engineering and technical issues; and factors affecting performance of the greater confinement disposal facility

Antimicrobial-resistant Gram-negative bacteria in febrile neutropenic patients with cancer: current epidemiology and clinical impact.

Science.gov (United States)

Trecarichi, Enrico M; Tumbarello, Mario

2014-04-01

In the recent years, several studies involving cancer patients have demonstrated a clear trend in the epidemiology of bacterial infections showing a shift in the prevalence from Gram-positive to Gram-negative bacteria and the extensive emergence of antimicrobial-resistant strains among Gram-negatives isolated from the blood. The aim of this systematic review was to examine the recent trends in epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance in Gram-negatives recovered from neutropenic cancer patients, with particular emphasis on the impact of antimicrobial resistance on the clinical outcome of severe infections caused by such microorganisms. Overall, from 2007 to date, the rate of Gram-negative bacteria recovery ranged from 24.7 to 75.8% (mean 51.3%) in cancer patient cohorts. Escherichia coli represented the most common species (mean frequency of isolation 32.1%) among the Gram-negatives, followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (mean frequency of isolation 20.1%). An increasing frequency of Acinetobacter spp. and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia was also reported. Increased rates of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative strains have been highlighted among Enterobacteriaceae and nonfermenting Gram-negative rods, despite discontinuation of fluoroquinolone-based antibacterial prophylaxis for neutropenic patients. In addition, antimicrobial resistance and/or the inadequacy of empirical antibiotic treatment have been frequently linked to a worse outcome in cancer patients with bloodstream infections caused by Gram-negative isolates. Sound knowledge of the local distribution of pathogens and their susceptibility patterns and prompt initiation of effective antimicrobial treatment for severe infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria are essential in cancer patients.

In Brief: Impacts of wind energy assessed

Science.gov (United States)

Zielinski, Sarah

2007-05-01

By 2020, greater use of wind energy could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by the U.S. energy sector by about 4.5%. However, greater effort is needed to address potentially negative impacts of this growing energy source, according to a new report from a committee of the U.S. National Research Council. Potential impacts of wind energy projects include deaths of birds and bats, reduced value of property located near a turbine, and habitat loss and fragmentation. However, because these are generally local projects, there is little information available to determine the cumulative effects of wind turbines over a whole region. The report makes several recommendations on how to improve regulation at the local, state, and federal levels. The report also sets out a guide for evaluating wind-energy projects, which includes questions about potential environmental, economic, cultural, and aesthetic impacts. The report, ``Environmental Impacts of Wind-Energy Projects,'' is available at http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11935

Hybrid Wound Filaments for Greater Resistance to Impacts

Science.gov (United States)

DeLay, Thomas K.; Patterson, James E.; Olson, Michael A.

2008-01-01

A hybrid material containing wound filaments made of a hybrid of high-strength carbon fibers and poly(phenylene benzobisoxazole) [PBO] fibers is discussed. This hybrid material is chosen in an effort to increase the ability of the pressure vessel to resist damage by low-speed impacts (e.g., dropping of tools on the vessel or bumping of the vessel against hard objects during installation and use) without significantly increasing the weight of the vessel. While the basic concept of hybridizing fibers in filament-wound structures is not new, the use of hybridization to increase resistance to impacts is an innovation, and can be expected to be of interest in the composite-pressure-vessel industry. The precise types and the proportions of the high-strength carbon fibers and the PBO fibers in the hybrid are chosen, along with the filament-winding pattern, to maximize the advantageous effects and minimize the disadvantageous effects of each material. In particular, one seeks to (1) take advantage of the ability of the carbon fibers to resist stress rupture while minimizing their contribution to vulnerability of the vessel to impact damage and (2) take advantage of the toughness of the PBO fibers while minimizing their contribution to vulnerability of the vessel to stress rupture. Experiments on prototype vessels fabricated according to this concept have shown promising results. At the time of reporting the information for this article, research toward understanding and optimizing the performances of PBO fibers so as to minimize their contribution to vulnerability of the pressure vessel to stress rupture had yet to be performed.

Fractures of the greater trochanter following total hip replacement.

Science.gov (United States)

Brun, Ole-Christian L; Maansson, Lukas

2013-01-01

We studied the incidence of greater trochanteric fractures at our department following THR. In all we examined 911 patients retrospectively and found the occurance of a greater trochanteric fracture to be 3%. Patients with fractures had significantly poorer outcome on Oxford Hip score, Pain VAS, Satisfaction VAS and EQ-5D compared to THR without fractures. Greater trochanteric fracture following THR is one of the most common complications following THR. It has previously been thought to have little impact on the overall outcome following THR, but our study suggests otherwise.

A Structural Equation Modeling Approach to Investigate Negative Word of Mouth Impact on Customer-Based Brand Equity: Does Attribution Matter?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmed Yehia Ebeid

2014-09-01

Full Text Available There is a shortage in the research which addresses the relationship between negative word of mouth (WOM communication and customer-based brand equity dilution. This research utilizes attribution theory to demonstrate the negative word-of-mouth impact on the customer-based brand equity. Structural equation modeling was used to investigate the proposed effect of negative WOM on brand equity. The study sample consists of 71 post-graduate students, the object of negative WOM was laptops which considered a highly involvement product. Experimental investigation results reveal that customer exposure to negative word-of-mouth increases the brand equity dilution. Results were discussed in the light of casual attribution theory, and practical implications were provided.

Past racial discrimination exacerbates the effects of racial exclusion on negative affect, perceived control, and alcohol-risk cognitions among Black young adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Stock, Michelle L; Peterson, Laurel M; Molloy, Brianne K; Lambert, Sharon F

2017-06-01

Racial discrimination is associated with alcohol use and risky sex cognitions and behaviors, which are risk factors for negative health outcomes, including human immunodeficiency virus infection. The current study investigated the causal impact of racial discrimination on alcohol and sexual-risk cognitions while exploring potential mediators that might help explain this relation: negative affect, perceived control, and meaningful existence. We also examined if past discrimination impacts the strength of (moderates) these effects. Participants were 287 Black/African American young adults aged 18-25. They were randomly assigned to be excluded or included by White peers via the game Cyberball. Racial exclusion (vs. inclusion) predicted greater: perceived racial discrimination, negative affect, alcohol use willingness, and reduced perceived control and meaningful existence. Furthermore, excluded participants who experienced more past racial discrimination reported the lowest perceived control, and greatest negative affect and alcohol-risk cognitions. The findings suggest that past racial discrimination exacerbates the harmful health effects of immediate experiences of discrimination.

Greater Focus Needed on Alien Plant Impacts in Protected Areas

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Hulme, P. E.; Pyšek, Petr; Pergl, Jan; Jarošík, Vojtěch; Schaffner, U.; Vila, M.

2014-01-01

Roč. 7, č. 5 (2014), s. 459-466 ISSN 1755-263X R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GAP504/11/1028 Institutional support: RVO:67985939 Keywords : plant invasions * impact * protected areas Subject RIV: EF - Botanics Impact factor: 7.241, year: 2014

Information Access Skills in Mothers as Containment of Internet Negative Impact

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Putri Limilia

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Media and Information Literacy (MIL skills was one of the skills that must be possessed by netizens. These skills become important in the effort of coping with the negative impact of the internet. The high penetration of the internet is not followed by the high skill of MIL. Therefore, the writers are interested to know the skills of information and media literacy (access skills in mothers. This study uses descriptive quantitative method by using questionnaires as means of data collection. The result of the study shows that mothers tend to have moderate-level information access skills. The skills are reflected in the skills of mothers at moderate level in understanding the role of information, seeking sources of information, accessing information effectively and efficiently, and storing information.

Opioid Addiction in Pregnancy: Does Depression Negatively Impact Adherence With Prenatal Care?

Science.gov (United States)

Hensley, Lauren; Sulo, Suela; Kozmic, Sarah; Parilla, Barbara V

We aimed to evaluate whether depression in pregnancy in women with opioid dependency negatively impacts adherence with prenatal care. This was a retrospective chart analysis of opioid-dependent pregnant women over a 6-year period at 2 large referral and tertiary care centers. The primary outcome was adherence with prenatal care based on the concurrent diagnosis of depression. Adherence was assessed by looking at the number of observed versus expected prenatal visits. Secondary outcomes included neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) stay, and incidence and severity of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). A total of 74 patient charts were reviewed. 45/74 (60.8%) of the opioid-dependent pregnant patients were either diagnosed with depression (n = 41), anxiety (n = 2), or scored >10 on the Edinburgh Prenatal Depression Scale (n = 1). Patients with a diagnosis of depression were significantly less adherent with prenatal care; 80% adherent (73% vs 93%; P = 0.03), 90% adherent (62% vs 93%; P = 0.003). A higher number of patients in the depression group had an infant treated for withdrawal (62% vs 38%; P = 0.041), and had longer NICU stays (27% vs 21%; P = 0.018). Analysis of the whole cohort of opioid dependent gravidas revealed Buprenorphine maintenance therapy had the lowest mean NAS score 6.5 ± 4.4, compared with methadone maintenance 10.6 ± 3.6, and no maintenance therapy 9.4 ± 4.0 (P = 0.008). Depression negatively impacts adherence with prenatal care and was significantly associated with a higher incidence of neonatal withdrawal and longer NICU stays. Buprenorphine therapy had the lowest incidence and severity of NAS when compared with methadone and no maintenance therapy.

Heat stress: Impact on livestock well-being and productivity and mitigation strategies to alleviate the negative effects

Science.gov (United States)

Heat stress (HS) is a multi-factorial problem that negatively impacts livestock health and productivity and is closely linked with animal welfare. While HS may not be harmful when animals are able to adapt, the physiological changes that occur to ensure survival may impede the efficient conversion o...

The impact of early powered mobility on parental stress, negative emotions, and family social interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Tefft, Donita; Guerette, Paula; Furumasu, Jan

2011-02-01

Powered mobility has been found to have positive effects on young children with severe physical disabilities, but the impact on the family has been less well documented. We evaluated the impact of early powered mobility on parental stress, negative emotions, perceived social interactions, and parental satisfaction with wheelchair characteristics such as size and durability. The participants were parents of 23 children with disabilities-10 with orthopedic disabilities (average age 30.1 months) and 13 with cerebral palsy (average age 47.0 months). Pretest assessments were completed two times: at initial wheelchair evaluation and at wheelchair delivery. A posttest assessment was completed after each child had used the wheelchair for 4-6 months. Parents reported a lower perceived level of stress at the time of wheelchair delivery, although the magnitude of this effect was fairly small, standardized mean difference (δ) = .27. They also reported an increased satisfaction with their child's social and play skills (δ = .38), ability to go where desired (δ = .86), sleep/wake pattern (δ = .61), and belief that the general public accepts their child (δ = .39) after several months using the wheelchair. Parents reported an increase in interactions within the family at the time of wheelchair delivery (δ = .66). There was no decrease in negative emotions. Parents were satisfied with most factors relating to the wheelchair itself, with areas of concern being wheelchair size and difficulty adjusting the wheelchair. The findings suggest that self-initiated powered mobility for a young child had a positive impact on the family.

Negative impacts of invasive plants on conservation of sensitive desert wildlife

Science.gov (United States)

Drake, K. Kristina; Bowen, Lizabeth; Nussear, Kenneth E.; Esque, Todd C.; Berger, Andrew J.; Custer, Nathan; Waters, Shannon C.; Johnson, Jay D.; Miles, A. Keith; Lewison, Rebecca L.

2016-01-01

. rubens, indicating potential greater susceptibility to disease or other health-related problems. This study highlights the negative indirect effects of invasive grasses, such as red brome, in desert ecosystems, and provides definitive evidence of a larger negative consequence to health, survival, and ultimately population recruitment for Mojave Desert tortoises than previously understood.

Perceived health in lung cancer patients: the role of positive and negative affect.

Science.gov (United States)

Hirsch, Jameson K; Floyd, Andrea R; Duberstein, Paul R

2012-03-01

To examine the association of affective experience and health-related quality of life in lung cancer patients, we hypothesized that negative affect would be positively, and positive affect would be negatively, associated with perceived health. A sample of 133 English-speaking lung cancer patients (33% female; mean age = 63.68 years old, SD = 9.37) completed a battery of self-report surveys. Results of our secondary analysis indicate that trait negative affect was significantly associated with poor physical and social functioning, greater role limitations due to emotional problems, greater bodily pain, and poor general health. Positive affect was significantly associated with adaptive social functioning, fewer emotion-based role limitations, and less severe bodily pain. In a full model, positive affect was significantly associated with greater levels of social functioning and general health, over and above the effects of negative affect. Reduction of negative affect is an important therapeutic goal, but the ability to maintain positive affect may result in greater perceived health. Indeed, engagement in behaviors that result in greater state positive affect may, over time, result in dispositional changes and enhancement of quality of life.

Examination of Negative Peer Contagion in a Residential Care Setting

Science.gov (United States)

Huefner, Jonathan C.; Ringle, Jay L.

2012-01-01

There has been ongoing concern about the negative impact of residential treatment on youth in care. Research examining the impact of negative peer influence in juvenile justice, education, and residential care settings is reviewed. A study was conducted to examine the impact of negative peer contagion on the level of problem behavior in a…

The Impact of Youth Risk on Mentoring Relationship Quality: Do Mentor Characteristics Matter?

Science.gov (United States)

Raposa, Elizabeth B; Rhodes, Jean E; Herrera, Carla

2016-06-01

Although mentoring is a widely used intervention strategy, effect sizes for at-risk youth remain modest. Research is therefore needed to maximize the impact of mentoring for at-risk youth who might struggle to benefit from mentoring relationships. This study tested the hypothesis that different types of youth risk would have a negative impact on mentoring relationship quality and duration and explored whether mentor characteristics exacerbated or mitigated these negative effects. Results showed that elevated environmental stress at a youth's home and/or school predicted shorter match duration, and elevated rates of youth behavioral problems, such as poor academic performance or misconduct, predicted greater youth dissatisfaction and less positive mentor perceptions of relationship quality. Mentors with greater self-efficacy and more previous involvement with youth in their communities were able to buffer the negative effects of environmental stress on match duration. Similarly, mentors' previous involvement with youth buffered the negative effects of youth behavioral problems on mentor perceptions of relationship quality. Findings have important implications for the matching of mentors and at-risk youth in a way that improves mentoring outcomes. © Society for Community Research and Action 2016.

Pain and Depressive Symptoms in Primary Care: Moderating Role of Positive and Negative Affect.

Science.gov (United States)

Hirsch, Jameson K; Sirois, Fuschia M; Molnar, Danielle; Chang, Edward C

2016-07-01

Pain and its disruptive impact on daily life are common reasons that patients seek primary medical care. Pain contributes strongly to psychopathology, and pain and depressive symptoms are often comorbid in primary care patients. Not all those who experience pain develop depression, suggesting that the presence of individual-level characteristics, such as positive and negative affect, that may ameliorate or exacerbate this association. We assessed the potential moderating role of positive and negative affect on the pain-depression linkage. In a sample of 101 rural, primary care patients, we administered the Brief Pain Inventory, NEO Personality Inventory-Revised positive and negative affect subclusters, and the Center for Epidemiology Scale for Depression. In moderation models, covarying age, sex, and ethnicity, we found that positive affect, but not negative affect, was a significant moderator of the relation between pain intensity and severity and depressive symptoms. The association between pain and depressive symptoms is attenuated when greater levels of positive affects are present. Therapeutic bolstering of positive affect in primary care patients experiencing pain may reduce the risk for depressive symptoms.

How the negative and positive aspects of partner relationships affect the mental health of young married people.

Science.gov (United States)

Horwitz, A V; McLaughlin, J; White, H R

1998-06-01

The relationship between marriage and positive mental health is one of the most established findings in the stress literature. Few studies, however, examine the problematic as well as the supportive impacts of marriage on mental health. This paper uses a cohort of young adults who were sampled at 18, 21, or 24 years of age and resampled seven years later when they were married at 25, 28, or 31. It examines what factors are associated with the quality of marital relationships, the relative impact of and balance between negative and positive partner relationships on mental health, and sex differences in the determinants and outcomes of marital quality. The results indicate that the structural strains of parenthood and financial need and their interaction predict problematic and supportive spousal relationships and the difference in the levels of these two relationships. Problematic relationships with spouses have considerably stronger impacts than supportive relationships on depression. However, the difference between the amounts of supportive and problematic relationships with spouses has a greater impact on mental health than levels of either considered separately. Finally, relational quality has a greater impact on the mental health of wives than husbands. These findings indicate the importance of considering how marriage affects mental health in complex, rather than in straightforward, ways.

Fas Ligand Has a Greater Impact than TNF-α on Apoptosis and Inflammation in Ischemic Acute Kidney Injury

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kengo Furuichi

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Background/Aim: Fas ligand (FasL and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α are major pro-apoptotic molecules and also induce inflammation through cytokine and chemokine production. Although precise intracellular mechanisms of action have been reported for each molecule, the differential impact of these molecules on kidney injury in vivo still requires clarification. Methods: We explored the differential impact of FasL and TNF-α upon apoptosis and inflammation in ischemic acute kidney injury using neutralizing anti-FasL antibodies and TNF-α receptor 1 (TNFR1-deficient mice. Results: TNFR1 deficiency was associated with a lesser anti-inflammatory effect upon leukocyte infiltration and tubular necrosis than treatment with anti-FasL antibody. Furthermore, the number of TUNEL-positive cells was significantly reduced in anti-FasL antibody-treated mice, whereas it was only partially diminished in TNFR1-deficient mice. In vitro studies confirmed these findings. FasL administration induced both apoptosis and cytokine/chemokine production from cultured tubular epithelial cells. However, TNF-α had a limited effect upon tubular epithelial cells. Conclusion: In ischemic acute kidney injury, FasL has a greater impact than TNF-α on the apoptosis and inflammatory reaction through cytokine/chemokine production from tubular epithelial cells.

Neural effects of positive and negative incentives during marijuana withdrawal.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francesca M Filbey

Full Text Available In spite of evidence suggesting two possible mechanisms related to drug-seeking behavior, namely reward-seeking and harm avoidance, much of the addiction literature has focused largely on positive incentivization mechanisms associated with addiction. In this study, we examined the contributing neural mechanisms of avoidance of an aversive state to drug-seeking behavior during marijuana withdrawal. To that end, marijuana users were scanned while performing the monetary incentive delay task in order to assess positive and negative incentive processes. The results showed a group x incentive interaction, such that marijuana users had greater response in areas that underlie reward processes during positive incentives while controls showed greater response in the same areas, but to negative incentives. Furthermore, a negative correlation between withdrawal symptoms and response in the amygdala during negative incentives was found in the marijuana users. These findings suggest that although marijuana users have greater reward sensitivity and less harm avoidance than controls, that attenuated amygdala response, an area that underlies fear and avoidance, was present in marijuana users with greater marijuana withdrawal symptoms. This is concordant with models of drug addiction that involve multiple sources of reinforcement in substance use disorders, and suggests the importance of strategies that focus on respective mechanisms.

Effect of nicotine on negative affect among more impulsive smokers.

Science.gov (United States)

Doran, Neal; McChargue, Dennis; Spring, Bonnie; VanderVeen, Joe; Cook, Jessica Werth; Richmond, Malia

2006-08-01

In the present study, the authors tested the hypothesis that nicotine would provide greater relief from negative affect for more impulsive smokers than for less impulsive smokers. Euthymic adult smokers (N=70) participated in 2 laboratory sessions, during which they underwent a negative mood induction (music + autobiographical memory), then smoked either a nicotinized or de-nicotinized cigarette. Mixed-effects regression yielded a significant Impulsivity x Condition (nicotinized vs. de-nicotinized) x Time interaction. Simple effects analyses showed that heightened impulsivity predicted greater negative affect relief after smoking a nicotinized cigarette but not after smoking a de-nicotinized cigarette. These data suggest that nicotine may be a disproportionately powerful negative reinforcer for highly impulsive smokers, promoting higher levels of nicotine dependence and inhibiting smoking cessation.

The Impact of Negative Life Events on Attempted Suicide in Rural China.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yanzheng; Zhang, Jie

2018-03-01

This study aims to explore the impact of negative life events (NLEs) on attempted suicide in a Chinese cultural setting. The sample comprised 791 suicide attempters and an equal number of controls matched on age, sex, and location from selected rural counties in China. Conditional logistic regression model was used to examine the association between NLEs and suicide risk. The impact of NLEs on attempted suicide was further examined using regression-based method to explore its mediation effect. The types of NLEs that were most likely to precede a suicide attempt in rural sample included the events in marriage/love, family/home, and friend/relationship. Rural women were more likely to experience more interpersonal conflicts than rural men. Approximately 75.6% of suicide attempters had experienced at least one NLE, and NLEs were strongly associated with attempted suicide. Total effect (0.676), direct effect (0.501), and the total indirect effect (0.301) of NLEs on suicide attempts were significantly mediated by hopelessness and depression. NLEs play a crucial role in predicting suicidal attempt in rural China, and they are mediated by depression and hopelessness.

Understanding negative impacts of perceived cognitive load on job learning effectiveness: a social capital solution.

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Lin, Chieh-Peng

2010-12-01

This study proposes a model explaining how social capital helps ease excessively required mental effort. Although organizational researchers have studied both social capital and cognitive load, no prior research has critically examined the role of social capital in improving individuals' mental load and effort and consequently enhancing job learning effectiveness. This study surveys participants made up of professionals in Taiwan's information technology industry. It measures the constructs with the use of 5-point Likert-type scale items modified from existing literature. The survey data were analyzed with the use of structural equation modeling. Job learning effectiveness is negatively influenced by role ambiguity and role conflict. Time pressure has a positive influence on role ambiguity and role conflict Although the relationship between task complexity and role ambiguity is insignificant, task complexity has a positive influence on role conflict. Because the relationship between network ties and role conflict is insignificant, trust has a negative influence on role conflict. Last, shared vision has a negative influence on role ambiguity. This study provides an example of how social capital can be applied as a useful remedy to ease the negative impact of perceived cognitive load on job learning effectiveness. The negative relationship between shared vision and role ambiguity suggests that a shared vision helps in disseminating organizationally common goals and directions among employees to alleviate individuals' mental efforts in dealing with the ambiguity of their job roles. A firm's management team should take actions to decrease role conflict by strengthening trust among employees.

Elucidating the impact of temperature variability and extremes on cereal croplands through remote sensing.

Science.gov (United States)

Duncan, John M A; Dash, Jadunandan; Atkinson, Peter M

2015-04-01

Remote sensing-derived wheat crop yield-climate models were developed to highlight the impact of temperature variation during thermo-sensitive periods (anthesis and grain-filling; TSP) of wheat crop development. Specific questions addressed are: can the impact of temperature variation occurring during the TSP on wheat crop yield be detected using remote sensing data and what is the impact? Do crop critical temperature thresholds during TSP exist in real world cropping landscapes? These questions are tested in one of the world's major wheat breadbaskets of Punjab and Haryana, north-west India. Warming average minimum temperatures during the TSP had a greater negative impact on wheat crop yield than warming maximum temperatures. Warming minimum and maximum temperatures during the TSP explain a greater amount of variation in wheat crop yield than average growing season temperature. In complex real world cereal croplands there was a variable yield response to critical temperature threshold exceedance, specifically a more pronounced negative impact on wheat yield with increased warming events above 35 °C. The negative impact of warming increases with a later start-of-season suggesting earlier sowing can reduce wheat crop exposure harmful temperatures. However, even earlier sown wheat experienced temperature-induced yield losses, which, when viewed in the context of projected warming up to 2100 indicates adaptive responses should focus on increasing wheat tolerance to heat. This study shows it is possible to capture the impacts of temperature variation during the TSP on wheat crop yield in real world cropping landscapes using remote sensing data; this has important implications for monitoring the impact of climate change, variation and heat extremes on wheat croplands. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Mental health among older adults in Japan: do sources of social support and negative interaction make a difference?

Science.gov (United States)

Okabayashi, Hideki; Liang, Jersey; Krause, Neal; Akiyama, Hiroko; Sugisawa, Hidehiro

2004-12-01

This study addresses the question of whether social support and interpersonal strain from different sources (i.e., spouse, children, and other relatives and friends) have differential impact on mental health. Data for this research came from a national probability sample of 2200 persons aged 60 and over in Japan. Structural equation models were evaluated within the context of two types of social networks: (a) persons who had a spouse and children (n=1299), and (b) those with children only (n=677). Between these two networks, the links among social support, negative relations, and mental health were contrasted. The effects of various sources of social support and negative interactions on mental health vary depending on the specific dimension of mental health as well as the nature of social networks. Among older Japanese who are married with children, social support from spouse has a greater association with positive well-being than social support from children and others. However, cognitive functioning is uncorrelated with all sources of positive and negative social exchanges. In contrast, among those without a spouse, only greater support from children is significantly correlated with higher positive well-being, less distress, and less cognitive impairment.

Do managed bees have negative effects on wild bees?: A systematic review of the literature.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rachel E Mallinger

Full Text Available Managed bees are critical for crop pollination worldwide. As the demand for pollinator-dependent crops increases, so does the use of managed bees. Concern has arisen that managed bees may have unintended negative impacts on native wild bees, which are important pollinators in both agricultural and natural ecosystems. The goal of this study was to synthesize the literature documenting the effects of managed honey bees and bumble bees on wild bees in three areas: (1 competition for floral and nesting resources, (2 indirect effects via changes in plant communities, including the spread of exotic plants and decline of native plants, and (3 transmission of pathogens. The majority of reviewed studies reported negative effects of managed bees, but trends differed across topical areas. Of studies examining competition, results were highly variable with 53% reporting negative effects on wild bees, while 28% reported no effects and 19% reported mixed effects (varying with the bee species or variables examined. Equal numbers of studies examining plant communities reported positive (36% and negative (36% effects, with the remainder reporting no or mixed effects. Finally, the majority of studies on pathogen transmission (70% reported potential negative effects of managed bees on wild bees. However, most studies across all topical areas documented the potential for impact (e.g. reporting the occurrence of competition or pathogens, but did not measure direct effects on wild bee fitness, abundance, or diversity. Furthermore, we found that results varied depending on whether managed bees were in their native or non-native range; managed bees within their native range had lesser competitive effects, but potentially greater effects on wild bees via pathogen transmission. We conclude that while this field has expanded considerably in recent decades, additional research measuring direct, long-term, and population-level effects of managed bees is needed to understand

Do managed bees have negative effects on wild bees?: A systematic review of the literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Mallinger, Rachel E; Gaines-Day, Hannah R; Gratton, Claudio

2017-01-01

Managed bees are critical for crop pollination worldwide. As the demand for pollinator-dependent crops increases, so does the use of managed bees. Concern has arisen that managed bees may have unintended negative impacts on native wild bees, which are important pollinators in both agricultural and natural ecosystems. The goal of this study was to synthesize the literature documenting the effects of managed honey bees and bumble bees on wild bees in three areas: (1) competition for floral and nesting resources, (2) indirect effects via changes in plant communities, including the spread of exotic plants and decline of native plants, and (3) transmission of pathogens. The majority of reviewed studies reported negative effects of managed bees, but trends differed across topical areas. Of studies examining competition, results were highly variable with 53% reporting negative effects on wild bees, while 28% reported no effects and 19% reported mixed effects (varying with the bee species or variables examined). Equal numbers of studies examining plant communities reported positive (36%) and negative (36%) effects, with the remainder reporting no or mixed effects. Finally, the majority of studies on pathogen transmission (70%) reported potential negative effects of managed bees on wild bees. However, most studies across all topical areas documented the potential for impact (e.g. reporting the occurrence of competition or pathogens), but did not measure direct effects on wild bee fitness, abundance, or diversity. Furthermore, we found that results varied depending on whether managed bees were in their native or non-native range; managed bees within their native range had lesser competitive effects, but potentially greater effects on wild bees via pathogen transmission. We conclude that while this field has expanded considerably in recent decades, additional research measuring direct, long-term, and population-level effects of managed bees is needed to understand their

Positive and Negative Impacts of Cross-border M&A

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

裴长洪; 林江

2007-01-01

Mergers and acquisitions of Chinese enterprises by foreign investors have moved onto the public radar in recent years.To date,the M&A frenzy has drawn widespread attention,with a mixed reaction from proponents and opponents.Proponents consider such mergers and acquisitions conducive to realizing strategic readjustment of the national economic structure,optimizing resource allocation and improving the corporate governance structure.Opponents,however,are concerned that foreign mergers and acquisitions may jeopardize China’s industrial security and erode the executive power of the central government in undertaking industrial development planning.Are the benefits of M&A outweighed by the costs,or vice versa? The focus column of this edition features two articles which debate this issue from opposing viewpoints.In the article"Positive and Negative Impacts of Cross-border M&A",the authors consider foreign M(?)A to be a new way of boosting the level of foreign investment utilization,and advocate China taking full advantage of this approach.The authors of the article"Self-Improvement Or Self-Mutilation",meanwhile,hold foreign M&A to blame for state-owned asset erosion,and insist that China should oppose mergers and acquisitions of key state- owned enterprises by foreign investors at fire-sale prices.

Want More? Learn Less: Motivation Affects Adolescents Learning from Negative Feedback.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhuang, Yun; Feng, Wenfeng; Liao, Yu

2017-01-01

The primary goal of the present study was to investigate how positive and negative feedback may differently facilitate learning throughout development. In addition, the role of motivation as a modulating factor was examined. Participants (children, adolescents, and adults) completed two forms of the guess and application task (GAT). Feedback from the Cool-GAT task has low motivational salience because there are no consequences, while feedback from the Hot-GAT task has high motivational salience as it pertains to receiving a reward. The results indicated that negative feedback leads to a reduction in learning compared to positive feedback. The effect of negative feedback was greater in adolescent participants compared to children and adults in the Hot-GAT task, suggesting an interaction between age and motivation level on learning. Further analysis indicated that greater risk was associated with a greater reduction in learning from negative feedback and again, the reduction was greatest in adolescents. In summary, the current study supports the idea that learning from positive feedback and negative feedback differs throughout development. In a rule-based learning task, when associative learning is primarily in practice, participants learned less from negative feedback. This reduction is amplified during adolescence when task-elicited motivation is high.

Greater-than-Class C low-level waste characterization. Appendix I: Impact of concentration averaging low-level radioactive waste volume projections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tuite, P.; Tuite, K.; O'Kelley, M.; Ely, P.

1991-08-01

This study provides a quantitative framework for bounding unpackaged greater-than-Class C low-level radioactive waste types as a function of concentration averaging. The study defines the three concentration averaging scenarios that lead to base, high, and low volumetric projections; identifies those waste types that could be greater-than-Class C under the high volume, or worst case, concentration averaging scenario; and quantifies the impact of these scenarios on identified waste types relative to the base case scenario. The base volume scenario was assumed to reflect current requirements at the disposal sites as well as the regulatory views. The high volume scenario was assumed to reflect the most conservative criteria as incorporated in some compact host state requirements. The low volume scenario was assumed to reflect the 10 CFR Part 61 criteria as applicable to both shallow land burial facilities and to practices that could be employed to reduce the generation of Class C waste types

Working Together to Achieve Greater Impact: The Donors' Education Collaborative of New York City. Principles for Effective Education Grantmaking. Case in Brief Number 3

Science.gov (United States)

Grantmakers for Education, 2012

2012-01-01

Since the mid-1990s, constituency building and advocacy for better public education have grown steadily in New York City. "Working Together to Achieve Greater Impact" explores how that growth was fueled by the Donors' Education Collaborative of New York, which pools its members' financial resources and expertise to advance shared…

Posttraumatic stress symptoms and tobacco abstinence effects in a non-clinical sample: evaluating the mediating role of negative affect reduction smoking expectancies.

Science.gov (United States)

Langdon, Kirsten J; Leventhal, Adam M

2014-11-01

The relation between posttraumatic stress symptoms and smoking is well documented but poorly understood. The present investigation sought to evaluate the impact of posttraumatic stress symptoms on subjective and behavioral tobacco abstinence effects both directly and indirectly through negative affect reduction smoking outcome expectancies. Participants included 275 (68.7% male; Mage =43.9, 10+ cig/day) adult non-treatment seeking smokers, who attended two counterbalanced laboratory sessions (16 h of smoking deprivation vs ad libitum smoking), during which they completed self-report measures of withdrawal symptoms and mood followed by a smoking lapse task in which they could earn money for delaying smoking and purchase cigarettes to smoke. Results supported a mediational pathway whereby higher baseline symptoms of posttraumatic stress predicted greater endorsement of expectancies that smoking will effectively reduce negative affect, which in turn predicted greater abstinence-provoked exacerbations in nicotine withdrawal symptoms and negative affect. Posttraumatic stress symptoms also predicted number of cigarettes purchased independent of negative affect reduction expectancies, but did not predict delaying smoking for money. Findings highlight tobacco abstinence effects as a putative mechanism underlying posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-smoking comorbidity, indicate an important mediating role of beliefs for smoking-induced negative affect reduction, and shed light on integrated treatment approaches for these two conditions. © The Author(s) 2014.

Video-games do not negatively impact adolescent academic performance in science, mathematics or reading.

Science.gov (United States)

Drummond, Aaron; Sauer, James D

2014-01-01

Video-gaming is a common pastime among adolescents, particularly adolescent males in industrialized nations. Despite widespread suggestions that video-gaming negatively affects academic achievement, the evidence is inconclusive. We reanalyzed data from over 192,000 students in 22 countries involved in the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) to estimate the true effect size of frequency of videogame use on adolescent academic achievement in science, mathematics and reading. Contrary to claims that increased video-gaming can impair academic performance, differences in academic performance were negligible across the relative frequencies of videogame use. Videogame use had little impact on adolescent academic achievement.

Expatriate job performance in Greater China: Does age matter?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Selmer, Jan; Lauring, Jakob; Feng, Yunxia

to expatriates in Chinese societies. It is possible that older business expatriates will receive more respect and be treated with more deference in a Chinese cultural context than their apparently younger colleagues. This may have a positive impact on expatriates’ job performance. To empirically test...... this presumption, business expatriates in Greater Chine were targeted by a survey. Controlling for the potential bias of a number of background variables, results indicate that contextual/managerial performance, including general managerial functions applied to the subsidiary in Greater China, had a positive...

Client Violence and Its Negative Impacts on Work Attitudes of Child Protection Workers Compared to Community Service Workers

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Junseob

2011-01-01

This study investigated the prevalence of client violence toward child protection workers and its negative impacts on the work attitudes of those workers compared with community service workers in South Korea. This study is based on the assumption that child protection workers are more vulnerable to violence than are community service workers…

Open Access Articles Have a Greater Research Impact Than Articles Not Freely Available, A review of: Antelman, Kristin. “Do Open-Access Articles Have a Greater Research Impact?” College & Research Libraries 65.5 (Sep. 2004: 372-82.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suzanne P. Lewis

2006-09-01

Full Text Available Objective – To ascertain whether open access articles have a greater research impact than articles not freely available, as measured by citations in the ISI Web of Science database. Design – Analysis of mean citation rates of a sample population of journal articles across four disciplines. Setting – Journal literature across the disciplines of philosophy, political science, mathematics, and electrical and electronic engineering. Subjects – A sample of 2,017 articles across the four disciplines published between 2001 and 2002 (for political science, mathematics, and electrical and electronic engineering and between 1999 and 2000 (for philosophy. Methods – A systematic presample of articles for each of the disciplines was taken to calculate the necessary sample sizes. Based on this calculation, articles were sourced from ten leading journals in each discipline. The leading journals in political science, mathematics, and electrical and electronic engineering were defined by ISI’s Journal Citation Reports for 2002. The ten leading philosophy journals were selected using a combination of other methods. Once the sample population had been identified, each article title and the number of citations to each article (in the ISI Web of Science database were recorded. Then the article title was searched in Google and if any freely available full text version was found, the article was classified as open access. The mean citation rate for open access and non‐open access articles in each discipline was identified, and the percentage difference between the means was calculated. Main results – The four disciplines represented a range of open access uptake: 17% of articles in philosophy were open access, 29% in political science, 37% in electrical and electronic engineering, and 69% in mathematics. There was a significant difference in the mean citation rates for open access articles and non‐open access articles in all four disciplines. The

Digitalisation, Educational and Social Development in Greater China

Science.gov (United States)

Mok, Ka Ho; Leung, Dennis

2012-01-01

This new century has witnessed the rapid and frequent emergence of many new information and communications technologies (ICTs). On one hand, digitalisation enhances our economic, social and political lives. But on the other hand, it leads to certain negative social impacts. One prevalent problem is digital divide--the gap between different social…

Spatial Interpolation of Daily Rainfall Data for Local Climate Impact Assessment over Greater Sydney Region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xihua Yang

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents spatial interpolation techniques to produce finer-scale daily rainfall data from regional climate modeling. Four common interpolation techniques (ANUDEM, Spline, IDW, and Kriging were compared and assessed against station rainfall data and modeled rainfall. The performance was assessed by the mean absolute error (MAE, mean relative error (MRE, root mean squared error (RMSE, and the spatial and temporal distributions. The results indicate that Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW method is slightly better than the other three methods and it is also easy to implement in a geographic information system (GIS. The IDW method was then used to produce forty-year (1990–2009 and 2040–2059 time series rainfall data at daily, monthly, and annual time scales at a ground resolution of 100 m for the Greater Sydney Region (GSR. The downscaled daily rainfall data have been further utilized to predict rainfall erosivity and soil erosion risk and their future changes in GSR to support assessments and planning of climate change impact and adaptation in local scale.

Affective processing within 1/10th of a second: High arousal is necessary for early facilitative processing of negative but not positive words.

Science.gov (United States)

Hofmann, Markus J; Kuchinke, Lars; Tamm, Sascha; Võ, Melissa L-H; Jacobs, Arthur M

2009-12-01

Lexical decisions to high- and low-arousal negative words and to low-arousal neutral and positive words were examined in an event-related potentials (ERP) study. Reaction times to positive and high-arousal negative words were shorter than those to neutral (low-arousal) words, whereas those to low-arousal negative words were longer. A similar pattern was observed in an early time window of the ERP response: Both positive and high-arousal negative words elicited greater negative potentials in a time frame of 80 to 120 msec after stimulus onset. This result suggests that arousal has a differential impact on early lexical processing of positive and negative words. Source localization in the relevant time frame revealed that the arousal effect in negative words is likely to be localized in a left occipito-temporal region including the middle temporal and fusiform gyri. The ERP arousal effect appears to result from early lexico-semantic processing in high-arousal negative words.

Islamic Education: A Principle to Develop Religious Society to Anticipate Negative Impact of Social Media

OpenAIRE

Solihin Nasrudin

2017-01-01

This study aims to analyze how the Islamic education is able to be the principle of inter-religious harmony to  anticipate  negative impact of social media use. Islam as a universal religion has proven its ability  to encourage the development of science and technology. Social media has emerged along with the development of information technology. The social media is able to facilitate  community to communicate and  to exchange information, but at the same time social media may also threat th...

Impact of periodontal disease on quality of life: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferreira, M C; Dias-Pereira, A C; Branco-de-Almeida, L S; Martins, C C; Paiva, S M

2017-08-01

The diagnosis of periodontal disease is commonly based on objective evaluations of the patient's medical/dental history as well as clinical and radiographic examinations. However, periodontal disease should also be evaluated subjectively through measures that quantify its impact on oral health-related quality of life. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of periodontal disease on quality of life among adolescents, adults and older adults. A systematic search of the literature was performed for scientific articles published up to July 2015 using electronic databases and a manual search. Two independent reviewers performed the selection of the studies, extracted the data and assessed the methodological quality. Thirty-four cross-sectional studies involving any age group, except children, and the use of questionnaires for the assessment of the impact of periodontal disease on quality of life were included. Twenty-five studies demonstrated that periodontal disease was associated with a negative impact on quality of life, with severe periodontitis exerting the most significant impact by compromising aspects related to function and esthetics. Unlike periodontitis, gingivitis was associated with pain as well as difficulties performing oral hygiene and wearing dentures. Gingivitis was also negatively correlated with comfort. The results indicate that periodontal disease may exert an impact on quality of life of individuals, with greater severity of the disease related to greater impact. Longitudinal studies with representative samples are needed to ensure validity of the findings. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A daily diary study of perceived social isolation, dietary restraint, and negative affect in binge eating.

Science.gov (United States)

Mason, Tyler B; Heron, Kristin E; Braitman, Abby L; Lewis, Robin J

2016-02-01

Negative affect and dietary restraint are key predictors of binge eating, yet less is known about the impact of social factors on binge eating. The study sought to replicate and extend research on the relationships between negative affect, dietary restraint, perceived social isolation and binge eating using a daily diary methodology. College women (N = 54) completed measures of dietary restraint, negative affect, perceived social isolation, and binge eating daily for 14 days. Participants completed the measures nightly each day. A series of generalized estimating equations showed that dietary restraint was associated with less binge eating while controlling for negative affect and for perceived social isolation separately. Negative affect and perceived social isolation were associated with greater binge eating while controlling for restraint in separate analyses, but only perceived social isolation was significant when modeled simultaneously. All two-way interactions between negative affect, dietary restraint, and perceived social isolation predicting binge eating were nonsignificant. This study furthers our understanding of predictors of binge eating in a nonclinical sample. Specifically, these data suggest perceived social isolation, negative affect, and dietary restraint are important variables associated with binge eating in daily life and warrant further research. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Into the Woods or a Stroll in the Park: How Virtual Contact with Nature Impacts Positive and Negative Affect.

Science.gov (United States)

McAllister, Elizabeth; Bhullar, Navjot; Schutte, Nicola S

2017-07-14

This study examined the effects of virtual contact with nature on positive and negative affect, and investigated the psychological process of perceived restorativeness as a mediator of this relationship. A sample of 220 Australians aged between 18 and 75 years (M = 49.07, SD = 14.34, female = 72%) participated in the study. Participants were randomly allocated to one of the three experimental conditions experienced through video presentations: (1) 'wild' nature, (2) 'urban' nature, and (3) non-nature control. They then completed measures of perceived restorativeness as well as positive and negative affect. Compared to the non-nature control condition, the experience of wild nature resulted in significantly higher levels of positive affect and lower levels of negative affect. The experience of urban nature resulted in significantly lower levels of negative affect only compared to the non-nature control video. Experience of wild and urban nature resulted in greater perceptions of restorativeness as compared to the non-nature control video. Restorativeness was a significant underlying psychological mediating path through which nature experience exerted its influence on affect. These results have the potential to inform nature-based green care interventions for mental health as well as for urban planning to maximize beneficial effects of natural environments.

Development and transmission of antimicrobial resistance among Gram-negative bacteria in animals and their public health impact.

Science.gov (United States)

Mukerji, Shewli; O'Dea, Mark; Barton, Mary; Kirkwood, Roy; Lee, Terence; Abraham, Sam

2017-02-28

Gram-negative bacteria are known to cause severe infections in both humans and animals. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Gram-negative bacteria is a major challenge in the treatment of clinical infections globally due to the propensity of these organisms to rapidly develop resistance against antimicrobials in use. In addition, Gram-negative bacteria possess highly efficient mechanisms through which the AMR can be disseminated between pathogenic and commensal bacteria of the same or different species. These unique traits of Gram-negative bacteria have resulted in evolution of Gram-negative bacterial strains demonstrating resistance to multiple classes of antimicrobials. The evergrowing resistance issue has not only resulted in limitation of treatment options but also led to increased treatment costs and mortality rates in humans and animals. With few or no new antimicrobials in production to combat severe life-threatening infections, AMR has been described as the one of the most severe, long-term threats to human health. Aside from overuse and misuse of antimicrobials in humans, another factor that has exacerbated the emergence of AMR in Gram-negative bacteria is the veterinary use of antimicrobials that belong to the same classes considered to be critically important for treating serious life-threatening infections in humans. Despite the fact that development of AMR dates back to before the introduction of antimicrobials, the recent surge in the resistance towards all available critically important antimicrobials has emerged as a major public health issue. This review thus focuses on discussing the development, transmission and public health impact of AMR in Gram-negative bacteria in animals. © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society.

Patch Test Negative Generalized Dermatitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Spiker, Alison; Mowad, Christen

2016-01-01

Allergic contact dermatitis is a common condition in dermatology. Patch testing is the criterion standard for diagnosis. However, dermatitis is not always caused by an allergen, and patch testing does not identify a culprit in every patient. Generalized dermatitis, defined as eczematous dermatitis affecting greater than 3 body sites, is often encountered in dermatology practice, especially patch test referral centers. Management for patients with generalized dermatitis who are patch test negative is challenging. The purpose of this article is to outline an approach to this challenging scenario and summarize the paucity of existing literature on patch test negative generalized dermatitis.

Potential negative consequences of non-consented switch of inhaled medications and devices in asthma patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Björnsdóttir, U S; Gizurarson, S; Sabale, U

2013-09-01

Asthma requires individually tailored and careful management to control and prevent symptoms and exacerbations. Selection of the most appropriate treatment is dependent on both the choice of drugs and inhaler device; however, financial pressures may result in patients being switched to alternative medications and devices in an attempt to reduce costs. This review aimed to examine the published literature in order to ascertain whether switching a patient's asthma medications or device negatively impacts clinical and economic outcomes. A literature search of MEDLINE (2001-13 September 2011) was conducted to identify English-language articles focused on the direct impact of switching medications and inhaler devices and switching from fixed-dose combination to monocomponent therapy via separate inhalers in patients with asthma; the indirect impacts of switching were also assessed. Evidence showed that non-consented switching of medications and inhalers in patients with asthma can be associated with a range of negative outcomes, at both individual and organisational levels. Factors that reduce adherence may lead to compromised symptom control resulting in increased healthcare resource utilisation and poorer patient quality of life. The consequences of a non-consented switch should be weighed carefully against arguments supporting an inhaler switch without the patient's consent for non-medical/budgetary reasons, such as potential reductions in initial acquisition costs, which may be associated with subsequent additional healthcare needs. Given the increasing pressure for reduced costs and efficient allocation of limited healthcare resources, an additional investment in ensuring high medication adherence may lead to greater savings due to a potentially decreased demand for healthcare services. In contrast, savings achieved in acquisition costs may result in a greater net loss due to increased healthcare consumption caused by decreased asthma control. © 2013 The Authors

Sarcopenia Is Negatively Related to High Gravitational Impacts Achieved From Day-to-day Physical Activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Hartley, April; Gregson, Celia L; Hannam, Kimberly; Deere, Kevin C; Clark, Emma M; Tobias, Jon H

2018-04-17

Sarcopenia has been associated with reduced physical activity (PA). We aimed to determine if sarcopenia, and specific components of muscle size, function, and physical performance, are associated with high impacts achieved during habitual PA, as these are related to bone strength in community-dwelling older women. Participants were older women from the Cohort of Skeletal Health in Bristol and Avon. We defined sarcopenia using the EWGSOP criteria. Lower limb peak muscle power and force were assessed using Jumping Mechanography (JM). High vertical impacts were assessed by tri-axial accelerometry (at least 1.5g above gravity). Cross-sectional associations were analyzed by linear regression, adjusting for age, height and weight (or fat mass for models including appendicular lean mass index), comorbidities, smoking, alcohol, and Index of Multiple Deprivation. Our analyses included 380 participants, with mean age 76.7 (SD 3.0) years; 242 (64%) also completed JM. In age-adjusted analysis, a negative relationship was observed between severity of sarcopenia and high, but not medium or low, impacts (p = .03 for trend). Regarding components of sarcopenia underlying this relationship, multivariable analyses revealed that gait speed (β 1.47 [95% CI 1.14, 1.89], [β-1] reflects the proportionate increase in high impacts per SD increase in exposure) and peak force (1.40 [1.07, 1.84]) were independently associated with high impacts. Older women with sarcopenia experienced fewer bone-strengthening high impacts than those with presarcopenia or without sarcopenia. To increase bone strengthening activity in older women, interventions need to improve both lower limb muscle force and walking speed.

More features, greater connectivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Hunt, Sarah

2015-09-01

Changes in our political infrastructure, the continuing frailties of our economy, and a stark growth in population, have greatly impacted upon the perceived stability of the NHS. Healthcare teams have had to adapt to these changes, and so too have the technologies upon which they rely to deliver first-class patient care. Here Sarah Hunt, marketing co-ordinator at Aid Call, assesses how the changing healthcare environment has affected one of its fundamental technologies - the nurse call system, argues the case for wireless such systems in terms of what the company claims is greater adaptability to changing needs, and considers the ever-wider range of features and functions available from today's nurse call equipment, particularly via connectivity with both mobile devices, and ancillaries ranging from enuresis sensors to staff attack alert 'badges'.

Pre-existing anti-HLA antibodies negatively impact survival of pediatric aplastic anemia patients undergoing HSCT.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Hua; He, Jun; Cai, Junchao; Yuan, Xiaoni; Jiang, Hua; Luo, Changying; Wang, Jianmin; Luo, Chengjuan; Pan, Zhijuan; Terasaki, Paul I; Ding, Lixia; Chen, Jing

2014-11-01

Graft failure and survival are the major problems for patients with aplastic anemia undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Previous studies showed that anti-HLA antibodies negatively impact engraftment in HSCT. This retrospective study of 51 pediatric patients with acquired aplastic anemia who underwent allogeneic HSCT at a single institution between 2006 and 2012 investigated the influence of anti-HLA antibodies on the outcome of HSCT. Serum samples collected before HSCT were tested for the presence of anti-HLA antibodies. Pre-existing anti-HLA antibodies were detected in 54.9% (28/51) of patients, among whom 39.2% (20/51) had anti-HLA class I antibodies. Anti-HLA antibodies were associated with worse five-yr survival (78.6% vs. 100%, p = 0.021) and higher treatment-related mortality (21.4% vs. 0%, p = 0.028) compared with antibody-negative patients. Anti-HLA class I antibody-positive patients had poorer five-yr survival (75.0%) than anti-HLA class I&II antibody-positive and antibody-negative patients (87.5% and 100.0%, respectively, p = 0.039). Presence of anti-HLA class I antibodies (p = 0.024) and older age (10 yr or more; p = 0.027) significantly increased the risk of post-HSCT mortality. Pre-existing anti-HLA antibodies negatively affect the outcome of HSCT in pediatric patients with aplastic anemia. Routine testing for anti-HLA antibodies concurrent with efficient treatment should be conducted prior to HSCT. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Red imported fire ant impacts on upland arthropods in Southern Mississippi

Science.gov (United States)

Epperson, D.M.; Allen, Craig R.

2010-01-01

Red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) have negative impacts on a broad array of invertebrate species. We investigated the impacts of fire ants on the upland arthropod community on 20???40 ha study sites in southern Mississippi. Study sites were sampled from 19972000 before, during, and after fire ant bait treatments to reduce fire ant populations. Fire ant abundance was assessed with bait transects on all sites, and fire ant population indices were estimated on a subset of study sites. Species richness and diversity of other ant species was also assessed from bait transects. Insect biomass and diversity was determined from light trap samples. Following treatments, fire ant abundance and population indices were significantly reduced, and ant species diversity and richness were greater on treated sites. Arthropod biomass, species diversity and species richness estimated from light trap samples were negatively correlated with fire ant abundance, but there were no observable treatment effects. Solenopsis invicta has the potential to negatively impact native arthropod communities resulting in a potential loss of both species and function.

Video-games do not negatively impact adolescent academic performance in science, mathematics or reading.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aaron Drummond

Full Text Available Video-gaming is a common pastime among adolescents, particularly adolescent males in industrialized nations. Despite widespread suggestions that video-gaming negatively affects academic achievement, the evidence is inconclusive. We reanalyzed data from over 192,000 students in 22 countries involved in the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA to estimate the true effect size of frequency of videogame use on adolescent academic achievement in science, mathematics and reading. Contrary to claims that increased video-gaming can impair academic performance, differences in academic performance were negligible across the relative frequencies of videogame use. Videogame use had little impact on adolescent academic achievement.

Video-Games Do Not Negatively Impact Adolescent Academic Performance in Science, Mathematics or Reading

Science.gov (United States)

Drummond, Aaron; Sauer, James D.

2014-01-01

Video-gaming is a common pastime among adolescents, particularly adolescent males in industrialized nations. Despite widespread suggestions that video-gaming negatively affects academic achievement, the evidence is inconclusive. We reanalyzed data from over 192,000 students in 22 countries involved in the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) to estimate the true effect size of frequency of videogame use on adolescent academic achievement in science, mathematics and reading. Contrary to claims that increased video-gaming can impair academic performance, differences in academic performance were negligible across the relative frequencies of videogame use. Videogame use had little impact on adolescent academic achievement. PMID:24699536

If you negate, you may forget: negated repetitions impair memory compared with affirmative repetitions.

Science.gov (United States)

Mayo, Ruth; Schul, Yaacov; Rosenthal, Meytal

2014-08-01

One of the most robust laws of memory is that repeated activation improves memory. Our study shows that the nature of repetition matters. Specifically, although both negated repetition and affirmative repetition improve memory compared with no repetition, negated repetition hinders memory compared with affirmative repetition. After showing participants different entities, we asked them about features of these entities, leading to either "yes" or "no" responses. Our findings show that correctly negating an incorrect feature of an entity elicits an active forgetting effect compared with correctly affirming its true features. For example, after seeing someone drink a glass of white wine, answering "no" to "was it red wine?" may lead one to greater memory loss of the individual drinking wine at all compared with answering "yes" to "was it white wine?" We find this negation-induced forgetting effect in 4 experiments that differ in (a) the meaning given for the negation, (b) the type of stimuli (visual or verbal), and (c) the memory measure (recognition or free recall). We discuss possible underlying mechanisms and offer theoretical and applied implications of the negation-induced forgetting effect in relation to other known inhibition effects. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Negative ion beam processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayward, T.D.; Lawrence, G.P.; Bentley, R.F.; Malanify, J.J.; Jackson, J.A.

1975-06-01

Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory fiscal year 1975 work on production of intense, very bright, negative hydrogen (H - ), ion beams and conversion of a high-energy (a few hundred MeV) negative beam into a neutral beam are described. The ion source work has used a cesium charge exchange source that has produced H - ion beams greater than or equal to 10 mA (about a factor of 10 greater than those available 1 yr ago) with a brightness of 1.4 x 10 9 A/m 2 -rad 2 (about 18 times brighter than before). The high-energy, neutral beam production investigations have included measurements of the 800-MeV H - -stripping cross section in hydrogen gas (sigma/sub -10/, tentatively 4 x 10 -19 cm 2 ), 3- to 6-MeV H - -stripping cross sections in a hydrogen plasma (sigma/sub -10/, tentatively 2 to 4 x 10 -16 cm 2 ), and the small-angle scattering that results from stripping an 800-MeV H - ion beam to a neutral (H 0 ) beam in hydrogen gas. These last measurements were interrupted by the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility shutdown in December 1974, but should be completed early in fiscal year 1976 when the accelerator resumes operation. Small-angle scattering calculations have included hydrogen gas-stripping, plasma-stripping, and photodetachment. Calculations indicate that the root mean square angular spread of a 390-MeV negative triton (T - ) beam stripped in a plasma stripper may be as low as 0.7 μrad

Geographical differences on the mortality impact of heat waves in Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sunyer Jordi

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Climate change is potentially the biggest global health threat in the 21st century. Deaths related with heat waves and spread of infectious diseases will be part of the menace though the major impact will be caused by malnutrition, diarrhea and extreme climate events. Consequently, loss of healthy life years as a result of global climate change is predicted to be 500 times greater in poor African populations than in European populations. However, the increase of more than 2°C of average temperature will result in a negative health impact in all regions, the potential benefits of a warmer temperature being negatively compensated, heat waves being one of the largest climate change threats in the developed world.

A critical realist perspective on decoupling negative environmental impacts from housing sector growth and economic growth

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xue, Jin

2012-01-01

The question that motivates this article has been a matter of dispute: Is it possible to combine perpetual economic growth and longterm environmental sustainability based on the premise that economic growth can be fully decoupled from negative environmental impacts? The article addresses...... this question from the position of critical realism. An empirical study focusing on the housing sector is conducted, indicating that housing stock growth and economic growth have been, at best, weakly decoupled from environmental impacts. In the long run, it seems implausible that the degree of decoupling can...... be increased at a rate sufficient to compensate for continual growth in the volume of housing stock. A further elaboration of the topic at an ontological level leads to the conclusion that continual economic growth and long-term environmental sustainability can hardly be combined....

Coaching to vision versus coaching to improvement needs: a preliminary investigation on the differential impacts of fostering positive and negative emotion during real time executive coaching sessions.

Science.gov (United States)

Howard, Anita R

2015-01-01

Drawing on intentional change theory (ICT; Boyatzis, 2006), this study examined the differential impact of inducing coaching recipients' vision/positive emotion versus improvement needs/negative emotion during real time executive coaching sessions. A core aim of the study was to empirically test two central ICT propositions on the effects of using the coached person's Positive Emotional Attractor (vision/PEA) versus Negative Emotional Attractor (improvement needs/NEA) as the anchoring framework of a onetime, one-on-one coaching session on appraisal of 360° feedback and discussion of possible change goals. Eighteen coaching recipients were randomly assigned to two coaching conditions, the coaching to vision/PEA condition and the coaching to improvement needs/NEA condition. Two main hypotheses were tested. Hypothesis1 predicted that participants in the vision/PEA condition would show higher levels of expressed positive emotion during appraisal of 360° feedback results and discussion of change goals than recipients in the improvement needs/NEA condition. Hypothesis2 predicted that vision/PEA participants would show lower levels of stress immediately after the coaching session than improvement needs/NEA participants. Findings showed that coaching to vision/the PEA fostered significantly lower levels of expressed negative emotion and anger during appraisal of 360° feedback results as compared to coaching to improvements needs/the NEA. Vision-focused coaching also fostered significantly greater exploration of personal passions and future desires, and more positive engagement during 360° feedback appraisal. No significant differences between the two conditions were found in emotional processing during discussion of change goals or levels of stress immediately after the coaching session. Current findings suggest that vision/PEA arousal versus improvement needs/NEA arousal impact the coaching process in quite different ways; that the coach's initial framing of the

A non-negative Wigner-type distribution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cartwright, N.D.

1976-01-01

The Wigner function, which is commonly used as a joint distribution for non-commuting observables, is shown to be non-negative in all quantum states when smoothed with a gaussian whose variances are greater than or equal to those of the minimum uncertainty wave packet. (Auth.)

Exposure to environmentally-relevant levels of ozone negatively influence pollen and fruit development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gillespie, Colin; Stabler, Daniel; Tallentire, Eva; Goumenaki, Eleni; Barnes, Jeremy

2015-01-01

A combination of in vitro and in vivo studies on tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cv. Triton) revealed that environmentally-relevant levels of ozone (O_3) pollution adversely affected pollen germination, germ tube growth and pollen-stigma interactions – pollen originating from plants raised in charcoal-Purafil"® filtered air (CFA) exhibited reduced germ tube development on the stigma of plants exposed to environmentally-relevant levels of O_3. The O_3-induced decline in in vivo pollen viability was reflected in increased numbers of non-fertilized and fertilized non-viable ovules in immature fruit. Negative effects of O_3 on fertilization occurred regardless of the timing of exposure, with reductions in ovule viability evident in O_3 × CFA and CFA × O_3 crossed plants. This suggests O_3-induced reductions in fertilization were associated with reduced pollen viability and/or ovule development. Fruit born on trusses independently exposed to 100 nmol mol"−"1 O_3 (10 h d"−"1) from flowering exhibited a decline in seed number and this was reflected in a marked decline in the weight and size of individual fruit – a clear demonstration of the direct consequence of the effects of the pollutant on reproductive processes. Ozone exposure also resulted in shifts in the starch and ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) content of fruit that were consistent with accelerated ripening. The findings of this study draw attention to the need for greater consideration of, and possibly the adoption of weightings for the direct impacts of O_3, and potentially other gaseous pollutants, on reproductive biology during ‘risk assessment’ exercises. - Highlights: • Environmentally-relevant levels of ozone exert negative effects on pollen viability that translate into direct impacts on fruit yield. • Negative impacts of O_3 pollution on reproductive processes were evident regardless of the stage of plant development. • Exposure to environmentally-relevant levels of O_3

The negative impacts of the global economic downturn on funding decentralised energy in the UK

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Finney, Karen N.; Sharifi, Vida N.; Swithenbank, Jim

2012-01-01

Over the years, a number of governmental policies have been developed in the UK that offer grants for the installation of distributed energy technologies or financial rewards per unit of electricity/heat generated from renewable and sustainable sources. The current economic climate however has meant that budget cuts have affected almost all government departments; consequently such policies have been adversely impacted. The alterations/modifications to many schemes have resulted in either a reduction in the funding available through these, changes to the eligibility of certain technologies or scales of generation or policy cancellations. The programmes affected include the Feed-In Tariff Scheme, Renewable Heat Incentive and Low Carbon Buildings Programme, among others. The adjustments for these are detailed herein, followed by the impacts these have had on the deployment rates of decentralised energy, especially microgeneration. Since costs are often one of the most significant factors constraining deployment of these technologies, reductions in funding opportunities have made these less financially-viable. Whilst there are still applications for funding under the available schemes, there has been considerably reduced levels of requests for financial support, thus future deployment rates will most likely be negatively affected. The prospects of these technologies in this context are then considered. - Highlights: ► Costs are often a significant barrier limiting distributed energy deployment. ► The economic downturn has reduced funding for policies aiding distributed energy. ► Installing decentralised energy technologies is now less financially-viable. ► This is now starting to negatively affect uptake rates of microgeneration.

Negative social comparisons and psychosis proneness in a healthy adolescent population.

Science.gov (United States)

Cotier, F A; Toulopoulou, T

2017-10-01

There is growing evidence of an association between negative social comparisons (NSC) and both psychosis, and psychosis proneness. The majority of the work thus far, however, has focused largely on one type of NSC, namely, social rank. Whilst social rank is clearly an important factor, an individual's perception of belonging is likely also of importance; particularly, when considering individuals from collectivistic cultures such as China, where greater emphasis is placed on fitting into the group. There is also limited research investigating what factors may contribute towards the relationship between NSC and psychosis proneness, and to what extent this relationship may be due to common familial factors. To address these issues, we examined whether (1) Social rank and perceived belonging predict negative, positive and depressive psychotic experiences in a Chinese, adolescent, twin and sibling population, (2) coping styles moderate the impact of these relationships and (3), there is a familial association between NSC and psychosis proneness. Both social rank and perceived belonging were found to predict the negative and depressive dimensions of psychosis. These relationships were moderated by problem-focused coping styles. Interestingly, the association between perception of belonging, and negative psychotic experiences was familial-and stronger in Monozygotic twins-indicating perhaps shared aetiology due to common genes. Our findings highlight NSC as potential vulnerability markers for negative and depressive psychotic experiences, and suggest potentially different aetiological pathways amongst different NSC and different psychotic experiences. On a clinical level, our findings emphasize the need to consider coping styles when treating at-risk individuals. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Art, Terrorism and the Negative Sublime

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arnold Berleant

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The range of the aesthetic has expanded to cover not only a wider range of objects and situations of daily life but also to encompass the negative. This includes terrorism, whose aesthetic impact is central to its use as a political tactic. The complex of positive and negative aesthetic values in terrorism are explored, introducing the concept of the sublime as a negative category to illuminate the analysis and the distinctive aesthetic of terrorism.

Work stressors, Chinese coping strategies, and job performance in Greater China.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Luo; Kao, Shu-Fang; Siu, Oi-Ling; Lu, Chang-Qin

2010-08-01

The aim of this research was to jointly test effects of work stressors and coping strategies on job performance among employees in the Greater China region. A self-administered survey was conducted to collect data from three major cities in the region, namely Beijing, Hong Kong, and Taipei (N = 380). Four important work stressors were assessed: heavy workload, organizational constraints, lack of work autonomy, and interpersonal conflict. We used a four-factor model of Chinese coping strategies composed of hobbies/relaxation, active action, seeking social support, and passive adaptation. Job performance was indicated by both task performance (quantity of work, quality of work, job knowledge) and contextual performance (attendance, getting along with others). We found that: (1) work stressors were related to job performance. Specifically, workload had a positive relation with quantity of work, whereas organizational constraints had negative relations with quantity of work and attendance. In addition, interpersonal conflict had a negative relation with getting along with others. (2) Chinese positive coping strategies were positively related to job performance. Specifically, seeking social support had positive relations with quantity of work and getting along with others, whereas active action had positive relations with attendance and job knowledge. (3) Chinese passive adaptation coping behaviors were negatively related to job performance. Specifically, passive adaptation had negative relations with quantity of work, quality of work, and getting along with others. The present study thus found joint effects of work stressors and coping behaviors among Chinese employees in the Greater China region, encompassing three sub-societies of mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Differential effects of Chinese positive and passive coping strategies were also noted. Most importantly, all these effects were demonstrated on multiple indicators of job performance, a rarely studied

The Negative Influence of the Technical Means on Children's Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Luparenko

2014-02-01

Full Text Available The negative impact of the technical means (computer, TV on children's development is characterized. This negative impact means damage of physical and mental health; lack of positive moral-ethic influence, forming a soulless, spiritless person; children's detachment from real life and their impossibility to realize themselves; increased aggressiveness; disappearance of the components of children subculture; availability (in virtual world of the information which can influence child's development negatively; children's dependence on computer games, Internet-addiction, etc. The recommendations for parents to reduce the negative influence of technical means on children are given.

Obesity and the relationship with positive and negative affect.

Science.gov (United States)

Pasco, Julie A; Williams, Lana J; Jacka, Felice N; Brennan, Sharon L; Berk, Michael

2013-05-01

To examine the cross-sectional association between overweight and obesity and positive and negative affect. Participants included 273 women, aged 29-84 years, who were enrolled in the Geelong Osteoporosis Study (GOS). Weight and height were measured and overweight and obesity determined from body mass index (BMI; kg/m(2)) according to WHO criteria. Medical history and lifestyle exposures were assessed by questionnaire. Positive and negative affect scores were derived using the validated 20-item Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and categorised into tertiles. A pattern of greater negative affect scores was observed for increasing levels of BMI. Setting normal weight as the referent category, the odds for having a negative affect score in the highest tertile were sequentially increased for women who were overweight (OR = 1.31, 95% CI: 0.72-2.40) and obese (OR = 1.95, 95% CI: 1.02-3.73). The association between obesity and increased negative affect was diminished by adjusting for physical illness (adjusted OR = 1.76, 95% CI: 0.91-3.42). These associations were not substantially influenced by positive affect score or other exposures. No association was detected between BMI categories and positive affect scores. We report data suggesting that obesity is associated with greater negative affect scores, reflecting emotions such as distress, anger, disgust, fear and shame, and that this association is attenuated by physical illness. Further investigations are now warranted to explore possible mechanistic interplay between pathological, neurobiological and psychosocial factors.

Perceived aesthetic impact of malocclusion and oral self-perceptions in 14-15-year-old Asian and Caucasian children in greater Manchester.

Science.gov (United States)

Mandall, N A; McCord, J F; Blinkhorn, A S; Worthington, H V; O'Brien, K D

2000-04-01

The aims of this study were to evaluate (i) the effect of ethnicity, social deprivation, and normative orthodontic treatment need on orthodontic aesthetic self-perception, self-perceived need for orthodontic treatment, and oral aesthetic impact of malocclusion; (ii) the effect of ethnicity, social deprivation, and gender on perceived orthodontic treatment need and use of orthodontic services; (iii) the influence of perceived oral aesthetic impact of malocclusion on perceived need and wish for orthodontic treatment; and (iv) whether orthodontic treatment experience influences perceived oral aesthetic impact of malocclusion. A stratified, random sample of 434 14-15-year-old children from schools in Manchester, UK, was obtained. Information was collected on orthodontic aesthetic self-perception and orthodontic treatment experience using a questionnaire. The former data were combined to form an Oral Aesthetic Subjective Impact Scale (OASIS). Normative orthodontic treatment need was measured with the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN). Children with higher clinical need for orthodontic treatment perceived themselves as worse off than their peers with lower need. More socially deprived children or those with high IOTN aesthetic component (AC) scores had a higher (i.e. more negative) aesthetic impact (OASIS) score. Asians and females had higher IOTN dental health component (DHC) scores, but a better aesthetic appearance than Caucasians and males. More deprived children were less likely to have received orthodontic treatment. Despite this, OASIS scores were similar between treated and untreated children. Untreated children who wished for orthodontic treatment had higher IOTN AC and OASIS scores.

Impact of bullying victimization on suicide and negative health behaviors among adolescents in Latin America.

Science.gov (United States)

Romo, Matthew L; Kelvin, Elizabeth A

2016-11-01

To compare the prevalence of bullying victimization, suicidal ideation, suicidal attempts, and negative health behaviors (current tobacco use, recent heavy alcohol use, truancy, involvement in physical fighting, and unprotected sexual intercourse) in five different Latin American countries and determine the association of bullying victimization with these outcomes, exploring both bullying type and frequency. Study data were from Global School-based Student Health Surveys from Bolivia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Peru, and Uruguay, which covered nationally representative samples of school-going adolescents. The surveys used a two-stage clustered sample design, sampling schools and then classrooms. Logistic regression models were run to determine the statistical significance of associations with bullying. Among the 14 560 school-going adolescents included in this study, the prevalence of any bullying victimization in the past 30 days was 37.8%. Bullying victimization was associated with greater odds of suicidal ideation with planning (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 3.12; P bullying victimization on suicide outcomes was also observed. Bullying victimization was associated with higher odds of current tobacco use (AOR: 2.14; P bullying victimization varied by country, its association with suicidal ideation and behavior and negative health behaviors remained relatively consistent. Addressing bullying needs to be made a priority in Latin America, and an integrated approach that also includes mental and physical health promotion is needed.

Mental health consumer participation in undergraduate occupational therapy student assessment: No negative impact.

Science.gov (United States)

Logan, Alexandra; Yule, Elisa; Taylor, Michael; Imms, Christine

2018-05-28

Australian accreditation standards for occupational therapy courses require consumer participation in the design, delivery and evaluation of programs. This study investigated whether a mental health consumer - as one of two assessors for an oral assessment in a mental health unit - impacted engagement, anxiety states and academic performance of undergraduate occupational therapy students. Students (n = 131 eligible) self-selected into two groups but were blinded to the group differences (assessor panel composition) until shortly prior to the oral assessment. Control group assessors were two occupational therapy educators, while consumer group assessors included an occupational therapy educator and a mental health consumer. Pre- and post-assessment data were successfully matched for 79 students (overall response rate = 73.1%). No evidence was found of significant differences between the two groups for engagement, anxiety or academic performance (all P values >0.05). Including mental health consumers as assessors did not negatively impact student engagement and academic performance, nor increase student anxiety beyond that typically observed in oral assessment tasks. The findings provide support for expanding the role of mental health consumers in the education and assessment of occupational therapy students. Development of methods to determine the efficacy of consumer involvement remains an area for future research. © 2018 Occupational Therapy Australia.

Complement Receptor 3 Has Negative Impact on Tumor Surveillance through Suppression of Natural Killer Cell Function

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cheng-Fei Liu

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Complement receptor 3 (CR3 is expressed abundantly on natural killer (NK cells; however, whether it plays roles in NK cell-dependent tumor surveillance is largely unknown. Here, we show that CR3 is an important negative regulator of NK cell function, which has negative impact on tumor surveillance. Mice deficient in CR3 (CD11b−/− mice exhibited a more activated NK phenotype and had enhanced NK-dependent tumor killing. In a B16-luc melanoma-induced lung tumor growth and metastasis model, mice deficient in CR3 had reduced tumor growth and metastases, compared with WT mice. In addition, adaptive transfer of NK cells lacking CR3 (into NK-deficient mice mediated more efficient suppression of tumor growth and metastases, compared with the transfer of CR3 sufficient NK cells, suggesting that CR3 can impair tumor surveillance through suppression of NK cell function. In vitro analyses showed that engagement of CR3 with iC3b (classical CR3 ligand on NK cells negatively regulated NK cell activity and effector functions (i.e. direct tumor cell killing, antibody-dependent NK-mediated tumor killing. Cell signaling analyses showed that iC3b stimulation caused activation of Src homology 2 domain-containing inositol-5-phosphatase-1 (SHIP-1 and JNK, and suppression of ERK in NK cells, supporting that iC3b mediates negative regulation of NK cell function through its effects on SHIP-1, JNK, and ERK signal transduction pathways. Thus, our findings demonstrate a previously unknown role for CR3 in dysregulation of NK-dependent tumor surveillance and suggest that the iC3b/CR3 signaling is a critical negative regulator of NK cell function and may represent a new target for preserving NK cell function in cancer patients and improving NK cell-based therapy.

Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms impact the emotional experience of intimacy during couple discussions.

Science.gov (United States)

Leifker, Feea R; White, Kaitlin Hanley; Blandon, Alysia Y; Marshall, Amy D

2015-01-01

We examined the impact of PTSD symptom severity on emotional reactions to one's own and one's partner's intimacy behaviors. Heterosexual, community couples in which at least one partner reported elevated symptoms of PTSD were video-recorded discussing a relationship problem and self-reported their emotions immediately before and after the discussion. Each partner's intimacy behaviors were coded. Actor-Partner Interdependence Models indicate that, among those with greater PTSD symptom severity, partners' caring, understanding, and validation were associated with increased negative emotions, particularly fear. Among those with greater PTSD severity, provision of caring was associated with decreased anger, guilt, and sadness. Therefore, the receipt of intimacy was associated with increased negative emotions among individuals with elevated PTSD symptoms while provision of intimacy was associated with decreased negative emotions. Existing treatments for PTSD should consider the emotional context of provision and receipt of intimacy to more fully address relationship problems among couples dealing with PTSD. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Expecting a boomtown? Exploring potential housing – related impacts of large scale resource developments in Darwin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gretchen Ennis

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Darwin is a city in the Northern Territory of Australia expecting a ‘boomtown’ scenario due to significant natural resource developments in the Greater Darwin area. The experience of ‘booming’ has a range of impacts upon communities. Housing is a key area of impact, particularly for the most vulnerable members of a population, who may not reap the benefits of the ‘boom’. In Darwin, new resource developments will begin in the context of record high house prices, high rents and high homelessness rates. This literature review explores what is known about the housing-related impacts of boomtowns and considers the likely housing-related impacts of a boomtown scenario in Darwin. While the city’s diverse economy and population size may provide some insulation from severe boomtown impacts, housing availability and affordability is likely to be negatively impacted. The implications of this for the most vulnerable members of the greater Darwin population require careful consideration.

Paradoxical Relationship between the Amount of Negative eWOM Messages and Positive Consumer Attitude

OpenAIRE

Mai Kikumori; Akinori Ono

2013-01-01

Most research has shown that positive electric word-of-mouth (e-WOM) has positive effects, while negative e-WOM has negative effects on consumer attitude towards a product. However, negative e-WOM may have positive impacts rather than negative impacts. Using ANOVA in three experiments, this study found that negative e-WOM can have a positive impact on consumer attitude under some conditions, including when the e-WOM is in regard to hedonic products, when expert consumers read attribute-centri...

Bayesian analysis of overdispersed chromosome aberration data with the negative binomial model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brame, R.S.; Groer, P.G.

2002-01-01

The usual assumption of a Poisson model for the number of chromosome aberrations in controlled calibration experiments implies variance equal to the mean. However, it is known that chromosome aberration data from experiments involving high linear energy transfer radiations can be overdispersed, i.e. the variance is greater than the mean. Present methods for dealing with overdispersed chromosome data rely on frequentist statistical techniques. In this paper, the problem of overdispersion is considered from a Bayesian standpoint. The Bayes Factor is used to compare Poisson and negative binomial models for two previously published calibration data sets describing the induction of dicentric chromosome aberrations by high doses of neutrons. Posterior densities for the model parameters, which characterise dose response and overdispersion are calculated and graphed. Calibrative densities are derived for unknown neutron doses from hypothetical radiation accident data to determine the impact of different model assumptions on dose estimates. The main conclusion is that an initial assumption of a negative binomial model is the conservative approach to chromosome dosimetry for high LET radiations. (author)

Sex differences in smoking cue reactivity: craving, negative affect, and preference for immediate smoking.

Science.gov (United States)

Doran, Neal

2014-01-01

Female smokers have greater difficulty quitting, possibly due to increased reactivity to smoking-related cues. This study assessed sex differences in craving, affect, and preference for immediate smoking after cue exposure. Regular smokers (n = 60; 50% female) were exposed to smoking and neutral cues in separate, counterbalanced sessions. Outcomes included changes in craving and affect and preference for immediate smoking following cue exposure. Findings indicated that women exhibited greater preference for immediate smoking (p = .004), and reported greater cue-induced increases in cigarette craving (p = .046) and negative affect (p = .025). These data suggest that women may have greater difficulty inhibiting smoking after cue exposure, possibly as a consequence of greater increases in craving and negative affect. Findings suggest a mechanism that may contribute to greater cessation failure among female smokers. © American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry.

Impact of elephant on two woody trees, Boscia oleoides and Pappea capensis, in an arid thicket-Nama Karoo mosaic, Greater Addo Elephant National Park

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marietjie Landman

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Despite extensive evidence of the influences of elephant on woody trees in savannah habitats, effects on trees in the succulent thickets of the Eastern Cape are relatively poorly described. Our study investigates the role and intensity of elephant impacts on Pappea capensis and the relatively rare Boscia oleoides in an arid thicket-Nama Karoo mosaic habitat of the Greater Addo Elephant National Park. We show that roughly 19% of the B. oleoides and nearly half of the P. capensis individuals recorded showed signs of elephant impact. Elephant often toppled our study trees, and where these individuals were uprooted, mortalities occurred: B. oleoides ~ 44% of the impacted trees (4 individuals; P. capensis ~ 22% of the impacted trees (29 individuals. Conservation implications: Whilst this study is restricted by limited spatial and temporal replication, P. capensis mortalities caused by elephant occurred at a rate exceeding that of other processes. Our results provide insight into the severity of the measured changes and the need to reduce the impacts. However, it would be critically important to establish the specific driver of elephant–tree interactions before any management intervention is implemented.

Neural correlates of preparatory and regulatory control over positive and negative emotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Seo, Dongju; Olman, Cheryl A; Haut, Kristen M; Sinha, Rajita; MacDonald, Angus W; Patrick, Christopher J

2014-04-01

This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate brain activation during preparatory and regulatory control while participants (N = 24) were instructed either to simply view or decrease their emotional response to, pleasant, neutral or unpleasant pictures. A main effect of emotional valence on brain activity was found in the right precentral gyrus, with greater activation during positive than negative emotion regulation. A main effect of regulation phase was evident in the bilateral anterior prefrontal cortex (PFC), precuneus, posterior cingulate cortex, right putamen and temporal and occipital lobes, with greater activity in these regions during preparatory than regulatory control. A valence X regulation interaction was evident in regions of ventromedial PFC and anterior cingulate cortex, reflecting greater activation while regulating negative than positive emotion, but only during active emotion regulation (not preparation). Conjunction analyses revealed common brain regions involved in differing types of emotion regulation including selected areas of left lateral PFC, inferior parietal lobe, temporal lobe, right cerebellum and bilateral dorsomedial PFC. The right lateral PFC was additionally activated during the modulation of both positive and negative valence. Findings demonstrate significant modulation of brain activity during both preparation for, and active regulation of positive and negative emotional states.

Focusing on the Negative: Cultural Differences in Expressions of Sympathy

Science.gov (United States)

Koopmann-Holm, Birgit; Tsai, Jeanne L.

2014-01-01

Feeling concern about the suffering of others is considered a basic human response, and yet, we know surprisingly little about the cultural factors that shape how people respond to the suffering of another person. To this end, we conducted four studies that tested the hypothesis that American expressions of sympathy focus on the negative less and positive more than German expressions of sympathy, in part because Americans want to avoid negative states more than Germans do. In Study 1, we demonstrate that American sympathy cards contained less negative and more positive content than German sympathy cards. In Study 2, we show that European Americans want to avoid negative states more than Germans do. In Study 3, we demonstrate that these cultural differences in “avoided negative affect” mediate cultural differences in how comfortable Americans and Germans felt focusing on the negative (vs. positive) when expressing sympathy for the hypothetical death of an acquaintance's father. To examine whether greater avoided negative affect results in lesser focus on the negative and greater focus on the positive when responding to another person's suffering, in Study 4, American and German participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: (1) to “push negative images away” (i.e., increasing desire to avoid negative affect), or (2) to “pull negative images closer” to themselves (i.e., decreasing desire to avoid negative affect). Participants were then asked to pick a card to send to an acquaintance whose father had hypothetically just died. Across cultures, participants in the “push negative away” condition were less likely to choose sympathy cards with negative (vs. positive) content than were those in the “pull negative closer” condition. Together, these studies suggest that cultures differ in their desire to avoid negative affect, and that these differences influence the degree to which expressions of sympathy focus on the negative (vs

Focusing on the negative: cultural differences in expressions of sympathy.

Science.gov (United States)

Koopmann-Holm, Birgit; Tsai, Jeanne L

2014-12-01

Feeling concern about the suffering of others is considered a basic human response, and yet we know surprisingly little about the cultural factors that shape how people respond to the suffering of another person. To this end, we conducted 4 studies that tested the hypothesis that American expressions of sympathy focus on the negative less and positive more than German expressions of sympathy, in part because Americans want to avoid negative states more than Germans do. In Study 1, we demonstrate that American sympathy cards contain less negative and more positive content than German sympathy cards. In Study 2, we show that European Americans want to avoid negative states more than Germans do. In Study 3, we demonstrate that these cultural differences in "avoided negative affect" mediate cultural differences in how comfortable Americans and Germans feel focusing on the negative (vs. positive) when expressing sympathy for the hypothetical death of an acquaintance's father. To examine whether greater avoided negative affect results in lesser focus on the negative and greater focus on the positive when responding to another person's suffering, in Study 4, American and German participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 conditions: (a) to "push negative images away" (i.e., increasing desire to avoid negative affect) from or (b) to "pull negative images closer" (i.e., decreasing desire to avoid negative affect) to themselves. Participants were then asked to pick a card to send to an acquaintance whose father had hypothetically just died. Across cultures, participants in the "push negative away" condition were less likely to choose sympathy cards with negative (vs. positive) content than were those in the "pull negative closer" condition. Together, these studies suggest that cultures differ in their desire to avoid negative affect and that these differences influence the degree to which expressions of sympathy focus on the negative (vs. positive). We discuss the

Honeycomb surface-plasma negative-ion source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bel'chenko, Yu.I.

1983-01-01

A honeycomb surface-plasma source (SPS) of negative hydrogen ions the cathode of which consists of a great number of cells with spherical-concave surfaces, is described. Negative ions, knocked off the cathode by cesium-hydrogen discharge fast particles are accelerated in the near-cathode potential drop layer and focused geometrically on small emission apertures in the anode. Due to this, the gas and energy efficiency of the source is increased and the power density on the cathode is decreased. The H - yield is proportional to the number of celts. A pulse beam of negative ions with current up to 4 A is obtained and accelerated to 25 kV from the cathode effective area of 10.6 cm 2 through emission ports of 0.5 cm 2 total area. The honeycomb SPSs with a greater number of cells are promising as regards obtaining negative ion-beams with the current of scores of amperes

Incivility in the workplace: incidence and impact.

Science.gov (United States)

Cortina, L M; Magley, V J; Williams, J H; Langhout, R D

2001-01-01

This study extends the literature on interpersonal mistreatment in the workplace by examining the incidence, targets, instigators, and impact of incivility (e.g., disrespect, condescension, degradation). Data were collected from 1,180 public-sector employees, 71% of whom reported some experience of workplace incivility in the previous 5 years. As many as one third of the most powerful individuals within the organization instigated these uncivil acts. Although women endured greater frequencies of incivility than did men, both genders experienced similarly negative effects on job satisfaction, job withdrawal, and career salience. Uncivil workplace experiences were also associated with greater psychological distress; however, indices of psychological and physical health were relatively unaffected. The authors discuss these findings in the context of organizational and cognitive stress theories.

Reducing the negative sensory impact of volatile phenols in red wine with different chitosans: Effect of structure on efficiency.

Science.gov (United States)

Filipe-Ribeiro, Luís; Cosme, Fernanda; Nunes, Fernando M

2018-03-01

"Brett character" is a negative sensory attribute acquired by red wines when contaminating Dekkera/Brettanomyces yeasts produce 4-ethylphenol and 4-ethylguaiacol, known as volatile phenols (VPs), from cinnamic acid precursors. In this study, chitins and chitosans with different structural features, namely deacetylation degree (5-91%) and molecular weight (24-466kDa) were used for the reduction of this sensory defect. Chitins and chitosans decreased 7-26% of the headspace abundance of VPs without changing their amounts in wines. The efficiency of reduction increased with the deacetylation degree and applied dose. Reduction of headspace abundance of VPs by chitosans enabled significant decreases in the negative phenolic and bitterness attributes and increased positive fruity and floral attributes. Results show that chitosan with high deacetylation degrees, including fungal chitosan, which is already approved for use in wines, is an efficient approach for reducing the negative sensory impact of VPs in red wines. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Threat ≠ prevention, challenge ≠ promotion: the impact of threat, challenge and regulatory focus on attention to negative stimuli.

Science.gov (United States)

Sassenberg, Kai; Sassenrath, Claudia; Fetterman, Adam K

2015-01-01

The purpose of the current experiment was to distinguish between the impact of strategic and affective forms of gain- and loss-related motivational states on the attention to negative stimuli. On the basis of the counter-regulation principle and regulatory focus theory, we predicted that individuals would attend more to negative than to neutral stimuli in a prevention focus and when experiencing challenge, but not in a promotion focus and under threat. In one experiment (N = 88) promotion, prevention, threat, or challenge states were activated through a memory task, and a subsequent dot probe task was administered. As predicted, those in the prevention focus and challenge conditions had an attentional bias towards negative words, but those in promotion and threat conditions did not. These findings provide support for the idea that strategic mindsets (e.g., regulatory focus) and hot emotional states (e.g., threat vs. challenge) differently affect the processing of affective stimuli.

Development of personal narratives as a mediator of the impact of deficits in social cognition and social withdrawal on negative symptoms in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Lysaker, Paul H; Erikson, Molly; Macapagal, Kathryn R; Tunze, Chloe; Gilmore, Emily; Ringer, Jamie M

2012-04-01

Although negative symptoms are a barrier to recovery from schizophrenia, little is understood about the psychological processes that reinforce and sustain them. To explore this issue, this study used structural equation modeling to test whether the impact of social withdrawal and emotion recognition deficits upon negative symptoms is mediated by the richness or poverty of personal narratives. The participants were 99 adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Social cognition was assessed using the Bell-Lysaker Emotional Recognition Task; social withdrawal, using the Quality of Life Scale; narrative coherence, using the Scale To Assess Narrative Development; and negative symptoms, using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. The findings reveal that although social cognition deficits and social withdrawal are significantly associated with negative symptom severity, these relationships become nonsignificant when personal narrative integrity is examined as a mediating factor. These results indicate that the development of personal narratives may be directly linked to the severity of negative symptoms; this construct may be a useful target for future interventions.

Do Digital Systems and Concept in Modern Public Service Production Have a Negative Impact on Citizens as End-Users?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, John Storm; Rendtorff, Jacob Dahl

2016-01-01

Do digital systems and concepts in modern public service production have a negative impact on citizens as end-users? To answer this research question, we shall first present our theoretical framework ‘the institutional logics perspective’ and show how we deploy this on modern public service...... production. Second, we claim that digital systems and concepts develop a new institutional logic within modern public service production: the ‘digital logic’. Third, we analyze and discuss the new logic´s possible impact on citizens as end-users. Fourth, we discuss the ethical dimensions of values and ethics...... in relation to public service production and digitizing....

Attention training through gaze-contingent feedback: Effects on reappraisal and negative emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanchez, Alvaro; Everaert, Jonas; Koster, Ernst H W

2016-10-01

Reappraisal is central to emotion regulation but its mechanisms are unclear. This study tested the theoretical prediction that emotional attention bias is linked to reappraisal of negative emotion-eliciting stimuli and subsequent emotional responding using a novel attentional control training. Thirty-six undergraduates were randomly assigned to either the control or the attention training condition and were provided with different task instructions while they performed an interpretation task. Whereas control participants freely created interpretations, participants in the training condition were instructed to allocate attention toward positive words to efficiently create positive interpretations (i.e., recruiting attentional control) while they were provided with gaze-contingent feedback on their viewing behavior. Transfer to attention bias and reappraisal success was evaluated using a dot-probe task and an emotion regulation task which were administered before and after the training. The training condition was effective at increasing attentional control and resulted in beneficial effects on the transfer tasks. Analyses supported a serial indirect effect with larger attentional control acquisition in the training condition leading to negative attention bias reduction, in turn predicting greater reappraisal success which reduced negative emotions. Our results indicate that attentional mechanisms influence the use of reappraisal strategies and its impact on negative emotions. The novel attention training highlights the importance of tailored feedback to train attentional control. The findings provide an important step toward personalized delivery of attention training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Do fibrin sealants impact negative outcomes after robot-assisted partial nephrectomy?

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Jason; Jayram, Gautam; Mullins, Jeffrey K; Ball, Mark W; Allaf, Mohamad E

2013-10-01

Contemporary rates of postoperative hemorrhage after partial nephrectomy (PN) are low. Commercially available hemostatic agents are commonly used during this surgery to reduce this risk despite a paucity of data supporting the practice. We assessed the impact of fibrin sealant hemostatic agents, a costly addition to surgeries, during robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN). Between 2007 and 2011, 114 consecutive patients underwent RAPN by a single surgeon (MEA). Evicel fibrin sealant was used in the first 74 patients during renorraphy. The last 40 patients had renorraphy performed without the use of any hemostatic agents. Clinicopathologic, operative, and complication data were compared between groups. Multivariate and univariate logistic regression analysis was performed to test the association between the use of fibrin sealants and operative outcomes. Patient demographic data and clinical tumor characteristics were similar between groups. The use of fibrin sealant did not increase operative time (166.3 vs 176.1 minutes, P=0.28), warm ischemia time (WIT) (14.4 vs 16.1 minutes, P=0.18), or length of hospital stay (2.6 vs 2.4 days, P=0.35). The omission of these agents did not increase estimated blood loss (116.6 vs 176.1 mL, P=0.8) or postoperative blood transfusion (0% vs 2.5%, P=0.17). Univariate analysis demonstrated no association between use of fibrin sealants and increased complications (P>0.05). Multivariable logistic regression showed no statistically significant predictive value of omission of hemostatic agents for perioperative outcomes (P>0.05). Perioperative hemorrhage and other major complications after contemporary RAPN are rare in experienced hands. In our study, the use of fibrin sealants during RAPN does not decrease the rate of complications, blood loss, or hospital stay. Furthermore, no impact is seen on operative time, WIT, or other negative outcomes. Omitting these agents during RAPN could be a safe, effective, cost-saving measure.

Surface negative ion production in ion sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belchenko, Y.

1993-01-01

Negative ion sources and the mechanisms for negative ion production are reviewed. Several classes of sources with surface origin of negative ions are examined in detail: surface-plasma sources where ion production occurs on the electrode in contact with the plasma, and ''pure surface'' sources where ion production occurs due to conversion or desorption processes. Negative ion production by backscattering, impact desorption, and electron- and photo-stimulated desorption are discussed. The experimental efficiencies of intense surface negative ion production realized on electrodes contacted with hydrogen-cesium or pure hydrogen gas-discharge plasma are compared. Recent modifications of surface-plasma sources developed for accelerator and fusion applications are reviewed in detail

Possible global environmental impacts of solid waste practices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davis, M.M.; Holter, G.M.; DeForest, T.J.; Stapp, D.C. [Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (United States); Dibari, J.C. [Heritage College, Toppenish, WA (United States)

1994-09-01

Pollutants resulting from the management of solid waste have been shown to affect the air, land, oceans, and waterways. In addition, solid wastes have other, more indirect impacts such as reduction in feedstocks of natural resources, because useful materials are disposed of rather than recycled. The objective of this study is to evaluate solid waste management practices that have negative implications on the global environment and develop recommendations for reducing such impacts. Recommendations identifying needed changes are identified that will reduce global impacts of solid waste practices in the future. The scope of this study includes the range of non-hazardous solid wastes produced within our society, including municipal solid waste (MSW) and industrial solid waste (ISW), as well as industry-specific wastes from activities such as construction, demolition, and landclearing. Most solid waste management decisions continue to be made and implemented at very local levels, predominantly with a short-term focus to respond to relatively immediate pressures of landfill shortages, funding problems, political considerations, and the like. In this rush to address immediate local problems, little consideration is being given to potential impacts, either short- or long-term, at the national or global level resulting from solid waste management practices. More and more, the cumulative impacts from local decisions concerning solid waste management are beginning to manifest themselves in broader, longer-term impacts than are being addressed by the decision-makers or, at the very least, are presenting a greater and greater potential for such impacts.

Impact of multiple stressors on juvenile fish in estuaries of the northeast Pacific.

Science.gov (United States)

Toft, Jason D; Munsch, Stuart H; Cordell, Jeffery R; Siitari, Kiira; Hare, Van C; Holycross, Brett M; DeBruyckere, Lisa A; Greene, Correigh M; Hughes, Brent B

2018-05-01

A key step in identifying global change impacts on species and ecosystems is to quantify effects of multiple stressors. To date, the science of global change has been dominated by regional field studies, experimental manipulation, meta-analyses, conceptual models, reviews, and studies focusing on a single stressor or species over broad spatial and temporal scales. Here, we provide one of the first studies for coastal systems examining multiple stressor effects across broad scales, focused on the nursery function of 20 estuaries spanning 1,600 km of coastline, 25 years of monitoring, and seven fish and invertebrate species along the northeast Pacific coast. We hypothesized those species most estuarine dependent and negatively impacted by human activities would have lower presence and abundances in estuaries with greater anthropogenic land cover, pollution, and water flow stress. We found significant negative relationships between juveniles of two of seven species (Chinook salmon and English sole) and estuarine stressors. Chinook salmon were less likely to occur and were less abundant in estuaries with greater pollution stress. They were also less abundant in estuaries with greater flow stress, although this relationship was marginally insignificant. English sole were less abundant in estuaries with greater land cover stress. Together, we provide new empirical evidence that effects of stressors on two fish species culminate in detectable trends along the northeast Pacific coast, elevating the need for protection from pollution, land cover, and flow stressors to their habitats. Lack of response among the other five species could be related to differing resistance to specific stressors, type and precision of the stressor metrics, and limitations in catch data across estuaries and habitats. Acquiring improved measurements of impacts to species will guide future management actions, and help predict how estuarine nursery functions can be optimized given anthropogenic

Overview of Milestone E activities, greater confinement than shallow land burial

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mezga, L.J.

1981-01-01

In summary, the objective of Milestone E is to provide the technology and documentation needed to open a site providing greater confinement than shallow land burial. To that end, ORNL has prepared a technical position paper defining greater confinement disposal, options for achieving it, and the need for this disposal technology. In order to meet the objective of the milestones, the LLWMP evaluated the full range of options to shallow land burial and decided to focus on a combination of greater depth solidification containment and engineered barriers. The program identified a series of research needs and then focused program efforts on resolving those needs. These tasks are proceeding on schedule at this time but budget reductions may have an impact on our ability to maintain the schedule

Exploring the impact of positive and negative emotions on cooperative behaviour in a Prisoner's Dilemma Game.

Science.gov (United States)

Kjell, Oscar N E; Thompson, Sam

2013-12-19

Objective. To explore the influences of discrete positive and negative emotions on cooperation in the context of a social dilemma game. Design. Two controlled studies were undertaken. In Study 1, 69 participants were randomly assigned to an essay emotion manipulation task designed to induce either guilt, joy or no strong emotion. In Study 2, 95 participants were randomly assigned to one of the same three tasks, and the impact of emotional condition on cooperation was explored using a repeated Prisoner's Dilemma Game. Results. Study 1 established that the manipulation task was successful in inducing the specified emotions. The analysis from Study 2 revealed no significant main effects for emotions, in contrast to previous research. However, there was a significant effect for participants' pre-existing tendency to cooperate (social value orientation; SVO). Conclusion. Methodological explanations for the result are explored, including the possible impact of trial-and-error strategies, different cooperation games and endogenous vs exogenous emotions.

Reduction of negative environmental impact generated by residues of plant tissue culture laboratory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yusleidys Cortés Martínez

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The research is based on the activity developed by teaching and research laboratories for biotechnology purposes with an environmental approach to determine potential contamination risk and analyze the residuals generated. The physical - chemical characterization of the residuals was carried out from contamination indicators that can affect the dumping of residual water. In order to identify the environmental risks and sources of microbial contamination of plant material propagated by in vitro culture that generate residuals, all the risk activities were identified, the type of risk involved in each activity was analyzed, as well as whether or not the standards were met of aseptic normative. The dilution and neutralization was proposed for residuals with extreme values of pH. Since the results of the work a set of measures was proposed to reduce the negative environmental impact of the laboratory residuals. Key words: biosafety, environmental management, microbial contamination

Negative emotions and risk for type 2 diabetes among Korean immigrants.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Sarah E; Rush, Elizabeth B; Henry, Shayna L

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between negative emotions and bio-behavioral risk factors among Korean immigrants at risk for type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Data were collected from 148 Korean immigrant adults who are "at risk" for T2DM as defined by having family history of T2DM in first-degree relatives, body mass index greater than 23, or history of gestational diabetes in women. Participants completed questionnaires and underwent biological measures. Negative emotions included feeling nervous, hopeless, restless, anxious, and stressed as well as depressive symptoms. High percentages of participants had T2DM risk factors including overweight, greater than normal waist to hip ratio, and blood glucose readings that are indicative of T2DM. Feeling stressed was the most commonly reported negative emotion (66%), followed by feeling anxious (51%), restless (38%), nervous (30%), and hopeless (13%). Experience of negative emotions was significantly related to behavioral risk factors; higher levels of experiencing negative emotions were related to increased soda intake and a decreased likelihood of doing at least 10 minutes of moderate exercise. Stress and anxiety were each negatively related to moderate exercise, and depressive symptoms were negatively related to both moderate and vigorous exercise. No significant relationship was found between negative emotions and biological risk factors. Findings suggest that negative emotions, individually and taken together, may be related to T2DM risk behaviors in high-risk Korean immigrants. Behavioral interventions to prevent T2DM in this population should consider assessing and addressing negative emotions.

Understanding protocol performance: impact of test performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Turner, Robert G

2013-01-01

This is the second of two articles that examine the factors that determine protocol performance. The objective of these articles is to provide a general understanding of protocol performance that can be used to estimate performance, establish limits on performance, decide if a protocol is justified, and ultimately select a protocol. The first article was concerned with protocol criterion and test correlation. It demonstrated the advantages and disadvantages of different criterion when all tests had the same performance. It also examined the impact of increasing test correlation on protocol performance and the characteristics of the different criteria. To examine the impact on protocol performance when individual tests in a protocol have different performance. This is evaluated for different criteria and test correlations. The results of the two articles are combined and summarized. A mathematical model is used to calculate protocol performance for different protocol criteria and test correlations when there are small to large variations in the performance of individual tests in the protocol. The performance of the individual tests that make up a protocol has a significant impact on the performance of the protocol. As expected, the better the performance of the individual tests, the better the performance of the protocol. Many of the characteristics of the different criteria are relatively independent of the variation in the performance of the individual tests. However, increasing test variation degrades some criteria advantages and causes a new disadvantage to appear. This negative impact increases as test variation increases and as more tests are added to the protocol. Best protocol performance is obtained when individual tests are uncorrelated and have the same performance. In general, the greater the variation in the performance of tests in the protocol, the more detrimental this variation is to protocol performance. Since this negative impact is increased as

No time to lose: Negative impact on law student wellbeing may begin in year one

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Molly Townes O'Brien

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Preliminary results of a pilot study of law students suggest that, during the first year of law study, students may experience changes in thinking styles, stress levels, and satisfaction with life. Although further inquiry into the cause of law student distress is necessary, the authors consider certain assumptions underlying the legal curriculum—particularly the conception of a lawyer as adversarial, emotionally detached, and competitive—to be possible sources of the negative impact on student wellbeing.  It is suggested that legal educators should re-examine their curricula, particularly their conception of what it means to be a lawyer, and think creatively about ways that law schools may encourage healthier approaches to the study of law.

Negative (but not Positive) Parenting Interacts with Infant Negative Affect to Predict Infant Approach: Evidence of Diathesis-Stress.

Science.gov (United States)

Holzman, Jacob B; Burt, Nicole M; Edwards, Erin S; Rosinski, Leanna D; Bridgett, David J

2018-01-01

Temperament by parenting interactions may reflect that individuals with greater risk are more likely to experience negative outcomes in adverse contexts (diathesis-stress) or that these individuals are more susceptible to contextual influences in a 'for better or for worse' pattern (differential susceptibility). Although such interactions have been identified for a variety of child outcomes, prior research has not examined approach characteristics - excitement and approach toward pleasurable activities - in the first year of life. Therefore, the current study investigated whether 6-month maternal reported infant negative affect - a phenotypic marker of risk/susceptibility - interacted with 8-month observed parenting behaviors (positive parenting, negative parenting) to predict 12-month infant behavioral approach. Based a sample of mothers and their infants ( N =150), results indicated that negative parenting was inversely associated with subsequent approach for infants with high, but not low, levels of early negative affect. Similar results did not occur regarding positive parenting. These findings better fit a diathesis-stress model rather than a differential susceptibility model. Implications and limitations of these findings are discussed.

Low interannual precipitation has a greater negative effect than seedling herbivory on the population dynamics of a short-lived shrub, Schiedea obovata.

Science.gov (United States)

Bialic-Murphy, Lalasia; Gaoue, Orou G

2018-01-01

Climate projections forecast more extreme interannual climate variability over time, with an increase in the severity and duration of extreme drought and rainfall events. Based on bioclimatic envelope models, it is projected that changing precipitation patterns will drastically alter the spatial distributions and density of plants and be a primary driver of biodiversity loss. However, many other underlying mechanisms can impact plant vital rates (i.e., survival, growth, and reproduction) and population dynamics. In this study, we developed a size-dependent integral projection model (IPM) to evaluate how interannual precipitation and mollusk herbivory influence the dynamics of a Hawaii endemic short-lived shrub, Schiedea obovata (Caryophyllaceae). Assessing how wet season precipitation effects population dynamics it critical, as it is the timeframe when most of the foliar growth occurs, plants flower and fruit, and seedlings establish. Temporal variation in wet season precipitation had a greater effect than mollusk herbivory on S . obovata population growth rate λ, and the impact of interannual precipitation on vital rates shifted across plant ontogeny. Furthermore, wet season precipitation influenced multiple vital rates in contrasting ways and the effect of precipitation on the survival of larger vegetative and reproductively mature individuals contributed the most to variation in the population growth rate. Among all combination of wet season precipitation and herbivory intensities, the only scenario that led to a growing population was when high wet precipitation was associated with low herbivory. Our study highlights the importance of evaluating how abiotic factors and plant-consumer interactions influence an organism across its life cycle to fully understand the underpinning mechanisms that structure its spatial and temporal distribution and abundance. Our results also illustrate that for short-lived species, like S. obovata , seedling herbivory can have

Cost-benefit analysis for invasive species control: the case of greater Canada goose Branta canadensis in Flanders (northern Belgium)

Science.gov (United States)

Casaer, Jim; De Smet, Lieven; Devos, Koen; Huysentruyt, Frank; Robertson, Peter A.; Verbeke, Tom

2018-01-01

Background Sound decisions on control actions for established invasive alien species (IAS) require information on ecological as well as socio-economic impact of the species and of its management. Cost-benefit analysis provides part of this information, yet has received relatively little attention in the scientific literature on IAS. Methods We apply a bio-economic model in a cost-benefit analysis framework to greater Canada goose Branta canadensis, an IAS with documented social, economic and ecological impacts in Flanders (northern Belgium). We compared a business as usual (BAU) scenario which involved non-coordinated hunting and egg destruction with an enhanced scenario based on a continuation of these activities but supplemented with coordinated capture of moulting birds. To assess population growth under the BAU scenario we fitted a logistic growth model to the observed pre-moult capture population. Projected damage costs included water eutrophication and damage to cultivated grasslands and were calculated for all scenarios. Management costs of the moult captures were based on a representative average of the actual cost of planning and executing moult captures. Results Comparing the scenarios with different capture rates, different costs for eutrophication and various discount rates, showed avoided damage costs were in the range of 21.15 M€ to 45.82 M€ under the moult capture scenario. The lowest value for the avoided costs applied to the scenario where we lowered the capture rate by 10%. The highest value occurred in the scenario where we lowered the real discount rate from 4% to 2.5%. Discussion The reduction in damage costs always outweighed the additional management costs of moult captures. Therefore, additional coordinated moult captures could be applied to limit the negative economic impact of greater Canada goose at a regional scale. We further discuss the strengths and weaknesses of our approach and its potential application to other IAS. PMID

Cost-benefit analysis for invasive species control: the case of greater Canada goose Branta canadensis in Flanders (northern Belgium

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nikolaas Reyns

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Background Sound decisions on control actions for established invasive alien species (IAS require information on ecological as well as socio-economic impact of the species and of its management. Cost-benefit analysis provides part of this information, yet has received relatively little attention in the scientific literature on IAS. Methods We apply a bio-economic model in a cost-benefit analysis framework to greater Canada goose Branta canadensis, an IAS with documented social, economic and ecological impacts in Flanders (northern Belgium. We compared a business as usual (BAU scenario which involved non-coordinated hunting and egg destruction with an enhanced scenario based on a continuation of these activities but supplemented with coordinated capture of moulting birds. To assess population growth under the BAU scenario we fitted a logistic growth model to the observed pre-moult capture population. Projected damage costs included water eutrophication and damage to cultivated grasslands and were calculated for all scenarios. Management costs of the moult captures were based on a representative average of the actual cost of planning and executing moult captures. Results Comparing the scenarios with different capture rates, different costs for eutrophication and various discount rates, showed avoided damage costs were in the range of 21.15 M€ to 45.82 M€ under the moult capture scenario. The lowest value for the avoided costs applied to the scenario where we lowered the capture rate by 10%. The highest value occurred in the scenario where we lowered the real discount rate from 4% to 2.5%. Discussion The reduction in damage costs always outweighed the additional management costs of moult captures. Therefore, additional coordinated moult captures could be applied to limit the negative economic impact of greater Canada goose at a regional scale. We further discuss the strengths and weaknesses of our approach and its potential application to other

Protecting individuals against the negative impact of big data : The potential and limitations of the privacy and data protection law approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oostveen, M.A.A.

2018-01-01

This thesis is about the protection of individuals against the negative impact that big data may have on their private lives. Many positive and promising developments result from big data, but the massive collection and use of data also raise a host of issues. In the European Union, the rights to

Supportive breeding boosts natural population abundance with minimal negative impacts on fitness of a wild population of Chinook salmon

Science.gov (United States)

Hess, Maureen A; Rabe, Craig D; Vogel, Jason L; Stephenson, Jeff J; Nelson, Doug D; Narum, Shawn R

2012-01-01

While supportive breeding programmes strive to minimize negative genetic impacts to populations, case studies have found evidence for reduced fitness of artificially produced individuals when they reproduce in the wild. Pedigrees of two complete generations were tracked with molecular markers to investigate differences in reproductive success (RS) of wild and hatchery-reared Chinook salmon spawning in the natural environment to address questions regarding the demographic and genetic impacts of supplementation to a natural population. Results show a demographic boost to the population from supplementation. On average, fish taken into the hatchery produced 4.7 times more adult offspring, and 1.3 times more adult grand-offspring than naturally reproducing fish. Of the wild and hatchery fish that successfully reproduced, we found no significant differences in RS between any comparisons, but hatchery-reared males typically had lower RS values than wild males. Mean relative reproductive success (RRS) for hatchery F1 females and males was 1.11 (P = 0.84) and 0.89 (P = 0.56), respectively. RRS of hatchery-reared fish (H) that mated in the wild with either hatchery or wild-origin (W) fish was generally equivalent to W × W matings. Mean RRS of H × W and H × H matings was 1.07 (P = 0.92) and 0.94 (P = 0.95), respectively. We conclude that fish chosen for hatchery rearing did not have a detectable negative impact on the fitness of wild fish by mating with them for a single generation. Results suggest that supplementation following similar management practices (e.g. 100% local, wild-origin brood stock) can successfully boost population size with minimal impacts on the fitness of salmon in the wild. PMID:23025818

Contingent negative variation of mood disorder patients

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Yingzhi Lu; Wenbin Zong; Qingtao Ren; Jinyu Pu; Jun Chen; Juan Li; Xingshi Chen; Yong Wang

2011-01-01

Studies on brain-evoked potential and contingent negative variation (CNV) in mood disorder remain controversial. To date, no CNV difference between unipolar and bipolar depression has been reported. Brain-evoked potentials were measured in the present study to analyze CNV in three subtypes of mood disorder (mania, unipolar depression, and bipolar depression), and these results were compared with normal controls. In the mania group, CNV amplitude B was greater than in controls, and the depression group exhibited lower CNV amplitude B and smaller A-S'2 area, and prolonged post-imperative negative variation latency. The CNV comparison between unipolar and bipolar depression found that the prolonged post-imperative negative variation latency was only in unipolar depression. These results suggest that prolonged post-imperative negative variation latency is a characteristic of unipolar depression, and CNV amplitude change is a state characteristic of mood disorder patients.

Emotional suppression in torture survivors: Relationship to posttraumatic stress symptoms and trauma-related negative affect.

Science.gov (United States)

Nickerson, Angela; Garber, Benjamin; Ahmed, Ola; Asnaani, Anu; Cheung, Jessica; Hofmann, Stefan G; Huynh, Ly; Liddell, Belinda; Litz, Brett T; Pajak, Rosanna; Bryant, Richard A

2016-08-30

While clinical reports suggest that torture survivors may try to suppress their emotions during torture, little is known about the use of emotional suppression following torture. In this study, 82 refugees and asylum-seekers (including 33 torture survivors) completed self-report measures of trait suppression, PTSD symptoms and baseline negative affect before being exposed to images depicting scenes of interpersonal trauma. The use of suppression while viewing the images was indexed and negative affect was measured both immediately after viewing the images and following a five minute rest period. Findings indicated that torture survivors did not show higher rates of trait suppression or state emotional suppression during the experimental session compared to non-torture survivors. However, torture survivors who endorsed state suppression higher levels of distress, and this relationship was especially strong for those with more severe PTSD symptoms. In contrast, there was a negative relationship between state suppression and distress for non-torture survivors with high levels of PTSD symptoms. These findings suggest that, while torture exposure does not lead to greater use of suppression, it does influence the impact of suppression on emotional responses to stimuli. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Blunted neuroactive steroid and HPA axis responses to stress are associated with reduced sleep quality and negative affect in pregnancy: a pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Crowley, Shannon K; O'Buckley, Todd K; Schiller, Crystal E; Stuebe, Alison; Morrow, A Leslie; Girdler, Susan S

2016-04-01

Anxiety during pregnancy has been linked to adverse maternal health outcomes, including postpartum depression (PPD). However, there has been limited study of biological mechanisms underlying behavioral predictors of PPD during pregnancy. Considering the shared etiology of chronic stress amongst antenatal behavioral predictors, the primary goal of this pilot study was to examine associations among stress-related physiological factors (including GABA-ergic neurosteroids) and stress-related behavioral indices of anxiety during pregnancy. Fourteen nulliparous women in their second trimester of a singleton pregnancy underwent speech and mental arithmetic stress, following a 2-week subjective and objective recording of sleep-wake behavior. Lower cortisol, progesterone, and a combined measure of ALLO + pregnanolone throughout the entire stressor protocol (area under the curve, AUC) were associated with greater negative emotional responses to stress, and lower cortisol AUC was associated with worse sleep quality. Lower adrenocorticotropic hormone was associated with greater anxious and depressive symptoms. Stress produced paradoxical reductions in cortisol, progesterone, and a combined measure of allopregnanolone + pregnanolone, while tetrahydrodeoxycorticosterone levels were elevated. These data suggest that cortisol, progesterone, and ALLO + pregnanolone levels in the second trimester of pregnancy are inversely related to negative emotional symptoms, and the negative impact of acute stress challenge appears to exert its effects by reducing these steroids to further promote negative emotional responses.

Modelling the impact of urban form on household energy demand and related CO2 emissions in the Greater Dublin Region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Xiaochen; Sweeney, John

2012-01-01

This study aims to investigate the relationship between household space heating energy use and urban form (land use characteristics) for the Greater Dublin Region. The geographical distributions of household energy use are evaluated at the Enumeration Districts (ED) level based on the building thermal balance model. Moreover, it estimates the impact of possible factors on the household space heating consumption. Results illustrate that the distribution profile of dwellings is a significant factor related to overall heating energy demand and individual dwelling energy consumption for space heating. Residents living in compact dwellings with small floor areas consume less energy for space heating than residents living in dwellings with big floor areas. Moreover, domestic heating energy demand per household was also estimated for two extreme urban development scenarios: the compact city scenario and the dispersed scenario. The results illustrate that the compact city scenario is likely to decrease the domestic heating energy consumption per household by 16.2% compared with the dispersed city scenario. Correspondingly, the energy-related CO 2 emissions could be significantly decreased by compact city scenario compared with the dispersed city scenario. - Highlights: ► A method was developed to investigate urban form impacts on energy demand. ► This study estimates impacts of possible factors on the household energy consumption. ► Household heating energy demand is sensitive to dwelling distribution profile. ► The compact case could reduce domestic energy demand compared with the dispersed case.

Search for greater stability in nuclear regulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asselstine, J.K.

1985-01-01

The need for greater stability in nuclear regulation is discussed. Two possible approaches for dealing with the problems of new and rapidly changing regulatory requirements are discussed. The first approach relies on the more traditional licensing reform initiatives that have been considered off and on for the past decade. The second approach considers a new regulator philosophy aimed at the root causes of the proliferation of new safety requirements that have been imposed in recent years. For the past few years, the concepts of deregulation and regulatory reform have been in fashion in Washington, and the commercial nuclear power program has not remained unaffected. Many look to these concepts to provide greater stability in the regulatory program. The NRC, the nuclear industry and the administration have all been avidly pursuing regulatory reform initiatives, which take the form of both legislative and administrative proposals. Many of these proposals look to the future, and, if adopted, would have little impact on currently operating nuclear power plants or plants now under construction

77 FR 71396 - Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest; Nevada and California Greater Sage Grouse Bi-State Distinct...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-11-30

... Greater Sage Grouse Bi-State Distinct Population Segment Forest Plan Amendment Environmental Impact... Sage Grouse Bi- State Distinct Population Segment. DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis..., but precluded'' Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing petition decision for the Greater Sage grouse Bi...

Increased traffic exposure and negative birth outcomes: a prospective cohort in Australia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wilson Lee-Ann

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Pregnant women exposed to traffic pollution have an increased risk of negative birth outcomes. We aimed to investigate the size of this risk using a prospective cohort of 970 mothers and newborns in Logan, Queensland. Methods We examined two measures of traffic: distance to nearest road and number of roads around the home. To examine the effect of distance we used the number of roads around the home in radii from 50 to 500 metres. We examined three road types: freeways, highways and main roads. Results There were no associations with distance to road. A greater number of freeways and main roads around the home were associated with a shorter gestation time. There were no negative impacts on birth weight, birth length or head circumference after adjusting for gestation. The negative effects on gestation were largely due to main roads within 400 metres of the home. For every 10 extra main roads within 400 metres of the home, gestation time was reduced by 1.1% (95% CI: -1.7, -0.5; p-value = 0.001. Conclusions Our results add weight to the association between exposure to traffic and reduced gestation time. This effect may be due to the chemical toxins in traffic pollutants, or because of disturbed sleep due to traffic noise.

Skeletal metastasis as detected by 18F-FDG PET with negative CT of the PET/CT: Frequency and impact on cancer staging and or management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fatma Ahmed

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Objectives: The aim of our study is to assess the frequency of detection of PET positive CT negative skeletal metastases (SM and determine the impact of such detection on staging and/or management in patients who had FDG PET/CT as part of the cancer work up.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 2000 18F-FDG PET/CT scans of known cancer patients. A log was kept to record cases of suspected SM with or without bone changes from the low-dose non-contrast CT. The presence or absence of SM was evaluated based on available pathological and clinical data. The impact of detection of such lesions on cancer staging and/or management was evaluated by a board certified oncologist.Results: Of the 2000 cases, 18F-FDG PET/CT suggested SM in 146/2000 (7.3%. Of those 146 cases, 105 (72% were positive on both PET and CT. The remaining 41 (28% had PET positive CT negative bone lesions. SM was confirmed in 36/41 (88% PET positive/CT negative cases. This was based on biopsy, imaging or clinical follow-up. The detection of PET positive CT negative SM did not change staging or management in 7/36 (19.4%. However, staging and/or management was affected in 29/36 (80.6%. Conclusions: SM is not uncommon in 18F-FDG PET/CT, as it accounts for 146/2000 (7.3% of cases. PET demonstrated FDG-avid SM without a CT abnormality in at least 36/146 (25%. Patients staging and or management changed in 29/36 (80.5%. We concluded that 18F-FDG PET is sensitive in detection of SM with significant impact on staging & or management. Key words18F-FDG PET/CT, Skeletal metastasis, PET positive, CT negative

Body Talk: Siblings' Use of Positive and Negative Body Self-Disclosure and Associations with Sibling Relationship Quality and Body-Esteem.

Science.gov (United States)

Greer, Kelly Bassett; Campione-Barr, Nicole; Lindell, Anna K

2015-08-01

The sibling relationship has been deemed the quintessential "love-hate relationship." Sibling relationships have also been found to have both positive and negative impacts on the adjustment of youth. Unlike previous research, however, the present study examined the associations between siblings' positive and negative body-related disclosures with relationship quality and body-esteem. Additionally, ordinal position, individual sex, and sibling sex composition were tested as moderators. Participants included 101 predominantly White and middle class adolescent sibling dyads (54 % female adolescents, with relatively equal sibling gender compositions). Older siblings were, on average, 16.46 (SD = 1.35) years old with younger siblings an average of 13.67 (SD = 1.56) years. Adolescents completed questionnaires and data were analyzed using Actor-Partner Interdependence Modeling, which focused on disclosure to and from dyad members. In general, sibling body-related disclosure was positive for the quality of the sibling relationship, regardless of the valance of disclosure. Also, adolescents' body esteem was greater when adolescents reported disclosing (i.e., actor-effects) about positive or negative body issues to their siblings (particularly for females). Conversely, when adolescents received positive or negative body-related disclosures from their siblings (i.e., partner-effects), adolescents reported lower levels of body esteem (particularly for girls and younger siblings). Thus, the impact of body-related disclosure on adolescents' feelings of body esteem appear to be associated more with whether they are the discloser or the one being disclosed to, while the impact on the quality of the relationship has simply more to do with whether or not they are generally disclosing to one another.

The Sweet and the Bitter: Intertwined Positive and Negative Social Impacts of a Biodiversity Offset

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cécile Bidaud

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Major developments, such as mines, will often have unavoidable environmental impacts. In such cases, investors, governments, or even a company's own standards increasingly require implementation of biodiversity offsets (investment in conservation with a measurable outcome with the aim of achieving 'no net loss' or even a 'net gain' of biodiversity. Where conservation is achieved by changing the behaviour of people directly using natural resources, the offset might be expected to have social impacts but such impacts have received very little attention. Using the case study of Ambatovy, a major nickel mine in the eastern rainforests of Madagascar and a company at the vanguard of developing biodiversity offsets, we explore local perceptions of the magnitude and distribution of impacts of the biodiversity offset project on local wellbeing. We used both qualitative (key informant interviews and focus group discussions and quantitative (household survey methods. We found that the biodiversity offsets, which comprise both conservation restrictions and development activities, influenced wellbeing in a mixture of positive and negative ways. However, overall, respondents felt that they had suffered a net cost from the biodiversity offset. It is a matter of concern that benefits from development activities do not compensate for the costs of the conservation restrictions, that those who bear the costs are not the same people as those who benefit, and that there is a mismatch in timing between the immediate restrictions and the associated development activities which take some time to deliver benefits. These issues matter both from the perspective of environmental justice, and for the long-term sustainability of the biodiversity benefits the offset is supposed to deliver.

The Negative Influence of the Technical Means on Children's Development

OpenAIRE

S. Luparenko

2014-01-01

The negative impact of the technical means (computer, TV) on children's development is characterized. This negative impact means damage of physical and mental health; lack of positive moral-ethic influence, forming a soulless, spiritless person; children's detachment from real life and their impossibility to realize themselves; increased aggressiveness; disappearance of the components of children subculture; availability (in virtual world) of the information which can influence child's develo...

Effects of spring conditions on breeding propensity of Greater Snow Goose females

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reed, E. T.

2004-06-01

Full Text Available Breeding propensity, defined as the probability that a sexually mature adult will breed in a given year, is an important determinant of annual productivity. It is also one of the least known demographic parameters in vertebrates. We studied the relationship between breeding propensity and conditions on spring staging areas (a spring conservation hunt and the breeding grounds (spring snow cover in Greater Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens atlantica, a long distance migrant that breeds in the High Arctic. We combined information from mark–recapture, telemetry, and nest survey data to estimate breeding propensity over a 7– year period. True temporal variation in breeding propensity was considerable (mean: 0.574 [95% CI considering only process variation: 0.13 to 1.0]. Spring snow cover was negatively related to breeding propensity (bsnow=-2,05 ± 0,96 SE and tended to be reduced in years with a spring hunt (b = -0,78 ± 0,35. Nest densities on the breeding colony and fall ratios of young:adults were good indices of annual variation in breeding propensity, with nest densities being slightly more precise. These results suggest that conditions encountered during the pre-breeding period can have a significant impact on productivity of Arctic-nesting birds

Greater trochanter pain syndrome: A descriptive MR imaging study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Klontzas, Michail E., E-mail: miklontzas@gmail.com; Karantanas, Apostolos H., E-mail: akarantanas@gmail.com

2014-10-15

Objective: Greater trochanter pain syndrome (GTPS) is a diverse clinical entity caused by a variety of underlying conditions. We sought to explore the impact of (1) hip morphology, namely the center-edge angle (CEa) and femoral neck-shaft (NSa) angle, (2) hip abductor tendon degeneration, (3) the dimensions of peritrochanteric edema and (4) bursitis, on the presence of GTPS, using MR imaging. Materials and methods: The presence of pain was prospectively assessed blindly by the senior author. CEa and NSa were blindly measured in 174 hip MR examinations, after completion of the clinical evaluation by another evaluator. The existence and dimensions of T2 hyperintensity of the peritrochanteric soft tissues, the existence and dimensions of bursae, as well as degeneration and tearing of gluteus tendons were also recorded. Results: Out of 174 examinations, 91 displayed peritrochanteric edema (group A) and 34 bursitis, all with peritrochanteric edema (group B). A number of 78 patients from both A and B groups, showed gluteus medius tendon degeneration and one tendon tear. CEa of groups A and B were 6° higher than those of normals (group C, P = 0.0038). The mean age of normals was 16.6 years less than in group A and 19.8 years less than in group B (P < 0.0001). Bursitis was associated with pain with a negative predictive value of 97% (P = 0.0003). Conclusion: Acetabular morphology is associated with GTPS and the absence of bursitis was proved to be clinically relevant. Peritrochanteric edema alone was not associated with local pain.

Greater trochanter pain syndrome: A descriptive MR imaging study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klontzas, Michail E.; Karantanas, Apostolos H.

2014-01-01

Objective: Greater trochanter pain syndrome (GTPS) is a diverse clinical entity caused by a variety of underlying conditions. We sought to explore the impact of (1) hip morphology, namely the center-edge angle (CEa) and femoral neck-shaft (NSa) angle, (2) hip abductor tendon degeneration, (3) the dimensions of peritrochanteric edema and (4) bursitis, on the presence of GTPS, using MR imaging. Materials and methods: The presence of pain was prospectively assessed blindly by the senior author. CEa and NSa were blindly measured in 174 hip MR examinations, after completion of the clinical evaluation by another evaluator. The existence and dimensions of T2 hyperintensity of the peritrochanteric soft tissues, the existence and dimensions of bursae, as well as degeneration and tearing of gluteus tendons were also recorded. Results: Out of 174 examinations, 91 displayed peritrochanteric edema (group A) and 34 bursitis, all with peritrochanteric edema (group B). A number of 78 patients from both A and B groups, showed gluteus medius tendon degeneration and one tendon tear. CEa of groups A and B were 6° higher than those of normals (group C, P = 0.0038). The mean age of normals was 16.6 years less than in group A and 19.8 years less than in group B (P < 0.0001). Bursitis was associated with pain with a negative predictive value of 97% (P = 0.0003). Conclusion: Acetabular morphology is associated with GTPS and the absence of bursitis was proved to be clinically relevant. Peritrochanteric edema alone was not associated with local pain

Environmental and economic estimation of negative impact of waterproofing works and materials on environment and ability to live of the person

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Velichko Evgeniy

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In article negative influence of waterproofing materials and works on health of people and environmental pollution is analyzed. Complex measures on maintenance of an ecological security, sanitary-and-hygienic requirements, size standards and rules both during works on a waterproof finish are resulted, and at the subsequent upkeep of buildings and premises, and also action for decrease in negative impact at carrying out of waterproofing works on a natural habitat condition, health of the workers occupied in repair-building manufacture and living. The estimation of components of the environmental and economic damage put to environment by manufacture of waterproofing works is given.

NEGATIVE CURRENCY-RISK-EXPOSURE FOR TURKISH EQUITIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Salvatore J. Terregrossa

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Currency-risk-exposure is an issue for Turkish equities, from two different angles: internationaltrade and foreign-portfolio-investment. The likely effect is positive for the former, and negative for the latter aspect. Consequently, the overall or net effect on equity value depends on which of these aspects of currency-risk-exposure has the greater impact. The present empirical analysis estimates currency risk of Turkish equities within a multi-factor regression setting, utilizing the framework of the Security Market Plane (SMP model. The SMP model embodies a conditional relation among three variables: beta, realized excess market-return, and expected excess portfolio-return. The SMP empirical framework is extended to include a currency-risk-factor in the present analysis. The currency-risk-factor is specified as the excess return to holding foreign currency (€; $, relative to holding domestic currency (Turkish Lira. The SMP-related factor is the cross-product term of beta and realized excess market-return (β it rMt . A regression of realized excess portfolio-returns against the corresponding currency-risk-factor and cross product-term (β it rMt finds that the Turkish stocks represented in the analysis generally have overall negative currency-risk-exposure; suggesting that unexpected currency depreciation generally leads to lower values for Turkish stocks (and portfolios of Turkish stocks. Thus, after accounting for the SMP-related interaction-effect between beta and realized excess marketreturn, currency risk is found to command a premium for the Turkish stocks represented in the analysis.

78 FR 65703 - Notice of Availability of the Idaho and Southwestern Montana Greater Sage-Grouse Draft Land Use...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-11-01

...] Notice of Availability of the Idaho and Southwestern Montana Greater Sage-Grouse Draft Land Use Plan... Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for managing Greater Sage- Grouse (GRSG) in the Idaho and Southwestern... Southwestern Montana Greater Sage-Grouse Draft LUP Amendments/Draft EIS by any of the following methods: Email...

Extreme winter warming events more negatively impact small rather than large soil fauna: shift in community composition explained by traits not taxa.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bokhorst, S.F.; Phoenix, G.K.; Bjerke, J.W.; Callaghan, T.V.; Huyer-Brugman, F.A.; Berg, M.P.

2012-01-01

Extreme weather events can have negative impacts on species survival and community structure when surpassing lethal thresholds. Extreme winter warming events in the Arctic rapidly melt snow and expose ecosystems to unseasonably warm air (2-10 °C for 2-14 days), but returning to cold winter climate

The impact of positive, negative and topical relevance feedback

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kaptein, Rianne; Kamps, Jaap; Hiemstra, Djoerd

2008-01-01

This document contains a description of experiments for the 2008 Relevance Feedback track. We experiment with different amounts of feedback, including negative relevance feedback. Feedback is implemented using massive weighted query expansion. Parsimonious query expansion using only relevant

Positive and negative caregiver experiences in first-episode psychosis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jansen, Jens Einar; Lysaker, Paul H.; Harder, Susanne

2014-01-01

influenced their reports of both positive and negative caregiving experiences. Design A prospective consecutive cross-sectional study. Methods Forty caregivers of patients with first-episode psychosis were interviewed using semi-structured interview and questionnaires. Results Greater levels of distress...

Negative impact of pretreatment anemia on local control after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and surgery for rectal cancer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Hye Bin; Park, Hee Chul; Park, Won [Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); and others

2012-09-15

Although anemia is considered to be a contributor to intra-tumoral hypoxia and tumor resistance to ionizing radiation in cancer patients, the impact of pretreatment anemia on local control after neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy (NACRT) and surgery for rectal cancer remains unclear. We reviewed the records of 247 patients with locally advanced rectal cancer who were treated with NACRT followed by curative-intent surgery. The patients with anemia before NACRT (36.0%, 89/247) achieved less pathologic complete response (pCR) than those without anemia (p = 0.012). The patients with pretreatment anemia had worse 3-year local control than those without pretreatment anemia (86.0% vs. 95.7%, p = 0.005). Multivariate analysis showed that pretreatment anemia (p = 0.035), pathologic tumor and nodal stage (p = 0.020 and 0.032, respectively) were independently significant factors for local control. Pretreatment anemia had negative impacts on pCR and local control among patients who underwent NACRT and surgery for rectal cancer. Strategies maintaining hemoglobin level within normal range could potentially be used to improve local control in rectal cancer patients.

Negative impact of pretreatment anemia on local control after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and surgery for rectal cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Hye Bin; Park, Hee Chul; Park, Won

2012-01-01

Although anemia is considered to be a contributor to intra-tumoral hypoxia and tumor resistance to ionizing radiation in cancer patients, the impact of pretreatment anemia on local control after neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy (NACRT) and surgery for rectal cancer remains unclear. We reviewed the records of 247 patients with locally advanced rectal cancer who were treated with NACRT followed by curative-intent surgery. The patients with anemia before NACRT (36.0%, 89/247) achieved less pathologic complete response (pCR) than those without anemia (p = 0.012). The patients with pretreatment anemia had worse 3-year local control than those without pretreatment anemia (86.0% vs. 95.7%, p = 0.005). Multivariate analysis showed that pretreatment anemia (p = 0.035), pathologic tumor and nodal stage (p = 0.020 and 0.032, respectively) were independently significant factors for local control. Pretreatment anemia had negative impacts on pCR and local control among patients who underwent NACRT and surgery for rectal cancer. Strategies maintaining hemoglobin level within normal range could potentially be used to improve local control in rectal cancer patients.

Greater happiness for a greater number: Is that possible in Austria?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

R. Veenhoven (Ruut)

2011-01-01

textabstractWhat is the final goal of public policy? Jeremy Bentham (1789) would say: greater happiness for a greater number. He thought of happiness as subjective enjoyment of life; in his words as “the sum of pleasures and pains”. In his time the happiness of the great number could not be measured

Greater happiness for a greater number: Is that possible in Germany?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

R. Veenhoven (Ruut)

2009-01-01

textabstractWhat is the final goal of public policy? Jeremy Bentham (1789) would say: greater happiness for a greater number. He thought of happiness as subjective enjoyment of life; in his words as “the sum of pleasures and pains”. In his time the Happiness of the great number could not be measured

Does the nutrition profile of vitamins, fatty acids and microelements counteract the negative impact from organohalogen pollutants on bone mineral density in Greenland sledge dogs (Canis familiaris)?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sonne, Christian; Rigét, Frank F; Beck Jensen, Jens-Erik

2008-01-01

an impact on BMD using the present time frame and OHC concentrations (threshold levels not reached), or the difference in food composition (mainly vitamins and n3 fatty acids) conceal the potential OHC impact on BMD. Such information is important when evaluating the positive and negative health consequences...

Spiders do not evoke greater early posterior negativity in the event-related potential as snakes.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Hongshen; Kubo, Kenta; Kawai, Nobuyuki

2014-09-10

It has been long believed that both snakes and spiders are archetypal fear stimuli for humans. Furthermore, snakes have been assumed as stronger threat cues for nonhuman primates. However, it is still unclear whether spiders hold a special status in human perception. The current study explored to what extent spider pictures draw early visual attention [as assessed with early posterior negativity (EPN)] when compared with insects similar to spiders. To measure the EPN, participants watched a random rapid serial presentation of pictures, which consisted of two conditions: spider condition (spider, wasp, bumblebee, beetle) and snake condition (snake, bird). EPN amplitudes revealed no significant difference between spider, wasp, bumblebee, and beetle pictures, whereas EPN amplitudes were significantly larger for snake pictures relative to bird pictures. In addition, EPN amplitudes were significantly larger for snake pictures relative to spider pictures. These results suggest that the early visual attentional capture of animate objects is stronger for snakes, whereas spiders do not appear to hold special early attentional value.

Strategies to Mitigate the Negative and Accentuate the Positive Impacts of International Service-Learning on Host Communities

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Shari Galiardi

2012-04-01

Full Text Available International service-learning can have a transformative effect on student participants, but little research has been done on the impact of these experiences on host communities. The authors make the case that an emphasis on intentional personal, cultural, and group preparation is imperative to have the best possible impact on both the student and host community. Overarching strategies include: 1 preparing students for their experience prior to departure from both an individual and group development perspective; 2 designing reflection activities and discussions that include members of the host community; 3 facilitating open conversations about equitable relationships, international perspectives of Americans, and potential negative effects the group could have on the host community; 4 providing opportunities for post-travel dialogue and personal action plans for re-engaging with the local community upon return. The authors draw from both theoretical frameworks and many years of experience traveling abroad with students to underpin the strategies outlined in this article. KEYWORDSservice-learning; group development; international

Exploring the impact of positive and negative emotions on cooperative behaviour in a Prisoner’s Dilemma Game

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oscar N.E. Kjell

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Objective. To explore the influences of discrete positive and negative emotions on cooperation in the context of a social dilemma game.Design. Two controlled studies were undertaken. In Study 1, 69 participants were randomly assigned to an essay emotion manipulation task designed to induce either guilt, joy or no strong emotion. In Study 2, 95 participants were randomly assigned to one of the same three tasks, and the impact of emotional condition on cooperation was explored using a repeated Prisoner’s Dilemma Game.Results. Study 1 established that the manipulation task was successful in inducing the specified emotions. The analysis from Study 2 revealed no significant main effects for emotions, in contrast to previous research. However, there was a significant effect for participants’ pre-existing tendency to cooperate (social value orientation; SVO.Conclusion. Methodological explanations for the result are explored, including the possible impact of trial-and-error strategies, different cooperation games and endogenous vs exogenous emotions.

Mass spectrometric analysis of small negative ions (e/m < 100) produced by Trichel pulse negative corona discharge fed by ozonised air

OpenAIRE

Skalny, J.D.; Horvath, G.; Mason, N.

2007-01-01

Mass spectrometric analysis of small negative ions (e/m < 100) produced by DC negative corona discharge in ozonised wet air both in flow and flow-stopped regimes was conducted at pressure of 30 kPa. The point-to-plain electrode system has been used. The yield of individual ions is strongly affected by trace concentrations of ozone in both regimes. Ozone concentration greater than 25 ppm is sufficient to completely suppress the appearance of O2- and a NO2- ion as well as theirs clusters in the...

Trait anxiety and attenuated negative affect differentiation: a vulnerability factor to consider?

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Matt, Lindsey M; Fresco, David M; Coifman, Karin G

2016-11-01

Describing emotional experiences using distinct terms, or affect differentiation, has been associated with emotion regulation and adaptive behavior under stress. There is little data, however, examining the association between differentiation and dispositional factors underlying psychopathology. The current study examines the association between differentiation and trait anxiety (TA) given prior evidence of cognitive biases in TA relevant to higher order processing of emotional experiences. We examined cross-sectionally, via lab-based repeated assessment, the association between differentiation of negative and positive experiences and TA. Two hundred twenty-two adults completed an emotion reactivity task including repeated assessments of affect. We hypothesized that individuals higher in trait anxiety (HTA) would have greater difficulty differentiating their experiences. HTA individuals exhibited lower levels of negative affect (NA) differentiation even when controlling for depression. Although negative emotion intensity was consistently associated with lower differentiation, this did not account for the influence of HTA on differentiation. These data suggest that HTA individuals have greater difficulty differentiating negative emotions, regardless of negative emotion intensity and depression. As HTA is common to many emotional disorders; this evidence suggests that poor differentiation may also be an important transdiagnostic consideration in models of risk and of affective disease.

Social support and negative and positive outcomes of experienced traumatic events in a group of male emergency service workers.

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Ogińska-Bulik, Nina

2015-01-01

The paper investigates the relationship between perceived social support in the workplace and both negative (post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms) and positive outcomes (post-traumatic growth) of experienced traumatic events in a group of male emergency service workers. Data of 116 workers representing emergency services (37.1% firefighters, 37.1%, police officers and 30% medical rescue workers) who have experienced a traumatic event in their worksite were analyzed. The range of age of the participants was 21-57 years (M=35.27; SD=8.13). Polish versions of the Impact of Event Scale--Revised and the Post-traumatic Growth Inventory were used to assess the negative and positive outcomes of the experienced event. A perceived social support scale was measured by the scale What support you can count on. The data obtained from the study revealed the negative dependence of social support from supervisors with PTSD symptoms and positive--social support from co-workers with post-traumatic growth. Moreover the results of the study indicate the positive relationship between negative and positive outcomes of experienced traumatic events in the workplace. Perceived social support plays a more important role in gaining benefits from trauma than preventing negative outcomes of the experienced traumatic event. Support from co-workers, compared to support from supervisors, has greater importance.

The relationships between impact location and post-impact ball speed, bat torsion, and ball direction in cricket batting.

Science.gov (United States)

Peploe, C; McErlain-Naylor, S A; Harland, A R; King, M A

2018-06-01

Three-dimensional kinematic data of bat and ball were recorded for 239 individual shots performed by twenty batsmen ranging from club to international standard. The impact location of the ball on the bat face was determined and assessed against the resultant instantaneous post-impact ball speed and measures of post-impact bat torsion and ball direction. Significant negative linear relationships were found between post-impact ball speed and the absolute distance of impact from the midline medio-laterally and sweetspot longitudinally. Significant cubic relationships were found between the distance of impact from the midline of the bat medio-laterally and both a measure of bat torsion and the post-impact ball direction. A "sweet region" on the bat face was identified whereby impacts within 2 cm of the sweetspot in the medio-lateral direction, and 4.5 cm in the longitudinal direction, caused reductions in ball speed of less than 6% from the optimal value, and deviations in ball direction of less than 10° from the intended target. This study provides a greater understanding of the margin for error afforded to batsmen, allowing researchers to assess shot success in more detail, and highlights the importance of players generating consistently central impact locations when hitting for optimal performance.

How to combat the negative impact of discrimination in a collectivist context? The safeguarding function of peer-oriented hope.

Science.gov (United States)

Datu, Jesus Alfonso D; Jose Mateo, Nino

2017-03-01

The objective of the study was to assess the moderating role of locus-of-hope on the relations between everyday discrimination and well-being outcomes in a collectivist setting. There were 444 Filipino undergraduate students who participated in the research. Findings showed that discrimination was negatively linked to subjective well-being and flourishing while loci-of-hope (internal, external-spiritual, external-family, and external-peers) were positively associated with well-being indices. Further, external-peer locus-of-hope moderated the relations between everyday discrimination and well-being outcomes such that for those who had higher external-peer locus-of-hope, everyday discrimination may still be linked to greater well-being. The theoretical and practical implications are elucidated.

Negative emissions from stopping deforestation and forest degradation, globally.

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Houghton, Richard A; Nassikas, Alexander A

2018-01-01

Forest growth provides negative emissions of carbon that could help keep the earth's surface temperature from exceeding 2°C, but the global potential is uncertain. Here we use land-use information from the FAO and a bookkeeping model to calculate the potential negative emissions that would result from allowing secondary forests to recover. We find the current gross carbon sink in forests recovering from harvests and abandoned agriculture to be -4.4 PgC/year, globally. The sink represents the potential for negative emissions if positive emissions from deforestation and wood harvest were eliminated. However, the sink is largely offset by emissions from wood products built up over the last century. Accounting for these committed emissions, we estimate that stopping deforestation and allowing secondary forests to grow would yield cumulative negative emissions between 2016 and 2100 of about 120 PgC, globally. Extending the lifetimes of wood products could potentially remove another 10 PgC from the atmosphere, for a total of approximately 130 PgC, or about 13 years of fossil fuel use at today's rate. As an upper limit, the estimate is conservative. It is based largely on past and current practices. But if greater negative emissions are to be realized, they will require an expansion of forest area, greater efficiencies in converting harvested wood to long-lasting products and sources of energy, and novel approaches for sequestering carbon in soils. That is, they will require current management practices to change. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Airway complications have a greater impact on the outcomes of living-donor lobar lung transplantation recipients than cadaveric lung transplantation recipients.

Science.gov (United States)

Sugimoto, Seiichiro; Yamane, Masaomi; Otani, Shinji; Kurosaki, Takeshi; Okahara, Shuji; Hikasa, Yukiko; Toyooka, Shinichi; Kobayashi, Motomu; Oto, Takahiro

2018-04-21

Airway complications (ACs) after living-donor lobar lung transplantation (LDLLT) could have different features from those after cadaveric lung transplantation (CLT). We conducted this study to compare the characteristics of ACs after LDLLT vs. those after CLT and investigate their impact on outcomes. We reviewed, retrospectively, data on 163 recipients of lung transplantation, including 83 recipients of LDLLT and 80 recipients of CLT. The incidence of ACs did not differ between LDLLT and CLT. The initial type of AC after LDLLT was limited to stenosis in all eight patients, whereas that after CLT consisted of stenosis in three patients and necrosis in ten patients (p = 0.0034). ACs after LDLLT necessitated significantly earlier initiation of treatment than those after CLT (p = 0.032). The overall survival rate of LDLLT recipients with an AC was significantly lower than that of those without an AC (p = 0.030), whereas the overall survival rate was comparable between CLT recipients with and those without ACs (p = 0.25). ACs after LDLLT, limited to bronchial stenosis, require significantly earlier treatment and have a greater adverse impact on survival than ACs after CLT.

Effects of Informative and Confirmatory Feedback on Brain Activation During Negative Feedback Processing

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Yeon-Kyoung eWoo

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The current study compared the effects of informative and confirmatory feedback on brain activation during negative feedback processing. For confirmatory feedback trials, participants were informed that they had failed the task, whereas informative feedback trials presented task relevant information along with the notification of their failure. Fourteen male undergraduates performed a series of spatial-perceptual tasks and received feedback while their brain activity was recorded. During confirmatory feedback trials, greater activations in the amygdala, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, and the thalamus (including the habenular were observed in response to incorrect responses. These results suggest that confirmatory feedback induces negative emotional reactions to failure. In contrast, informative feedback trials elicited greater activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC when participants experienced failure. Further psychophysiological interaction (PPI analysis revealed a negative coupling between the DLPFC and the amygdala during informative feedback relative to confirmatory feedback trials. These findings suggest that providing task-relevant information could facilitate implicit down-regulation of negative emotions following failure.

Application of Negative Binomial Regression for Assessing Public ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Because the variance was nearly two times greater than the mean, the negative binomial regression model provided an improved fit to the data and accounted better for overdispersion than the Poisson regression model, which assumed that the mean and variance are the same. The level of education and race were found

Recent summer precipitation trends in the Greater Horn of Africa and the emerging role of Indian Ocean sea surface temperature

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Williams, A.P. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Earth and Environmental Sciences Division, Los Alamos, NM (United States); University of California, Geography Department, Santa Barbara, CA (United States); Funk, Chris [University of California, Geography Department, Santa Barbara, CA (United States); U.S. Geological Survey, Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS), Sioux Falls, SD (United States); Michaelsen, Joel [University of California, Geography Department, Santa Barbara, CA (United States); Rauscher, Sara A. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Theoretical Division, Los Alamos, NM (United States); Robertson, Iain; Loader, Neil J. [Swansea University, Department of Geography, College of Science, Swansea (United Kingdom); Wils, Tommy H.G. [Rotterdam University, Department of Geography, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Koprowski, Marcin [Nicolaus Copernicus University, Laboratory of Dendrochronology, Institute of Ecology and Environment Protection, Torun (Poland); Eshetu, Zewdu [Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Forestry Research Centre, Addis Ababa (Ethiopia)

2012-11-15

We utilize a variety of climate datasets to examine impacts of two mechanisms on precipitation in the Greater Horn of Africa (GHA) during northern-hemisphere summer. First, surface-pressure gradients draw moist air toward the GHA from the tropical Atlantic Ocean and Congo Basin. Variability of the strength of these gradients strongly influences GHA precipitation totals and accounts for important phenomena such as the 1960s-1980s rainfall decline and devastating 1984 drought. Following the 1980s, precipitation variability became increasingly influenced by the southern tropical Indian Ocean (STIO) region. Within this region, increases in sea-surface temperature, evaporation, and precipitation are linked with increased exports of dry mid-tropospheric air from the STIO region toward the GHA. Convergence of dry air above the GHA reduces local convection and precipitation. It also produces a clockwise circulation response near the ground that reduces moisture transports from the Congo Basin. Because precipitation originating in the Congo Basin has a unique isotopic signature, records of moisture transports from the Congo Basin may be preserved in the isotopic composition of annual tree rings in the Ethiopian Highlands. A negative trend in tree-ring oxygen-18 during the past half century suggests a decline in the proportion of precipitation originating from the Congo Basin. This trend may not be part of a natural cycle that will soon rebound because climate models characterize Indian Ocean warming as a principal signature of greenhouse-gas induced climate change. We therefore expect surface warming in the STIO region to continue to negatively impact GHA precipitation during northern-hemisphere summer. (orig.)

Memory biases in remitted depression: the role of negative cognitions at explicit and automatic processing levels.

Science.gov (United States)

Romero, Nuria; Sanchez, Alvaro; Vazquez, Carmelo

2014-03-01

Cognitive models propose that depression is caused by dysfunctional schemas that endure beyond the depressive episode, representing vulnerability factors for recurrence. However, research testing negative cognitions linked to dysfunctional schemas in formerly depressed individuals is still scarce. Furthermore, negative cognitions are presumed to be linked to biases in recalling negative self-referent information in formerly depressed individuals, but no studies have directly tested this association. In the present study, we evaluated differences between formerly and never-depressed individuals in several experimental indices of negative cognitions and their associations with the recall of emotional self-referent material. Formerly (n = 30) and never depressed individuals (n = 40) completed measures of explicit (i.e., scrambled sentence test) and automatic (i.e., lexical decision task) processing to evaluate negative cognitions. Furthermore participants completed a self-referent incidental recall task to evaluate memory biases. Formerly compared to never depressed individuals showed greater negative cognitions at both explicit and automatic levels of processing. Results also showed greater recall of negative self-referent information in formerly compared to never-depressed individuals. Finally, individual differences in negative cognitions at both explicit and automatic levels of processing predicted greater recall of negative self-referent material in formerly depressed individuals. Analyses of the relationship between explicit and automatic processing indices and memory biases were correlational and the majority of participants in both groups were women. Our findings provide evidence of negative cognitions in formerly depressed individuals at both automatic and explicit levels of processing that may confer a cognitive vulnerability to depression. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Negative Impact of Testosterone Deficiency and 5α-Reductase Inhibitors Therapy on Metabolic and Sexual Function in Men.

Science.gov (United States)

Traish, Abdulmaged M

2017-01-01

Androgens are steroid hormones with pleotropic and diverse biochemical and physiological functions, and androgen deficiency exerts a negative impact on human health. Testosterone (T) either directly or via its transformation into the more potent metabolite 5α-dihydrotestosterone (5α-DHT) or via aromatization into estradiol (E 2 ) modulates important biochemical signaling pathways of human physiology and plays a critical role in the growth and/or maintenance of functions in a host of tissues and organs. T and 5α-DHT play an important role in regulating physiology of the muscle, adipose tissue, liver, bone, and central nervous system, as well as reproductive and sexual functions. Thus, androgen deficiency (also referred to as hypogonadism) is a well-recognized medical condition and if remained untreated will have a negative impact on human health and quality of life.In this chapter, we have summarized the negative impact of T deficiency (TD) on a host of physiological functions including reduced lean body mass (LBM), increased fat mass (FM), increased insulin resistance (IR), metabolic syndrome (MetS) and adiposity, reduced bone mineral density (BMD), anemia, sexual dysfunction, and reduced quality of life and increased mortality. In addition, we discuss another critical aspect of unrecognized form of androgen deficiency resulting from inhibition of 5α-reductases with drugs, such as finasteride and dutasteride, to block transformation of T into 5α-DHT in the course of treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and male pattern hair loss, also known as androgenetic alopecia (AGA). The negative impact of drugs that inhibit transformation of T to 5α-DHT by 5α-reductases on metabolic function is manifested in fat accumulation in the liver, which may predispose to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Also, inhibition of 5α-DHT formation increases glucose synthesis and reduces glucose disposal potentially contributing to hyperglycemia, IR, and

Sex differences in effective fronto-limbic connectivity during negative emotion processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Lungu, Ovidiu; Potvin, Stéphane; Tikàsz, Andràs; Mendrek, Adrianna

2015-12-01

In view of the greater prevalence of depression and anxiety disorders in women than in men, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have examined sex-differences in brain activations during emotion processing. Comparatively, sex-differences in brain connectivity received little attention, despite evidence for important fronto-limbic connections during emotion processing across sexes. Here, we investigated sex-differences in fronto-limbic connectivity during negative emotion processing. Forty-six healthy individuals (25 women, 21 men) viewed negative, positive and neutral images during an fMRI session. Effective connectivity between significantly activated regions was examined using Granger causality and psychophysical interaction analyses. Sex steroid hormones and feminine-masculine traits were also measured. Subjective ratings of negative emotional images were higher in women than in men. Across sexes, significant activations were observed in the dorso-medial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) and the right amygdala. Granger connectivity from right amygdala was significantly greater than that from dmPFC during the 'high negative' condition, an effect driven by men. Magnitude of this effect correlated negatively with highly negative image ratings and feminine traits and positively with testosterone levels. These results highlight critical sex differences in brain connectivity during negative emotion processing and point to the fact that both biological (sex steroid hormones) and psychosocial (gender role and identity) variables contribute to them. As the dmPFC is involved in social cognition and action planning, and the amygdala-in threat detection, the connectivity results suggest that compared to women, men have a more evaluative, rather than purely affective, brain response during negative emotion processing. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

EFFECTS OF MEDICAL DISPUTES ON INTERNET COMMUNICATIONS OF NEGATIVE EMOTIONS AND NEGATIVE ONLINE WORD-OF-MOUTH.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Yi-Chih; Wu, Wei-Li

2015-08-01

Emotions play an important role in human behavior. Negative emotions resulting from medical disputes are problems for medical personnel to solve but also have a significant impact on a hospital's reputation and people's trust in the hospital. One medical dispute case was chosen from an Internet news source to assess the correlation between people's negative emotions and negative online word-of-mouth. Convenience sampling was used in school faculties and university students who had shared their medical treatment experiences online were the research participants. A total of 221 Taiwanese participants volunteered (158 women, 63 men; ages: 26.7% under 19, 22.6% 20-29, 30.8% 30-39,19.9% over 40). Four negative emotions were measured using rating scales: uncertainty, anger, disappointment, and sadness. Four negative online word-of-mouth measures were: venting, advice search, helping receiver, and revenge. A modeled relationship was assessed by partial least square method (PLS). Then, people's positive emotions were further analyzed to assess changes after spreading negative word-of-mouth. The results showed that uncertainty had a positive effect on venting and advice search. People who felt anger or regret spread word-of-mouth in order to help the receiver. Disappointment may trigger the revenge behavior of negative word-of-mouth. Negative emotions could be relieved after engaging in the behavior of helping the receiver.

Fifth-grade children's daily experiences of peer victimization and negative emotions: moderating effects of sex and peer rejection.

Science.gov (United States)

Morrow, Michael T; Hubbard, Julie A; Barhight, Lydia J; Thomson, Amanda K

2014-10-01

This study examined the relations of fifth-grade children's (181 boys and girls) daily experiences of peer victimization with their daily negative emotions. Children completed daily reports of peer victimization and negative emotions (sadness, anger, embarrassment, and nervousness) on up to eight school days. The daily peer victimization checklist was best represented by five factors: physical victimization, verbal victimization, social manipulation, property attacks, and social rebuff. All five types were associated with increased negative daily emotions, and several types were independently linked to increased daily negative emotions, particularly physical victimization. Girls demonstrated greater emotional reactivity in sadness to social manipulation than did boys, and higher levels of peer rejection were linked to greater emotional reactivity to multiple types of victimization. Sex and peer rejection also interacted, such that greater rejection was a stronger indicator of emotional reactivity to victimization in boys than in girls.

The Impact of Efflux Pump Inhibitors on the Activity of Selected Non-Antibiotic Medicinal Products against Gram-Negative Bacteria

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Agnieszka E. Laudy

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The potential role of non-antibiotic medicinal products in the treatment of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria has recently been investigated. It is highly likely that the presence of efflux pumps may be one of the reasons for the weak activity of non-antibiotics, as in the case of some non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs, against Gram-negative rods. The activity of eight drugs of potential non-antibiotic activity, active substance standards, and relevant medicinal products were analysed with and without of efflux pump inhibitors against 180 strains of five Gram-negative rod species by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC value determination in the presence of 1 mM MgSO4. Furthermore, the influence of non-antibiotics on the susceptibility of clinical strains to quinolones with or without PAβN (Phe-Arg-β-naphthylamide was investigated. The impacts of PAβN on the susceptibility of bacteria to non-antibiotics suggests that amitriptyline, alendronate, nicergoline, and ticlopidine are substrates of efflux pumps in Gram-negative rods. Amitriptyline/Amitriptylinum showed the highest direct antibacterial activity, with MICs ranging 100–800 mg/L against all studied species. Significant decreases in the MIC values of other active substances (acyclovir, atorvastatin, and famotidine tested with pump inhibitors were not observed. The investigated non-antibiotic medicinal products did not alter the MICs of quinolones in the absence and in the presence of PAβN to the studied clinical strains of five groups of species.

International business travel: impact on families and travellers.

Science.gov (United States)

Espino, C M; Sundstrom, S M; Frick, H L; Jacobs, M; Peters, M

2002-05-01

Spouses and staff of the World Bank Group (WBG) were questioned about the impact of international business travel on families and travellers. Dependent variables were self reported stress, concern about the health of the traveller, and negative impact on the family. We hypothesised that several travel factors (independent variables) would be associated with these impacts. These travel factors had to do with the frequency, duration, and predictability of travel and its interference with family activities. Survey forms were developed and distributed to all spouses of travelling staff as well as a small sample of operational staff. Kendall's tau b correlation coefficients of response frequencies were computed with the data from scaled items. Written responses to open ended questions were categorised. Response rates for spouses and staff were 24% and 36%, respectively. Half the spouse sample (n=533) and almost 75% of the staff sample (n=102) reported high or very high stress due to business travel. Self reported spouse stress was associated with six out of eight travel factors. Female spouses, those with children, and younger spouses reported greater stress. Self reported staff stress was significantly associated with four out of nine travel factors. Further insight into how business travel affects families and staff (including children's behavioural changes) and how families cope was gained through responses to written questions. The findings support the notion that lengthy and frequent travel and frequent changes in travel dates which affect family plans, all characteristic of WBG missions, negatively affects many spouses and children (particularly young children) and that the strain on families contributes significantly to the stress staff feel about their travel. Policies or management practices that take into consideration family activities and give staff greater leeway in controlling and refusing travel may help relieve stress.

Exclusion of identification by negative superposition

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Takač Šandor

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The paper represents the first report of negative superposition in our country. Photo of randomly selected young, living woman was superimposed on the previously discovered female skull. Computer program Adobe Photoshop 7.0 was used in work. Digitilized photographs of the skull and face, after uploaded to computer, were superimposed on each other and displayed on the monitor in order to assess their possible similarities or differences. Special attention was payed to matching the same anthropometrical points of the skull and face, as well as following their contours. The process of fitting the skull and the photograph is usually started by setting eyes in correct position relative to the orbits. In this case, lower jaw gonions go beyond the face contour and gnathion is highly placed. By positioning the chin, mouth and nose their correct anatomical position cannot be achieved. All the difficulties associated with the superposition were recorded, with special emphasis on critical evaluation of work results in a negative superposition. Negative superposition has greater probative value (exclusion of identification than positive (possible identification. 100% negative superposition is easily achieved, but 100% positive - almost never. 'Each skull is unique and viewed from different perspectives is always a new challenge'. From this point of view, identification can be negative or of high probability.

Influence of negative affect on selective attention to smoking-related cues and urge to smoke in cigarette smokers.

Science.gov (United States)

Bradley, Brendan P; Garner, Matthew; Hudson, Laura; Mogg, Karin

2007-07-01

According to recent models of addiction, negative affect plays an important role in maintaining drug dependence. The study investigated the effect of negative mood on attentional biases for smoking-related cues and smoking urge in cigarette smokers. Eye movements to smoking-related and control pictures, and manual response times to probes, were recorded during a visual probe task. Smoking urges and mood were assessed by self-report measures. Negative affect was manipulated experimentally as a within-participants independent variable; that is, each participant received negative and neutral mood induction procedures, in counterbalanced order in separate sessions, before the attentional task. There were two groups of participants: smokers and nonsmokers. Smokers showed (i) a greater tendency to shift gaze initially towards smoking-related cues, and (ii) greater urge to smoke when they were in negative mood compared with neutral mood. Manual response time data suggested that smokers showed a greater tendency than nonsmokers to maintain attention on smoking-related cues, irrespective of mood. The results offer partial support for the view that negative mood increases selective attention to drug cues, and urge to smoke, in smokers. The findings are discussed in relation to an affective processing model of negative reinforcement in drug dependence.

Groundwater impacts on surface water quality and nutrient loads in lowland polder catchments: monitoring the greater Amsterdam area

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Liang; Rozemeijer, Joachim; van Breukelen, Boris M.; Ouboter, Maarten; van der Vlugt, Corné; Broers, Hans Peter

2018-01-01

The Amsterdam area, a highly manipulated delta area formed by polders and reclaimed lakes, struggles with high nutrient levels in its surface water system. The polders receive spatially and temporally variable amounts of water and nutrients via surface runoff, groundwater seepage, sewer leakage, and via water inlets from upstream polders. Diffuse anthropogenic sources, such as manure and fertiliser use and atmospheric deposition, add to the water quality problems in the polders. The major nutrient sources and pathways have not yet been clarified due to the complex hydrological system in lowland catchments with both urban and agricultural areas. In this study, the spatial variability of the groundwater seepage impact was identified by exploiting the dense groundwater and surface water monitoring networks in Amsterdam and its surrounding polders. A total of 25 variables (concentrations of total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), NH4, NO3, HCO3, SO4, Ca, and Cl in surface water and groundwater, N and P agricultural inputs, seepage rate, elevation, land-use, and soil type) for 144 polders were analysed statistically and interpreted in relation to sources, transport mechanisms, and pathways. The results imply that groundwater is a large source of nutrients in the greater Amsterdam mixed urban-agricultural catchments. The groundwater nutrient concentrations exceeded the surface water environmental quality standards (EQSs) in 93 % of the polders for TP and in 91 % for TN. Groundwater outflow into the polders thus adds to nutrient levels in the surface water. High correlations (R2 up to 0.88) between solutes in groundwater and surface water, together with the close similarities in their spatial patterns, confirmed the large impact of groundwater on surface water chemistry, especially in the polders that have high seepage rates. Our analysis indicates that the elevated nutrient and bicarbonate concentrations in the groundwater seepage originate from the decomposition of

Groundwater impacts on surface water quality and nutrient loads in lowland polder catchments: monitoring the greater Amsterdam area

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Yu

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The Amsterdam area, a highly manipulated delta area formed by polders and reclaimed lakes, struggles with high nutrient levels in its surface water system. The polders receive spatially and temporally variable amounts of water and nutrients via surface runoff, groundwater seepage, sewer leakage, and via water inlets from upstream polders. Diffuse anthropogenic sources, such as manure and fertiliser use and atmospheric deposition, add to the water quality problems in the polders. The major nutrient sources and pathways have not yet been clarified due to the complex hydrological system in lowland catchments with both urban and agricultural areas. In this study, the spatial variability of the groundwater seepage impact was identified by exploiting the dense groundwater and surface water monitoring networks in Amsterdam and its surrounding polders. A total of 25 variables (concentrations of total nitrogen (TN, total phosphorus (TP, NH4, NO3, HCO3, SO4, Ca, and Cl in surface water and groundwater, N and P agricultural inputs, seepage rate, elevation, land-use, and soil type for 144 polders were analysed statistically and interpreted in relation to sources, transport mechanisms, and pathways. The results imply that groundwater is a large source of nutrients in the greater Amsterdam mixed urban–agricultural catchments. The groundwater nutrient concentrations exceeded the surface water environmental quality standards (EQSs in 93 % of the polders for TP and in 91 % for TN. Groundwater outflow into the polders thus adds to nutrient levels in the surface water. High correlations (R2 up to 0.88 between solutes in groundwater and surface water, together with the close similarities in their spatial patterns, confirmed the large impact of groundwater on surface water chemistry, especially in the polders that have high seepage rates. Our analysis indicates that the elevated nutrient and bicarbonate concentrations in the groundwater seepage originate

Frontal negativity: An electrophysiological index of interpersonal guilt.

Science.gov (United States)

Leng, Bingbing; Wang, Xiangling; Cao, Bihua; Li, Fuhong

2017-12-01

The present study aimed to reveal the temporal course and electrophysiological correlates of interpersonal guilt. Human participants were asked to perform multiple rounds of a dot-estimation task with their partners, while event-related potential being recorded. The paired participants were informed that they would win money if both responded correctly; otherwise, both of them would lose money. The feeling of guilt in Self-Wrong condition (SW) was significantly higher than that in Both-Wrong and Partner-Wrong conditions. At approximately 350 ms after the onset of feedback presentation, greater negativities were observed in the frontal regions in the guilt condition (i.e., SW) than those in the non-guilt condition. The guilt-modulated frontal negativity might reflect the interactions of self-reflection, condemnation, and negative emotion.

Impact of maternal negative affectivity on light alcohol use and binge drinking during pregnancy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stene-Larsen, Kim; Torgersen, Leila; Strandberg-Larsen, Katrine

2013-01-01

To investigate whether maternal negative affectivity, a tendency to frequent negative emotions and views, is associated with light alcohol use and binge drinking during pregnancy.......To investigate whether maternal negative affectivity, a tendency to frequent negative emotions and views, is associated with light alcohol use and binge drinking during pregnancy....

Efficacy of an extravascular lung water-driven negative fluid balance protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

Díaz-Rubia, L; Ramos-Sáez, S; Vázquez-Guillamet, R; Guerrero-López, F; Pino-Sánchez, F; García-Delgado, M; Gómez-Jiménez, F J; Fernández-Mondéjar, E

2015-01-01

To analyze the efficacy of negative fluid balance in hypoxemic patients with an elevated extravascular lung water index (EVLWI). A retrospective observational study was made. Intensive Care Unit of Virgen de las Nieves Hospital (Spain). Forty-four patients participated in the study. We analyzed our database of hypoxemic patients covering a period of 11 consecutive months. We included all hemodynamically stable and hypoxemic patients with EVLWI>9ml/kg. The protocol dictates a negative fluid balance between 500 and 1500ml/day. We analyzed the impact of this negative fluid balance strategy upon pulmonary, hemodynamic, and renal function. Demographic data, severity scores, clinical, hemodynamic, pulmonary, metabolic and renal function data. Thirty-three patients achieved negative fluid balance (NFB group) and 11 had a positive fluid balance (PFB group). In the former group, PaO2/FiO2 improved from 145 (IQR 106, 200) to 210mmHg (IQR 164, 248) (pPFB group, EVLWI also decreased from 11 (10, 14) to 10ml/kg (8, 14) at the end of the protocol (p=0.004). For these patients there were no changes in oxygenation, with a PaO2/FiO2 of 216mmHg (IQR 137, 260) at the beginning versus 205mmHg (IQR 99,257) at the end of the study (p=0.08). Three out of four hypoxic patients with elevated EVLWI tolerated the NFB protocol. In these subjects, the improvement of various analyzed physiological parameters was greater and faster than in those unable to complete the protocol. Patients who did not tolerate the protocol were usually in more severe condition, though a larger sample would be needed to detect specific characteristics of this group. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and SEMICYUC. All rights reserved.

Negative affect and neural response to palatable food intake in bulimia nervosa.

Science.gov (United States)

Bohon, Cara; Stice, Eric

2012-06-01

Binge eating is often preceded by reports of negative affect, but the mechanism by which affect may lead to binge eating is unclear. This study evaluated the effect of negative affect on neural response to anticipation and receipt of palatable food in women with bulimia nervosa (BN) versus healthy controls. We also evaluated connectivity between the amygdala and reward-related brain regions. Females with and without BN (n=26) underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during receipt and anticipated receipt of chocolate milkshake and a tasteless solution. We measured negative affect just prior to the scan. Women with BN showed a positive correlation between negative affect and activity in the putamen, caudate, and pallidum during anticipated receipt of milkshake (versus tasteless solution). There were no significant relations between negative affect and receipt of milkshake. Connectivity analyses revealed a greater relation of amygdala activity to activation in the left putamen and insula during anticipated receipt of milkshake in the bulimia group relative to the control group. The opposite pattern was found for the taste of milkshake; the control group showed a greater relation of amygdala activity to activation in the left putamen and insula in response to milkshake receipt than the bulimia group. Results show that as negative affect increases, so does responsivity of reward regions to anticipated intake of palatable food, implying that negative affect may increase the reward value of food for individuals with bulimia nervosa or that negative affect has become a conditioned cue due to a history of binge eating in a negative mood. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[The Life Impacts and Symptom Distress in Women With Pelvic Organ Prolapse Syndrome Before Pelvic Reconstruction Surgery].

Science.gov (United States)

Ko, I-Chen; Lo, Tsia-Shu; Lu, Yu-Ying; Tsao, Lee-Ing

2017-02-01

The decision whether or not to undergo pelvic reconstructive surgery is difficult for women suffering from pelvic organ prolapse. However, little research has examined the symptom distress and life impacts that these women face prior to this surgery. Thus, it is crucial that gynecology nurses learn about these life impacts and symptom distresses in order to help these women make the best decisions with regard to surgery. To explore the life impacts and degree of symptom distress in pre-surgery women with pelvic organ prolapse; to explore the relationships between demographic data and the variables of life impact and degree of symptom distress; and to identify the factors that relate to the explainable variance in the life impacts of these women. A cross-sectional and correlational research design was used and a total of 110 women with pelvic organ prolapse who had not yet undergone pelvic reconstruction surgery were recruited in the gynecological clinics of one medical center in Taiwan. Daytime urination frequency was the most prevalent urinary tract symptom noted by the participants; vaginal protrusion was the most prevalent pelvis-related symptom noted; and depression and anxiety were the most prevalent life impacts noted. Moreover, greater lower-urinary-tract symptom distress was associated with greater pelvic-symptom distress. Furthermore, greater lower urinary tract and pelvic symptom distresses were associated with a greater negative impact on life. Education background and pelvis-related symptoms were the explained variances in pre-surgery life impacts. Women with pelvic organ prolapse should pay particular attention to symptoms that include: daytime urinary frequency, vaginal protrusion, and emotional problems including depression and anxiety. Education background and level of symptom distress should be taken into consideration when caring for the life impacts of this vulnerable group of women.

Negative Ion Sources: Magnetron and Penning

CERN Document Server

Faircloth, D.C.

2013-12-16

The history of the magnetron and Penning electrode geometry is briefly outlined. Plasma generation by electrical discharge-driven electron impact ionization is described and the basic physics of plasma and electrodes relevant to magnetron and Penning discharges are explained. Negative ions and their applications are introduced, along with their production mechanisms. Caesium and surface production of negative ions are detailed. Technical details of how to build magnetron and Penning surface plasma sources are given, along with examples of specific sources from around the world. Failure modes are listed and lifetimes compared.

Negative Ion Sources: Magnetron and Penning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faircloth, D C

2013-01-01

The history of the magnetron and Penning electrode geometry is briefly outlined. Plasma generation by electrical discharge-driven electron impact ionization is described and the basic physics of plasma and electrodes relevant to magnetron and Penning discharges are explained. Negative ions and their applications are introduced, along with their production mechanisms. Caesium and surface production of negative ions are detailed. Technical details of how to build magnetron and Penning surface plasma sources are given, along with examples of specific sources from around the world. Failure modes are listed and lifetimes compared. (author)

[Negative prognostic impact of female gender on oncological outcomes following radical cystectomy].

Science.gov (United States)

Dabi, Y; Rouscoff, Y; Delongchamps, N B; Sibony, M; Saighi, D; Zerbib, M; Peyraumore, M; Xylinas, E

2016-02-01

To confirm gender specific differences in pathologic factors and survival rates of urothelial bladder cancer patients treated with radical cystectomy. We conducted a retrospective monocentric study on 701 patients treated with radical cystectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy for muscle invasive bladder cancer. Impact of gender on recurrence rate, specific and non-specific mortality rate were evaluated using Cox regression models in univariate and multivariate analysis. We collected data on 553 males (78.9%) and 148 females (21.1%) between 1998 and 2011. Both groups were comparable at inclusion regarding age, pathologic stage, nodal status and lymphovascular invasion. Mean follow-up time was 45 months (interquartile 23-73) and by that time, 163 patients (23.3%) had recurrence of their tumor and 127 (18.1%) died from their disease. In multivariable Cox regression analyses, female gender was independently associated with disease recurrence (RR: 1.73; 95% CI 1.22-2.47; P=0.02) and cancer-specific mortality (RR=2.50, 95% CI=1.71-3.68; P<0.001). We confirmed female gender to be an independent negative prognosis factor for patients following a radical cystectomy and lymphadenectomy for an invasive muscle bladder cancer. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Environmental Impacts of Wind Power Development on the Population Biology of Greater Prairie-Chickens

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sandercock, Brett K. [Kansas State Univ., Manhattan, KS (United States)

2013-05-22

This report summarizes the results of a seven-year, DOE-funded research project, conducted by researchers from Kansas State University and the National Wind Coordinating Collaborative, to assess the effects of wind energy development in Kansas on the population and reproduction of greater prairie chickens.

Greater decision-making competence is associated with greater expected-value sensitivity, but not overall risk taking: an examination of concurrent validity.

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, Andrew M; Weller, Joshua A

2015-01-01

Decision-making competence reflects individual differences in the susceptibility to committing decision-making errors, measured using tasks common from behavioral decision research (e.g., framing effects, under/overconfidence, following decision rules). Prior research demonstrates that those with higher decision-making competence report lower incidence of health-risking and antisocial behaviors, but there has been less focus on intermediate processes that may impact real-world decisions, and, in particular, those implicated by normative models. Here we test the associations between measures of youth decision-making competence (Y-DMC) and one such process, the degree to which individuals make choices consistent with maximizing expected value (EV). Using a task involving hypothetical gambles, we find that greater EV sensitivity is associated with greater Y-DMC. Higher Y-DMC scores are associated with (a) choosing risky options when EV favors those options and (b) avoiding risky options when EV favors a certain option. This relationship is stronger for gambles that involved potential losses. The results suggest that Y-DMC captures decision processes consistent with standard normative evaluations of risky decisions.

Greater decision-making competence is associated with greater expected-value sensitivity, but not overall risk taking: An examination of concurrent validity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew M Parker

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Decision-making competence reflects individual differences in the susceptibility to decision-making errors, measured using tasks common from behavioral decision research (e.g., framing effects, under/overconfidence, following decision rules. Prior research demonstrates that those with higher decision-making competence report lower incidence of health-risking and antisocial behaviors, but there has been less focus on intermediate mechanisms that may impact real-world decisions, and, in particular, those implicated by normative models. Here we test the associations between measures of youth decision-making competence (Y-DMC and one such mechanism, the degree to which individuals make choices consistent with maximizing expected value (EV. Using a task involving hypothetical gambles, we find that greater EV sensitivity is associated with greater Y-DMC. Higher Y-DMC scores are associated with (a choosing risky options when expected value favors those options and (b avoiding risky options when expected value favors a certain option. This relationship is stronger for gambles that involved potential losses. The results suggest that Y-DMC captures decision processes consistent with standard normative evaluations of risky decisions.

Bacterial Colonization of Disposable Soft Contact Lenses Is Greater during Corneal Infiltrative Events than during Asymptomatic Extended Lens Wear

Science.gov (United States)

Sankaridurg, Padmaja R.; Sharma, Savitri; Willcox, Mark; Naduvilath, Thomas J.; Sweeney, Deborah F.; Holden, Brien A.; Rao, Gullapalli N.

2000-01-01

Microorganisms, especially gram-negative bacteria, are considered to play a role in the etiology of certain corneal infiltrative events (CIEs) observed during soft contact lens wear. This study explored the possibility of microbial colonization of soft contact lenses as a risk factor leading to CIEs. In a clinical trial conducted from March 1993 to January 1996, 330 subjects wore disposable soft contact lenses on a 6-night extended-wear and disposal schedule. During this period, 4,321 lenses (118 during CIEs; 4,203 during asymptomatic lens wear) were recovered aseptically and analyzed for microbial colonization. A greater percentage of lenses were free from microbial colonization during asymptomatic wear than during CIEs (42 versus 23%; P bacteria, gram-negative bacteria and fungi was greater during CIEs than during asymptomatic lens wear (P bacteria were isolated most frequently and were usually normal external ocular microbiota. Of the gram-positive bacteria, the incidence of Streptococcus pneumoniae was greater during CIE than during asymptomatic wear (7.6 versus 0.6%; P bacteria were seen in few cases during asymptomatic wear, their incidence during CIE in comparison to asymptomatic wear was substantial and significant (23.7 versus 3.8%; P bacteria or S. pneumoniae. Colonization of soft contact lenses with pathogenic bacteria, especially gram-negative bacteria and S. pneumoniae, appears to be a significant risk factor leading to CIE. PMID:11101574

Negative impact of laws regarding biosecurity and bioterrorism on real diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Wurtz, N; Grobusch, M P; Raoult, D

2014-06-01

Research on highly pathogenic microorganisms in biosafety level 3 and 4 laboratories is very important for human public health, as it provides opportunities for the development of vaccines and novel therapeutics as well as diagnostic methods to prevent epidemics. However, in recent years, after the anthrax and World Trade Center attacks in 2001 in the USA, the threat of bioterrorism has grown for both the public and the authorities. As a result, technical and physical containment measures and biosafety and biosecurity practices have been implemented in laboratories handling these dangerous pathogens. Working with selected biological agents and toxins is now highly regulated, owing to their potential to pose a threat to public health and safety, despite the fact that the anthrax attack was found to be the result of a lack of security at a US Army laboratory. Thus, these added regulations have been associated with a large amount of fruitless investment. Herein, we describe the limitations of research in these facilities, and the multiple consequences of the increased regulations. These limitations have seriously negatively impacted on the number of collaborations, the size of research projects, and, more generally, scientific research on microbial pathogens. Clearly, the actual number of known victims and fatalities caused by the intentional use of microorganisms has been negligible as compared with those caused by naturally acquired human infections. © 2014 The Authors Clinical Microbiology and Infection © 2014 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

When negation is not negation

OpenAIRE

Milicevic, Nataša

2008-01-01

In this paper I will discuss the formation of different types of yes/no questions in Serbian (examples in (1)), focusing on the syntactically and semantically puzzling example (1d), which involves the negative auxiliary inversion. Although there is a negative marker on the fronted auxiliary, the construction does not involve sentential negation. This coincides with the fact that the negative quantifying NPIs cannot be licensed. The question formation and sentential negation have similar synta...

Impact of bullying victimization on suicide and negative health behaviors among adolescents in Latin America

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew L. Romo

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective To compare the prevalence of bullying victimization, suicidal ideation, suicidal attempts, and negative health behaviors (current tobacco use, recent heavy alcohol use, truancy, involvement in physical fighting, and unprotected sexual intercourse in five different Latin American countries and determine the association of bullying victimization with these outcomes, exploring both bullying type and frequency. Methods Study data were from Global School–based Student Health Surveys from Bolivia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Peru, and Uruguay, which covered nationally representative samples of school-going adolescents. The surveys used a two-stage clustered sample design, sampling schools and then classrooms. Logistic regression models were run to determine the statistical significance of associations with bullying. Results Among the 14 560 school-going adolescents included in this study, the prevalence of any bullying victimization in the past 30 days was 37.8%. Bullying victimization was associated with greater odds of suicidal ideation with planning (adjusted odds ratio (AOR: 3.12; P < 0.0001 and at least one suicide attempt (AOR: 3.07; P < 0.0001. An increasing exposure–response effect of increasing days of bullying victimization on suicide outcomes was also observed. Bullying victimization was associated with higher odds of current tobacco use (AOR: 2.14; P < 0.0001; truancy (AOR: 1.76; P < 0.0001; physical fighting (AOR: 2.40; P < 0.0001; and unprotected sexual intercourse (AOR: 1.77; P < 0.0001. Conclusions Although the prevalence of bullying victimization varied by country, its association with suicidal ideation and behavior and negative health behaviors remained relatively consistent. Addressing bullying needs to be made a priority in Latin America, and an integrated approach that also includes mental and physical health promotion is needed.

Efficacy of prophylactic splenectomy for proximal advanced gastric cancer invading greater curvature.

Science.gov (United States)

Ohkura, Yu; Haruta, Shusuke; Shindoh, Junichi; Tanaka, Tsuyoshi; Ueno, Masaki; Udagawa, Harushi

2017-05-25

For proximal gastric cancer invading the greater curvature, concomitant splenectomy is frequently performed to secure the clearance of lymph node metastases. However, prognostic impact of prophylactic splenectomy remains unclear. The aim of this study was to clarify the oncological significance of prophylactic splenectomy for advanced proximal gastric cancer invading the greater curvature. Retrospective review of 108 patients who underwent total or subtotal gastrectomy for advanced proximal gastric cancer involving the greater curvature was performed. Short-term and long-term outcomes were compared between the patients who underwent splenectomy (n = 63) and those who did not (n = 45). Patients who underwent splenectomy showed higher amount of blood loss (538 vs. 450 mL, p = 0.016) and morbidity rate (30.2 vs. 13.3, p = 0.041) compared with those who did not undergo splenectomy. In particular, pancreas-related complications were frequently observed among patients who received splenectomy (17.4 vs. 0%, p = 0.003). However, no significant improvement of long-term outcomes were confirmed in the cases with splenectomy (5-year recurrence-free rate, 60.2 vs. 67.3%; p = 0.609 and 5-year overall survival rates, 63.7 vs. 73.6%; p = 0.769). On the other hand, splenectomy was correlated with marginally better survival in patients with Borrmann type 1 or 2 gastric cancer (p = 0.072). For advanced proximal gastric cancer involving the greater curvature, prophylactic splenectomy may have no significant prognostic impact despite the increased morbidity rate after surgery. Such surgical procedure should be avoided as long as lymph node involvement is not evident.

Women at greater risk of HIV infection.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahathir, M

1997-04-01

Although many people believe that mainly men get infected with HIV/AIDS, women are actually getting infected at a faster rate than men, especially in developing countries, and suffer more from the adverse impact of AIDS. As of mid-1996, the Joint UN Program on AIDS estimated that more than 10 million of the 25 million adults infected with HIV since the beginning of the epidemic are women. The proportion of HIV-positive women is growing, with almost half of the 7500 new infections daily occurring among women. 90% of HIV-positive women live in a developing country. In Asia-Pacific, 1.4 million women have been infected with HIV out of an estimated total 3.08 million adults from the late 1970s until late 1994. Biologically, women are more vulnerable than men to infection because of the greater mucus area exposed to HIV during penile penetration. Women under age 17 years are at even greater risk because they have an underdeveloped cervix and low vaginal mucus production. Concurrent sexually transmitted diseases increase the risk of HIV transmission. Women's risk is also related to their exposure to gender inequalities in society. The social and economic pressures of poverty exacerbate women's risk. Prevention programs are discussed.

Imbalance of positive and negative links induces regularity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamal, Neeraj Kumar; Sinha, Sudeshna

2011-01-01

Research highlights: → We consider the behaviour of a random weighted network with chaotic neuronal dynamics at the nodes. → We investigate the effect of the balance of positive and negative links on dynamical regularity. → We find that when the connections are predominantly excitatory or inhibitory, one obtains a spatiotemporal fixed point. → However, when the links are balanced, the chaotic nature of the nodal dynamics of the uncoupled case is preserved. → Further we observe that larger network size leads to greater spatiotemporal regularity. - Abstract: We investigate the effect of the interplay of positive and negative links, on the dynamical regularity of a random weighted network, with neuronal dynamics at the nodes. We investigate how the mean J-bar and the variance of the weights of links, influence the spatiotemporal regularity of this dynamical network. We find that when the connections are predominantly positive (i.e. the links are mostly excitatory, with J-bar>0) the spatiotemporal fixed point is stable. A similar trend is observed when the connections are predominantly negative (i.e. the links are mostly inhibitory, with J-bar<0). However, when the positive and negative feedback is quite balanced (namely, when the mean of the connection weights is close to zero) one observes spatiotemporal chaos. That is, the balance of excitatory and inhibitory connections preserves the chaotic nature of the uncoupled case. To be brought to an inactive state one needs one type of connection (either excitatory or inhibitory) to dominate. Further we observe that larger network size leads to greater spatiotemporal regularity. We rationalize our observations through mean field analysis of the network dynamics.

Negative Charge Neutralization in the Loops and Turns of Outer Membrane Phospholipase A Impacts Folding Hysteresis at Neutral pH.

Science.gov (United States)

McDonald, Sarah K; Fleming, Karen G

2016-11-08

Hysteresis in equilibrium protein folding titrations is an experimental barrier that must be overcome to extract meaningful thermodynamic quantities. Traditional approaches to solving this problem involve testing a spectrum of solution conditions to find ones that achieve path independence. Through this procedure, a specific pH of 3.8 was required to achieve path independence for the water-to-bilayer equilibrium folding of outer membrane protein OmpLA. We hypothesized that the neutralization of negatively charged side chains (Asp and Glu) at pH 3.8 could be the physical basis for path-independent folding at this pH. To test this idea, we engineered variants of OmpLA with Asp → Asn and Glu → Gln mutations to neutralize the negative charges within various regions of the protein and tested for reversible folding at neutral pH. Although not fully resolved, our results show that these mutations in the periplasmic turns and extracellular loops are responsible for 60% of the hysteresis in wild-type folding. Overall, our study suggests that negative charges impact the folding hysteresis in outer membrane proteins and their neutralization may aid in protein engineering applications.

Evaluation of Life Events in Major Depression: Assessing Negative Emotional Bias.

Science.gov (United States)

Girz, Laura; Driver-Linn, Erin; Miller, Gregory A; Deldin, Patricia J

2017-05-01

Overly negative appraisals of negative life events characterize depression but patterns of emotion bias associated with life events in depression are not well understood. The goal of this paper is to determine under which situations emotional responses are stronger than expected given life events and which emotions are biased. Depressed (n = 16) and non-depressed (n = 14) participants (mean age = 41.4 years) wrote about negative life events involving their own actions and inactions, and rated the current emotion elicited by those events. They also rated emotions elicited by someone else's actions and inactions. These ratings were compared with evaluations provided by a second, 'benchmark' group of non-depressed individuals (n = 20) in order to assess the magnitude and direction of possible biased emotional reactions in the two groups. Participants with depression reported greater anger and disgust than expected in response to both actions and inactions, whereas they reported greater guilt, shame, sadness, responsibility and fear than expected in response to inactions. Relative to non-depressed and benchmark participants, depressed participants were overly negative in the evaluation of their own life events, but not the life events of others. A standardized method for establishing emotional bias reveals a pattern of overly negative emotion only in depressed individuals' self-evaluations, and in particular with respect to anger and disgust, lending support to claims that major depressives' evaluations represent negative emotional bias and to clinical interventions that address this bias. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Negative Impact of Stark Law Exemptions on Graduate Medical Education and Health Care Costs: The Example of Radiation Oncology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anscher, Mitchell S.; Anscher, Barbara M.; Bradley, Cathy J.

2010-01-01

Purpose: To survey radiation oncology training programs to determine the impact of ownership of radiation oncology facilities by non-radiation oncologists on these training programs and to place these findings in a health policy context based on data from the literature. Methods and Materials: A survey was designed and e-mailed to directors of all 81 U.S. radiation oncology training programs in this country. Also, the medical and health economic literature was reviewed to determine the impact that ownership of radiation oncology facilities by non-radiation oncologists may have on patient care and health care costs. Prostate cancer treatment is used to illustrate the primary findings. Results: Seventy-three percent of the surveyed programs responded. Ownership of radiation oncology facilities by non-radiation oncologists is a widespread phenomenon. More than 50% of survey respondents reported the existence of these arrangements in their communities, with a resultant reduction in patient volumes 87% of the time. Twenty-seven percent of programs in communities with these business arrangements reported a negative impact on residency training as a result of decreased referrals to their centers. Furthermore, the literature suggests that ownership of radiation oncology facilities by non-radiation oncologists is associated with both increased utilization and increased costs but is not associated with increased access to services in traditionally underserved areas. Conclusions: Ownership of radiation oncology facilities by non-radiation oncologists appears to have a negative impact on residency training by shifting patients away from training programs and into community practices. In addition, the literature supports the conclusion that self-referral results in overutilization of expensive services without benefit to patients. As a result of these findings, recommendations are made to study further how physician ownership of radiation oncology facilities influence graduate

Conversion of sagebrush shrublands to exotic annual grasslands negatively impacts small mammal communities

Science.gov (United States)

Ostoja, S.M.; Schupp, E.W.

2009-01-01

Aim The exotic annual cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is fast replacing sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) communities throughout the Great Basin Desert and nearby regions in the Western United States, impacting native plant communities and altering fire regimes, which contributes to the long-term persistence of this weedy species. The effect of this conversion on native faunal communities remains largely unexamined. We assess the impact of conversion from native perennial to exotic annual plant communities on desert rodent communities. Location Wyoming big sagebrush shrublands and nearby sites previously converted to cheatgrass-dominated annual grasslands in the Great Basin Desert, Utah, USA. Methods At two sites in Tooele County, Utah, USA, we investigated with Sherman live trapping whether intact sagebrush vegetation and nearby converted Bromus tectorum-dominated vegetation differed in rodent abundance, diversity and community composition. Results Rodent abundance and species richness were considerably greater in sagebrush plots than in cheatgrass-dominated plots. Nine species were captured in sagebrush plots; five of these were also trapped in cheatgrass plots, all at lower abundances than in the sagebrush. In contrast, cheatgrass-dominated plots had no species that were not found in sagebrush. In addition, the site that had been converted to cheatgrass longer had lower abundances of rodents than the site more recently converted to cheatgrass-dominated plots. Despite large differences in abundances and species richness, Simpson's D diversity and Shannon-Wiener diversity and Brillouin evenness indices did not differ between sagebrush and cheatgrass-dominated plots. Main conclusions This survey of rodent communities in native sagebrush and in converted cheatgrass-dominated vegetation suggests that the abundances and community composition of rodents may be shifting, potentially at the larger spatial scale of the entire Great Basin, where cheatgrass continues to invade

How to mitigate impacts of wind farms on bats? A review of potential conservation measures in the European context

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peste, Filipa; Paula, Anabela; Silva, Luís P. da; Bernardino, Joana; Pereira, Pedro; Mascarenhas, Miguel; Costa, Hugo; Vieira, José; Bastos, Carlos; Fonseca, Carlos; Pereira, Maria João Ramos

2015-01-01

Wind energy is growing worldwide as a source of power generation. Bat assemblages may be negatively affected by wind farms due to the fatality of a significant number of individuals after colliding with the moving turbines or experiencing barotrauma. The implementation of wind farms should follow standard procedures to prevent such negative impacts: avoid, reduce and offset, in what is known as the mitigation hierarchy. According to this approach avoiding impacts is the priority, followed by the minimisation of the identified impacts, and finally, when residual negative impacts still remain, those must be offset or at least compensated. This paper presents a review on conservation measures for bats and presents some guidelines within the compensation scenario, focusing on negative impacts that remain after avoidance and minimisation measures. The conservation strategies presented aim at the improvement of the ecological conditions for the bat assemblage as a whole. While developed under the European context, the proposed measures are potentially applicable elsewhere, taking into consideration the specificity of each region in terms of bat assemblages present, landscape features and policy context regarding nature and biodiversity conservation and management. An analysis of potential opportunities and constraints arising from the implementation of offset/compensation programmes and gaps in the current knowledge is also considered. - Highlights: • Wind energy impacts bat populations in ways not yet fully understood. • As the use of windfarms is growing worldwide greater impacts on bat populations are also expected. • Mitigation hierarchy provides a way to reduce impacts from new wind farm facilities. • Compensation measures may be used to reduce the residual effects on bat populations. • Identify bats ecological needs and compensate according to the existing surroundings

How to mitigate impacts of wind farms on bats? A review of potential conservation measures in the European context

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peste, Filipa, E-mail: filipapeste@gmail.com [Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM) (Portugal); Department of Biology, University of Aveiro (Portugal); Paula, Anabela [Bioinsight - Ambiente e Biodiversidade, Lda. Lisboa (Portugal); Silva, Luís P. da [Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM) (Portugal); Department of Biology, University of Aveiro (Portugal); MARE and CEF, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra (Portugal); Bernardino, Joana; Pereira, Pedro [Bio3 - Estudos e Projectos em Biologia e Recursos Naturais, Lda. Almada (Portugal); Mascarenhas, Miguel [Bioinsight - Ambiente e Biodiversidade, Lda. Lisboa (Portugal); Costa, Hugo [Bio3 - Estudos e Projectos em Biologia e Recursos Naturais, Lda. Almada (Portugal); Vieira, José; Bastos, Carlos [Department of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics / IEETA, University of Aveiro (Portugal); Fonseca, Carlos [Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM) (Portugal); Department of Biology, University of Aveiro (Portugal); Pereira, Maria João Ramos [Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM) (Portugal); PPGBAN, Department of Zoology, Institute of Biosciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil); PPGEC, Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul (Brazil)

2015-02-15

Wind energy is growing worldwide as a source of power generation. Bat assemblages may be negatively affected by wind farms due to the fatality of a significant number of individuals after colliding with the moving turbines or experiencing barotrauma. The implementation of wind farms should follow standard procedures to prevent such negative impacts: avoid, reduce and offset, in what is known as the mitigation hierarchy. According to this approach avoiding impacts is the priority, followed by the minimisation of the identified impacts, and finally, when residual negative impacts still remain, those must be offset or at least compensated. This paper presents a review on conservation measures for bats and presents some guidelines within the compensation scenario, focusing on negative impacts that remain after avoidance and minimisation measures. The conservation strategies presented aim at the improvement of the ecological conditions for the bat assemblage as a whole. While developed under the European context, the proposed measures are potentially applicable elsewhere, taking into consideration the specificity of each region in terms of bat assemblages present, landscape features and policy context regarding nature and biodiversity conservation and management. An analysis of potential opportunities and constraints arising from the implementation of offset/compensation programmes and gaps in the current knowledge is also considered. - Highlights: • Wind energy impacts bat populations in ways not yet fully understood. • As the use of windfarms is growing worldwide greater impacts on bat populations are also expected. • Mitigation hierarchy provides a way to reduce impacts from new wind farm facilities. • Compensation measures may be used to reduce the residual effects on bat populations. • Identify bats ecological needs and compensate according to the existing surroundings.

Between- and within-person associations between negative life events and alcohol outcomes in adolescents with ADHD.

Science.gov (United States)

King, Kevin M; Pedersen, Sarah L; Louie, Kristine T; Pelham, William E; Molina, Brooke S G

2017-09-01

Escalations in alcohol use during adolescence may be linked with exposure to negative life events, but most of this research has focused on between-person associations. Moreover, adolescents with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be an especially vulnerable population, reporting more life events and alcohol involvement and may even be more sensitive to the effects of life events on alcohol outcomes compared with those without ADHD. We tested the between- and within-person effects of the number and perceptions of negative life events on the development of alcohol use outcomes from age 14 to 17 years in 259 adolescents with and without ADHD using generalized estimating equations. Between-person differences in exposure to negative life events across adolescence, but not the perception of those events, were associated with a higher likelihood of alcohol use and drunkenness at age 17 years. Within-person differences in life events were associated with alcohol use above and beyond that predicted by an adolescents' typical trajectory over time. Parent- and teacher-reported ADHD symptoms were associated with more negative perceptions of life events and with greater alcohol use and drunkenness at age 17 years, but symptoms did not moderate the life event-alcohol association. Interventions should consider the variables that produce vulnerability to life events as well as the immediate impact of life events. That the accumulation of life events, rather than their perceived negativity, was associated with alcohol outcomes indicates that interventions targeting the reduction of negative events, rather than emotional response, may be more protective against alcohol use in adolescence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

The indirect effect of emotion dysregulation in terms of negative affect and smoking-related cognitive processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Adrienne L; McLeish, Alison C

2016-02-01

Although negative affect is associated with a number of smoking-related cognitive processes, the mechanisms underlying these associations have yet to be examined. The current study sought to examine the indirect effect of emotion regulation difficulties in terms of the association between negative affect and smoking-related cognitive processes (internal barriers to cessation, negative affect reduction smoking motives, negative affect reduction smoking outcome expectancies). Participants were 126 daily cigarette smokers (70.4% male, Mage=36.5years, SD=13.0; 69.8% Caucasian) who smoked an average of 18.5 (SD=8.7) cigarettes per day and reported moderate nicotine dependence. Formal mediation analyses were conducted using PROCESS to examine the indirect effect of negative affect on internal barriers to cessation and negative affect reduction smoking motives and outcome expectancies through emotion regulation difficulties. After accounting for the effects of gender, daily smoking rate, and anxiety sensitivity, negative affect was indirectly related to internal barriers to cessation and negative affect reduction smoking motives through emotion regulation difficulties. There was no significant indirect effect for negative affect reduction smoking outcome expectancies. These findings suggest that greater negative affect is associated with a desire to smoke to reduce this negative affect and perceptions that quitting smoking will be difficult due to negative emotions because of greater difficulties managing these negative emotions. Thus, emotion regulation difficulties may be an important target for smoking cessation interventions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Weak negation in inquisitive semantics

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Punčochář, Vít

2015-01-01

Roč. 24, č. 3 (2015), s. 323-355 ISSN 0925-8531 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA13-21076S Institutional support: RVO:67985955 Keywords : inquisitive semantics * negation * possible worlds * Fitch-style natural deduction * denial Subject RIV: AA - Philosophy ; Religion Impact factor: 0.450, year: 2015 http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10849-015-9219-2

Spiritual Well-being May Reduce the Negative Impacts of Cancer Symptoms on the Quality of Life and the Desire for Hastened Death in Terminally Ill Cancer Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yin-Chih; Lin, Chia-Chin

2016-01-01

Spirituality is a central component of the well-being of terminally ill cancer patients. The aim of this study was to examine the mediating or moderating role of spiritual well-being in reducing the impact of cancer-related symptoms on quality of life and the desire for hastened death in terminally ill cancer patients. Eighty-five terminally ill cancer patients were assessed using the Taiwanese version of the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory, the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General, the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-being, the Beck Hopelessness Scale, and the Schedule of Attitudes Toward Hastened Death. Spiritual well-being was significantly negatively correlated with symptom severity (r = -0.46, P quality of life (r = -0.54) and positively correlated with hopelessness (r = 0.51, P quality of life. Spiritual well-being was a partial mediator between symptom severity and the desire for hastened death. The meaning subscale of spiritual well-being was a more significant predictor of the desire for hastened death and quality of life than the faith subscale was. Spiritual well-being may reduce the negative impacts of cancer on quality of life and the desire for hastened death. Appropriate spiritual care may reduce the negative impact of severe cancer symptoms on quality of life and the desire for hastened death in terminally ill cancer patients.

Negative ion source improvement by introduction of a shutter mask

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belchenko, Yu.I.; Oka, Y.; Kaneko, O.; Takeiri, Y.; Tsumori, K.; Osakabe, M.; Ikeda, K.; Asano, E.; Kawamoto, T.

2004-01-01

Studies of a multicusp source were recently done at the National Institute for Fusion Science by plasma grid masking. The maximal H - ion yield is ∼1.4 times greater for the shutter mask case than that for the standard source. Negative ion current evolution during the cesium feed to the masked plasma grid evidenced that about 60% of negative ions are produced on the shutter mask surface, while about 30% are formed on the plasma grid emission hole edges, exposed by cesium with the mask open

Greater rate of cephalic screw mobilisation following proximal femoral nailing in hip fractures with a tip-apex distance (TAD) and a calcar referenced TAD greater than 25 mm.

Science.gov (United States)

Aicale, Rocco; Maffulli, Nicola

2018-05-02

To ascertain whether the tip-apex distance (TAD), calcar referenced TAD (CalTAD), and the sum of both (TADcalTAD) are predictive measurements of mobilisation of the cephalic screw in patients with trochanteric hip fractures. Between 2014 and 2015, 68 patients (mean age 86 years, 45 females, 23 males) with a trochanteric hip fracture underwent intramedullary nailing. The TAD and CalTAD were measured, and for each parameter, we calculated sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV). There is evidence of a statistically significant association between a TAD and CalTAD greater than 25 mm and a TADcalTAD greater than 50 mm and mobilisation of the cephalic screw. All measurements have similar sensitivity, but the TAD presents the highest specificity (p TAD and CalTAD less than 25 mm and a TADcalTAD less than 50 mm when using intramedullary fixation.

Daily interactions with aging parents and adult children: Associations with negative affect and diurnal cortisol.

Science.gov (United States)

Birditt, Kira S; Manalel, Jasmine A; Kim, Kyungmin; Zarit, Steven H; Fingerman, Karen L

2017-09-01

Midlife adults report greater investment in their children than in their parents, and these ties have important implications for well-being. To date, little research has addressed daily experiences in these ties. The present study examines daily experiences (negative and positive) with aging parents and adult children and their associations with daily negative affect and diurnal cortisol rhythms. Participants were middle-aged adults (N = 156; 56% women) from Wave 2 of the Family Exchanges Study, conducted in 2013, who completed a 7-day daily diary study, which included assessments of daily negative and positive social encounters and negative affect, and 4 days of saliva collection, which was collected 3 times a day (upon waking, 30 min after waking, and at bedtime) and assayed for cortisol. Multilevel models revealed that individuals were more likely to have contact with adult children than with parents but more likely to have negative experiences (negative interactions, avoidance, negative thoughts) with parents than with adult children. Nevertheless, contact and negative experiences with adult children were more consistently associated with negative affect and daily cortisol patterns than were interactions with parents. Findings are consistent with the intergenerational stake hypothesis, which suggests that individuals have a greater stake in their children than in their parents. Indeed, negative experiences with adult children may be more salient because tensions with adult children occur less frequently than do tensions with parents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Aspect has a greater impact on alpine soil bacterial community structure than elevation.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Jieyun; Anderson, Barbara J; Buckley, Hannah L; Lewis, Gillian; Lear, Gavin

2017-03-01

Gradients in environmental conditions, including climate factors and resource availability, occur along mountain inclines, providing a 'natural laboratory' to explore their combined impacts on microbial distributions. Conflicting spatial patterns observed across elevation gradients in soil bacterial community structure suggest that they are driven by various interacting factors at different spatial scales. Here, we investigated the relative impacts of non-resource (e.g. soil temperature, pH) and resource conditions (e.g. soil carbon and nitrogen) on the biogeography of soil bacterial communities across broad (i.e. along a 1500 m mountain elevation gradient) and fine sampling scales (i.e. along sunny and shady aspects of a mountain ridge). Our analysis of 16S rRNA gene data confirmed that when sampling across distances of soil pH. These findings highlight the need to incorporate knowledge of multiple factors, including site aspect and soil pH for the appropriate use of elevation gradients as a proxy to explore the impacts of climate change on microbial community composition. © FEMS 2016. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Activation of PPAR by Rosiglitazone Does Not Negatively Impact Male Sex Steroid Hormones in Diabetic Rats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahmoud Mansour

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR activation decreased serum testosterone (T in women with hyperthecosis and/or polycystic ovary syndrome and reduced the conversion of androgens to estradiol (E2 in female rats. This implies modulation of female sex steroid hormones by PPAR. It is not clear if PPAR modulates sex steroid hormones in diabetic males. Because PPAR activation by thiazolidinedione increased insulin sensitivity in type 2 diabetes, understanding the long term impact of PPAR activation on steroid sex hormones in males is critical. Our objective was to determine the effect of PPAR activation on serum and intratesticular T, luteinizing hormone (LH, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH and E2 concentrations in male Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF rats treated with the PPAR agonist rosiglitazone (a thiazolidinedione. Treatment for eight weeks increased PPAR mRNA and protein in the testis and elevated serum adiponectin, an adipokine marker for PPAR activation. PPAR activation did not alter serum or intratesticular T concentrations. In contrast, serum T level but not intratesticular T was reduced by diabetes. Neither diabetes nor PPAR activation altered serum E2 or gonadotropins FSH and LH concentrations. The results suggest that activation of PPAR by rosiglitazone has no negative impact on sex hormones in male ZDF rats.

Mixing positive and negative valence: Affective-semantic integration of bivalent words.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuhlmann, Michael; Hofmann, Markus J; Briesemeister, Benny B; Jacobs, Arthur M

2016-08-05

Single words have affective and aesthetic properties that influence their processing. Here we investigated the processing of a special case of word stimuli that are extremely difficult to evaluate, bivalent noun-noun-compounds (NNCs), i.e. novel words that mix a positive and negative noun, e.g. 'Bombensex' (bomb-sex). In a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment we compared their processing with easier-to-evaluate non-bivalent NNCs in a valence decision task (VDT). Bivalent NNCs produced longer reaction times and elicited greater activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) than non-bivalent words, especially in contrast to words of negative valence. We attribute this effect to a LIFG-grounded process of semantic integration that requires greater effort for processing converse information, supporting the notion of a valence representation based on associations in semantic networks.

Negativity bias for sad faces in depression: An event-related potential study.

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Qin; Wei, Juanjuan; Shu, Xiaorui; Feng, Zhengzhi

2016-12-01

Negativity bias in depression has been previously confirmed. However, mainly during a valence category task, it remains unclear how happy or unhappy individuals perceive emotional materials. Moreover, cerebral alteration measurements during a valence judgment task is lacking. The present study aimed to explore a valence judgment of a valence rating task, combined with event-related potential (ERP) recording. Healthy controls, individuals with sub-clinical depression, and patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) were recruited. Twenty-four subjects in each group completed a valence rating task, during which the ERP amplitudes were recorded. The MDD group had lower valence scores, faster responses, and greater N1 amplitudes for sad faces, whereas individuals with sub-clinical depression had faster responses and greater P1 amplitudes for all faces but lower valence scores and greater P2 amplitudes for happy faces. The findings suggest the tendency toward a negativity bias in valence ratings in patients with depression supported by behavioral and cerebral evidence, which is a latent trait of depression, possibly associated with the vulnerability of depression. The current study offers the first experimental evidence of cognitive and cerebral biomarkers of negativity bias in valence ratings in depression, which confirms Beck's cognitive theory and gives important direction for clinical therapy. Copyright © 2016 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Internet-based Modeling, Mapping, and Analysis for the Greater Everglades (IMMAGE; Version 1.0): web-based tools to assess the impact of sea level rise in south Florida

Science.gov (United States)

Hearn, Paul; Strong, David; Swain, Eric; Decker, Jeremy

2013-01-01

South Florida's Greater Everglades area is particularly vulnerable to sea level rise, due to its rich endowment of animal and plant species and its heavily populated urban areas along the coast. Rising sea levels are expected to have substantial impacts on inland flooding, the depth and extent of surge from coastal storms, the degradation of water supplies by saltwater intrusion, and the integrity of plant and animal habitats. Planners and managers responsible for mitigating these impacts require advanced tools to help them more effectively identify areas at risk. The U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Internet-based Modeling, Mapping, and Analysis for the Greater Everglades (IMMAGE) Web site has been developed to address these needs by providing more convenient access to projections from models that forecast the effects of sea level rise on surface water and groundwater, the extent of surge and resulting economic losses from coastal storms, and the distribution of habitats. IMMAGE not only provides an advanced geographic information system (GIS) interface to support decision making, but also includes topic-based modules that explain and illustrate key concepts for nontechnical users. The purpose of this report is to familiarize both technical and nontechnical users with the IMMAGE Web site and its various applications.

Genetic variation throughout the folate metabolic pathway influences negative symptom severity in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Roffman, Joshua L; Brohawn, David G; Nitenson, Adam Z; Macklin, Eric A; Smoller, Jordan W; Goff, Donald C

2013-03-01

Low serum folate levels previously have been associated with negative symptom risk in schizophrenia, as has the hypofunctional 677C>T variant of the MTHFR gene. This study examined whether other missense polymorphisms in folate-regulating enzymes, in concert with MTHFR, influence negative symptoms in schizophrenia, and whether total risk allele load interacts with serum folate status to further stratify negative symptom risk. Medicated outpatients with schizophrenia (n = 219), all of European origin and some included in a previous report, were rated with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. A subset of 82 patients also underwent nonfasting serum folate testing. Patients were genotyped for the MTHFR 677C>T (rs1801133), MTHFR 1298A>C (rs1801131), MTR 2756A>G (rs1805087), MTRR 203A>G (rs1801394), FOLH1 484T>C (rs202676), RFC 80A>G (rs1051266), and COMT 675G>A (rs4680) polymorphisms. All genotypes were entered into a linear regression model to determine significant predictors of negative symptoms, and risk scores were calculated based on total risk allele dose. Four variants, MTHFR 677T, MTR 2756A, FOLH1 484C, and COMT 675A, emerged as significant independent predictors of negative symptom severity, accounting for significantly greater variance in negative symptoms than MTHFR 677C>T alone. Total allele dose across the 4 variants predicted negative symptom severity only among patients with low folate levels. These findings indicate that multiple genetic variants within the folate metabolic pathway contribute to negative symptoms of schizophrenia. A relationship between folate level and negative symptom severity among patients with greater genetic vulnerability is biologically plausible and suggests the utility of folate supplementation in these patients.

Pairing images of unhealthy and healthy foods with images of negative and positive health consequences: Impact on attitudes and food choice.

Science.gov (United States)

Hollands, Gareth J; Marteau, Theresa M

2016-08-01

To examine the impact of presenting images of foods paired with images of positive and negative health consequences of their consumption on food choice and attitudes. Participants (N = 711) were randomly allocated in a 2 × 3 factorial design (Food Type × Affective Valence) to 1 of 6 conditioning procedures that paired images of either energy-dense snack foods or fruit, with (a) images of negative health outcomes, (b) images of positive health outcomes, or (c) a no image control. The primary outcome was food choice assessed postintervention with a behavioral choice task. Secondary outcomes were implicit attitudes (assessed pre- and postintervention) and explicit attitudes (assessed postintervention). Presenting images of negative health outcomes led to more healthy food choices relative to control and positive image conditions, irrespective of whether they were paired with images of energy-dense snack foods or fruit. This relationship was partially mediated by changes in implicit and explicit attitudes. Images of positive health outcomes did not alter food choices. This study replicates and extends previous research showing that presenting images of negative health consequences increases healthy food choices. Because effects were elicited by manipulating affective valence irrespective of paired food type, these results appear more consistent with an explanation based on priming than on evaluative conditioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Asthma-specific cognitions, self-focused attention, and fear of negative evaluation in adolescents and young adults diagnosed with childhood-onset asthma.

Science.gov (United States)

Junghans-Rutelonis, Ashley N; Tackett, Alayna P; Suorsa, Kristina I; Chaney, John M; Mullins, Larry L

2018-01-01

The present study examined the impact of asthma-specific thought intrusion (TI) and thought suppression (TS) on two cognitive-affective variables (self-focused attention and fear of negative evaluation) among adolescents and young adults (AYAs) diagnosed with childhood-onset asthma. Participants were 290 AYAs who completed assessment questionnaires and participated in a written exercise electronically. Asthma-TI and TS were reported by participants following participation in a writing assignment. Asthma-TI was associated with increased private, public, and social anxiety self-focused attention, and greater fear of negative evaluation. Interestingly, asthma-TS was not associated with these same outcome variables. Findings suggest illness-specific cognitions are associated with cognitive-affective variables and it may be important to assess for illness-specific intrusive thoughts following asthma-focused medical appointments. Additionally, findings suggest the importance of assessing asthma-TI and TS separately in order to better understand thoughts about health and psychological functioning.

On the relationship between positive and negative affect: Their correlation and their co-occurrence.

Science.gov (United States)

Larsen, Jeff T; Hershfield, Hal E; Stastny, Bradley J; Hester, Neil

2017-03-01

Understanding the nature of emotional experience requires understanding the relationship between positive and negative affect. Two particularly important aspects of that relationship are the extent to which positive and negative affect are correlated with one another and the extent to which they co-occur. Some researchers have assumed that weak negative correlations imply greater co-occurrence (i.e., more mixed emotions) than do strong negative correlations, but others have noted that correlations may imply very little about co-occurrence. We investigated the relationship between the correlation between positive and negative affect and co-occurrence. Participants in each of 2 samples provided moment-to-moment happiness and sadness ratings as they watched an evocative film and listened to music. Results indicated (a) that 4 measures of the correlation between positive and negative affect were quite highly related to 1 another; (b) that the strength of the correlation between measures of mixed emotions varied considerably; (c) that correlational measures were generally (but not always) weakly correlated with mixed emotion measures; and (d) that bittersweet stimuli consistently led to elevations in mixed emotion measures but did not consistently weaken the correlation between positive and negative affect. Results highlight that the correlation between positive and negative affect and their co-occurrence are distinct aspects of the relationship between positive and negative affect. Such insight helps clarify the implications of existing work on age-related and cultural differences in emotional experience and sets the stage for greater understanding of the experience of mixed emotions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Greater happiness for a greater number: Is that possible? If so how? (Arabic)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

R. Veenhoven (Ruut); E. Samuel (Emad)

2012-01-01

textabstractWhat is the final goal of public policy? Jeremy Bentham (1789) would say: greater happiness for a greater number. He thought of happiness as subjective enjoyment of life; in his words as “the sum of pleasures and pains”. In his time, the happiness of the great number could not be

Adaptive disengagement buffers self-esteem from negative social feedback.

Science.gov (United States)

Leitner, Jordan B; Hehman, Eric; Deegan, Matthew P; Jones, James M

2014-11-01

The degree to which self-esteem hinges on feedback in a domain is known as a contingency of self-worth, or engagement. Although previous research has conceptualized engagement as stable, it would be advantageous for individuals to dynamically regulate engagement. The current research examined whether the tendency to disengage from negative feedback accounts for variability in self-esteem. We created the Adaptive Disengagement Scale (ADS) to capture individual differences in the tendency to disengage self-esteem from negative outcomes. Results demonstrated that the ADS is reliable and valid (Studies 1 and 2). Furthermore, in response to negative social feedback, higher scores on the ADS predicted greater state self-esteem (Study 3), and this relationship was mediated by disengagement (Study 4). These findings demonstrate that adaptive disengagement protects self-esteem from negative outcomes and that the ADS is a valid measure of individual differences in the implementation of this process. © 2014 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Aversive emotional interference impacts behavior and prefronto-striatal activity during increasing attentional control.

Science.gov (United States)

Papazacharias, Apostolos; Taurisano, Paolo; Fazio, Leonardo; Gelao, Barbara; Di Giorgio, Annabella; Lo Bianco, Luciana; Quarto, Tiziana; Mancini, Marina; Porcelli, Annamaria; Romano, Raffaella; Caforio, Grazia; Todarello, Orlando; Popolizio, Teresa; Blasi, Giuseppe; Bertolino, Alessandro

2015-01-01

Earlier studies have demonstrated that emotional stimulation modulates attentional processing during goal-directed behavior and related activity of a brain network including the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and the caudate nucleus. However, it is not clear how emotional interference modulates behavior and brain physiology during variation in attentional control, a relevant question for everyday life situations in which both emotional stimuli and cognitive load vary. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of negative emotions on behavior and activity in IFG and caudate nucleus during increasing levels of attentional control. Twenty two healthy subjects underwent event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing a task in which neutral or fearful facial expressions were displayed before stimuli eliciting increasing levels of attentional control processing. Results indicated slower reaction time (RT) and greater right IFG activity when fearful compared with neutral facial expressions preceded the low level of attentional control. On the other hand, fearful facial expressions preceding the intermediate level of attentional control elicited faster behavioral responses and greater activity in the right and left sides of the caudate. Finally, correlation analysis indicated a relationship between behavioral correlates of attentional control after emotional interference and right IFG activity. All together, these results suggest that the impact of negative emotions on attentional processing is differentially elicited at the behavioral and physiological levels as a function of cognitive load.

Price freezes, durables and residential electricity demand - Evidence from the Greater Buenos Aires

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Casarin, Ariel; Delfino, Maria Eugenia

2010-09-15

This paper examines the determinants of residential electricity demand in the Greater Buenos Aires between 1997 and 2006. During the second half of this period, residential tariffs remained nominally fixed, while an income boom boosted up the sales of durables. This study differs from previous works in that it explicitly considers the impact of the stock of air-conditioners on residential demand. The paper reports short- and long-run elasticities and examines the contribution of prices and durables to recent demand growth. Simulations illustrate the impact of prices and durables on future demand.

O paradigma do custo negativo The paradigm of negative cost

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luiz Fernando Dalmonech

2005-09-01

Full Text Available The current view that cost must be equal to or greater than zero (C ≥ O was subject to question. Considering the present and the future, a cost that can also be negative was foreseen. With the development of information (IT and communication (CT technologies as well as globalization, new ways of doing business are at hand for identification, evaluation, measurement and investigation. Development of these new ways will give rise to a concept of cost that may vary from a negative infinite to a positive infinite - ∞ to + ∞.

Current issues and ways to reduce the negative impact of environment increased concentrations of Radon (222Rn)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coretchi, Liubov; Bahnarel, Ion; Apostol, Ion; Virlan, Serghei

2012-01-01

(This study was conducted to review the latest research in radon problem carried out by scientists of Moldova, the 13 EU countries and the USA, and relevant international organizations. Particular attention was paid to contradictions between energy efficiency measures and these of mitigation of 222 Rn negative impact on human health. The main proposals developed were focused on the need for a National Radon Strategy (NRS) and a National Action Plan (NAP) for NRS implementation. Both NRS and NAP has to be correlated with other national policies, such as Smoking Reducing or Energy Efficiency. Development of a Radon Database including a map of radon concentrations, as well as a set of requirements for new housing construction, would be among the main components of NAP. (authors)

Mitigation of short-term disturbance negative impacts in the agent-based model of a production companies network

Science.gov (United States)

Shevchuk, G. K.; Berg, D. B.; Zvereva, O. M.; Medvedeva, M. A.

2017-11-01

This article is devoted to the study of a supply chain disturbance impact on manufacturing volumes in a production system network. Each network agent's product can be used as a resource by other system agents (manufacturers). A supply chain disturbance can lead to operating cease of the entire network. Authors suggest using of short-term partial resources reservation to mitigate negative consequences of such disturbances. An agent-based model with a reservation algorithm compatible with strategies for resource procurement in terms of financial constraints was engineered. This model works in accordance with the static input-output Leontief 's model. The results can be used for choosing the ways of system's stability improving, and protecting it from various disturbances and imbalance.

Investigation of the Decelerating Field of an Electron Multiplier under Negative Ion Impact

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Elfinn; Kjeldgaard, K.

1973-01-01

The effect of the decelerating field of an electron multiplier towards negative ions was investigated under standard mass spectrometric conditions. Diminishing of this decelerating field by changing of the potential of the electron multiplier increased the overall sensitivity to negative ions...

Adversity in University: Cyberbullying and Its Impacts on Students, Faculty and Administrators.

Science.gov (United States)

Cassidy, Wanda; Faucher, Chantal; Jackson, Margaret

2017-08-08

This paper offers a qualitative thematic analysis of the impacts of cyberbullying on post-secondary students, faculty, and administrators from four participating Canadian universities. These findings were drawn from data obtained from online surveys of students and faculty, student focus groups, and semi-structured interviews with faculty members and university administrators. The key themes discussed include: negative affect, impacts on mental and physical health, perceptions of self, impacts regarding one's personal and professional lives, concern for one's safety, and the impact of authorities' (non) response. Students reported primarily being cyberbullied by other students, while faculty were cyberbullied by both students and colleagues. Although students and faculty represent different age levels and statuses at the university, both groups reported similar impacts and similar frustrations at finding solutions, especially when their situations were reported to authorities. It is important that universities pay greater attention to developing effective research-based cyberbullying policies and to work towards fostering a more respectful online campus culture.

Adversity in University: Cyberbullying and Its Impacts on Students, Faculty and Administrators

Science.gov (United States)

Cassidy, Wanda; Jackson, Margaret

2017-01-01

This paper offers a qualitative thematic analysis of the impacts of cyberbullying on post-secondary students, faculty, and administrators from four participating Canadian universities. These findings were drawn from data obtained from online surveys of students and faculty, student focus groups, and semi-structured interviews with faculty members and university administrators. The key themes discussed include: negative affect, impacts on mental and physical health, perceptions of self, impacts regarding one’s personal and professional lives, concern for one’s safety, and the impact of authorities’ (non) response. Students reported primarily being cyberbullied by other students, while faculty were cyberbullied by both students and colleagues. Although students and faculty represent different age levels and statuses at the university, both groups reported similar impacts and similar frustrations at finding solutions, especially when their situations were reported to authorities. It is important that universities pay greater attention to developing effective research-based cyberbullying policies and to work towards fostering a more respectful online campus culture. PMID:28786941

Impact of Negative Quality Inconsistency on Brand Loyalty – Case of Croatian Food Market

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martina Ferenčić

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Attracting and keeping consumers’ loyalty in Fast Moving Consumer Goods segment became the main concern for all producing companies and retailers, too. Many marketing researchers argue that product or service quality perception is one of the key elements in brand loyalty building process. When talking about food market, one has to be aware that food consumption has direct impact on human health and, in that context, process of building brand loyalty for food brands is not possible, or it can be hard, if the product quality of food brands is not on the expected level and according to defined food quality standards. The goal of this paper was to understand aspects of connection between food product quality and brand loyalty process better and to explore how problems with negative quality inconsistency in different food categories can influence brand loyalty. An empirical research (on-line survey was conducted to prove and explain the connection between food product quality and food brand loyalty. The research results shows that the main reasons for being loyal to a certain food brand or product are related mostly to positive brand experience, high and stabile product quality, and recognizable taste. In the context of these research results, it can be concluded that long term consumer satisfaction as a factor in food brand loyalty process depends on stabile product quality, so food manufacturers or food brand owners should be focused on preventing or minimizing the aspect of negative quality issues. Regarding research limitations, the study was conducted only on users from Croatian market; so broadening the survey to other markets should give a clearer view on the connection between food product quality and brand loyalty process.

The 4-Item Negative Symptom Assessment (NSA-4) Instrument: A Simple Tool for Evaluating Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia Following Brief Training.

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Alphs, Larry; Morlock, Robert; Coon, Cheryl; van Willigenburg, Arjen; Panagides, John

2010-07-01

Objective. To assess the ability of mental health professionals to use the 4-item Negative Symptom Assessment instrument, derived from the Negative Symptom Assessment-16, to rapidly determine the severity of negative symptoms of schizophrenia.Design. Open participation.Setting. Medical education conferences.Participants. Attendees at two international psychiatry conferences.Measurements. Participants read a brief set of the 4-item Negative Symptom Assessment instructions and viewed a videotape of a patient with schizophrenia. Using the 1 to 6 4-item Negative Symptom Assessment severity rating scale, they rated four negative symptom items and the overall global negative symptoms. These ratings were compared with a consensus rating determination using frequency distributions and Chi-square tests for the proportion of participant ratings that were within one point of the expert rating.Results. More than 400 medical professionals (293 physicians, 50% with a European practice, and 55% who reported past utilization of schizophrenia ratings scales) participated. Between 82.1 and 91.1 percent of the 4-items and the global rating determinations by the participants were within one rating point of the consensus expert ratings. The differences between the percentage of participant rating scores that were within one point versus the percentage that were greater than one point different from those by the consensus experts was significant (pnegative symptoms using the 4-item Negative Symptom Assessment did not generally differ among the geographic regions of practice, the professional credentialing, or their familiarity with the use of schizophrenia symptom rating instruments.Conclusion. These findings suggest that clinicians from a variety of geographic practices can, after brief training, use the 4-item Negative Symptom Assessment effectively to rapidly assess negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia.

Maskless Lithography Using Negative Photoresist Material: Impact of UV Laser Intensity on the Cured Line Width

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Mohammed, Mohammed Ziauddin; Mourad, Abdel-Hamid I.; Khashan, Saud A.

2018-06-01

The application of maskless lithography technique on negative photoresist material is investigated in this study. The equipment used in this work is designed and built especially for maskless lithography applications. The UV laser of 405 nm wavelength with 0.85 Numerical Aperture is selected for direct laser writing. All the samples are prepared on a glass substrate. Samples are tested at different UV laser intensities and different stage velocities in order to study the impact on patterned line width. Three cases of spin coated layers of thickness 90 μm, 40 μm, and 28 μm on the substrate are studied. The experimental results show that line width has a generally increasing trend with intensity. However, a decreasing trend was observed for increasing velocity. The overall performance shows that the mr-DWL material is suitable for direct laser writing systems.

Maskless Lithography Using Negative Photoresist Material: Impact of UV Laser Intensity on the Cured Line Width

Science.gov (United States)

Mohammed, Mohammed Ziauddin; Mourad, Abdel-Hamid I.; Khashan, Saud A.

2018-04-01

The application of maskless lithography technique on negative photoresist material is investigated in this study. The equipment used in this work is designed and built especially for maskless lithography applications. The UV laser of 405 nm wavelength with 0.85 Numerical Aperture is selected for direct laser writing. All the samples are prepared on a glass substrate. Samples are tested at different UV laser intensities and different stage velocities in order to study the impact on patterned line width. Three cases of spin coated layers of thickness 90 μm, 40 μm, and 28 μm on the substrate are studied. The experimental results show that line width has a generally increasing trend with intensity. However, a decreasing trend was observed for increasing velocity. The overall performance shows that the mr-DWL material is suitable for direct laser writing systems.

Perceived discrimination amongst young people in socio-economically disadvantaged communities: Parental support and community identity buffer (some) negative impacts of stigma.

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Bradshaw, Daragh; Jay, Sarah; McNamara, Namh; Stevenson, Clifford; Muldoon, Orla T

2016-06-01

There is increasing acceptance that children are not unaware of when they are targets of discrimination. However, discrimination as a consequence of socio-economic disadvantage remains understudied. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of perceived discrimination on well-being, perceptions of safety and school integration amongst children growing up within socio-economically disadvantaged communities in Limerick, Ireland. Mediation analysis was used to explore these relationships and to examine the potential role of parental support and community identity in boys and girls in the 6th to 9th year of compulsory education (N = 199). Results indicate perceived discrimination contributed to negative outcomes in terms of school integration, perceptions of safety and levels of well-being. Age and gender differences were observed which disadvantaged boys and younger children. All negative outcomes were buffered by parental support. Community identity also protected young people in terms of feelings of school integration and risk but not in terms of psychological well-being. Findings are discussed in terms of the different role of family and community supports for children negotiating negative social representations of their community. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

Skin invasion and prognosis in node negative breast cancer: a retrospective study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Horii Rie

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The impact of skin invasion in node negative breast cancer is uncertain. Methods We determined the prognosis in 97 node negative breast cancer patients (case group who had tumors with skin invasion. Then we compared these patients with 4500 node negative invasive breast cancer patients treated surgically in the same period. Results Patients with skin invasion tended to be older, had more invasive lobular carcinoma and larger tumor size, and were less likely to have breast conserving surgery than those in the control group. The 5-year disease-free survival rate in the case group was 94.0%. There was no significant difference in the 10-year disease-specific overall survival rates in terms of skin invasion in node negative patients (90.7% in the case group, 92.9% in the control group; p = 0.2032. Conclusion Results suggest that skin invasion has no impact on survival in node negative invasive breast cancer patients. The adjuvant regimens which the individual institute applies for node negative breast cancer should be used regardless of skin invasion.

Greater Occipital Nerve Treatment in the Management of Spontaneous Intracranial Hypotension Headache: A Case Report.

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Niraj, G; Critchley, Peter; Kodivalasa, Mahesh; Dorgham, Mohammed

2017-06-01

Clinical presentation of spontaneous intracranial hypotension headache (SIHH) has similarities with postdural puncture headache (PDPH). Recommended treatment for both conditions is an epidural blood patch. Successful outcomes following greater occipital nerve blocks have been reported in the management of PDPH. We present the first report of greater occipital nerve treatment in SIHH. A 40-year-old male presented with a 2-year history of daily postural headaches having a significant impact on quality of life. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed bilateral convexity subdural collections. Post gadolinium scan revealed pachymeningeal enhancement with reduced pontomesencephalic angle below 50 degrees. The patient was offered an epidural blood patch and greater occipital nerve block with corticosteroids. The patient chose occipital nerve block. The patient reported significant short-term benefit lasting 4 months. Thereafter, the patient underwent pulsed radiofrequency treatment to bilateral greater occipital nerves. He reported significant benefit lasting 10 months. Greater occipital nerve treatment may have a role in management of SIHH. © 2017 American Headache Society.

Longitudinal Associations between Maternal Work Stress, Negative Work-Family Spillover, and Depressive Symptoms.

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Goodman, W Benjamin; Crouter, Ann C

2009-07-01

The current study examined associations over an 18-month period between maternal work stressors, negative work-family spillover, and depressive symptoms in a sample of 414 employed mothers with young children living in six predominantly nonmetropolitan counties in the Eastern United States. Results from a one-group mediation model revealed that a less flexible work environment and greater work pressure predicted higher levels of depressive symptoms, and further, that these associations were mediated by perceptions of negative work-family spillover. Additionally, results from a two-group mediation model suggested that work pressure predicted greater perceptions of spillover only for mothers employed full-time. Findings suggest the need for policies that reduce levels of work stress and help mothers manage their work and family responsibilities.

Financial Incentives Differentially Regulate Neural Processing of Positive and Negative Emotions during Value-Based Decision-Making

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne M. Farrell

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Emotional and economic incentives often conflict in decision environments. To make economically desirable decisions then, deliberative neural processes must be engaged to regulate automatic emotional reactions. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI study, we evaluated how fixed wage (FW incentives and performance-based (PB financial incentives, in which pay is proportional to outcome, differentially regulate positive and negative emotional reactions to hypothetical colleagues that conflicted with the economics of available alternatives. Neural activity from FW to PB incentive contexts decreased for positive emotional stimuli but increased for negative stimuli in middle temporal, insula, and medial prefrontal regions. In addition, PB incentives further induced greater responses to negative than positive emotional decisions in the frontal and anterior cingulate regions involved in emotion regulation. Greater response to positive than negative emotional features in these regions also correlated with lower frequencies of economically desirable choices. Our findings suggest that whereas positive emotion regulation involves a reduction of responses in valence representation regions, negative emotion regulation additionally engages brain regions for deliberative processing and signaling of incongruous events.

Financial Incentives Differentially Regulate Neural Processing of Positive and Negative Emotions during Value-Based Decision-Making.

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Farrell, Anne M; Goh, Joshua O S; White, Brian J

2018-01-01

Emotional and economic incentives often conflict in decision environments. To make economically desirable decisions then, deliberative neural processes must be engaged to regulate automatic emotional reactions. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we evaluated how fixed wage (FW) incentives and performance-based (PB) financial incentives, in which pay is proportional to outcome, differentially regulate positive and negative emotional reactions to hypothetical colleagues that conflicted with the economics of available alternatives. Neural activity from FW to PB incentive contexts decreased for positive emotional stimuli but increased for negative stimuli in middle temporal, insula, and medial prefrontal regions. In addition, PB incentives further induced greater responses to negative than positive emotional decisions in the frontal and anterior cingulate regions involved in emotion regulation. Greater response to positive than negative emotional features in these regions also correlated with lower frequencies of economically desirable choices. Our findings suggest that whereas positive emotion regulation involves a reduction of responses in valence representation regions, negative emotion regulation additionally engages brain regions for deliberative processing and signaling of incongruous events.

#fitspo or #loveyourself? The impact of fitspiration and self-compassion Instagram images on women's body image, self-compassion, and mood.

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Slater, Amy; Varsani, Neesha; Diedrichs, Phillippa C

2017-09-01

This study experimentally examined the impact of exposure to fitspiration images and self-compassion quotes on social media on young women's body satisfaction, body appreciation, self-compassion, and negative mood. Female undergraduate students (N=160) were randomly assigned to view either Instagram images of fitspiration, self-compassion quotes, a combination of both, or appearance-neutral images. Results showed no differences between viewing fitspiration images compared to viewing neutral images, except for poorer self-compassion among those who viewed fitspiration images. However, women who viewed self-compassion quotes showed greater body satisfaction, body appreciation, self-compassion, and reduced negative mood compared to women who viewed neutral images. Further, viewing a combination of fitspiration images and self-compassion quotes led to positive outcomes compared to viewing only fitspiration images. Trait levels of thin-ideal internalisation moderated some effects. The findings suggest that self-compassion might offer a novel avenue for attenuating the negative impact of social media on women's body satisfaction. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Occurrence and impact of negative behaviour, including domestic violence and abuse, in men attending UK primary care health clinics: a cross-sectional survey

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Hester, M; Ferrari, G; Jones, S K; Williamson, E; Bacchus, L J; Peters, T J; Feder, G

2015-01-01

Objective To measure the experience and perpetration of negative behaviour, including domestic violence and abuse (DVA), and investigate its associations with health conditions and behaviours in men attending general practice. Design Cross-sectional questionnaire-based study conducted between September 2010 and June 2011. Setting 16 general practices in the south west of England. Participants Male patients aged 18 or older, attending alone, who could read and write English. A total of 1403 of eligible patients (58%) participated in the survey and 1368 (56%) completed the questions relevant to this paper. 97% of respondents reported they were heterosexual. Main outcome measures Lifetime occurrence of negative behaviour consistent with DVA, perceived health impact of negative behaviours, associations with anxiety and depression symptoms, and cannabis use in the past 12 months and binge drinking. Results 22.7% (95% CI 20.2% to 24.9%) of men reported ever experiencing negative behaviour (feeling frightened, physically hurt, forced sex, ask permission) from a partner. All negative behaviours were associated with a twofold to threefold increased odds of anxiety and depression symptoms in men experiencing or perpetrating negative behaviours or both. 34.9% (95% CI 28.7% to 41.7%) of men who reported experiencing negative behaviour from a partner, and 30.8% (95% CI 23.7% to 37.8%) of men who perpetrated negative behaviours said they had been in a domestically violent or abusive relationship. No associations with problematic drinking were found; there was a weak association with cannabis use. Conclusions DVA is experienced or perpetrated by a large minority of men presenting to general practice, and these men were more likely to have current symptoms of depression and anxiety. Presentation of anxiety or depression to clinicians may be an indicator of male experience or perpetration of DVA victimisation. PMID:25991450

Positive and negative affect mediate the bidirectional relationship between emotional processing and symptom severity and impact in irritable bowel syndrome.

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Sibelli, Alice; Chalder, Trudie; Everitt, Hazel; Chilcot, Joseph; Moss-Morris, Rona

2018-02-01

Individuals with IBS report higher levels of psychological distress compared to healthy controls. Distress has been associated with emotional processing difficulties but studies have not explored how the relationship between distress and emotional processing affects IBS. There is little research on the role of positive affect (PA) in IBS. (a) If difficulties in self-reported emotional processing are associated with affect and IBS measures (i.e., symptom severity, interference in life roles) (b1) If affect mediates the relationship between emotional processing and IBS measures (b2) Alternative model: if affect mediates the relationship between IBS and emotional processing (c) If PA moderates the relationship between distress and IBS. Participants with a confirmed diagnosis of IBS (n=558) completed a questionnaire including measures of emotional processing (i.e., unhelpful beliefs about negative emotions, impoverished emotional experience), distress, PA, and IBS symptoms/interference. Mediation and moderation analyses were conducted with Maximum Likelihood Estimation. Distress and PA mediated or partly mediated the relationship between unhelpful beliefs about negative emotions/impoverished emotional experience and both IBS measures. The alternative models were also valid, suggesting a two-way relationship between emotional processing and IBS through affect. PA did not moderate the relationship between distress and IBS. Future interventions in IBS may benefit from not only targeting the management of physical symptoms and their daily impact but also aspects related to the experience of both negative and positive affect, and the acceptance and expression of negative emotions. Longitudinal studies are needed to confirm causal relationships within the explored models. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Buffering Negative Impacts of Divorce on Children: Evaluating Impact of Divorce Education

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Crawford, Jennifer K.; Riffe, Jane; Trevisan, Dominic A.; Adesope, Olusola O.

2014-01-01

Following the call for more stringent evaluation methodology and recently documented national Extension presence in the field of divorce education for parents and children, the study reported here describes a local multi-level evaluation to capture program impact of a stakeholder-accepted divorce education program. Using a post-then-pre…

Negative viscosity can enhance learning of inertial dynamics.

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Huang, Felix C; Patton, James L; Mussa-Ivaldi, Ferdinando A

2009-06-01

We investigated how learning of inertial load manipulation is influenced by movement amplification with negative viscosity. Using a force-feedback device, subjects trained on anisotropic loads (5 orientations) with free movements in one of three conditions (inertia only, negative viscosity only, or combined), prior to common evaluation conditions (prescribed circular pattern with inertia only). Training with Combined-Load resulted in lower error (6.89±3.25%) compared to Inertia-Only (8.40±4.32%) and Viscosity-Only (8.17±4.13%) according to radial deviation analysis (% of trial mean radius). Combined-Load and Inertia-Only groups exhibited similar unexpected no-load trials (8.38±4.31% versus 8.91±4.70% of trial mean radius), which suggests comparable low-impedance strategies. These findings are remarkable since negative viscosity, only available during training, evidently enhanced learning when combined with inertia. Modeling analysis suggests that a feedforward after-effect of negative viscosity cannot predict such performance gains. Instead, results from Combined-Load training are consistent with greater feedforward inertia compensation along with a small increase in impedance control. The capability of the nervous system to generalize learning from negative viscosity suggests an intriguing new method for enhancing sensorimotor adaptation.

Age differences in autobiographical memories of negative events.

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Boals, Adriel; Hayslip, Bert; Banks, Jonathan B

2014-01-01

This study examined whether older adults recollect autobiographical memories of negative events so as to minimize unpleasant emotions to a greater extent than do younger adults. A sample of healthy older adults (N = 126) and younger adults (N = 119) completed the Autobiographical Memory Questionnaire and a measure of PTSD symptoms in response to their most negative recalled event. Results supported the hypothesis that older adults rated their negative memories as having: 1) less of a sense of traveling back to the time the event occurred, 2) less associated visceral emotional reactions, 3) fewer associated negative emotions, and 4) fewer PTSD symptoms, all relative to younger adults. In addition, older adults exhibited higher ratings of belief in accuracy, higher ratings that the memory comes as a coherent story, and more associated positive emotions, again all relative to younger adults. After controlling for differences between the types of events younger and older adults reported and how long ago the event occurred, the above age differences remained statistically significant, though the effect sizes were attenuated in some cases. These results are consistent in their support for the positivity effect, and suggest that older adults modify their recollections of negative events in a manner that is emotionally adaptive for them.

Positive and negative dimensions of weight control motivation.

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Stotland, S; Larocque, M; Sadikaj, G

2012-01-01

This study examined weight control motivation among patients (N=5460 females and 547 males) who sought weight loss treatment with family physicians. An eight-item measure assessed the frequency of thoughts and feelings related to weight control "outcome" (e.g. expected physical and psychological benefits) and "process" (e.g. resentment and doubt). Factor analysis supported the existence of two factors, labeled Positive and Negative motivation. Positive motivation was high (average frequency of thoughts about benefits was 'every day') and stable throughout treatment, while Negative motivation declined rapidly and then stabilized. The determinants of changes in the Positive and Negative dimensions during treatment were examined within 3 time frames: first month, months 2-6, and 6-12. Maintenance of high scores on Positive motivation was associated with higher BMI and more disturbed eating habits. Early reductions in Negative motivation were greater for those starting treatment with higher weight and more disturbed eating habits, but less depression and stress, while later reductions in Negative motivation were predicted by improvements in eating habits, weight, stress and perfectionism. Clinicians treating obesity should be sensitive to fluctuations in both motivational dimensions, as they are likely to play a central role in determining long-term behavior and weight change. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

If it bleeds, it leads: separating threat from mere negativity.

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Kveraga, Kestutis; Boshyan, Jasmine; Adams, Reginald B; Mote, Jasmine; Betz, Nicole; Ward, Noreen; Hadjikhani, Nouchine; Bar, Moshe; Barrett, Lisa F

2015-01-01

Most theories of emotion hold that negative stimuli are threatening and aversive. Yet in everyday experiences some negative sights (e.g. car wrecks) attract curiosity, whereas others repel (e.g. a weapon pointed in our face). To examine the diversity in negative stimuli, we employed four classes of visual images (Direct Threat, Indirect Threat, Merely Negative and Neutral) in a set of behavioral and functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. Participants reliably discriminated between the images, evaluating Direct Threat stimuli most quickly, and Merely Negative images most slowly. Threat images evoked greater and earlier blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) activations in the amygdala and periaqueductal gray, structures implicated in representing and responding to the motivational salience of stimuli. Conversely, the Merely Negative images evoked larger BOLD signal in the parahippocampal, retrosplenial, and medial prefrontal cortices, regions which have been implicated in contextual association processing. Ventrolateral as well as medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortices were activated by both threatening and Merely Negative images. In conclusion, negative visual stimuli can repel or attract scrutiny depending on their current threat potential, which is assessed by dynamic shifts in large-scale brain network activity. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Impact of Mid-Life Symptoms of Alcoholism on the Health and Wellbeing of Aging Parents of Adults with Disabilities.

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Ghosh, Subharati; Ha, Jung-Hwa; Pai, Manacy; Essenfeld, Harper; Park, Sang Min

2016-01-01

The study examined the effect of adult children's disability on parents' physical health in later life and the extent to which parents' symptoms of alcoholism in mid-life moderates the link between children's disability and later life parental health. Analyses are based on data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. The analytic sample included parents of children with developmental disabilities (n = 145) or mental health problems (n = 200) and 2,432 parents of unaffected children. The results showed that the negative health consequences in later life of having a child with a developmental disability were greater for those who showed more symptoms of alcoholism in mid-life. However, symptoms of alcoholism in mid-life did not significantly moderate the impact of an adult child's mental health problems on parents' later life physical health. The findings suggest a potential area where gerontological social workers could intervene, given the negative impact of symptoms of alcoholism on the health of aging parents of children with a disability who may be significantly more susceptible to the negative health impacts of alcohol compared to their younger counterparts.

Impact of Statin Use on Outcomes in Triple Negative Breast Cancer

Science.gov (United States)

Shaitelman, Simona F.; Stauder, Michael C.; Allen, Pamela; Reddy, Sangeetha; Lakoski, Susan; Atkinson, Bradley; Reddy, Jay; Amaya, Diana; Guerra, William; Ueno, Naoto; Caudle, Abigail; Tereffe, Welela; Woodward, Wendy A.

2017-01-01

Purpose: We sought to investigate if the use of HMG Co-A reductase inhibitors (statins) has an impact on outcomes among patients with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). Methods: We reviewed the cases of women with invasive, non-metastatic TNBC, diagnosed 1997-2012. Clinical outcomes were compared based on statin use (defined as ever use during treatment vs. never use). We identified a subset of women for whom a 5-value lipid panel (5VLP) was available, including total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein, high density lipoprotein, very low density lipoprotein, and triglycerides. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate median overall survival (OS), distant metastases-free survival (DMFS), and local-regional recurrence-free survival (LRRFS). A Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to test the statistical significance of prognostic factors. Results: 869 women were identified who met inclusion criteria, with a median follow-up time of 75.1 months (range 2.4-228.9 months). 293 (33.7%) patients used statins and 368 (42.3%) had a 5VLP. OS, DMFS, and LRRFS were not significant based on statin use or type. Controlling for the 5VLP values, on multivariable analysis, statin use was significantly associated with OS (HR 0.10, 95% CI 0.01-0.76), but not with DMFS (HR 0.14, 95% CI 0.01-1.40) nor LRRFS (HR 0.10 95% CI 0.00-3.51). Conclusions: Statin use among patients with TNBC is not associated with improved OS, although it may have a benefit for a subset of patients. Prospective assessment would be valuable to better assess the potential complex correlation between clinical outcome, lipid levels, and statin use. PMID:28819403

Diagnosing Xpert MTB/RIF-negative TB: Impact and cost of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background. Use of Xpert MTB/RIF is being scaled up throughout South Africa for improved diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB). A large proportion of HIV-infected patients with possible TB are Xpert-negative on their initial test, and the existing diagnostic algorithm calls for these patients to have sputum culture (Xpert followed by ...

Most negative and most positive expectation values of the spin operator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zamick, Larry

2011-01-01

Formulas for the most positive and most negative values of the expectation of the spin operator are given and compared with single-particle values. The Nilsson model is used to evaluate these expectations and a scenario is discussed where the value is greater than one.

Organizational Justice and Perceived Organizational Support: Impact on Negative Work-Home Interference and Well-being Outcomes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Audrey Babic

2015-10-01

Full Text Available It is well established that negative work-home interference (NegWHI impacts upon several work attitudes and behaviors. In the interests of both organizational effectiveness and employee well-being, it is important to identify concepts related to NegWHI and investigate their effects on well-being outcomes. This study examines the mediating role of (1 perceived organizational support (POS in the relationship between organizational justice (OJ and NegWHI; and (2 NegWHI in the relationships between POS and four well-being outcomes. A total of 509 employees of a Belgian hospital were surveyed. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling and the bootstrapping method. Results showed that POS partially mediates the relationships between distributive and passive procedural justice and NegWHI, and fully mediates the relationship between the other justice dimensions and NegWHI. NegWHI partially mediates the relationships between POS and both job satisfaction and intention to quit, and fully mediates the relationship between POS and job strain. Furthermore, POS is positively related to job engagement. This study showed that organizations can help employees to better manage their work and family lives and reduce the impact of NegWHI by enhancing employees’ feeling that they are supported by their organization. In order to increase POS, organizations need to promote justice in the workplace.

The impact of bullying on health care administration staff: reduced commitment beyond the influences of negative affectivity.

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Rodwell, John; Demir, Defne; Parris, Melissa; Steane, Peter; Noblet, Andrew

2012-01-01

Investigations of workplace bullying in health care settings have tended to focus on nurses or other clinical staff. However, the organizational and power structures enabling bullying in health care are present for all employees, including administrative staff. : The purpose of this study was to specifically focus on health care administration staff and examine the prevalence and consequences of workplace bullying in this occupational group. A cross-sectional study was conducted based on questionnaire data from health care administration staff who work across facilities within a medium to large health care organization in Australia. The questionnaire included measures of bullying, negative affectivity (NA), job satisfaction, organizational commitment, well-being, and psychological distress. The three hypotheses of the study were that (a) workplace bullying will be linked to negative employee outcomes, (b) individual differences on demographic factors will have an impact on these outcomes, and (c) individual differences in NA will be a significant covariate in the analyses. The hypotheses were tested using t tests and analyses of covariances. A total of 150 health care administration staff completed the questionnaire (76% response rate). Significant main effects were found for workplace bullying, with lower organizational commitment and well-being with the effect on commitment remaining over and above NA. Main effects were found for age on job satisfaction and for employment type on psychological distress. A significant interaction between bullying and employment type for psychological distress was also observed. Negative affectivity was a significant covariate for all analyses of covariance. The applications of these results include the need to consider the occupations receiving attention in health care to include administration employees, that bullying is present across health care occupations, and that some employees, particularly part-time staff, may need to be

Ultra-endurance sports have no negative impact on indices of arterial stiffness.

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Radtke, Thomas; Schmidt-Trucksäss, Arno; Brugger, Nicolas; Schäfer, Daniela; Saner, Hugo; Wilhelm, Matthias

2014-01-01

Marathon running has been linked with higher arterial stiffness. Blood pressure is a major contributor to pulse wave velocity (PWV). We examined indices of arterial stiffness with a blood pressure-independent method in marathon runners and ultra-endurance athletes. Male normotensive amateur runners were allocated to three groups according to former participation in competitions: group I (recreational athletes), group II (marathon runners) and group III (ultra-endurance athletes). Indices of arterial stiffness were measured with a non-invasive device (VaSera VS-1500N, Fukuda Denshi, Japan) to determine the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI, primary endpoint) and brachial-ankle PWV (baPWV). Lifetime training hours were calculated. Cumulative competitions were expressed as marathon equivalents. Linear regression analysis was performed to determine predictors for CAVI and baPWV. Measurements of arterial stiffness were performed in 51 subjects (mean age 44.6 ± 1.2 years): group I (n = 16), group II (n = 19) and group III (n = 16). No between-group differences existed in age, anthropometric characteristics and resting BP. CAVI and baPWV were comparable between all groups (P = 0.604 and P = 0.947, respectively). In linear regression analysis, age was the only independent predictor for CAVI (R(2) = 0.239, β = 0.455, P = 0.001). Systolic BP was significantly associated with baPWV (R(2) = 0.225, β = 0.403, P = 0.004). In middle-aged normotensive athletes marathon running and ultra-endurance sports had no negative impact on arterial stiffness.

Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Has a Negative Impact on Quality of Life Compared with Other Comorbidities: An Epidemiological Cross-Sectional Study of 1862 Community-Dwelling Individuals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Koji Otani

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS is common in the elderly. However, there have been few reports on its impact on quality of life (QoL in community-dwelling individuals. The purpose of this study was to clarify how symptomatic LSS affects QoL at the community level. A total of 1862 people (697 males and 1165 females, most subjects were between 40 and 85 y.o. agreed to participate and were interviewed. The presence of symptomatic LSS was assessed by a specially designed questionnaire. The Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36 was also administered. In addition, the presence of comorbid conditions that affect QoL, such as osteoarthritis of the knee and hip, cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, or respiratory disease, was also analyzed. The prevalence of symptomatic LSS gradually increased with age. Furthermore, the presence of symptomatic LSS had a strong negative effect on all 8 physical and mental domains and the physical component summary (PCS (OR: 1.547–2.544 but not the mental component summary (MCS. In comparison with comorbid conditions, LSS had a much stronger negative impact on health-related QoL (HR-QoL. The current study confirmed that the presence of symptomatic LSS might have a strong negative influence on HR-QoL in the community setting.

Evaluation of non-genomic, clinical risk and survival results in endocrine-sensitive, HER-2 negative, node negative breast cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Baena Cañada, José M; Gámez Casado, Salvador; Rodríguez Pérez, Lourdes; Quílez Cutillas, Alicia; Cortés Carmona, Cristina; Rosado Varela, Petra; Estalella Mendoza, Sara; Ramírez Daffós, Patricia; Benítez Rodríguez, Encarnación

2018-02-28

In endocrine-sensitive, HER-2 negative, node negative breast cancer, the presence of a low genomic risk allows treatment with adjuvant endocrine therapy alone, obtaining excellent survival rates. The justification for this study is to show that excellent survival rates are also obtained by treating with adjuvant hormone therapy alone, based on clinical risk assessment. A descriptive, observational and retrospective study was performed between 2006 and 2016 with endocrine-sensitive, HER-2 negative, node negative breast cancer, greater than 1cm or between 0.6 and 1cm with unfavourable features. Retrospective review of health records. Mortality data of the National Registry of Deaths. A total of 203 patients were evaluable for survival. One hundred and twenty-three (60.50%) were treated with adjuvant endocrine therapy alone, 77 (37.90%) with chemotherapy and endocrine therapy, one (0.50%) with chemotherapy alone and 2 (1%) were not treated. The overall survival rate at 5 years was 97% (95% confidence interval [CI] 94-100). Distant recurrence-free interval was 94% (95% CI 90-98). In the subgroup of patients treated with endocrine therapy alone, overall survival and distant recurrence-free interval rates at 5 years were 98% (95% CI 95-100) and 97% (95% CI 93-100), respectively. Patients with endocrine-sensitive, HER-2-negative, node negative breast cancer treated with endocrine therapy alone according to their clinical risk have similar survival outcomes as those treated with endocrine therapy according to their genomic risk. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Teaching in relationship: the impact on faculty of teaching "the Healer's Art".

Science.gov (United States)

Rabow, Michael W; Newman, Maya; Remen, Rachel N

2014-01-01

Medical teachers report both positive and negative experiences, but these impacts are not well understood. In particular, the experience of faculty in relationship-centered education is unknown. We sought to assess the benefits to teachers of the Healer's Art, a popular international medical school elective course. We performed quantitative and qualitative analyses of course evaluations completed by 2009-10 Healer's Art faculty from 17 schools. Ninety-nine of 117 faculty (84.6%) completed the evaluation. No differences in quantitative responses based on gender, specialty, medical school, or year of graduation were observed. Respondents were likely or very likely to agree that the course was useful, positively impacted clinical work and teaching, and increased overall commitment to teaching. In describing the benefits of teaching in the Healer's Art, faculty emphasized four themes: Personal Response to Medicine, Professional Growth, Greater Connection, and Greater Empathy and Respect for Students. Healer's Art faculty report personal and professional benefits, as well as increased commitment to teaching and to a relationship-centered educational process.

An exposition on Friedmann cosmology with negative energy densities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nemiroff, Robert J.; Joshi, Ravi; Patla, Bijunath R.

2015-01-01

How would negative energy density affect a classic Friedmann cosmology? Although never measured and possibly unphysical, certain realizations of quantum field theories leaves the door open for such a possibility. In this paper we analyze the evolution of a universe comprising varying amounts of negative energy forms. Negative energy components have negative normalized energy densities, Ω < 0. They include negative phantom energy with an equation of state parameter w < −1, negative cosmological constant: w=−1, negative domain walls: w = −2/3, negative cosmic strings: w=−1/3, negative mass: w = 0, negative radiation: w = 1/3 and negative ultralight: w > 1/3. Assuming that such energy forms generate pressure like perfect fluids, the attractive or repulsive nature of negative energy components are reviewed. The Friedmann equation is satisfied only when negative energy forms are coupled to a greater magnitude of positive energy forms or positive curvature. We show that the solutions exhibit cyclic evolution with bounces and turnovers.The future and fate of such universes in terms of curvature, temperature, acceleration, and energy density are reviewed. The end states are dubbed ''big crunch,' '' big void,' or ''big rip' and further qualified as ''warped',''curved', or ''flat',''hot' versus ''cold', ''accelerating' versus ''decelerating' versus ''coasting'. A universe that ends by contracting to zero energy density is termed ''big poof.' Which contracting universes ''bounce' in expansion and which expanding universes ''turnover' into contraction are also reviewed

Brief report: the impact of changing from DSM-IV 'Asperger's' to DSM-5 'autistic spectrum disorder' diagnostic labels on stigma and treatment attitudes.

Science.gov (United States)

Ohan, Jeneva L; Ellefson, Sarah E; Corrigan, Patrick W

2015-10-01

In the DSM-5, 'Asperger's Disorder' was incorporated into 'Autistic Spectrum Disorder' (ASD). One key concern in this change has been that the ASD label will increase negative attitudes relative to the Asperger's label. To test this, we asked 465 American adults to read a vignette describing a child with autistic symptoms that included an ASD label, an Asperger's label, or no label, and rate their stigma and treatment attitudes (help-seeking and perceived effectiveness). Contrary to predictions, label did not impact stigma. Label did impact treatment attitudes, with greater help-seeking and perceived treatment effectiveness for both Asperger's and ASD labels. In sum, concern that the ASD label will increase negative perceptions, at least amongst the general public, is not supported.

The Impact of the Developmental Timing of Trauma Exposure on PTSD Symptoms and Psychosocial Functioning Among Older Adults

OpenAIRE

Ogle, Christin M.; Rubin, David C.; Siegler, Ilene C.

2013-01-01

The present study examined the impact of the developmental timing of trauma exposure on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and psychosocial functioning in a large sample of community-dwelling older adults (n = 1,995). Specifically, we investigated whether the negative consequences of exposure to traumatic events were greater for traumas experienced during childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, midlife, or older adulthood. Each of these developmental periods is characterized by a...

Impact of organic Rankine cycle system installation on light duty vehicle considering both positive and negative aspects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Usman, Muhammad; Imran, Muhammad; Yang, Youngmin; Park, Byung-Sik

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Positive and negative effects of waste heat recovery unit on vehicle were studied. • Organic Rankine cycle based power system for waste heat recovery. • Relationship of ORC unit weight and power was developed. • Impact of added weight, Part load operation and back pressure are presented. • Power enhancement of 5.82% of engine when positive & negative effects considered. - Abstract: This paper presents the analysis of organic Rankine cycle (ORC) based waste heat recovery system. Both the positive and negative effects of ORC system installation on a light duty vehicle were evaluated. Engine exhaust data for a light duty vehicle was used to design an ORC based system. Optimum cycle design suggests that ORC system installation is feasible. Results presented that for the vehicle operation at 100 km/h, engine power can be enhanced by 10.88% which is 5.92 kW of additional power and at the lower speed of 23.5 km/h, the engine power enhancement was 2.34%. ORC component weight data from manufacturers were used to estimate the weight of the designed system. The performance decline due to added weight is calculated. Effects of added back pressure and performance decline due to the part-load operation of ORC unit were also calculated and an overall effect of waste heat recovery system was evaluated. The results then suggested that maximum power enhancement is 5.82% at the vehicle speed of 100 km/h instead of previously mentioned 10.88% can be achieved if negative effects are also considered. Furthermore, it was concluded that at speeds lower than 48 km/h the waste heat recovery system was not beneficial at all and low-speed operation was in fact not preferable as it results in additional power demand from the engine by 6.39% at 23.5 km/h. The vehicles for city driving cycles are not recommended for ORC installation. Another finding revealed that if exhaust heat recovery heat exchanger is designed for maximum heat recovery, at part load operation, the

Hostility and social support explain physical activity beyond negative affect among young men, but not women, in college.

Science.gov (United States)

Maier, Karl J; James, Ashley E

2014-01-01

We examined social support as a moderator of cynical hostility in relation to physical activity and body mass index among college students (n = 859; M = 18.71 years (SD = 1.22); 60% women, 84% White). After controlling for negative affect in hierarchical linear regression models, greater hostility was associated with lesser physical activity among those with low social support, as expected. Greater hostility was also associated with greater physical activity among those high in social support, ps men only. Hostility and social support were unrelated to body mass index, ps > .05. Young men with a hostile disposition and low social support may be at risk for a sedentary lifestyle for reasons other than negative affect.

Factors Impacting Online Ratings for Otolaryngologists.

Science.gov (United States)

Calixto, Nathaniel E; Chiao, Whitney; Durr, Megan L; Jiang, Nancy

2018-06-01

To identify factors associated with online patient ratings and comments for a nationwide sample of otolaryngologists. Ratings, demographic information, and written comments were obtained for a random sample of otolaryngologists from HealthGrades.com and Vitals.com . Online Presence Score (OPS) was based on 10 criteria, including professional website and social media profiles. Regression analyses identified factors associated with increased rating. We evaluated for correlations between OPS and other attributes with star rating and used chi-square tests to evaluate content differences between positive and negative comments. On linear regression, increased OPS was associated with higher ratings on HealthGrades and Vitals; higher ratings were also associated with younger age on Vitals and less experience on HealthGrades. However, detailed correlation studies showed weak correlation between OPS and rating; age and graduation year also showed low correlation with ratings. Negative comments more likely focused on surgeon-independent factors or poor bedside manner. Though younger otolaryngologists with greater online presence tend to have higher ratings, weak correlations suggest that age and online presence have only a small impact on the content found on ratings websites. While most written comments are positive, deficiencies in bedside manner or other physician-independent factors tend to elicit negative comments.

Positive and negative social support and HPA-axis hyperactivity: Evidence from glucocorticoids in human hair.

Science.gov (United States)

Iob, Eleonora; Kirschbaum, Clemens; Steptoe, Andrew

2018-06-12

While positive social support is associated with lower prevalence of disease and better treatment outcomes, negative social relationships can instead have unfavourable consequences for several physical and mental health conditions. However, the specific mechanisms by which this nexus might operate remain poorly understood. Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis hyperactivity owing to psychosocial stress has been proposed as a potential pathway underlying the link between social support and health. Hair glucocorticoids such as cortisol and cortisone are emerging as promising biomarkers of long-term retrospective HPA activation. Therefore, the aim of this investigation was to examine the effects of positive and negative experiences of social support within key relationships (i.e. spouse/partner, children, other family members, and friends) on cortisol and cortisone. These associations were tested in a sample of 2520 older adults (mean age 68.1) from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Hair samples were collected in wave 6 (2012/13). To understand the impact of cumulative exposure to poor social support, the analysis used self-reported data from waves 4 (2008/09) and 6. Covariates included demographic, socioeconomic, lifestyle, and hair characteristics. In cross sectional analyses, lower positive support from all sources and specifically from children were associated with higher cortisol. Additionally, lower positive support from children was positively associated with cortisone. Similarly, higher overall negative support was related to higher cortisol, and greater negative support from children was also positively associated with cortisone. In longitudinal analyses, there was evidence for positive associations between hair glucocorticoids and cumulative exposure to poorer social support. Experiences of low positive and high negative social support, particularly from children, were both related to higher hair glucocorticoids. Hence, social relationships of

The impact of negative childbirth experience on future reproductive decisions: A quantitative systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Shorey, Shefaly; Yang, Yen Yen; Ang, Emily

2018-06-01

The aim of this study was to systematically retrieve, critique and synthesize available evidence regarding the association between negative childbirth experiences and future reproductive decisions. A child's birth is often a joyous event; however, there is a proportion of women who undergo negative childbirth experiences that have long-term implications on their reproductive decisions. A systematic review of quantitative studies was undertaken using Joanna Briggs Institute's methods. A search was carried out in CINAHL Plus with Full Text, Embase, PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science from January 1996 - July 2016. Studies that fulfilled the inclusion criteria were assessed by two independent reviewers using the Joanna Briggs Institute's Critical Appraisal Tools. Data were extracted under subheadings adapted from the institute's data extraction forms. Twelve studies, which examined either one or more influences of negative childbirth experiences, were identified. The included studies were either cohort or cross-sectional designs. Five studies observed positive associations between prior negative childbirth experiences and decisions to not have another child, three studies found positive associations between negative childbirth experiences and decisions to delay a subsequent birth and six studies concluded positive associations between negative childbirth experiences and maternal requests for caesarean section in subsequent pregnancies. To receive a holistic understanding on negative childbirth experiences, a suitable definition and validated measuring tools should be used to understand this phenomenon. Future studies or reviews should include a qualitative component and/or the exploration of specific factors such as cultural and regional differences that influence childbirth experiences. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Praise for regret: People value regret above other negative emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Saffrey, Colleen; Summerville, Amy; Roese, Neal J

2008-03-01

What do people think about the emotion of regret? Recent demonstrations of the psychological benefits of regret have been framed against an assumption that most people find regret to be aversive, both when experienced but also when recalled later. Two studies explored lay evaluations of regret experiences, revealing them to be largely favorable rather than unfavorable. Study 1 demonstrated that regret, but not other negative emotions, was dominated by positive more than negative evaluations. In both studies 1 and 2, although participants saw a great deal of benefit from their negative emotions, regret stood out as particularly beneficial. Indeed, in study 2, regret was seen to be the most beneficial of 12 negative emotions on all five functions of: making sense of past experiences, facilitating approach behaviors, facilitating avoidance behaviors, gaining insights into the self, and in preserving social harmony. Moreover, in study 2, individuals made self-serving ascriptions of regret, reporting greater regret experiences for themselves than for others. In short, people value their regrets substantially more than they do other negative emotions.

Age and Expatriate Job Performance in Greater China

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Selmer, Jan; Lauring, Jakob; Feng, Yunxia

2009-01-01

a positive impact on expatriates' job performance. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is toexamine the association between the age of business expatriates and their work performance in a Chinese cultural setting. Design/methodology/approach - Controlling for the potential bias of a number of background......, companies should not discriminate against older candidatesin expatriate selection for Greater China. Furthermore, older expatriates destined for a Chinesecultural context could be trained how to exploit their age advantage. Originality/value - In contrast to previous studies, this investigation attempts...... to match a certain personal characteristic of expatriates with a specific host culture. The results have implications for and contribute to the literature on expatriate selection as well as to the body of research on crosscultural training....

The work impact of dysthymia in a primary care population

Science.gov (United States)

Adler, David A.; Irish, Julie; McLaughlin, Thomas J.; Perissinotto, Carla; Chang, Hong; Hood, Maggie; Lapitsky, Leueen; Rogers, William H.; Lerner, Debra

2014-01-01

Physicians regard individuals with dysthymia as having relatively normal levels of functioning. This study examines in detail the work impact of dysthymia in a population of employed primary care patients. As part of an observational study conducted between 2001 and 2003 in clinics associated with three health plans in Massachusetts, we compared 69 patients diagnosed with DSM-IV dysthymia without concurrent major depressive disorder to 175 depression-free controls. Patients were employed at least 15 h per week, had no immediate plans to leave the labor market, and no major comorbid medical conditions. We assessed work absences and productivity loss due to on-the-job performance limitations (“presenteeism”). Patients with dysthymia, compared with controls, had less stable work histories and a greater frequency of significant problems at work. While absence rates were not significantly different (1.2 vs. 0.74 days, P dysthymia experienced significantly greater on-the-job productivity loss (6.3% vs. 2.8%, P Dysthymia is an unrecognized cause of work impairment that has long-term negative consequences for individuals and their employers. The persistence of dysthymia with its serious impact on work functioning calls out for the development of new interventions. PMID:15234821

Demystifying the Clinical Diagnosis of Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome in Women.

Science.gov (United States)

Ganderton, Charlotte; Semciw, Adam; Cook, Jill; Pizzari, Tania

2017-06-01

To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of 10 clinical tests that can be used in the diagnosis of greater trochanteric pain syndrome (GTPS) in women, and to compare these clinical tests to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings. Twenty-eight participants with GTPS (49.5 ± 22.0 years) and 18 asymptomatic participants (mean age ± standard deviation [SD], 52.5 ± 22.8 years) were included. A blinded physiotherapist performed 10 pain provocation tests potentially diagnostic for GTPS-palpation of the greater trochanter, resisted external derotation test, modified resisted external derotation test, standard and modified Ober's tests, Patrick's or FABER test, resisted hip abduction, single-leg stance test, and the resisted hip internal rotation test. A sample of 16 symptomatic and 17 asymptomatic women undertook a hip MRI scan. Gluteal tendons were evaluated and categorized as no pathology, mild tendinosis, moderate tendinosis/partial tear, or full-thickness tear. Clinical test analyses show high specificity, high positive predictive value, low to moderate sensitivity, and negative predictive value for most clinical tests. All symptomatic and 88% of asymptomatic participants had pathological gluteal tendon changes on MRI, from mild tendinosis to full-thickness tear. The study found the Patrick's or FABER test, palpation of the greater trochanter, resisted hip abduction, and the resisted external derotation test to have the highest diagnostic test accuracy for GTPS. Tendon pathology on MRI is seen in both symptomatic and asymptomatic women.

Effects of Wind Energy Development on Nesting Ecology of Greater Prairie-Chickens in Fragmented Grasslands

Science.gov (United States)

McNew, Lance B; Hunt, Lyla M; Gregory, Andrew J; Wisely, Samantha M; Sandercock, Brett K

2014-01-01

Wind energy is targeted to meet 20% of U.S. energy needs by 2030, but new sites for development of renewable energy may overlap with important habitats of declining populations of grassland birds. Greater Prairie-Chickens (Tympanuchus cupido) are an obligate grassland bird species predicted to respond negatively to energy development. We used a modified before–after control–impact design to test for impacts of a wind energy development on the reproductive ecology of prairie-chickens in a 5-year study. We located 59 and 185 nests before and after development, respectively, of a 201 MW wind energy facility in Greater Prairie-Chicken nesting habitat and assessed nest site selection and nest survival relative to proximity to wind energy infrastructure and habitat conditions. Proximity to turbines did not negatively affect nest site selection (β = 0.03, 95% CI = −1.2–1.3) or nest survival (β = −0.3, 95% CI = −0.6–0.1). Instead, nest site selection and survival were strongly related to vegetative cover and other local conditions determined by management for cattle production. Integration of our project results with previous reports of behavioral avoidance of oil and gas facilities by other species of prairie grouse suggests new avenues for research to mitigate impacts of energy development. Efectos del Desarrollo de la Energía Eólica sobre la Ecología de Anidación de Gallinas de la Gran Pradera en Pastizales Fragmentados Resumen Se calcula que la energía eólica aportará el 20% de las necesidades energéticas de los Estados Unidos para el 2030, pero nuevos sitios para el desarrollo de energía renovable pueden traslaparse con hábitats importantes de poblaciones declinantes de aves de pastizal. La gallina de la Gran Pradera (Tympanuchus cupido) es una especie de ave obligada de pastizal que se pronostica responderá negativamente al desarrollo energético. Usamos un diseño ADCI modificado para probar los impactos del desarrollo de la energía e

Two Sides of the Same Coin: The Positive and Negative Impact of Spiritual Religious Coping on Quality of Life and Depression in Dialysis Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Vitorino, Luciano Magalhães; Soares, Renata de Castro E Santos; Santos, Ana Eliza Oliveira; Lucchetti, Alessandra Lamas Granero; Cruz, Jonas Preposi; Cortez, Paulo José Oliveira; Lucchetti, Giancarlo

2017-08-01

Studies have shown that spiritual/religious beliefs are associated with mental health and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, few studies evaluated how spiritual/religious coping (SRC) could affect hemodialysis patients. The present study investigated the role of SRC behaviors on HRQoL and depressive symptoms in hemodialysis patients. This was cross-sectional study with 184 patients. Patients completed the Beck Depression Inventory, Brief SRC Scale, Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), and a Sociodemographic and Health Characterization Questionnaire. From 218 patients, 184 (84.4%) were included (53.8% male with a median age of 55.9 years). Negative SRC, but not positive SRC, was associated with depressive symptoms. Positive SRC presented significant effects in SF-36 pain and physical and social functioning. On the other hand, negative SRC exhibited significant effects in SF-36 role emotional, energy/fatigue, pain, and physical functioning. SRC influences the mental health and HRQoL in Brazilian hemodialysis patients in two distinct ways. If used positively, it may have positive outcomes. However, if used negatively, it may lead to dysfunctional consequences such as greater depressive symptomatology and affect HRQoL. Health professionals must be aware of these "two sides of the same coin."

Long-term socioeconomic impacts of flooding in Bangladesh

Science.gov (United States)

Jina, A.

2013-05-01

Natural disasters lead to myriad negative impacts upon society, causing loss of life, property, and income. Among disasters, floods annually affect the most people, and lead to widespread negative outcomes, particularly in developing countries. While immediate effects of disasters are readily observed, long-term socioeconomic effects have received little attention. Recent work in development economics finds that environmental exposure in early life can have negative impacts upon later outcomes in health, education, and labor markets. Such research is problematic for disasters, however, as objective measurements of hazard exposure are difficult to obtain. This study develops a remote sensing method to detect flooding in Bangladesh, one of the most flood-prone countries, using MODIS 8-day composite data. This approach addresses one of the main problems in the literature on the social impacts of disasters by deriving an objective measure rather than using self-reported damages. Flood data from 2000-2012 is matched to geolocated social surveys conducted by the Bangladesh government to identify impacts of exposure to floods at critical periods of life. While flooding is noted to be a natural and important part of ecosystem functioning in Bangladesh, we aim to understand the impacts of a flood of greater than normal magnitude or abnormal timing to identify the effects on human capital formation. We find that an increase in flooding of one standard deviation (SD) above the mean in the birth month leads to a 3% increase in stunting (2 SD below cohort height). This has implications for physical and cognitive development, shown elsewhere to persist to adulthood. We find that children from households that are exposed to floods while in elementary school are more likely to drop out. Other impacts will be identified in the course of this research. The stated impacts suggest that the long-term health and economic fortunes of the rural poor in Bangladesh are significantly

Press Manipulation and Its Negative Impact on the Youth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ioana Manea

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, manipulation may be regarded as an essential instrument of the “mass industrial society”, aiming at the conclusion of certain agreements that are convenient to the issuing party, turning to deceit with falsified arguments, as well as to appeals to emotional or non-rational components. The particular forms that it takes in various fields of social life may be found anywhere, from the political form to the economic one. Press strategies have the capacity of manipulating the young consumer’s behaviour, generating numerous negative effects on their everyday life.

Gender differences in negative affect during acute tobacco abstinence differ between African American and White adult cigarette smokers.

Science.gov (United States)

Pang, Raina D; Bello, Mariel S; Liautaud, Madalyn M; Weinberger, Andrea H; Leventhal, Adam M

2018-06-15

Prior studies have found heightened negative affect following tobacco abstinence in women compared to men. However, experimental work addressing whether these findings generalize across racial groups is scarce. The current study investigated whether race (Non-Hispanic White vs. Non-Hispanic African American) moderated gender differences in abstinence-induced negative affect and smoking behavior. Data were collected from 2010 to 2017 from two separate laboratory studies investigating experimentally manipulated tobacco abstinence. Following a baseline session, adult daily smokers (10 cigarettes per day; women: n=297, 83.8% Non-Hispanic African American; men: n=492, 86.2% Non-Hispanic African American) attended two counterbalanced lab sessions (16 hours abstinent vs. non-abstinent) and completed self-report measures of negative affect followed by a laboratory analogue smoking reinstatement task. We found a gender race interaction for several negative affect states and composite negative affect (ßs=-.12 to -.16, psNon-Hispanic White women compared to Non-Hispanic White men exhibited greater abstinence-induced increases in anger, anxiety, and composite negative affect (ßs=-.20 to -.29, psNon-Hispanic African American smokers (ßs=.00 to -.04, ps>.05). These findings suggest that negative affect during acute tobacco abstinence may be a clinically important and intervenable factor that can inform cessation interventions specifically for Non-Hispanic White women smokers. Further empirical exploration of mechanisms underlying interactions of gender and race in tobacco addiction may benefit smoking cessation efforts in Non-Hispanic African American women smokers. The current study contributes to a scant body of research examining the intersectional influence of race and gender on abstinence-induced negative affect-a central, motivationally prepotent feature of tobacco withdrawal. Using a laboratory-based design to experimentally manipulate abstinence, we provide evidence

Social media literacy protects against the negative impact of exposure to appearance ideal social media images in young adult women but not men.

Science.gov (United States)

Tamplin, Natalie C; McLean, Siân A; Paxton, Susan J

2018-05-25

Frequent exposure to appearance ideal social media is associated with body dissatisfaction. We hypothesised that commercial and peer social media literacy would protect against the negative impact of exposure to social media appearance ideal images on young adults' body image. The study was presented as an investigation of alcohol promotion on social media. Participants were 187 women (M age  = 24.6, SD = 3.7) and 187 men (M age  = 22.8, SD = 3.9) who viewed gender-matched alcohol-related appearance ideal social media images or control images containing alcohol only. Social media literacy was assessed prior to image exposure and body satisfaction measured before and after exposure. A negative effect of ideal image exposure on body satisfaction was observed in both women and men. In women only, commercial-social media literacy moderated the negative effect of exposure, independent of internalization or body comparison. Inclusion of social media literacy skills in prevention interventions is supported. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Varying negative work assistance at the ankle with a soft exosuit during loaded walking.

Science.gov (United States)

Malcolm, Philippe; Lee, Sangjun; Crea, Simona; Siviy, Christopher; Saucedo, Fabricio; Galiana, Ignacio; Panizzolo, Fausto A; Holt, Kenneth G; Walsh, Conor J

2017-06-26

Only very recently, studies have shown that it is possible to reduce the metabolic rate of unloaded and loaded walking using robotic ankle exoskeletons. Some studies obtained this result by means of high positive work assistance while others combined negative and positive work assistance. There is no consensus about the isolated contribution of negative work assistance. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to examine the effect of varying negative work assistance at the ankle joint while maintaining a fixed level of positive work assistance with a multi-articular soft exosuit. We tested eight participants during walking at 1.5 ms -1 with a 23-kg backpack. Participants wore a version of the exosuit that assisted plantarflexion via Bowden cables tethered to an off-board actuation platform. In four active conditions we provided different rates of exosuit bilateral ankle negative work assistance ranging from 0.015 to 0.037 W kg -1 and a fixed rate of positive work assistance of 0.19 W kg -1 . All active conditions significantly reduced metabolic rate by 11 to 15% compared to a reference condition, where the participants wore the exosuit but no assistance was provided. We found no significant effect of negative work assistance. However, there was a trend (p = .08) toward greater reduction in metabolic rate with increasing negative work assistance, which could be explained by observed reductions in biological ankle and hip joint power and moment. The non-significant trend of increasing negative work assistance with increasing reductions in metabolic rate motivates the value in further studies on the relative effects of negative and positive work assistance. There may be benefit in varying negative work over a greater range or in isolation from positive work assistance.

Indirect effect of financial strain on daily cortisol output through daily negative to positive affect index in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Puterman, Eli; Haritatos, Jana; Adler, Nancy E; Sidney, Steve; Schwartz, Joseph E; Epel, Elissa S

2013-12-01

Daily affect is important to health and has been linked to cortisol. The combination of high negative affect and low positive affect may have a bigger impact on increasing HPA axis activity than either positive or negative affect alone. Financial strain may both dampen positive affect as well as increase negative affect, and thus provides an excellent context for understanding the associations between daily affect and cortisol. Using random effects mixed modeling with maximum likelihood estimation, we examined the relationship between self-reported financial strain and estimated mean daily cortisol level (latent cortisol variable), based on six salivary cortisol assessments throughout the day, and whether this relationship was mediated by greater daily negative to positive affect index measured concurrently in a sample of 776 Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study participants. The analysis revealed that while no total direct effect existed for financial strain on cortisol, there was a significant indirect effect of high negative affect to low positive affect, linking financial strain to elevated cortisol. In this sample, the effects of financial strain on cortisol through either positive affect or negative affect alone were not significant. A combined affect index may be a more sensitive and powerful measure than either negative or positive affect alone, tapping the burden of chronic financial strain, and its effects on biology. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Auditory mismatch negativity in schizophrenia: topographic evaluation with a high-density recording montage.

Science.gov (United States)

Hirayasu, Y; Potts, G F; O'Donnell, B F; Kwon, J S; Arakaki, H; Akdag, S J; Levitt, J J; Shenton, M E; McCarley, R W

1998-09-01

The mismatch negativity, a negative component in the auditory event-related potential, is thought to index automatic processes involved in sensory or echoic memory. The authors' goal in this study was to examine the topography of auditory mismatch negativity in schizophrenia with a high-density, 64-channel recording montage. Mismatch negativity topography was evaluated in 23 right-handed male patients with schizophrenia who were receiving medication and in 23 nonschizophrenic comparison subjects who were matched in age, handedness, and parental socioeconomic status. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale was used to measure psychiatric symptoms. Mismatch negativity amplitude was reduced in the patients with schizophrenia. They showed a greater left-less-than-right asymmetry than comparison subjects at homotopic electrode pairs near the parietotemporal junction. There were correlations between mismatch negativity amplitude and hallucinations at left frontal electrodes and between mismatch negativity amplitude and passive-apathetic social withdrawal at left and right frontal electrodes. Mismatch negativity was reduced in schizophrenia, especially in the left hemisphere. This finding is consistent with abnormalities of primary or adjacent auditory cortex involved in auditory sensory or echoic memory.

Trait Affect, Emotion Regulation, and the Generation of Negative and Positive Interpersonal Events.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, Jessica L; Burke, Taylor A; Stange, Jonathan P; Kleiman, Evan M; Rubenstein, Liza M; Scopelliti, Kate A; Abramson, Lyn Y; Alloy, Lauren B

2017-07-01

Positive and negative trait affect and emotion regulatory strategies have received considerable attention in the literature as predictors of psychopathology. However, it remains unclear whether individuals' trait affect is associated with responses to state positive affect (positive rumination and dampening) or negative affect (ruminative brooding), or whether these affective experiences contribute to negative or positive interpersonal event generation. Among 304 late adolescents, path analyses indicated that individuals with higher trait negative affect utilized dampening and brooding rumination responses, whereas those with higher trait positive affect engaged in rumination on positive affect. Further, there were indirect relationships between trait negative affect and fewer positive and negative interpersonal events via dampening, and between trait positive affect and greater positive and negative interpersonal events via positive rumination. These findings suggest that individuals' trait negative and positive affect may be associated with increased utilization of emotion regulation strategies for managing these affects, which may contribute to the occurrence of positive and negative events in interpersonal relationships. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The paradoxical effect of long instructions on negative affect and performance: When, for whom and why do they backfire?

Science.gov (United States)

Goemaere, Sophie; Beyers, Wim; De Muynck, Gert-Jan; Vansteenkiste, Maarten

2018-06-01

For reasons of bureaucracy and safety, astronauts on the International Space Station are provided with excruciatingly detailed instructions and a lack of decision-making power, even for simple routine tasks. Besides being time-consuming, many astronauts report feelings of demotivation, irritation, and even defiance when confronted with this working method. Anecdotic evidence suggests that this method leads to situations where astronauts read instructions diagonally or avoid checking in with mission support, thereby ironically increasing the risk of error making. There is a need to consider under which circumstances, for whom, and why the provision of long instructions could be detrimental for well-being and performance. An experimental study with LEGO assembly tasks examined whether length of instructions (i.e. short versus long) and task complexity (simple vs. complex) impact negative affect, motivational experiences and performance of participants (N = 113, Mage = 18.75 ± 2.46 years). Long instructions for simple tasks provoked greater feelings of irritation, diminished the perceived value of instructions, and negatively influenced productivity and accuracy. The negative effect of long instructions on irritation was explained via decreased perceived value. Additionally, the effect of length of instructions on irritation differed for participants high versus those low in need for achievement.

Navigating the Impact of Globalization on Bank Efficiency in China%Navigating the Impact of Globalization on Bank Efficiency in China

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Fadzlan Sufian; Muzafar Shah Habibullah

2011-01-01

The paper provides for the first time empirical evidence on the impact of economic globalization on bank efficiency in a developing economy. Using the data envelopment analysis method, we compute the efficiency of the Chinese banking sector during 2000- 2002 The empirical findings suggest that the inefficiency of the Chinese banking sector stems largely from scale rather than pure technical inefficiencies. Examining different components of economic globalization, we find that greater economic integration through higher trade flows, cultural proximity and political globalization have significant andpositive influence on bank efficiency levels. The empirical findings suggest that liberalization （restrictions） of the capital account exerts a negative （positive） influence on bank efficiency levels in China.

Impact of oral mucosa lesions on the quality of life related to oral health. An etiopathogenic study.

Science.gov (United States)

Villanueva-Vilchis, María-del-Carmen; López-Ríos, Patricia; García, Ixchel-Maya; Gaitán-Cepeda, Luis-Alberto

2016-03-01

To assess the impact of oral mucosa lesions on quality of life related to oral health (QLROH) and additionally to establish whether the etiopathogenicy of oral lesion is associated to the degree of QLROH impact. In this cross-sectional study performed on a non-probability sample of 247 consecutively patients attending the oral medicine and pathology clinic the Spanish version of Oral Health Impact Profile-49 questionnaire (OHIP-49-mx) was applied. Responses were recorded on Likert-type scale whose values ranged from 0 (never) to 4 (always). Values greater than the 50 percentile (median) were considered as indicative of poor quality of life. All patients were orally examined and diagnosed. In accordance to their etiopathogenicy 6 study groups were formed: 4 corresponded to MIND classification for diseases (Metabolic, Inflammatory, Neoplastic, and Development groups), with ≥2 diseases and no-lesion group. To identify possible differences of OHIP-49 values between study groups an ANOVA (one factor) parametric and a chi square tests were performed (SPSS®20.0). The OHIP-49-mx values were higher than the 50 percentile (established at 39) in metabolic, inflammatory, development, and ≥2 diseases groups, suggesting that this type of oral lesions negatively impact the quality of life. ≥2 diseasesgroup followed by metabolic and inflammatory diseases group (p 0.001) depicted worst quality of life. Functional limitation (p 0.003), pain, physical inability (p 0.001) and psychological disabilities dimensions exhibited greater values in all groups. Injured oral mucosa negatively impacts quality of life, specifically functional limitation, physical inability and psychological disabilities could lead to social isolation.To our knowledge, this is the first time that an association between QLROH and the etiopathogenicy of oral mucosal diseases is established.

Spatiotemporal distribution and variation of GPP in the Greater Khingan Mountains from 1982 to 2015

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, L.; Fan, W.; Liu, S.; Ren, H.; Xu, X.

2017-12-01

GPP (Gross Primary Productivity) is an important index to reflect the productivity of plants because it refers to the organic accumulated by green plants on land through assimilating the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by photosynthesis and a serial of physiological processes in plants. Therefore, GPP plays a significant role in studying the carbon sink of terrestrial ecosystem and plants' reaction to global climate change. Remote sensing provides an efficient way to estimate GPP at regional and global scales and its products can be used to monitor the spatiotemporal variation of terrestrial ecosystem.As the Greater Khingan Mountains is the only bright coniferous forest of cool temperate zone in China and accounts for about 30% of the forest in China. This region is sensitive to climate change, but its forest coverage presented a significant variation due to fire disasters, excessive deforestation and so on. Here, we aimed at studying the variation pattern of GPP in the Greater Khingan Mountains and further found impact factors for the change in order to improve the understanding of what have and will happen on plants and carbon cycle under climate change.Based on GPP product from the GLASS program, we first studied spatial distribution of plants in the Greater Khingan Mountains from 1982 to 2015. With a linear regression model, seasonal and inter-annual GPP variability were explored on pixel and regional scale. We analyzed some climatic factors (e.g. temperature and precipitation) and terrain in order to find the driven factors for the GPP variations. The Growing Season Length (GSL) was also regarded as a factor and was retrieved from GIMMS 3g NDVI datasets using dynamic threshold method. We found that GPP in study area linearly decreased with the increasing elevation. Both annual accumulated GPP (AAG) and maximum daily GPP (during mid-June to mid-July) gained obvious improvement over the past 34 years under climate warming and drying (Fig.1 and Fig.2). Further

Adaptive social impact management for conservation and environmental management.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaplan-Hallam, Maery; Bennett, Nathan J

2018-04-01

Concerns about the social consequences of conservation have spurred increased attention the monitoring and evaluation of the social impacts of conservation projects. This has resulted in a growing body of research that demonstrates how conservation can produce both positive and negative social, economic, cultural, health, and governance consequences for local communities. Yet, the results of social monitoring efforts are seldom applied to adaptively manage conservation projects. Greater attention is needed to incorporating the results of social impact assessments in long-term conservation management to minimize negative social consequences and maximize social benefits. We bring together insights from social impact assessment, adaptive management, social learning, knowledge coproduction, cross-scale governance, and environmental planning to propose a definition and framework for adaptive social impact management (ASIM). We define ASIM as the cyclical process of monitoring and adaptively managing social impacts over the life-span of an initiative through the 4 stages of profiling, learning, planning, and implementing. We outline 14 steps associated with the 4 stages of the ASIM cycle and provide guidance and potential methods for social-indicator development, predictive assessments of social impacts, monitoring and evaluation, communication of results, and identification and prioritization of management responses. Successful ASIM will be aided by engaging with best practices - including local engagement and collaboration in the process, transparent communication of results to stakeholders, collective deliberation on and choice of interventions, documentation of shared learning at the site level, and the scaling up of insights to inform higher-level conservation policies-to increase accountability, trust, and perceived legitimacy among stakeholders. The ASIM process is broadly applicable to conservation, environmental management, and development initiatives at various

Impact on family and parental stress of prenatal vs postnatal repair of myelomeningocele.

Science.gov (United States)

Antiel, Ryan M; Adzick, N Scott; Thom, Elizabeth A; Burrows, Pamela K; Farmer, Diana L; Brock, John W; Howell, Lori J; Farrell, Jody A; Houtrow, Amy J

2016-10-01

The Management of Myelomeningocele Study was a multicenter, randomized controlled trial that compared prenatal repair with standard postnatal repair for fetal myelomeningocele. We sought to describe the long-term impact on the families of the women who participated and to evaluate how the timing of repair influenced the impact on families and parental stress. Randomized women completed the 24-item Impact on Family Scale and the 36-item Parenting Stress Index Short Form at 12 and 30 months after delivery. A revised 15-item Impact on Family Scale describing overall impact was also computed. Higher scores reflected more negative impacts or greater stress. In addition, we examined Family Support Scale and Family Resource Scale scores along with various neonatal outcomes. Repeated measures analysis was conducted for each scale and subscale. Of 183 women randomized, 171 women completed the Impact on Family Scale and 172 completed the Parenting Stress Index at both 12 and 30 months. The prenatal surgery group had significantly lower revised 15-item Impact on Family Scale scores as well as familial-social impact subscale scores compared to the postnatal surgery group (P = .02 and .004, respectively). There was no difference in total parental stress between the 2 groups (P = .89) or in any of the Parenting Stress Index Short Form subscales. In addition, walking independently at 30 months and family resources at 12 months were associated with both family impact and parental stress. The overall negative family impact of caring for a child with spina bifida, up to 30 months of age, was significantly lower in the prenatal surgery group compared to the postnatal surgery group. Ambulation status and family resources were predictive of impact on family and parental stress. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Low self-esteem elicits greater mobilization of attentional resources toward emotional stimuli.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Haijiang; Yang, Juan

2013-08-26

Previous findings are generally consistent with the notion that individuals with low self-esteem tends to easily orient their attention on negative stimuli. The main objective of the present study was to further investigate the time course of attention deployment to positive (happy) and negative (angry) facial expressions in visual probe task using event-related potentials (ERP) technology in 15 high versus 15 low self-esteem participants while they viewed pairs of faces (e.g., happy face paired with neutral face or angry face paired with neutral face) shown for 500 ms and followed by a probe. Behavioral results showed that individuals with low self-esteem simply had faster manual reaction times on the entire task. ERP results showed that individuals with low self-esteem, but not high self-esteem, displayed increased P1 and N1 activity to both happy and angry facial expression. These findings suggest that emotional stimuli (angry faces and happy faces) elicited greater mobilization of attentional resources in individuals with low self-esteem. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Occurrence and impact of negative behaviour, including domestic violence and abuse, in men attending UK primary care health clinics: a cross-sectional survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Hester, M; Ferrari, G; Jones, S K; Williamson, E; Bacchus, L J; Peters, T J; Feder, G

2015-05-19

To measure the experience and perpetration of negative behaviour, including domestic violence and abuse (DVA), and investigate its associations with health conditions and behaviours in men attending general practice. Cross-sectional questionnaire-based study conducted between September 2010 and June 2011. 16 general practices in the south west of England. Male patients aged 18 or older, attending alone, who could read and write English. A total of 1403 of eligible patients (58%) participated in the survey and 1368 (56%) completed the questions relevant to this paper. 97% of respondents reported they were heterosexual. Lifetime occurrence of negative behaviour consistent with DVA, perceived health impact of negative behaviours, associations with anxiety and depression symptoms, and cannabis use in the past 12 months and binge drinking. 22.7% (95% CI 20.2% to 24.9%) of men reported ever experiencing negative behaviour (feeling frightened, physically hurt, forced sex, ask permission) from a partner. All negative behaviours were associated with a twofold to threefold increased odds of anxiety and depression symptoms in men experiencing or perpetrating negative behaviours or both. 34.9% (95% CI 28.7% to 41.7%) of men who reported experiencing negative behaviour from a partner, and 30.8% (95% CI 23.7% to 37.8%) of men who perpetrated negative behaviours said they had been in a domestically violent or abusive relationship. No associations with problematic drinking were found; there was a weak association with cannabis use. DVA is experienced or perpetrated by a large minority of men presenting to general practice, and these men were more likely to have current symptoms of depression and anxiety. Presentation of anxiety or depression to clinicians may be an indicator of male experience or perpetration of DVA victimisation. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Does the nutrition profile of vitamins, fatty acids and microelements counteract the negative impact from organohalogen pollutants on bone mineral density in Greenland sledge dogs (Canis familiaris)?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sonne, Christian; Riget, Frank F.; Jensen, Jens-Erik Beck

2008-01-01

using the present time frame and OHC concentrations (threshold levels not reached), or the difference in food composition (mainly vitamins and n3 fatty acids) conceal the potential OHC impact on BMD. Such information is important when evaluating the positive and negative health consequences from eating...

Have a little faith: measuring the impact of illness on positive and negative aspects of faith.

Science.gov (United States)

Salsman, John M; Garcia, Sofia F; Lai, Jin-Shei; Cella, David

2012-12-01

The importance of faith and its associations with health are well documented. As part of the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System, items tapping positive and negative impact of illness (PII and NII) were developed across four content domains: Coping/Stress Response, Self-Concept, Social Connection/Isolation, and Meaning and Spirituality. Faith items were included within the concept of meaning and spirituality. This measurement model was tested on a heterogeneous group of 509 cancer survivors. To evaluate dimensionality, we applied two bi-factor models, specifying a general factor (PII or NII) and four local factors: Coping/Stress Response, Self-Concept, Social Connection/Isolation, and Meaning and Spirituality. Bi-factor analysis supported sufficient unidimensionality within PII and NII item sets. The unidimensionality of both PII and NII item sets was enhanced by extraction of the faith items from the rest of the questions. Of the 10 faith items, nine demonstrated higher local than general factor loadings (range for local factor loadings = 0.402 to 0.876), suggesting utility as a separate but related 'faith' factor. The same was true for only two of the remaining 63 items across the PII and NII item sets. Although conceptually and to a degree empirically related to Meaning and Spirituality, Faith appears to be a distinct subdomain of PII and NII, better handled by distinct assessment. A 10-item measure of the impact of illness upon faith (II-Faith) was therefore assembled. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Negative Advertisements and Voter Turnout: The Evidence from Mexico

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Víctor A. Hernández-Huerta

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Despite abundant research in the field of negative campaigns, there is still inconclusive evidence about their effects on voter turnout. Additionally, the extant literature has focused mostly on the United States and more research is needed to understand the effects of negative campaigns in other contexts. In 2007, Mexican political parties amended the Constitution and banned the use of negative advertisements as a measure to avoid a “further damage to electoral participation,” despite arguments that this measure might impair freedom of speech. In this article, I hypothesize that the effects of negative advertisements on turnout are negligible in the Mexican case because it can be characterized as a fairly institutionalized multiparty system. Using a post-electoral survey of the 2006 presidential election in Mexico, I find that negative advertisements do not seem to have had an impact on turnout.

Nanocharacterization of the negative stiffness of ferroelectric materials

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Skandani, A.A.; Čtvrtlík, Radim; Al-Haik, M.

2014-01-01

Roč. 105, č. 8 (2014), "082906-1"-"082906-5" ISSN 0003-6951 R&D Projects: GA TA ČR TA03010743 Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : ferroelectric materials * negative stiffness * thermomechanical environments Subject RIV: JJ - Other Materials Impact factor: 3.302, year: 2014

NEVER forget: negative emotional valence enhances recapitulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Bowen, Holly J; Kark, Sarah M; Kensinger, Elizabeth A

2017-07-10

A hallmark feature of episodic memory is that of "mental time travel," whereby an individual feels they have returned to a prior moment in time. Cognitive and behavioral neuroscience methods have revealed a neurobiological counterpart: Successful retrieval often is associated with reactivation of a prior brain state. We review the emerging literature on memory reactivation and recapitulation, and we describe evidence for the effects of emotion on these processes. Based on this review, we propose a new model: Negative Emotional Valence Enhances Recapitulation (NEVER). This model diverges from existing models of emotional memory in three key ways. First, it underscores the effects of emotion during retrieval. Second, it stresses the importance of sensory processing to emotional memory. Third, it emphasizes how emotional valence - whether an event is negative or positive - affects the way that information is remembered. The model specifically proposes that, as compared to positive events, negative events both trigger increased encoding of sensory detail and elicit a closer resemblance between the sensory encoding signature and the sensory retrieval signature. The model also proposes that negative valence enhances the reactivation and storage of sensory details over offline periods, leading to a greater divergence between the sensory recapitulation of negative and positive memories over time. Importantly, the model proposes that these valence-based differences occur even when events are equated for arousal, thus rendering an exclusively arousal-based theory of emotional memory insufficient. We conclude by discussing implications of the model and suggesting directions for future research to test the tenets of the model.

Proficiency in positive vs. negative emotion identification and subjective well-being among long-term married elderly couples.

Science.gov (United States)

Petrican, Raluca; Moscovitch, Morris; Grady, Cheryl

2014-01-01

Evidence is accruing that positive emotions play a crucial role in shaping a healthy interpersonal climate. Inspired by this research, the current investigation sought to shed light on the link between proficiency in identifying positive vs. negative emotions and a close partner's well-being. To this end, we conducted two studies with neurologically intact elderly married couples (Study 1) and an age-matched clinical sample, comprising married couples in which one spouse had been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease (Study 2), which tends to hinder emotional expressivity. To assess proficiency in identifying emotions from whole body postures, we had participants in both studies complete a pointlight walker task, featuring four actors (two male, two female) expressing one positive (i.e., happiness) and three negative (i.e., sadness, anger, fear) basic emotions. Participants also filled out measures of subjective well-being. Among Study 1's neurologically intact spouses, greater expertise in identifying positive (but not negative) emotions was linked to greater partner life satisfaction (but not hedonic balance). Spouses of PD patients exhibited increased proficiency in identifying positive emotions relative to controls, possibly reflective of compensatory mechanisms. Complementarily, relative to controls, spouses of PD patients exhibited reduced proficiency in identifying negative emotions and a tendency to underestimate their intensity. Importantly, all of these effects attenuated with longer years from PD onset. Finally, there was evidence that it was increased partner expertise in identifying negative (rather than positive) emotional states that predicted greater life satisfaction levels among the PD patients and their spouses. Our results thus suggest that positive vs. negative emotions may play distinct roles in close relationship dynamics as a function of neurological status and disability trajectory.

Emotion recognition in borderline personality disorder: effects of emotional information on negative bias.

Science.gov (United States)

Fenske, Sabrina; Lis, Stefanie; Liebke, Lisa; Niedtfeld, Inga; Kirsch, Peter; Mier, Daniela

2015-01-01

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is characterized by severe deficits in social interactions, which might be linked to deficits in emotion recognition. Research on emotion recognition abilities in BPD revealed heterogeneous results, ranging from deficits to heightened sensitivity. The most stable findings point to an impairment in the evaluation of neutral facial expressions as neutral, as well as to a negative bias in emotion recognition; that is the tendency to attribute negative emotions to neutral expressions, or in a broader sense to report a more negative emotion category than depicted. However, it remains unclear which contextual factors influence the occurrence of this negative bias. Previous studies suggest that priming by preceding emotional information and also constrained processing time might augment the emotion recognition deficit in BPD. To test these assumptions, 32 female BPD patients and 31 healthy females, matched for age and education, participated in an emotion recognition study, in which every facial expression was preceded by either a positive, neutral or negative scene. Furthermore, time constraints for processing were varied by presenting the facial expressions with short (100 ms) or long duration (up to 3000 ms) in two separate blocks. BPD patients showed a significant deficit in emotion recognition for neutral and positive facial expression, associated with a significant negative bias. In BPD patients, this emotion recognition deficit was differentially affected by preceding emotional information and time constraints, with a greater influence of emotional information during long face presentations and a greater influence of neutral information during short face presentations. Our results are in line with previous findings supporting the existence of a negative bias in emotion recognition in BPD patients, and provide further insights into biased social perceptions in BPD patients.

Two-dimensional simulation of positive and negative streamers in air

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Babaeva, N.Yu.; Naidis, G.V.

1998-01-01

The paper deals with 2D numerical simulation of positive and negative streamers in air at atmospheric pressure. The dynamics of an axially symmetric streamer based on a charged sphere is described by a coupled system of equations for the electric field and the density of charged particles. The results of simulation show that the production rate of radicals in short sphere-plane gaps depends only weakly on the discharge conditions, that the streamer velocity in uniform field depends linearly on the streamer length, and the field corresponding to the negative streamer propagation with a constant velocity is 2-3 times greater than that obtained with a positive streamer. (J.U.)

Psychological well-being, dental esthetics, and psychosocial impacts in adolescent orthodontic patients: A prospective longitudinal study.

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Xiao; Wang, Yun-Ji; Deng, Feng; Liu, Pang-Li; Wu, Yan

2018-01-01

We examined the role of adolescent orthodontic patients' psychological well-being attributes (self-esteem, general body image, and positive and negative affects) and the clinical indicators of dental esthetics (orthodontists' ratings on the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need-Aesthetic Component [IOTN-AC]), and their changes from pretreatment to posttreatment as predictors of the psychosocial impact of dental esthetics. In this prospective longitudinal study, 1090 adolescent orthodontic patients seeking treatment at the Stomatological Hospital of Chongqing Medical University in China (mean age, 14.25 years; SD, 2.03 years) were assessed before treatment, and 68.99% (n = 752) were assessed after treatment. All subjects completed a questionnaire measuring psychological well-being attributes and 3 components of the Psychosocial Impact of Dental Aesthetics (perceptive, cognitive-affective, and social-functional). Clinical indicators of dental esthetics were measured by 3 orthodontists using the IOTN-AC. Substantial enhancement from pretreatment to posttreatment was found in all 3 Psychosocial Impacts of Dental Aesthetics components, confirming the positive effects of orthodontic treatment on oral health-related quality of life. Psychosocial impact of dental esthetics at baseline and improvement from pretreatment to posttreatment were found to be predicted by the patients' psychological well-being attributes (self-esteem, general body image, and negative affect) and the clinical indicators (orthodontists' rating on the IOTN-AC) at baseline, as well as their pretreatment to posttreatment change. Psychological well-being attributes had comparable or greater contribution to the Psychosocial Impact of Dental Aesthetics at baseline as well as greater improvement after treatment than the clinical indicators. These biopsychological models explained 29% to 43% of the variances in psychosocial impacts of dental esthetics outcome at baseline and about 33% of the variance in

Lower limb and associated injuries in frontal-impact road traffic collisions.

Science.gov (United States)

Ammori, Mohannad B; Eid, Hani O; Abu-Zidan, Fikri M

2016-03-01

To study the relationship between severity of injury of the lower limb and severity of injury of the head, thoracic, and abdominal regions in frontal-impact road traffic collisions. Consecutive hospitalised trauma patients who were involved in a frontal road traffic collision were prospectively studied over 18 months. Patients with at least one Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) ≥3 or AIS 2 injuries within two AIS body regions were included. Patients were divided into two groups depending on the severity of injury to the head, chest or abdomen. Low severity group had an AIS chest or abdominal injuries. Eighty-five patients were studied. The backward likelihood logistic regression model defining independent factors affecting severity of head injuries was highly significant (p =0.01, nagelkerke r square = 0.1) severity of lower limb injuries was the only significant factor (p=0.013) having a negative correlation with head injury (Odds ratio of 0.64 (95% CI: 0.45-0.91). Occupants who sustain a greater severity of injury to the lower limb in a frontal-impact collision are likely to be spared from a greater severity of head injury.

Investigating the psychometric properties of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale for South African residents of Greater Pretoria.

Science.gov (United States)

Westaway, Margaret S; Jordaan, Esmè R; Tsai, Jennifer

2015-06-01

Interviewers administered the Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale (RSES) to five groups of Black (formal township and informal settlement), White, Indian, and mixed race adult residents of Greater Pretoria. The results demonstrated that the RSES was psychometrically sound for the five groups. The minimal effects of sociodemographic characteristics on global self-esteem showed that the RSES and its two dimensions, self-competence (SC) and self-liking (SL), were suitable in this setting. All five groups scored above the theoretical midpoint of the RSES, indicating that generally positive self-evaluations appear to be universal. The relationships between positively and negatively worded items, SC, and SL attested to the following: internal structure reliability, congruence between positive and negative items, no negative biases in response, and concordance between SC and SL dimensions. The significant differences between informal settlement residents and the other four groups on global self-esteem, positively and negatively worded items, and SC and SL were possibly due to physiological needs taking precedence over higher order needs. © The Author(s) 2013.

Differential Effects of Positive versus Negative Self-Involving Counselor Responses.

Science.gov (United States)

Remer, Pam; And Others

1983-01-01

Investigated the effects of positive and negative counselor disclosure using typescripts of hypothetical counseling interviews. Results indicated impact of condition was mixed, with each having some desirable effects. (PAS)

The impact of taxing working memory on negative and positive memories

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Engelhard, I.M.; van Uijen, S.L.; Van den Hout, M.A.

2010-01-01

BACKGROUND: Earlier studies have shown that horizontal eye movement (EM) during retrieval of a negative memory reduces its vividness and emotionality. This may be due to both tasks competing for working memory (WM) resources. This study examined whether playing the computer game "Tetris" also blurs

Ecological complexity buffers the impacts of future climate on marine consumers

Science.gov (United States)

Goldenberg, Silvan U.; Nagelkerken, Ivan; Marangon, Emma; Bonnet, Angélique; Ferreira, Camilo M.; Connell, Sean D.

2018-03-01

Ecological complexity represents a network of interacting components that either propagate or counter the effects of environmental change on individuals and communities1-3. Yet, our understanding of the ecological imprint of ocean acidification (elevated CO2) and climate change (elevated temperature) is largely based on reports of negative effects on single species in simplified laboratory systems4,5. By combining a large mesocosm experiment with a global meta-analysis, we reveal the capacity of consumers (fish and crustaceans) to resist the impacts of elevated CO2. While individual behaviours were impaired by elevated CO2, consumers could restore their performances in more complex environments that allowed for compensatory processes. Consequently, consumers maintained key traits such as foraging, habitat selection and predator avoidance despite elevated CO2 and sustained their populations. Our observed increase in risk-taking under elevated temperature, however, predicts greater vulnerability of consumers to predation. Yet, CO2 as a resource boosted the biomass of consumers through species interactions and may stabilize communities by countering the negative effects of elevated temperature. We conclude that compensatory dynamics inherent in the complexity of nature can buffer the impacts of future climate on species and their communities.

Public understanding of environmental impacts of electricity deregulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, Branden B.; Frank, Pamela G.

2006-01-01

Electricity deregulation has aroused concern that environmental quality might be harmed by consumer preferences for cheap, 'dirty' (e.g., coal) electricity products, despite the perhaps stronger influence of supply side policy on environmental impacts. This outcome depends on public understanding of the environmental impacts of their decisions, which this study explored with interviews, focus groups, and surveys in New Jersey. People had thought little about the topic, were unable to articulate how electricity production might affect the environment except in very general terms, and were mostly unwilling to guess whether deregulation's impacts would be negative, neutral or positive. Those who did guess expected negative impacts less than any other kind. Reactions to specific 'reasons' for expecting no, positive or negative impacts suggested that consumers had little structure to their mental models in this area; for example, people who thought positive-impact reasons were probably true were not necessarily likely to see negative-impact reasons as probably false. However, in the aggregate, people seemed to have a fairly consistent ranking of energy sources by expected negative environmental impacts. Earlier research found that consumers comparing two electricity products on environmental impacts reached different decisions if they had energy-source-only or energy-source-plus-emissions information. Although regulator-required 'environmental labels' for electricity products provide both source and emissions data, it is not clear that they do an adequate job of both alerting consumers to the possibility of negative environmental impacts and identifying the relative life-cycle impacts of different products so as to produce informed consumer decisions

Negative ions as a source of low energy neutral beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fink, J.H.

1980-01-01

Little consideration has been given to the impact of recent developments in negative ion source technology on the design of low energy neutral beam injectors. However, negative ion sources of improved operating efficiency, higher gas efficiency, and smaller beam divergence will lead to neutral deuterium injectors, operating at less than 100 keV, with better operating efficiencies and more compact layouts than can be obtained from positive ion systems.

Negative ions as a source of low energy neutral beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fink, J.H.

1980-01-01

Little consideration has been given to the impact of recent developments in negative ion source technology on the design of low energy neutral beam injectors. However, negative ion sources of improved operating efficiency, higher gas efficiency, and smaller beam divergence will lead to neutral deuterium injectors, operating at less than 100 keV, with better operating efficiencies and more compact layouts than can be obtained from positive ion systems

The impact of screening-test negative samples not enumerated by MPN

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Corbellini, Luis Gustavo; Ribeiro Duarte, Ana Sofia; de Knegt, Leonardo

2015-01-01

that includes false negative results from the screening, and a third that considers the entire data set. The relative sensitivity of the screening test was also calculated assuming as gold standard samples with confirmed Salmonella. Salmonella was confirmed by a reference laboratory in 29 samples either...

Negative Plant-Soil Feedback and Positive Species Interaction in a Herbaceous Plant Community

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bonanomi, G.; Rietkerk, M.; Dekker, S.C.; Mazzoleni, S.

2005-01-01

Increasing evidence shows that facilitative interaction and negative plant¿soil feedback are driving factors of plant population dynamics and community processes. We studied the intensity and the relative impact of negative feedback on clonal growth and seed germination of Scirpus holoschoenus, a

Negative Plant–Soil Feedback and Positive Species Interaction in a Herbaceous Plant Community

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bonanomi, G.; Rietkerk, M.G.; Dekker, S.C.; Mazzoleni, S.

2005-01-01

Increasing evidence shows that facilitative interaction and negative plant–soil feedback are driving factors of plant population dynamics and community processes. We studied the intensity and the relative impact of negative feedback on clonal growth and seed germination of Scirpus holoschoenus, a

Analysing Users' Satisfaction with E-Learning Using a Negative Critical Incidents Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Nian-Shing; Lin, Kan-Min; Kinshuk

2008-01-01

One critical success factor for e-learning is learners' satisfaction with it. This is affected by both positive and negative experiences in a learning process. This paper examines the impact of such critical incidents on learners' satisfaction in e-learning. In particular, frequent occurrence of negative critical incidents has significant…

Attachment's Links With Adolescents' Social Emotions: The Roles of Negative Emotionality and Emotion Regulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, Tia Panfile; Laible, Deborah J; Augustine, Mairin; Robeson, Lindsay

2015-01-01

Recent research has attempted to explain the mechanisms through which parental attachment affects social and emotional outcomes (e.g., Burnette, Taylor, Worthington, & Forsyth, 2007 ; Panfile & Laible, 2012 ). The authors' goal was to examine negative emotionality and emotion regulation as mediators of the associations that attachment has with empathy, forgiveness, guilt, and jealousy. One hundred forty-eight adolescents reported their parental attachment security, general levels of negative emotionality and abilities to regulate emotional responses, and tendencies to feel empathy, forgiveness, guilt, and jealousy. Results revealed that attachment security was associated with higher levels of empathy, forgiveness, and guilt, but lower levels of jealousy. In addition, emotion regulation mediated the links attachment shared with both empathy and guilt, such that higher levels of attachment security were linked with greater levels of emotion regulation, which led to greater levels of empathy and guilt. Alternatively, negative emotionality mediated the links attachment shared with both forgiveness and jealousy, such that higher levels of attachment security were associated with lower levels of negative emotionality, which in turn was linked to lower levels of forgiveness and higher levels of jealousy. This study provides a general picture of how attachment security may play a role in shaping an individual's levels of social emotions.

[How children show positive and negative relationships on their drawings].

Science.gov (United States)

Gramel, Sabine

2005-01-01

This study analyses, whether pictures of children showing a positive relationship are significantly different from those showing a negative one with respect to several criteria. The study involved a random selection of 45 children aged 4;6 to 11;6 years. The children painted a picture with themselves and a person they liked and a picture of themselves with someone they disliked. For the most part, the children drew pictures of themselves with peers both with respect to positive as well as negative images. In an interview afterwards, the children specified the criteria in their drawings by which the quality of the particular relationship can be identified. Positive and negative relationship paintings differ in the character of activity described. The sun as an element in children's paintings is painted not more frequent on positive compared to negative pictures. The colour black is used more often in the drawings signifying negative relationships. While girls used more colour in negative relationship drawings, boys used more colour in the positive ones. There was no significant difference in the use of favourite colours and decorative elements between the two groups. Only in negative relationship drawings people were looking away from each other. Smiling individuals were more common in the positive relationship pictures and in pictures painted by the 6 to 8 year olds. A greater distance between the individuals emerged on negative relationship drawings of the girls.

Reward learning and negative emotion during rapid attentional competition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takemasa eYokoyama

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Learned stimulus-reward associations influence how attention is allocated, such that stimuli rewarded in the past are favored in situations involving limited resources and competition. At the same time, task-irrelevant, high-arousal negative stimuli capture attention and divert resources away from tasks resulting in poor behavioral performance. Yet, investigations of how reward learning and negative stimuli affect perceptual and attentional processing have been conducted in a largely independent fashion. We have recently reported that performance-based monetary rewards reduce negative stimuli interference during perception. The goal of the present study was to investigate how stimuli associated with past monetary rewards compete with negative stimuli during a subsequent attentional task when, critically, no performance-based rewards were at stake. Across two experiments, we found that target stimuli that were associated with high reward reduced the interference effect of potent, negative distractors. Similar to our recent findings with performance-based rewards, our results demonstrate that reward-associated stimuli reduce the deleterious impact of negative stimuli on behavior.

Incisional Negative Pressure Wound Therapy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hyldig, Nana

the rate of surgical wound infection and wound exudate post-caesarean and that wound infection had a negative impact on quality of life one month after surgery. Alongside the clinical trial, a trial-based cost-effectiveness analysis demonstrated that the treatment is cost-effective in a high......Women with a pre-gestational body mass index (BMI) above 30 kg/m2 giving birth by caesarean section are at high risk of surgical wound infection compared with women with a BMI below 30 kg/m2. Incisional Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (iNPWT) is one strategy to reduce the rate of surgical wound...... a randomised controlled trial in two tertiary and three teaching hospitals in three regions of Denmark, the Happy Belly Study, investigating the effectiveness of iNPWT in a population of obese women after caesarean section. The Happy Belly Study has demonstrated that prophylactic iNPWT significantly reduced...

Stomaching rejection: Self-compassion and self-esteem moderate the impact of daily social rejection on restrictive eating behaviours among college women.

Science.gov (United States)

Beekman, Janine B; Stock, Michelle L; Howe, George W

2017-11-01

The present study examined whether having high self-esteem or a self-compassionate perspective help mitigate the impact of daily social rejection on negative affect and restrictive eating behaviours. Following a baseline survey assessing self-esteem and self-compassion, 121 college women completed online daily diaries for one week. Negative affect and restrictive eating behaviours. On days when women reported more rejection, they also reported higher restrictive eating behaviours and greater negative affect. Effects were moderated by self-esteem and self-compassion, such that the lower participants were in self-esteem or self-compassion, the stronger the positive relation between rejection and negative affect and restrictive eating. However, only the common humanity/isolation dimension of self-compassion significantly moderated daily effects of rejection when controlling for self-esteem. Mediated moderation results reveal different mechanisms by which self-esteem and self-compassion buffer against rejections' effects on affect and restrictive eating. Self-compassion and self-esteem influence the complex impact that social rejection has on affect and restrictive eating. More than other dimensions of self-compassion or self-esteem, remembering one's common humanity can result in a healthier response to social rejection.

Transport of negative ions across a double sheath with a virtual cathode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McAdams, R; King, D B; Surrey, E; Holmes, A J T

2011-01-01

A one-dimensional analytical model of the sheath in a negative ion source, such as those proposed for heating and diagnostic beams on present and future fusion devices, has been developed. The model, which is collisionless, describes the transport of surface produced negative ions from a cathode, across the sheath to a plasma containing electrons, positive ions and negative ions. It accounts for the situation where the emitted flux of negative ions is greater than the space charge limit, where the electric field at the cathode is negative, and a virtual cathode is formed. It is shown that, in the presence of a virtual cathode, there is a maximum current density of negative ions that can be transported across the sheath into the plasma. Furthermore, for high rates of surface production the virtual cathode persists regardless of the negative bias applied to the cathode, so that the current density transported across the sheath is limited. This is a significant observation and implies that present negative ion sources may not be exploiting all of the surface production available. The model is used to calculate the transported negative ion flux in a number of examples. The limitations of the model and proposed future work are also discussed.

Impact of distracted driving on safety and traffic flow.

Science.gov (United States)

Stavrinos, Despina; Jones, Jennifer L; Garner, Annie A; Griffin, Russell; Franklin, Crystal A; Ball, David; Welburn, Sharon C; Ball, Karlene K; Sisiopiku, Virginia P; Fine, Philip R

2013-12-01

Studies have documented a link between distracted driving and diminished safety; however, an association between distracted driving and traffic congestion has not been investigated in depth. The present study examined the behavior of teens and young adults operating a driving simulator while engaged in various distractions (i.e., cell phone, texting, and undistracted) and driving conditions (i.e., free flow, stable flow, and oversaturation). Seventy five participants 16-25 years of age (split into 2 groups: novice drivers and young adults) drove a STISIM simulator three times, each time with one of three randomly presented distractions. Each drive was designed to represent daytime scenery on a 4 lane divided roadway and included three equal roadway portions representing Levels of Service (LOS) A, C, and E as defined in the 2000 Highway Capacity Manual. Participants also completed questionnaires documenting demographics and driving history. Both safety and traffic flow related driving outcomes were considered. A Repeated Measures Multivariate Analysis of Variance was employed to analyze continuous outcome variables and a Generalized Estimate Equation (GEE) Poisson model was used to analyze count variables. Results revealed that, in general more lane deviations and crashes occurred during texting. Distraction (in most cases, text messaging) had a significantly negative impact on traffic flow, such that participants exhibited greater fluctuation in speed, changed lanes significantly fewer times, and took longer to complete the scenario. In turn, more simulated vehicles passed the participant drivers while they were texting or talking on a cell phone than while undistracted. The results indicate that distracted driving, particularly texting, may lead to reduced safety and traffic flow, thus having a negative impact on traffic operations. No significant differences were detected between age groups, suggesting that all drivers, regardless of age, may drive in a manner

Be kind to your eating disorder patients: the impact of positive and negative feedback on the explicit and implicit self-esteem of female patients with eating disorders

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vanderlinden, J.; Kamphuis, J.H.; Slagmolen, C.; Wigboldus, D.; Pieters, G.; Probst, M.

2009-01-01

OBJECTIVE: Lack of self-esteem may play an important role in the development of eating disorders (ED). This study investigated the differential impact of positive and negative feedback on implicit and explicit self-esteem in women with an ED (N=25) as compared to women without an ED (N=29). METHOD:

Be kind to your eating disorder patients: The impact of positive and negative feedback on the explicit and implicit self-esteem of female patients with eating disorders

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vanderlinden, J.; Kamphuis, J.H.; Slagmolen, C.J.J.; Wigboldus, D.H.J.; Pieters, G.; Probst, M.

2009-01-01

OBJECTIVE: Lack of self-esteem may play an important role in the development of eating disorders (ED). This study investigated the differential impact of positive and negative feedback on implicit and explicit self-esteem in women with an ED (N=25) as compared to women without an ED (N=29). METHOD:

Schizotypy and specificity of negative emotions on an emotional Stroop paradigm in the general population.

Science.gov (United States)

Yaffe, Beril; Walder, Deborah J

2016-05-30

Attentional-interference using emotional Stroop tasks (ESTs) is greater among individuals in the general population with positive (versus negative) schizotypal traits; specifically in response to negatively (versus positively) valenced words, potentially capturing threat-sensitivity. Variability in attentional-interference as a function of subcategories of negatively valenced words (and in relation to schizotypal traits) remains underexplored in EST studies. We examined attentional-interference across negative word subcategories (fear/anger/sadness/disgust), and in relation to positive schizotypy, among non-clinical individuals in the general population reporting varying degrees of schizotypal traits. As hypothesized, performance differed across word subcategories, though the pattern varied from expectation. Attentional-interference was greater for fear and sadness compared to anger; and analogous for fear, disgust, and sadness. In the high schizotypy group, positive schizotypal traits were directly associated with attentional-interference to disgust. Attentional-interference was comparable between high- and low-positive schizotypy. Results suggest negative emotion subcategories may differentially reflect threat-sensitivity. Disgust-sensitivity may be particularly salient in (non-clinical) positive schizotypy. Findings have implications for understanding negative emotion specificity and variability in stimulus presentation modality when studying threat-related attentional-interference. Finally, disgust-related attentional-interference may serve as a cognitive correlate of (non-clinical) positive schizotypy. Expanding this research to prodromal populations will help explore disgust-related attentional-interference as a potential cognitive marker of positive symptoms. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Greater-confinement disposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trevorrow, L.E.; Schubert, J.P.

1989-01-01

Greater-confinement disposal (GCD) is a general term for low-level waste (LLW) disposal technologies that employ natural and/or engineered barriers and provide a degree of confinement greater than that of shallow-land burial (SLB) but possibly less than that of a geologic repository. Thus GCD is associated with lower risk/hazard ratios than SLB. Although any number of disposal technologies might satisfy the definition of GCD, eight have been selected for consideration in this discussion. These technologies include: (1) earth-covered tumuli, (2) concrete structures, both above and below grade, (3) deep trenches, (4) augered shafts, (5) rock cavities, (6) abandoned mines, (7) high-integrity containers, and (8) hydrofracture. Each of these technologies employ several operations that are mature,however, some are at more advanced stages of development and demonstration than others. Each is defined and further described by information on design, advantages and disadvantages, special equipment requirements, and characteristic operations such as construction, waste emplacement, and closure

Relationships between meaning in life, social and achievement events, and positive and negative affect in daily life.

Science.gov (United States)

Machell, Kyla A; Kashdan, Todd B; Short, Jerome L; Nezlek, John B

2015-06-01

Research on meaning in life has generally focused on global meaning judgments. This study examined how people's daily experiences, represented by events that occur in daily life, influence their perceived sense of meaning on a daily basis. One hundred sixty-two college students completed daily reports for 2 weeks. We examined the relationships among daily social and achievement events, daily positive and negative affect, and daily meaning in life. In addition, we tested the possible moderating influence of depressive symptoms on these relationships. Positive daily social and achievement events were related to greater daily meaning, above and beyond the contributions of daily positive and negative affect. Negative social and achievement events were related to less daily meaning, and negative achievement events covaried with daily meaning above and beyond positive and negative affect. Depression moderated the relationships between positive events and meaning, such that people who reported more depressive symptoms had greater increases in daily meaning in response to positive social and achievement events than individuals who reported fewer symptoms. These findings suggest the important role that daily events may play in fluctuations in people's affective experiences and sense of meaning in life. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

High water availability increases the negative impact of a native hemiparasite on its non-native host.

Science.gov (United States)

Cirocco, Robert M; Facelli, José M; Watling, Jennifer R

2016-03-01

Environmental factors alter the impacts of parasitic plants on their hosts. However, there have been no controlled studies on how water availability modulates stem hemiparasites' effects on hosts. A glasshouse experiment was conducted to investigate the association between the Australian native stem hemiparasite Cassytha pubescens and the introduced host Ulex europaeus under high (HW) and low (LW) water supply. Cassytha pubescens had a significant, negative effect on the total biomass of U. europaeus, which was more severe in HW than LW. Regardless of watering treatment, infection significantly decreased shoot and root biomass, nodule biomass, nodule biomass per unit root biomass, F v/F m, and nitrogen concentration of U. europaeus. Host spine sodium concentration significantly increased in response to infection in LW but not HW conditions. Host water potential was significantly higher in HW than in LW, which may have allowed the parasite to maintain higher stomatal conductances in HW. In support of this, the δ(13)C of the parasite was significantly lower in HW than in LW (and significantly higher than the host). C. pubescens also had significantly higher F v/F m and 66% higher biomass per unit host in the HW compared with the LW treatment. The data suggest that the enhanced performance of C. pubescens in HW resulted in higher parasite growth rates and thus a larger demand for resources from the host, leading to poorer host performance in HW compared with LW. C. pubescens should more negatively affect U. europaeus growth under wet conditions rather than under dry conditions in the field. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology.

Modifying adolescent interpretation biases through cognitive training: effects on negative affect and stress appraisals.

Science.gov (United States)

Telman, Machteld D; Holmes, Emily A; Lau, Jennifer Y F

2013-10-01

Adolescent anxiety is common, impairing and costly. Given the scale of adolescent anxiety and its impact, fresh innovations for therapy are in demand. Cognitive Bias Modification of Interpretations (CBM-I) studies of adults show that by training individuals to endorse benign interpretations of ambiguous situations can improve anxious mood-states particularly in response towards stress. While, these investigations have been partially extended to adolescents with success, inconsistent training effects on anxious mood-states have been found. The present study investigated whether positive versus negative CBM-I training influenced appraisals of stress, in forty-nine adolescents, aged 15-18. Data supported the plasticity of interpretational styles, with positively-trained adolescents selecting more benign resolutions of new ambiguous situations, than negatively-trained adolescents. Positively-trained adolescents also rated recent stressors as having less impact on their lives than negatively-trained adolescents. Thus, while negative styles may increase negative responses towards stress, positive styles may boost resilience.

Negative Effects of Psychological Treatments: An Exploratory Factor Analysis of the Negative Effects Questionnaire for Monitoring and Reporting Adverse and Unwanted Events.

Science.gov (United States)

Rozental, Alexander; Kottorp, Anders; Boettcher, Johanna; Andersson, Gerhard; Carlbring, Per

2016-01-01

Research conducted during the last decades has provided increasing evidence for the use of psychological treatments for a number of psychiatric disorders and somatic complaints. However, by focusing only on the positive outcomes, less attention has been given to the potential of negative effects. Despite indications of deterioration and other adverse and unwanted events during treatment, little is known about their occurrence and characteristics. Hence, in order to facilitate research of negative effects, a new instrument for monitoring and reporting their incidence and impact was developed using a consensus among researchers, self-reports by patients, and a literature review: the Negative Effects Questionnaire. Participants were recruited via a smartphone-delivered self-help treatment for social anxiety disorder and through the media (N = 653). An exploratory factor analysis was performed, resulting in a six-factor solution with 32 items, accounting for 57.64% of the variance. The derived factors were: symptoms, quality, dependency, stigma, hopelessness, and failure. Items related to unpleasant memories, stress, and anxiety were experienced by more than one-third of the participants. Further, increased or novel symptoms, as well as lack of quality in the treatment and therapeutic relationship rendered the highest self-reported negative impact. In addition, the findings were discussed in relation to prior research and other similar instruments of adverse and unwanted events, giving credence to the items that are included. The instrument is presently available in eleven different languages and can be freely downloaded and used from www.neqscale.com.

The Interrelation of Prayer and Worship Service Attendance in Moderating the Negative Impact of Life Event Stressors on Mental Well-Being.

Science.gov (United States)

Rainville, G

2017-09-13

The interrelation of worship service attendance and private prayer in moderating the negative impact of life event stressors on mental well-being is examined using hierarchical multiple regressions on a national sample of 2601 Americans. A theoretical model is proposed in which stressful life events are made less distressing under conditions in which exposure to pro-social content at worship services is internalized through frequent private prayer. Interactive models controlling for a block of potential confounds are run to confirm that the stress-moderating effects of worship service attendance are noted only when attendance is complemented by relatively frequent engagement in private prayer.

Evaluating the "Threshold Theory": Can Head Impact Indicators Help?

Science.gov (United States)

Mihalik, Jason P; Lynall, Robert C; Wasserman, Erin B; Guskiewicz, Kevin M; Marshall, Stephen W

2017-02-01

This study aimed to determine the clinical utility of biomechanical head impact indicators by measuring the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PV+), and negative predictive value (PV-) of multiple thresholds. Head impact biomechanics (n = 283,348) from 185 football players in one Division I program were collected. A multidisciplinary clinical team independently made concussion diagnoses (n = 24). We dichotomized each impact using diagnosis (yes = 24, no = 283,324) and across a range of plausible impact indicator thresholds (10g increments beginning with a resultant linear head acceleration of 50g and ending with 120g). Some thresholds had adequate sensitivity, specificity, and PV-. All thresholds had low PV+, with the best recorded PV+ less than 0.4% when accounting for all head impacts sustained by our sample. Even when conservatively adjusting the frequency of diagnosed concussions by a factor of 5 to account for unreported/undiagnosed injuries, the PV+ of head impact indicators at any threshold was no greater than 1.94%. Although specificity and PV- appear high, the low PV+ would generate many unnecessary evaluations if these indicators were the sole diagnostic criteria. The clinical diagnostic value of head impact indicators is considerably questioned by these data. Notwithstanding, valid sensor technologies continue to offer objective data that have been used to improve player safety and reduce injury risk.

Impact of HBV genotype and mutations on HBV DNA and qHBsAg levels in patients with HBeAg-negative chronic HBV infection.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuhnhenn, L; Jiang, B; Kubesch, A; Vermehren, J; Knop, V; Susser, S; Dietz, J; Carra, G; Finkelmeier, F; Grammatikos, G; Zeuzem, S; Sarrazin, C; Hildt, E; Peiffer, K-H

2018-04-10

HBV DNA and quantitative (q)HBsAg levels as prognostic markers for HBV-related disease are mostly validated in Asia and their significance in Western populations is uncertain. To analyse the impact of the HBV genotype and frequent mutations in precore (PC), basal core promoter (BCP) and preS on HBV DNA and qHBsAg levels. HBV DNA and qHBsAg serum levels of 465 patients with HBeAg-negative chronic HBV infection were correlated with the HBV genotype and mutations in PC, BCP and preS. For a detailed analysis of the molecular virology, genotype A2 genomes harbouring these mutations were analysed for replication efficacy and HBsAg release in cell culture. While no impact of the HBV genotype on HBV DNA levels was observed, qHBsAg levels differed up to 1.4 log among the genotypes (P HBV DNA levels (P HBV genome harbouring a preS deletion. In contrast, a perinuclear HBsAg accumulation was detected for the PC and BCP-variants, reflecting an impaired HBsAg release. qHBsAg serum levels depend on the HBV genotype and together with HBV DNA levels on frequent mutations in PC, BCP and preS in HBeAg-negative patients. qHBsAg cut-offs when used as prognostic markers require genotype-dependent validation. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Memory for media: investigation of false memories for negatively and positively charged public events.

Science.gov (United States)

Porter, Stephen; Taylor, Kristian; Ten Brinke, Leanne

2008-01-01

Despite a large body of false memory research, little has addressed the potential influence of an event's emotional content on susceptibility to false recollections. The Paradoxical Negative Emotion (PNE) hypothesis predicts that negative emotion generally facilitates memory but also heightens susceptibility to false memories. Participants were asked whether they could recall 20 "widely publicised" public events (half fictitious) ranging in emotional valence, with or without visual cues. Participants recalled a greater number of true negative events (M=3.31/5) than true positive (M=2.61/5) events. Nearly everyone (95%) came to recall at least one false event (M=2.15 false events recalled). Further, more than twice as many participants recalled any false negative (90%) compared to false positive (41.7%) events. Negative events, in general, were associated with more detailed memories and false negative event memories were more detailed than false positive event memories. Higher dissociation scores were associated with false recollections of negative events, specifically.

Neural substrates of negativity bias in women with and without major depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Gollan, Jackie K; Connolly, Megan; Buchanan, Angel; Hoxha, Denada; Rosebrock, Laina; Cacioppo, John; Csernansky, John; Wang, Xue

2015-07-01

The functional localization of negativity bias, an influential index of emotion information processing, has yet to be identified. Depressed (n=47) and healthy participants (n=58) completed a clinical interview for DSM-IV Axis I disorders, symptom checklists, a behavioral task to measure negativity bias, and then viewed positive and negative images of social and nonsocial scenes during an event-related fMRI task. Two subsamples of participants with high (i.e., 75%; n=26) and low (i.e., 25%; n=26) negativity bias scores were as included in subsequent analyses to examine neural differences. Depressed participants with a higher, relative to lower, negative bias showed significantly greater neural activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus. High negativity bias evokes a distinctive pattern of brain activation in the frontal cortex of depressed participants. Increased activation occurred in the left inferior frontal gyrus, related to Brodmann area 44, which is associated with language and semantic processing, response inhibition, and cognitive reappraisal. This finding may reflect an abnormality in integrative emotional processing rather than processing of individual emotional dimensions in depressed participants with negativity bias. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The impact of citizenship on intermarriage: Quasi-experimental evidence from two European Union Eastern enlargements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Davide Azzolini

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Background: According to assimilation theory, the more immigrants are integrated within host countries the more likely they are to intermarry. However, status exchange theory argues instead that when integration is low, immigrants may use intermarriage as a means of improving their integration prospects in host countries, in which case an increase in levels of integration would reduce immigrants' propensity to intermarry. Objective: To test these two hypotheses, this paper assesses the causal effect of a positive shift in immigrants' level of integration, namely the acquisition of citizenship, on intermarriage in Italy. Over the past 20 years Italy has experienced an unprecedented growth in intermarriage involving primarily Eastern European women. Methods: We study two EU Eastern enlargements, following which citizens of the new EU member countries became EU citizens and thus experienced a marked improvement in their legal status. We apply the synthetic control method to data on marriages between native men and foreign women. Results: We find that the acquisition of citizenship has a significant negative impact on immigrant women's propensity to marry native men. That impact is much greater for immigrants coming from less affluent countries. Conclusions: Our results support the status exchange hypothesis. This can be explained by the poor socioeconomic integration and precarious legal status of immigrants in Italy. Contribution: The growth of intermarriage per se cannot be seen as an indicator of greater immigrant integration. The negative impact of citizenship acquisition on immigrants' propensity to intermarry also calls for a rethinking of the role of institutions such as marriage and citizenship in the process of immigrant integration.

Radiation quality of beams of negative pions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dicello, J.F.; Brenner, D.J.

1981-01-01

As a negative pion stops in tissue, it attaches itself to an adjacent atom to form a mesonic atom. Subsequently, the wave function of the pion interacts with that of the nucleus and the pion is absorbed. Because the energy associated with the rest mass of the pion is greater than the separation energy of the nuclear particles, the nucleus disintegrates (pion star). In tissue, approximately 40 MeV goes into overcoming the binding energies; 20 MeV goes into kinetic energy of charged particles; 80 MeV goes into kinetic energy of neutrons. In cases where biological studies are performed with beams of negative pions, as much as 20% of the total absorbed dose in the treatment volume and about 50% of the high-LET dose (> 100 keV/μm) can result from neutrons. The degree of biological response and the variation of that response throughout the treatment volume can be altered by the neutron dose

Recent negative ion source developments at ORNL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alton, G.D.

1979-01-01

According to specifications written for the 25 MV ORNL tandem accelerator, the ion source used during acceptance testing must be capable of producing a negative ion beam of intensity greater than or equal to 7.5 μA within a phase space of less than or equal to 1 π cm-mrad (MeV)/sup 1/2/. The specifications were written prior to the development of an ion source with such capabilities but fortunately Andersen and Tykesson introduced a source in 1975 which could easily meet the specified requirements. The remarkable beam intensity and quality properties of this source has motivated the development of other sources which utilize sputtering in the presence of a diffuse cesium plasma - some of which will be described in these proceedings. This report describes results of studies associated with the development of a modified Aarhus geometry and an axial geometry source which utilize sputtering in the presence of a diffuse cesium plasma for the production of negative ion beams

Proficiency in Positive versus Negative Emotion Identification and Subjective Well-being among Long-term Married Elderly Couples

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raluca ePetrican

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Evidence is accruing that positive emotions play a crucial role in shaping a healthy interpersonal climate. Inspired by this research, the current investigation sought to shed light on the link between proficiency in identifying positive versus negative emotions and a close partner’s well-being. To this end, we conducted two studies with neurologically intact elderly married couples (Study 1 and an age-matched clinical sample, comprising married couples in which one spouse had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease (Study 2, which tends to hinder emotional expressivity. To assess proficiency in identifying emotions from whole body postures, we had participants in both studies complete a pointlight walker task, featuring four actors (two male, two female expressing one positive (i.e., happiness and three negative (i.e., sadness, anger, fear basic emotions. Participants also filled out measures of subjective well-being. Among Study 1’s neurologically intact spouses, greater expertise in identifying positive (but not negative emotions was linked to greater partner life satisfaction (but not hedonic balance. Spouses of PD patients exhibited increased proficiency in identifying positive emotions relative to controls, possibly reflective of compensatory mechanisms. Complementarily, relative to controls, spouses of PD patients exhibited reduced proficiency in identifying negative emotions and a tendency to underestimate their intensity. Importantly, all of these effects attenuated with longer years from PD onset. Finally, there was evidence that it was increased partner expertise in identifying negative (rather than positive emotional states that predicted greater life satisfaction levels among the PD patients and their spouses. Our results thus suggest that positive versus negative emotions may play distinct roles in close relationship dynamics as a function of neurological status and disability trajectory.

Hospitals with greater diversities of physiologically complex procedures do not achieve greater surgical growth in a market with stable numbers of such procedures.

Science.gov (United States)

Dexter, Franklin; Epstein, Richard H; Lubarsky, David A

2018-05-01

Although having a large diversity of types of procedures has a substantial operational impact on the surgical suites of hospitals, the strategic importance is unknown. In the current study, we used longitudinal data for all hospitals and patient ages in the State of Florida to evaluate whether hospitals with greater diversity of types of physiologically complex major therapeutic procedures (PCMTP) also had greater rates of surgical growth. Observational cohort study. 1479 combinations of hospitals in the State of Florida and fiscal years, 2008-2015. The types of International Classification of Diseases, Ninth revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) procedures studied were PCMT, defined as: a) major therapeutic procedure; b) >7 American Society of Anesthesiologists base units; and c) performed during a hospitalization with a Diagnosis Related Group with a mean length of stay ≥4.0days. The number of procedures of each type of PCMTP commonly performed at each hospital was calculated by taking 1/Herfindahl index (i.e., sum of the squares of the proportions of all procedures of each type of PCMTP). Over the 8 successive years studied, there was no change in the number of PCMTP being performed (Kendall's τ b =-0.014±0.017 [standard error], P=0.44; N=1479 hospital×years). Busier and larger hospitals commonly performed more types of PCMTP, respectively categorized based on performed PCMTP (τ=0.606±0.017, P<0.0001) or hospital beds (τ=0.524±0.017, P<0.0001). There was no association between greater diversity of types of PCMTP commonly performed and greater annual growth in numbers of PCMTP (τ=0.002±0.019, P=0.91; N=1295 hospital×years). Conclusions were the same with multiple sensitivity analyses. Post hoc, it was recognized that hospitals performing a greater diversity of PCMTP were more similar to the aggregate of other hospitals within the same health district (τ=0.550±0.017, P<0.0001). During a period with no overall growth in PCMTP, hospitals with

Adaptation to high temperature mitigates the impact of water deficit during combined heat and drought stress in C3 sunflower and C4 maize varieties with contrasting drought tolerance.

Science.gov (United States)

Killi, Dilek; Bussotti, Filippo; Raschi, Antonio; Haworth, Matthew

2017-02-01

Heat and drought stress frequently occur together, however, their impact on plant growth and photosynthesis (P N ) is unclear. The frequency, duration and severity of heat and drought stress events are predicted to increase in the future, having severe implications for agricultural productivity and food security. To assess the impact on plant gas exchange, physiology and morphology we grew drought tolerant and sensitive varieties of C3 sunflower (Helianthus annuus) and C4 maize (Zea mays) under conditions of elevated temperature for 4 weeks prior to the imposition of water deficit. The negative impact of temperature on P N was most apparent in sunflower. The drought tolerant sunflower retained ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RubisCO) activity under heat stress to a greater extent than its drought sensitive counterpart. Maize exhibited no varietal difference in response to increased temperature. In contrast to previous studies, where a sudden rise in temperature induced an increase in stomatal conductance (G s ), we observed no change or a reduction in G s with elevated temperature, which alongside lower leaf area mitigated the impact of drought at the higher temperature. The drought tolerant sunflower and maize varieties exhibited greater investment in root-systems, allowing greater uptake of the available soil water. Elevated temperatures associated with heat-waves will have profound negative impacts on crop growth in both sunflower and maize, but the deleterious effect on P N was less apparent in the drought tolerant sunflower and both maize varieties. As C4 plants generally exhibit water use efficiency (WUE) and resistance to heat stress, selection on the basis of tolerance to heat and drought stress would be more beneficial to the yields of C3 crops cultivated in drought prone semi-arid regions. © 2016 Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society.

Impact of age on the false negative rate of human papillomavirus DNA test in patients with atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance.

Science.gov (United States)

Won, Kyu-Hee; Lee, Jae Yeon; Cho, Hye-Yon; Suh, Dong Hoon; No, Jae Hong; Kim, Yong-Beom

2015-03-01

Human papillomavirus (HPV) test was incorporated into the triage of lesser abnormal cervical cytologies: atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) or low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL). This study aimed to evaluate the impact of age on the efficacy of HPV testing in patients with lesser abnormal cervical cytologies. A total of 439 patients with ASCUS or LSIL were included. The association between age groups and the diagnostic performances of HPV test for high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2+) was evaluated. Median age was 44 years (range, 17 to 75 years). ASCUS was more frequently observed in older patients while LSIL was more common in younger patients (P=0.002). CIN2+ was found in 11.3% (32/284) of the ASCUS patients and 12.9% (20/155) of patients with LSIL. Older patients with ASCUS showed lower HPV infection rates (P=0.025), but not LSIL (P=0.114). However, the prevalence of CIN2+ was similar between the age groups with ASCUS or LSIL. In patients with ASCUS, the false negative rate of HPV test for CIN2+ was 6.2%. The false negative rate of the HPV test became higher with increasing of the age after the age of 50 (P=0.034). Our findings suggest that false negative rate of the HPV test for CIN2+ in ASCUS patients older than 50 years might become higher with increasing of the age. Negative HPV results in patients of the age >50 years with ASCUS should be carefully interpreted.

Impact on Family and Parental Stress of Prenatal versus Postnatal Repair of Myelomeningocele

Science.gov (United States)

Antiel, Ryan M.; Adzick, N. Scott; Thom, Elizabeth A.; Burrows, Pamela K.; Farmer, Diana L.; Brock, John W.; Howell, Lori J.; Farrell, Jody A.; Houtrow, Amy J.

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND The Management of Myelomeningocele Study (MOMS) was a multicenter, randomized controlled trial that compared prenatal repair with standard postnatal repair for fetal myelomeningocele. OBJECTIVE We sought to describe the long-term impact on the families of the women who participated and to evaluate how the timing of repair influenced the impact on families and parental stress. STUDY DESIGN Randomized women completed the 24-item Impact on Family Scale (IFS) and the 36-item Parenting Stress Index Short Form (PSI-SF) at 12 and 30 months after delivery. A revised 15-item score of the IFS (RIFS) describing overall impact was also computed. Higher scores reflect more negative impacts or greater stress. In addition, we examined Family Support Scale (FSS) and Family Resource Scale (FRS) scores along with various neonatal outcomes. Repeated measures analysis was conducted for each scale and subscale. RESULTS Of 183 women randomized, 171 women completed the IFS and 172 completed the PSI at both 12 and 30 months. The prenatal surgery group had significantly lower RIFS scores as well as familial-social impact subscale scores compared to the postnatal surgery group (p=0.02 and 0.004, respectively). There was no difference in total parental stress between the two groups (p=0.89) or in any of the PSI-SF subscales. In addition, walking independently at 30 months and family resources at 12 months are associated with both family impact and parental stress. CONCLUSION The overall negative family impact of caring for a child with spina bifida, up to 30 months of age, was significantly lower in the prenatal surgery group compared to the postnatal surgery group. Ambulation status and family resources were predictive of impact on family and parental stress. PMID:27263997

Factors that influence soft tissue thickness over the greater trochanter: application to understanding hip fractures.

Science.gov (United States)

Levine, Iris C; Minty, Lauren E; Laing, Andrew C

2015-03-01

Fall-related hip injuries are a concern for the growing population of older adults. Evidence suggests that soft tissue overlying the greater trochanter attenuates the forces transmitted to the proximal femur during an impact, reducing mechanical risk of hip fracture. However, there is limited information about the factors that influence trochanteric soft tissue thickness. The current study used ultrasonography and electromyography to determine whether trochanteric soft tissue thickness could be quantified reproducibly and whether it was influenced by: (1) gender; (2) hip postures associated with potential falling configurations in the sagittal plane (from 30° of extension to 60° of flexion, at 15° intervals), combined adduction-flexion, and combined adduction-extension; and (3) activation levels of the tensor fascia lata (TFL) and gluteus medius (GM) muscles. Our results demonstrated that soft tissue thickness can be measured reliably in nine hip postures and three muscle activation conditions (for all conditions, ICC >0.98). Mean (SD) thickness in quiet stance was 2.52 cm. Thickness was 27.0% lower for males than females during quiet stance. It was 16.4% greater at maximum flexion than quiet standing, 27.2% greater at maximum extension, and 12.5% greater during combined adduction-flexion. However, there was no significant difference between combined adduction-extension and quiet standing. Thickness was not affected by changes in muscle activity. Forces applied to the femoral neck during a lateral fall decrease as trochanteric soft tissue thickness increases; gender and postural configuration at impact could influence the loads applied to the proximal femur (and thus hip fracture risk) during falls on the hip. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Impact of Misspelled Words on Automated Computer Scoring: A Case Study of Scientific Explanations

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Ha, Minsu; Nehm, Ross H.

2016-06-01

Automated computerized scoring systems (ACSSs) are being increasingly used to analyze text in many educational settings. Nevertheless, the impact of misspelled words (MSW) on scoring accuracy remains to be investigated in many domains, particularly jargon-rich disciplines such as the life sciences. Empirical studies confirm that MSW are a pervasive feature of human-generated text and that despite improvements, spell-check and auto-replace programs continue to be characterized by significant errors. Our study explored four research questions relating to MSW and text-based computer assessments: (1) Do English language learners (ELLs) produce equivalent magnitudes and types of spelling errors as non-ELLs? (2) To what degree do MSW impact concept-specific computer scoring rules? (3) What impact do MSW have on computer scoring accuracy? and (4) Are MSW more likely to impact false-positive or false-negative feedback to students? We found that although ELLs produced twice as many MSW as non-ELLs, MSW were relatively uncommon in our corpora. The MSW in the corpora were found to be important features of the computer scoring models. Although MSW did not significantly or meaningfully impact computer scoring efficacy across nine different computer scoring models, MSW had a greater impact on the scoring algorithms for naïve ideas than key concepts. Linguistic and concept redundancy in student responses explains the weak connection between MSW and scoring accuracy. Lastly, we found that MSW tend to have a greater impact on false-positive feedback. We discuss the implications of these findings for the development of next-generation science assessments.

Simultaneous bilateral isolated greater trochanter fracture

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Maruti Kambali

2013-01-01

Full Text Available A 48-year-old woman sustained simultaneous isolated bilateral greater trochanteric fracture, following a road traffic accident. The patient presented to us 1 month after the injury. She presented with complaints of pain in the left hip and inability to walk. Roentgenograms revealed displaced comminuted bilateral greater trochanter fractures. The fracture of the left greater trochanter was reduced and fixed internally using the tension band wiring technique. The greater trochanter fracture on the right side was asymptomatic and was managed conservatively. The patient regained full range of motion and use of her hips after a postoperative follow-up of 6 months. Isolated fractures of the greater trochanter are unusual injuries. Because of their relative rarity and the unsettled controversy regarding their etiology and pathogenesis, several methods of treatment have been advocated. Furthermore, the reports of this particular type of injury are not plentiful and the average textbook coverage afforded to this entity is limited. In our study we discuss the mechanism of injury and the various treatment options available.

Emissions impacts of wind and energy storage in a market environment.

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Sioshansi, Ramteen

2011-12-15

This study examines the emissions impacts of adding wind and energy storage to a market-based electric power system. Using Texas as a case study, we demonstrate that market power can greatly effect the emissions benefits of wind, due to most of the coal-fired generation being owned by the two dominant firms. Wind tends to have less emissions benefits when generators exercise market power, since coal-fired generation is withheld from the market and wind displaces natural gas-fired generators. We also show that storage can have greater negative emissions impacts in the presence of wind than if only storage is added to the system. This is due to wind increasing on- and off-peak electricity price differences, which increases the amount that storage and coal-fired generation are used. We demonstrate that this effect is exacerbated by market power.

Ischemic Heart Disease Hospitalization among Older People in a Subtropical City — Hong Kong: Does Winter Have a Greater Impact than Summer?

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Pui Hing Chau

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Globally, excess winter morbidity from ischemic heart disease (IHD is reported. In subtropical regions, there is a need to quantify the difference in the adverse effect of cold winters compared with hot summers, particularly among the older people. Our objectives were to: (i compare the effect of winter on IHD hospitalizations with that of summer; (ii examine temporal trends in the excess winter hospitalizations; and (iii investigate the effect of age, gender, and meteorological factors on predicting such excess. Inpatient admissions due to IHD as principal cause during June 2000 to February 2009 in public hospitals of Hong Kong were extracted for the population aged ≥65. An Excess Hospitalization in Winter vs. Summer (EHWS Index was used to contrast the adverse effect of weather on hospitalizations in winter vs. summer. Multiple linear regressions were used to investigate the trend and the predictors of such index. It was found that in a subtropical city, greater effect of winter on IHD hospitalizations than summer was observed, particularly among the oldest old (an index of 61.5% (95% CI: 49.5%–74.4% for men aged ≥85 and 32.3% (95% CI: 25.5%–39.5% for women aged ≥85. There was significant increasing trend in the index among those aged ≥85 but the age difference was less prominent among the women. Absolute level of coldness was not a significant factor, whereas the change in temperature was a significant factor, which implies that great fluctuation in temperature within a winter day had greater impact on occurrence of circulatory disease than an absolute temperature threshold.

Impact Of anthropogenic activities on the water quality of Songor Lagoon, Ada, Greater Accra Region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sackey, Justice

2014-06-01

Wetlands are vital ecosystems with important social, economic and environmental functions. The Ada Songor lagoon (located in the Dangbe East district, Greater Accra Region), is an internationally designated wetland (Ramsar site). Intense anthropogenic activities have impacted negatively on the quality of water and sediment in the lagoon. The study assessed the extent of heavy metal, pesticide residues and nutrients contamination of surface water and sediment in the Ada Songor Lagoon. The objective of the study was achieved through the determination of physico-chemical parameters [pH, temperature, electrical conductivity (EC), salinity, total dissolved solids (TDS), alkalinity, turbidity, biological oxygen demand (BOD), total hardness)]; the nutrients load (SO_4"2"- , PO_4"3"- , NO_3"- ) using UV-Visible Spectrophotometry; major ions (Na"+, K"+, Ca"2"+, HCO_3 "-); trace metals (Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb, Co, Zn, Cu, As and Hg) using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS); and pesticides residues [organochlorines (OC’s), and synthetic pyrethroids by gas chromatography-electron capture detection (GC-ECD) and organophosphorus (OP’s) by gas chromatography-pulse flame photometric detection (G C-PFPD)]. Na and K contents were determined by Flame Emission Photometry. The water temperature (25.7 to 26.6 "oC), fall in the range of 25 to 30 "oC suitable for sustainability fish and aquatic organisms. The pH range (8.18 to 9.70) which is typical of coastal waters in Ghana is ideal for aquatic organisms. The TDS range (591 to 1,046 mg/L) is not ideal for water birds spawning since it makes it harder for them to find food. BOD ranges from 1.19 to 5.35 mg/L. The pattern of ionic dominance in the lagoon during the present study was K"+ > Na"+ > Ca"2"+ > Mg"2"+. The cationic dominance pattern was similar to that of seawater as observed by other works. Nitrate levels ranges from 0.83 to 0.92 mg/L. PO_4"3"- in this study varied from 0.05 to 2.92 mg/L which exceeds the levels in most natural

The technique of negative ions in mass spectrometry. Application to aromatics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

George, G.

1984-01-01

The author examines the application of NCI (study of negative ions created by chemical ionization and particularly by a reacting negative ion) on a model popular at the present time: the passion fruit. The author stresses that this technique has its limitations and should be considered as auxiliary to electron impact. However, it seems destined for a promising future for the analysis of natural produce [fr

Running to well-being: A comparative study on the impact of exercise on the physical and mental health of law and psychology students.

Science.gov (United States)

Skead, Natalie K; Rogers, Shane L

Research indicates that, in comparison to other university students, law students are at greater risk of experiencing high levels of psychological distress. There is also a large body of literature supporting a general negative association between exercise and stress, anxiety and depression. However, we are not aware of any studies exploring the impact of exercise on the mental health of law students specifically. This article reports evidence of a negative association between exercise and psychological distress in 206 law and psychology students. Compared to psychology students, the law students not only reported greater psychological distress, but, in addition, there was a stronger association between their levels of distress and their levels of exercise. Based on the results of this study, we suggest a simple yet effective way law schools might support the mental health of their students. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Meteorological and air quality impacts of increased urban albedo and vegetative cover in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada; FINAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taha, Haider; Hammer, Hillel; Akbari, Hashem

2002-01-01

The study described in this report is part of a project sponsored by the Toronto Atmospheric Fund, performed at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, to assess the potential role of surface property modifications on energy, meteorology, and air quality in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Canada. Numerical models were used to establish the possible meteorological and ozone air-quality impacts of increased urban albedo and vegetative fraction, i.e., ''cool-city'' strategies that can mitigate the urban heat island (UHI), significantly reduce urban energy consumption, and improve thermal comfort, particularly during periods of hot weather in summer. Mitigation is even more important during critical heat wave periods with possible increased heat-related hospitalization and mortality. The evidence suggests that on an annual basis cool-city strategies are beneficial, and the implementation of such measures is currently being investigated in the U.S. and Canada. We simulated possible scenari os for urban heat-island mitigation in the GTA and investigated consequent meteorological changes, and also performed limited air-quality analysis to assess related impacts. The study was based on a combination of mesoscale meteorological modeling, Lagrangian (trajectory), and photochemical trajectory modeling to assess the potential meteorological and ozone air-quality impacts of cool-city strategies. As available air-quality and emissions data are incompatible with models currently in use at LBNL, our air-quality analysis was based on photochemical trajectory modeling. Because of questions as to the accuracy and appropriateness of this approach, in our opinion this aspect of the study can be improved in the future, and the air-quality results discussed in this report should be viewed as relatively qualitative. The MM5 meteorological model predicts a UHI in the order of 2 to 3 degrees C in locations of maxima, and about 1 degree C as a typical value over most of the urban area

Patients' Perspectives of Oral Healthcare Providers' Communication: Considering the Impact of Message Source and Content.

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Fico, Ashley E; Lagoe, Carolyn

2018-08-01

This study explores patients' perceptions of positive and negative communication experiences with dentists and dental hygienists using a sample of 267 individuals who reported having a general dental provider. Patients' oral health literacy, dental mistrust, use of dental health services, anxiety, and provider satisfaction are examined on the basis of reported communication experiences in the dental context. When comparing participants who had or had not experienced positive communication with a dentist, individuals with positive experiences demonstrated significantly higher levels of oral health literacy and provider satisfaction, as well as lower levels of dental mistrust. Participants who had experienced negative communication with a dentist reported significantly higher levels of anxiety and dental mistrust, as well as greater likelihood of ever leaving a dental practice, as compared to those without negative communication experiences. By contrast, positive and negative communication experiences with hygienists had limited impact on patient outcomes. Information derived from this investigation can be used by dental providers to guide communicative actions with patients, as well as by scholars to enhance existing theoretical explanations of the function of communication in dentistry.

5-HTTLPR polymorphism modulates neural mechanisms of negative self-reflection.

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Ma, Yina; Li, Bingfeng; Wang, Chenbo; Shi, Zhenhao; Sun, Yun; Sheng, Feng; Zhang, Yifan; Zhang, Wenxia; Rao, Yi; Han, Shihui

2014-09-01

Cognitive distortion in depression is characterized by enhanced negative thoughts about both environment and oneself. Carriers of a risk allele for depression, that is, the short (s) allele of the serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR), exhibit amygdala hyperresponsiveness to negative environmental stimuli relative to homozygous long variant (l/l). However, the neural correlates of negative self-schema in s allele carriers remain unknown. Using functional MRI, we scanned individuals with s/s or l/l genotype of the 5-HTTLPR during reflection on their own personality traits or a friend's personality traits. We found that relative to l/l carriers, s/s carriers showed stronger distressed feelings and greater activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate (dACC)/dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) and the right anterior insula (AI) during negative self-reflection. The 5-HTTLPR effect on the distressed feelings was mediated by the AI/inferior frontal (IF) activity during negative self-reflection. The dACC/dmPFC activity explained 20% of the variation in harm-avoidance tendency in s/s but not l/l carriers. The genotype effects on distress and brain activity were not observed during reflection on a friend's negative traits. Our findings reveal that 5-HTTLPR polymorphism modulates distressed feelings and brain activities associated with negative self-schema and suggest a potential neurogenetic susceptibility mechanism for depression. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Magnetic resonance imaging findings in spinal tuberculosis: Comparison of HIV positive and negative patients

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Cameron Michael Anley

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Background: There is an increasing incidence of Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV and tuberculosis (TB co-infection. This has led to an increasing number of atypical features on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI. We postulated that the type 4 hypersensitivity response causing granulomatous inflammation may be disrupted by the HIV resulting in less vertebral body destruction. This study compares the MRI features of spinal tuberculosis in HIV positive and negative patients. Materials and Methods: Fifty patients with confirmed spinal tuberculosis, HIV status and available MRI scans at a single institution from 2003-2009 were identified. HIV status was positive in 20 and negative in 30. Females were predominant (34:16. The HIV positive group was younger at 32.4 versus 46 years (P=0.008. Blood parameters (WCC, ESR, Hb, Lymphocyte count were not significantly different between the HIV groups. MRI scans were reviewed by a radiologist who was blinded to the HIV status. Site, extent of disease, body collapse, abscess location and volume, kyphotic deformity and cord signal were reported. Results: There was no difference between the number of vertebral bodies affection with TB involvement, presence of cord signal or incidence of non-contiguous lesions. The HIV negative group had significantly more total vertebral collapse (P=0.036 and greater kyphosis (P=0.002. The HIV positive group had a trend to larger anterior epidural pus collection (P=0.2. Conclusion: HIV negative patients demonstrate greater tuberculous destruction in terms of total percentage body collapse and resultant kyphosis. There is no difference in the incidence of cord signal or presence of non-contiguous lesions. HIV positive patients show a trend to a greater epidural abscess volume. This difference may be explained by the reduced autoimmune response of the type 4 hypersensitivity reaction caused by the HIV infection.

Ten Rules for Dealing with Negative Contributions in Social Media

OpenAIRE

Adriana Stránská; Václav Stříteský

2015-01-01

Social media is becoming a key part of business communication strategy. Despite all the advantages, social media also poses a threat to business reputation. Dissatisfied customers can reach a large audience and share their negative experiences with others. This paper deals with the impact of social media on the practice of public relations. The goal of the paper is to formulate a set of rules for dealing with negative contributions and generally with crisis communication in social media. It...

Lessons learned for reducing the negative impact of adverse events on patients, health professionals and healthcare organizations.

Science.gov (United States)

Mira, Jose Joaquin; Lorenzo, Susana; Carrillo, Irene; Ferrús, Lena; Silvestre, Carmen; Astier, Pilar; Iglesias-Alonso, Fuencisla; Maderuelo, Jose Angel; Pérez-Pérez, Pastora; Torijano, Maria Luisa; Zavala, Elena; Scott, Susan D

2017-08-01

To summarize the knowledge about the aftermath of adverse events (AEs) and develop a recommendation set to reduce their negative impact in patients, health professionals and organizations in contexts where there is no previous experiences and apology laws are not present. Review studies published between 2000 and 2015, institutional websites and experts' opinions on patient safety. Studies published and websites on open disclosure, and the second and third victims' phenomenon. Four Focus Groups participating 27 healthcare professionals. Study characteristic and outcome data were abstracted by two authors and reviewed by the research team. Fourteen publications and 16 websites were reviewed. The recommendations were structured around eight areas: (i) safety and organizational policies, (ii) patient care, (iii) proactive approach to preventing reoccurrence, (iv) supporting the clinician and healthcare team, (v) activation of resources to provide an appropriate response, (vi) informing patients and/or family members, (vii) incidents' analysis and (viii) protecting the reputation of health professionals and the organization. Recommendations preventing aftermath of AEs have been identified. These have been designed for the hospital and the primary care settings; to cope with patient's emotions and for tacking the impact of AE in the second victim's colleagues. Its systematic use should help for the establishment of organizational action plans after an AE. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press in association with the International Society for Quality in Health Care. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

Do the myths still exist? Revisiting people's negative beliefs about organ donation upon death.

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Hyde, Melissa K; Wihardjo, Kylie R; White, Katherine M

2012-01-01

The prevalence of myths preventing people partial to donation in Australia from consenting is unknown. Respondents (N = 468: 381 donors, 26 non-donors, 61 undecided) were surveyed about their (negative) donation beliefs. Approximately 30% of donors were neutral or supported negative beliefs about organ allocation, especially donation to undesirable organ recipients and a black market organ trade. Confusion about brain death, lack of family and religious support, and discomfort with donation were negative beliefs endorsed by some respondents irrespective of donor preference. Proportionally, donors had greater trust in hospitals/doctors than other groups. Some myths still exist but may vary with donation preference.

Environmental Impact Assessment of a Water Transfer Project

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Pazoki

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Background Reliable water supplies for drinking and agriculture are some of the objectives for the sustainable development of every country. However, constructed facilities such as dams and irrigation networks and drainage can exert positive and negative effects directly or indirectly on the environment. The environmental impact assessment is a method for identifying the positive and negative effects caused by a plan and suggests performance management best practices aimed at lessening the negative impacts and augmenting the positive ones. Objectives The present study sought to evaluate the environmental impacts of the water transfer project of the Jooban Dam in two phases of preparation and operation. Materials and Methods A checklist containing the positive, negative, short-term, and long-term effects as well as the continuation and probable occurrence of these effects was used. Results The results showed that the negative environmental and social impacts of the project outweighed the positive impacts in terms of type, number, and intensity. Conclusions Unless there are well-thought out strategies for minimizing the undesirable impact on the environment, it is not advisable that such projects be permitted.

Description and predictors of positive and negative alcohol-related consequences in the first year of college.

Science.gov (United States)

Barnett, Nancy P; Clerkin, Elise M; Wood, Mark; Monti, Peter M; O'Leary Tevyaw, Tracy; Corriveau, Donald; Fingeret, Allan; Kahler, Christopher W

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to establish the frequency of positive and negative alcohol-related consequences during the first year of college and to evaluate gender, race/ethnicity, time of year, alcohol use, and intoxication as predictors of consequences using frequent assessments. Participants (N = 1,053; 57.5% female) completed biweekly assessments of alcohol use and positive and negative alcohol-related consequences throughout the year. The majority of drinkers reported both positive and negative consequences. Having a good time and feeling less stressed were the most commonly reported positive consequences. Blackouts and getting physically sick were the most commonly endorsed negative consequences. At the weekly level, number of drinking days, drinks per drinking day, and estimated blood alcohol concentration (eBAC, reflecting intoxication) were significantly related to all consequences after controlling for demographics and time of year. Negative consequences had stronger associations with number of drinks and eBAC than positive consequences did. With each additional drink consumed on a drinking day, the incidence of negative consequences more than doubled (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 2.34, 95% CI [2.19, 2.50]), whereas the incidence of positive consequences increased by about half (IRR = 1.51, 95% CI [1.47, 1.56]). The consequence with the largest gender difference was regretted sex, with women reporting it more often. Few racial/ethnic differences were found in report of negative consequences. Greater positive and negative consequences were endorsed at the beginning of both academic semesters. As number of drinks and eBAC increase, the relative odds of a negative consequence are higher than that of a positive consequence. Alcohol interventions could promote greater awareness of the likelihood of specific consequences and could highlight that positive consequences are associated with lower levels of drinking.